My Little Bird

"Well well, look what we have here."

Asher's eyes flew open at the sound of the voice that definitely wasn't Harry's and she found herself face down in her pillow, which was now stained with her makeup from the wedding. She attempted to sit up but the heavy weight on her body prevented her from doing so. The sleeping boy using her upper back as his pillow groaned unhappily at being woken up by his friend and he exhaled heavily, his warm breath tickling her skin as he retracted his arm from around her waist.

He rolled over back onto the empty side of the bed and the warmth that the contact with his body had supplied throughout the night disappeared, causing her to shiver as the cold hotel room air hit her bare back. She quickly pulled the duvet up further to cover herself before propping up on her elbows and glancing over her shoulder at Louis, who stood at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest and an amused smirk on his face.

"Mornin', you two. Sleep well, did ya?"

Asher quickly ducked her head under the blankets and flopped back down onto the mattress, curling her body into Harry's side as she hid from both of them, her cheeks flushing a hot pink. Harry just laughed at her reaction as he slid one arm under the covers to rub his hand against her bare shoulder, but she poked him in the ribs, causing him to let out a squeal similar to that of her eight year old sister.

"Hate to break you two lovebirds up, but El's waitin' for you, Ash. Said you need to come back and get ready."

She peeked out from under the duvet and Harry pulled it back off of her head completely as she glanced over at the alarm clock on the night stand between the two beds to see that it was already after 7:30. "Shit!" She almost jumped right out of bed until she remembered that Louis was still in the room and she clutched the sheets to her chest as she sat up and twirled her finger at him, signaling him to turn around.

As soon as his back was turned, she threw the covers back and got up, pulling her clothes back on as fast as she could. She didn't even worry about grabbing her shoes as she dashed from the room in last night's dress and down the hall to the room she was sharing with her cousin. Eleanor was curling her hair at the bathroom mirror when she slipped into the room, exhaling loudly as she shut the door and leaned against it.

"You are a naughty little thing," she teased, setting the curling iron down on the counter and turning to her cousin with a grin.

Asher covered her face with both hands, the blush coming back to her cheeks as she laughed. "I can't believe I did that."

"Well, as much as I want to talk about this, and believe me we will talk about this, you're running out of time to get ready so I suggest you get to it!"

She swore under her breath as she made a beeline for the bathroom where she took the quickest shower of her life. Then, she quickly dried her hair while Eleanor laid out something for her to wear on the bed. She hurried to pull on the coral colored dress while her cousin retrieved a brush and some bobby pins to do her hair. With the shortage of time, she was only able to do a simple style, twisting two strands from the front and pinning them back.

She didn't really have time to put on any makeup at all, but she had slight bags under her eyes from not getting much sleep so she did it anyway. While she was working to cover them up as best as she could, Eleanor chuckled and leaned against the doorway behind her. "Don't forget to cover up the love bites."

"What?!" she shrieked, dropping her tube of concealer and leaning closer to the mirror to get a better look as she moved her hair off her shoulder. There were several purplish red marks littering her skin, one right below her jaw under her ear, one right in the middle on her throat, and one in the spot right above her collarbone. She was thankful that Eleanor had noticed them because she surely wouldn't have. She covered them up as well as she possibly could and then she moved her hair back so that they were completely covered. She'd just have to remember to keep her hair in the same position for the whole time.

She was sliding her feet into the wedges Eleanor had lent her when the boys knocked on the door, ready to go. She envied how simple and quick it was for them, not having to do anything with their hair or put on makeup or hide hickeys. Well, that's what she thought until Harry stepped in front of her, bending forward slightly to whisper in her ear. "You're lucky I brought a shirt with a collar."

"Not doin' much for that one though, now is it?" she retorted, pressing her index finger to the small bruise on his throat.

He pulled back to look at her surprised as his hands immediately moved to his neck. "There's another one?" Asher laughed at him as he walked over to the mirror to inspect the mark. "How did I miss that? It's even more obvious than the other ones!"

"Come here," she sighed, picking up her tube of concealer and grabbing his hand to pull him over to the bed.

"You're not puttin' makeup on me," he objected, shaking his head.

"You're not going to breakfast with that giant hickey on your neck! I had to cover mine; you can cover yours." Harry pouted but didn't protest further as he flopped down onto the end of the bed with a heavy sigh. Eleanor and Louis were both standing by the door watching them with amused looks on their faces.

"Shall we just meet you in the lobby then?"

"We'll try to hurry," Asher promised as she nodded at her cousin. The two left the room and she sat down next to him on the bed, uncapping the tube in her hand and squeezing some of the concealer out onto her fingertip. He was quiet while she applied it to the mark on his neck; his skin was a bit more tan than hers so it wasn't a perfect match, but she blended it as best as she possibly could. "Alright, done."

She got up from the bed and dropped the tube back into her makeup bag before turning back to him where he was still sitting, staring hard at the wall like he was deep in thought. He seemed to snap out of it when she touched her hand to his cheek and he blinked a few times before looking up at her. "You okay?"

Harry stood up, holding his hand out to her and he smiled when she took it, squeezing her hand gently. "Let's get going."

Asher couldn't help but notice that he didn't answer her question and that automatically put the thoughts into her head that maybe he was regretting what had happened the night before. Her palm became clammy in his but he kept a tight hold on it, their fingers laced together, as they walked down the hallway to the elevator. The ride down to the ground floor was silent except for the soft music playing in the background.

Louis and Eleanor were waiting on one of the sofas near the door in the lobby and together they all walked back to the same venue as the night before. Instead of being inside the conservatory, they would all be having breakfast in the garden outside. The temperature was a bit cool since it was only a few minutes past 8:30 in the morning and the garden was beautifully decorated. There was one long dark wood table in the center with carved white wood chairs, fourteen on either side and one on each end. It was decorated with soft mint colored table runners and vases, and the vases held a mix of white and pale yellow flowers. Elegant china was set out for each chair and there were small golden place cards in each of the plates.

Asher took her seat between Harry and her younger sister Millie and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes when she saw that her mother and father were going to be seated directly across the table from her, her mother in front of Harry and her father in front of her. Iris sat at the end of the table next to Millie and Flora sat on her other side next to their dad. Eleanor and Louis were on Harry's other side, across from Eleanor's parents. Asher decided she would rather have been seated on the other end of the table with John's family, whom she didn't know, than there with her own judgmental parents and her embarrassing but endearing sisters.

After everyone was seated at the table, Sarah and John stood up to make their speech about how wonderful everything had turned out and how grateful they were that their families could all be there. Shortly after they had finished, everyone made a beeline to the tables on the other side of the small garden where all the food was set up. Each table had a different food: one with an omelette station, one with various breakfast meats, one with crumpets and pastries, and one with fresh fruit. Everyone had their choice of tea or coffee, but Asher and her sisters opted for glasses of orange juice instead.

The light-hearted chatter going on while everyone ate didn't extend to the Maxwell family. Asher could hear Eleanor's mother and Louis engaging in polite conversation on Harry's other side and her two youngest sisters were giggling about something across the table, but she was silent as she chewed her food. Harry was sitting stiffly next to her and she could tell that the looks her mother was shooting him were making him uncomfortable. Iris sat at the head of the table, just watching and waiting.

"So, Asher, honey, how are you enjoying London?"

She took a sip of her orange juice and set her glass down carefully before finally looking up at her father. "It's been great so far. Eleanor's been a great hostess. I've gotten to explore a lot of the city and I've made some really good friends."

Her eyes briefly shifted to Harry, who had a small smile on his face at her words, and she smiled back until her mother's sharp look tore her eyes away from Harry's. The woman raised her eyebrows questioningly but there was something about the look on her face that let Asher know the storm was coming.

"So Harry, Asher tells me you're not attending university. How do you plan to support yourself in the future without an education?"

Asher's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open at her mother's blunt, prying question. "Mom!" she whispered in horror.

Harry didn't look fazed by the question on the outside as he gave the woman a polite smile. "It's not a problem, Mrs. Maxwell. I've been very blessed in my career thus far." Inwardly, he was panicking. He knew that there was no way he was going to be able to avoid her inevitable next question.

"What exactly do you do?"

There it was-- the question he'd been dreading. Both of her parents were eyeing him carefully, but now she joined them, waiting for an answer. In the almost two months that they had known each other, he'd never once mentioned what he did and she had never asked. Now that she realized that they had never talked about it, she was genuinely interested to hear his answer.

It was thanks to the second oldest Maxwell that the attention was pulled away from him. No one had noticed Iris toppling over until she and her chair were landing on the soft grass. Both Asher and Harry were immediately on their feet while everyone else watched in surprise and concern. She was already sitting up when Asher knelt down next to her, brushing the younger girl's dark blonde hair out of her face. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just got dizzy."

"Are you sure?"

She just laughed. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Maybe you should go and lie down, Iris," her mother suggested with a frown.

Iris nodded slowly and looked up at the boy leaning down next to her sister, a worry line creased into his forehead. "I think that's a good idea. Harry, would you walk me back?"

His eyebrows shot up at her question and he glanced down at Asher to get her reaction. She was looking at him hopefully so he nodded his head, barely catching the wink Iris gave him when Asher wasn't looking. "Sure," he agreed suspiciously. "Come on, let's get you up." He and Asher carefully pulled her to her feet and they both kept their hands up in case she was about to topple over again. "You okay?"

Iris nodded again and turned to her sister. "Thank God I wore a long dress," she laughed. "Come say goodbye before you guys leave, okay?"

"Sure thing, sis."

Harry took her left hand with his left, keeping his right arm up behind her back just in case as they walked out of the garden slowly, putting on a good show after Iris's fake dizzy spell. Asher settled back into her seat and looked over at Eleanor and Louis, who she could actually see now that Harry's broad body wasn't blocking her view. "Is she okay?"

"I think so. She probably just needs some rest." Obviously, she knew it wasn't normal to just get dizzy and fall off a chair, but neither of her doctor parents seemed overly concerned by it, so she assumed Iris really was fine.

Despite the fact that Harry was momentarily gone, the tension between her and her mother was still a bit too much for her to handle so she quietly excused herself from the table and went to find a place to hide. There was a small wrought iron bench nestled between two trees, completely hidden from the area of the garden where her family was so she waited there for a few minutes before she went back.

Mostly everyone was finished eating now and they were all up from the table, standing around and chatting as the women sipped on mimosas. As soon as Asher's eyes landed on the flutes full of alcohol, she made a beeline for the small table where they were set out. She picked one up and took a sip from it, thanking her lucky stars that there was some alcohol available to her.

"Asher, right?" She glanced over her shoulder just as a young man approached her and gave her a grin as she nodded. "I'm Gregory. John's cousin." He looked about her age, with spiked light brown hair and honey colored eyes, his navy blue bowtie sitting slightly crooked against the collar of his pale yellow dress shirt.

She switched her glass to her left hand so that she could shake his extended hand. "Nice to meet you."

"So, American, eh?"

"Yep. I'm staying in London with my cousin for the summer."

"Enjoying it so far?"

"Definitely. It's been really great."

He nodded thoughtfully but then a small smirk appeared on his face and she immediately took notice when he stepped closer to her. "I hope this isn't too forward of me to ask, but that bloke you're here with-- is he your boyfriend?"

She watched him closely for a moment as his eyes flickered back and forth between her eyes and her mouth. She seriously considered saying yes just because she already didn't like the kid, but she didn't need her mother overhearing. She finished her drink and picked up another before she answered him. "No, he's not. We're just friends."

"Mm, the kind of friends who snog apparently."

"Excuse me?"

He just smirked, lifting his hand to brush back some of the hair off her neck. "A very good snog from the looks of it too."

She glared at him, thoroughly annoyed as she rearranged her hair back and started on her second drink. A long arm snaked around her shoulders and she turned her head to see Harry grinning down at her. "Miss me?"

"You have no idea," she muttered. "She okay?"

"Oh, she's fine. Just a bit knackered I think."

She turned back to introduce Greg to Harry but he had already walked away, much to her confusion and relief. Harry noticed the sour look on her face and his brows furrowed as he ducked his head down a bit to look her in the eye. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. That guy was just annoying."

"What did he do?"

Asher felt his body tense as he stood up straight and looked around her to where the boy was now standing with his father on the opposite side of the garden. She shook her head and patted his chest gently before tipping back her second glass. "He just doesn't understand what is and isn't acceptable conversation with strangers."

Harry watched her carefully as she set down the empty flute and picked up another full one. She took a long sip from it before she looked up at him again. "Hey, here's a question."

"Yes?" he asked warily.

"How many of these do you think it'll take to get me drunk?" she half whispered, tapping the side of the glass with her fingertips. He laughed, shaking his head as she looked down at the liquid in the glass she was holding and swirled it around a bit before taking another sip. "I know it's just a mimosa, but I'm kind of a lightweight."

"How many have you had already?"

"Um.....this is the third. Or it could be the fourth actually. Well maybe-"

"If you don't know for sure, that's probably not such a good sign," he chuckled. His fingers wrapped around the half empty flute and he gently tugged it out of her hand without protest. "Don't need you gettin' sloshed at breakfast, lightweight."

Asher shrugged her shoulders and turned to walk over to where Eleanor and Louis were standing, speaking quietly to each other and Harry followed as soon as he had set her glass back on the table. "We have to get going," Eleanor was saying when approached. "We're supposed to check out of the hotel by eleven."

Harry glanced down at his watch. "It's a quarter past ten already."

"We still have to get all our shit packed. Or at least I do," Asher sighed. She knew Eleanor had most likely packed up all her things when she got up that morning but she hadn't exactly had the time.

"Guess we should start sayin' our goodbyes then."

The two girls split off in different directions, their dates following on their heels as they went around to the various members of their families to say goodbye. Her cousin Sarah surprised her by crying a bit as she hugged her and she made her promise to come back and visit more often. William cracked a joke at her expense and her grandmother only gave her a stiff, awkward half hug. She didn't bother saying goodbye to any of John's family, particularly his cousin Gregory. She spoke to Rosie for a few minutes while Harry quietly excused himself, but she didn't see where he'd actually gone until William pulled Rosie away.

Flora was running toward him at full speed and she jumped up, squealing as he hoisted her up into his arms and spun around in circles while she giggled with delight. Asher couldn't help but smile. Flora had never taken to anyone so quickly as she had to Harry.

"Not your boyfriend," a voice said from behind her. "Right."

She glanced back at her mother only for a second before turning her attention back to the boy across the garden, just as Flora threw her small arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "He's really not, Mom," she sighed, raking a hand through her hair. "But if he was, then I'd be damn lucky to have him."

Without giving her a chance to respond, Asher walked away from her and over to where Harry was standing with Millie, looking down at Flora as she talked animatedly. A wide grin spread across his face when he saw her and his arm immediately went around her shoulders as he pulled her into his side. "Your sisters have been telling me some quite embarrassing stories about you."

"I'm not surprised," she replied flatly. "Which ones in particular? I've done plenty of embarrassing things."

"Well, there was the one where you sang all of 'Hey Jude' at the top of your lungs before you realized they were all standing there in the doorway listening. Then there was the one where your phone went off in the middle of Christmas Mass. And then there was the one where you walked face first into a glass door."

"Ah yes, fond memories," she muttered sarcastically, shooting Millie a glare.

"Oh! Remember when you took us to the beach and-"

Asher quickly slipped her hand over her youngest sister's mouth and shook her head. "Flora, you know we never talk about that beach trip. We forget that it ever happened."

Flora just giggled while Harry raised his eyebrows at her and gave her a sly grin, making the dimples in his cheeks even more pronounced. "Well, now you've peaked my interest. You have to tell the story now."

"Nope."

"But I really want to hear it."

"No, trust me, you really don't." He chuckled, squeezing her tighter for a moment before letting her go completely. "Alright," she sighed, pulling Millie into a tight hug. "We have to get going. Be good, okay?"

Millie rolled her eyes playfully. "Yeah, right. I'm an angel."

She picked Flora up next and squeezed her tightly. "Be good, kid. I'll see you in about a month, alright?"

"You be good," the child retorted with a grin before kissing Asher's forehead and squirming out of her arms. "Don't forget to buy me a present from London!" she shouted, giggling as she ran away.

Harry laughed as he took Asher's hand, lacing their fingers together. "Ready to go?"

"Beyond ready."

The walk back to the hotel seemed to take much longer this time, but it was probably because they were on a time crunch. They went straight to their respective rooms and changed out of their dress clothes into comfortable clothes for the ride home before packing all their things. Harry brought Asher's heels from his room and she stuffed them into her bag before doing a final sweep of the room to make sure they hadn't left anything.

The boys packed their bags into the boot of Harry's Range Rover and they all loaded into the SUV to drive to the hotel where the rest of the Maxwells had stayed for the week. Eleanor insisted on coming up with Asher to say goodbye so they all four piled out of the car to go inside. Harry directed them to the ninth floor and down the hallway to room 912 and he knocked lightly on the slightly ajar door before pushing it open and letting the girls walk in first.

Iris was lounging on top of the duvet in her pink flannel pajamas, the remote control in one hand and the other hand buried deep in a bag of chocolate chip cookies. She smiled when they walked in and got up from the bed. Asher smoothed her sister's blonde hair down with her palm before dropping her hand to her shoulder. "You feelin' okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," she said, waving her off. "Just tired. Nothing an afternoon of being lazy won't cure."

Asher picked up the can of soda that her sister had set out on the nightstand and took a sip. "Are you guys going home today?"

"Yeah, flight's at 5 this afternoon, I th-.....Oh my God!" Iris's mouth dropped open as she stared at her sister's neck but then she laughed and turned to Harry, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You dirty boy, you!"

Harry looked like a deer caught in headlights while Louis laughed loudly and Asher's free hand immediately flew to her neck. She hadn't even thought about the marks when she'd pulled her hair back into a braid in the car on the way over. Iris smirked at her sister, throwing her arm over the older girl's shoulders. "Well done, sis. Really."

"Please shut up."

"Now I know why you didn't answer your cell phone last night. Hey!" she whined, turning to Eleanor. "You lied to me! You said she was in the shower when I called your room."

Eleanor shrugged, a grin pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Well she'd have killed me if I told you what she was really doing."

"Or who," Iris added, laughing again.

"Oh my God," Asher groaned, looking down at the can in her hand. "Please be poison."

"Aw, I'm just messing with you, sis. You know I love you. Besides, could you have picked a hotter guy?"

"Yes, Iris, thank you. Please stop talking." Asher glanced over at Harry, who was trying not to smile as he looked at the floor, his cheeks a bright shade of pink, and she was sure that hers were exactly the same color. "We really have to get going now."

"Do you have to?"

"Yes. Mom and Dad and the girls will be back soon anyway and I'd rather not be here for that."

"Did she even say goodbye to you?"

"Not really, no. But you know how she is."

Iris nodded sadly and enveloped her sister in a hug. "I just miss you, ya know? This is the first summer you haven't been home and it just hasn't been the same."

"I'll be home in just a few weeks," Asher reminded her as she pulled back and rested her hands on her shoulders.

"Yeah, but then you'll only be there for like a week before you move back to Tallahassee for school." Iris glanced up at her sister, noticing the guilty look on her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad. You definitely deserved this trip."

"I'm sorry I haven't been there for you like I should have. I promise I'll try to do better."

Iris hugged her again before letting her go and moving on to hug Eleanor and then the boys. She said something into Harry's ear before she let him go but Asher didn't notice. Eleanor led the way out the door and both boys followed her but Asher lingered for a moment, giving her sister one final hug. "Be good, okay?"

"Please," Iris chuckled. "You are the one who needs to be good." Asher rolled her eyes playfully as she walked toward the door and her younger sister shouted one more piece of advice to her just as she reached the door. "Hey, don't get pregnant!"

"Shut up!" she shouted over her shoulder while Iris just laughed in response.

"Love you!"

"Love you too. Have a safe trip home."

"You too."

Eleanor, Louis, and Harry were waiting in the hallway next to the door and Asher immediately muttered an apology to the boy closest to her, the flush of embarrassment still on his cheeks. He just gave her a small smile and snaked his arm around her shoulders, planting a kiss on her temple before pulling her in the direction that Louis and Eleanor had started in.

Once they were back in the car and on the A23 back to London, Asher was finally able to actually sit back and think about everything that had happened over the weekend. She kept glancing up at the seat diagonal to her and every time, Harry looked like he was deep in thought, chewing on his bottom lip and staring straight ahead at the road in front of him.

A little over an hour and a half later, they were pulling up outside of Eleanor's flat. They all piled out of the car and the girls went to the boot to retrieve their bags. Louis took Eleanor's bag from her hand and Asher grabbed hers before following them to the front steps, but Harry called her name from where he was standing by the driver's side door. She glanced at Eleanor and Louis but Louis just smiled and took her bag before nodding his head toward his friend and following Eleanor inside.

Asher walked back down the steps and over to where he was standing, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black jeans. He looked nervous, which was something she hadn't really seen in him before. She stood there silently while she waited for him to say whatever it was on his mind. She just hoped it wasn't what she thought it might be.

"I think we should have a proper date."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she studied his face carefully. "Really?"

"That is, if you want to," he added quickly.

"You're asking me out?" she asked, her expression a mixture of disbelief, amusement, and pure giddiness.

He cracked a smile, sliding his hands onto her hips and pulling her closer to him. "Would that be alright with you?"

She shrugged nonchalantly and threw her arms around his neck, her fingers playing with the curls at the back of his neck. "I guess that'd be okay."

"Come over tonight. I'll make you a nice dinner."

"You? Make dinner? That doesn't sound right....."

"I may have a few tricks up my sleeve, thank you very much."

She laughed. "Alright, if you insist."