Harry's POV

"So why did you lock me out earlier?"

"I told you, my room was a mess." She avoids eye contact as she wrings her hair out. I wrap a towel around my waist.

"Yeah, I think you're lying," I decide, wrapping my arms around her from behind.

"Why would I lie?" she asks, squeezing some body lotion into her hand. "What time is it?"

I chuckle against her hair, my head beside hers. "Don't change the subject, love."

"I'm not."

"I think you're trying to."

"Harry, can we just drop this please?"

I lift my head and watch her in the mirror. She doesn't meet my eyes as she rubs the lotion on her hands and face. She looks a little embarrassed.

"Lana, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Lana you haven't looked at me since we got out of the shower. I'm practically naked. You always stare at me. Don't think I haven't noticed." I smirk at her and squeeze her sides a little, trying to get a smile or something out of her. I succeed and she giggles, squirming in my grasp.

"I never stare." I raise my eyebrows. "Much."

"Okay," I laugh, kissing the side of her face a few times. She leans her head to the side as I make my way down the side of her face to her neck.

"Maybe we should have waited to take a shower," she breathes, twisting in my arms to face me. She plants her lips firmly against mine and tugs on my wet hair a little. I plant my hands on her hips and lift her up to sit on the vanity, never breaking our kiss. Lana pulls herself closer to me by wrapping her legs around my waist. I slide my hands up under her towel to the top of her thighs.

"Yeah, that might have been a little premature," I agree, kissing her neck again. I reach up and start to unwrap her towel, but she stops me. I pull back a little and look at her face. Her bottom lip is caught between her teeth. "If you're about to stop what's happening here, that's not the best way to do it," I say quietly, putting my thumb on her chin. She smiles and rolls her eyes a little.

"I am stopping you."

"Why?"

"I don't want to shower again."

"Why?"

"It's bad for my hair to wash it that much."

"Why?"

"It just is! Can I get dressed?"

"Why?"

"Holy shit, Harry, would you stop that?"

"W-" She covers my mouth with her hand before I can finish the question.

"No. That's quite enough. You sound like a four year old." She drops her hand and trails one finger down my chest and stomach.

"So, do you really want me to stop or..." She shrugs and continues, running her finger along the skin just above where my towel is hanging. I smirk at her expression. She looks like she's arguing with herself. "You know, it wouldn't take much for that towel to fall right off."

"You're probably right, but that could be problematic."

"Keeping the towels on would probably be worse."

"Yeah, that's a good point." She suddenly pulls the towel off and yanks my face down to hers. I chuckle against her mouth. She's suddenly extremely enthusiastic to my proposition. My towel falls to the ground and hers is quick to follow. I lift her off the counter and carry her over to the bed while she peppers my neck with kisses. She keeps herself wrapped tightly around me while I crawl onto the bed, laying her head against the pillows. She moans when I put my lips against hers again. I chuckle and make my way down her neck to her collarbone, then down the middle of her stomach. Her back arches underneath me and I glance up at her. Her eyes are clamped shut and she clamps her fists into my curls as she bites her lip again. She whimpers as I move my lips down farther.

"Harry, stop teasing me."

She tugs on my hair again, trying to pull my face back up to hers. I comply and kiss her again. "Hold on," I whisper against her mouth. I kiss her once more and reach familiarly into the drawer of her bedside table. My hand feels through the drawer several times. Fuck.

"Lana, are you out of condoms already?"

"What?"

"I can't find any." I reach around again, hoping to find something.

"That's a joke, right?" I look back down at her and shake my head, then pull my hand back.

"Why would I joke about that."

"Check the other drawer."

"There's never any in there."

"Check anyway."

"It's cute how turned on you are right now. You really want me, don't you?"

"Just check, Harry," she says, face turning pink. I kiss her again, then roll off of her to check that drawer. I'm not surprised when I don't find anything.

"Is there anything in the bathroom?"

"No we used the last one. It probably didn't even work it's so old."

"What!"

"That was a joke."

"Well it wasn't funny."

She pulls me back over to her, wrapping her leg around mine. "What are we going to do?"

She runs her hand through my curls. Damn, I love it when she does that. I roll her onto her back again and attach my lips to her neck. "Let's just take care of you."

"What? No, that's not fair," she argues weakly, digging her nails into my back.

I lift my head to look at her. "I love you. I want to."

She smiles and pushes a few curls away from my face. "Well, who am I to deny you what you want."

---

"Lana, do you want the blue one or the red one?"

"The purple one!" She calls back.

"I don't even see a purple one," I say back, sorting through her endless selection of scarves.

"What are you good for?" she teases, coming into the closet and sliding in front of me. I take the opportunity to snake my arms around her waist.

"I'm good for a few things. I think you'd agree," I say against her ear. She giggles and lifts a few scarves so she can take the one she wants off the hook.

"Yeah, you're not so bad."

"You look beautiful," I say as she steps away and wraps her scarf around her neck. "Is there another guy coming to dinner I don't know about?"

"Yea, I invited my other boyfriend. Did I forget to mention that?"

"Very funny." I admire her outfit. "You're making me look bad, babe."

"What do you mean?"

"You look so nice and I just have a tshirt on," I say, looking down at my clothes. She laughs at me.

"You look good, don't worry," she says shyly, slipping past me and out the door. It's funny that she still gets embarrassed about stuff like this. We've been together for a while now. I really want to know why she wouldn't let me in before...I've seen her room so messy that I couldn't see the floor anymore, so that couldn't be the reason. We already opened our Christmas presents, so that can't be it either. What is she hiding?

I follow her and lean against the doorframe of the closet, watching while she slides on some sheer black tights and black shoes. I look around the room, trying to see something that looks....off. Anything to give me a hint as to what she didn't want me to see.

"What are you looking for?" she asks suddenly, standing and putting her hands on her hips. I shrug and she narrows her eyes at me.

"Nothing."

"Harry."

"Seriously, it's nothing."

"Don't go snooping, okay?"

My eyebrows pull together as she goes into the bathroom. I follow. "What does that mean? Is there something in here I'm not supposed to find?"

"That's not what I meant."

"That's what it sounds like."

"Harry, it's my bedroom. My space. Some things are private. Just drop it, alright?" she says shortly, voice raising a little louder than normal.

"Why are you being so defensive right now?" I ask, leaning against the vanity beside her while she does her makeup.

"I'm not, I just don't get why you're pushing me on this."

"I'm not pushing anything, Lan."

"Yes, you are. I asked you not to talk about this and-"

"And this little argument started by you watching me look around the room. My eyes moved. That's all that happened. Now you're freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out!"

"You kind of are." She rolls her eyes in the mirror and continues to do her makeup. I wait for her to explain or something, but she doesn't. "Why don't I just meet you at my house later." I say finally. She shrugs and doesn't look at me.

"Fine."

I stare at her for a minute. What is her problem right now? I leave and shut her bedroom door behind me. I was always really happy that I wasn't one of those suckers that had a crazy girlfriend that flips out for no reason. Did I just become one of those guys...

No. Lana isn't like that. She's rational. Usually. Sure she had her moments, but I just attributed that to her time of the month or something. Girls get some grace for those moments, I get that. But we literally just had sex and she's definitely not on her period. That I can say for sure. So what is her deal? It seems like she's actually hiding something. When does she ever do that? I think it's harder for us not to tell each other stuff. There are so many things Niall and Louis have asked me not to tell her, but it just comes out. I can't help it. They'd probably hit me if they knew the things I told Lana about their relationships. Well, Louis' relationship and whatever Niall has with Brooke.

I walk into my house and go into the living room to gather my presents, then head up to my bedroom. I set everything down on the desk and turn to go into my closet to find something that's a little nicer.

"Harry, I-"

"What the-" I jump and spin around, my hand flying to my chest. "Holy shit, Gem. Don't do that! You scared me." She laughs and jumps onto my bed. "Make yourself comfortable."

"I will. Soooo what did you and Lana get up to?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answers to, Gem."

"Good point. You guys are so adorable."

"I know," I say, smirking at her. She rolls her eyes and I go back to my closet.

"Mum and I witnessed your little snowball fight earlier." I nod and fiddle with my clothes. "Is everything okay?"

"Course. Why wouldn't it be?" I ask, not looking at her.

"Well I don't believe you, but okay. So I have to tell you something, but I don't want you to go all big brother on me and flip out okay?"

"I'm not you're big brother."

"I know but you act like it sometimes."

"That's because you're tiny. And kind of naive."

"Okay, do you want to hear my news or what?"

I laugh and walk over to the bed, sitting beside her. "Okay, hit me."

"Well I met a guy."

"Oh my gosh, is he cute?" I ask, making my voice higher than usual. She laughs and smacks my leg.

"Shut up, Harry. And he is, for your information."

"When did you meet him?"

"A couple months ago." She pauses and picks at her nails.

"Gem?" I duck my head a little to try and look at her face. She avoids my eyes. "Is there something else?"

"Well he's kind of..." she mumbles the rest and I can't make out what she's saying.

"What was that?"

"He's a few years older than me," she says quietly, standing and walking to my closet. Older?

"How much older?"

She takes out a button up shirt and holds it out for me. "You should wear this. Is it new?"

"Gemma."

"I really like it."

"Gem."

"The colour is fantastic."

I stand and take the shirt out of her hands. "Gemma, the shirt is white. How old is he?"

She sighs and looks at the floor. "Not that old." I fold my arms and wait for her to tell me the rest. "He's 31."

"What!?"

"Shush! Mum might hear you!"

"You haven't told her yet?"

"Of course not! She'd flip out!"

"I wonder why!" I say quieter, hanging the shirt back up. "What are you thinking?"

"Harry, he's amazing. He's so charming and sophisticated."

"Because he's old." She rolls her eyes. Mine go wide when something occurs to me. "Hold on. Is he your professor?" She stays quiet and looks at the floor again. "For shit's sake Gem."

"Harry, it's not a big deal. The semester is over. He's not my teacher anymore."

"He's ten years older than you!"

"What is the big deal? Age doesn't mean anything, it's just a number."

"That represents how many years you've been on the planet. His exceeds yours by ten. That's a big deal. Are you dating him?"

"Not exactly."

"Just sleeping with him then."

"Please, Harry, lose the judgment. Do I need to remind you how many girls you've slept with?"

"We aren't talking about me right now. Besides, I have Lana now. That's a step forward. You're honestly telling me that you can't find someone your own age?"

"It's not about how old he is!" She says, pushing past me and looking out the window. "He's so sweet and attentive. He treats me better than any guy ever has. He's an adult, Harry. I like that about him."

"An adult that can't find anyone that isn't a student to date." She rolls her eyes again. "Gemma, you're honestly telling me you don't see how this is weird?"

"I get that it's a little...non-traditional. But I don't-"

"What are you two yelling about in here?"

Gemma and I both snap our heads in the direction of the door as our mother walks in. I look at Gemma and she gives me a slight shake of the head. She knows my mum would flip out if she knew what was going on. But, I keep my mouth shut.

"Gemma was just helping me pick out what to wear for dinner," I tell my mum, still staring at Gemma. She mouths a thank you and I turn back to my mother.

"I'm not genius, but I think you're already dressed, love," she teases. "I didn't realize you two got so heated about your clothing."

"Harry can be a bit judgmental about certain choices," Gemma says. I look at her to see her glaring at me.

"Well I've started on everything for dinner, so we are on track. Lana and Stanley are still coming, right?"

"They'll be here."

"Great. I could use some help, you two."

"We'll be right down, mum," Gemma says, smiling. Mum isn't stupid. She can feel the tension just as much as I can. She smiles at both of us and shuts the door.

"Do we have a problem, Harry?"

"Yes. Yes we do. Whoever this guy is, you aren't seeing him anymore."

She scoffs and shakes her head. "I knew I shouldn't have told you. You don't get to tell me what to do, Harry. You're my brother and I wanted to be honest with you. I wasn't asking for your opinion."

"Mum is going to lose it. She'll make you move here with us."

"She can't do that, I'm 21. And I know she isn't going to like it. That's why I haven't told her yet. I want to make sure whatever I have with him is real before I tell mum and Robin."

"He's going to hurt you. You know that, right?"

"No, I don't. And neither do you. Look, just promise you won't say anything to Mum, okay?" She doesn't wait for my answer before walking past me and going out of the room.

"I won't. But we aren't done talking about this," I call after her. I run my hands through my hair in frustration. An older guy? Seriously? No. That is not okay. I follow down the stairs and help my family prepare a bunch of stuff for dinner. Vegetables, stuffing, and a lot of other things. We joke and laugh the whole time; I go easy on Gemma. I'm not that mad, just kind of confused I guess. Plus this isn't the time or the place to make a big deal about this. I check my phone a few times hoping Lana will text me or something. She doesn't.

Damn.

Lana's POV

I've been laying on my bed ever since Harry left. Why am I being such a bitch to him? Just kidding, I know exactly why. It's also the reason I wouldn't let him in my room earlier. The dreaded thing I'm holding in my hand right now. I stuff it under a pillow when theres a knock on my door.

"Come in," I call, standing and neatening out my hair. My dad walks in. "Oh, hey dad. I didn't hear you come home." I walk into my bathroom to finish my makeup that I abruptly stopped working on after Harry left.

"I just got back. You said we should go to Harry's at 7 right?"

"No, I said dinner is at 7. We should be there a little earlier than that." Despite what Harry and Gemma said about Anne never making dinner on time, I wanted to be there early. I feel bad about how I acted earlier.

"Okay, I should probably get ready then."

"Why? What tie is it?"

"Almost 6. I'm going to go shower quickly. You look nice, by the way." He smiles at me and exits the room.

"Dad, wait!" He comes back and looks around teh door. "What happened with mom?"

"Don't worry about it, Lan."

"Dad. Come on."

He sighs. "We argued a lot. Didn't really get anywhere. We can talk about it more later, okay?"

"Alright." I go back to my make up as he exits the room. there is definitely more to it than he's telling me, but I'll just let it go for now. Poor guy had to spend all day with my mother. I don't need to make the day worse by making him rehash it all.

---

"I'm absolutely stuffed," my dad groans, setting his fork down. I have to agree. I've shoved so much food in my stomach, I don't think I'm going to be able to walk. Harry and I haven't had a minute to ourselves yet, so things have been kind of uncomfortable between us since my dad and I arrived for dinner. Normally his hand would be resting on my thigh right now. Instead it's safely tucked in his own lap. We all continue talking and laughing around the table. I sense some sort of tension between Harry and Gemma; they always tease each other, but they both seem more sarcastic than usual.

"Does anyone want another piece of pie?" Anne asks, clapping her hands together.

"I can't eat another bite," I admit. Everyone agrees except Harry.

"Harold, would you like some more pie?"

He reveals a small smile. "Kind of." I smile at him. He looks like little kid when he smiles like that. He meets my eyes for a moment before looking away. Shit.

Harry eats his second pie while the rest of us continue to chat. I remain pretty quiet, trying not to think about my situation with Harry. I really need to talk to him. Gemma and Harry did a lot of the cleaning up as they were cooking earlier, so it's pretty much only the stuff on the table that needs to be cleaned up. When that's finished everyone moves into the living room. I take Harry's arm before he can leave the kitchen.

"Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure," he says coolly.

I wait until everyone is seated and talking before I turn back to him. He's leaning against the counter by the sink. "Are you mad at me?"

"No."

Simple, but i don't believe him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I stare at him. He stares back. He doesn't look angry. "Okay," I say slowly, taking a few steps towards him. "But there is something bothering you, isn't there?"

"What are you hiding from me?" he asks simply, shifting his weight and standing up taller.

I look between his eyes for a minute before answering. "It's nothing." My voice is shaky. I know it doesn't convince him.

"Don't lie to me, Lan. Just tell me."

"Not here," I whisper.

"Fine, let's go upstairs then." He takes my hand and starts leading me towards the door, but I pull away from his grasp.

"Not now, Harry."

"Why not?" He's starting to sound annoyed. "Look, you're really starting to scare me here. Earlier I figured it was just some weird little thing you didn't want to show me but now you're making a big deal about it and it's freaking me out. What is going on?"

"Can we please just do this later?"

"Aren't you the one who asked if we could talk?"

"Yes, because I wanted to know if you were mad at me."

"Well I'm starting to get mad, Lan."

We have a little stare-down before I finally break the silence. "Trust me, okay?"

"I do," he says quietly. His eyes bore into mine. I can feel him searching there for something, some clue as to what is happening right now. He suddenly takes two large steps towards me, closing the gap between our bodies. I hear myself gasp as he takes my face between his hands. "But I need you to talk to me," he whispers, making soft circles with his thumb against my left cheek.

I start to melt as I stare into his eyes. I want so badly to tell him everything, explain what's been going on with me the last week. I've been avoiding this so much, hoping and praying that it isn't true. I wasn't ready. Because it might mean losing the boy I love. I feel a tear start to roll down my cheek as the weight of my current situation dawns on me.

"Shh, love, it's okay. Don't cry," he whispers, pulling me tight against him. I bury myself in his chest, trying to collect myself. This isn't the time or place for this. "Something is obviously wrong, Lana. You're scaring me. Have I done something?"

"What? No, of course not," I say, pulling back to look up at his face. His forehead is creased with worry. "Why don't you stay over tonight and we can talk."

"Okay," he sighs. He leaves a light kiss on my forehead, then leans his against mine.

We stand like that for a few minutes before I speak again. "What's going on with you and Gemma?"

"She told me some...disturbing news earlier. I'll tell you later. She doesn't want my mum to know."

"Oh boy. So you're fighting?"

"Not really. It's more of a difference in opinion. But mine is right and hers isn't."

I laugh and shake my head, earning a smirk from him. "Of course. Let's join everyone."

Notes

whats the big secret!?!?!?! i have a plan for the story, guys, so hopefully ill be updating more frequently now that i have a direction for it.
i hope its okay :) going to be getting a little more dramatic soon so i hope i dont lose anyone :P

thank you so much for reading!!!

also I just watched the AMAs...LOVED the performance of soml it was so goood <3 two wins as well! woooooooo!!!!!