"Come on! All I'm asking for is a few minor details. You have to give me something!" Caroline whines as I push her towards the front door. Tyler shakes his head at her and exits, waving and shouting a goodbye to Harry and me.

"No I don't. I will talk to you tomorrow." She huffs as she leans down to put her boots on. I get her coat from the closet and hand it to her.

"You better." She looks past me at Harry, who looks quite amused. "I'll be speaking with you, Styles."

"Okay," he laughs.

"You better call me," she says, pointing her finger in my face. I swat it away and she swings the door open. "Use protection!" she calls as she runs down the driveway. I stare after her with an open mouth, Harry's laughter heard from behind me. I wait until the heat has left my cheeks to close the door. When I turn around I jump a little at Harry's sudden proximity.

"You're sneaky." I laugh nervously and he steps closer to me, backing me into the front door. My breathing hitches in my throat as he lifts his hands to place them on either side of my head, leaning into the door.

"We should talk," he says quietly. I nod my head and my heart rate starts going insane. Being anywhere near him makes my body do things I never thought they could. A small smirk creeps onto his face as he stares at me. "You seem nervous," he observes. I shrug and my breathing gets faster as he leans down closer to me.

"You make me nervous too," he says, his breath caressing my cheek. I get chills as he slowly runs his left hand down my arm to my hand. He gently takes it in his and lifts it up to his chest. He moves his face back slightly to stare into my eyes with so much intensity it makes my knees go weak. He rests my hand on the thin fabric of his t-shirt right above his heart. I look down at our hands, surprised by how fast his heart is beating. The pace matches mine. I look back up at him and my stomach does flip-flops. I didn't know it was possible to feel this way about someone.

"Harry-"

"Before you say anything, please hear me out," he says desperately. I bite my lip and nod my head. He leans his forehead against mine for a moment before stepping back and dropping our hands from his chest. He keeps them laced together as he leads me to the sofa. I try desperately to control my breathing as we walk towards the living room, which would be a lot easier if he wasn't still holding my hand. Any kind of contact makes me go crazy. When we get to the couch he flops down and pulls me onto his lap, wrapping both arms around me.

"I can't have a serious conversation like this," I laugh. He smirks and suddenly lays down on the couch, pulling me with him so we're laying on our sides and facing each other. I laugh and he tightens his grip around me, hugging my body against his and pushing our chests together.

"Better?" he asks cheekily. I laugh and shake my head disapprovingly. He runs his hand up and down my spine lightly. I sigh and reach up with one hand to neaten his curls for him.

"Not exactly." I rest my hand against his cheek and he closes his eyes at the contact. I know we need to talk, but I have no idea how this conversation is going to go. My feelings for Harry are stronger than I ever could have imagined them being, especially after only like ten days. I want to be with him more than anything else in the world. Anne has done so much for me, though. How can I betray her?

"Stop," he whispers, eyes still closed. I frown and start to bring my hand away but he reaches up and holds it against his cheek, eyes opening slowly. "Not that. I meant stop worrying."

"How do you know that I'm worrying?" I ask.

"I know you, Ads. I can just tell."

"Your eyes were closed," I remind him. He smiles.

"Doesn't matter." He turns his head and kisses the palm of my hand gently before sitting up. I do as well, scooting closer to him and pulling my knees to my chest. I lean on my side against the back of the couch so that I'm facing him, while Harry leans his back into the cushions and stares at the blank TV screen. I suddenly feel terrified. I have no idea where this is going to go, but I do know that I'm no where near ready to let him go.

"So..." I begin. "You wanted to talk first."

Harry nods and slowly turns his head so that he's looking at me. He seems to be taking in every single feature of my face, eyes searching. He looks deep in thought. I wait patiently, not in any kind of rush to have this conversation. He looks down at his ring, the one that I gave him and twists it around as he starts talking.

"You know, I can remember the last pinky promise we made like it was yesterday. Do you remember?" He looks back up at me and I nod. He asked me about this when I first moved in, as well. I could never forget it; it was the last time that I saw him.

"My mother had just gotten promoted and you guys were going to move out of the neighbourhood," I recall. "We were both so upset because everything was changing and we thought we'd never see each other again."

"Our mothers told us not to be sad because we were best friends and no matter what that would never change. But it did. I moved and your mum got so busy that we never saw you after that. Do you remember what you said to me?"

I look down at his lap and nod shyly. "I told you that I loved you," I say, voice barely above a whisper. Harry reaches over and wraps his large hands around the bottom of my legs, pulling them across his lap and dragging me closer to him. I'm not quite sitting on his lap, but our faces are now quite close. He puts his finger under my chin and tilts my face up.

"And I told you that I loved you more." He smiles and traces his thumb along my bottom lip. "I said that I always would no matter what. And then we pinky promised that we would always be best friends, that we would always love each other and-"

"And that we would always find our way back," I finish for him. I stare into his beautiful green eyes, both of us smiling slightly at the memory. That last pinky promise, the one that neither of us ever forgot. I didn't realize how much it actually meant to me until now. Even back then we needed each other and even at eight years old we knew that we always would. Do we love each other? That way? Is that possible?

"Adie, when you moved in here you have no idea how excited I was. I tried to act like it bothered me or at least like it didn't matter, but it did. When my mum told me I immediately thought back to that last day in the treehouse and I realized that this would be my chance to keep that promise. I didn't think I would get a second chance at being your friend, but I did." He drops his hand from my chin and rests it on my leg on top of my own hand. "I always wanted to be your friend when we started high school, but I didn't know how. I got to know you again and I started feeling all of these emotions I didn't even know existed. I wanted so much to stop you from hanging out with Liam, but I knew I didn't have the right to. I had no claim over you and it wasn't fair for me to keep you from him. So I stepped back and waited, selfishly hoping that it wouldn't work out between you guys. I know that sounds horrible, Ads, but I couldn't help it."

"Why didn't you ever tell me how you felt?" I ask, stopping his speech. He sighs and looks down at our hands.

"I didn't know how. I was terrified that you would never see me the same way. So I just tried to show you." He looks up and chuckles softly. "You were kind of oblivious, though. You had no idea I was flirting with you." My cheeks turn red and I laugh a little as well.

"I just didn't think it was possible," I defend. "You're...Harry Styles."

"I don't know what that means."

"It means you're you and I'm just...me."

He laughs and nods his head. "Yes, that would make sense."

"You're being annoying."

He laughs again and pats my leg. "I know what you mean. I don't know why you think that. If anything you're far too good for me, not the other way around. I don't deserve you."

"You don't have me yet," I tease. He shakes his head and tries not to smile. "Anyway. Continue."

"When things finally started happening between us I was so happy. When my mum figured out that I like you she got so angry with me and as dramatic as it sounds, I felt like my world was falling apart. I had waited so long and I finally felt like things were moving forward between us, only for us to be kept apart by my mother. But instead of pushing me away like I thought you might, we pretty much locked ourselves up in this house for a week. I had so much fun with you. As corny as it is, it was the best week of my life." I smile from ear to ear and he turns to face me again with the same smile. I feel like my heart could burst.

Harry's expression gets more serious and he puts one arm around my back, pulling me even closer, I put one hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder, my breath suddenly shallow.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Ads. It might be crazy to say that since we aren't even actually together, but I need you in my life. It might be too soon and it may scare you- hell, it scares the shit out of me. But it's the truth. I know you think that it's wrong to lie to my mother and go against her will and I respect that. But before you make your decision I just need you to know that if you do decide to stay with me, I'll spend every minute making sure you don't regret it." He leans forward and presses our foreheads together, lightly brushing his nose against mine. My heart is pounding at this point and my mind feels clouded. No one has ever said these things to me. I don't understand how or why he cares so much about me, but I believe him.

"Harry-"

"One more thing," he interrupts. He separates slightly from me and stares into my eyes, reaching up with his left hand and putting it against my cheek. "Don't freak out, okay?" I look between his eyes carefully; I've never seen Harry this vulnerable before. He looks really nervous.

"Okay," I agree quietly. He pauses, seemingly gathering the courage to say what it is he wants to say. He suddenly presses his lips against mine desperately, like it's the last time he'll ever get to. I still don't know what I'm going to do, but I really hope that isn't the case. He pulls back and once again looks into my eyes.

"I'm going to fall in love with you, Adison. That I know for sure."

I swear my heart stopped beating when those words came out of his mouth. Love? I've never been in love and the thought of someone like Harry loving me is just never something I could have ever imagined. I feel like I'm living in a fairytale. He starts to look really nervous and I realize it's been a while since I've said anything. Problem is, I have no idea what to say. How do I respond to that? So instead, I do the only thing that seems to make sense in this situation.

I kiss him.

I don't usually instigate these things, so he seems quite surprised at first. Soon enough his lips are moving against mine, our actions communicating a lot clearer than anything I could have said with words. I slide my hands from his face down to his shoulders, using them to hoist myself up. I bring one of my legs from the other side of his lap back over, straddling him when I sit back down. His hands slide slowly up my thighs, over my hips and around my back, pulling me closer and pressing the front of our bodies together. I slide my hands into the curls at the nape of his neck as his tongue invades my mouth. I separate from him for a short moment to catch my breath, but he reaches up to the back of my neck and pulls me back down, reattaching our needy lips. Our lips move together effortlessly and I tug softly on his curls, trying to control myself. A soft moan escapes his mouth and I press my body into his in response. He puts his hands on my hips and pulls me back slightly, also slowing the kiss. Sensing he needs to stop I pull away and lean my forehead against his while we both catch our breath.

"As much as I'd love to continue that, Ads, I really need you to say something." He chuckles and leans his head back lazily against the couch, breathing still a bit heavier than normal. I slide my hands from his hair and down to his chest, putting a little more distance between our bodies.

"I don't know what to say," I admit. "I don't know if I could even explain the way that I feel about you. But that wasn't the problem, Harry. I like you so much and I...I want to be with you." He smiles and I can't help but return it.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he says, laughing a little. "That could have been awkward."

"I feel so selfish," I confess, reaching up with one hand and trailing my fingers down the side of his face. His brow furrows as I continue. "Anne would be so upset if she found out about this. I would just feel so horrible going against what she told you she wanted."

"I know," he agrees. "I get it, I do, but I just don't think that should stop us."

"Why? She has given me everything, Harry and she has asked for nothing in return."

"Exactly, she didn't even tell you this. I did."

"You can't get out of this on a technicality."

"I'm not trying to get out of anything, Ads. I understand that my mother would be angry and hurt. I don't feel good disregarding her rule. But I would feel worse not giving us a chance because of her discomfort with our living arrangement."

"Maybe I should move out," I suggest, twisting one of his curls around my finger.

"No no no. You're not going anywhere," he says seriously. A deep breath leaves my lungs and I lift myself off his lap, laying on my back on the couch. "So what do we do?"

"I have no idea. Whenever Anne is around I feel guilty but when she's not I just...you make me really happy." My face turns red and I fiddle with my fingers to avoid his eyes. "I know the right thing to do is to end this and do what she wants, but I don't think that I can."

Without warning Harry throws himself on top of me, a large grin spread across his face. He kisses my lips quickly a few times and I giggles as he leaves a trail of quick kisses down my cheek to my neck, nuzzling his nose against it. I wrap my arms around his neck and know that no matter what I do, things aren't going to change with Harry. There's no going back to the way things used to be. I have a feeling it's going to be all or nothing with us.

I really hope it'll be all. Nothing would break my heart.

Notes

THE LAST PROMISE. that part was kinda corny but i thot it was a little bit cute :P i had to explain it at some point. idk if u guys even remember when i wrote about that :P but it was never explained. until now. blah.
i hope you guys like this chapter :) things are kinda resolved but not really. ill hopefully be posting again tomorrow but im not sure cuz its my sisters birthday and we're doing a surprise thingy for her. ill do my best though :)
please tell me what you think :)

COMMENT, VOTE, SUBSCRIBE!!! the numbers have stayed the same lately and i would really like to see them go up :)

thank you guys so much for reading. love you all :) <3

also, if you guys could all check out my new story that would be AMAZING. its a teacher student one as ive said before (i think). it's only like seven chapters in so it wont take too long to read!! give it a read please :) its called Against All Odds