Chapter 9.
*Charlotte's POV*
I was breathing heavily when Drew pulled me in for a hug. Wrapping my arms around his torso, I started to cry. I had asked Harry to carry Riley inside.
"Oh Charlotte. I've missed you so much" I heard Drew cry.
Pulling away, we just looked at each other.
"Oh, uhm, Drew this is Harry. Harry this is Drew. And of course, Riley." I smiled.
The boys shook hands firmly and sat down along with me.
Drew looked out the window looking at all the people taking pictures outside of the restaurant.
"If I had known you were bringing a celebrity, I would've picked a more secluded or private place to meet up at." He laughed, looking at me.
"Can I hold her?" Drew asked.
"Of course." I smiled.
Handing Riley off to Drew, Harry smiled at me. Everyone was quiet at first. Not knowing what to say or how to say it.
"Char, I hope you forgive me for being a world class dick... I, I had no idea. I want to be like we were before all of this. We used to be best friends and I ruined it. I'm so sorry." Drew spoke.
Just as I was about to reply, the waiter came by to take our orders and give us drinks.
"Drew, of course I'll forgive you. You're my brother & my life wouldn't be complete without you in it." I smiled at him.
"Okay." He smiled back. Riley was loving Drew.
"So, Harry. How'd you guys meet?" My brother asked.
"It's a funny story, actually," Harry started "I was being chased by some fans and I ran into the parking lot of the grocery store and Charlotte had just gotten to her car. I ran over to her and asked if I could get into her car & she asked me if I was a serial killer." He stopped to laugh. "Of course I said no & she let me get in. And then when she dropped me off at a hotel, I gave her my number." He said, smiling.
"And then the whole incident happened and she called me asking for help. I couldn't say no." He slightly giggled.
"Are you treating her right?" Drew asked.
"Uh- I think so..." Harry trailed off.
"Drew, we aren't together." I spoke up.
"It sure looks like you are. What friends kiss? And hold hands?" He arched his eyebrows, taking a drink of water.
"I'm just saying." He laughed.
"Are you seeing anyone, Drew?" I asked.
"Uh, well actually, I'm seeing this girl. Her name is Leah. She's wonderful. We're both in the doctored program, so it works. I think you'll like her, Char." My brother spoke. He had this look in his eyes that spoke for themselves.
"You love her." I said.
"I do. She's not like any girl I've ever dated. She's different." He spoke with a grin.
"That's what I say about Charlotte." Harry pipped in.
"Is that so?" Drew laughed.
I nodded.
"I tell her all the time." Harry spoke.
"And you say you're not together." Drew spoke under his breath.
Both Harry & I chose to ignore the comment.
"Charlotte are you eating? You look really skinny." Drew said staring at me.
"Yes I'm eating." I said quickly.
"Oh man, you should've seen how fast she ate a veggie burger the other day! It was hilarious." Harry laughed.
I hit Harry's arm playfully.
"Yeah you can't get between her and her veggie burgers, you'll lose a finger! I almost did a few years ago. Scary, man." Drew laughed with Harry.
Of course they're going to get along great. Of, freaking, course. I mentally laughed.
The food was absolutely delicious and we all had a great time. Unfortunately, it was time to say our goodbyes since Harry had rehearsal for their show tomorrow.
"Goodbye big brother. I'll see you soon, okay?" I spoke while hugging him.
Trying to pull Riley out of his arms was quite difficult. She screamed and cried, gripping his shirt.
"Say bye bye Uncle Drew." I said waving her little hand.
"Bye baby girl. I'll see you soon." He said giving her a kiss on the head.
"Bye Char. Call me, okay? Maybe we can go on a double date or something." Drew smiled at me.
"Harry, nice meeting you. You're a good man. I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon as well." He spoke shaking Harry's hand.
The driver was waiting for us outside. Getting into the car, I sighed.
"That was great, Harry. Thank you so much for coming with me." I smiled at him.
"Of course, Princess. Now are you ready to see some classified stuff in rehearsal?" Harry winked at me.
"Sounds like a blast." I said quietly.
Riley fell asleep in her car seat, which was good. She was going to need some energy.
"The boys are meeting us at the venue. We should be there in about half hour." Harry spoke.
"Take a picture of her with my phone, please? She looks so cute." He whispered.
Grabbing his phone I snapped the picture of my daughter.
"Rileystagram." Harry laughed.
Rolling my eyes I spoke, "You're such a dork."
"You love my dorkiness though." He smiled.
"Now, smile Princess." He said pointing his camera towards me.
I didn't have time to smile because the picture had already been taken. I looked- pretty...
"Princessstagram." Harry giggled.
I smiled shaking my head. Taking my phone out, I noticed that he tagged me in both pictures.
"Now you smile, Prince." I said snapping a picture of the most beautiful man I've ever seen.
"Princestagram." I giggled, posting and tagging him in the picture.
"Copycat!" Harry whined.
I just laughed.
"Oh we're here!" Harry said excitedly.
There were already girls camped out in the line.
"Wow." I said.
Pulling Riley out of her car seat, she didn't wake up. Drew wore her out. I mentally laughed.
"Are you ready? I can carry your bag for you, love." Harry said taking the bag from me.
Getting out of the car, you could hear the girls gasp.
They weren't screaming or making any noise, actually. They were silent.
"What's going on?" I asked Harry.
"Uh, I have no idea." He said shaking his head.
All of them had their phones out, probably taking pictures and video taping us.
We couldn't stop to say hi because Harry was already late. Oops.
"Charlotte! Harry! Finally!" Liam said over the mic.
By now, Riley had woken up, really fussy.
"Harry, where's the bathroom? I need to feed and change Riley." I asked.
"Oh let me show you, it's right by my dressing room." He smiled at me, leading me down a hallway.
"Here we are." Harry spoke.
"Thank you." I smiled.
And with that, I went into the bathroom.
Feeding and changing Riley only took about 20 minutes, but man did my mind start spinning.
Harry. He was so sweet. He made me laugh and smile. He always looked me in the eyes. It was nerve wracking to be honest. I wasn't used to that kind of eye contact. He made me, want to be a better me... But damn. How could I already have feelings for someone new, so fast? I didn't want to jump into a new relationship... But I wanted Harry.
I was so on the fence about everything with him.
I knew 2 things,
1. I had feelings for Harry.
2. I was scared to death.
I didn't know it was possible to have such strong feelings for someone so fast after getting out of a relationship just weeks before.
I knew that Harry felt the same way, but I didn't want to move too fast.
If I didn't have Riley, I think it would've been different. She's my main priority and I don't want different guys coming in & out of her life. She needs stability.
Shaking the thoughts out of my mind, I looked at myself in the mirror. I almost didn't recognize myself. I looked... Happy. I didn't have the dark circles under my eyes, my hair wasn't a complete mess. I didn't have cuts and bruises. The only thing that remained was the scars on my body and the memories in my mind. Walking out of the bathroom, I walked back from the way I came. I could hear the boys singing. They sounded great, as always.
Stacy was there in the audience area. Walking over to her, I sat down in a chair. Bouncing Riley in my lap.
"They sound amazing." I spoke.
"They do." She smiled.
"Can I ask you something?" Stacy trailed off.
"Of course." I said.
She sat down in the seat next to me.
"Do you like Harry?" She asked.
It took me off guard.
"Of course I like him. He's a good gu" She cut me off.
"I mean as more than just a friend, Charlotte. Harry, even though he doesn't show it, is very sensitive. His heart gets broken very easily. And if you've heard what he says about you, then you would know that he's falling for you. And falling hard. I don't want him to get hurt." She stated, staring right at me.
"I, I- Yes. I like him more than just a friend. He's amazing. I just don't want to go too fast. I'm trying to be cautious because, I've been broken for so long that I need time to heal. I don't want to hurt Harry. If I ever broke his heart, my heart would break too. He's too sweet." I said quietly.
"Good," she sighed, "You need him and he needs you. Whether you guys know it or not." She spoke.
"I didn't think it was a good idea for you to come that night... But now that you've been here and that I know you better, I know why Harry said yes. You make him happy. He's only been with a few girls since I've known him and all of them only lasted a month or two. I knew they wouldn't last. Harry wasn't interested in them. He didn't have that look in his eyes. He didn't smile when they walked in the room. He didn't talk about them. He's different with you. You're different from the rest of them, Charlotte." Stacy trailed off.
"Thank you, Stacy. That means a lot." I said, glancing at Harry up on stage.
"Welcome to the family." She laughed.
"How's the restraining order going?" I asked.
"Good. I've been in contact with the police and the boys' lawyer and they said you have a good case for one. It shouldn't be too much longer for it to come through. You'll get a copy and he will get the original papers." She stated.
"Thank you for everything, Stacy." I smiled at her. She nodded with a smile.
"Mamamamama" Riley blabbed.
"Can you say mommy?" I asked, smiling at her.
"Mo" She giggled.
"I love you baby girl." I said kissing her playfully, making her laugh.
"Hey, hey! No baby giggles!" Harry smirked at me.
God why did he have to be so sweet. Why couldn't he have been an asshole like the rest of the male population? He's making this very difficult.
Before I knew it, rehearsals were done. Harry walked up to me and Riley, smiling.
"Hey pretty ladies." He smirked.
"Hey!" I smiled.
"How'd you like the songs?" He asked.
"They were great! You guys sounded amazing." I said, looking at him.
He was so beautiful.
"What was your favorite?" He asked, playing with Riley's hands.
"I think, my favorite had to be 18." I smiled.
"Yeah, me too. That and Night Changes." He spoke softly.
"We better head out to the car." He said, standing up.
His lips looked so good.
I just wanted to kiss them.
"Can I try something?" I asked nervously, standing up with Riley resting on my right hip.
He nodded, just looking at me.
Maybe, if I kiss him, again, I'll know and I won't be on the fence anymore. I thought to myself.
"Close your eyes..." I whispered.
He did, and smirked.
Standing my toes, I inched myself closer to his face.
"Kiss me." I whispered.
He must've felt my breath against his lips because without opening his eyes, he connected our lips.
It was magical. You know how in the movies they say when you kiss the right person, you'll see stars? Well, I saw more than stars. They were fireworks.
I opened my mouth to breathe and Harry took the chance to slip his tongue in my mouth.
He tasted of mint. We were so into the kiss, that neither of us heard the other boys walk in.
Suddenly I heard whistles and clapping. I pulled away and saw all four of the boys smiling at us. I looked down and blushed.
Harry, hadn't moved.
"Why'd you do that?" He whispered.
"I-I don't know... I just wanted to kiss you." I looked up at him.
"That was best kiss I've ever had." He smirked.
"I thought it would help me figure things out..." I trailed off.
"And did it?" He asked.
I nodded.
"I want you, Harry. I want to be with you. We just need to take it slow." I whispered.
"Okay, Princess." He whispered back.
He kissed me on the cheek and turned around towards the boys.
"Are you two together yet?" Louis asked.
We both just laughed. We all got to the cars and got in.
"We'll give you two some more time alone." Liam winked.
It was just Harry & I in the car along with Riley.
"It's gonna be about an hour to the hotel. Traffic is bad at this hour." The driver spoke.
"Charlotte, can I kiss you again?" Harry asked.
I looked over at him and leaned in.
The kiss got heated, quickly. Pulling away, I smiled.
"You're the best kisser in the world." Harry spoke.
"Yeah, so are you, Harry." I smiled.
"Just promise me, we'll take it slow. We need to get to know each other on a more intimate level. We can't jump into this, not yet at least." I trailed off.
"Of course, Charlotte. We'll take it as slow as you want. I'm in no hurry. Good things come to people who take it slow." He smiled.
"I don't think that's how the saying goes, Harry." I giggled.
"Well, it does now." He smiled at me.
"So what are we? Are we friends still? Are we dating? Are we boyfriend & girlfriend?" Harry asked.
"We're dating, Harry." I smiled at him.
"Your eyes are so pretty... They're green, but they're also blue and gold..." Harry spoke softly.
I blushed.
"You're a flirt." I said.
"Only with you, Princess." He whispered.
I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder. He smelled so good.
"Mmm you smell so good." I said.
I could feel him breathing.
"So do you, Princess." He spoke.
I'm glad I kissed him. I needed something to help me figure my mind out.
I never had the fireworks with Zach. It's kind of like in the House Bunny when she says you see things like pencils and erasers when you kiss the wrong person. Sure I thought he was cute at first. But I never had the butterflies or the smile that I have with Harry.
Harry, was a Prince.
Harry, was sweet.
Harry, was amazing.
Harry, was different.
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Okay there's chapter 9! Hopefully you like it! Please vote & share!
xoxo
-A
