Best Friends Means...

SIX YEARS LATER

I rolled over in the bed, not feeling a hot body laying beside mine. I let out a deep sigh as I searched across the spanse of my king size bed. Finally, the sleeping, snoring angel lay right beside me. His bright eyes opened up at me as I hovered over his frame. I will never get used to looking at him from this angle. I ran my hands through his bed headed blonde hair and he let out an early morning chuckle.

"Mornin', love."

"Morning, Ni." I leaned down and kissed his cheek. Suddenly, my phone started ringing on the bedside table. I hopped off Niall's lap and grabbed my phone, seeing that Harry was calling me. But Harry...

"Come on, you need to get up right now, Elle." A kiss was placed on my cheek, waking me from my sleep. I quickly hopped out of my warm bed and ran around to put some clothes on.

"Have you seen my keys, babe?" I asked, padding into the kitchen in the house I had just purchased in my hometown of Holmes Chapel. It was only about 10 minutes away from my mum's house so if I wanted to pop in and see her it wouldn't be such an effort to drive all the way from London anymore. Kaitlin had allowed me to live with her for two more years, then I had a flat of my own in London for four more years.

"Found 'em. Found your ring too, love." My sweet fiance handed me the diamond he had offered to me two weeks ago, on our two year anniversary and I thanked him for reminding me to wear it. "Come on, you're going to be late for your appointment. Both of you."

His large hand pointed at my belly and I swatted his hand away, still unsettled from my dream I had earlier. "You're going to wake him up!"

"He's a baby in a womb. He sleeps all day. What if he wants to be woken up every once in a while to annoy you?"

"I don't need two babies annoying me. You're enough of one by yourself!" Oh, yeah. We're having a baby. A little slip up, and he swears it was all planned to propose on our two year anniversary anyway. But we knew after years of dating, we were going to end up together anyway.

"Make sure you have your phone on you today."

"You're not coming?" I frowned, pulling his jacket over my now swollen body.

"Can't. Some of the guys are coming into town today and I wanted to see them for a bit and see if everything's okay with them. They usually don't try to contact me when they come to town, so I figured I'd see what they want. I promise I'll go back with you in two weeks. This isn't a big appointment today, is it?" One Direction was no longer a band. The boys decided after their contract was over, they wanted to start lives and even families of their own, so they went their separate ways. I knew when he asked to see them that something was going on with one of the members and they didn't know how to handle it. I was thankful they still had each other, they were all still wonderful guys.

I shook my head and smiled, "No, just a regular checkup. If its anything big, I'll call you immediately."

"Love you, princess."

"Love you too, babe." It was weird being called princess after years of not being called the name. I was getting used to it, but the way it was said was just... differently now. I couldn't pinpoint it.

____

"Answer your phone!" I muttered as I walked down the cold streets to my car. Finally, he picked up. Before he could say hello, I spoke. "Are you sitting down?"

"I could be. Why?" I could tell from his slurr, he was drunk. I needed to tell him in person.

"Where are you?"

"Down at our usual pub, come join us! Everyone wants to see your lil basketball belly."

I scoffed at the term and laughed as I hopped into a white Range Rover of my own. Last years Christmas present looked really, really good on me. "Who all is there? I'm really not that-"

"They don't care what you look like. Just come on over here!" I sighed as I hung the phone up and drove the familiar roads to the pub the boys liked to hang out at when they all came to Holmes Chapel. It was a dark pub, not many people were ever here- especially at 3 pm on a Thursday, so they never ran into any "fans" or old fans, I should say. I opened the door and the bells loudly greeted me as I almost reached to cover my ears. I saw the five boys watch me walk in and they all stood up to greet me.

First, Zayn took me in for a hug. "You're almost caught up with Perrie! She's about to burst any day now." He kissed me on the cheek before holding me back and looking at me. "You look beautiful, Elle."

"Thanks, Zayn. It's always good to see you." I next moved onto Liam who I could have squeezed to death I was so excited to see him, it had been about a year since I saw him last. He picked me up as carefully as he could and spun me around. "Watch it, I might throw up on you."

"Wouldn't be the first time, would it?" I shook my head, remembering how after Harry and I broke up, he flew to see me on a day off and I was so drunk that I threw up all over his favorite black pants. We called a rehab facility together that night and they flew me away for a 90 day program before I went to live with Kaitlin. My life had made a complete change for the better since then because I was actually ready to quit. I was ready to turn my life around, after I had lost everything I loved. I hadn't touched alcohol since, and I was a happy, loving, caring person again. I loved myself again, and I hadn't loved myself in a long time. Liam helped me with that.

Louis was next and he already had his arms wide open for me, his body was warm flush against mine and he inhaled my scent, complimenting me on my "pregnancy glow" and how my hair smelled so good he could eat it. He kissed me on the cheek again and I moved on to the next boy.

The boy with sadness in his eyes, the boy who I knew who's heart I broken the day I said goodbye to One Direction and swore I'd never talk to any of them again (except Liam, of course, he was my savior). The boy who I had always known had feelings for me, and me for him, but we just never acted on them. The boy who I knew would have treated me the right way and never let me down. The boy who still occasionally haunted my dreams, until they were interrupted by thoughts of my boy. Niall Horan. He looked at me with his eyes pulling to the ground before I swooped him up in a hug.

"Try not to look so excited to see me, babes."

"You're so pregnant. I'm just sad you can't drink with us!"

"She hasn't drank in years, mate. Are you that gone already?" Zayn added in from behind me and I took Niall in for another hug as he kissed both of my cheeks.

"You look good pregnant. Like a football is in your stomach."

I rolled my eyes at his reference and made my way to sit on the bench beside Harry. "I don't get a hug?!" He asked, pouting.

He was dressed in a flannel that hadn't been buttoned up to reveal his black v-neck and black skinnies. He dressed the exact same as he always had. "You get plenty of hugs."

He wrapped his arm around me and squeezed my body close to his. "What did you have to tell me?"

"It can wait, really. I just wanted to see you guys for a few minutes."

"No, really. We can step away for a minute if you want." Harry's green eyes searched mine for an answer as he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, and I thought what the hell, if I tell Harry, he's going to tell them a few minutes later so why not tell them all at one time...

"We're having twins! Two twin boys, Harry! Two of you... running around... all the time." Harry looked at me stunned, not speaking a word until he grabbed my face and kissed me harder than he had in a long time. Lately all of his kisses had been slow, careful kisses. This one was urgent, lustful, he needed me right then and there. It awakened those sleeping butterflies in the pit of my stomach. Those butterflies that had been there since the first time he kissed me by the water.

"I love you." Harry pulled back and stared at me again. "Now we have to buy double boy... everything."

"Good thing I bought a big house."

"Good thing we bought us a big house."