'cause we're on fire.

Emelie sometimes forgot that Louis was home. That probably seemed pretty sad seeing as he was her boyfriend and all, and they'd been living together for almost a year now, but it was the truth. He was gone for seven or eight months out of the year, so she grew accustomed to staying in the flat by herself. And when he was home from tour, she sometimes woke up in the morning, confused as to was laying in bed with her. That was only sometimes though. Today she remembered. She'd picked him up from Heathrow late last night, and normally she would have slept in, but she found herself surprisingly wide awake that morning. She'd slipped out of bed, careful not to wake her still sleeping boyfriend to make herself a cuppa. Once she'd finished it, she padded down the hall to their bedroom in her slippers quietly, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she saw his sleeping figure. Quietly, she crossed the room to the bed and climbed up, moving until her knees were on either side of his waist and she was straddling him. Leaning down, she began to pepper light kisses along his face, her blonde locks forming a curtain around their faces as she pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

---

The lads often asked Harry why he put up with some of the things that he did. One of those things was the fact that the girl he was head over heels for was in a relationship with another guy. A guy who he hated with every ounce of his being. And sometimes Harry didn't have an answer to their questions. He didn't know why he sat back and watched Calliope be happy with another man. Initially, they'd just started out as really good friends. Their personalities kind of just clicked, almost how Emelie and Louis' had, and initially, Harry thought nothing of it. He just assumed that he really liked being around her. She was a sweet girl, and really fun to hang out with, but that's all he'd thought it was. But he'd thought wrong. It didn't take him very long to develop actual feelings for her. Feelings that were anything but platonic. And, of course, it was just his luck that the one night he was actually going to tell her how he felt, she called him up all excited to be going on a date with some bloke she'd run into at Tesco. Harry figured it was just rotten luck. Maybe nothing would come of their relationship, but he'd obviously thought wrong once again. One date turned into two and then three, four, five so on and so fourth until they were officially a couple. And Harry was left off on the sidelines as the best friend. It sucked a lot, but he put up with it, because he loved Calliope. He didn't want to lose the friendship that they had together, and so, here he was, heading on over to her flat the day after he'd gotten back from tour. The flat that she thankfully didn't share with her boyfriend.

Louis shifted in his awake, yet not wanting to be because he'd just woken up and felt like he could still sleep for another five days, state when he felt his girlfriend straddling him. And he couldn't help but smile to himself, though he was still tired, when he felt her peppering kisses over his face. "Good morning to you too." He said peaking up at her while he moved his hands to rest on her hips and hold her in place. "Someone just couldn't wait to get their hands on me could they?" He teased while he gently rubbed her soft skin, and wondered to himself how he'd gotten so lucky. He felt lucky though, to have someone special in his life like Emelie still. Sometimes he might've made her mad, and there were times when he wasn't sure how she put up with him, or how she was always so strong when he left for tour and things for months at a time. But she did, somehow or another she put up with his insane antics, the fact that more than half the year he spent away from her, and yet she was still around. She'd handled going public a lot better than most did, and every day Louis felt like he fell a little more in love with her. Which some might not think was possible, but to him it was. And when he thought about everything she gave up for him, did for him, and everything that he had to deal with to be with him he just felt lucky because he'd found someone as amazing as her. And while he wished he could have more time with her, he cherished the time he had with her more because it wasn't every day that he wasn't on tour or doing something with the lads and could just come home.

---

Calliope stretched and climbed out of her bed, rubbing her eyes then scooping Mr. Whiskers up into her arms she headed out of her bedroom towards the kitchen to make herself a cuppa and feed the kitten and find herself something to eat while she was at it. And while her breakfast was cooking she took her tea and sat at the counter on her phone replying to texts she'd gotten the night before and never gotten around to answering before she'd fallen asleep, and a few tweets from some of Harry's fans. So apparently we're secretly seeing one another because we have an undeniable love for one another that burns in our souls. For real though I can't wait to see you! She quickly sent Harry she found it funny some of the things his fans tweeted her. She didn't know why they all thought she was dating Harry on the side. Or where they got some of the things they said. There was no denying that there was some kind of spark between herself and Harry. But she tried to think that the spark was just the friendship they had. Because they were really close, even if some people saw it as more than it was they were just really good friends. Friends who could cuddle and talk about anything. He was friend she was close to. Maybe sometimes they did things that made them look like a couple, and maybe sometimes her boyfriend got jealous because she was close to Harry. But they'd talked about it, and while he didn't like Harry and she knew Harry didn't like him they both just had to accept that they were both in her life and wouldn't be getting rid of the other. Though she knew if it came down to it she'd leave him to keep Harry. She didn't voice that thought ever, because it would cause a lot of problems, but she would. Because Harry meant more to her than he knew she was sure, and she didn't know what she'd do without him.

"I'm willing to admit that I might have missed you while you were gone." Emelie teased, a slight grin tugging at the corners of her lips as she looked down at him. "I'm really not completely sure just yet though. You might need to convince me." Days like this were why she put up with all of the bullshit. Sometimes things got hard what with Louis being gone more often than he was home, and the hate she got on twitter from his fans, but it was days like this that made all of that worthwhile. Really, Louis was why all of it was worthwhile. It was no secret that she loved him. She wasn't a gold digger or anything who was only dating him for a couple of minutes of fame in this week's issue of The Sun. No, she was with him because she cared about him. She loved him, and her feelings for him seemed to grow stronger with each and every passing day. Some might say that she was too young to really know what loving someone felt like, but she had to beg to differ. She knew what loving someone felt like, and she knew that she loved Louis. So bloody much that it sometimes scared her.

---

Harry felt his phone buzz in the pocket of jeans as he walked down one of the many busy London streets on his way to Calliope's flat. He pulled it out of the pocket of his nearly painted on skinny jeans and opened the text, a slight grin tugging at the corners of his lips when he read the message from none other than said girl. You weren't aware of this? I'm the one who told the fans! I was under the impression that we just couldn't deny our love for one another any longer. Kidding. I can't wait to see you either, love. I'm nearly to your flat. He hit sent before slipping his phone back into his pocket. Some might say that he was torturing himself, still hanging around with her and not being completely honest with her. And maybe he was. Maybe he was as masochistic as they got, but he couldn't not have her in his life. And he'd much rather have her there as his friend than not have her at all.

"Well I supposed I might've missed you too." Louis teased right back while he ran his hands up under her shirt and along her back. "Oh I need to convince you now do I," he said smirking, "well I supposed that could be arranged." He told her before he used all his strengthen to flip them over and hover over her. Now it was his turn to look down at her. And he couldn't stop himself from leaning forward to kiss her, then kiss her jaw, and down to her neck. "I've missed you love." He whispered to her in between each of his kisses to her soft skin before smirking again and pulling away from her all together. "I'm gonna go make myself from breakfast." He told her as he climbed out of their bed and walked over to his dresser to find a t-shirt to pull on. Then he sent her a wink and headed out of the bedroom to the kitchen. This was typical of him really though, and he felt like it made his life a bit more interesting while he was home, to tease his girlfriend for fun. Of course he did it because he loved her, and liked to play around. Louis was a jokester. He didn't know how to not have fun. Sure sometimes people told him he should be more serious about things, and maybe he shouldn't always make jokes about things, but he couldn't live like that. Sure if it was something honestly serious that wasn't a joking matter he could be serious, usually though he couldn't help but joke around for fun. Because while some people would beg to differ, joking around like this kept him young. And well Louis didn't wanna grow up. He didn't want to be an adult with stick up their arse because they didn't know how to have fun.

---

Calliope moved her breakfast from the pan to a plate and then moved back to the counter to eat, rolling her eyes at Harry's reply. Really! That's so exciting! I've missed you! We have a lot of catching up to do mister! And if you get here quick enough you can have some cinnamon rolls... as long as I don't eat them all first. She replied before setting her phone down and going back to her delicious cinnamon rolls. Knowing that Harry would be there soon though was a good thought, kind of brightened her day. It was really nice to have him around, and she really liked having him around while her boyfriend was out of town, not because they actually had a secret relationship or anything like the fans seemed to think. But because she could see him all she wanted without getting an ear full about it. It also meant that she didn't have to be alone. It was kind of weird how it worked out though, usually when Harry was in town her boyfriend wasn't, or he would be busy, and then while her boyfriend was in town Harry wasn't or wouldn't be much longer. Of course given Harry was always leaving for tour and things she knew why he was never really in town. Her boyfriend however was always busy with business trips and lately he'd been dealing with his dad being the hospital. Sometimes she felt like while Harry was around her boyfriend purposely avoided her so he wouldn't come in contact with Harry. Either way he wasn't here right now, and she needed someone to keep her company.

Emelie giggled softly. "Well, I suppose that's a very good thing." She said, a slight grin tugging at the corners of her lips. She nodded wordlessly, a small smirk on her face as her dark eyes locked with his light ones. She loved how her relationship with Louis was. She knew that they could both be a bit immature at times, and a lot of people said that they needed to take things more seriously, but she really didn't think she'd ever want to do that. And she sure as hell couldn't picture Louis being anyone other than who he was right now. She liked how he was, and he liked how she was. They had this mutual understanding of each other that most people didn't realize that they had. Something with them had kind of just clicked from the moment they first met. And yeah, that probably sounded a bit cliche and cheesy, but it was the truth. A soft gasp escaped her lips when he flipped them over, now being the one hovering over her though she smiled when his lips were on hers and then he started pressing kisses to her skin. "I've missed you too." She whispered. "I've missed you so much." She nodded in response to his later words, and just laid there in bed for a bit. She had a feeling today was going to be a lazy day. Just one of those days where neither of them bothered to really get dressed and they just lounged about their flat for a while. And, to be completely honest, that was what she wanted right now. She wanted to just spend time with Louis and enjoy being with him again.

---

Harry was walking into the building when he got her next text. He looked it over, chuckling softly as he read it, but didn't bother responding seeing as she would see him any second now anyway. He figured it would be pointless to text her when he'd actually be speaking to her in less than two minutes. He took the elevator up to her flat and walked down the hall, knocking lightly before checking to see if she'd locked it. He shook his head in disbelief when he realized that she hadn't before walking in. "How many times do I need to tell you to lock that bloody door?" He asked, frowning slightly as he walked through the doorway. She always claimed that she left it unlocked when she knew that he was coming over, but it didn't help his conscience any. He didn't like the idea of just about any person off the street being allowed to walk on in without her knowing. It all made him a bit worried and uneasy. "I expect at least half of those cinnamon buns in repayment for you not keeping your promise." He said, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen. He'd made her promise to get into the habit of locking it just before he'd left for tour.

Louis turned to look at his lovely girlfriend with a smile, "do you want some breakfast?" He asked her planning to make them some food. And it was nice to be able to do this again, even if he wasn't really the cook of the band or anything and was no where near as skilled as a pro chef or anything of the sorts. He still liked to cook every so often when he was home, and it was nice to be able to stay in and cook himself and Emelie things. They didn't have to get dressed so they could leave and get food. And they didn't have to worry about being seen or anything. While he was home they could just lay around without ever getting properly dressed and do whatever they wanted. They could eat all the junk they wanted and just not have to worry about it. Being home for Louis meant being free from the fame for a while. Sure the paps still followed him around, they snapped his pictures, and when fans saw him out and about they'd stop him and talk to him, being home really meant he could have a few days off if he wanted. It meant even though he was still famous he didn't have to do anything. Because this was his time off, and each of the lads were taking this time to enjoy themselves and not worry or stress about everything they normally stressed about. They didn't have to stress about being ready for concerts, or interviews, they didn't have to worry about it all. It was his time to do things that he found relaxing.

---

Calliope finished off her third cinnamon bun then went to put her plate in the dish washer rolling her eyes at the first thing she heard Harry say. "But I did keep my promise... for the most part." She told him finally turning around to give him a sheepish smile and shrug of her shoulders. "I'm sorry. You know it's a bad habit. I mean the good thing is I kept it locked other than this one time." She told him, and she had. Of course that might've also been because Harry hadn't even been in town so there was no way he'd be walking in. And well as soon as he'd told her he was going to be home she'd just kind of unlocked her door so he could walk in whenever he got there. "It's just easier this way, I mean you don't have a key and what if I would've been in the shower or something when you got here and you couldn't get in. Then you'd be stuck in the hall bored to death waiting for me. And we both know that Ms. Cougar next door is like in love with you so there's no telling what she would've done. If my door's unlocked though you can just walk right in and avoid all possible chances of being hit on by her. Because you know I couldn't talk to you anymore if you shagged her, so in the long run it's better this way." She told him before she pushed the pan of cinnamon buns towards him. So maybe she'd still talk to him if he shagged her cougar of a neighbor, but she'd never let him live it down that she was sure of.

"Yes, please." Emelie said, a small smile on her face. "I put the kettle on for some tea a little bit ago if you want some. It should still be warm." She was so happy that he was home. Because he was away for a majority of each year, she really cherished the time that she got to spend with him. Sure, she was allowed to go visit him on tour, but it was always a bit chaotic when she did. Louis and the rest of the lads always had interviews and radio shows to do in addition to the shows they did for tour. Yes, they had days off between shows, but there was never really much privacy even then. Fans would approach them. Paps would try to snap some pictures. So, she really just loved days like this where they could just lounge about and relax. She knew that this wouldn't be the last one that they had while he was home. In fact, they did this quite frequently. Sometimes he took her out on proper dates, or he went to visit his family in Doncaster, she went with him most of the time, but they also liked to stay home in their flat a lot too.

---

"Keeping your promise for the most part isn't the same thing as keeping your promise, Cal." Harry said, shaking his head slightly. He knew that he probably sounded like an overprotective boyfriend, which was rather ironic seeing as that was the one thing that he wished to be considered, but he really just worried about her. She was one of his really good mates. He didn't want anything to happen to her. And he knew that he might worry a bit too much at times, but he only did it because he cared about her. He didn't do it to be a pest or anything like that. "You know we could completely resolve this issue if you'd just give me a spare key. You have one to my flat. I think it's only fair that I have one for yours." He didn't know why they had never done that. He felt like he was always lecturing her about locking her door every time he came over, and she always had the same exact excuse: she didn't want him getting locked out. "Oi! Just because I've had a thing for older women in the past does not mean I would actually stoop that low!" He retorted, pulling a bit of a face at the mere thought of shagging her cougar of a next door neighbor. He grabbed a cinnamon bun and nearly shoved the whole thing into his mouth. His mum would have a canary if she saw his lack of manners when he was around Calliope.

"Breakfast for two it is then." Louis said as he walked into the kitchen and started to make his way around to figure out what to make them. "And go figures you'd have a cuppa without me." He teased, while pulling out the stuff for pancakes. Normally he knew that Emelie wasn't an early riser, on a normal day she'd wake up around noon or so and let him sleep in with her on the first day of him being home from tour. Clearly she'd woken up early and was in a good mood this morning though. Considering it was barely ten a.m. and here he was fixing breakfast and about to make himself some tea just the way he liked it. Which was all leading up to him eventually sitting in the living room of his shared flat doing who knew what with his girlfriend. And he was more excited about that than anything else right now. "So any plans for today? Or are we staying in? Because we should I don't know watch movies, or play video games or something if we're not going anywhere." He told her knowing he didn't have any plans, he kind of wanted to spend his first back doing nothing. Laying around being chill and not stressing over anything. He just wanted it to be a calm day.

---

"I'm sorry." Calliope sighed biting her lip, "do you want some tea?" She asked him finally pulling him a mug out to fix him a cup. She wanted to drop the whole thing about her not locking her door. She didn't see it as nearly as big a deal as he did either. But she let him be overprotective and worry about her. Mostly because no matter what she said it wouldn't change anything, and because she'd feel really bad if she told him not to worry about her so much or made him feel like she didn't need him around. Plus she was close with her mum, who loved Harry and was always going on about how nice it was of him to look after her. Just she'd feel bad, kind of like how she felt bad now for breaking her promise. "We both know why I haven't given you a spare key Harry." She finally told him after setting his mug on the counter and pulling out the milk and sugar and fixing it the way she knew he liked it and pushing it in front of him. "Jake would totally flip out. I'd never hear the end of it. Plus I kind of gave him the spare a month ago because we've been talking about moving in together. And I mean it's nothing official yet or anything but it's a possibility." She told him tucking her hair behind her ear and hoping he'd be okay with that, "just wanted to make sure." She said taking a sip of her own tea and rolling her eyes at him again while she watched him stuff nearly the whole damn cinnamon bun in his mouth, and knowing his mum would flip if she saw his manners, or lack there of, when he was around her.

Emelie rolled her eyes playfully in response to his words. "At least I saved you some, you wanker!" She called after him, a wide grin tugging at the corners of her lips. She obviously didn't really mean what she said. She called him a wanker a lot and he liked to call her a brat. It was just something that they did. Most people would probably think that they were angry at each other, but those who knew them knew that they were only messing around. It was quite obvious when the two were angry with each other. They actually didn't speak and things were usually eerily quiet. A strong contrast to how things normally were with those two. She climbed out of bed, stretching her arms above her head, causing her baggy shirt to rise a bit and reveal part of her stomach, before following him down the hall and to the kitchen. She hopped up onto the counter a little ways away from the stove. "I was hoping that we'd stay in today. Netflix and video games sounds pretty amazing to me." She grinned.

---

Harry nodded. "Please." He said. He didn't say anything after that and just waited for her response. He had a feeling that he knew what she was going to say though. Everything always seemed to go back to him. Her boyfriend. Jake. Harry knew that being bitter wasn't going to solve his problems, but he couldn't quite help it. He had the one thing that Harry didn't. In all honesty, Harry would trade everything he had, his career, the fame, the fans, the money, all of it if it meant he could be with Calliope. He knew that that probably sounded a bit desperate and crazy, but it was the truth. He was in love with her, and she was with someone else. It sounded like a plot for a cheesy romantic comedy: popstar is secretly in love with his best friend who happens to already be taken. But it was reality for him. And it sucked. He swallowed his cinnamon bun before speaking. "Of course. How could I forget." He mumbled sarcastically.

Louis fixed himself a cup of tea to drink while he worked on fixing them breakfast. Looking up to smile at her when she said she was up for staying in, which he was thankful for. "That's good, because I didn't really wanna go out today anyways." He told her as he mixed the batter then turned around to turn on the stove and heat up the pan. "It'll be nice to stay in and spend the day with you. Just the two of us." He said knowing he'd wanted this for so long now. Just a day to spend with her, a day with out everything else. A day with no distractions. One where it was just them and they didn't have to do or worry about anything other than what movie or game to play and who was refilling the snacks. That was what he wanted today. To have a day to himself enjoying his time home. And maybe later in the week he'd take her out on a nice date, or they'd just go on a simple date, and some other day they could go out and do something. Maybe he'd take her shopping, or something he didn't know. But they could leave the flat some other day. Today was all about staying in and spending the day with the girl he hadn't had the pleasure of seeing in person alone in such a long time that he needed one day with her and nothing else. Sure she'd came to see him on tour a few times, and he video chatted with her every time they got the chance. But being alone with her where nothing else takes his attention and he was all hers hadn't happened in so long so today he was all hers.

---

Calliope reached out to take Harry's hand and give it a small squeeze. "Harry," she started before she just went for it and pulled him closer to herself so she could hug him. "You know you mean everything to me right?" She asked him resting her cheek against his chest. She hadn't really wanted to break the news that it was possible her and Jake would be living together to him like this. Really she hadn't wanted to tell him until she was sure she was going to go for it. Sure they were talking about it, he was pushing it and she was just trying to put it off though. She didn't know if she was ready, of course she didn't know what was holding her back either. But there was something holding her back from it. There was something keeping her from just telling him yes. And while she knew that Jake didn't like how close she was with Harry, always going on about how they were too chummy or whatever and he was worried Harry would try something, she wasn't worried about that. Somehow even though she knew Jake wasn't Harry's biggest fan that didn't bother her. Because Harry would always be her best friend and if Jake and her did live together and Harry didn't feel as comfortable coming over she'd just go to his place, so that wasn't what was keeping her from agreeing. But there was something keeping her from telling Jake to move in. She just wasn't sure what.

"I couldn't agree more." Emelie said softly, the smallest of smiles tugging at the corners of her lips. She honestly couldn't think of a more perfect way to spend Louis' first day back from tour. She wasn't one of those people who had to go out in order to have a good time. She was just as happy staying in and snuggling on the couch with her boyfriend while they watched movies or played some video games. "Plus I'm pretty sure that it's about time I kick your arse in Mario Kart again." She added, a cheeky grin spreading across her features. She was one of those girls who actually enjoyed playing video games. And it wasn't just Mario Kart or anything like that. She played COD with the lads sometimes and she even liked Halo and Fifa. And those who didn't know who were usually pretty shocked when she beat them because she was a girl. Which was extremely sexist in her opinion, but the shocked expression on their faces was always priceless.

---

Harry's gaze had shifted to his worn out boots when she reached for his hand and grasped it. He didn't like being bitter when it came to Calliope and her boyfriend, but he couldn't quite help it. And it wasn't just because he disliked the bloke, though that helped a bit, but because he envied the position that he had in her life. He wanted to be the one who she was thinking about moving in with. He wanted to be the one who she held hands with and be the last person she spoke to every night and first person she spoke to every morning. There was nothing else that he wanted more than that. And it frustrated him that he knew he couldn't have it. He almost tensed up when she hugged him, but refrained from doing so. Letting out a soft sigh, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I know. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be bitter. It just sucks, you know? He should trust you around me. Hell, he should trust me. We're best mates, Cal!"

Louis smiled and pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head before turing his attention back to the warm skillet. And about five minutes later he was pouring the batter out ready to the pancakes to be done because he was ready to eat them. "Psh. Please." Louis teased, "you didn't kick my arse I let you win." He told her, though they both knew she had kind of kicked his arse. Though he liked to blame his losing on the fact that Harry had called right in the middle of him about to win and taken his attention away from the game. Either way he didn't hold it against her or anything, hell she was pretty awesome when it came to video games and he'd admit to anyone who asked him that she was awesome and had on more than one occasion shown him up. He just liked to joke with her, because he'd won his fair share of games against her as well. It was almost like a healthy competition between the two of them most of the time. Which was good, they liked to keep each other on their toes and things didn't get boring. Sure maybe there had been a few times things might've been taken a bit too far, and when that happened sure they were quick to butt heads and it all lead to one of those eerily silences that Louis hated more than anything with her. And neither of them could take that very long, so they made up and just got over it, because at the end of the day they had each other. And Louis knew that he'd be broken and alone with out her and he'd do anything to keep her.

---

"I know." Calliope said softly before she finally pulled away, "and I wish you two could get along. I do. Because it would make things so much easier for all of us if you could, but I also know that's asking for a miracle. And I don't know why you don't like him since you refuse to tell me the truth. And don't try telling me you have because I don't believe you." She told him knowing that Harry's reasoning was kind of dumb, but if he didn't want to tell her the real reason then she didn't push it. "The thing is though that he doesn't trust you because we're so close. And I'm pretty sure he just knows that if it came down to it I'd pick you over him." She told him knowing that Jake felt threatened by Harry, and maybe Harry felt the same way, she didn't know. She just knew that they both made things so hard not liking one another. "And just so you know I don't know if I'm going to say yes to him. I don't know if I want to live with him. I don't know if I'm ready for that, I mean there are days when I tell myself that he's my soulmate and we're meant to be together so I should suck it up and stop being so afraid. But then there are days like today when I know that's just me afraid to admit that I feel like I'm meant to be with someone else. And I just don't know."

Emelie scoffed lightly. "Yeah, okay, because you totally let me win three times in a row." She said, sarcasm dripping from her words. She loved how competitive they both got when it came to video games. He was always trying to come up with excuses as to why she'd actually won, and she did the same thing sometimes. It was all in good fun though, and neither of them were really sore losers or anything. They both weren't all pissy if they lost to the other. It was only a game. Nothing more, nothing less. And it was just something that they both enjoyed doing together. "Just admit it. I totally kicked your arse, and I'm going to do it again today." She teased, a faint smirk tugging at the corners of her lips as she looked over to him. She honestly loved the fact that they could tease each other and joke around like this constantly. It was pretty obvious that they were both extremely comfortable around one another, and she found that that was extremely important when it came to a relationship.

---

Harry sighed softly. "I know that you want us to get along, Cal, but I don't think it's ever going to happen. He doesn't like me, and I don't like him. Our personalities just clash way too much." He shrugged his shoulders. And he has the one thing with you that I don't. He knew that his excuses for disliking Jake were never really that believable. He knew that she could see that he was lying through his teeth, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. He couldn't put her in that kind of a position. Not when she had a boyfriend and he was simply the best friend. Plus, he didn't want to ruin their friendship. He didn't know what he would do if he ever lost their friendship for being selfish and telling her how he felt. "You'd choose your best mate over your boyfriend?" he asked, eyebrows raising in surprise. "Well, maybe that's your answer right there. And if you aren't ready to live together, don't do it. Wait until you're ready."

"Duh. Of course I let you win three times in a row. Because that's what you do when you love someone, you let them win Mario Cart three times in a row." Louis teased sticking his tongue out at her. "Someone's really confident in themselves today." He said playfully rolling his eyes at her while he fixed up another few pancakes. "Okay, I'll admit that you did beat me the last time we played. But I still say it was only because Harry called and distracted me. And while I could have ignored his phone call the first time, but you know as well as I do that when Harry wants to tell me something he's going to call until I pick up. Leave about fifty messages along the way. And it was about his girl. Well she's not his girl yet because he hasn't told her how he felt and there's some other bloke in the way. I've told him a million times though that if he doesn't plan to step up and tell her how he feels he just needs to move on. But he won't listen." Louis said shrugging his shoulders. "The point is I would've won if he hadn't called me and talked my ear off about this girl while I was trying to race you." He told her matter-of-factly. His plan for this time was though that if Harry called he was going to ignore it until the race was over. That or make her pause the game so he could try and comfort his friend over this whole thing. Really Louis thought he should tell Calliope how he felt, make a move, and while she might've been with this other bloke that Harry didn't like, but from what Louis had gathered she felt something when she was around Harry. And maybe just didn't know what it was yet. So Harry needed to show her how she felt. What did he know though, he'd been totally lame and somehow won Emelie over with the ever so cliche accidently split my coffee on you trick. And it hadn't even really went over that well at first.

---

Calliope just decided to drop the whole thing about trying to get Harry to like Jake. Clearly he didn't like him, and wasn't going to give her a real answer. So whatever. Even though she knew he was holding something back she just wasn't going to push for an answer. "You say it like I'm breaking a law or something," she said sighing. "It might make me a terrible person, but it's true." She told him, "if I had to pick between the two of you I'd pick you. That doesn't mean you can give me an ultimatum though. It's just because I could get another boyfriend, I can't just get another best friend. You already have milage on you. Something that's taken a long time to get to where it is now. So yes. If I were ever forced to pick between the two of you I'd pick you." She told him knowing it was a bit crazy, and maybe he was right. Her answer was simple, she didn't want to live with Jake because she didn't love him. And that scared her. Because he was her boyfriend and at one point in time she'd been really happy with him. At one point in time she could've told anyone that she loved him, but now she wasn't so sure she could do that. "We should just drop this now though. Lets talk about something else." She finally told him not wanting to talk about this anymore. Clearly she had a lot of things she needed to think over when it came to Jake, and a lot of things she needed to figure out before he got home, but that would be for her to think about, and probably not something she should talk about with Harry. So she'd just lay around when he wasn't here sometime and think about everything. Right now though she just wanted to talk to Harry. And stop having what felt like the same argument she always had with him. Even if it wasn't an argument, it always felt like one.

"I wasn't aware that me kicking your arse at Mario Kart had anything to do with you loving me." Emelie said, a slightly amused expression on her face. "In fact, I'm pretty sure that they have nothing to do with each other at all...that could just be me though." She shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Alright, yeah. Blame the fact that I kicked your arse fair and square on the fact that Harry called you in the middle of a game. That's definitely it." Her words held evident sarcasm and she rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "Why's he so hung up on this girl anyway? Like you said, she's with someone else. If he really does love her though, he shouldn't let that stop him. And I know that probably sounds really bad, but he needs to show her what she's missing out on. If he doesn't do that, he's going to be friend-zoned forever." That was how she saw it anyway. If Harry didn't do something about this, the girl wasn't going to come to any sort of a realization. He needed to show her that he would be the better boyfriend and that he was the one that she should be with.

---

Harry frowned. "I didn't mean it like that, Cal." He said. He'd just been shocked that she'd choose him over Jake. It seemed like she was always choosing Jake over him in every other instance, but he didn't come out and tell her that. He was sure that would lead to a discussion that he didn't want to have. And that discussion would lead to an argument that he didn't want to have either. He'd just gotten back from tour and he hadn't seen his best friend in ages. The last thing he wanted to do was argue with her the first day he saw her since arriving back in the UK. "And I would never give you an ultimatum. You should know that. I don't like the bloke, but I wouldn't make you choose between the two of us." He told her honestly. He could never make her do something like that. He sighed softly and nodded. "Alright. What do you want to talk about?"

"Please, they go hand in hand." Louis joked as he went to grab a couple of plates while the last of the pancakes cooked. "All I know is that he's in love with her, and then this other bloke asked her out like an hour before Harry got the chance to tell her how he felt and she's been dating him since. Harry can't let his feelings go but doesn't want to tell her and possibly ruin their friendship, and I guess he'd rather be friendzoned than lose her all together. Honestly though I think she feels something for him she just isn't sure what, and no matter how many times I tell him to just go for it he doesn't listen and won't." He added wishing his friend would listen to him, because Louis hated seeing Harry so defeted over a girl, and while he knew there had to be something speical about her for Harry to be this hung up on her if Harry didn't go for it she might never be able to admit how she felt. Maybe she felt the same but was worried he didn't, classic best friends in love type thing there. He wasn't sure, he just knew that from where he stood Harry needed to step it up and just kiss her or something. "How many pancakes would you like love?" He asked while he took the last one off and slabbed some butter on it.

---

Calliope shrugged her shoulders trying to think of what they could talk about. Anything to get the topic off what it was on already would be fine with her at this point. She just couldn't take another second of talking to him about this, and she knew where talking about it would get them. Into some kind of stupid fight about her boyfriend, and while she loved Harry she wasn't about to fight with him about this anymore. Not on his first day home espeically. "Is it true that there's a girl you fancy? Because I've been on twitter a lot lately, and well everyone's convinced that you fancy some girl and they've been asking me all kinds of questions about it. But I couldn't really give them an answer because I don't know anything about this." She told him wondering if there really was a girl. If she was an American girl, or maybe not. Calliope just liked to stay caught up in her best friends life, and so if he fancied some girl she wanted to know. Plus if she was going to continue to be bombared by fans on twitter with questions about Harry's life she'd like to know what they were talking about. And while Harry hadn't mentioned a girl to her that didn't mean that there wasn't one.

"I guess I can see why he'd be worried about telling her..."Emelie said, frowning slightly. Really, wasn't that what a lot of guys worried about when they fell for someone who had always just been a friend of theirs? Sure, the whole thing was a bit cliche and rom-com like, but she honestly did sympathize with Harry. "Well, I hope that if he doesn't end up deciding to tell her the truth that he finds someone else. He deserves to be happy." She'd met all of the lads and knew them all fairly well, and Harry was a really sweet guy. He wasn't a womanizer like some of the tabloids made him out to be, and she felt like he deserved to be with someone who would make him happy. "Four please." She said with a smile. She was pretty hungry, and the pancakes smelled amazing.

---

Harry tried his hardest not to tense up at her words. What was he supposed to say? The last thing that he had expected was for her to ask him if he fancied a girl? And it was so beyond ironic that she happened to be the girl that he fancied. He couldn't tell her that though. He couldn't be that selfish. Not when she was still in a relationship with Jake. He couldn't put her in that sort of a situation. "The fans always think I fancy someone, Cal." He said, chuckling softly. "I'm photographed with a girl once and suddenly I'm dating her and we're planning out our entire life together all the way down to the number of kids we're having and the type of dog we're going to get. You know how it goes." He shrugged his shoulders before reaching out and grabbing another cinnamon bun, taking a bite out of it.

Louis nodded his head, "I hope so too." He said knowing it was true. Louis wanted his best mate to be happy even if that meant losing the girl he seemed to be in love with and starting a life with someone else. Sure he wanted Harry to actually get the girl he wanted, but the truth was he might not. While he wanted to believe that Calliope felt something for Harry maybe she felt stronger for the bloke she was already with. Either way whatever happened he wanted Harry to be happy. "Are you hungry this morning" he joked with her while he piled up four pancakes on her plate and then handed her the plate with the syrup. He knew how she was about syrup, she didn't like nearly as much as he did and always complained about how he'd put too much on her plate so he let her do that part on her own so he wouldn't get yelled at. Even though he knew she wouldn't mean anything by it. He just didn't want to put too much on her plate like he normally did.

---

Calliope hopped up onto the counter while she watched Harry. And she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something bothering Harry. She knew him, and she knew when he wasn't telling her something. And right now there was something he wasn't telling her. "This is differnt though, because they don't know who it is. Well I don't think they do. I mean there've been a few fans who claim that it's me, but most of them aren't sure. And they were just asking if I knew anything some mystery girl." She told him taking a sip of her tea. "Even if there isn't a girl, you know you can tell me anything right?" She asked him, and she wouldn't judge him. No matter what it was she wouldn't. Harry was her best friend, and while she didn't always agree with him, she didn't always like the girls he dated, and sometimes she thought he made stupid descisions, but at the end of the day he was still her best friend and she knew that he probably felt the same about her.

Emelie rolled her eyes in response to her boyfriend's words. "Don't be a wanker." She warned, shooting a playful glare his way as she hopped down from the counter and took her plate and the syrup with her to the table. She knew that he was only joking with her, and she was only joking with him too. That was how they always with her. Teasing each other and joking around. She took a seat at the table and poured syrup over her pancakes, glad that Louis hadn't since he always managed to put too much on them. Not that it was really the end of the world, but she never liked too much syrup on her pancakes. It was just how she'd always eaten them.

---

Harry gave his shoulders a slight shrug. "They don't need to know everything about me and each aspect of my life." He said before popping the rest of the cinnamon bun in his mouth. He had a feeling that she could tell that something was off with him, but he was glad that she hadn't really called him out on it. Because she'd done that in the past. And, seeing as she'd already caught him off guard, he was thankful that she hadn't this time around. "Of course, Cal. I trust you more than I trust most people." he offered her a small smile. "These are really good." He said, changing the subject as he grabbed another cinnamon bun.