Show Me

The doorbell rang, nearly making me jump off the couch. I'd been staring at the muted TV for the passed half hour, but I couldn't tell you a second of what was shown. "Bloody hell," I cursed lightly, pushing myself off the couch and dragged my feet to the door, opening it to reveal my best friend.

"Harry?" I asked in surprise. "W-what are you doing here?" He had on gray sweatpants and a purple Jack Wills hoodie, his eyes tired.

He frowned, brushing passed me and setting a brown paper bag on the floor. I watched him shake the snow out of his hair before he stepped closer to me and rested his hands on my cheeks. "Jill called me, told me you were upset," he mumbled, wiping underneath my eyes. Only a few stray tears had fallen recently. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I wasn't sure if you'd be back tonight or tomorrow morning. Besides, it's cold and snowing outside and I figured you'd be tired anyway and I didn't want to disturb you," I explained quickly.

"You're my best friend, Halle," he said in a firm tone. "No matter the weather, how tired I am or where I am, you can always call me. It's impossible for you to disturb me." He picked up the bag with one arm and grabbed my hand with his other, leading me back into the living room. He took a seat on the sofa and pulled the contents out of the bag. A box of chocolate chip cookies and a couple DVDs. I would've laughed had I not been so upset. "Take a seat, yeah?"

I sat next to him, only a few inches away. "You didn't have to do this, Haz," I said quietly. I appreciated it greatly, but it seemed like every time this happened, I always called for him. I felt like such a needy person it was pathetic.

"Nonsense," he said, grabbing the plastic container and holding it to me. "Cookie?"

I chuckled as he grabbed one for himself and ate it in one bite. "I'm not hungry," I said.

He shrugged, setting the container on the coffee table. "So, wanna tell me what happened, love?" he asked.

My heart jumped at the word. Regardless of the fact I'd been living in London for three years and constantly have people using that term toward me, it still gave me butterflies when Harry used it. The crush that formed when I first met him never faded away- it was only repressed. "You brought cookies and It's A Boy Girl Thing. I have a feeling Jill already told you," I said.

"She did," he admitted, pulling me onto his lap and letting my head rest on his shoulder. "But I'm not interested in what the wanker did- I wanna know how you're holding up," he murmured in my ear.

I was quiet a few moments, making sure that I was able to speak without crying. "I knew it was going on," I admitted quietly. "I'd heard them on the phone a few times, making plans. I smelt perfume on him that wasn't mine. But since I didn't have actual evidence, I didn't bring it up."

"Why not?" he asked, his arms tightening around my waist as I lifted my head from his shoulder. I couldn't look at him, so I played with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

"He loved me, Harry," I said. "Well, he acted like it. But I did know that he was with somebody behind my back, so us breaking up isn't really a huge deal."

"So why are you upset, love?" he asked me. I felt his eyes burning into the side of my face and I met his concerned eyes. Bad idea.

"Why does this always happen to me?" I asked him, my voice cracking as tears welled up in my eyes. I knew he didn't have the answers and I knew he hated seeing me cry, but I couldn't stop the words or tears. "Every time, it's always somebody else. Whether they cheat or not, they always find someone better." I paused, wiping my eyes on the burgundy sweater of Harry's I'd stolen from him the last time we had a sleepover. "Why aren't I enough?"

"Halle, you're beautiful, okay?" he told me firmly, grabbing both sides of my face. He wiped away the tears that continued to fall from my eyes. "Inside and out, you're a great girl. They just don't deserve you. There's somebody out there that will adore you and love you and treat you the way you deserve to."

I chuckled dryly through my tears. "When you find him, could you send him my way?" I asked.

He grinned, his dimples popping out as he looked down and shook his head. "Sure," he said, looking back up at me with a look in his eyes I couldn't describe. "You've gotta stop looking though. Let them come to you, love. You don't need some undeserving prick to be happy."

I frowned. "Having a boyfriend makes me feel loved, Harry. It makes me feel wanted," I admitted in a small voice.

I saw his eyebrows scrunch in confusion and he frowned. "You are loved. You have me and the boys, you're family, Jill," he listed.

"Well, yeah, but my family's all the way in the States, Jill has her brother to be worrying about and I don't feel comfortable having the boys see me all sad and whatnot," I said, chuckling lightly through the tears.

Harry gave me a half smile. "They wouldn't mind; they love and care about you," he said. "And like I said before, you've got me. You'll always have me, even when you don't want me."

"Harry, I support what you do all the way. I'm so happy you're living out your dream, because I can see how happy it makes you," I explained. "But you're gone so much. You can't always be here for me physically."

"I could quit One Direction, if you'd like."

I laughed. "You and I both know that will not be happening," I said. "And I don't want you to do that."

He smiled. "How about I make us some tea?" he asked.

"Cookies, romance movies and tea? You'd make the perfect little house wife, Hazza," I teased him, poking his dimple.

He pushed me off his lap, stretching as he stood. "I guess you want me to take it back then..." he trailed as he started to take slow steps toward the door.

"No!" I argued, grabbing his hand to keep him in place.

He chuckled, lacing his fingers with mine. "Let's go get that tea then, yeah?" he asked, pulling me up and bringing me into the small kitchen. I watched him prepare the tea, feeling my mood improve a good amount. Harry seemed to have that effect on me. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Lou told me to tell you and I quote, 'It's on, bitch'."

I gave him a confused look, laughing slightly. "What's on, exactly?" I asked.

He grinned widely, not looking at me as he finished up the tea. "The competition of winning me over, apparently," he elaborated. He glanced at me and must've saw my still confused look because he chuckled and continued. "Lou and I were gonna watch a move before we went to sleep when we got back, until Jill called me and I came over here. He said you're stealing me from him."

"I would never come between what you and Lou have. That's true love right there," I teased.

He let out a laugh as he set a mug in front of me, his own in his hand as he took a seat in the stool next to me. "Tell me something, Halle," he said.

"What?" I asked, sipping the hot tea slowly and turning to face him.

"How much do you miss... what's his name? Jack?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes, trying to hide a smile. "You know his name is Jake, Harry. Don't be stupid," I told him. He just grinned in response, waiting for my answer. "I don't know. I mean, I was with him for four months. I guess I do miss him, kind of. I miss more what we had, you know? Even if it was all a lie."

"Alright," he said slowly, setting his mug on the counter and leaned a little closer to me. "I need to ask you a question."

"You already asked me a question," I pointed out. He just gave me a look. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. "Okay, shoot."

"Well, it's not a question exactly. More like, I want to show you something. And I need you to tell me how you feel about it."

"Alright, let's see it," I said, although I wasn't sure where it was. Must be small enough to fit in one of his pockets.

"Tell me right away if you don't like it, alright?" he said, staring at me with serious eyes. "Don't hesitate to tell me if you hate it."

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you if I don't like it," I said. "Show me!"

And then.

Oh my goodness.

And then he kissed me.

It was soft and hesitant, as if he was scared of something. Like I'd reject it. I couldn't breathe and I couldn't feel my heart beat anymore because I think it had leaped so high it was no longer in my body.

And then he pulled away. He looked nervous, scratching the back of his neck and his eyes darted everywhere, not meeting mine for a second. When they did, he broke the silence. "So... um... how do you feel about... that?"

I grinned so widely, slipping my arms around his neck and put my lips to his again.