Truly, Madly, Deeply (Book 2 of the Summer Love series) || 1D

ONE: I Want You Here With Me

Harry's POV

    The first thing I do when I step off the plane is call Briley. One ring... Two rings... Three rings... 

    Voicemail. 

    ...What?

    "Hey, princess. Uh... We just landed. I miss you... I love you. Call me back. Bye." I leave her a message. I hang up the phone, shove it back into my pocket, and stare at the floor. Taking note of my apparent sadness and confusion, Lou comes up to me and puts his arm around me.

    "No answer, pumpkin?" he asks me. I shake my head and look up at him sadly. He squishes my cheeks gently and gives me an encouraging smile. "Come on. Don't worry about it, Hazza. She'll call back. I'm sure there's a proper reason she didn't answer. What time is it in Malibu anyway?" he asks as we walk through the terminal. I do the quick math in my head.

    "Oh, shit. 2:30 in the morning? Is that right?" I respond, pulling out my phone and checking. "Yeah, 2:30." He smiles at me comfortingly.

    "Sleeping, then. Definitely. She'll call back later when she wakes up." he tells me. I nod, feeling a little relieved, but still sad. He starts walking to catch up with Liam and Niall who are on their way to baggage claim. I sigh and continue walking behind them and soon enough Zayn catches up with me.

    "Are you okay, Haz?" he asks me. I look at him as if I have no idea what he's talking about, even though I do. I've been lost in my head since we left Malibu, and I know I haven't been doing very well at hiding it.

    "Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?" I respond. This is the first word I've said to any of them except Lou since we left. I've been too upset and drained to talk.

    "Harry, it was a 10 hour flight and you just now spoke to me for the first time since we got into the car earlier. You switched seats with me so you could sit by Louis on the plane, and from what he told me you were either crying or sleeping the whole way and wouldn't really talk to him either. Where's your head at right now? What's going on?" he asks me. I shake my head and look down at the floor again.

    "I'm just tired and have a lot on my mind is all." I lie. He sees right through me.

    "You miss her. I get it, we all do. Trust me, I am not happy we had to leave before she recovered fully. But she's so strong. She can make it on her own, I know it and I know you do to. And she remembered everything just before we left, so that's a sure sign she's getting better." he says. I just keep my eyes on the floor.

    "I want to go back." I mumble. He puts an arm around me.

    "I know, trust me. I know my connection with her is nowhere near as strong as yours is, but I miss her a lot already too. A bond like yours is unbreakable, though. Maybe some space will be good. You need to figure out a way to be okay without her for a little while. Basing all of your happiness on her can't be healthy or helpful to you. Besides, Malibu was the most fun I've had in a while, but One Direction is our job. It's time to buckle down and start working harder again. If Briley were here, I'm sure she'd say the same thing. No matter how much we all hate it, it's better this way."

    "It doesn't feel like it." I mumble.

    "I'm really sorry, Hazza. I know it hurts a lot, but you've got to let her go for a while. You'll see her in September and then you can be as attached to her as you want, but for right now, we need you to be Harry Styles. One Direction needs you. Okay?" he says. I sigh and try to hold back the tears I can feel forming in my eyes at the thought of me letting her go. I'm mostly sad because I know Zayn is right. When we were in Malibu, yes, we were writing as much as we could and performing shows occasionally, but we had so much free time to just hang out and mess around. I need to come to terms with the fact that that isn't reality anymore. It was fun while it lasted, but it's time to let it go.