I peeked at the clock, only to read 4:29am. I sighed and climbed out of bed. I'd tossed and turned the whole night. I'd desperately tried to fall back asleep, but to no avail. Harry would be up and leaving within the next two hours so I decided to go downstairs and make pancakes. Hopefully it would help bring him around.

I stirred the mixture, feeling hopeless. Harry and I had been through some things, but we'd never not been able to talk to one another. That was what worried me.

I finished with the pancakes, pulling the last one off of the griddle. I poured a cup of coffee, pulled my robe tighter and went out to the back patio to sit. Maybe it really is just work that's got him acting so weird. I sighed, sipping the warm liquid. I stared out into the
garden, my mind overanalyzing the situation. The back door opened and I jumped, snapping back to reality.

"Hey." It was Harry.

"Hey." I took a long sip of my coffee.

Harry stood at the door like a nervous little kid. He looked down as I turned my attention back to the garden.

"Mind if I sit?" He motioned towards the rocking chair next to mine. I shrugged and he moved to the seat. "I'm sorry."

"If you're only saying that so that you can have pancakes, don't bother. I made them for you anyways." I saw a smile play across his face from the corner of my eye.

Suddenly, he grabbed my head and kissed me all over my face, giggling. I tried to fight him off, but he ended up pulling me completely in his lap. He finally quit with the kisses and just held me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, scared to assume that my Harry was back.

"Just showing you how much I love you." He smirked.

"If all of this is over pancakes, hell, I'll make some every morning!" I made a face and he threw his head back in laughter.

"They might have helped." His eyes twinkled. "But I really love you more than air and I've just had a few hard days at work. I'm sorry for neglecting you and Devon."

"It's not okay." I grinned. "But I forgive you."

Harry kissed me and I looped my fingers through his hair. It was still the same curly mess as it had always been and I loved it. He stood, carrying me into the kitchen - not interrupting our little makeout sesh. He sat me down at the table and removed his lips from mine. I whimpered, making him laugh.

"Here. These will probably make you happier than my lips." He set a plate of pancakes in front of me. I giggled.

"Only a little." I winked at him and he rolled his eyes, sitting next to me with his plate of pancakes.

"Mmmn soooo goooood!" He made a dramatic face and I laughed, almost choking on pancake.

We sat there for the rest of the hour before he had to leave, just enjoying one another's company. He was back and I was the happiest girl in the world.

++

"Moose tracks, please!" I answered the server. I'd brought Kirsten and Devon out for ice cream.
The server handed us our ice cream cones and we found a seat inside the shop. I spooned Devon and myself a few bites while getting to know Kirsten a bit more.

"Why did you want to move to London to be an au pair?" I questioned her, interested in her story.

"Well, I've always wanted to travel. Plus I've babysat for a few years now, so I love kids! It seemed like the perfect idea. When I found out I was being placed with you and Harry, I about died!" She laughed.

"Well we're glad to have you!" I smiled.

We sat in the shop for two hours, talking and gossiping. She wanted to know all about fame and all of the other famous people I knew, while I wanted to know all about her life. I missed being a teenager and normality while she admired fame, so we had tons to talk about.

"Thank you for inviting me out." Kirsten smiled shyly as we left the shop.

"Thank you for coming with us!" I exclaimed, happy to know our friendship was growing.

++

"Harry, he just said donut! Oh my God!" I screamed, running in circles. Yes, Devon was two and had already picked up tons of words, but this word was a big deal.

"Shut up!" Harry ran into the room, mocking me.

"No, I swear!" I raised my hand to show that I meant what I said. I moved back to the chair next to Devon where I was feeding him his breakfast of fruit. "I spooned him the first two bites and he shook his head and said 'donut.'"

Harry laughed. "He is his mother's son!"

I playfully elbowed him. "I can't help he has good taste."

Harry and I had made up three days ago and it was finally the weekend. We were going out to dinner with Louis & Eleanor tonight, which we hadn't done in a long time. I was insanely excited, and the fact that Devon had just said his mommy's favorite word made the day that much better.

"Do you remember that time I came home from work and you wouldn't stop using your British accent?" Harry giggled.

"I want Devon to have it! Don't joke!" I waved the spoon I was using to feed Devon at Harry. My Southern twang was nice and all, but I wanted a British accent and was slightly irritated that after all this time in London, I still hadn't picked it up. Not even a tiny bit. So if I could help it, Devon was going to have a cute little British accent.

"That was one of the funniest things I've ever experienced!" He continued to laugh.

"If I talk in a British accent, he's more likely to pick it up!" I defended myself, laughing too.

"Leah, that wasn't British, baby. It was a very bad attempt. You sounded Jamaican!" His eyes watered, he was laughing so hard.

"No, no. My British accent is better than yours. You're just jealous." I smirked, hiding the fact that I knew he was right.

"Whatever you say." He shook his head and kissed me.

++

"More wine, madam?" The waiter asked and began to fill my glass.

"Thank you." I smiled, trying to focus on the boring, adult conversation that Louis and Harry were having about the business.

"Yes, I think he'd be a good representative, but what about Harvey? Should we send him?" Louis responded to Harry and I tuned them out. I loved my life, but the days were sweet when we could all go out as a big group and get piss drunk without having to worry about the next day.

Eleanor made a face at me as if she was reading my mind. She smirked and nudged Louis with her elbow. "Darling, don't you think we could talk about something other than business?"

"I suppose." He sighed and the conversation stopped. He and Harry were working on a promotional event and were facing decisions over who would perform at the event.

"Has anyone spoken with Liam or Danielle lately? God I feel like I haven't seen them in ages." I tried to bring something up that we could all discuss. Liam and Danielle were living in New York for her career. They were married, but didn't have any kids yet. Dani wanted to accomplish all of her dance goals before bringing a little Liam Jr. into the world.

"I actually did speak with Liam a few days ago." Louis answered. "He and Danielle will be back in town next month and they'd like to get the whole gang back together and take a trip to some place tropical. It completely slipped my mind. I'm glad you mentioned them, Leah."

"That sounds like so much fun! I can't believe you forgot about that!" Eleanor scoffed at him. "Leah, let's Skype Dani one day this week so we can talk about it!"

I agreed and we continued to make small talk about the days when we were all together, and how much we all missed it.

Louis suddenly threw his napkin down. "Why do we do this to ourselves? We're only in our mid-twenties. We can still go out and have fun! Hell, we have nannies for the kids. What's one morning hung over? We owe it to ourselves to have a night out! Harry, how stressed have you been lately?"

"Pretty stressed." Harry shrugged in agreement.

"Then fuck this five star restaurant! Let's get to the bar and then slide right on into McDonalds once we're drunk!" Louis stood from his seat. His speech of rebellion was music to my ears. I stood up, followed by Harry and Eleanor. We paid for the meal and ran out of the restaurant. Louis hailed a cab while El and I tried to de-formal our outfits. El removed her pearls while I unbuttoned my dress a little. Harry and Louis removed their blazers and I unbuttoned Harry's shirt to see his tattoos. He grinned and tousled his hair. I licked my lips
and hung out the cab window to let out a howl.

"I've missed the wild, party side of you." Harry growled into my ear and pulled me closer while Lou and El laughed.

"She was always the crazy one, wasn't she?" Louis laughed.

"Louis, do you not remember the trouble you got into?" I threw my head back laughing. "You were the crazy one, most definitely!"

Everyone nodded in agreement and Louis just made a face as if he accepted our opinions.

"Parrrrty and bullshiiiiiiiit!" Eleanor squealed as the cab took us to our old favorite club.

++

"Another round, thanks to drunk Louis!" Harry passed out shots.

"I'm not drunk... yet." Louis wore a devilish grin, causing the rest of us to laugh.

"Louis, you almost went into the ladies restroom. You might be drunk." Eleanor shook her head.

"I've only had three rounds. Just because I haven't gone as hard as I used to in awhile, doesn't mean I can't handle my liquor!" Louis snapped. El and I swapped looks, knowing he was already drunk as could be.

"Well, let's just hit the dance floor already!" Harry grabbed my hand and twirled me towards the center of the club. As soon as the four of us stepped out onto the floor, Travis Porter's Bring It Back began to blare.

"Uh ohhhhh!" Eleanor started shaking her behind, laughing. Zayn, Eleanor and I had taught Louis how to twerk to this song a few years back. Louis seemed to remember right off.

"Get it Lou!" I shouted as his booty started to jiggle. He twerked around a few random people and pretty soon all eyes were on him.

"Booty werk, booty werk, lemme see yo booty werk!" He yelled and began to dance on Eleanor. She burst into giggles as they danced. Harry and our did our fair share of dirty, drunk dancing and pretty soon the club was closing.

"Ronald McDonald called. He wants to see us." Louis giggled as we climbed into the cab. Harry told the driver to take us to McDonalds. We went in and ordered Big Macs, milkshakes, and fries before climbing back into the cab.

"Where are we going?" Eleanor asked, needing to give the cab driver instructions.

"I gotta loaded money card. Hit the nearest hotel." Louis slurred. "Go big or go home, bitches!"

We laughed at his attitude. We hadn't seen this Louis in awhile and I loved it.

Once inside a hotel room we began to have a good, old-fashioned game of truth or dare.
"Leah, truth or dare?" El asked.

"Dare!" I wagged my eyebrows, ready for the challenge.

"I dare you to streak down the hallway." She laughed when Harry mumbled his approval under his breath.

"Shit, El." I complained as I began to strip down. "Can I keep on my underwear, please?" I begged.

"Fine you sissy!" She giggled.

I opened the hotel door and stepped out into the cold hallway. Harry, El, and Louis crowded around the door. Two maids were at the end of the hallway and the elevator door was dinging, meaning it was about to open. I took a deep breath and headed towards the cleaning ladies. I circled them, giggling, making my way back down to the other end of the hall. I stumbled quite a bit from the liquor that pumped through my veins, making my friends laugh even louder. An older man and his little boy came out of the elevator just as I got to it. I smiled sheepishly and waved before turning to race back to the hotel room.

When I got back, the others were in tears from laughing. I pulled my clothes back on and found a spot on the bed, ready to keep playing. Harry kissed me and told me he was proud, while El and Lou stumbled to the bed, giggling about the look on the maid's faces.

Once everyone calmed down we continued with the game. We went back and forth with silly dares until Harry broke it.

"Truth!" He answered Louis. Louis did his little drunk giggle.

"Have you told Leah yet?"

Harry's face instantly fell. His gaze hardened at Louis and I could tell something was wrong, but whatever it was, Harry didn't want me to know.

"Tell me what?" I asked.

"Um, just about the promotional event. But yes, you know about that." He made a face at Louis and Louis seemed to catch on to whatever it was they were communicating about.

"Well, I'm sleepy lads. Let's get some rest!" Louis hopped off of mine & Harry's bed to join Eleanor in the bed a few feet away. It was obvious that he was trying to get everyone's attention off of his and Harry's exchange.

"Well, it was a fun, drunken sleepover! We need to do this more often! Let's agree to do this once a month!" Eleanor giggled, snuggling with Louis.

"Okay, new family tradition! Goodnight everyone!" Harry tried to sound cheery, but I noticed the hesitancy in his voice. I rolled over and squeezed my eyes shut. All had been going well with Harry these past few days, but I suddenly felt like that was all about to change. Harry tried to cuddle, but I didn't return the gesture.

Notes

Updating today, since I didn't get to yesterday! Mondays and Thursdays are update days! Yay! Thanks for reading! Love you! xx Let me know whatcha think!