I sighed in relief as I added the bow to my last gift. It was Christmas Eve, and Harry and I were back at his house. I had kicked Harry out of the room so I could wrap. 10 gifts later and I was finally finished. I opened the door and stepped out with Louis’s gift in hand. I didn’t mind if Harry saw my gifts now that they were wrapped and labeled. I watched as he put the final name tag on his own gifts. He looked up as I walked out.

“Finished?”

“Thankfully,” I replied. I set Louis’s gift on the bed.

“We better get ready to head out,” I said. The lads, Lucy, and I were having a small party for Louis. He went to his room and Harry and I went to ours. I changed quickly and sat on the edge of the bed. Harry turned from the closet a moment later.

“Beautiful as always,” he said as he rolled his sleeves. He leaned down and pecked my lips.

“Thanks babe.”

I stood when I saw that he was ready to go.

“Let’s go meet the others.” We climbed into his car and drove to the club where we were throwing Louis’s party.

We met everyone outside. Hugs were given all around. I looked at Lucy with a huge smile on my face. I hadn’t seen her in a few days, but it had felt like eternity.
She looked stunning, as usual.

“This is so weird,” I said to her. She nodded but grinned.

“It’s going to be fun,” she said back.

“Alright, let’s head inside. I’m freezing my ass off here!” Niall exclaimed. We all
laughed and headed inside. Lucy and I waved to the bouncer and we stepped
inside. We shook out of our coats and left them at the door. I walked to the bar and began mixing drinks for us, Lucy followed.

“What would you like to drink tonight, boys?” I asked and leaned over the bar. I saw Harry’s eyes following my every move, just like the night we first met.

“Mix me your favourite,” he said with a wink. I knew that he was remembering that night as well. I mixed a drink for Harry, Zayn, and myself, as Lucy mixed for Niall, Louis, and herself.

“Can I get you anything, Liam?” I asked.

“Just a bottle of water if you can,” he replied. I nodded and handed him the water. We walked out of the bar and found a table.

“Thanks, Josh!” I called over my shoulder. He nodded and waved as we walked away. I sat my drink on the table then pulled Harry onto the dance floor.

“Dance now. We’ll have plenty of time to drink later,” I said with a wink. I immediately began grinding my hips into his and his hands went to my hips. With my back to his chest, I wrapped one my arms around his neck, the other resting on his hand. I was surprised at what a great dancer he was.

“You know,” I said, turning to face him, our hips still moving. “For being someone who can’t dance on stage, you sure know how to dance at the club.” He smirked and pulled me even closer. I saw Lucy and Niall step onto the dance floor.
I locked my lips with his as we continued to dance to the music. I slipped my tongue into his mouth as my hands went into his hair. I could tell he liked the dominance coming from me. He responded by grabbing my ass and wrestling my tongue for dominance. I was aware that we looked like a couple of horny teenagers but it was fun to let loose every once in a while. I felt more than one pair of eyes on us as we continued snogging on the dance floor.

After I few songs I headed back to the table, I was thirsty and tired. I leaned against the table as I took a swig of my drink, loving the feeling of the cold liquid on my lips. While I had been dancing, Eleanor and Danielle had arrived.

“Hi guys! It’s so great to see you again!” I said and hugged them both. We had managed to hang out together a few times over the past year. I loved both of them and how happy they made Louis and Liam.

“I’m so glad to see you, too Darcy! It’s been a while!” Eleanor said as she sat next to Louis. He looked at her with so much adoration and love and my heart melted.

“Yes! I’m so glad we’re getting to spend some time together, again,” Danielle said.
She was on Liam’s lap and his arms were around her waist. Both of the couples looked so happy together. I felt a pair of arms go around my own waist.

“Hello Eleanor, Danielle. It’s so great to see you ladies again,” Harry said.

The hours slowly ticked away. I loved being able to see the lads so laid back and carefree. I pulled Harry out the back of the club and kissed him, unaware of the paparazzi that were lurking nearby.

His tongue found his way into my mouth and mine into his. My hands went into his hair and his rested loosely on my hips. He picked me up and backed me to the wall so most of my weight rested on the wall. I wrapped my legs around him and leaned back into the wall to help him support me. I wasn’t heavy, but I thought I would help out anyway. I pulled my hands out of his hair and hugged him around his neck, our lips still attached. He ran his hands up my thigh, pulling my skirt up along the way. I could feel his erection which made me smile. He nipped my ear and my eyes fluttered closed. I heard a snap and saw a flash and my eyes snapped open. Harry let me down and grabbed my hand. I pulled my skirt down and grabbed his simultaneously as we ran back into the club. I groaned.

“I should have known they would find us. I bet the media is going to be all over those photos,” I thought to myself angrily. Why did they have to ruin every personal moment?

“I think it may be time for us to come out as a couple. It’s been almost a year. I don’t care what management says, I don’t want to hide this any longer,” Harry panted as we ran.

I nodded in agreement. He was right. We wouldn’t be under such scrutiny if we just came out and told the truth.

“Okay.”

We made it back inside and the others gave us a funny look.

“What’s up? What happened?” Lucy asked. We were both panting for breath.

“Paparazzi outside. They saw us snogging. They have photo evidence,” I managed to gasp out. I heard the others groan.

“I’m sorry, Lou,” I said. “I did not know this was going to happen.”

He brushed it off.

“It’s no big deal. It happens to all of us. As long as no one was hurt everything is fine.” I hugged him in gratitude.

“So how about those gifts?” I asked with a wink. The others voiced their agreements and we presented Louis with our gifts.

“Happy birthday, Lou!” we shouted. He laughed and began opening his gifts, exclaiming over each one and thanking the person in turn. I smiled when he opened mine.

“I’ve been wanting these for forever!” he exclaimed, pulling the Toms out of the wrappings. I had seen him eyeing them for a while. “Thank you so much, Darcy!” he hugged me tight.

“You’re very welcome. You deserve them.”

The night pressed on and we decided to leave. We were sure there were other sources of media outside. When we stepped out, we were not expecting the onslaught at all. Most of their questions were aimed at either Harry or me. I cringed. He grabbed my hand and held tight, refusing to let go. I was thankful for his stubbornness at that moment.

“Darcy, Darcy! Tell us about your relationship with Harry!”

“Harry! How long have you guys been seeing each other?”

“Darcy, Harry! What would you like to tell the fans?”

The questions were never ending, but we refused to answer even one. Our cars were waiting for us and we all split, desperately trying to get away from the paparazzi. I slammed my door shut and had never been more thankful for silence than in that moment. Tears silently rolled down my face as I thought of Louis’s birthday.

I held onto Harry’s hand for the rest of the ride home. I felt so awful for ruining Louis’s birthday. The ride home was quiet as we processed what had happened.
Harry’s hand was still in mine.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” I mumbled to myself as we drove back to his house.