Harry POV
"I'm gonna vomit! I'm gonna vomit! I'm gonna vomit! I'm gonna vomit!"
I look up from my textbook, watching as Justin holds Elle away from him, running over to her nursery. I noticed a light brownish stain over the bottom of her onesie, a little bit of the nasty mush splattered over her leg. Oh damn it, she had another poop explosion.
"Hold on Jay! Here I come!" Niall shouted, running after him with a plastic shopping bag.
I snorted, closing my textbook before standing up and making my way over there. Niall and Justin came over today to watch Elle while I get some studying done for my retake exam later. Dane gave me another chance at retaking my exam so I want to leave a good impression and score high. Although studying has been going well, I admit, these two goons aren't making it easy for me. I walk inside to see Elle laying over her changing table while they stood there arguing.
"Oh my god Niall! Just unbutton her onesie while I grab her wipes!"
"No way! You do it! I'm not touching anything with all that crap everywhere"
"Oh don't be such a baby!"
"I'm not a baby! If you're so brave, you do it!"
"Well uh, I'm looking for the wipes soo...."
"The wipes are already in your hand!"
"You two seriously amaze me. The both of you never seen poop before? You literally push it out of your bums everyday" I snorted, leaning over the door frame with my arms crossed.
"But not like this! This girl has a poop bomb in her, what did she even eat to make her do this?"
"I fed her some prunes this morning, didn't want her to be all constipated or anything"
"Well it sure worked. You could've gave us a heads up" Niall rolls his eyes, waving the plastic bag around.
"What's the bag for?"
"To put her dirty diaper in so we can throw it away"
"There's a trash bin right beside the changing table"
"So?! Anything can happen in these type of situations!"
I chuckled, walking over to Elle as she looks up at me, smiling wide as she kicks her feet out and waves her arms around happily. I lean my head over, gently nuzzling my nose over her tiny one, kissing her forehead. I began to unbutton her onesie, still chuckling at Niall and Justin over their panic state.
"Oh Ellie, they're treating you as if you're a little puppy that's not potty trained. So dramatic, huh?"
She gurgles, smiling up at me as she shrieks happily to herself. As time passes, it feels easier. There are moments where I give in but her smiles make everything worth it. Plus, seeing the lads freak out over these messy situations makes it ten times better.
"I don't know how you could do this and not gag, Harry. You were so easy to gross out before"
"Well once you become a parent for six months, you grow use to it. Hand me the wipes please, Justin"
"Here you go" he said, handing me the wipes as I noticed a brown stain over his white t shirt.
"Did she just really-"
"I don't want to talk about it. Can I borrow a shirt or something?"
"Yeah, just grab one from my closet"
"Good. You're lucky you're cute!" Justin jokingly squints his eyes, pointing at my smiley baby.
After wiping off the mess, throwing away the diaper and changing her clothes, she was finally good to go. I smiled, cheering silently as I pick her and hold her in the air. I lightly shake her, making her giggle as I repeating kiss both her cheeks back and forth.
"You're all clean now, darling! Yay, no more stinky!"
"Thank goodness. That was stressful"
"Oh don't be so dramatic, Nialler. One day you'll have to change diapers too, you know"
"I hope it's not too soon"
"Neither do I. They might look cute on the outside but they're tiny monsters in disguise, trying to ruin your sleep and clothing. But I still love you, yeah? I love you so much!" I cooed, Elle gurgling back at me as she taps my mouth with his small palm while smiling.
Suddenly we hear a knock over my front door, holding Elle as I make my way over to it. I unlock the door, opening it. Zayn smirks as he holds up a bag of food in his hand. I step to the side, letting him inside.
"I hope I came in at the right time"
"Finally! The poop is gone and out the door! Clean at last!" Justin shouts, wearing a freshly clean white t-shirt of mine.
"I put your shirt in the plastic bag!" Niall shouts, holding up the tied plastic bag.
Can they be anymore loud than they already are? Zayn cocks an eyebrow, turning to me as I sighed, looking down at Elle and back at him. His confused expression speaks lots of volume, he has his answer now.
"Sort of"
"Yeah, I'm glad I came in at the right time then"
"Here, hold Elle for a sec. I changed her diaper so I need to wash my hands"
"Of course. Come here little baby"
Zayn playful wiggles his fingers at her, making her happily reach over to him before handing her over to him. I walk over to the sink to wash my hands, Niall heading over to the back of food as he sniffs it like a dog.
"Smells good. What's in the bag?"
"Cheesy tacos. Just how Harry likes them" Zayn said, closing the front door.
"Where the hell do you be finding these tacos? I thought England didn't have such thing"
"Well some couple opened a small Mexican restaurant near London. Took Harry there for his sixteenth birthday"
"And I've been obsessed ever since so paws off" I alerted, grabbing a jar of baby food from the cabinet.
"Pff, greedy much?"
"Oh I even brought Elle something they were selling from the merchandise section"
"They sell merchandise too?" Justin asked, opening the bag as Zayn looks around in it.
"Yeah, it's pretty popular. Here you go, Ellie"
He takes out a clear pacifier with a funny mustache over it. We all snorted, placing it inside her mouth as she starts to suck on it. We all started cracking up, tears whelming up of laughter. She looks at all of us before she lets out a cheeky smile. I chuckled, taking back in my arms, kissing her chubby cheek. I grab a bib and tiny spoon from the diaper bag before placing her inside her high chair.
"Silly girl. Are you hungry? We're going to try peas today"
"Ew, even that makes me cringe. Wouldn't she prefer pears instead?"
"She has to try everything Niall, not just one thing. Gosh you're slow" Justin comments, rolling his eyes.
"NO! YOU'RE SLOW!"
Niall suddenly tackles Justin, both landing over the couch. The two began rough housing, Justin groaning as he shouts for Niall to get off of him. They fall on the floor, rolling around in each other's arms, Justin hitting his fist over Niall's back while Niall pulls his hair. Zayn and I watch with blank expressions, obviously not wanting to deal with the childishness. Even Elle watches the ridiculous action unfold, her wide green eyes witnessing these two idiots wrestle like children.
"You see, sweetheart? This just shows you not to be like your uncles"
She gurgles, pulling her attention away from the goons as I open the jar of baby food. Zayn shakes his head, walking over to me as I wrap the bib Elle's neck.
"So, what time is your exam?"
"In four hours. I'm just going to feed her first and then I'll be on my way"
"Sounds good. She'll be taken great care of" Zayn smiles, slightly pinching her cheek.
"Please because so far, you're the only one I'm depending on since those two back there think they're in a circus" I said, still hearing rumbling and bickering noises behind me.
"Don't worry, I'll watch the kids while you're gone" he snorted, referring to Niall and Justin.
"Good. I appreciate you coming though, Louis has work today and Justin is going to leave an hour after I leave. Niall can't do it by himself, he could barely change a diaper"
"Then today we'll be having lessons"
"Ha good"
I scooped some mushed peas onto the tiny spoon as I fed it to Elle. She chews on it for a second, before wincing at the taste and slightly spitting it out. I chuckled, scooping up the leftover food she spit out, looking up at me with a disgusted look on her face.
"What? It's not good?"
"Of course it's not good! Look at her! She's horrified!" Niall shouted from behind.
"It could be the texture, try it again"
"Okay"
I scoop some of the mushed peas from her lips, scooping more from the jar before feeding it to her once more. Once again, she winces and shuts her eyes tightly, spitting it out again, making Zayn and I erupt into laughter.
"Oh stop, it's good for you"
"Ehh it's alright Ellie-Bear, I never liked peas either" Zayn smiles, gently pinching her chubby cheek.
I scooped out some more, moving it towards her again. She scrunches her nose, slamming her small palms over her highchair. She shakes her head from side to side, not cooperating whatsoever. Some food even smeared over her cheeks why avoiding anymore peas.
"Come on darling, you have to eat"
She wasn't budging, this girl is a stubborn as a mule. She gets it from her mother, Flo was very stubborn. Sometimes I think to myself, I must have a lot of patience when we were dating because she was a lot to handle at times.
I sighed, sitting back as Elle starts to fuss, kicking her feet out. I look at the time, shaking my head.
"Baby, work with me yeah?"
She stares at me, furrowing her eyebrows along with her little pout. It made her chunky cheeks puff up more, freaking adorable. This captured the attention of those two hooligans since they stopped roughhousing. Niall walks over, curling his lips as he thinks. His eyes widen, patting his fist over his palm as he walks over to the back of food. Nice, now he's going to eat my food.
"She hasn't eating anything. How am I going to get her to eat?"
"Maybe we can feed her later"
"But that will ruin her schedule. I want her to have a second nap before I come home"
"I got an idea!"
Niall jogs overs, holding a cheesy taco in front of her. Elle's eyes widen, mesmerized by the cheesy goodness. She slightly raises her hands up, drooling coming out of her mouth. What the hell is he doing?
"Look at the taco Elle! Looks good, doesn't it?"
She kicks her legs out excitedly, trying to reach over for the taco. Niall moves it closer to her, hoping to get her mouth to open. My eyes widen, knowing realizing what her was doing. For once, Niall has a good idea. I quickly scoop some baby food, waiting any moment for her to open her mouth. She finally does, leaning forward towards the taco. I quickly place the peas in her mouth, successfully getting her to swallow it.
"Yes! Good girl, Ellie!"
"Wow, good thinking Nialler" Zayn nods, wiping her mouth with her bib.
"I know..I'm just that smart" he sighs, smiling proudly.
"Good, now do that ten more times so she can finish it. You feed the baby while Harry eats" Justin said, patting Niall's shoulder.
"Wait what-"
"Oh yeah! Thanks Nialler!" I smiled, standing up from the chair as I handed him the baby food and spoon before taking the taco out of his hand.
We chuckled once Niall realized that he would have to do this a few more times to get Elle to eat. His smile falls, sighing as he slowly sits down. He chuckles anxiously, scooping out baby food before moving towards her. She fusses, moving her head side to side as he struggles to feed her. I chuckled, taking a bit out of my taco, enjoying the show in front of me.
"Come on Elle, please make me look good!"
Not so smart now, huh Nialler?
============
"Alright, let's see here..."
I stood there anxiously, my arms crossed while I continue to bite my fingernails. I just completed the exam and Dane is now scoring it. I studied my ass of for this exam, stayed up late nights. I would even hold a textbook one hand, rocking Elle with the other. Even if I'm one question off from passing, I'm going to bury myself alive.
Dane keeps marking the paper, curving his lips while scanning every question. He hums, nodding before closing my exam. He moves it to the side, intertwining his fingers together as he looks up at me.
"I admit, I'm impressed. You passed"
"Seriously?"
"Yup. You were only two questions off. Not even Ms. Gomez could score this high, she had four questions wrong which makes you the highest scorer"
"Oh...ha wow"
A smile spreads across my face, running my fingers through my hair as I chuckled in disbelief. All I wanted was to pass the exam, even if it were a C-, but I got more than that. I got the highest score so far. I can't believe it.
"Yup, just keep it up. Remember, I'm not going ease up on you or anyone. Just study when you have the time, be prepared. I'm sure you'll succeed"
"Thank you Dane. Wow, this is amazing" I smiled, shaking his hand excitedly.
"Yes it is. I'll see next week"
"Yes, thank you again"
I grabbed my stuff from my desk, making my way out of the classroom. I took out my phone, texting the boys that I was on my way home. I'm sure they'll be just as excited once they know I passed the exam. I put my phone back inside my pocket, stepping out the building.
Once I drive home and inside my apartment complex, I accidentally bump into someone while turning the corner.
"Oops sorry!"
"No it's fi-"
Big brown eyes.
"Harry?"
"O-Oh Selena, it's you"
Ah shit, here I go again with the odd nerves. She smiles at me, gripping onto the straps of her small backpack. She was wearing a red striped t-shirt, similar to what Louis would wear, with a black pinafore dress over it. Her short hair was curled, the front clipped to the side with a red clip. And her black converses as well. Talk about quirky, but I oddly found it very appealing on her. I really liked it.
"Yeah hi! What are you doing here?"
"Oh I live here with my daughter. I'm just down the hall"
"No way! I was just coming to see Liam. Did you know he lives here too?"
"Yeah uh, I stay across from his flat"
"Really? Florina lives in front of him. Did you take over the place?"
"Well since she'll be gone for a while, y-yes" More like forever.
"How nice. I'm guessing you're coming home from university, did you see Dane about something?"
"Y-Yes it was about that last exam, I retook and I-I passed. I only missed two questions"
"Really?! That's great!!" She shouted, her voice echoing across the hallway.
I nodded, chuckling nervously as I rubbed the back of my neck. I could feel my palm get a bit sweaty, making me mentally groan at myself. Why are you acting like this? It's just Selena! I just starting talking to this girl!
She smiles at me, her smile brightening up the semi-dark hallway. I could feel my stomach turning, blinking in disbelief once I smile in return. We start walking slowly down the hallway, engaging more into conversation.
"Looks like you're the smartest one in class, Mr. Styles. Congrats sir!" She salutes me like a captain once more.
"Ha probably..By the way, thanks again for uh, helping me with the job at the bakery"
"Aw it's nothing. I could see that you really needed it. Plus, it's nice to finally have company, right?"
"Yeah, you're right..So, a-are you going to study with Liam or something?" I asked, trying not to sound bothered.
"Hmm no, I just brought him some pastries from the bakery. It's more like a friendly visit, I come when I can. We don't even major in the same degree"
"Oh well what are you majoring in?"
"I haven't really figured that out yet. But I know it will have to do with children"
"Oh you must like kids?"
"Oh I love them! They always bring such light to the world. I just want to help and make them as much as I can. Even Liam thinks I should, and well, he's not wrong"
"You two must be very uh...close"
"Oh yes, he welcomed me with open arms when I first moved here. I didn't think I would get along with my peers due to being new and all. But it all worked out, I suppose. He's a such a great guy, very sweet"
"Ha yeah, he sure seems like it"
"And well, he can sure take a punch."
I stopped at my tracks, my eyes slightly widen as I look at her. Selena cocks an eyebrow at me, a smirk over her face. I forgot, she was there when I punched Liam in the face. How embarrassing. As I remembered the incident, I remembered something else that happened. She was crying. Tears were rolling down her cheeks the moment I walked into the classroom. I still wonder what she was crying about. Did something happen to her? Did someone hurt her?
"Harry!"
"Uh what?"
"Did you hear what I said?"
"Uh no, sorry I didn't. What did you say?"
She pouts, slightly punching my upper arm. I just look at her, cocking an eyebrow since I didn't really feel it. She crosses her arms, giving me a stern expression over her face. I suppose she's serious. Maybe if she wasn't wearing such a colorful outfit, I would take her more seriously.
"I said I didn't appreciate what you did to Liam. You don't seem like a violent guy, don't start showing that now"
"Oh right..I'm sorry, I was just going through a lot at that time..I still am" I frowned at the ground, running my fingers through my curls.
Though things might be okay, I'm not completely okay. I still find myself dreading over the fact that Flo is gone whenever I'm reminded. I would want her to be here and share the experience of raising Elle together. It's embarrassing having to lie to others, hiding that fact that she left me alone to raise her.
Selena's expression softens, placing her hand over my shoulder. I look up at her as she smiles sympathetically. I felt some kind of gentle feeling by her touch, like comfort.
"Hey, please don't be sad. Keep your head up, you're doing great as both a parent and college student. Don't be so hard on yourself, okay? I'm rooting for you"
I sighed, the tightness inside chest slowly loosening. It's almost as if the negative weight has been slightly lifted off my shoulders. She smiles softly, patting my shoulder once more before stepping towards Liam's door. Wow, we made it to our hallway that quick. She knocks on the door, before turning her attention back to me.
"Oh by the way, don't forget we have to study together one of these days. You didn't think I would forget, did you?"
"No, not at all. I'm really looking forward to it" I smiled, earning a precious smile in return.
My heart is beating pretty quick.
Suddenly, Liam's door opens, popping his head out to see who it was. He cocks an eyebrow, letting out an amused snort, looking back and forth at the both of us. What's his deal? Selena turns to him, placing her hands over her hips.
"It's about time you opened the door "
"Sorry, I did hear you. I was making tea"
"Yeah you better be sorry. I'm just waiting out here wasting Harry's precious time with my chatterbox ways. Poor guy just wants to go in his apartment"
"Doesn't seem like he minds" Liam smirks, making me clear my throat as my face burns.
"Okay okay, let's eat pastries. Bye Harry! See you tomorrow at work!"
"O-Okay, bye"
She smiles brightly, waving as she hops into Liam's flat. I wish she can stay out here longer, I really enjoy her company. He watches her go in, looking at me one last time, snorting before heading inside and closing the door. I sighed, taking out my keys from pockets to unlock my door before heading inside myself.
I wish we would've walked slower.
*+*+*+*+*+*+*
UPDATED! ❤️
Okay so this is a short update, but I wanted to keep the show going. It's been a while since I last updated this story and I knew some of you have been asking for this new chapter for the longest so here it is 👏🏽
Please check out my new #hustin story, it's called 'Falling'. I already posted the first chapter so go give it a read! Thank you 💜
Please excuse any unedited mistakes! 😅
Please comment, vote, & follow!
Have a beautiful day! 💕
- DAMARI 😜