My One and Only

Nicole tip-toed through Harry’s flat, anxious to know if he’d finally come home after their fight the previous day. It was mid-afternoon, and she’d avoided the kitchen, living room, and basically any room that wasn’t her own because she was afraid of seeing Harry in case he was still furious about her waiting so long to tell him about the baby. Eventually, she became too hungry to hide in her room any longer and she started down the corridor. She could hear someone fumbling around in the kitchen, so she lingered outside the doorway, peering around the corner in order to try and see who was in there.

“He’s not back yet,” Louis said, appearing suddenly with a teapot in one hand and a mug in the other. Nicole let out a relieved sigh as she pushed past him, incredibly eager to eat the first thing she found in the fridge. “You must have done something really bad.”

Nicole shrugged her shoulders, eager for Louis to drop the subject. She wasn’t too optimistic about that happening though because he seemed completely incapable of taking a hint. “I’m not going to talk about it with you.”

“Oh, c’mon Nicole. I think I’ve proved myself worthy of your trust, and besides, I’ve shipped you and Harry since I first met you all those months ago.”

Nicole rolled her eyes, although slightly amused at his use of the term ‘shipped’. She really did believe Louis was in favor of her and Harry being together, but she didn’t know him well enough or trust him enough to tell him about the baby. With a slip of his tongue to anyone it would be inevitable that the rest of the band and the media would quickly find out about the news.

“I think it’s something Harry should tell you.”

“If he ever comes home.”

“Shut up,” Nicole insisted, taking a swig directly from the jug of apple juice. “He’s just being Harry right now—an over-dramatic baby. He’ll get over it soon enough, I’m sure.”

“And until then, tell me what happened!”

“Louis—no! Listen, I’ve got to go.”

“Go? Where are you possibly going to go?”

“Next door to Zayn’s.”

“Zayn? You’re going to have a heart-to-heart with him instead of me? I’m hurt.” Louis placed a hand to his heart, and Nicole rolled her eyes. It was obvious why Louis and Harry were such good mates; they were so similar, so dramatic.

“I’m hoping Emily will be there.”

“Emily?”

“Zayn’s girlfriend ya wanker.” Nicole replied before putting the apple juice away and grabbing a bagel from the bag on the counter. She took a bite before walking towards the front of the flat to slip into a pair of shoes.

“I know that. I just wasn’t aware the two of you were mates.”

“If it wasn’t obvious already, there are a lot of things I don’t tell you.”

“And I think that should change, starting with what happened between you and Harry!”

“See ya later, Lou.” Nicole said before shutting the front door behind her and making the short walk to Zayn’s flat. She found it quite hilarious that all the lads lived within such a small vicinity of each other; one would think they’d get tired of each other after spending so much time together on tour.

She knocked a couple times and waited patiently for someone to answer. She realized she would feel quite stupid if Zayn wasn’t home, but especially silly if Emily wasn’t there as well. She knew it would’ve made more sense to text Emily and see what she was doing at the moment, but she’d forgotten to get her number from Harry, and since he wasn’t around at the moment, this was her best chance at getting some girl-talk in and hopefully some good advice on what to do now before her doctor’s appointment later that night.

When the door swung open, Nicole let out a sigh of relief as her eyes met a pair of dark brown ones. “Nicole?”

“Hiya Zayn.” She said softly as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

“Hi, what can I do for ya?”

“Is Emily here?”

He looked over his shoulder before returning his gaze to Nicole and stepping aside in order for her to come inside. “She’s in the kitchen.”

“Brilliant.” Nicole walked pass the Bradford lad and further into his flat, she hesitated a moment as she looked around searching for the right way to get to the kitchen.

“Through there,” he said, pointing down a corridor to the right. Nicole smiled at him before following his directions; it wasn’t long before she was being greeted by Emily’s singing as she stirred something over the stove.

“Hi,” Nicole said loudly, startling Emily a bit. The blonde girl spun around on her heel to see who was there, and as her pea-green eyes met Nicole, her cheeks flushed a violent shade of red like a tomato.

“Oh my goodness, Nicole, what a surprise! ‘Tis lovely to see you.”

Nicole smiled as she walked forward before leaning against the counter in order to see what Emily was cooking. It seemed she was making macaroni and cheese, and the very thought of it made Nicole drool.

“I have to tell you something,” Nicole said quietly, looking around quickly in order to make sure they were alone and Zayn wasn’t eavesdropping. Emily leaned closer, and once she was sure the coast was clear, she continued, “I told Harry about the baby.”

Emily’s eyes immediately widened. “Did you? And how did that go?”

Nicole sucked in a sharp breath and took a moment to reply, she felt like crying just thinking about it. “Awful. He went mental, like I expected, but he stormed out and didn’t come home last night.”

“Wow,” she muttered, looking up at Nicole through the corner of her eye. “That seems a little extreme.”

Nicole shrugged her shoulders. “I guess, but I mean, he had every right to act that way.”

“I suppose, seems a little overboard to just leave though. You’d think he’d want to talk things through.”

“He’s mad because I’m considering adoption.”

“Boys are stupid, honestly. He’s 18 and you’re 19, having a kid won’t be as easy as it looks on those trashy American reality shows.”

“Yeah, I dunno. I didn’t mean to upset him, you know that. I just want to do the right thing.” Nicole let out an exasperated gasp before Emily dropped her spoon on the counter and turned sharply towards her friend. She reached her arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug, waiting a few minutes before releasing her.

“You will do the right thing, I know it Nicole, don’t let Harry worry you. I’m sure he’ll come around, and if not, well, we’ll figure out something.”

Nicole laughed before running her tongue between her teeth and crossing her arms over her chest. Of course, she wanted to believe Emily. She wanted things to work their selves out and she wanted Harry to be alright with the adoption, but with his reaction yesterday, that seemed less than likely.

“What are you two going on about?” Zayn asked from the doorway; Emily’s face instantly lit up at the sight of him, it was quite adorable.

“Girly stuff, babe.”

“Gossiping, yeah?”

Emily replied with a quick nod, forcing a low laugh from Zayn. “I don’t want to be annoying, but when will lunch be ready?”

“In just a moment. Nicole, will you be joining us?”

“No, no, I better get going. I have a doctor’s appointment to get to.” Emily offered her a smile before returning to her meal.

“Walk her to the door, Zayn!” Emily demanded a bit louder than either he or Nicole expected. She began laughing loudly at the expressions on their faces before giving Zayn a slight nudge, letting him know she was serious.

“See you soon, Emily.” Nicole said, offering a wave before turning to leave the room.

“Bye, I hope everything goes well sweetie.”

Zayn and Nicole walked in silence; they hadn’t spent much time together since their night in New Zealand when both their dates had ditched them. Nicole wasn’t sure if he knew about what’d happen between her and Niall or not, she liked to believe only Harry knew the whole truth—well, aside from Niall and Sage of course. She didn’t want people knowing her business, and she especially didn’t want to come between the band like Yoko Ono or something, even though the fans had accused her of doing that since day one.

“Nicole,” Zayn spoke softly as they approached the front door. She turned to look at him, but he was avoiding eye contact. “I know what happened between Sage and Niall; she told me one night after we got back from New Zealand when she was drunk.”

Well there goes her theory about people not knowing.

“What’re you getting at Zayn?”

He cleared his throat before continuing, but he still wouldn’t look at her. “I just—I think you made the right decision by breaking up with him, but you should know-” he stopped mid-sentence to collect his thoughts, and after about a half-minute he continued. “Niall was really worried about your relationship with Harry the whole time you were dating, and I know that isn’t any excuse for him to cheat on you, but you should know he really does love you and not Sage and he’s really upset about everything that happened.”

Nicole pressed her lips together in a tight line, unable to believe what Zayn was telling her. Obviously, he’d had quite a few heart-to-hearts with Niall before and after their breakup, and it was clear he knew more about what Niall was feeling than anyone else, but she wasn’t sure if that changed things or not. Sure, she loved Niall and even missed him a lot more than she’d ever imagined, but could she actually get back together with him? Could she actually forgive him for cheating on her because she’d made him so insecure by having unresolved feelings for Harry? She had so many unanswered questions that she just didn’t have time to find the answers to right now.

“Thanks for telling me that Zayn, but I really have to go.” Nicole began to walk out the door when Zayn quickly clutched her wrist. He yanked her backward until she was centimeters away from him, his expression was completely serious.

“Don’t you dare think about getting back together with Niall if you’re still in love with Harry though, Nicole. He deserves better than that, even if you don’t think so.”

Nicole didn’t reply and eventually Zayn released her. She gave him one last panicked look before making her way out the flat. She walked slowly back to Harry and Louis’, but her heart was racing the entire time. Zayn’s words had really hit her hard; they’d really gotten her thinking about her feelings for Harry and her feelings for Niall. She wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted at the moment. She was constantly changing her mind, and she liked to blame that on the pregnancy. All her hormones and emotions were out of whack; she couldn’t even begin to explain how she made half of her decisions.

When she finally walked through the front door, she was surprised to see Louis and Harry sitting in the front room waiting for her. Harry was sitting hunched over with his face in his hands and a large shopping bag resting at his feet. Louis was talking softly, most likely giving his mate some friendly advice. Louis fell silent when he spotted Nicole, and Harry quickly looked over his shoulder. The second their eyes met, Nicole felt like crying, but she sucked back the tears and kept her composure even as Harry jumped to his feet and made his way over to her.

“Coley,” he reached to grab her hand, and she let him, his touch sending shivers up her spine. “Can we go to my room and talk?”

“Yeah, sure.” His lips twisted into a small smile before he quickly grabbed his bag and started down the corridor towards his room. Louis offered Nicole a reassuring smile before she hesitantly followed after the curly-haired lad. Once they were both in his room, he shut the door and turned to look at Nicole. He closed the space between them a couple long strides before tossing his bag on his bed.

“Nicole, please, hear me out—don’t say anything until I’m finished, okay?”

“What’s going on Harry?”

“Promise me, okay?”

“Fine, fine. I promise.”

“Alright, for starters, I want to apologize for overreacting yesterday. It’s not every day your ex-girlfriend tells you she’s pregnant with your child.” She bit her tongue to keep from replying, she wanted to tell him it was alright and that she understood, but he’d asked her not to talk, and he hadn’t when she understood everything.

“Also, I know you’re pretty set on giving the baby up for adoption, but I want you to know I’m willing to do whatever it takes to raise this baby. I think I would make a good father, and I want you to seriously consider it. I know I’ll be touring a lot at first, but I have the money to buy whatever the baby needs, and I can buy you a house! I can even by us conjoining houses or something, so we’re not technically living together, but if we ever need something we’ll literally be right next door, and we can have our own separate lives at the same time. Oh, I also bought these outfits today-” Harry reached for his bag before pulling out a small, yellow onesie and a tiny black t-shirt.

“The lady at the store said yellow was a neutral color, but if we have a boy I don’t want him wearing yellow that’s bloody ridiculous, so I bought this instead.” He held the t-shirt in Nicole’s face, and she let out a snort as she tried to hold back her laughter.

“My mum is a M.I.L.F.?”

“I think it goes without saying…”

Nicole couldn’t stop herself from laughing now; she had to lean over and hold her stomach as her ab muscles began to ache. “You’re unbelievable.”

“But you’ll think about it, yeah? Keeping the baby?”

Through a fit of giggles she replied, “Sure.” The least she could do was keep the idea under consideration. After all, Harry made a few valid points, even if some of his ideas about living arrangements were a bit out there.

“Brilliant, so, when’s your doctor’s appointment?”

A look of panic spread across her face as she remembered her appointment. Frantically, her eyes searched the room until she spotted Harry’s alarm clock; if she left in the next five minutes, she’d be able to make it basically on time.

“I’ve got to go!”

“Can I come with you?” he called after her as she darted out of his room. She immediately came to a halt, the question replaying itself in her head. She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not, but she wouldn’t mind if he came. She needed the support, and who better to give her that support than the father of her child?

“Fine, but hurry up.”

“I’ll drive,” he said, a smirk growing on his lips as he grabbed his keys. Without any notice, he grabbed Nicole’s hand and laced their fingers together as they left the flat. Nicole let out a heavy sigh as they started towards the car park; if she thought she was confused before about her feelings for Harry and Niall, she was especially confused now. She couldn’t choose between them. She needed some grand gesture to help her figure her shit, something to set her mind straight, something to make her heart stop switching between the two of them. Sadly, she couldn’t see either of them putting in that much effort, especially because things were so messed up. Harry had a girlfriend and Niall thought she hated him; she was stuck between a rock and a hard place with nowhere left to turn, and it was really beginning to irritate her.