There he was. Harry. Standing on the balcony, no shirt, back to me with messy hair falling around his head. I got out of bed, put my glasses on and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his back. He put his large hands over mine and we just stood there for a minute before he separated my hands and turned around, making me drop them to my sides. "What's wrong?" I asked and he looked at me, but it felt like he wasn't really looking at me. "Nothing. I was just thinking." "Are you sure? Something seems off." I continued to prod, which he used to find endearing because I cared so much. Now he just snaps at me. "I said it was nothing." He said sharply before brushing past me off the balcony. It always stings a little when he does that. We've been dating for almost three years and he only started doing this a few weeks ago. I'm trying to not let it get to me. He's just stressed and he's working hard on new music and trying to get himself further as a soloist. He's stressed out and me constantly asking if he's okay just adds to the stress, but I'm supposed to look out for him and make sure he's okay. That's what a relationship is. Helping the other be everything they want or can be, but making sure they're okay physically, mentally and emotionally all the same. I ended up staring off the balcony for about half an hour before moving to one of the chairs out there. I was only in one of Harry shirts and underwear since it's about 8 in the morning. I have a work from home job so it's easier for me to do the things I still want to while having steady income. Most of it goes into saving but what doesn't tends to go to bills that Harry forgets need to be paid. I pulled my feet up in the chair with me and wrapped my arms around my knees, pushing my glasses up in the process. "Are you coming back inside?" Harry asked, standing in the doorway. "Yeah. I'll be in in a minute." I said, turning to look at him, now showered and dressed. "Come on. We've got places to be in two hours." He said and I nodded, unfolding in the chair and walking past him to the bathroom. A few weeks ago he would've stopped me and hugged me or kissed me just in case I was upset or stressed out. This is just a rut. We will be okay. He's just stressed and I'm over thinking things. I took a quick shower and walked out of the bathroom into our bedroom to get dressed. Harry was sitting on the bed, looking at his phone. He glanced up long enough to see that I'd come out and went back to whatever he was doing. I got dressed with no disturbance from Harry, which is unusual. Normally he at least tries to talk to me. "Where do we have to be?" I asked, buttoning my shorts. "Just some meeting thing with the record company." He said, finally actually looking at me. "Okay." I said simply and started to dry my hair with the towel. I never bother with blow drying it. I don't think I even own a blow dryer. I put on a small amount of makeup and contacts and was ready to go after slipping on my black Toms. "Ready to go?" I asked him and he stood up from the bed. We walked through our house and I grabbed my small, cross-body purse before shutting the door behind me. I locked it and we walked out to the car together. He said he wanted to drive, which was fine by me. We made the 20 minute drive to his record label and they were ready for us as soon as we walked into the lobby. I saw a familiar face and looked at Harry. "Hey, I'll sit this one out. I'm gonna go say hi to Niall. I haven't seen him in a while." I said and he just shrugged, walking away. When I turn back toward where I saw Niall he was walking towards me and looked confused. "Hey, is Harry okay?" He asked and I shrugged. "I'm not sure. He won't really tell me anything. I think he's just stressed. But, what about you? How are you with your new solo career?" I asked and hugged him, happy to see a familiar face that wasn't in a suit. He gave me a light squeeze and started telling me about how excited he was and what was coming up for him. "But, enough about that. How are you?" He said and I shrugged. "Im the same as last time you saw me. Still working online, still missing home. I think I'm going to talk Harry into a trip as soon as he can take a break." I said and Niall smiled. "Let me know when you go. I'm sure my mum would love to see you. You haven't been home in so long." Niall said and I smiled at the thought of seeing his mom. Niall and I have been friends for a long time, which is how I met Harry. "I'll definitely let you know. Maybe you can go home too and we can properly hang out." I suggested and he smiled, but it faded before making a forced return. I looked behind me to see Harry. He was smiling until he saw Niall and I sitting close to each other and talking. "I think I should go." Niall said and stood up. I stood up right after and he kind of rushed to go. "Bye. I'll see you around." I said as he walked away, waving at me. Well it was nice to see him. "Hey. How did it go?" I asked Harry and he just shrugged. He looked mad. "Are you okay?" "I was until I came out to see you talking to him." He said and my shoulders slumped. "He's my best friend, Harry. I can't just act like he doesn't exist." "Yes you can. I don't like the way he looks at you." Harry said and I stopped walking. "Are you trying to say you don't want me to be friends with him?" "Can we talk about this at home." "Sure. Fine. Whatever." I said and walked straight past him. "Fuck." I heard behind me before clomping footsteps. I got to the car and opened the door, getting in and not saying a word. He's lost his mind if he thinks I'm just going to stop being friend with Niall because he doesn't like it. We got home faster than we should have because he was speeding. When we got through the door he kissed me. I stepped back and looked at him like he was stupid. "What are you doing?" I asked, still mad. "I'm sorry, okay. Be friends with who you want." He said and my shoulders relaxed slightly. I guess there's nothing to fight about now. "Okay." I said and walked over to the large couch before plopping into a corner of it. He came and sat next to me and put his arm around me. "I love you." He said and I looked over to see him with a cheesy grin, that always makes my heart melt. "I love you too." I said and turn towards him slightly. He leaned over and kissed me again. This time I kissed back and just let myself not think he was mad at me all the time. Things got a little heated and we ended up... preoccupied for a while. When he stopped I went to get dressed with him right behind me. I pulled on one of his shirts and a pair of panties, trading contacts for glasses, before going to the kitchen to see what we could have for dinner. I heard my phone ringing so I went into the living room and saw Niall's name on my screen. I answered and made my way back to the kitchen. "Hey, Niall." "Hey, Liz. Sorry I rushed off like that earlier. He just looked like I was the last person I wanted to see." "He was just in a bad mood. You know how he gets." I said and laughed lightly. I certainly know. "Yeah. Did he ever say how his meeting went?" "Trying to scope out the competition?" I asked and heard him laugh. His laugh has always been one of my favorites. "Nah. Just want to make conversation. Have you asked him about the trip yet? I'm trying to go in like two weeks." "Not yet. I was planning to soon though." I said and heard Harry calling my name from our room. I walked through the house. "Just a second, Niall." I said and saw Harry dressed to leave. "I'm going out. Niall and I decided to hang out tonight." He said and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? You and Niall?" "Yeah. I'm leaving. I'll be back later." He said and walked past me. "Niall, do you and Harry have plans tonight?" I asked and once the question left my mouth Harry stopped and turned to look at me, green eyes wide and shocked. "No we don't. Why?" "I'll call you back later." I said and hung up, tossing my phone on the couch. "Where are you actually going, Harry?" "I'm going out with some people from the record label. They want to celebrate my album having a release date. I just didn't want you to worry." He said and I nodded. "Ok." Was all I said. "What?" He asked and I shook my head. "Nothing. Have fun." I said and walked into our room. I heard the front door close as I sat on the bed. I picked up my phone and dialed Nialls number. "Hey, do you want to come over for dinner?" I asked and my voice cracked. "I'll be there as soon as possible." He said and I hung up. I pulled on sweatpants and changed into a bralette and a tank top before going into the kitchen and wiping under my eyes. I pulled my hair up into a bun and started cooking chicken and potatoes in the oven. I heard a knock on the door and went to go answer it. I opened the door to see Niall, dressed similar to myself with a bottle of wine. "You're the best." I said and hugged him. I pulled out of the hug and he followed me to the kitchen and put the wine in the fridge so it could get cold again. "What are you making?" He asked and I slid up on the counter top. "Chicken and potatoes. It's still got like half an hour before it's ready." I said and he nodded. "It smells good. Where is Harry?" He asked and I looked down at the tiled floor. "Apparently out with people from the record label to celebrate his album having a release date." "He has a date? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" "He never told me." I said and and he sighed. "He's probably just got a lot on his mind." Niall said and I heard a phone go off. "Was that you?" "No. I thought it was you." He said and walked into the living room to see Harry's phone on the table. I picked it up and there was a notification saying he got tagged in something on Instagram. I opened it and saw the record label posted it. "Harry celebrating his album date." With the date behind it and I looked at the picture of Harry, surrounded by girls and dancing. He had his hands on one of their waists and I locked his phone, dropping it on the table. "What was it?" "Why don't you go look at your labels Instagram." I snapped and walked back to our room. I grabbed a duffle bag and put enough clothes for a day or two in it along with anything else I might need. I grabbed my laptop bag and my phone charger before taking both bags out and putting them on the couch. "Niall, can I stay with you tonight?" "Yeah, sure." He said and the timer for the oven went off. "Chicken to go?" He suggested as I pulled it out of the oven. "Great idea." I said and put it in a Tupperware container. "Lets go." I said and he grabbed my bags. While I grabbed the bottle of wine from the fridge. We made the half hour drive to his house and he unlocked the door, letting me go in first. I walked to the kitchen and got plates out, putting food on them and opening the bottle of wine. I heard footsteps and glasses clinking behind me. I turned to see Niall holding two towards me. I poured the wine and we sat at his table to eat dinner. "It was just a picture and they could've just been dancing but I need to not see him tonight." I said and Niall nodded with his mouth full of food. "On a brighter note, the food is delicious." "Thanks. Working from home gave me plenty of time to learn." I said, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose as he smiled. "Well, stay as long as you like. An in-home chef is something I've always wanted." He said and I laughed. We both ate and joked and drank wine. When we were done eating we washed out dishes and finished off the bottle. I heard my phone ring and groaned. "Why does someone have to call right now?" I asked and Niall shrugged. I picked up my phone and saw Harry's name. I took a quick breathe and answered. "Where are you? " He said and I groaned. "Not home." "Not home doesn't tell me where you are." "You didn't bother to tell me where you were going but I have to tell you? Not how that works." I said and he huffed. "Have you been drinking?" "A little. I saw that you were. You were also dancing on some girl so I don't think what I'm doing is our business." "Are you with Niall?" "Why does it matter?" "So you are. I'll be there as soon as I can." He said and hung up before I could protest. "Shit." I said and Niall looked confused. "He's on his way over here." "Shit." Niall repeated and I nodded, sitting on the couch.
