Best Friends Means...

"I think I'm gonna go home and visit my mum, Harry." I said, walking into the living room where Harry was shirtlessly doing something on his laptop. He didn't hear me so I plopped down beside him. "I'll see you later."

"What?" He looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed so hard that they created a wrinkle between his eyes. "Where are you going? Do you want me to go with you? I can-"

I held up a hand to stop him from talking "I think I'm going to go home for a few days."

"Want me to come with you?"

I shook my head, "I don't need you to go everywhere with me. I need to get out of here, I'm scared to go anywhere without having a bad picture taken of me."

"No bad pictures of you exist, babe."

"Uh, those ones from the other night with Louis and El? Yeah. Those are the types of pictures you hang on your family's wall of portraits." Harry let out a low chuckle. The other night when we went out with Louis and Eleanor, paps caught wind of it because Louis and El arrived first so they were waiting outside for them to leave while Harry and I arrived. Lots of pictures, yelling, etc ensued. [Even more] Articles were written about how horrible of a person I am, and a fan attacked me in the bathroom of the pub.

I wouldn't be going out with them anytime soon unless it was a private event.

And even then, I'd need a lot of Harry's spaghetti to convince me.

"Sorry 'bout that, love. You're always beautiful to me." I rolled my eyes as I got up off the couch and adjusted my skinny jeans. "When do you think you'll come back?"

I shrugged. Today was Thursday. "Maybe Sunday or Monday? I dunno, I just need some time away. I miss my mum. I'd like to lay around and do nothing but talk with her and watch movies, drink tea, and eat food."

"But you've been doing that with me all week too." Harry pouted, following me into "our" bedroom. "Am I annoying you? Are you sick of me?"

"No, Haz." I wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him. "I'll never get sick of you. I just need some non-famous girl time with my mum." I burrowed into his chest, inhaling his scent. "You always smell so good. I'm taking your shirt you wore yesterday with me to sleep in."

"That's gross." He said as he watched me pick it up off the spot on the floor and place it into my overnight bag. "I didn't know you were serious."

"Of course I was serious. I'll miss you, but I feel like I've got cabin fever in this house."

"You can go out in London, babe." He was propped up against the door frame and I pushed past him to go grab some clothes from the other bedroom.

"No, I can't. Because someone will call me fat, or ask me about my past, ask me about you, and I just don't want to be bothered by it."

"Then don't let it bother you." He spoke calmly, and shrugged his shoulders at me.

"Why do you act so calm about this, Harry?! Has this become your life? Just, not worrying about what anyone says about you?"

"Yeah, it has become my life. People say mean things about you but that doesn't mean any of its true. The people who really know you know you aren't that type of person, so it doesn't matter. Let them write whatever in the hell they want to write. I don't believe any of it."

I sighed, "It's just none of their business."

"But it's their job. To snoop, to try and rip our fans away from us, to make up lies, to upset us. You can't let them know that they've upset you or they'll just keep on."

"Well, they both already know I'm upset with them." I spoke, in reference to Kaitlin and Jack.

"Just don't say anymore to them or else they'll turn it into something else."

I took a deep breath, for fear of starting an argument with Harry. I started shoving clothes into my bag hastily, ready to get on the road.

"Are you mad?" Harry asked, sitting on the edge of the empty bed.

"No? Why?"

"Because you're acting like you're mad and you're leaving me for the weekend."

"I already told you its fine. I just want to go home for a few days, while I can."

"What do you mean, while you can?" Harry looked up at me and I stopped what I was doing to make eye contact.

"Well I can't exactly just fly home whenever I miss it when I'm on tour with you, can I?"

"You'll come on tour!?"

I nodded my head quickly, and Harry looked like he was about to explode from excitement. "I thought about it and the thought of not seeing you again for months already drove me crazy. Plus, I'll get to see parts of the world I'd never be able to see any other way. And I'll get to see it all with my best friend by my side." I hugged him as he stood up, and wrapped his arms around me.

"You've just made me so much happier."

"Well, I'd hope so." He let out a low chuckle. "But I need to be going before traffic gets too bad. I'll call you when I get there!"

I leaned up to give Harry a kiss on his lips as he leaned down to meet my lips. He put his hands on the side of my face and held them there for a few moments, making sure I was going to continue kissing him.

"I love you." He pulled back, connecting my brown eyes to his green ones. "I'll miss you. Don't get into any trouble with those guys from home."

"Harry, I had practically forgotten about them." I rolled my eyes and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you more."

I walked out of Harry's flat to my car and made my way to Cheshire.

---

"Oh, come on! You've gotta come out while you're home!" Gemma spoke on the other line as I was pulling into the driveway of my mum's house.

"I really don't want to. I just want to spend some time with my mum. Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow?"

"I guess so. You know you'll be ready to get out of that house in a few days!"

"Probably. I'll just text you later tomorrow about it, Gem!" We said our goodbyes as I walked up to my front door. I hear my mum's voice in the kitchen and followed it in there, finding Anne sitting at the kitchen table.

"I should have known you'd be here! Sorry I didn't bring Haz with me." I said, hugging Anne then my own mother. "Just felt like I needed to spend some time home without him."

"Everything alright, dear?" My mum asked, pushing my hair behind my ears. "You look worried."

"Yeah, it's perfect. I'm fine. There's just so many... Cameras everywhere. Not quite used to it yet. I'll get used to it eventually, though." I pulled out my buzzing phone from my pocket to see that Harry was asking me where I was.

Make it home yet?
Just walked in. Anne is here!
Give her a hug for me, please! I already miss you :(
I miss you too. I'm going to lunch with Gemma tomorrow, but I'll talk to you later ;)

I put my phone back in my pocket before I continued chatting with the two ladies.

"What made you want to come home?" My mum asked, fixing me a cup of tea.

"Well... Harry asked me if I wanted to come on tour, as you know, and I decided I'm going to. Like you said, it's a really great opportunity to get to see parts of the world I wouldn't normally get to see. And I'll go mad going that long without seeing him... I mean I know I went three years without seeing him, but this is completely different now. I'm getting to know him in a different way, sorry Anne, and I just, I feel so much more attached to him than before."

"It's quite alright. He's had feelings for you for ages." Anne spoke up. "He used to come back home when he was 12 and pout about how you just had no idea about his silly crush he had on you. I think he pushed it to the back of his head, until now. You're such a beautiful girl, Elle. I think you two were just blind to the attraction between you both."

"I agree, I had always thought Harry was attractive, just, never thought that he'd try to be my boyfriend since we made such good friends? But I guess that's why we'll make such a good couple. We already know so much about each other, but we're seeing a different side of each other. He cares for me so much and shows it."

"He loves you."

I blushed at my mum's words and I looked up at Anne who was just nodding her head, "He does. He has for a long time. He's been in love with you for years. Every time you got a boyfriend, he'd lock himself up in his room and cry about it."

"But he had girlfriends? And he never told me that."

"He had girlfriends, yes. But they were all girls who he thought resembled you. Think about it."

I paused, thinking. Every girl Harry had dated when we were younger was almost always a brunette, with brown eyes. Huh. "That's..."

"Adorable." My mum spoke up, placing my tea in front of me. "I'm glad to see you finally happy. Has anything else happened with Jack?"

I shook my head, not wanting to worry her about being in so many more tabloids. If she wanted to know, she'd read them herself. "Not directly. I'm all over his tabloid, but that's expected."

"So, what are you wanting to do tonight?!" My mum asked as Anne excused herself to go to the loo.

"Maybe cook dinner and watch some cheesy movies?"

"Harry says you've been doing a lot of that lately."

I sighed, "Because I can't leave the house without someone taking a picture of me. What else am I supposed to do? I have to warm up to it. I don't want to be thrown into it like he was. I can't handle that."

"I was only joking, sweetie! We can watch and eat whatever you'd like to. Maybe order your favorite take out?"

"Yes!" My mom usually didn't like Chinese takeout but there was one restaurant she knew I loved ordering from every time I was home, so I happily agreed to her suggestion.

Harry's mum stuck around a bit longer, asking me questions about how Harry was doing, we talked about Gemma, and then she told us our goodbyes shortly before dinner would be arriving. Mum and I ate all of the food we ordered, which wasn't surprising. My mom was a smaller woman but she could eat enough for two people!

"So, I've been waiting to tell you this..." My mum started off, and I told her to keep going. "I've been talking to a man for a couple of weeks now."

"Oh, what about?"

"Like, I may have been on a few dates with him." My mom shoved a scoop of chocolate ice cream into her mouth as my jaw dropped.

"Why didn't you tell me this?!?!"

"Because I knew you weren't ready. But the therapist told me-"

"You're seeing a therapist again, and you didn't tell me either?!?"

"I don't go that often, just sometimes. Listen to what I'm trying to tell you. The therapist told me that if I'm ready to be dating, I don't need to hold myself back. He's a really, really nice man. I met him at the super market the other day in the produce section. He's really great. He's been married only once before, and they broke up because she had been cheating on him for five years. No children."

"Sounds... too good to be true?"

"He does, but he really is wonderful, Elle. And he makes me so happy. I just didn't want you to-"

"I'll be fine, really. You deserve to be happy. Daddy would have wanted you to be happy again."

"Listen, Elle." My mom scooted closer to me on the couch and put her hand on my knee, and as she spoke, tears formed in her eyes. "No man will ever make me as happy as your father did. I don't expect to ever find that love in anyone ever again. But it's lonely. I have no one to have as my companion for the rest of my 40-50 years left on this world. I want someone else to go the places I want to go with me, I miss that someone telling me how they care about me and love me. Rob may not be the one I need, but right now, he's what I need. He's so understanding of the situation I'm in, and that you're in, and how hesitant you've been to me dating. He-"

"You need to stop worrying about me. I'm so sorry I used to be such a bitchy teenager about the whole thing before. I'm still so heartbroken over losing daddy, but I know you'll always love him. You can still love someone else too, though."

My mom smiled and hugged me, squeezing me tightly. "You've grown up so much. I was so worried you'd hate me."

"I can't hate you for wanting to be happy."

"Do you want to meet him?" I nodded my head, "How about dinner tomorrow night?"

"That sounds good. I think I still have a few nicer dresses in my closet here if I need to dress up."

"Nothing too fancy, just something a little nicer than jeans and a top." I laughed at my mom, already growing nervous as she sent a text to who I assumed was Rob.

~

The next day came extremely quickly. Before I knew it, Gemma was calling me to see when I wanted to go get lunch. We decided to go to a small cafe at noon. When I walked up, Gemma greeted me with a huge hug.

"So, you gonna go out with us tonight?!"

"I can't, dinner with my mum and her new boyfriend." I rolled my eyes. "I'm happy for her but..."

"I understand, completely." When in all actuality, she didn't. Her father, the only man she knew to trust one hundred percent, hadn't died. No, she couldn't trust her father, but at least she still had him. I always hated when people acted and said that they understood. This was one thing I was the only person who understood how I felt.

I just nodded and looked over the menu, deciding on some soup for lunch.

"Why didn't you bring Harry with you?" She questioned as she sipped on her water.

"Just felt like I needed to come home, by myself for a few days. We're not attached at the hip, you know."

"I know you're not, but I know how Harry is about his girlfriends. He keep them on a tight leash." Gemma said, pretending like she was holding a dog on a leash.

"Well, I'd hope I'm different... He hasn't really been like that to me. I mean, minus offering me to move in with him, but had I been kicked out while he was home and we weren't dating, he would've taken me in under his wing anyway."

"True. He's always had eyes for you, you know?"

I rolled my eyes, sick of hearing this from everyone. "Yeah, I've only just heard your mum talk about it for about... All of yesterday."

"Listen, Elle. What I'm trying to say is... Harry is really serious about you. You're not like those other girls he's been dating. He's wanted you for so long, he's going to do anything to keep you. I just worry about you."

"Me?" I pointed at myself. "Why?"

"I just worry you're going to hurt him. You don't seem as in love with him as he is with you."

How dare Gemma question my love for her brother?

"Gemma, really? I can't go anywhere without Harry without constantly thinking "Oh, I wish Harry was here to see this." or "Wow, that makes me think of Harry. I miss him." And that was even before we started dating. Now I just, he and I feel so right. And I'm petrified that I'm going to lose him. I have never been with anyone so kind and nurturing as Harry. These last few days I've been scared to go out in London because of all of the paps eating me alive, and Harry has sat at home with me every day. Every time I started crying at something they had said about me, Harry comforted me and told me it was going to be okay. I wouldn't be going through all of this if I didn't want to be with him. I wouldn't be with him if I wasn't head over heels for him, either. And we haven't even been officially dating for all that long, anyway. I think I've loved him longer than even I know..." I trailed off and Gemma was just sitting there staring at me.

"I'm just really glad you two finally got together. I think you're right for each other."

"Yeah. Me too." We got our food quickly and ate it in silence. Something was off with Gemma but I couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"So how about going out tomorrow night?"

I shrugged my shoulders, letting my dirty spoon fall into my empty bowl. "We'll see, Gemma." I couldn't figure out why she wanted me to come out so badly. I didn't know many of her friends. I knew she was friends with Harry's stylist on tour, who I have yet to meet, but she lives in London so it's not like she'd be here, hanging out with Gemma. "Who do you want me to see so badly when we go out?"

"No one! I just, you seem like you need to go out without being watched. You seem stiff, love." She coaxed my arm as we walked around to do some window shopping.

"I am stiff, but I have every right to be! Someone's always around a corner trying to take a picture of me. How am I not supposed to be stiff?"

She shrugged, "I just don't let it bother me. They're going to say whatever they want to say regardless of how you feel. Might as well get used to it, and ignore them."

Of course Gemma wasn't bothered by the paps. She was skinny, and beautiful, and her brother was an international popstar. She was a sweetheart and everyone knew it. I'd never have the reputation Gemma had in the tabloids.

That afternoon, we headed our separate ways once I picked out a new dress to wear tonight, and possibly Saturday if we went anywhere. When I walked into the door of my house, I heard two voices. One was deeper than I was used to hearing in our small home.

"Hello?" I said, shutting the door quietly.

"Oh, Annabelle! In the kitchen." I walked into the kitchen to see my mom gushing over a middle aged man. He was tall with light brown hair. He was dressed in a black suit that fit to his body perfectly.

"You must be Rob?" I asked, extending my hand to him, but he pulled me by the hand into his body so he could give me a kiss on each cheek. "Or, I hope you're Rob."

"I'm Rob. Nice to meet you. You're just as beautiful as your mother, dear!" He said, already trying to make up for something he had done- I knew it. I looked at my mum who was leaning against the kitchen cabinets, drying the same cup that she had been drying since I walked in the room.

"I think that cup is dry, mum. You can move on." I motioned for her to go on and she did. "So, Rob. What do you do?"

"I write for the paper." Great, just what I need. "Not any of those trash papers you young kids love to read."

"Phew. That's the last thing she needs right now." my mom said as she was drying off a plate.

"Could you bring me a cup of tea, love?" Rob said to my mom and she quietly nodded. "Why so?" Rob asked, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"I'd really rather not." I said, grabbing a banana from the counter.

"She's dating Harry Styles." My mom all but yelled across the kitchen.

"Thanks mum!"

"Don't worry, I don't have any screaming teenage daughters who will ask for your autograph or anything. How'd you meet him?" Rob crossed his leg over the other and let his ankle and foot freely dangle.

"Erm. We've known each other our whole lives. Best friends turned..."

"Lovers. Classic. Happens all the time! I used to write books and I always had a hard time figuring out how they'd ever end up working out without having a fairytale ending, because really, who ever gets that? I liked my stories to seem more realistic. Never have a happy ending because teenage love never ends well."

I rolled my eyes, scoffing, "Wow you're the most positive person I've ever met in my entire life."

"Watch it, Anabelle." My mom placed the cup of tea in front of Rob and I watched as he made a disgusted face as he sipped on it.

"Watch what? Did you just hear what he said? You don't know me, you sure as hell don't know Harry. Who are you to come in here and judge immediately?"

"So defensive." Rob uncrossed his leg. "You said she was a firecracker but I had no idea she'd be like this. Not used to having a man in the house, I guess."

Who the fuck was this man? And my mom wasn't saying anything to defend me? So I guess I had to defend myself.

"Not used to having a man in the house, eh? No, I'm not used to it because my father DIED a few years ago! But even when he was in the house, he didn't argue and talk down to me like this."

"And you've prevented your beautiful mom from dating for what reason? Scared she's going to love another man more than she loves her daughter?"

"MUM ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO THIS MAN!?" I yelled, holding my arms out wide open. "No, I'm not afraid of that. I'm afraid of my mother getting hurt by some foolish man who thinks, who thinks he can just walk into our house and assume the position of the father of the house."

"Why does that scare you? Scared to have rules put on you?" Rob sat up to the edge of his chair, getting closer to me and narrowing his eyes.

"Who are you? Why are you acting like this to me? You have absolutely no control over me. You're dating my mother. Its not like you're not marrying her."

My mom turned and looked at me, sheepishly. "Actually..." She began.

"Mum. No. Are you... What?"

"We are engaged. I was scared to tell you."

"Why do you want to be with this man!? He's crazy." I knew I was talking about him in front of him, I gave no fucks at this point.

"He's not crazy. He has ideas for this family. To bring us closer. To help heal the wounds we had from your fathers loss and your problems."

"We were doing just fine, mum. Just you and I. And you dating a guy would be fine, just not someone who wants to come in and take over everything..." I looked over at Rob who was reading something on his large screen phone. "I don't fucking like him. He's rude, he doesn't respect me so I know he doesn't respect you. Why are you with him?"

"He makes me feel safe, Elle. He makes me feel... At home. He knows how to discipline you and-"

"I don't need disciplining!"

"Like Hell you don't! You disrespected me the moment you walked in here." Rob spoke up.

"How? OH I KNOW. I forgot to kiss your toes as I walked in the room, didn't I? Here, excuse me, let me go put on my peasant outfit to cater to all of your needs, Sir Rob. So you think you've found the woman who will bow down to your every request, all of your needs?"

"I don't like to put it like that. Your mother treats me very well. She cares about me, and she makes sure I know it. She does things for me because she wants to."

I watched as my mother walked behind Rob and put her hand on his shoulder. "He's right. I need someone to take care of, with you gone, Elle. And Rob's that person. He can fulfill everything I need without your father here."

"But does he make you happy?" I asked, tears brewing in my eyes.

"Happiness isn't everything, love." Rob spat out at me and I wanted to punch him in the face. "We have our moments where we fight, we're not always happy with each other, but that's what you don't understand. Your silly teenage love with Harry Styles will fade away because once all of your 'happiness' goes away, there's nothing left."

"Love is what holds our relationship together. Love. We love each other. I bet you don't even know what it feels like to be loved, Rob." I started at the two adults in front of me. My mother looking thinner than usual, barely any color to her face, and she stood like a robot. My heart ached for her. "I'm going. I won't be back for a while. Bye." I said, slamming the door shut and climbing into my car.