"Car, stop eating all my cookies!" She reaches for another one and takes a huge bite before I can stop her. "Seriously, you've had like a hundred of them."

"I have not!" she defends, mouth full of food. I just roll my eyes. She's gone through at least five. At least. "Besides, you have like eight containers of cookies in your kitchen. You have enough to share with your lovely friends that you've been ignoring."

"Don't do that guilt thing on me, Car. I apologized, don't make me feel worse."

"Then let me eat my cookies."

"Fine!"

Tyler just laughs and stands up, going to the Christmas tree in the corner near the window.

"Okay, time for presents. Who wants to go first?" he asks, picking up a gift in either hand. Caroline and I both point to her. She always goes first; she's like a little kid. He hands us both our gifts and I set mine on the couch beside me while Caroline rips hers open. Tyler sits next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder. Of course this makes me feel nothing like when Harry touches me; Tyler is more of a brother or father than anything else. I feel protected with him, I feel safe. It's comfortable and it's really nice to have him. I know that no matter what he'll be there for me.

"We did miss you, ya know," he says to me while Caroline struggles with the tape. He has a habit of making her gift impossibly difficult to open. It's hilarious. "What have you been so busy with? It's the holidays."

"Can someone get me a crow-bar?" Caroline shrieks. "Ty, this is ridiculous!"

"That's what you get for making me watch Grey's Anatomy all week," he says proudly. "See, we've had to hang out with just the two of us this week. You know how much we drive each other crazy when you're not there."

"You two are ridiculous. Also, no knocking Grey's. It's the best," I scold, smiling watching Caroline finally get some paper free on the box on her lap. She rips the rest apart and lifts the lid off the box, revealing a horribly ugly christmas sweater. Her mouth drops open and I laugh as she half-lifts it out of the box.

"What in the hell is this?!" she asks, disgusted. "Tyler you better be kidding with this."

"Nope, that's really yours," he says proudly. She just stares at him. This is priceless.

"Well I'm totally taking your gift back," she says lowly.

Tyler laughs. "Hold it up, Car." She rolls her eyes and lifts it out of the box completely, smiling when a small box falls out of it. She squeals excitedly and I look up at Ty, who is smiling as well as he watches her open it. She gasps and starts bouncing in her seat.

"Holy shit! Tyler these are gorgeous! Thank you thank you thank you!!"

"Let me see." I hold out my hand and she stands and hands me the box, jumping onto Tyler's lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. His arm that isn't around my shoulders wraps around her middle and I watch with confusion while he...smells her hair? What? I look away and down to the box in my hands, mouth dropping open at the sight of a pair of gorgeous gold rose stud earrings. They're beautiful. They look expensive.

Caroline finally releases him after repeating 'thank-you' and 'I love you' about one hundred times. He smiles at her as she takes the box from me again and sits back in her spot on the adjacent section of the couch. I raise my eyebrows at him and he reaches over me to give me my box.

"I will be speaking with you later," I tell him quietly. I turn down to my gift and rip the wrapping paper to reveal a box for myself as well. I lift the lid and smile at what must be fifteen different movies. Some are Disney movies, ones that I don't own yet. Others are older classics he knows that I love mixed with a few new releases. I'm a movie fanatic for sure, and my friend knows me too well.

"This is awesome, Tyler. Thank you." I wrap my arms around his waist and put my chin on his shoulder, face turning red when Harry rounds the corner of the hallway. His face twists slightly when he sees me and I quickly pull away from my friendly hug with Tyler.

"Looks like you guys are having a good time," he says, walking around the couch so we can all see him. He looks a tad annoyed.

"Hey Harry!" Car chirps. "I didn't even realize you were home!"

"Apparently Adie forgot about me," he says, looking at me and speaking with an insinuating tone. Neither of the other two catch it, though. "How's Maria, Tyler?"

His date from the dance? What is he talking about?

"What do you mean?" Ty asks, putting his arm back around my shoulder. I squirm a little under Harry's intense gaze. He has a small smirk on his lips, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. I look down at my movies so I can occupy my eyes with something else.

"Still seeing her?"

Tyler shifts uncomfortable. "No. That didn't really work out."

"Interesting."

An awkward silence hangs in the room and I avoid everyone's eyes. Harry is being weird and my friends have no idea that we have a thing...this is the situation I thought we were trying to avoid by Harry staying in his room. And of course he emerges at the worst possible moment. Absolutely nothing is happening or ever will happen with Tyler, but he's asked me about it more than once. I don't think he's convinced and it's not a problem I really want to deal with to be honest.

"So, who's next?" Caroline asks. She goes to the tree and gets her gifts for me and Tyler. I breathe a sigh of relief and get even more thankful when Tyler removes his arm from around me to take his box. I sneak a look at Harry, who seems slightly happier now. He raises an eyebrow at me and I shrug slightly at him.

"You first." Tyler nudges my arm with his and I smile at him and start taking the tissue out of the small bag Caroline placed on my lap. I pull out small box, much like the one Harry's ring. I give her a curious look and she smiles at me. I pull open the lid and smile ear to ear at the piece of jewelry in the box: a gold ring fashioned to look like rope and tied into a bow.

"Car, this is so cute! I love it!" I take it out and slide it onto my right pointer finger. I stand and hug her, and when she pulls back she holds up her left hand, revealing a ring identical to mine but slightly different in colour.

"They're friendship rings! I know it's a little corny, but I just thought they were way too cute not to get."

I laugh and nod my head. "They're great. Thank you."

"No problem, bestie." I laugh and she looks over my shoulder at Tyler. "Your turn!"

We sit down again and watch tyler open his gift. Me and Caroline actually bought this together; it's a jacket he told us he really wanted but could never afford. We paid for it together. He lifts it out and a huge smile creeps onto his face.

"It's from both of us," Car informs him. He laughs and reaches over and behind me to crush us both in a massive bear hug. We squeal under his strength.

"Thanks guys! I love it." We're all laughing when he finally releases his bloody death hold. I get up from the couch and look to my left into the kitchen where Harry is now watching from while he makes himself a sandwich. Caroline's gift from me is the last one under the tree. She takes the box eagerly and rips off the wrapping paper.

"That's how a normal person wraps a present, Tyler," she says, glaring at him. He just laughs and I stand on the other side of the table watching them. He's got this weird look in his eye..

"Oh my gosh! Is this Burberry?" she asks excitedly. I nod and she squeals, clutching it against her chest. "I love it! It's so perfect! Oh my gosh, thank you so much, Adie!" She jumps up and hugs me quickly before going back to her gifts. "Best friend christmas ever!"

"Do you guys want to go swimming or something?" I ask, picking up the remains of wrapping paper. Tyler helps me throw them out while Caroline admires her gifts in a daze.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Tyler says, shaking his head at Caroline's lack of attention while we both put the paper in the trash. "Looks like we did okay with her."

"Seems like it. Earrings, Ty?" He shrugs. "Tyler, what's going on?"

"Nothing. They were just a gift, it's not a big deal."

"You're lying, and I can tell."

"What are you two whispering about?" Harry interjects. We both turn around and Tyler just shrugs and walks back to the couch where Caroline is. When he sits down I lean on the counter in front of the chair Harry is occupying at the breakfast bar.

"Is something wrong?" I ask quietly, keeping an eye on my friends.

"Of course not. You're getting quite cozy over there." I roll my eyes and he takes a bite of his sandwich.

"Harry, how many times do I have to tell you that there is nothing going on between me and Tyler?" He stays silent. "This is your fault anyway. It was your idea to keep it a secret from everyone. If he knew he would act different around you."

"My fault? Ads, they're your friends and I don't control you. If you want to tell them go ahead. I have a feeling my mum isn't the only one that isn't going to be accepting of this. Tyler is clearly into you so I know he's not going to be okay with it." His voice is quiet but his tone is quite serious.

"This is just the way we are, Harry. It's the kind of friendship we've always had. Stop being so...jealous."

He raises his eyebrows and I wait nervously for his reaction. I'm not usually this confrontational. He sits back and drops his food, giving me a blank stare before standing and walking to the hallway and disappearing. Great. Now he's mad at me.

"So, do you guys want to swim?" I ask, walking back to Car and Tyler.

"Yeah, let's do it. How warm is the pool?"

"Ridiculously warm. I went in yesterday."

We all agree and we go our separate ways to change. Tyler takes the bathroom, Car goes into my bathroom and I change in my closet. What bathing suit to wear...this one. I pull off my top and reach behind me to unclip my bra as the door swings open. I jump and spin around, about to protest the intruder, but I'm silenced by Harry's finger against my lips.

"Shh. I don't want them to hear us," he whispers. I reach up and put my arms across my exposed pink lacy bra and feel my face turn red. He looks does at my chest and flashes me a sexy half-smile. "That's cute."

"Get out," I hiss, completely embarrassed.

He shakes his head. "We need to talk. I'm not going to stop being jealous. He's close with you in a way that I'm not and I don't like it. I don't want to make you lie to them, but you and I both know that we need to figure this out before it becomes common knowledge. You're way too good for me and everyone knows that. Until they know, I don't know how to deal with this."

"What? Harry, that's ridiculous," I whisper back. "I don't need to tell them. I want to, but it makes sense to wait. But my relationship with Tyler is really important to me and no matter what that's not going to change. I'm not pushing my friends away for you, so if you want someone that's going to do whatever you want then you should just go find someone else."

He stares at me in a heavy silence for a minute, my heart beating rapidly in my chest. His eyes dart between mine and he suddenly takes a step forward and puts his hands on either side of my face.

"I don't want you to change for me, not one bit. But don't ask me to stop being jealous. That's something about me that I can't change. Is it so bad that I want you all to myself?" His thumbs run gently long my cheeks and I shake my head.

"No, it's not. I'm just not the kind of person to put my friends on the back-burner for a guy."

He smiles and brings himself closer to me. "You're incredible, did you know that?" He doesn't give me a chance to answer, pressings his lips firmly against mine. I slowly uncover myself and move my arms to his sides, wrapping my arms around to his back. I feel so small compared to him. He slowly turns me and pushes me backwards towards the door, pinning my against it and slowly movings his hands down and placing them on my sides, right over the waistband of my bra. I slide my hands up from his sides to the back of his neck. His lips leave mine and I roll my head to the side as he trails down from my jawline to my neck. Suddenly this small space feels incredibly warm.

"I thought it would be a lot longer than this before I saw your bra," he says, chuckling against my neck. Shit, I totally forgot about that.

"Oh my gosh, Harry!" I push him back as much as I can manage and he laughs lowly. My face is beat red and my breathing is ragged when our eyes meet. His chest is rising and falling quickly and I put my arms back in front of my chest.

"What? It's too late now, Ads, I've already seen it. Just give me a better look." I giggle as he reaches to try and remove my arms. He's clearly not using all of his strength because it's not hard for me to hold my position.

"Adie?" Caroline calls. Well yes, of course they're waiting for me. My eyes go wide and Harry gets a nervous look on his face.

"Shit!" I whisper. "Hide!"

"Where?!"

"I don't know! Just..." I take his hand move the clothes around close to the door, so that he can hide behind them against the wall. "Here, go in there." He laughs as I shove the clothes in front of him. Caroline suddenly swings the closet door open, already dressed in her bikini.

"I'm changing, Car. I'll be right out."

"What in the world is taking you so long?"

"I was just umm...trying to pick a bathing suit," I excuse.

"Well who are you trying to impress? I know it's not Tyler and Harry has disappeared, so don't worry about it! Plus, you could wear a garbage bag and that boy would gawk at you."

"You think?"

"Yeah, but that would be bad. He's trouble, Adie. Everyone knows it."

My heart drops and I try to keep the emotion off my face. "What do you mean?"

"He's bad news, Ad. Harry would be all wrong for you. I picture you falling hard for your first boyfriend and I don't think Harry is a fall-in-love type of guy."

What? "Caroline, how could you possibly know that about him?"

"It's..instinct. I'm a good judge of character. Okay, I'll meet you in the pool. Towels?"

"In the bathroom." She nods and skips tot he bathroom, leaving my room and me standing there, completely stunned. Could she be right? I stay frozen in my spot as Harry emerges and wraps his arms around me from behind.

"She's wrong," he whispers against my ear. I shudder and put my arms over his.

"I need to change," I say softly, closing my eyes when when puts his cheek against mine beside me. He nods and stays where he is for a few seconds.

"Adie?"

"They're waiting for me," I whisper, opening my eyes and pulling out of his grip. "I need to change." I turn and walk through my closet to wear I dropped my bikini on the floor. I keep my back turned and bend down to it. "You can join us if you want."

"Umm...okay. I'll change and meet you outside?"

"Okay."

When I turn around a minute later he's not there anymore. I don't know what to make of what Car just said...she doesn't know him at all. She can't just make assumptions like that. Can she? No. I know Harry way better than she does. I'm not even thinking about falling in love at this point. It's way too early for that.

But do I want to be in a relationship that won't go anywhere?

I shake my head as I walk out of the closet and out towards the back door. The three of them are all already in the pool. The tiles on their patio are even heated for goodness sake. They don't have to shovel snow and my feet never freeze! It's amazing. I slide into the pool and Caroline immediately calls out that she wants to do chicken wars. She forces Tyler's head under the water and proceeds to climb onto him, completely emerged when he stands with her on his shoulders. I look at Harry nervously for the first time since I came outside. He smiles and swims over to me, blocking my view of the others.

"Are we okay?" he whispers. I nod and he winks at me before turning and going under the water. I climb onto him the same way Car did and he puts his hands on my thighs as he stands up.

"It's freezing!" I squeal, wrapping my arms around myself.

"Don't be a wimp," Car says. Tyler walks towards us and Car and I go at it, laughing as we try to knock each other over. She's got a more athletic build than me, and I'm definitely a lot weaker than her, and she sends me toppling over.

"Wow, you're a weakling," Harry says when I come up from under the water. I stay low to warm myself up.

"I gave up. I was cold." That's a lie for sure and they all know it, but that's okay.

---

"Goodnight guys! Merry Christmas!" I call, waving while they walk to their cars. It's not too late, but they both want to spend time with their families. I shut the door and walk back to the kitchen where Harry is still eating the pizza we made. I sit beside him at the breakfast bar.

"Alright, what's on your mind," he says, looking at me and setting his food down.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been..distracted. You're acting weird. Is it what Caroline said?"

I shrug and take another slice of pizza. "I don't know."

"Adie, she doesn't know me. She has no idea the way I feel about you. If she did she wouldn't have said those things." He puts his arm across the back of my chair and leans in closer to me. "You don't believe her, do you?"

"It's not a big deal, Harry. She didn't say much anyway. I'm fine." What Caroline said didn't really bother me in regards to Harry, but it did make me a lot more nervous for when I eventually tell my friends what's going on.

The front door opens then and Harry immediately moves away from me. Anne walks in with her briefcase, looking completely exhausted. Thankfully she got the day off tomorrow. She really needs it. We all talk for a while and I excuse myself to go to my room and wrap the gifts I bought for Harry and Anne. when I'm finished I sit by my window with a photo album, the only one I took from my house the last time I was there. That would be when I first moved here; I haven't had the chance to go back and start sorting through my old life.

I flip open the book and smile at the pictures of my family when both my parents were still alive. I was two when my Dad died, so I don't remember him. All I have are these pictures. Thank goodness my mother was so camera-obsessed; otherwise who knows what I would have to remember him by. I take my time looking at each picture, smiling widely and tearing up when I get to the ones that must be my first Christmas. Harry is even in some of these photos, the two of us already inseparable when we were toddlers.

When I've looked at all the pictures I have tears streaming down my face, the weight of my situation pulling at my heart. This is my first holiday without my mother, without any parents at all. Harry and Anne have been so good to me, but it's just not the same. Nothing can ever replace my mother and it's really hard to think about that, to be at peace with it. I crawl into my bed, still crying and now wearing my mother's cambridge sweater that still holds traces of her scent.

After a bit my door opens slowly a little bit and shuts again. Harry crawls into my bed and I do my best not to reveal that I'm crying. He brushes the hair back from my faces and worry crosses his features right away.

"Ads, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I shake my head and let myself fall apart as he pulls me to his body, hugging me tight and rocking me slightly to comfort me. He whispers soothing things to me, rubbing my back and leaning his cheek against my head. Most girls don't want boys to see them cry, but I've known Harry for my whole life and it doesn't feel weird. Oddly enough, I think he's the only one that could comfort me right now. Eventually I tire myself out and I'm overcome by sleep filled with dreams of my parents.

Notes

sooooooo basically every story that i read is harry being all badass and mean and stuff...and i just feel like thats not the way he actually is at all :P so ive decided to make harry more like goofy in this story to change it up. i hope you gusy like it :)

everyone please COMMENT VOTE AND SUBSCRIBE!!! it means so much to me :)
for the people that have, thankyouuu :)

please let me know what you guys think. if you dont like something tell me and ill work on it! i just want to know what ur thinking. if people are liking the story ill keep writing, but it no one is into it i dont want to waste anyones time! please comment:)

thnks so much for reading :)