I stared at Harry, biting my lip and nonsensically mumbling back as I held the envelope between my bumbling fingers.
"Iz, just open it." He laughed, urging me on once again; "I think you'll like it, at least I hope that you will."
As Anne fussed around with taking presents out of the Christmas sacks, I could hear the chattering going on between her, Robin and Gemma, while I seemed to focus and zone in on Harry.
"Did you like your signed CD by the way?" He grinned at me, "Heard your meeting with Adele went down a storm according to Lou. I wish I had seen your face."
I didn't answer, I just smiled and continued to open the envelope, my nerves slicing through me.
I don't know why I was so nervous, maybe it was because it was our first Christmas and our first Christmas morning together, and I had no idea what to expect from him.
Harry however, was grinning and resting his finger just above his lips, smirking lightly as he waited for me to open it up.
"Oooooh, are we doing Izzy first?!" Anne squealed, clapping her hands excitedly, "I can't wait for this!"
"It's not her Christmas present," Harry clarified, "I just didn't get the time to give it to her in London."
I paused, nervously, hearing Gemma and Harry both squabbling beside me as Gem made a comment about Harry giving me things.
Of course, this then caused Anne to tell them both to shut up and behave, when I finally found the courage to slide my fingers into the envelope... and pull out what was inside.
Harry stopped bickering with Gemma, knowing that I now had the surprise in my hands, and while I was completely and utterly blown away by what I was holding and seeing, I couldn't help but well up and cry.
"Well done Harold, you made her cry." Gemma swiped at him, "Jesus, making a girl cry on Christmas Day hm? Who'd have thought?"
"Babe, what's wrong? Don't you like it?" Harry panicked, "I thought you would have, and- I promised I would take you, and now she's doing a tour it's so much easier and we can go together like we planned and-"
"These tickets for Adele are not even on sale yet Harry, how the bloody hell did you get them?!" Robin gasped, looking over my shoulder; "Anne, have you seen this love? We were going to get tickets too as soon as they were on sale-"
"I kinda... pulled a few strings," Harry admitted sheepishly, "Got in touch with her and she gave me a couple when I saw her at The X Factor. I uh, have an envelope for you two too... Merry Christmas mum, Robin." He said lowly.
"Oh Harry!" Anne cried, reaching up to kiss his face; "Thank you ever so much!"
I was still sitting there, in shock, and after he had been kissed off by his mum, Harry leaned over to my side.
"Izzy, say something baby..."
But I couldn't.
I was so numb with shock and amazement, and happiness, I just sat there staring at the two tickets to Adele's worldwide tour that were currently sitting in my hands.
It brought me back to the time where we were in this exact place, pulling up into this drive, on our way to meet his father and Jo for the first time, after my meeting with Gemma the night before didn't go too well.
I remembered telling Harry how much I loved Adele after listening and lip syncing to Someone Like You in the car, telling him how she seemed so down to Earth, hilariously funny judging by her interviews, had one hell of a laugh and how her songs just cut right through me.
I remembered saying that even if you didn't understand what she had gone through in her lyrics, they still somehow managed to cut you deeply and make you feel... which was a sign of a truly, gifted incredible artist and a special person.
"I'll take you to see her live one day, baby. I will. Promise."
"You plan on doing a lot of things with me, don't you?" I had teased him, "London, LA, now Adele..."
"It makes me happy to see you happy, Izzy. I'll do anything to keep that smile on your face."
"Izzy? Babe?"
Hearing Harry's nervous voice knocked me back into reality, making my head turn to face him.
He looked so nervous and so unrelaxed, it was almost endearing to see him squirm beside me.
So I did the only thing that I could think of, something that would fuse the situation between us and convey how grateful I was for having this gift.
So I leaned over, tickets still in my hand, kissing him on the lips and clasping my hands around his head for further effect.
"Well would you look at that." Anne sighed happily, a flash of light dashing across the room as I assumed she has taken a picture of us kissing; "Perfect."
"You like it then?" Harry whispered against my lips, holding me firmly with his hands; "You're happy?"
I nodded, just the once, before kissing him softly once again.
"So happy. Thank you. I love you, so much."
Harry smiled, stroking my hair behind my ears and relaxing a little bit as I snuggled in beside him, still a little tearful.
"What about your other presents?! You've got lots to open Harry."
"I'm good mum," he said, "I have all that I need right here in this room."
"Where's the God damn sick bucket." Gemma retorted, shoving two fingers in her mouth and pretending to heave, to which Harry leaned over and grabbed a cushion, throwing it at her.
"Welcome to the Styles/Twist Christmas party, Izzy." Robin grinned at me, as I could only laugh as Anne once again separated her two adult children from their pathetic (but highly amusing) squabbling.
Merry Christmas indeed.
The rest of Christmas morning consisted of everyone taking it in turns to open their presents once they had collected them from the sacks that Anne had brought down.
Luckily for me, I had managed to put my gifts in there too, so we were good to go.
First up was Gemma, who had been spoiled rotten to the core.
She'd received beautiful gifts from Anne and Robin, not to mention Mac make-up products from Harry and a new Louis Vuitton bag (she actually screamed the house down at this point and hugged him so hard, I thought he was gonna break) and a set of her favourite perfume.
From me, I had bought her a retro record player from Steepletone and a nail styling kit that I thought she would love... and she did, thankfully.
Next up was Anne and Robin, who were just as equally as spoiled.
They were inundated with presents from Harry, with gifts such as a brand new pair of glasses each from their favourite designer, Vera Wang.
He'd also spoiled them rotten with endless purchases such as jewellery, clothes, a brand new camera bag for Anne so she could stock up on all her accessories for her new camera and as a joke, bought Robin an armchair hanger that held remotes, his glasses and God knows what else as he was the self proclaimed "man of the house" and apparently needed one according to Harry.
Harry then surprised them both with a handwritten note explaining that he and I were taking them both (and Gemma) to LA next week for a New Year break, but of course he kept the audition quiet.
It was something that we decided to do together, as we thought it would be nice for them to get away and for me to spend some time with them all too.
I guess Harry's intentions were to tell them about the audition whilst we were out there.
Next up, was Harry himself.
I took in a deep breath, utterly nervous as I practically began convulsing inside.
Buying gifts for Gemma, Anne and Robin had been relatively easy, but Harry was the hardest and I struggled on him the most.
It wasn't that he would be ungrateful, because I knew he'd love anything that I would have bought him, but what do you buy a guy that has everything and anything in the world and can get everything and anything he wants?
So I tried to ignore that, and thought deeply what he would like for Christmas.
"What's this?" Harry smirked, his knuckles tapping on the box lightly; "Sounds... and feels kinda light."
"It's from Izzy." Anne said, sitting back with a cup of coffee in her hand, "Quit messing and open the bloody thing, Harry."
"Alright, alright keep your bloody hair on woman." He grinned, literally grasping and ripping at the wrapping paper until his eyes fell on the familiar slogan that he loved.
"Tell me you didn't." Harry said slowly, turning to face me as a small smirk appeared on his face; "Izzy?"
"Open it and find out." I smiled, "You're not the only one around here that can pull some strings you know."
I grinned, winking at Anne as she smiled back at me, eagerly waiting to see what I had gotten him.
I watched, my heart pounding as Harry lifted up the lid of the box, revealing a custom made pair of his favourite Camel suede Chelsea boots from YSL.
It was so custom made, that they don't do them anymore- so these boots were special.
I admit the idea wasn't mine, it was actually Gemma's, as she had previously told me that Harry lived in his old boots and worn them out so much, he couldn't wear them anymore.
So when he went to buy another pair towards the end of the One Direction tour, he'd been gutted to find out that the brand didn't make them anymore.
To say he was speechless was the understatement of the century.
"Izzy... How did you... Why did you... these boots, they're like- nearly seven hundred quid, where did you get the money for this?" Harry stammered, "It's..."
"Does it matter Harry? What a lovely, thoughtful gift..." Anne chimed, "Your favourite boots, look. Lucky boy. What a wonderful girl you have."
Harry stared at her, before moving back to me.
"I'm just... Iz, you shouldn't have. Thank you, but you shouldn't have." He said, "You didn't use your student loan, did you-"
I knew he wasn't going to let this drop, and I was comfortable enough to explain my reasons with Anne, Robin and Gemma present, so I went through with it.
"Harry, I wanted too," I smiled at him, "Don't get me wrong, I hated spending that amount of money on one pair of shoes... I still think you're bloody mental for doing so, but, you love them and I knew you'd appreciate them."
"Izzy-"
"We all know I don't have much money, and I'm not with you for your money either, so I knew that you'd appreciate them all the more because of how hard I've saved for them each month." I added with a nervous giggled, making a light joke to break the tension, "And seeing your face was worth it... worth every penny I saved and spent. You are worth it, Harry. So Merry Christmas, I love you."
"How lovely," Anne cooed tearfully, "What a lovely, thoughtful and kind gesture... you have a heart of gold, Izzy."
I smiled at her, thanking her for her compliment as Harry moved the YSL box from off his lap and practically dragged me onto it instead.
"I love you, so much Iz." He whispered, "And I'm so lucky to have you, to have someone who's thoughtful, kind, beautiful, smart... you never cease to amaze me."
"Lower it on the PDA, Harold." Gemma commented, yet Harry ignored her, his eyes firmly glued on me.
"Leave them alone, Gemma."
"I have other presents for you too," I murmured, wrapping my legs either side of his lap while Robin began clearing away the used and ripped wrapping paper on the floor.
"Oh yeah? That's good, because I haven't given you any of mine yet." Harry replied, "Some... I can't give you though, with all these eyes and ears around..." He whispered, "So I'll give them to you later."
"Same." I smiled, laying a gentle kiss on his lips; "You still have presents to open, Styles."
"So do you, you haven't opened any yet." He said, "C'mere a second... I want to give you one right now."
"Don't you want to finish yours first?" I asked, as he placed me back down onto the settee.
Harry shook his head, "It can wait. We have all day, baby. Plenty of time."
I smiled, visibly excited as I suddenly became presented with a light teal box tied beautifully with a white ribbon.
Flicking my eyes up at Harry, I nervously pulled my hair behind my ears and licked my lips, my heart racing once again as the words Tiffany & Co glared right back at me in my face.
"Holy shit, Harry's proposing!" Gemma squealed, "Mum! Robin! Quick! Get the camera!"
"What?! No I'm not-" Harry said quickly, "I mean, I am, I will one day... Just not today. God, how cliché is that proposing on Christmas Day?"
"You and I both know, as well as Izzy, and mum actually, that there is nothing more iconic than that Tiffany blue box... and in my honest opinion, women and men of all ages around the bloody globe know that Tiffany & Co are famous for two things little brother- their silver and their engagement rings."
"Gemma, shut up. You're makin' an arse out of yourself." Harry sighed, "Just ignore her and open the box, babe."
I had to admit, my first internal thought was that Harry was proposing to me officially too... but as soon as I started to think about it, this just wasn't his style.
It wasn't his style to propose in jogging bottoms and a shirt, he was right, and Christmas Day was just too cliché.
I guess we were both on the same page, but where Gemma was concerned, I also knew that she was right when it came to recognising the famous box.
I'd first become aware of it while watching the movie Sweet Home Alabama with Phoebe one day.
In the beginning, there is a scene were the character played by Patrick Dempsey takes Reese Witherspoon's character to a Tiffany store after hours in New York in order to propose to her.
As he is about to pop the question, all the displays suddenly light up and the assistances start pulling these stunning rings from the cabinets.
It was such a magical, romantic and dream-like moment that would make any woman weak at the knees, I was sure of it.
"Missed opportunity there little brother, you had the perfect shot of putting a ring on it."
"Gemma, would you fuck off seriously?"
"Harry, watch your language." Anne chided, "It's Christmas, can we not swear for one day?"
"Tell her then, she's doing my head in." Harry huffed, "I'm trying to have a moment here with the one I love... sort your brat out."
"I'm not a brat!"
I smirked, returning my gaze to the little teal box that had the most beautiful, wonderful treasure hidden inside of it.
Since we met, Harry had taken a liking to spoiling me with jewellery, the first piece I got was my locket, not to mention my ring that confined us together forever with Oscar and finally the charms he had bought me to go on my Pandora bracelet that Ryan had got for me.
But I had never received anything from Tiffany & Co before, so I knew that this was pretty big... and expensive.
"Open the box, babe." He encouraged me, to which I slowly began to unravel the white ribbon around the box; "I really hope that you like it."
I paused to take a look at him, before pulling the lid off slowly to reveal a bracelet from their Tiffany Infinity line.
I held my breath, literally, my eyes firmly fixed on the subtle, delicate, feminine and rather beautiful bracelet inside.
"It's uh... an infinity bracelet." Harry suddenly spoke up, "I got it while I was in America for work and you were here, so it's from one of the stores in New York as I ordered it for you... I liked it because of the symbol, it's a powerful sign that means a continuous connection between two people, the energy and the vitality... we, are infinity, Izzy."
I stared at the sterling silver links and the infinity symbol that was indeed in the middle of the bracelet.
It was... beautiful and stunning, and elegant and so sophisticated it was everything and more than I possibly could have dreamed of having.
"It's timeless, just like we are." Harry murmured, "Do you like it?"
Was he serious?
"Harry, it's..."
I was choking up, the emotion riding through me as this literally became the best Christmas I'd ever had.
"You kept your promise."
"What promise?" He asked, leaning forward and taking the time to gently wipe my face, ridding me of my tears.
"You promised that this... that this would be the best Christmas ever, and it is... it really is."
"Oh c'mere baby," he sighed softly, chuckling to himself as he welcomed me into his arms, holding me close and kissing his head; "You deserve it, Izzy. I'd give you the world if I could."
"You already have," I sniffed, "Because you are my whole world, Harry. You."
"I love you, so much." Harry whispered, "Would you like me to put it on for you?"
"In a bit... Just want to stay here and cuddle with you. I love you too. I'm so happy, Harry. So, so, so happy... thank you."
***
"I'm having a great time, Ry... I miss you though, so much. Are you having a good day?" I asked eagerly, smiling at him through the laptop as we skyped.
I was in Harry's bedroom, alone, and taking the video call in private.
It wasn't that I had anything to hide, it was just that I wanted those few precious moments with my twin alone on a day that seemed to be usually filled with so much heartache for me.
Now however, I was in England with the love of my life, celebrating the holidays and chatting to my twin that I never knew I had for the last twenty one years; as he celebrated on the other side of the world with his own family.
"I miss you too, sis... but, I'll be back over soon. LA was fun though, wasn't it? And yeah, I'm having a great Christmas, hope yours is going well too?"
I smiled back, "It's perfect, Ryan."
"That boyfriend of yours spoiling you, I hope?"
I grinned, casually lifting my wrist up in front of the camera.
"Tiffany & Co. Whoa."
"I'm impressed that you even know what that is." I laughed at him, "I wasn't expecting much, if I'm honest. I totally underestimated him, but... it's been lovely, special and a real different experience to what I'm usually used to at Christmas."
"Next year, you should come over here, the two of you... or I come over there, whichever. I'm sorry that I couldn't come over."
"It's fine," I whispered, smiling through it, "You have your family over there, I understand that... you have your-"
I paused, trying to find the words and hoping it didn't sound like poison as I said it.
"You have your mum, dad and little brother... I totally understand. How's Molly these days? Things going good?"
"Uh yeah," Ryan said awkwardly, "In fact, we're talking about seeing each other when I come over again or she comes over here."
"So you're still in touch then?"
"Every day."
"Wow." I grinned, raising my eyebrows at him; "Little brother, I am impressed."
"Don't call me that." he snorted, "It's... emasculating."
"Do you even know what that means?"
"No, but whatever." he laughed, "Are you really okay though? With me not being there, I mean? I know we haven't known each other very long, but I can see it in your face... are you sure that you're okay?"
"I'm fine, Ry." I smiled, "Look, Harry got me another charm for my bracelet." I added, hoping to try and change the subject.
The truth was, even though I was incredibly happy being here with Harry and his family (his auntie Dee, uncle Mike and cousins Matt, Ben and Ella were here too, along with Des and Jo) I couldn't help but feel a little pang of jealously because my brother was practically on the other side of the planet.
"Wicked, what did he get you?"
"A little Christmas tree," I laughed, "It has today's date engraved on the side of the charm, as it's our first Christmas together."
"Y'know, that dude never ceases to amaze me. He's so thoughtful, he puts the rest of us to shame."
I laughed, "Yeah, I guess he is... I'm really lucky."
"You have no idea how lucky you are, Izzy. He loves you, so much... and like I said before, I know we don't really know each other that well yet, but you're still my sister and I can't help but feel this overwhelming sense of pride and protection over you... and it makes me feel so much better knowing that you have someone there to love you and to protect you, when I'm not there to do it myself. I couldn't wish for anyone better."
"Stop it, you'll make me cry." I whispered, "Doesn't matter that we don't know each other properly yet Ry, we're the same person you and me... and that counts for something. We have the rest of our lives to build up on the years we lost, right?"
"Right." he smiled, "Anyway, so what did you get Harry for Christmas? What did he get you? Give me aaaaaaaall the details..."
"He was actually really hard to shop for," I replied, "I struggled for quite a bit, but Gemma, that's his sister, helped out a lot... I think I only struggled because I had it in the back of my mind that he could get anything and everything that he wants, and what do you get a guy that can do that?"
"First world problems- dating a multi-millionaire, Izzy."
"Shut up," I laughed, "So anyway, she gave me the idea about getting him YSL boots-"
"Saint Laurent? Like the fashion brand? The really expensive fashion brand?!"
"Yeah," I laughed again, "He had this favourite pair and had worn them out so much because he wore them all the time, so Gemma gave me the idea of getting in touch with the company and requesting a custom made pair... so I did."
"My bank balance is already crying for you."
I laughed, "It wasn't much... well, just under seven hundred pounds."
"How fucking much?!"
"Seven hundred-"
"Don't. My heart is racing." he said dramatically, "Well, you certainly won the best girlfriend of the year award. Guaranteed you're definitely getting laid tonight."
"Stop it," I blushed furiously.
"Oh come on, I've bloody caught you and heard you enough times." he grinned at me, "So did he like them?"
"He loved them... kinda had a go about me spending that sort of money, but I soon shut him up about that." I smirked, "I also got him a ring, it's really kinda cool because I knew he would love it, but it's a heart wrapped in barbed wire... kinda like a sacred heart ring trapped-"
"Let me guess, because he has your heart, right?"
I grinned.
"You are too easy, woman. And lovely, and beautiful, and just perfect. Did he like it?"
"He loved it." I smiled, "Said it was one of his most favourite gifts he had ever gotten."
"You two... are so sick for each other, it's unreal." Ryan laughed, "Anything else?"
"Well, it's kinda funny actually, but we both came up with the same idea without realising... we both gave each other jars, and in my one he made there are coloured coded notes inside, but I did Harry's a little more differently... I did 365 reasons why I loved him, while Harry co-ordinated his with a colour scheme- yellow notes are moments and memories, green notes are quotes and lyrics, and pink notes are his reasons why he loves me. We pick one out each day for the next year."
"What did I just say? Totally sick for one another. I'm glad my dinner has digested."
"Oi." I laughed, "It was... perfect, to say the least. I also gave him a brand new leather journal, he likes to write a lot and has written down his experiences in this tatty little book he has. He tends to write songs in there too, and I figured because he's starting up a brand new journey with his career, he has a brand new journal to document this new era in now."
"You're so thoughtful, Izzy. He's a really lucky guy, and you're lucky too." Ryan smiled, "I'm so glad you found him when you did."
"Me too..." I whispered, keeping the other presents on the down low.
I figured Ryan didn't need to know that Harry had bought me lingerie and three beautiful Agent Provocateur sets, and that I had also purchased something rather different that almost set Harry off to explode in his joggers.
Green and gold lingerie in form of his favourite team, the Packers, complete with green high heels, white knee high socks and his name emblazoned at the back of my underwear- seeing as he was having a love affair with my ass, I found it funny and suitable.
Harry however, didn't find it funny and unsuitable; as he knew he wouldn't be getting this gift in it's entirety until we were back home in London.
Ryan also didn't need to know that I had given Harry a gift card in the form of a booked appointment, that was actually a studio.
I knew he loved retro things such as cameras and photography, and seeing as we had already spoken about him photographing me, I figured giving myself to him (and only him) and allowing him to photograph me in a studio that only he would be allowed to, was something special.
I figured that would be one hell of a present... and probably one of his favourites.
I had also made him a coupon book set, that he could 'cash in' anytime he wanted too.
The coupons were hand made, and luckily for me, I had time to complete them and print them off while Harry was in America working.
Needless to say, the look on his face when he read some of them were priceless... I think the sexual favours ones were his favourite.
"I'm so glad you've had such a great Christmas, Izzy. There's nobody in the world that deserves it more than you."
I smiled, "Thanks, Ry. Gemma got me and Harry matching onesies, did you see my Instagram post?"
"I did yeah, how awesome." He laughed heartily.
"Anne got me a really beautiful gift too, I'll show you if you like?"
"Sure thing," he said, "Let's see it... Anne is Harry's mum, right?"
"Yeah, she's lovely... just a beautiful person, inside and out. Hang on, I'll go get it." I said, jumping off the bed to rush over to the wardrobe where it was laying against.
Even now, looking at it, it made me choke up and I still couldn't believe how she had pulled it off.
"Jesus... is that, mum and dad?" Ryan exhaled, as I held up the massive canvas painting in front of the laptop; "It is, isn't it?"
I nodded, tearful once again.
"Isn't it beautiful? She got me a couple of things, but this... it's them, on their wedding day Ry. We're in this too."
"We are?"
"Yeah, they got married after finding out mum was pregnant... so we're there, with them. In this."
"How in the hell... how did she even get that? Whoa." he whispered, licking his lips; "That's, beautiful... and such a wonderful thing to do. What a lady."
"She explained to Harry that she didn't know what to get me, and so they pondered for ages and she said one day, it came to her while she was looking through my Instagram page. She saw the photo that I had uploaded of them both on there on their anniversary, and then she asked Harry to get the original picture when we went back to Wales to visit their resting place. I don't know how he did it, finding it amongst all of Gran's stuff, but he did and that's what she did for me. I couldn't understand why she rushed off when we got back, but it makes sense now. She said I can now have a piece of them back home in London, and it just... meant so much."
"Iz, don't cry."
"Happy crying. Honest." I sniffed, "God, I just... I don't know sometimes, I just think back to last year and how unhappy I was, and that I was just living life through the motions... and then to have everything taken from me and be blessed with such a perfect partner, and his family... I just feel so lucky."
"You are lucky, Iz. You are." Ryan said, his voice soothing me through the laptop; "You've got the family you've always wanted... you've been through so much, it's about time that things started heading your way and becoming good again."
"Thanks." I sniffed, "God, I've done enough crying today to last me a lifetime... I don't think I can handle anymore."
"Izzy?" Harry shouted, from the ruckus that was downstairs; "I need you down here a second babe-"
"Boyfriend calling." Ryan laughed, "I better let you go-"
"No, he can bloody wait. I haven't spoken to you in ages, hang on-" I said, jumping off the bed and towards the bedroom door; "I'm still on skype to Ryan- can't it wait?!"
"No, I need you down here right now- dinner will be ready soon, and mum will have a fit if you're not down here-"
I huffed, rolling my eyes at his dramatics.
"He probably wants me to pull a Christmas cracker beforehand or something." I laughed, "Can I call you again soon?"
"Of course you can, are you getting ready for dinner?" Ryan asked, "Hmm, wish I could have one."
"You don't have Christmas dinner?"
"We've already had ours but I could easily smash another. Think I'm going over my gran's later or something for Christmas tea, so it's all good." he smiled, "So listen, enjoy the rest of your time with Harry and his family, Izzy... enjoy this Christmas and just be happy. Alright? Mum, dad, Gran and my nephew would want you to be happy. I want you to be happy. So be happy. Got it? Or this little brother will have to kick your butt next time he sees you."
I grinned, "Okay... I will. I'll call you soon, okay? I love you."
"I love you too... give my best to Harry."
"I will." I promised, blowing him a kiss; "Love you more."
"Love you even more." he smiled, catching my kiss before he blew one back to me; "Laters, twinny."
"Laters." I smiled back, catching his kiss as the call suddenly clicked off and the screen faded to black.
I sat there for a second, feeling sad and empty that he had gone, but with Harry bellowing my name once again, I was quickly dragged back into the reality of what was going on downstairs.
"Alright! I'm bloody coming!" I yelled, shutting the laptop shut before bouncing off the bed again.
Taking a quick make-up and hair check in the mirror, and being happy with my appearance, I applied a little bit of lippy (actually it was vaseline to help with my chapped lips) and I tousled my hair up a little, before exiting Harry's room and making my way downstairs where the whole family were apparently waiting for Anne's famous Christmas roast.
"Something smells divine down here..." I moaned, my belly rumbling at the smell of absolutely everything I could think of, running through the house; "I'm starving." I more or less said to myself, jumping at the feel of Harry's arms coming around my waist from behind; "Hi."
"Hi." he smiled, kissing my shoulder; "Did you have fun with Ryan?"
I nodded, "Had a lovely chat, thank you for letting me use your laptop." I said appreciatively, "I feel better having spoken to him now."
"It's fine." he smiled, "Come with me. I want to show you something."
I frowned, "I thought dinner was going to be ready soon-"
"It is, but really quickly. I want to show you now, Izzy." he said quietly, "I still have one last present to give you."
"What?" I exclaimed, "Harry, you said there wasn't anymore-"
"Just the one. I promise this is it." he grinned, "Garden. Quickly." he added, his hand firmly taking mine as he lead me through the groups of people talking loudly in his mum's front room.
"What could possibly be in the garden?!"
"You'll see." he smiled, "Quickly, we haven't got much time. Mum will kill us if we're late for dinner-" he said, pulling me through the conservatory doors and into the garden; "C'mon Iz, quickly-"
"Harry, it's fucking freezing out there!"
"C'mon, stay close to me, it's just by the shed I promise-" he said, his hand still entwined with mine as he practically dragged me closer towards Anne and Robin's shed.
It was pretty outside, all little fairy lights (that weren't on, because it was daylight obviously) and Christmas decorations sitting in the snow; but even though it was pretty, I was still fucking freezing and wanted to go inside pronto.
"Close your eyes for me, baby."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it." Harry chuckled, "Actually, I'll cover your eyes. Stand in front of me, and I'll guide you-"
"No way, I'll fall flat on my face."
"I promise I'll catch you, I'll never let you fall Iz." he murmured, his cold lips now pressed against my cheek after whispering in my ear; "C'mon. I'll guide you... and on a count to three, I'll remove my hand and you'll see your final present. Alright?"
"This better be worth freezing for, Harry..." I half mumbled.
"It is. Trust me." he answered, and I swear he was smiling beside my ear right now; "Okay, walk a little... that's it, a little to the left, now to the right... keep going... that's it... nearly there-" Harry instructed, "And stop."
"Can I see now?"
"In a minute, I want to ask you something first." he said slowly, "But keep those eyes closed, I'm now standing right in front of you..."
"Harry-"
"Please, Iz. Just trust me."
I sighed, "Fine. I trust you. They're closed."
"Okay..." he said, "How do you feel about adoption?"
"Adoption?"
My heart was pounding.
"Yeah, adoption."
"You want to adopt?" I asked calmly.
"Yeah. With you."
I swallowed, "Uh... why would you want to adopt? I mean, didn't we have this conversation the other night in the bath?"
"I just mean it in general, would you adopt with me... we have a home together, a life together, I think the next step is pretty obvious don't you think?"
"Harry, I'm not sure-" I began, but then stopped once I heard something I wasn't supposed to hear; "What the hell was that-"
"Well jeez, you know how to spoil a surprise, don't you?!" Harry chimed.
"Harry, what have you done-"
"Just, wait a second- and don't open your eyes. Not until I tell you too." he instructed, "Okay, on a count of three, I'm gonna let you open your eyes... alright?"
"What sort of adoption?" I asked, my heart and mind racing.
"One..."
"Harry-"
"Two-"
"Harry bloody Styles-"
"Three." he said gently against my ear, and even though I was scared to open my eyes, curiosity got the better of me.
I found myself blinking, shading my eyes from the bright light that was the sun.
"I know the one thing you wanted in the world for Christmas was your mum, dad, Gran... and of course, Oscar; but I can't give you them... so I figured, that I could give you something else instead. Something that means just as much to you, and something that we can build up on together. The start of our little family..."
I stood, completely shell shocked as my mind struggled to comprehend what it was seeing.
It had to be a dream, seriously.
My mind was messing with me, I was sure of it.
"Happy Christmas, sis."
I turned to face Harry, who was stood with his hands behind his back, grinning sheepishly at me.
Ryan was standing there, also grinning sheepishly.
"This... is my last present?" I managed to crack out to him, my lungs reserving all the air inside of them as I struggled to breathe naturally.
Harry nodded, "Surprise."
I shook my head internally, my eyes focusing on Ryan who was actually meant to be thousands of miles away from me right now.
"You... you can't be here, I just spoke to you on Skype for Christ sake, you- just hung up!"
"Great thing, Wi-Fi... and blacked out curtains in a shed, hm?" Harry smiled, "We were all in on it, baby. Everyone knows he's here."
I stared at them both, absolutely flummoxed.
Ryan grinned at me, "Guess I'm quite the actor... and your man here is quite extraordinary. Oh, and I think this little guy belongs to you."
My eyes focused on the beautiful blue Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy in his arms, the one that was yapping earlier when Harry said something about adoption.
"This... this is what you meant? Adopting a fucking puppy? You got me a fucking puppy?!"
"No, we got a puppy." Harry corrected, pursing his lips together as he fought the smirk on his face; "So technically, two presents. And the last two, I promise."
I stared at him, my mind whirring with confusion and absolute adoration for him.
How had he somehow managed to yet again completely surprise me and take my breath away, pulling off something that I had absolutely no idea about?
"This little guy needed a home, and so I thought about it for a while... and I figured that you'll need someone to keep you company when I'm away, and I was going to ask you about it, but then I thought it would be nicer to surprise you instead... are you surprised?"
"Are you fucking kidding me Styles, you just popped out my brother and a puppy for fuck sake!"
Harry laughed, just as he stepped closer towards me.
"So... do we adopt him or not? He's ours, if you want him." he murmured, "I think it'll be fun, Izzy... we've had so much bad stuff happening this year, and this, right here, is our new start... fresh beginnings and a brand new year that is waiting for us to grab. What do you say?"
"Yes." I said, without a second's hesitation.
"Yes?" Harry repeated, "You'll adopt a puppy with me?"
"Yes." I answered again, grabbing him by the collar; "I'll adopt a puppy with you... and for the record, this is much better than a proposal."
Harry grinned, chuckling against my lips as I kissed him, rocking and holding the little mite that was the puppy in my arms.
"Well, while you two get acquainted, I'm off inside to re-introduce myself to the family..." Ryan laughed, "Take all the time you need, lovebirds..."
I pulled back, my lips still against Harry's, one arm around his neck as he held me around my waist.
"No more surprises?"
"No more. I promise I'm done." he smirked, "So... mama, what are we gonna call this cute little guy?"