Lana's POV

"That doesn't make any sense, why would I do that?" I ask, face turning slightly red at Louis' embarrassing story.

"I don't know, you're the one who did it. So, the moral of the story is never give Lana tequila."

"Good to know," Chase says putting his hand on my leg and squeezing a little. I lean back against the couch a little closer to him.

"I have plenty of embarrassing stories about you, Louis. Don't think I won't use them," I say, narrowing my eyes at him. I don't know why he insists on embarrassing me all the time.

"Yeah, but I don't really get embarrassed like you do."

"Shit," I mutter, admitting defeat. Everyone laughs and Chase rubs my leg a little to comfort me.

"Well, I should probably get going," he says, sitting forward. "Louis, are you actually going to class next week?"

He shrugs. El speaks for him. "Yes, he will. I will not have him skipping any more classes, especially with exams coming up soon."

"So apparently I'm dating my mom," Louis says, then scrunches his face up. "Ew, that was weird."

"Why would you say that!" El says, smacking his chest. "You're so weird."

Chase laughs and stands up, walking towards the door I follow him. "Chase, no funny business!" Louis calls after us. Chase laughs and waves without looking. I follow him out the door and give Louis the middle finger before shutting it behind me.

"Sorry about them," I say shyly, leaning back against the door. "Louis takes all kinds of pleasure in embarrassing me."

"You guys are really close," he observes, taking a step closer to me.

"Yeah, we've been friends a long time. He's like my big brother."

"That's cool," he says, smiling at me. "I was never very close friends with any girls."

"No?"

He shakes his head. "So, I had a good time tonight."

He takes another step towards me and I straighten up a little. "Me too. It was fun."

"Couldn't help but notice that your uh..friend isn't too fond of me."

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, then realize he must be talking about Harry. "Oh, you mean Harry? He's just..."

"Still into you." He completes my sentence and my face goes red. "It's fine, Lana. There's obviously a lot of history there. Just so I know, do I stand a chance?"

His question catches me off guard a little. Does he? I mean in all seriousness, can I see myself being with him instead of Harry? I really have no idea. Chase is great, don't get me wrong. But Harry is just...Harry. I don't know where we stand at this point. I have no idea what I want.

"I'm not going to lie to you Chase, things are complicated with Harry. But if I wasn't interested in you at all I wouldn't have agreed to go out with you tonight."

"So it was a date?"

"Wasn't it?"

"Well I thought so, but I wasn't sure if you did." He smiles widely at me and I return it and tuck some hair behind my ear. I'm not sure if I want to kiss him. It somehow feels like I would be cheating...

"Goodnight Chase," I say quietly, stepping forward bravely and kissing him on the cheek. Before he can react I retreat into the apartment. Once inside I turn the lock and lean back against it, hoping he doesn't feel terrible awkward about that conversation. Louis and El look at me curiously. "Oh, shut up."

Niall's POV

"Come on, one more!" Harry slurs, flashing me a lazy smile. I stand and start putting on my jacket.

"Harry, you're going to be hung over tomorrow as it is. No need to make it worse."

"Come on, one isn't going to make a difference," he says, calling the bartender for another drink. I sigh and sit back down, knowing that once his mind is made up there's no changing it. Especially when he's been drinking. He is stubborn, let me tell you.

"I know why you're doing this," I say to him, watching as he downs half his drink. "It isn't going to help."

"Maybe not, but it might make me feel a little better," he says, drinking the rest.

"Well, that's one. Let's go."

"Niall, you're no fun," he whines, standing and taking his jacket off the back of his seat. We head out the door and walk back to the building, Harry strolling at a leisurely pace. I'm not half as drunk as he is, so I'm bloody cold.

"Harry, let's pick up the pace. It's freezing."

"Well, my legs want to sleep, so I don't think they'll go any faster."

"We're really close. Come on," I say, walking faster. He keeps up with me easily; he's a few inches taller than I am. When we get to the building we go straight up to the apartment so Harry can sleep this off. I wouldn't be surprised if he woke up puking.

Lana's POV

"Goodnight, you two. Try not to be too loud please," I whine, waving at them and going into my bedroom. I can hear Louis shout back a smart-ass comment, but I can't hear what exactly he said. I put on some shorts and slide on Harry's plaid shirt. I've had it for a long time now. It doesn't smell like him anymore, but I don't care. It's still nice to have a part of him with me. Plus it is ridiculously comfortable.

I crawl into bed and snuggle up into my comforter, thinking about him. I wonder what he's thinking right now. I guess I should have warned him about tonight...then again, we haven't been together for two years now, so it's not like I owe him anything, right?

Maybe not, but I still care about him. As much as it annoys me to admit it, it's true. He looked so...pained when we saw him last night. He's been nothing but nice to me since he got back, so maybe I should have talked to him about it. It's not like I'm planning on marrying Chase, but I should be the bigger person and talk to Harry.

As I'm planning this conversation out in my mind I hear arguing coming from outside. I get confused when it's two male voices and not Louis and Eleanor. I get up and swing the door open to see Harry leaning on his forearm against the doorframe, trying his best to keep himself upright while he argues with Louis.

"Mate, you're drunk. Go back upstairs, this isn't a good idea," Louis says, attempting to push Harry back. Harry pushes him off and frowns.

"It is a good idea. I need to see her."

"Harry?"

"Lana!" he says excitedly, pushing past Louis and coming straight up to me. He wraps me up in his arms with hesitating, pulling me into a tight embrace. I give Louis and El a confused glance and they both shrug.

"Is everything okay?" I ask, putting my hands on his back and waiting for him to pull away.

"Not really," he says solemnly against my shoulder. He sounds so sad; it breaks my heart.

"What's wrong?" I ask again, pulling him back so I can look into those beautiful green eyes of his. Their laced with sadness. And alcohol.

"I miss you," he says, attempting to smile but failing.

"Harry.."

"No, I know. You found someone else. But we belong together," he says desperately, pushing some stray hairs away from my face. My eyes are trained on his, ears finally hearing the words I've been longing for ever since he left. But not like this.

"Harry, you're drunk," I say quietly, pulling his hand away from my face.

"That doesn't mean it isn't true."

"Okay, you should go to sleep."

"No, I need to talk to you."

"Harry-"

"Lana please," he begs, hugging me again. "Please just let me stay."

I look at Louis over his shoulder. He raises his eyebrows in question, and I nod to him, saying that I can handle this. When they've gone back into El's room I push Harry back.

"Come on," I say hesitantly, taking his large hand in mine and leading him into my bedroom. I pull him to sit on my bed and I'm surprised to see a few tears rolling down his cheeks. I wipe them away and his eyes close at my touch.

"I'm so sorry," he says quietly, keeping his eyes closed. "For this, for earlier, for everything I've put you through. I never wanted to hurt you." He's suddenly speaking in very coherent sentences.

I'm tired of fighting with him. I'm tired of being angry and sad. I'm tired of seeing this look of guilt in his eyes. I just don't want to think about it anymore. It's too painful.

I reach up and brush my hands through his hair; its something I haven't done in years, but it feels so natural. It happens before I even realize it. His eyes open when I rest my hand at the nape of his neck.

"Do you hate me?"

I shake my head, breathing deeply in an attempt to control the tears threatening to fall. "I could never hate you. And I tried to, trust me."

"Did you mean what you said last weekend? Do you still love me?"

He stares into my eyes with an intensity that I can't look away from. He looks so desperate, I nod ever so slightly, hoping he doesn't even catch it. But he does. Of course he does.

He leans his forehead against mine, my hand still resting on the back of his neck. "I love you so so much, Lana."

Those words. Those words I've been wanting to hear more than anything in the entire world. He said them. To me. Granted he's drunk, but I know he means it. I feel it.

"Let's go to sleep," I say quietly, standing up and walking around the bed to pull back the covers. He stands and removes his clothing, with the exception of his boxers, before I can stop him. He doesn't smirk or anything, so I know this is just drunk Harry getting ready to sleep this off. It's probably a horrible idea to let him stay, but I can't bear to send him back. I don't want to, to be honest.

He lays down to one side on his stomach and tucks his hands under the pillow his head is resting on.

"I didn't think you would keep it," he sighs, not opening his eyes. I crawl into bed and lay on my back, turning my neck to look at his perfect face.

"Keep what?"

"That shirt."

I had completely forgotten. That probably looks so pathetic! Oh well. He probably won't remember. He falls asleep after that, curls falling over his eyes and mouth slightly parted. He looks like a little kid when he sleeps, that hasn't changed.

"Goodnight," I whisper, kissing his cheek softly and pushing his hair back.

Notes

there we goooo
just a little something. i wanted to do more today but i woke up SO SICK so i just couldnt stare at my computer screen. so hopefully i can do more tomorrow.

i hope you guys like this chapter :) things are moving slow, i know. but be patient.

also the comments are INCREDIBLE. i feel like i might have said this already yesterday, but i really looooove how into the story you guys are getting. it makes me happy :)

thanks so much for reading <3