Buses & Bunk Beds (Zarry)

Chapter 65

I woke up the next morning with my arms still wrapped around Harry. He was already awake, and I could tell that he was trying to keep still so that he didn't disturb me, so I gave him a squeeze to let him know that he could move.

"Morning love. How'd you sleep?" I asked him as I kissed along his shoulder.

"Good, good. I always sleep good when I'm with you."

I raked my free hand through his mess of curls as a thought occurred to me. "I meant to tell you last night, but I totally forgot when you seduced me," I began, pushing my hips into him. "Me mum is super psyched for the baby. You should have heard her, babe...she actually cried she was so happy. How did Anne react?"

"She's excited too. A little confused about the details maybe, but happy all the same."

"My mum too. I think in this case the less we tell them the better. And I know they'll love the baby no matter what. Did you get to talk to Gemma too?"

"Yeah, we talked," he answered quietly, but I could feel his body tense up so I knew that he was hiding something.

"What happened? What's wrong?" I asked, sitting up on my elbow so that I could see him better.

"Nothing. Everything's fine, I promise," he told me, still facing the wall.

"Harry...Harry turn around and tell me what's wrong."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I have morning breath."

"So what, I do too."

"Well, that certainly doesn't make me more inclined to face you!"

"Harry...," I said, using my firm voice but getting no response from him. "Come on, look at me," I insisted, pulling on his shoulder until he was lying flat on his back.

"Everything's okay, honestly. She's super excited about us being together - she's always liked you - and I told her the truth about the baby and she took it really well," he blurted out before pausing.

"But..."

"But she doesn't think we should come out yet," he told me, finally looking me in the eye. Now it was my turn to tense, as all of my old fears of Harry wanting to hide our relationship came rushing back. This could not be happening again. I couldn't lose him again. I couldn't. He must have seen how worried he was making me, because he quickly brought a hand up to caress my cheek. "She's just afraid about what the reaction might be. She doesn't want me to have to deal with any crap. Typical big sister protectiveness," he said with a shrug, obviously trying to act nonchalantly about the whole thing.

"What'd you tell her?" I asked, holding my breath as I waited for his answer. An answer that could change everything.

He slid the hand on my cheek around to the back of my neck and pulled me down for a kiss before responding. The soft touch of his lips against mine comforted me enough that I was able to draw in a shaky breath. It didn't feel like a goodbye kiss or an I'm-about-to-break-your-heart kiss, but I still needed to hear his answer.

"I told her the truth: that I'm worried about how the fans and everybody might react too, but in the end any hate I get will be worth it, 'cause I'll be able to walk down the street and hold my boyfriend's hand."

I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful beyond belief that we were both on the same page. Grateful that he didn't seem like he was going to be scared away again.

"That's how I feel about it too. I wish everyone would just mind their own fucking business, and I'm honestly scared shitless of the response we might get, and that us doing this might hurt the band, or our families, but I'm more scared of the idea that if we don't tell the truth soon, then we could be stuck hiding forever. Plus I can't deny that I'm pretty excited to show my handsome boyfriend off, and I kinda like the idea of the whole world knowing that you're mine."