Over Again

Chapter Three

The week went by all too quickly and soon I had been dragged out to Harry’s step dad’s bungalow. I’d only been here a few times when we were younger and Harry would insist on taking me with his family whenever they went on holiday. The rest of the band plus Eleanor would be arriving soon, so I took that time to unpack my things. I had always stayed in the same room every time I came here, Anne never allowing Harry and I to sleep in the same one. But there were only four rooms in the whole house; three of us would have to share with someone. As if he’d read my mind, Harry wandered into the room.

“Oh yeah…about the whole room situation,” He began.

“Yes…?”

“You’re staying in mine.”

“Harry!” I protested.

“I’m sorry! There’s an air mattress in there and you can take the big bed,” He said with puppy dog eyes that I swear nobody on earth could resist.

I groaned as I packed my stuff back into my bag and dragged it into his room down the hall. Just as I dumped my bag onto the queen-sized bed, a bunch of “AYEs” filled the house. Oh great, they’re here. I continued to unpack my things, trying to delay the meeting as long as I could. I heard my name getting called out, I was never really good at making new friends and now I’m being forced to spend a whole week with complete strangers. I mean, yeah, the whole world may know their names but these guys aren’t just big pop stars to me. These people are Harry’s friends and Harry is my best friend, which means I’ll most likely have to be friends with them too. I let out a deep breath I didn’t even realize I was holding, plastered a fake smile on my face and braced myself to meet the rest of One Direction.

“Ah! It’s so nice to finally be able to meet the famous Georgia Young!” Louis clapped, walking over to me and shaking my hand.

“I should be the one saying that to you,” I blushed and the other boys laughed. Famous?

“Maybe now that we’ve met, Harry can stop talking about you and your greatness,” Niall joked, overwhelming me with his hug. Are these guys being serious? ‘Me and my greatness?’

By the end of the day, I realized the boys weren’t half bad. Eleanor was really nice too, I’d never actually had a close girl friend before and it was nice to be able to talk about girly things to her and complain about smelly boys.

Trying to keep up with five hyper active guys exhausted me quite a bit, so by 9pm I was changed into my pyjamas and snuggled into Harry’s bed while he lay on the air mattress on the floor beside me. I was so tired but I couldn’t fall asleep and I hated lying in bed in darkness, alone with my thoughts.

“Harry?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you awake?” I asked foolishly.   

“I am now,” he whispered.

“If I’m so great and you talk about me to your new friends, then how come you seem to have forgotten about me?” I thought out loud, staring straight up at the ceiling.

The room was pitch black, the only source of lighting coming from the moonlight outside, but I heard Harry wriggle around on his mattress and I felt the pressure applied to the edge of my bed.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“You didn’t answer my question.” I shot back and he sighed; I could tell he was thinking hard about his response and I felt like a bitch knowing full well I was making him feel bad. “Come here,” I breathed, patting the space beside me.

He lifted the blanket up and climbed into the bed, cuddling me into him as he wrapped his much longer legs around mine. His bare torso was quite warm on my back considering the winter weather and he leaned his chin on top of my head.

“Honestly? At first it was because everything in my life was just crazy. I knew you were in London the whole time, believe me, it was killing me not being able to see you. Then when things became manageable, I thought you hated me for not being there for you after your parents split up.” He confessed.

“So you thought you could shut me out of your life just like that?”

“No, Georgie! You know how much I love you and how much you mean to me. You know me better than anyone else does. But after I saw what happened with Louis when he started dating El…I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on you.” I could hear the frustration in his voice.

“But we’re just friends, Harry.” Not going to lie, it hurt a little to say those words.

“Georgia, I haven’t had a girl best friend since x-factor because any girl that’s linked with me gets hate and death threats. Their lives become miserable just because they know me. And I don’t want that to happen to you.” He said sternly.

I turned around so that my head leaned against Harry’s chest, his arms still wrapped around me. “I can handle things, you know? I’m not that naive sixteen-year-old anymore. It sounds lame but I’m a lot stronger than that now.” I whispered into his chest.

Harry pushed my hair out of my face and leaned down slightly to kiss my forehead, “I know.” 

***

I woke up to the sound of a camera shutter followed by a few quiet whispers, but I kept my eyes closed assuming it was too early to be awake. Then again, it’s always too early to be awake no matter what time it was.

“His dream’s come true,” I heard the Irish accent whisper.

“Look at them, they’re so cute,” I identified the deep voice to be Liam.

“So much sexual tension its crazy,” said Louis.

“You guys, leave them alone. Breakfast is ready,” whispered Eleanor, and I heard the boys shuffle out of the room.

Only then did I realise that Harry’s arms were still wrapped around me, his chest rising with every breath. For a moment I just admired the peaceful state he was in before deciding to wake him up. As I pulled away, I felt his grip tighten around me and a grin formed between his dimpled cheeks though his eyes were still shut.

“Harry. Get up. I know you’re awake,” I told him. 

“But it’s too cold!” He complained, struggling to lift his eyelids.

“Maybe if you put a shirt on you wouldn’t be freezing,”

“You have to admit though, you always did enjoy seeing me naked. Or at least topless,” He winked cheekily.

I punched him playfully but as hard as I could on his shoulder and he gasped a little too much so I knew it didn’t hurt him the slightest.

“You’re an ass, Styles.” I said before walking out of the room with a smirk.

Wow, I never realized exactly how much I missed my best friend until now. The first day at the bungalow was actually kind of perfect and falling asleep with Harry next to me wasn’t so bad either. I know we’re only here for four days and the Internet and phone reception is shit, but I could really get used to this.