Back to You

"Harry, just hear us out." Niall pleaded to the curly haired boy who looked less then pleased to be there. Louis had left the studio early, so Zayn and Niall had taken the opportunity to talk to Harry without his influence. They were seated in stools in front of Harry, who was on the couch. Harry was unable to get up without sliding past one of them. For now, he was trapped.

"Five minutes." Harry responded shortly. He was really annoyed that they were holding him hostage.

"What is the biggest issue you're having with Liam?" Zayn asked, leaning, and resting his elbows on his knees. It had been a little over a month since Zayn had visited Liam's flat and he was now fully committed to repairing the band's relationship. That included getting Lou and Harry to like Liam again.

Harry shrugged in response and looked away. He didn't want to talk about it. Niall had been hounding him for months and now Zayn was in on it. He was so frustrated with them he wanted to explode.

"Is it just because Louis told you to hate him?" Niall asked, prodding for information.

"Wow, Niall. Thanks. I know I'm totally incapable of thinking for myself. I really don't know how I'm functioning right now without Louis telling me how." Harry said sarcastically, sending Niall a death glare. The blond was a little startled to see that look in Harry's face.

"That's not what I meant." He defended.

"That's how it sounded." He snapped. "But Louis isn't the reason I'm having a hard time accepting this. In fact, I think his reasoning is really childish." Harry told his friends.

Niall and Zayn exchanged a confused look. "Will you tell us why then?" Zayn asked, eager to be filled in.

Harry took a deep breath and then shook out it curls. He looked at the two boys, considering his options. With an eye roll, he decided he was done. He shook his head and started to stand up from his seat. "We aren't done." Niall said, giving Harry a nudge that knocked him back into his seat.

"It's stupid, alright? I don't want to talk about it." Harry buried his face in his hands and let out an irritated groan. When he look up, the boys were staring at him expectantly.

"I'm annoyed because..." Harry began, then blushed. "God! It makes me sound like a 14 year old girl!" Harry complained after he trailed off. He sighed then started again. "I mean, a kid is a big deal. And if he wants to be this big shot dad then One Direction goes on the back burner. I can't help but think that if Liam commits himself to the little family he's so determined to get, we won't be important anymore. We've been so successful because we gave so much to it, and if Liam pull out, well then, that's it for us. We'll break up. He's got a whole new life, and then it'll just be me."

Zayn and Niall stared at Harry with open mouths. They never thought that Harry would be so insecure about the strength of the group. "Liam's working really hard to make sure that doesn't happen." Niall said, trying to ease his worry.

"I know. But it's already holding him back. Being late to work because of doctor's appointments, missing events because he need to spend time with him, not coming out with us because he has to babysit. And look what the whole mess did to us! Lou and Liam can barely be in same room anymore!" Harry said, his concern now evident in his voice.

Zayn was speechless. "Liam's a dad now. He can't be a popstar without a care in the world. He's got a son he need to get back to." He said after a long pause.

"Exactly." Harry deadpanned.

"Will you at least go talk to him?" Niall asked.

"Yeah. That really cleared things up between me and Liam." Zayn offered.

Harry shook his head, declining. "No. I won't. I'm going to leave now. Bye guys." At that, he stood from his seat and left the room. The two that were left made not effort to call out to him. They just watched him leave. It was very discouraging to see just how badly they were divided.



"Where's the little monster!?" Niall called when he entered Liam's flat. He had opted to use the spare key rather than knock. He saw Jordie's head peek out from the side of the couch. The little boy let out a happy giggle.

"Ni!" He shouted as he ran toward the blond. Niall scooped him up and spun him around before settling him on his hip.

"Where's your dad?" He asked the Jordie. The little boy shrugged and started telling Niall about his day. As he was talking, Niall shut the door. He wanted to call out, but he didn't want to interrupt Jordie. After a couple seconds, Blair came out of the hallway off the living room. She smiled when she saw Niall.

"Hey, Niall. Thanks for coming over tonight." She told him as she passed through on her way to the kitchen.

"No problem." Niall told her, following after her.

"He already ate, but I'm sure you'll give him obscene amounts of sugar." Niall smirked. He was an awesome babysitter. "Take it easy tonight. I actually want him to sleep."

"Yeah yeah. I know rule. No sugar after 6." He said in a high pitched tone, mimicking her voice.

"Yet you always seem to break it." She shot back with a small smile. Blair really liked Niall. And Jordie adored him. The only down side to him babysitting is that Jordie took to eating just like him. "It's after 6." She reminded him since his had a mischievous smirk on his face.

Liam emerged came into the kitchen. He smiled at Niall. Jordie was squirming in his arms, trying to get down. Niall wouldn't let him go though. He smirked at the tiny body wiggling in his arms. He loved to tease Jordie. He put up quite a fight.

"Thanks for coming, Niall. We haven't had a night together in ages." Liam told him and wrapped his arm around Blair, pulling her close to his side. He placed a kiss on her temple and then released her.

"No problem." Niall said with a grin. He had repositioned Jordie so that he hung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. His small fists were pounding into his back, and he demanded to be let down. Blair and Liam rolled their eyes at Niall. He and Jordie might as well be the same age sometimes.

"We'll take off then." Liam said, taking Blair's hand and pulling her toward the door. Niall followed them into the living room to see them off. Jordie was still stuck in Niall grip. He couldn't help but laugh at the threats Jordie was giving him.

"If you need anything you can call. Put him down around 8. There's a lot of left overs in the fridge, so help yourself. No junk food." Blair warned, pointing a finger at Niall.

"You got it." Niall said, giving her his toothiest grin. "You act like this is my first time watching him. He will be alive and well when you get back." He promised.

Blair grabbed Jordie from off Niall shoulder. He immediately stopped wiggling when his mum was holding him. " Be good." She said then placed a kiss on his head. "Love you, bud."

"Love you, mum." Jordie said back. "Love you dad." He said to Liam once Liam had place a kiss on his head as well. Blair sat him back on his feel and Jordie ran off, so that Niall didn't capture him again. They stepped out of the apartment and closed the door behind them. Once it was locked up, Niall got a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, monster." He said to Jordie who had gone back to his cars that were laid out on the floor. He was pushing them around with much enthusiasm. "How does ice cream sound?"