Songs:
Fine By Me/ Anyway: Chris Brown
You Need Me, I Don't Need You: Ed Sheeran
Temporary Fix/ I Want/ Rock Me/ Best Song Ever/ Midnight Memories: One Direction
A.J.'s POV
Two weeks had passed since, Harry and I had signed for the house. We had gotten our keys on Thursday and spent all weekend packing up the entire apartment. Max had been calling me non stop, but I had, Olivia take the calls, telling him that I was super busy. It's not like it wasn't true, aside from moving and being pregnant and dealing with, Harry, being, Harry, I also had to go to meetings with my publisher, not to mention, actually get some writing done for the fourth book in the series. So, Olivia, was technically telling the truth.
I knew I was going to have to face him eventually, but I wasn't ready. I didn't want to hear how irresponsible I had been or what a mistake this was, because it wasn't. Despite my initial attitude towards this pregnancy, I knew, somewhere inside of me that this was not a mistake and that I loved this little girl more than words could describe. I didn't want to hear someone tell me that she was a mistake, and I definitely wasn't ready for, Sarah's reaction. Eventually, Max would come around, I knew that, but Sarah would probably disown me. As much as I disliked her at times, she was still my mom.
All I wanted was to have her support in a time like this. I wanted what every pregnant girl wants from their mom, comfort and guidance. I craved that attention from her, I wanted to be able to be able to call her at any time, asking her the million questions that popped in my head. But, I knew that was not going to happen. I may not have that from Sarah, but I knew if I ever needed it, I could call Anne.
She had already proven that, time and again. Since we had told her I was pregnant, officially, we had been texting non stop. If ever I was in doubt about something, I would text Anne and she would respond to me with the best of her knowledge. I would always apologize for being annoying, but she would assure me that it was her pleasure to be a part of her grandchild's life. It was that type of affection that I craved from my own mother, but was getting it from, Harry's instead.
Once we told everyone that the baby was going to be a girl, we didn't have a shortage of baby clothes and toys from our friends. Louis was still in L.A. with his little girl, but whenever they got into a heated debate over who was going to be the baby's godfather, he was informed. It got to the point where the actually held "meetings" about it. I honestly think, Harry was enjoying all of the attention. I thought it was just overwhelming.
It was hard to have people put their hands on my stomach. I knew that they just wanted to feel the baby, but it just made me want to punch them. Chris was the only one who offered to let me punch his arm in exchange for letting him talk to my baby bump. I think he was the only one who understood my annoyance. The only thing I found more annoying than having people talk and touch my stomach, was having them treat me like I was a fragile thing that couldn't carry a damn box. Even Samara was helping move boxes so I wouldn't.
Since I was out on the sidelines, I focused on making lunch for everyone, I swear this was the same exact thing that happened when I moved the last time. It was a little frustrating, but I didn't mind it too much this time around. I was having fun, surprisingly. We still didn't have an oven, fridge or cabinets, so I was stuck cooking on a small burner we had picked up on or way here, which I thought was hilarious for some reason.
"Guys, come take a break," I called out as Liam, Chris, Niall and Harry finished moving in the couches into the living room. "Lunch is ready."
"Thank god, I'm starving." Niall sighed, almost dropping his side of the couch, earning a loud groan from Liam who was on his side.
"You're always starving," Samara scoffed.
"I'm a growing boy, Sam."
"Didn't you stop growing?" Olivia asked, skeptically.
Niall rolled his eyes playfully, walking over to the kitchen dramatically. "I liked her better when she was shy and quiet," he informed, no one in particular. "Liam, you have corrupted the poor thing, you horrible human being."
Liam just smiled widely, his eyes practically disappearing at the insinuation. Olivia just turned to a bright shade of red, looking down to avoid any eye contact. Liam walked over to her, wrapping her up in his arms and placing a kiss on her cheek after he whispered something into her ear, which made her smile.
I served the six of them first, since they were actually doing the hard work, before I served myself and joined them in the living room. I watched as they all fell into some weird conversation about something that happened while they were on tour. The story sounded familiar, but I wasn't paying attention. I was more focused on the sight in front of me. These people in front of me, weren't just our friends, they were family, my baby's family. It was something that I had thought about often, but there was something that always got to me when I saw them all together. Sure, Odie, Louis, Ed, Gemma and Johnny were missing, but everyone else was here.
"We should go on a holiday, lads," Liam spoke up to the small crowd. "I think we're due."
"We haven't even been on break that long," Niall sighed through bites of food.
Liam shrugged. "I think we should and the ladies can meet up with us later."
"I can't go," Harry announced, making every one turn to look at him. "I need to be with, Katarina on Friday's to take her pictures," he said with so much sincerity.
I rolled my eyes, throwing my napkin at him. "Missing one or two won't hurt, besides, I need a break from you." I mocked.
"If it means that much, we can leave on a Friday and they can join us on a Friday," Liam offered a compromise.
"What about, Louis?" Niall asked. "He has to come."
Liam called Louis, not caring what time it was in L.A.. Louis answered grumpily, waking up from a nap. Liam put him on speaker, allowing everyone to talk at once. The three of us girls sat back, letting the boys talk over each other, it was a miracle they understood each other, but they managed somehow. They agreed to go on a camping trip at a secluded cabin and we would all head out to Brazil together. Not the typical vacation, but it seemed like fun.
We spent the next few hours, planning out our trip, Chris called Eva, asking her if she wanted to join, but she declined. She was apparently busy filming so she couldn't just leave. Since he didn't want to be the only one without a date, he ended up calling, Ed, who happily agreed. Those two spent so much time together, you would think that they were in a relationship.
By five, they all decided to call it a day and head to their own homes. I thanked them all for helping, we could have easily hired someone to help us move, but I didn't want to. There was something about having strangers move things for you that peeved me. Though, there was nothing I could do about the piano, it was either that or let these crazy boys do it, which I was not going to allow.
As, Harry brought something down from the car, I went around our new home, looking at everything. It was large and almost empty. Even though we did bring the furniture from the apartment, it still wasn't enough to fill every room. It was going to take some time to get used to all of this, that was for sure. There was only one place in this entire house that I was completely in love with, the nursery. I went up the stairs as quickly as I could, getting tired about halfway.
I flickered on the light, illuminating the box filled room. It was mostly a bunch of toys and clothes her many aunts and uncles already got for her. Sitting on top of all the boxes was a small teddy bear that, Harry had gotten her when I first told him I was pregnant. Since we didn't know the gender just yet, he got one with a yellow and green bow on it, gender neutral colors. I picked up the small bear, hugging it against my stomach as I walked around the room.
"There you are," Harry's voice filled the room, making me jump a little.
He apologized for scaring me, walking over to where I was standing, wrapping his arms around me. We stayed like that, in silence, both of us looking around the semi empty room. It was a crazy thought to think that our daughter would be sleeping in here in just a few months.
"Have you thought about how you want the room to look like?" He asked quietly, his voice vibrating against my skin. "Everything pink and fluffy?"
"Ew, no," I scrunched up my face, shaking my head. "Probably something subtle, I suppose," I shrugged. "Maybe a mural or something?"
"You can't paint, the fumes will get to you, it's dangerous for the baby."
"I can paint with acrylics and oils, babe, you can prime it and varnish it so I won't smell it," I suggested.
"We can always hire someone to do it?"
"No, her father is going to paint her room and I am going to paint the mural," I argued.
"Okay, okay, calm down, I just want you to relax and not have to stress over it." He kissed my cheek. "We will do it however you want, promise."
I nodded, placing the bear back on top of the boxes, pulling him across the hallway to our new room. The new california king sized mattress was the only new thing in this house, it didn't even have a bed frame to go with it. I sorta liked it that way, for now anyway. It sorta felt like we were getting a fresh start. Harry and I had spent our free time in the last two weeks, looking at furniture to fill our new home. The first thing was the kitchen. Once we finally decided and agreed on cabinets, we moved on to appliances, settling on a stainless steel look to match the sub zero refrigerator we both wanted. Even though I found doing this sort of thing, tedious and annoying, doing them with Harry was fun and thrilling.
While Harry stepped in the shower, I quickly changed into his t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. It was a lot easier to wear his clothes with my baby bump. I grabbed my ipod, placing the headphones around my bump and turned on the play list I had made for the baby. Once she was settled, I grabbed my book, trying to read, but found it difficult to concentrate with all the movements I felt in my belly.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked as he stepped out of the bathroom, drying off his hair.
I put down my book on the floor, sitting up a little straighter. "I let her listen to music," I said, matter-of-factly.
"Does she even understand?"
I shrugged. "Probably not, but she likes it."
"How do you know?"
"When it's on a song she likes, I feel a million butterflies, like when she moves, but a lot more powerful."
He crossed the room, laying down next to me. "Is that what it feels like?" He asked, rubbing my belly, which the baby clearly felt, judging by the movement. "When she moves, I mean."
I nodded, placing my hand over his. "You know what it reminds me of?" I asked, tucking his wet hair behind his ears. I looked up at me, nodding his head in response, waiting for me to elaborate. "Like the night when we met, I felt millions of little butterflies that night, it was ridiculous." I shrugged, kissing his lips, "you still give me butterflies," I admitted, honestly. I was never going to get used to having him in my life in this way or the way he looked at me.
He leaned up to kiss me before he moved his lips down to my belly, placing a kiss on it. "What songs does she listen to?"
"Mostly One Direction, Chris Brown and Ed Sheeran for now," I informed him, causing him to laugh. "What, she's getting used to your guys voices."
"Does she have any favorites?" I nodded. "Which ones?" He asked, taking my ipod from me, scrolling through the playlist.
I laughed hysterically, remembering which ones she seemed more active during. "You might get mad," I continued to laugh.
"No I won't," he assured me.
"She likes, Fine By Me and Anyway from Chris, I've only played her his new album. Umm, her favorite from Ed is, You Need Me, I Don't Need you." He rolled his eyes, kissing my belly. "Then there's One Direction," I laughed.
"Oh lord, tell me," he chuckled.
"She likes a lot of them, but she gets more active during Temporary Fix, I Want and Rock Me," I tried not to laugh. "I think her favorites of all time are Best Song Ever and Midnight Memories though," I clarified.
"Oh yeah?" I smiled, scrolled through the playlist, again until he clicked on Best Song Ever, making me laugh hysterically from the movement I felt in my belly.
Harry looked at me with an amused face as I continued to laugh my ass off. "It tickles," I complained through my laughs.
He didn't seem to care, he just turned up the volume, watching me as I laughed. I swear it felt like someone was tickling me. He continued to do that with almost every song on the playlist, gauging my reaction and taking notes in his journal. He swore he needed to write down every single thing that happened in there. Around midnight, I finally made him stop, insisting I was sleepy. It didn't take long for me to start drifting off to sleep, but before I did, I heard Harry saying goodnight to the baby.
"Good night my little lemon," he whispered near my stomach before placing a kiss on it. "You're going to be a little rocker, I can tell," he mused. "That's why you're going to have an eight o'clock curfew until you're fifty," he chuckled, kissing my stomach again before laying down next to me, wrapping me up in his arm while his hands rested on my stomach. He whispered another good night to me, kissing my neck as he drifted off to sleep himself.