It's Complicated

Harry whistled as he pulled the big paper bag of Chinese food off the passenger’s seat of his car. He figured that the cuisine would be the best choice for Maria, since he’d heard that pregnant girls craved a lot of salt, and Chinese food was pretty salty, with all that soy sauce and stuff. So he knew Maria would be happy.

He climbed the stairs slowly, having to look around the tall bag to see the steps underneath him so he wouldn’t face-plant and make a fool of himself. It had happened before, when Maria had been walking behind him, and she hadn’t even stopped to help him up. She’d laughed and passed him, asking how that second left foot was working for him.

He smirked at the memory as he pulled his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door to his and Maria’s flat. She was sitting on the couch, her legs tucked under her, wearing nothing but a sleeping shirt. He had no idea how she could manage to look so sexy in a videogame shirt; it was just one of the mysteries of Maria, as well as one of the things that made Harry so attracted to her.

He put the bag on the table in front of her without saying a word before disappearing into the kitchen to wash his hands. “So how was your day?” he asked, borderline yelling so Maria could hear him over the rushing water and crumpling paper bag that she was focused on emptying.

“It sucked,” she stated plainly. She was never one to lie to make Harry feel better, which was another thing he loved. He hated when he asked how someone is, and they always responded that they were fine. If someone’s not fine, he should say so. “How about yours?”

“It was good until you said yours sucked,” Harry replied. “What’s wrong?”

Maria let out a long sigh as she deposited the container of fried rice on the coffee table in front of her. “I kind of wanted to lead into this gracefully, after-school-special style. Can I still do that?”

Harry shook his head in disbelief. “Um, not really. You’re going to give me a stroke. Just tell me what’s going on.”

“I want to get an abortion,” she stated plainly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Harry, let’s be realistic for a second, okay? We have to think of your career, my future career, how we’re going to take care of a child while juggling work and school, and not to mention we don’t have the space.”

Harry had to contain himself from laughing. “Maria, I hate to remind you, but money isn’t really an issue with us. We can afford the kid, we can get a new flat with an extra bedroom, or a house, if that’s what you want. And we can always get a nanny to take care of him or her while we’re off doing our things.”

She frowned at him, showing that his solutions were not what she wanted to hear. “Harry…”

“What?” he replied. “Is there something else that’s actually wrong?”

She swallowed, staring down at the carpet. There was a vulnerability in her face that Harry had only seen a couple of times before, and he wondered briefly whether he was going to see her cry for the first time. She opened her mouth, and Harry was positive she was going to tell him the truth. And then she said, “You know what? Forget it. We’ll do whatever the fuck you want, and it won’t even matter that I’m the one who’s going to be carrying this fucking parasite inside of me for nine months.”

“Maria…” Harry started, but she wanted none of it. Without another word, she stormed into the bedroom they shared and slammed the door, leaving Harry feeling like shit.

He didn’t want to make her feel pressured into keeping the baby. He, personally, was against abortions, but if that was what she wanted to do with her body, then it was her choice. The thought of getting rid of a child that he had some part in creating made his stomach tie into knots, but, like Maria had pointed out, he wasn’t the one carrying the child.

He thought for a second about going in and comforting her, but he had a feeling that wasn’t what she needed. She wanted time to think and reflect, and he would just screw up her judgment.

So he reached forward, picked up a container of food, and started to eat, knowing that she’d show her face again eventually.



“Is something bothering you?” Louis asked the next morning when Harry left for the recording studio. The night before, Maria never left the room, besides going to the bathroom to pee, and when Harry tried to go in to talk to her and go to sleep, he found that the door had been locked. So, like a typical fighting couple, he was forced to sleep on the couch.

For a second, Harry debated telling Louis. The two had been best friends for a long time, and he knew he could trust him. But if Louis relayed the information to Jess, it was all over. So Harry sighed and said, “Can you keep this between you and me? Not bring Jess into it?”

“Yeah, of course,” Louis agreed. “Is something wrong with Maria?”

“She thinks it’s something wrong,” Harry admitted. “But I kind of like it.” Louis just looked more confused, so Harry continued, “Maria’s pregnant.”

Louis’ breath came out in a loud, whooshing noise of shock. “Are you fucking kidding me?” he gasped, his voice trying to take on a scolding tone and failing. “Harry, I can’t believe you’d be so irresponsible.”

“It was a one-time deal,” he replied in weak defense. “But one time’s enough, I guess. But anyway, I want to keep the baby, but Maria seriously wants an abortion. I just don’t know what to do.”

Louis pondered the situation for a second, leaving his parental judgment behind. “You know, mate, there’s nothing you can do about it. If she doesn’t want the child, you can’t make her keep it inside her. Having babies totally wrecks a woman’s body, and if she’s not ready for that commitment, then she’s not ready.”

Harry tried to picture Maria with a massive stomach, riddled with stretch marks, and saggy boobs, but he couldn’t. He had a feeling that if those things came from carrying his child, he really wouldn’t care. Plus, if it bothered her that much, it wasn’t like he didn’t have the money for her to get some plastic surgery to correct the issues.

“I guess you have a point,” Harry admitted reluctantly. “But I still feel uncomfortable about it. We’ll have to talk more before she makes a decision.”

“I hate to tell you, but she doesn’t have class today, right?” Harry stayed silent, knowing that Louis was already very aware of the truth. “She might go get the abortion today, whether you like it or not.”

The very idea, that Maria would do something like that without asking for Harry’s thoughts, made him feel nauseous. He wanted more than anything for Maria to keep her cool about the situation and not do anything rash. Just because she was scared didn’t mean that the two of them would be unable to raise a child.

“So how’s Jess?” Harry asked, trying to divert the subject, as the two boys continued to wait for the others to come back with lunch. “Is she doing okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Louis shrugged. “She’s been a little quiet lately, but she’s fine. I think she’s just tired, really, since she’s had a kind of stomach flu the past week or so.”

Harry suddenly felt uncomfortable. So Jess still hadn’t told Louis that she was carrying his children. He had no idea why she was waiting so long, but maybe he’d have to call her later and give her a reality check. “I hope she feels better soon,” was all Harry could muster. His voice was choked and weak, and Louis gave him a curious look, probably wondering why Harry had suddenly started to feel so uncomfortable.

“We’re back!” Zayn exclaimed excitedly, pointing the massively bag balanced in Liam’s arms. “Sorry we took so long. Perrie called and asked us to bring her something.”

“And because Zayn’s whipped, he had to run across London to give her a sandwich,” Niall groaned. “I have no idea when you two are going to get out of the newlywed stage, seriously. It’s getting old.”

“It’s been old,” Liam corrected.

“You guys are just jealous,” Zayn responded stiffly. “Plus, we’ve only been married for a couple months. We still are newlyweds.”

“Whatever. As long as I get to eat now,” Louis butted in, reaching into the bag and retrieving his food. “I haven’t been able to eat in the flat because everything I make has some kind of smell that irritates Jess’ stomach.”

Harry felt his face heat up, but he hoped none of the other boys noticed. From the looks on their faces, though, they seemed to suspect something other than a stomach bug was going on. “Are you sure she’s not pregnant?” Liam suggested with raised eyebrows.

“I think she’d tell me if she were pregnant,” Louis responded conversationally. "That’s not really something to keep from your husband.”

The boys seemed to accept that as truth and started to eat, while Harry still felt guilty. He definitely had to call Jess later and tell her to wake up and admit the truth to Louis because he deserved to know. Harry was just nervous that if she didn’t tell him soon, he’d lose trust in her and start to assume the worst.