Protected

Chapter 35

I was sat at my dressing table; I'd just finished brushing out the loose waves in my hair, ready for the day when I noticed one of Harry's rings on his bedside table. This was unusual for him as he was always so particular about putting all his pieces back in the draw in his closet when he wasn't wearing them, he also insisted on keeping my bracelet there as he could lock the draw and keep everything secure.

I reached over and gently picked up the obviously well-loved piece of jewellery, holding the simple silver in the palm of my hand, it had a raised band around the centre with the word PEACE stamped into the metal. It was nowhere near as heavy or ornate as most of his other rings, it certainly didn't have that same luxury feeling that so many of his others did, this was the simple band that he always wore on his middle finger on his right hand, I don't think I'd ever seen him take it off since I'd known him, even when he changed out his others.

Was this the ring that Louis mentioned? If it was, I needed to know why he still felt compelled to wear it, or should I say the now insecure and slightly jealous Lois needed it, did this mean Harry's heart wasn't as much mine like Louis had suggested?

"Knock Knock, do you mind if I come in?" Daniel said popping his head round the doorway to the master suite snapping me out of my daydream

"Of course not, Harry's just in the shower at the moment but you can come on in" I replied, placing the ring back where I found it.

Turning from the dressing table, I stood gesturing for Daniel to come out onto the balcony.

"i just wanted to make sure that your OK, I got the impression that something is going on but I'm not sure what?" Daniel said as he followed me outside, we both leant on the railing of the balcony, basking in the warm sunshine looking out at the beautiful view.

I paused looking back into the bedroom making sure Harry was still in the shower, turning back to Daniel, not really sure what or how much to say

"I'm fine, we're fine... I think. You remember how I told you how Harry and I met, how the press thought I was Louis because of our names and there had been rumours about some kind of relationship between them for years?"

I paused checking the bedroom once more before continuing

"Yeah, I remember, this was the whole Larry thing and why you were getting so much grief right?" Dan asked with a slightly quizzical look on his face, not really sure where I was going with this.

"Yeah that's it, well I walked in on a conversation when I was putting Aden to bed last night that makes me think they weren't just rumours"

"Ok"

Daniel said slowly, his eyes widening, pausing before he continued

"Just to play devil's advocate here but does it really matter? I mean Louis was here with his girlfriend and son right so it'd be old news surely...?"

"Oh god no I have no issue if they were together, you know things like that don't bother me, love who you love right? It's more the way they were talking tells me it might not be as ancient history as I would like. I mean we talked about exes, the big ones even some of the ones no one's ever heard of, and I told him about mine too. He'd mentioned that there was someone he'd fallen in love with when he was really young like in the early days of the band but never really went into it and I guess I didn't really think much of it... then I heard them speaking, and Louis mentioned a ring that Harry wears and then, this morning, the ring that he never takes off his damn finger is sitting on his bedside table like it suddenly doesn't belong. I mean that can't be a coincidence right? And then... we were messing around this morning and he called me by my last name because I call him Styles when I'm pretending to tell him off but then... when he said Tomlinson, he got totally weird and looked freaked out and basically said he can't ever say my name because it freaks him out too much... because it's HIS name Dan! He can't even bare to say his name. What if he's still in love with him and one day Louis comes and tells him he wants to be open and takes him from me, what if Louis is who he's meant to be with and I'm just getting in the way? or am some kind of distraction...?"