(A/N: THIS IS 41 PAGES AND 15,004 WORDS! HOLY SHIT HAHA!)

Friday October 11th 2019 (1 Year Later)

Harry’s POV:

Sitting in the doctor’s office is nerve racking. Iris and I are each seated in red love seats which are placed in front of our doctor’s desk and his matching brown office chair. She’s so nervous, and I can tell by the way she’s bouncing her leg and scanning the room with her blue-green eyes. I placed my hand on her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze to give her a sense of comfort. She smiled appreciatively, but continued to anxiously look around the room.

On the doctor’s desk are a few photo frames with the backs of them facing us, and I’m sure some of them are filled with photos of his children. The thought saddens me as I steal another glance at my worried wife. She still blames herself for it: the reason she hasn’t been able to get pregnant after six months of trying. No matter how many times I try to convince her it’s not her fault, it still sits like a stone in her mind.

So here we are, sitting in the doctor’s office after being here a week ago for checkups and samples. We know what’s about to come, and we’re dreading every bit of it. The doctor is going to tell us we can’t have a baby due to too much damage in Iris’s insides. The problem we once thought we had rid ourselves of will continue to ruin our lives.

Sure there’s adoption, surrogates, and other options, but they won’t be the same. The experience will be different considering Iris won’t be carrying the baby in her own belly. I won’t be able to rub her tummy, hum songs to it, and rest my head against it. I won’t be able to spoil Iris with the food she craves and the foot and back massages she’ll need. We won’t have the same excitement in picking out baby clothes and baby names. It just won’t be the same.

The sound of the doorknob rattling brought me back to reality. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Twist,” Doctor Frazier greeted us as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. I stood to my feet and shook hands with him before sitting back down and placing my hand onto Iris’s.

Yes, my last name is no longer Styles. When my mother married Robin, I asked if it would be alright if I could take his last name as well. They were shocked but not too stunned by what I had asked. I have been waiting for the day to change my last name, not wanting to even be associated to that psychopath anymore. I would’ve taken my mum’s maiden name, but she was soon marrying Robin, and I couldn’t help but like his last name better.

He and I have gotten closer and closer over the years. We’ve bonded over our love of watching sports and sharing the same interests in music. As we talked more and more, we found many other things we had in common. The list seemed to be piling up, and soon, there wasn’t a thing we wouldn’t talk about. My mum would joke and say things to Robin like, “I think Harry is more excited to see you than he is excited to see me whenever he visits.”

I’ve come to accept that man as more of a father figure than my own dad was. Robin and I have shared more father/son moments than I’ve ever been part of. We’ve gone golfing, fishing, to football games, to hockey games, and we’ve even gone camping. Iris and I love to double date with mum and Robin, occasionally triple dating with them, Gemma, and Gavin who is now married to Gem. God, there’s been so many weddings in the past five years that it’s hard to keep up. Luckily, Gem and Gavin just eloped and kept theirs small.

“Okay, so I suppose you want me to cut right to the chase?” Doctor Frazier asked as he sat in his chair. I just nodded to him, too tense to speak. He placed a folder onto the desk and opened it up to read the files. He intertwined his fingers together and set them on the folder before looking up at us with a serious expression that makes my skin crawl. Here it comes. “Mrs. Twist, you are actually quite healthy,” a smile formed on his face. What?

“Really?” Iris let out a few giggles as she gasped. We exchanged smiles as she practically bounced in her seat and sandwiched my hand between hers.

He nodded, “Yes. All of the tissue healed perfectly, and you should be able to carry a baby with no problems whatsoever.”

I let out a sigh of relief. We had nothing to worry about after all. We’re gonna be able to have a baby. “Wow, that’s great,” I said in awe, but I couldn’t help but notice the doctor’s smile fall. The feeling of relief had faded as quick as the anxiety took over yet again.

“But um, Mr. Twist,” he looked at me with a frown. “We have found that you are infertile.” I felt my heart drop to my stomach, and the blood drain from my face. Infertile? Me?

“What? How?” Iris questioned as she squeezed my hand tight.

He sighed and leaned forward in his seat a bit, “Well, there’s many ways this can occur, so we’ll need to run some more tests. By the looks of it, Mr. Twist is healthy as well. It could be stress related, sometimes it has to do with drug use, and other times its weight. Since we had you two do drug tests, we can rule that out, and he’s obviously not overweight. My guess is its stress from his occupation. His career can be overwhelming at times, and he’s been very busy lately. Plus, you guys thought the rape caused this, so that added stress too.”

“Why does he need tests then?” Iris continued to interrogate.

“It’s just a precaution,” he stated. “Sometimes infertility is a sign of something bigger occurring. Have either of you noticed anything that seems to be alarming?”

She shook her head, “No.”

As they continued to speak, I felt like my head would explode. The doctor had to test my sperm to consider all options, but I didn’t think anything of it. It’s me though. I’m the one who can’t get Iris pregnant. It’s my fault. Just minutes ago, I was thinking there had to be something wrong with Iris, but it’s been me all along.

“It’s very possible for Mr. Twist to be able to produce in time, yes,” Doctor Frazier nods. I guess Iris had asked him more questions, but my mind is somewhere else. “Any more questions?” his eyes jumped between the two of us.

I don’t have to turn my head to know Iris is staring at me to answer him, but I just looked straight ahead at the framed poster on the wall behind our doctor’s head in complete silence. The poster is an image of the inside of a pregnant woman’s womb. There’s a baby inside the womb laying upside down with its legs bent, arms bent, eyes closed, and head tucked inwards. You can see it has all of its features at this stage of the pregnancy: head, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, legs, arms, toes, fingers, and a slight patch of hair on its head. Underneath the picture is bold black lettering that reads “30 WEEKS.” It could take years before a baby is carried by Iris like that…

I’m a fucking dick. I kept trying to cheer Iris up, but in the back of my mind, I kept thinking of ways to help her for when we’d find out she’s incapable of carrying our child. Never did I once consider the possibility that I’m…I don’t even want to say it. The word makes me sick to my stomach.

“Babe?” Iris stepped into my line of vision. My eyes wondered to where the doctor once was sitting, but he appears to have left the room. “I asked him to give us a minute,” she confirmed my thoughts. She placed her purse onto the floor next to my chair before straddling my lap. She cradled my face in her warm hands and brought her lips to my cheek. “It’s okay, Harry,” she said oh so gently.

I shook my head, “No it’s not.”

“It will be,” her tone is so confident. She slid her hands down my face and to the back of my neck, pulling me into her chest. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her torso and held her tighter to me as I let out a sad sigh. I know he said that we’ll be able to have a baby in time, but this year seemed like the perfect year to do so since it’s our least busy year. The boys and I aren’t on any tours for another year, Iris has finished with schooling, and no one’s getting married. It just seemed like the right time, and yet, we hit another obstacle: me.

Stress. What am I stressed about? Well, it seems we never have a free day anymore between interviews, concerts, celebrations, award shows, photoshoots, premieres, recording sessions, music video shootings, rehearsals, meet and greets, talk shows, charity events, fittings, and the list goes on. When I do have time, it’s only enough time to ask Iris about her day, try and keep that beautiful smile on her face, have sex, and sleep. Some days, I’ll get home so late that she’ll be asleep on the couch from staying up to wait for me.

I rarely have time for anything anymore. They said it was supposed to die down over the years, but it seems to have only become more time consuming. Fans have not given up on us, and I’m grateful for that, but I want a break somewhere in between it all. That’s my stress.

“Are you ready?” Iris pulled herself back a bit to gaze worriedly into my eyes.

I exhaled deeply and shook my head as I stared down at our laps, “No, but it’s not like staying here will help.”

She nods knowingly before kissing my cheek and removing herself from me. After she picked up her purse, she held her hand out for me so she could help me up. I barely crack a smile, appreciating how incredible she is, as I allowed her to help pull me out of my seat. We link our fingers together and placed our sunglasses on before making our way out of the office.

As we walk through the hallway and out to the waiting room, all eyes are on us. Surely people know exactly who we are; that’s how it always seems nowadays. Doctor Frazier sees a lot of celebrities, and it’s a normal occurrence for them, so I don’t know why they can’t just pretend we’re like them. I mean, we are like them, just known more I guess.

We ignore the stares and make our way out the glass double doors. Paparazzi awaits us outside, along with our car and private guards. Four guards hold the crowds back as one walks over and gently pushes me to walk faster towards the car. I tightly hold Iris to my side with my arm wrapped around her waist as we speed walk towards the car with our heads down.

“IRIS?! ARE YOU PREGNANT?!”

“WHY DO YOU GUYS LOOK SO SAD?!”

“DID YOU LOSE A BABY?!”

Questions were flying out of all of the desperate photographers’ mouths as cameras flashed at our every move. I can visualize tomorrow’s headlines in my head: “Harry Twist’s Wife Has a Miscarriage.” Like high school, people enjoy spreading rumors about our lives and readers are gullible enough to believe that shit.

Our guard opened the car door and held it open for us while I allowed Iris to step inside first. Once we got in and situated, the guard shut the door, and I told our driver to take us home.

The car ride is silent. Iris is resting her head on my shoulder while I rest mine on top of hers and rub circles with my thumb onto her shoulder. I mentally thank her for giving me more time to think, although I know she’ll bring it up when we get back to the flat. For now, I just enjoy the silence we still tend to share when it’s needed most.

---

“Okay,” Iris exhaled as she hung her coat on the coat rack next to mine. Her hands fell to her thighs with a clap, “Let’s talk about it in the kitchen. I’ll make some tea.”

I follow her into the kitchen, “You don’t like tea.”

“But you do,” she smiles before reaching into a cabinet to grab a mug. She placed the mug on the rounded platform of the Keurig before opening a drawer below the counter. Inside the drawer is a bunch of plastic containers of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. “English Breakfast Black Tea?” she turns to me with a smirk, to which I glare at her for. She thinks it’s funny that they have that flavor and often teases me for not drinking it since I am British.

“I’m kidding,” she giggles, and I can’t help the smile that creeps on my face as I shake my head at her. I realize I’ve just been awkwardly standing in the middle of the kitchen, so I decided to lean my lower half against the counter beside her and cross my arms. She turned her attention back to the drawer as her eyes scanned the options, “Green or Peppermint? We’re running low, so I’ll have to get you more tomorrow.”

“Green Tea is fine,” I nod to her. She takes out the K Cup, as they call it, and places it into the Keurig before closing the top of it and turning it on. She clicks the “Brew” button before closing the drawer and turning around to lean against the counter, mirroring my position. “Okay, I’m listening,” she stated with a serious tone.

I shook my head and let out a long sigh, “There’s nothing to say, really.”

“Clearly there is. There’s a lot on your mind, Harry, and I’m right here to listen.” I stayed quiet, staring out the window across the room to peer at the dark sky. I felt Iris take my hand in hers and give it a gentle squeeze, “You and I both know that holding it in has never worked out for you.”

“There’s nothing to say,” I repeated, this time with a firm tone. “You already know it’s my fault you can’t get pregnant, and not only do I feel guilty for that, but I also feel awful because I didn’t think I could be the reason.”

She removed her hand from mine, but only to place both of them on my cheeks and force me to look down at her, “Harry, why do you feel like we have to blame it on someone? I’m healed, and within time, your little spermies will be working,” she giggled at the little emphasis she put on the word sperms. “We’ll be able to have a baby, and it may seem like now is a good time, but God seems to have other plans for us. It’ll happen, just not right now. I don’t know about you, but I’m just happy we’re capable at all.”

She removes her hands from my face and grabs the mug of tea from the Keurig to hand to me. Once she does that, she opens up the top of the machine and grabs the K Cup to throw away in the trashcan under the sink. As she does all that, my mind starts processing all that she has said to me. She’s right. Of course she is; she always is. I shouldn’t blame anyone, especially since a baby will be in our future. I should be grateful that Iris is perfectly healthy and healed. I don’t need to mope around, especially since all I’m doing is adding to my stress.

“Maybe you should call Simon, and say you can’t come in for rehearsals in the morning,” Iris faced me before biting down on her lip.

I furrowed my brows at her as I took a small sip of the hot tea. Once I swallowed I asked, “Why?”

“Well, I think we’ll need to have lots and lots of sex,” she said casually, and I almost choked on air. Who is this and what has she done with my wife? “I hear it’s a great stress reliever,” her voice is low as she slowly pulls her shirt over her head and steps out of her heels.

I raised my brows at her before a wide smile formed on my plump lips, “I like the way you think Mrs. Twist.” I placed the mug of tea onto the counter before making my way over to her.

I reached out to slide down her skirt, but she slapped my hand away. “Call him now,” she demanded with a playful tone.

“Now?”

She stood on her tiptoes and placed her hands on the back of my neck, tugging it down gently so her lips were by my ear. “Did I stutter?” she asked slowly.

“N-No.” Great, I sound like a bumbling idiot. I cleared my throat in attempt to rid myself of the unsteady voice, “I’ll call him right now.”

“Good boy,” she said in a cheery voice as she patted my head and lowered herself back onto her heels.

“I’m not a dog,” I chuckled as I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my trousers. I clicked the number three on the keypad because that’s Simon’s number on speed dial in my phone, and then I clicked the call button.

“Take off your shirt,” Iris commands as the ringing on the other end of the line fills my ear. I shot her a puzzled look, but she just gestured me to do as I was told. I pulled my phone away from my ear and obliged to her demand before listening to the ringing again.

Finally, the phone makes a clicking noise and Simon’s voice fills my ear, “Harold?”

“Hey, Simon,” I smiled as I eyed Iris who is now stepping out of her skirt, leaving her in her lacy red undergarments. “I’m gonna have to miss rehearsals tomorrow.”

“Why? You don’t sound sick or anything.”

I watched as Iris walked over to me with a cheeky grin. “I’m not,” I blatantly told Simon before Iris started trailing kisses along my torso. I sighed happily at all of the feelings her simple actions give me.

“Then you need to be there.”

“I’m pretty sure I know the lyrics like the back of my hand since we’ve been singing these songs for months,” I said without a doubt.

I heard him sigh. “Harry,” he warned.

“Simon,” I mocked his threatening tone with a smirk on my face. I can picture the scowl he is giving me right now, and I find it quite entertaining. The smug look I’m giving him washed away as Iris palmed me through my trousers and nibbled at my collarbone. I held back my moans and pants by biting down on my bottom lip.

“Whether you know the songs or not isn’t the only thing you need rehearsals for,” he grumbles into my ear while Iris unbuttons and unzips my pants. “You should know by now.”

Iris pulls my trousers to my ankles and steps away from me. She points at my feet in a silent command for me to step out of them. “I do,” I said in all honesty as I kicked the jeans to the other side of the kitchen. “I understand, but we have rehearsals the day after as well. I can catch up then.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Well, I think-“ I’m interrupted by my own whimper as Iris blows her hot breath against my boxers.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I pant while Iris begins rubbing me again. I look down at her to see her crazed eyes, enjoying every bit of this torture.

“You sure you’re not sick? You didn’t even tell me why you can’t go to rehearsals.”

I didn’t answer for a minute while I admired my wife’s courage as she yanked my boxers to my ankles and began pumping me. “I-I um, I,” I can’t seem to come up with the words. My eyes instantly widened once I felt her take me in her mouth. “Yeah, I’m sick,” I coughed a very fake sounding cough. “Bye.”

I hung up before he could say anything else and placed my phone on the counter behind me as I released all of the sounds I was holding in. I tangled my fingers in her hair and threw my head back as she began to massage my balls. Once I was getting close, she stopped her movements down there and caressed my lips with her own. I gripped her thighs and turned us around to lift her onto the counter without either of us disconnecting our mouths.

“That was fun,” she breathed as I started assaulting her neck with kisses. “We should do that again sometime.”

I pulled away and hooked my fingers in her panties to pull them down, and she helped me out by leaning back and lifting up her thighs. “I wouldn’t mind that,” I panted heavily before pressing my mouth to hers again.

---

Saturday March 30th 2024 (5 Years Later)

“Caspar is in bed,” I announced as I walked back into the playroom. Iris is sitting on the floor with two of our three kids as they both play with their own toys. Mayleen is playing with her stuffed animals while Fritz plays with his plastic guns.

“I thought he’d never go to bed,” Iris let out a sigh as she laughed. “He’s such a handful.”

“I blame you,” I teased as I joined my family on the floor.

She rolled her eyes, “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Harold.”

“Dad, will you play Shooters with me?” Fritz grinned as he held out one of his toys to me. I can’t help but chuckle a little at his name for the game. He never lets me “shoot,” so I have no idea why he makes the word plural.

I gladly took the gun and said, “Only because I’ll win.”

He giggled and held the word, “No,” as he said it.

“I always win,” I said in a jokingly cocky tone, placing the backs of my hands on my hips. He then takes this opportunity to hold his plastic gun up and pull the trigger. The speakers in the gun play an echoing “pow” noise, and I react by making my body jolt as if I had gotten hit by a real bullet. I dramatically dropped the gun on the floor and clutched my heart. His sweet laughter rang in my ears as I toppled to the floor and made gagging noises.

“I win,” he cheered. “You’re not very good at this, Daddy.”

I fake gasped, “You little bugger.” I swiftly sat up and pulled him into my lap, laying him down across my legs as I tickled his sides. He was a giggling mess as his feet thrashed around, and he accidentally wound up kicking a bin of Legos over, causing them to make a large crashing sound as they spilled all over the carpet.

Iris placed her face in her hands and groaned, “Are you trying to wake Caspar up? And Mayleen and I just picked those up,” she whined as she pointed to the mess Fritz had I had created.

“Hey, hey, hey,” I removed Fritz from my lap and wrapped my arms around her. I hugged her tightly so I could whisper to her, “Are you okay? You seem a little on edge.” She has. Ever since she answered the phone earlier, she has been pretty quiet and seemingly stressed out. Usually when Caspar is needed to be taken to bed, she’s the first to jump up and go get him ready, whenever Fritz and I play Shooters, she likes to brag about he’s a better player than me, and lastly, when we knock stuff over, she always just laughs it off. I wonder what the call was about.

“We’ll talk about it later,” she sighed.

I nodded in agreement as I pulled away from her, keeping my hand on her back to rub it in attempt to comfort her, “How about after I clean up this mess, I’ll go make some popcorn? While I do that, you three can go pick out a movie. Okay?”

“Sure,” she breathed. “Mayleen, Fritz, let’s go pick a movie out.”

Mayleen immediately stood to her feet and chucked her stuffed animal at the floor, “Princesses!”

I chuckled, “As long as Mummy and Fritz want to watch a princess movie.”

“They do,” she answered for them and dashed out of the room, assumably towards the theater room.

“Pushy,” I joked as I began scooping handfuls of Legos off the floor and placing them back in the bin.

“I blame you,” Iris mocked my earlier statement and I laughed. “What’s wrong, Buddy?” Iris asked in a soothing tone. I stopped what I was doing when I noticed Fritz standing in front of Iris with his hands tangled behind his back, most likely a habit he has gotten from me, and his expression seemed somber.

He sniffled a little, “I’m sorry, Mummy.”

“Aww,” she lightly laughed as she pulled him into her arms. “What are you sorry for?”

“For knocking those over.”

She pulls away from him a little and furrows her brows, “I’m not mad at you for that. I’m sorry if it seemed like it, but I promise I’m not mad.” He nodded in understanding. “Go help you sister pick out a movie, and make sure it’s a good one,” she poked his belly, making him giggle a little as he tried to swat her hands away.

“Okay,” he chirped before running out of the room.

“You know, I still find it funny that they use ‘Mum’ and ‘Mummy’ in their vocabulary, but speak with an American accent,” a humorous expression is plastered to Iris’s face as she watches me start to clean up the mess again.

“I taught them well,” I wiggled my eyebrows, making her scoff. I finally finished picking up all of the Lego pieces and tossing them into the bin, so I lifted up the bin and slid it onto the shelf where it belongs. We have two bookshelf-like things that we store their bins of toys on because we spoil our kids rotten and were running out of space to even just stand in the room.

When I turned my head, I noticed Iris was still sitting in the same spot, hugging her knees to her chest as she stares blankly at the ground. “You okay, Angel?” I asked her as I joined her on the ground and pulled her against my chest.

“Yeah,” she nodded against my chest, still not looking up from the ground. “I just needed a minute.”

“That bad?” I stretched my neck down and tilted my head in attempt to look into her eyes, but she kept her sights fixated on the carpet.

She shook her head and pulled away a bit so she could stroke her hands through my curls, “Maybe I’m making it a bigger deal than it really is. I don’t know.”

“Want to talk about it now? I’m sure we still have another minute before Mayleen runs back in here and demands you to put the movie in,” I joked to lighten up the mood.

A small smile played on her lips, growing seemingly larger, and soon she was giggling. “She is really bossy. I wonder where she gets that from,” she scrunches her face as if she were thinking about it, placing her hand under her chin to further the illusion.

“You,” I playfully rolled my eyes, earning a slap on my chest from her.

“I am not bossy,” she claimed with a laugh. I shot her a questioning look, and she slapped me once more.

“Okay, you’re not bossy, but you’re very abusive,” I stuck my tongue out at her as I rubbed the spot on my chest that she had hit. She shook her head and laughed before pressing her lips to mine.

“Mum, hurry up,” Mayleen walks into the room with a whiny tone, causing Iris and I’s kiss to cut short.

I chuckled, “Do I know our kid, or what?”

Iris laughed and pulled away from me before jumping to her feet to walk over to grab Mayleen’s hand. “So what are we watching?” she asked our daughter as they walked out of the room.

I took that as my cue to follow them to the theater room. In the back of the room, we have a bar of candy, popcorn, and other snacks for us to enjoy while we watch our shows and movies on the big screen. Fritz ran over to me to help me place the kernels and butter in the popcorn machine. He has a fascination with watching the popcorn pop, so every time we make some, I hold him up so he can watch the machine do its job. After it was finished, we took turns using the scooper to collect the popcorn and place it in a big bowl. Of course, whenever it’s Fritz’s turn to scoop, I have to lift him up so he can.

Once we got the popcorn, we joined Iris and Mayleen on the other side of the room. Iris and I have our choices of love seats and a couple of couches we can sit on, and we chose to sit on a couch. Mayleen and Fritz have a pile of bean bag chairs on the side of the room that they like better. Mayleen picked out a purple princess beanbag chair and dragged it till it was sitting in front of my feet before she plopped herself onto it. Fritz went for the Iron Man beanbag chair and placed it next to Mayleen’s.

Iris dimmed the lights in the room with our fancy remote, and turned the big screen on. She had already placed the movie in, so the title screen was already up when it turned on, and all she had to do was press play. I placed the bowl on the floor in between the kids and snuggled up with my wife. She held her knees to her chest as she leaned against me, and I stroked her hair as my other arm wrapped around her legs to hold her closer.

I smiled down at her as I watched the colors on the screen illuminate across her face, highlighting her beautiful features. I wish Mayleen and Fritz got to share Iris’s beauty, and some of my looks. After trying for another six months after going to the doctor, I was still unable to get Iris pregnant. We finally looked through our other options and settled on adoption.

Mayleen was the first kid we had adopted. She had just turned three at the time which means she’s seven now. When we first saw her, we fell in love with everything about her. She was already so talkative, and she surely wasn’t shy around us. She’d rave on and on and on for hours about princesses like she still does.

Mayleen was born in Japan, and it’s fairly obvious she doesn’t share our DNA. She has beautiful brown hair that is shades darker than mine, she has chocolate brown eyes, her face is long, her cheeks are even chubbier than Iris’s, her skin tone is like a pale brown but not tan, and well, she’s Asian. She’s certainly pretty, super chatty, kind of bossy, and very sweet to her brothers. She loves to come to events with me and Iris because she’s one to enjoy being the center of attention. She’ll even pose for the cameras, and we can never hold back our laughter when she does that.

Mayleen’s adoption story will be hard on her when we eventually tell her. Her parents had given her up when she was a baby because they didn’t want a girl. They kept her long enough to care for her needs and gradually get her into using formula milk before they decided to take her to an adoption agency. The agency said they didn’t even have the decency to give her a name, so they had named her Mayleen which means beautiful.

We adopted Fritz about a year after we had gotten Mayleen. Fritz was one years old when we got him, and he was the toughest to raise for the longest time. Fritz was just a baby, so he was crying a lot from the separation of him and his mother who only had given him up because she couldn’t afford to take care of him. She had named him Fritz, which means peaceful ruler or peace keeper, and because we know she truly loved him, we had no intentions in ridding him of the name she had chosen for him. Plus, he was already responsive to his name by then.

Fritz is Haitian and a handsome one at that. He has brown hair that’s even darker than Mayleen’s and it’s forming in a mini afro on his head, he has big espresso brown eyes, chocolate skin, a small head shape, and he’s got a little chubby belly growing. He’s only four, so his big belly is normal for a kid at that age.

The first year with Fritz was the hardest since he was always crying, and he’d hardly cooperate with Iris and I. There were times where he’d stress me out enough that I’d have to walk out of the room, and other times where Iris was crying because she thought he hated us. The thing is, he hardly threw tantrums or anything; he just wouldn’t listen to us or…talk, really. He hardly spoke, and at age two is around the time infants began using words, but not him. He refused to speak, and he ignored us constantly. It took another couple of months for him to finally warm up to us and realize we love him very much.

Now, Fritz is more talkative, but he’s shy, and it’s most likely due to the separation of him and his mum. Whenever we take him to events with us, he hides behind our legs or holds Mayleen’s hand the whole time. The only reason he’ll hold Mayleen’s hand is because she’ll demand him to do so; it’s cute though. Fritz is so sweet that he’ll put up with anything Mayleen makes him do or watch princess movies with her when she asks. Whenever people come over, Fritz hides in his room; that is unless it’s the lads and their families. He loves hanging out with the other kids and their dads, and Louis is his best friend, as he told me once.

Then there’s Caspar…

“Harry?” Iris’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.

I look up to see the movie is about halfway over, and I only know that because we’ve seen it about ten times thanks to Mayleen. Having kids does that to you: there’s so many movies that you’ll have to see over and over again.

I look down at Iris to find a smile playing on her pale pink lips as she points to our kids. Mayleen and Fritz are fast asleep on their own beanbag chairs, and only half of the popcorn is gone.

“Leave it up to them to waste a perfectly popped bag of popcorn,” I rolled my eyes, making her giggle.

“It’s not like we can’t afford to waste it, Niall,” she teased, dragging the Irish lad’s name as she said it.

I chuckled, “Niall would definitely be disappointed in them. Alright, let’s get them to bed, yeah? I’ll get Mayleen since she’s heavier.”

She nodded in agreement as we both stood up from the couch. I grabbed the remote off of the couch and turned the lights on and the screen off before throwing it back onto the coach and scooping Mayleen into my arms. Iris was already out of the room with Fritz by the time I had lifted Mayleen up. I walked out of the theater room and down the hallway until I reached the door with lilac wooden letters hammered to it, spelling out Mayleen’s name.

Luckily, the door was opened just a crack, so all I had to do was press my back against it to open it more. The lights aren’t on, but the light in the hallway is enough for me to see what I’m doing. I’m suddenly glad Mayleen is already in her pajamas because when she’s tired like this, it’s a big hassle trying to get her to change.

I used my foot to slide the covers down the bed before gently placing Mayleen onto the mattress. I placed her favorite stuffed animal, a white puppy that she named Frosty, in her arms and pulled the princess covers over her small figure. After placing a kiss on her forehead, I left the room and closed the door behind me.

I passed Iris in the hallway as I headed to Fritz’s room to give him a kiss on the head as well. It’s a routine for Iris and I to say goodnight to all of our children. After I did my rounds, I headed to the theater to turn off the lights, put the beanbag chairs back, and clean up the popcorn. Iris eventually joined me and helped me out before we turned off the hallway light and headed to our bedroom.

I stripped myself out of my jeans and t-shirt before sliding on some pajama pants. Iris says I have to wear these now that we have children, and she prefers that I don’t walk around in my boxers around them. I joined her in the bathroom to brush my teeth. She’s wiping her face free of makeup and placing some crap on her face that’s supposed to keep it blemish free. I don’t know why she needs it because I’ve never once seen her get a zit. She has the most flawless skin I’ve ever seen, and it’s been that way since I’ve met her.

Once I weed and washed my hands, I joined Iris under the covers in our king sized bed. She laid on her back and stared at the ceiling as her she fiddled with her hands on her stomach. I laid myself on my side and propped my elbow up to rest my hand on my head, so I could look down at her. I placed my free hand on hers and began playing with her fingers.

“So, what was that phone call about?” I asked after minutes of silence.

She let out a sigh and bit down on her lip before saying, “Well, that was the school.”

“Mayleen’s?” I raised my brows. “Please tell me she didn’t force a kid to do her work or something.”

“She’s not that bad,” Iris laughed and I joined her. “No, not Mayleen’s school. Ours.”

“I’m really confused because last time I checked, we don’t go to school anymore.”

“Our old high school, Harry,” she rolled her eyes as she spoke in a tedious tone. “You are a piece of work sometimes, you know?”

I dipped my head down and placed a kiss on her neck. “You love it,” I rasped into her ear. Her breathing got heavier just from the simple gesture and words, and I couldn’t help but smirk at her reaction. “Anyways, you were saying?” I asked after pulling my head away, so I could look into her eyes.

She cleared her throat before speaking, “It’s been ten years since we graduated. Do you know what that means?” I shook my head. “It means our high school reunion is in a couple of months.”

My eyes widened and I plopped down on my back next to her. “Oh,” is all I said. I pulled one of her hands to lay on my chest so I could continue to play with her fingers.

I’m not sure how I feel about the high school reunion. High school was hell for both of us: people didn’t care about us, students bullied Iris, and the teachers failed to see all that we were going through (if you don’t count Mrs. Clark). Now that I’m famous and Iris is well known, people are just going to kiss our arses, and I know it. They’ll act like they never hated Iris, and hated me for loving Iris. On top of that, Scott will be there. If that guy even so much as looks at her, I will kick his face in, despite what the media will say about it.

“I kind of want to go,” Iris spoke out after a while.

I rolled back onto my side and creased my brows, “What?”

She rolled to her side and pulled her hand from mine so she could rest in on my waist. Then, she scrunched her lips to the side as she thought about what to say next. “There’s so many people we haven’t seen in years,” she pointed out. “I miss Kyle, and I want to see if he and Riley are still together. I also really miss Dakota and Sophia.”

Sophia. We haven’t seen Sophia since the year of Eleanor’s wedding. Things with her and Liam continued to spiral downhill, and she wound up moving to London, England because of it. I can understand why Iris wants to see her because they were pretty close friends, and now they only Skype and text each other since Sophia is in another country.

“What if people there are fans or something?” I groaned and ran a hand through my hair before placing it under the covers and on her thigh.

She laughed, “There will always be fans, and that’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. It’s fine.”

“What about Scott and that one kid?” I started making clicking noises with my tongue as I tried to figure out that kid’s name. “What was his name? It started with an A, right? Andrew?” As if a light bulb went off in my head, I snapped my fingers once his name came to mind. “Yeah, Andrew. What are we supposed to do when we run into them? I don’t know what I’d do, but I can’t do anything stupid.”

“It’s been ten years,” Iris frowned. “Believe me, I’ve been thinking about the same scenario, but we’ve all grown up or will at some point. It would only be one night, Harry. It’s not like I’m going to give them our number and invite them over for dinner.”

I shook my head, “That’s not the point, Love. I’m not saying you’re going to try to find them and make conversation, but if they’re anything like they were before, then they’ll try to talk to you. Then, you’ll have to experience all of those emotions again, and I don’t want that for you.”

She smiled lightly and began stroking my cheekbones with her fingertips, “Harry, I’m twenty-eight. I’m a big girl now. I can handle it.”

“I know,” I huffed. “I just-“

“I know,” she interjected before tilting her head up to place a kiss on my nose. “It’ll be okay. I just think this could be fun for both of us to get out of the house and go to some normal event for once.” She grinned wildly and began walking her fingers up my arm. “Think about it, we can drop the kids at your sister’s place, get a hotel room, and we can spend some quality time together,” she ended her sentence by placing a kiss on my lips.

“Hm, I’d very well like that,” I hummed into the kiss. I rolled myself on top of her, holding my body weight up on my forearms that lay on either side of her head. My tongue slid in between her lips to dance with hers, causing her to moan. She began running her fingers through my curls before tugging at them.

“Mummy? Daddy?” a small voice interrupted our kiss.

“This is why we need to get away,” Iris breathlessly chuckled as I rolled off of her to sit up on my bum and determine which child is in our room.

“Caspar,” I panted. “What are you doing up, Trouble? I tucked you in hours ago.”

He shook his head, making his unruly head of blonde curls wave everywhere. “No sleeping,” he whispered with a big smile. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his silliness. This boy is a pain to get to bed, and he refuses to sleep.

Iris rolled her eyes and held her arms out for him, her hands motioning for him to come over to her, “Get over here.” He giggled and ran to her side of the bed, allowing her to wrap her arms around him and pull him onto the bed to sit in her lap. “You are a real pain, just like your father.”

I exaggerated a gasp and smacked my hands to my chest in fake disbelief, making Caspar’s giggles fill up the room. “You’re the pain,” I stuck my tongue out at Iris.

“No, you are,” she argued with a childish smile.

“You are silly,” Caspar stated.

“Who is?” I raised my hands up in a questioning manor.

“Mummy,” he pointed to her with his finger dangerously close to her eye, causing her to lean away from him a bit.

“Ha,” Iris bragged and stuck her tongue out at me.

I scoffed, “Whatever.”

Caspar giggled again before pointing his finger up at the ceiling. “Stars,” he demanded. I raised my brows at him challengingly. “Stars, please?” he asked this time, using a polite tone.

“Better,” I praised his manors. “Only for a little bit, and then you’re going back to bed.”

He nodded, “Okay.”

“Let’s lay down,” Iris suggested. While I reached over to the end table on my side of the bed and grabbed the big square touchscreen remote, Iris and Caspar laid on their backs onto the mattress and got themselves comfortable under the blankets.

I snuggled up as close as I could get to Iris, slightly squishing Caspar between us and causing him giggle again. “Oops, sorry. I didn’t see you there,” I teased him and poked his belly.

“You’re mean,” he giggled.

“I agree: Daddy is mean,” Iris laughed with our little man.

I shrugged, “Fine then, I’ll press the button by myself.”

Caspar gasped and whined, “No, I wants to press it.”

“Fine,” I huffed with a smile before handing him the remote.

I pointed to the only solid square button on the screen and instructed him to press his finger to it. As soon as his finger hit the screen, a low rumble sounded above us before the ceiling began sliding sideways as if a garage door were opening, revealing a glass ceiling above us. The ceiling that once laid on top of the glass disappeared to the side of the house where it is stored between the walls on the outside and the inside of the building. This glass ceiling gives us the ability to stare at the stars which was something I had specially made for Iris when we were having the house built. The coolest part is that we don’t even have to leave the bed to stare up at them.

“Beautiful,” Iris breathed and pointed up at the sky. She and Caspar exchanged adorable smiles before fixating their eyes back towards the stars. They have the same beautiful smile where the corners of their mouths smile against their cheeks. They share a lot of similarities just like I share some with him as well. He is our son after all.

You see, a few weeks after Fritz turned two, Iris found out she was pregnant with Caspar. We were at the point of giving up, and we assumed we would never be able to have a child. I’ve never been happier to be wrong about something in my entire life. Caspar may not have exactly been planned, but he sure as hell was the best gift we could ever receive. We have our own child now; one with our blood, our DNA, and our good looks. He may be a piece of work, but he’s our piece of work.

In comparison to his mum, Caspar has the same cheekbones, the same chin, and the same pale skin tone. He shares a few features with me as well: his nose shape, his rosy pink lip color, and his four nipples (which I sadly passed down to him). His hair is a mixture of Iris and I’s since it’s blonde like hers but curly like mine. Lastly, his eyes are blue, but Iris said her eyes were blue when she was younger, so the green may fade in later on. He also did not get Iris’s hearing passed down to him, but we’ve taught him and the other kids a little bit of ASL anyways.

Iris looked over at me before tangling my fingers with hers and placing them over Caspar’s eyes, then over his mouth, and finally resting them on his belly, making him giggle yet again. I can never get enough of that sweet laughter though. I can’t get enough of him, really. Just like I can’t get enough of his mum. They are my everything.

“No fair,” I heard a voice from the door. I sat up a little to find Mayleen looking up at the ceiling and then at us. “I want to watch the stars.”

I sighed and waved her over, “Come join us then.” It’s not like I can tell her no when I’m allowing Caspar to look at them.

She looked down the hallway before her eyes landed back on mine, “Can Fritz come?”

I should’ve known the sound of the wall opening would wake both of the kids up. I ran a hand through my hair and chuckled, “Fritz, you don’t need to hide behind the wall. You can all come in, and look at the stars with us.”

Fritz appeared in the doorway with a shy smile and gripped Mayleen’s hand before they strolled over to my side of the bed. I dramatically groaned as I pulled lifted Fritz onto the bed, making him laugh at my “weakness.” Then, I effortlessly hoisted Mayleen onto the bed as well. Now, all three of the kids are laying on their backs between me and Iris, staring in awe up at the sky.

I stroked my fingers through Mayleen’s hair while I peered over at my wife who was all smiles as she held Caspar’s wrist and guided his pointing finger towards the star she’s looking at. I listened as all three of our lovely children let out their astonished wows, gasps, and other noises.

“They’re pretty like you, Mummy,” Fritz smiled at Iris.

“That she is,” I beamed and reached over Mayleen to poke Fritz’s nose. “That she is,” I repeated, this time flashing a dimple filled grin at my ravishing wife.

---

Saturday June 8th 2024 (3 Months Later)

“Name?” the lady at the table of nametags asks without looking up at Iris and I. Iris and I turned to each other and started laughing because we know if she looked up, there’s a possibility she’d freak out. Our laughter didn’t seem to faze her as she continued to flip through the pages on her clipboard and mark more names on nametags.

I finally cleared my throat and said, “Harry Styles and Iris Mercer.” It’s Harry and Iris Twist now, but I’m assuming the list of names they have are the ones we had in high school.

“I already made Iris’s, its right here,” she points to one of the nametags and Iris picks it up to pin it to the top of her dress. “Let me make yours right now, Harry.” I watched as she took one of the small pieces of papers and neatly writes my name down on it before slipping it into a plastic nametag holder that’s attached to a silver pin. “Here you go,” she casually handed it to me and shot me a smile before continuing her job.

“Thanks,” I half smiled and pinned the tag to my blazer. At first I thought maybe she wasn’t sure who Harry Styles was because my surname has been changed, but then again, I doubt there were any other Harrys at our school. Even after she looked up at me, she didn’t seem to know who I was. I like this: not being recognized. That’s a rare occurrence.

“She doesn’t know who you are,” Iris nudged my shoulder with her elbow and shot me an impressed look as we walked into the ballroom of the hotel.

The walls of the ballroom are a shade of honeydew which is complimented by the grey-green carpet with white abstract flower patterns scattered all around it. Tables covered in pale grey tablecloths are dispersed around the room and surrounded by shiny white chairs. Fancy crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, lighting up the room in beautiful way. You know how some lights make the room seem yellow and shit? Well, these lights aren’t like that; they just make everything appear brighter.

On the far end of the room is a stage with a screen hanging on the wall behind it. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re gonna play pictures from our time in high school on there, but I doubt it’ll be anything for us to be excited about. There’s also a microphone stand on the stage which tells me there’s going to be either a lot of speeches or some babbling about us being all grown up. Lastly, my favorite thing here is the bar that’s positioned on the left side of the room. I’m probably gonna need a few drinks, but I’m not allowed to get drunk for the possibility of journalists, photographers, and reporters being here. Fucking media…

I bent my arm and allowed Iris to hang her hands from it, “Maybe this will turn out better than I expected.”

“Doubt it,” Iris joked, making me laugh.

“Would you like a drink, Love?” I asked as I nodded my head towards the bar.

“Margarita.”

“What kind?”

She shrugged, “Surprise me. I’ll find a table for us to sit at.”

I nodded and made my way over to the bar. Luckily, we’re early, so it won’t be too hard to find her considering no more than twenty people are here so far.

I tapped my fingers on the bar to catch the bartender’s attention, “Mango Margarita and a beer. Give me whatever beer you recommend.” He shot me a small smile, letting me know he heard me, before he started fixing up the drinks.

“Styles!” an energetic and unrecognizable male voice shouted. I turned my head to find a well-dressed man walking towards me with his arms in the air. He smiled widely at me before looking over his shoulder at a group of people who are intently watching our every move. Oh, I see…

“Do I know you?” I arched a brow at him when he stopped in front of me and rested his arm on the bar.

He laughed, “How could you not remember me? We were best buds.” I noticed him cross his arms and place his hand over his nametag as if he didn’t want me to know who he really is.

“Uh, no we weren’t,” I said slowly. “My best buds and I still talk today. I don’t know you.” I nodded my head to the bartender in a thank you as I grabbed the drinks from him.

I tried walking away, but this guy steps in front of me and laughs nervously, “How’s Iris?”

“You probably know her name from the tabloids, just as everyone else does,” I rolled my eyes. I looked towards the group he came from who were all snickering that this guy is trying to pretend to be my friend. “What’s your name?” I huffed.

“You already know,” he shrugged.

“No I don’t,” I shook my head. This is clearly pointless. “Forget it.” I stepped to the side and started walking away again before he gripped my arm, nearly causing me to spill the drinks.

Ten years ago, this would’ve been the point where I would’ve just threw the drinks to the side and shoved him, but I was young and foolish then. I’ve grown to realize there’s better ways to handle situations like these.

I sighed and faced him, “Sir, please. I just want to go sit with my wife. I’ll find you later if you want to chat or something, but I-“ I stopped in the middle of my sentence once I read his nametag. Darrell. Fucking Darrell. The name gives me immediate flashbacks. This was the kid that used to beat up freshman in high school. This is the kid whose car I trashed eleven years ago. “You know what? Let’s go see your friends, yeah?” I smiled and nodded my head towards them.

“Okay,” he grinned and guided me over to them. “Harry, this is Jeannine, Karla, Peter, and Travis. Guys, this is my buddy, Harry Styles.” I cringed at the word “buddy,” but I don’t think anyone noticed.

“Yeah,” I dragged the word in a cheerful manor. “We were such great friends. Hey Darrell, remember that one time you beat up that one freshman and shoved him in the gym locker? I thought they only did that in movies, but damn, you proved me wrong.” Darrell laughed nervously as his friends all exchanged puzzled looks. “Oh, how about that other time you beat up some girl’s boyfriend right in front of her? Good times,” I smirked at the guy.

“Well, remember the time you trashed my car?” he spat at me.

I chuckled and shrugged, “Hey, I’ll admit I did that. In fact, I spoke about it in an interview. At least I owned up to my mistakes. You should try that too, Buddy,” I said the name in a fake cheery voice.

“You never spoke about it in an interview,” he scoffed.

“Actually, I did. If you did your research well, you’d know that. If you wanted to have a fake friendship and bragging rights tonight, the least you could’ve done was look up my actual name: Harry Twist. Don’t let the nametag fool you,” I forced a smile. I could hear all of his friends laughing at him and him cursing at them as I walked away and began my search for Iris. Making a fool out of him has truly made this a fun event so far.

When I finally spotted Iris, I noticed she was sat at a table with another woman: Riley. She looks the same as she did ten years ago, the only difference being her elegant clothing rather than her usual crop top and ripped jeans.

“Hey,” I smiled to Riley as I placed the margarita in front of Iris.

“Harry,” she smiled to me and stood her feet to pull me into a hug. “How have you been?”

“Really good.” We sat down at the table, and I placed my hand on Iris’s thigh while my other hand continues to hold my beer. “How are you? Are you and Kyle still an item?” I questioned her before taking a sip of my beer.

Her smile grew at the sound of Kyle’s name, “I’m great. Kyle and I are married now, actually.”

“Congratulations,” Iris chirped. “Any kids?”

Riley shook her head, “No. We didn’t want kids.”

“Why not?”

“We’re just not into that. I’ve never really liked kids, and Kyle feels like work is enough for him to deal with,” she shrugged.

“Oh, where does he work?” I asked.

“He’s part of the marketing and communications team for Google, actually,” she stated proudly. “That’s why he’s not here right now. They’re having a meeting about new ways to market the brand.”

I chuckled, “Almost everybody already uses Google. Why do they still need to spread the word about it?”

“Beats me,” she shrugged and giggled. “Enough about me. How’s the fame life?”

“Interesting, stressful, dramatic, and fun,” Iris answered. “It’s been nine and a half years though, so now the paparazzi has died down a bit, and fans aren’t as crazy since there’s a new boy band that has been announced.”

“What she said,” I joked and rubbed Iris’s leg, making the ladies laugh. “It’s a relief to have the fame die down a bit, really. I love every bit of it, but it's a lot of work.”

Riley nodded in understanding, “I’m sure.”

“Hey!” I heard a familiar voice squeal. I turned my head to find Liz walking towards us with her date, Jean-Pierre. Guess where she met him? France. “Oh my gosh, Riley. Long time no seek,” she gushed.

“I know,” Riley beamed and stood to her feet to hug the still green-haired lady. “It’s nice to see some things don’t change,” she playfully tugged the tips of Liz’s hair.

Liz shifted her weight to her right leg and stared towards the ceiling with a goofy smile, “Well, you know me. I love my color.”

“You sure do,” Iris laughed. She lifted her free hand up and waved to Liz’s date, “Hey John.” I snickered behind Iris knowing she only calls him John because she has a hard time saying his real name. I think it has something to do with her hearing and not being able to hear the words right. “Shush,” she smacked my chest before resting her hand on mine.

“Sorry, Love. It’s cute,” I rasped in her ear, only to receive another “hush” from her.

“Hello Ma Chérie,” he bowed his head at Iris. I guess that means “my darling” in French, or so he says. “I’m going to get a drink, would anyone like one?” he asked with his thick accent that all the women in our group love oh so much.

“Mango Martini,” Riley smiled as she pointed towards Iris’s drink. “It looks good.”

Liz turned to her date and beamed, “Whatever you’re having.”

“Anything for Mon Trésor,” he smiles before kissing the top of her hand. I think he just called her his treasure. Yeah, I’m sure that’s what it was. “I’ll be back.”

As he turned to walk away, Riley squealed a little and gripped Liz’s shoulders, “Oh my gosh, he’s so perfect. When are you guys going to get married and have little French babies?”

Liz rolled her eyes and chuckled, “I’m sure that’s not happening. We’re not even really dating. We’ve got the ‘friends with benefits’ thing going on, and I like the way things are right now.”

“So you’re saying that if he proposed, you’d say no?”

“No comment.”

“That means she’d say yes,” I pointed the tip of my beer at Liz.

“Shut up, Harold,” she scoffed.

“Hey Guys!” Perrie’s voice sounded in my ears. Perrie, Zayn, Louis, Eleanor, Liam, and Niall all were standing around the table.

“Hey,” I stood to my feet and gave them all hugs, as did Iris, Liz, and Riley.

“Where is she?” Iris asked Niall, referring to his fiancé.

He smiled, “Freshening up in the bathroom.”

“Haz, guess what?” Perrie breathed in my ear.

I jumped slightly and turned to see her amused expression. “I didn’t need moisture in my ear, but thanks,” I stuck my tongue out at her, making her roll her eyes. “What?”

“Well, I called my mum earlier and asked if it’d be all right if I could drop Harley and Grayson off at her place on the way here, and she was all, ‘Of course, we’d all love to see them.’ It turns out your mum, Robin, Gemma, Gemma’s daughter, Iris’s family, your kids, Lou’s parents, and his kids are all over there on some big play date.”

“They are? My mum and Iris’s parents must’ve really wanted to see the kids,” I laughed. “I can imagine your mum probably thought of the idea for the playdate.”

“Right?” she scoffed. “She didn’t even ask me to drop off my kids or anything. She just wanted to see yours and Lou’s and didn’t even think to ask me about mine.”

“That’s because our kids are less rambunctious,” I teased.

She smirked, “That is if you don’t count Caspar.”

“You just can’t stand that Caspar is the one they wanted to see the most.” I chuckled once she rolled her eyes. “You know it’s true too. He’s the youngest, so they’re all over him.”

“He is adorable,” she admitted with a genuine smile.

“Iris!” I heard my wife’s name being shouted. I looked over Perrie’s shoulder and watched as Sophia engulfed her in a hug.

“I’m going to go say ‘hi’,” Perrie told me before walking over to join them.

By the time I started talking with the boys again, Selena (Niall’s fiancé) and Dakota had made an appearance and joined us at our table. The table originally had eight chairs sitting around it, but seeming as there was more of us than that, we had to cram in six more chairs. We even complained that if the tables weren’t round, we’d just push two together and sit around both of them rather than having to touch knees with everyone and have no elbow room.

Despite the fact that we can barely even lift our arms to take a sip of our drinks due to the lack of space, we sat around sharing stories and laughing our heads off at the embarrassing ones. We even spoke of the pranks Iris and Riley pulled during senior year which we can now look back and laugh at. The spit covered peanuts was the best one.

“I wonder how many people actually went to get a check-up and make sure they didn’t have STDs,” was what Louis said that has us all laughing so hard we were sure we’d piss ourselves. We could see it. We could literally imagine any one of our peers doing that and being scared out of their minds thinking Iris actually had STDs.

We also learned some things about Dakota. She is single, but she has a baby girl at the age of three. She got pregnant with an ex-boyfriend’s baby, and they wound up splitting halfway through her pregnancy. She said they are never getting back together, but they have joint custody of their daughter and are able to get along whenever all three of them are under the same roof. She has a job as a teacher, so she’s not away from her daughter too long during the day. She talks about her daughter like they’re best friends; the same way I feel about my children. It’s amazing to see yet another person cherish moments with their child the way Iris and I do with ours.

---

A couple of taps on the microphone causes a screech to come from the speakers, making everyone in the room halt their conversations and groan at the obnoxious sound. All of us shift our attention to the short lady on the stage that’s also wincing from the noise she had created.

“Sorry,” the lady nervously chuckled into the microphone. “It’s been about two hours now, and I hope you’ve all found your old friends and caught up. If not, we still have a couple of hours after this for you to continue whatever-“

“She’s so nervous,” Iris pouts next to me, obviously feeling sorry for the rambling lady.

“I mean, I’m sure there’s a lot of people here you’d love to speak to and-“

“We don’t have all night!” a rude man called out in the crowd.

Another man stood up from his chair and glared toward the voice, “Hey, will you calm down?! This woman had the courtesy to pull off this whole event for us. She paid for all of the decorations, this ballroom, the bar that’s free for us, and so on. So shut up, and let her speak!” Once he was done speaking, he smiled towards the woman on the stage and nodded for her to continue as he sat back down. That was interesting.

“Thank you,” she smiled appreciatively at him before turning her attention back towards us. “Okay, so I’m not sure if it’s a tradition or anything, but I thought this would be interesting to do. I’m going to hand off the microphone to someone, and each graduate will have to state your name, relationship status, and occupation. If you weren’t a graduate in our class, just hand the mic to someone who is. I’ll start. My name is Melissa Smith, I’m married, and I’m actually a stay-at-home mom for two children, John and Anna-Belinda.”

People in the room applauded her as she handed off the microphone. I leaned into Iris and spoke in her ear, “I like how one of her children has such a simple name and the other’s is so complex.” Iris snickers beside me as she watches another person stand up and announce their name and job.

Once about half of the room had gone, one particular woman that stood up caught my attention. It’s not that I recognize her, but it appears Iris does by the frown on her face. “Who’s that?” I furrowed my brows as I looked at the tan skinned lady with dark brunette hair.

“Hello,” the woman says into the microphone before Iris can even answer me. “My name is Quinn Brady, I’m single, and I’m a cashier at Walgreens.” I watched as Iris’s frown instantly was pulled between her teeth as she tried not to giggle, the corners of her mouth fighting not to curve into a smile.

Quinn handed the microphone to another lady who stood up from her seat. From what I could see, this lady had tattoos on her wrist, brunette hair, plum lipstick, and pale skin. Unlike Quinn, this lady was fairly chubby. I could tell Iris knew her too by the way she paid extra attention to her.

“I’m Georgia White,” she spoke into the mic.

“Holy crap, that’s the chick Iris beat up in the cafeteria one time,” Louis laughed. He spoke loud enough that the whole table and a couple of tables around us to bust out into laughter from hearing him.

So that’s where Iris remembers her from. That’s right, Georgia and Quinn used to be her friends in high school. Now it makes sense why Iris was kind of happy about Quinn’s not-so-great life.

“I’m dating someone, and I’m a journalist,” Georgia continued.

“Well shit,” Niall cursed, making us laugh a bit more.

“Guess we can’t talk crap about her anymore,” Perrie frowned.

“Can’t I ask if people remember the fight when it’s my turn to speak?” Louis whined.

Iris giggled and shook her head, “Please don’t.”

“Fine.”

Before we knew it, the microphone was being passed around our table. I think the best speaker was Liz since she was trying to explain her relationship status with Jean-Pierre sitting right next to her. It had to be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen since Liz doesn’t usually stammer.

Once she was done, she handed the mic to Iris who stood up and brightly smiled at the crowd, “Hello. I’m Iris Twist.” Oh how I love the way her name falls from her lips, but soon those lips formed a frown. I scanned the room to find people were giving her puzzled looks.

“Did you even go to our school?” a lady asked through the silence. Okay? So much for the arse-kissing theory.

Iris shook her head, but it wasn’t to answer that lady’s question; it was her trying to free herself of negative thoughts as she cleared her throat. “Oh I’m sorry,” her voice came off in more of a snide tone through her gritted teeth. “You might remember me as STD Girl, Deaf Freak, or Manipulative Bitch.”

The room filled with numerous groans, murmurs, and eye rolls before I had enough. I didn't realize people were going to be so rude after all these years have passed. I stood to my feet and snatched the microphone from her. “Hi, I’m Harry Twist, Iris’s husband,” I glared at the crowd, immediately silencing them. “It’s been ten years. Ten long years. I find it hilarious that you people still hold grudges against her when she’s done so much for us all.”

People began to laugh as if I just told a joke. Perrie took the microphone from my hand, so I put my hands on Iris’s shoulders and rubbed them. “I’m Perrie Malik,” she spat in the mic. “Believe it or not, Iris helped us in so many ways. Iris started a ‘No Bullying’ charity years ago that she funded on her own, and I know for a fact that some of your children are in it.”

Eleanor took the microphone from Perrie next, “I’m Eleanor Tomlinson. Iris is the reason Harry, Liz, and I even graduated from our school. In fact, I know that thirty-nine other students in this room had only graduated because of Iris. You may not know this, but Iris was actually Mrs. Clark’s motivation to help us all.”

“You already know who I am,” Liz said snootily at the people in the room. “Iris is the reason Dakota, Kyle, and I stood up to our bullies. She taught us that we shouldn’t let people treat us with such disrespect.”

“I’m Riley O’Brien,” Riley said into the microphone next. “Iris is the reason I’m no longer a Bitch, so I have something to admit to you all. She was just like the rest of us: wanting so badly to fit in. So she doesn’t have the same hearing as us, but that didn’t make her any different. I didn’t give her a chance to have a school year like us. It’s my fault all of you hated her, well hate her, so much. I lied to all of you. Andrew and I never dated, it was just Iris and him. I was the reason they broke up, and I was the reason she got…” Riley’s croaky voice trailed off. She blames herself for the rape? “Everything she said was true. I lied to all of you-“

Iris stopped her by wrapping her arms around Riley’s body and pulling her into a hug. I hadn’t even realize she had left my side to do that because I was so consumed in Riley’s confession. I can’t believe she’s telling everyone this. By the looks of it, it’s been eating at her day-by-day.

Iris whispered something to Riley, but Riley shook her head. She sniffled and turned back towards the room. “Ten years,” she breathed into the microphone. “It took me ten years to tell you all the truth. Hate me. Don’t hate her.”

“Don’t hate anyone,” Dakota smiled into the microphone after unwrapping Riley’s fingers from it. “You have to admit these two were a riot at our school. They were the people we couldn’t wait to see because they were the only entertainment we really had.”

“Remember when Iris showed up at our school looking like a fox?” Sophia wiggled her eyebrows at the crowd.

“Or when Riley and Iris pulled those silly pranks on all of you guys?” Zayn laughed, and surprisingly people laughed with them. “Now, you have to admit those were funny.”

Louis quickly grabbed the mic from Zayn, “Or when Iris kicked Georgia White’s arse in the cafeteria?” Of course he’d bring that up, but people were laughing harder. “They were the only girl fight at our school. It was awesome,” he added with a giddy tone.

“And Iris filled the hallway with apology balloons,” Niall chimed in.

“There was also the time Riley knocked Iris’s lasagna all over her shirt,” I added with a chuckle. “It wasn’t funny then, but it’s really funny now,” I teased and Iris shook her head at me as she tried to suppress her giggles. “Iris and Riley also got into a fistfight right in front of Zayn’s flat.”

“That was Clarissa,” Iris reminded me without the use of the microphone.

I nodded to her in agreement before continuing my speech, “The point is: my wife didn’t do anything to deserve your hatred. Maybe she did then, but it’s been ten years. That’s a long time to hold a grudge over something so silly.”

The crowd began mumbling again as I handed off the microphone to another table. It took them minutes before they could even recover and begin the thing we were doing before again.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Iris asked after she sat back into her chair next to mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

“Not as amazing as you,” I grinned. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

---

Another couple of hours and a slideshow of pictures that Iris and I were surprisingly in passed, and it was about time to say our goodbyes because Iris and I were completely exhausted. We made our rounds to hug everyone and give our long goodbyes. Of course we’ll see the boys and their ladies later, but we won’t see Dakota, Sophia, and Riley for a long time, if we do at all. Iris exchanged numbers with Riley and Dakota to be sure they stay in touch, especially because she wants to see Kyle and meet Dakota’s daughter too.

Unlike most people at this reunion, Iris and I aren’t staying at this hotel because we know better than to do so. The last thing we want to do is have the paparazzi show up and bombard people who are supposed to be here to have a good time and reunite with old friends. We aren’t here to brag about One Direction. The other lads are staying at the hotel Iris and I are going to as well, but we’re leaving earlier than all of them.

Well we were. That was before the man that stood up for the short and nervous lady earlier stopped Iris and I dead in our tracks. Something about him seemed somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t figure it out. I noted that he’s not wearing a nametag, so maybe he didn’t go to our school. He stood before us with this pearly white smile, and I protectively wrapped my arm around Iris’s waist just in case.

“Hello,” his deep voice greeted us. I furrowed my brows at him as I tried to connect the dots. Who is this guy? “Oh, it’s Andrew,” he pointed to himself. “I was just about to leave, so I took the nametag off.”

“Andrew?” Iris seems so surprised, and quite frankly, so am I. This bloke used to be fairly chubby, but now from what I can see under his tux, he’s muscular looking. He also started getting into drugs and shit when we last saw him, but now he doesn’t look as if he’s touched a drug in his life. His golden hair is somewhat long and wavy, but it’s fixed with gel so it’s out of his face, looking nothing like the short hairdo he sported in high school. “Wow, you look really good.”

“I’ve gotten that reaction a lot tonight,” he laughed. “It’s so good to see you two. I’m happy with how life turned out for you both.”

“Thanks,” I genuinely smiled at the guy. He hasn’t done or said anything that makes him seem threatening, so I’ll be polite.

“That was nice of you earlier, standing up for Melissa,” Iris pointed out.

He waved his hand dismissively before stuffing his hands into his pockets, “Oh, it was nothing. I’ve learned my lesson, Iris. I won’t let people treat others poorly if I can have a say in it. I’ll never allow it to happen again.”

“Good,” Iris gave him a small nod. “How have you been? I didn’t hear you tell us about yourself.”

“I’ve been well. After high school, my parents sent me to rehab. I was going through a rough time then, and I depended on the drugs to help me ignore my problems. It took me a couple of years to adjust to living without them, but all is well now. I actually volunteer at support groups to tell them my story now.”

I remember when I thought I’d never be able to get a job because of my criminal record, and I wonder if Andrew has that same problem. “Do you work?” I asked.

“It took a long time for me to realize I had to become self-employed,” he bit down on the inside of his cheek. Hm, I never really thought about self-employment, but then again, that’s sort of what One Direction is: a self-employed band. “No one really wanted to hire me, and even after getting a college education, it was hard to find a decent job. I am now my own photography company, carpentry company, and an author.”

“Seems like you’ve got yourself busy,” Iris grinned. “You write?”

“Yes I do. I’ve gotten two books published.”

“Well, I’ll definitely have to buy your books and check them out. It was great seeing you, Andrew. I’m really happy for you.”

His smile grew, “Thank you. I’m happy for you two as well.”

And with that, I shook hands with Iris’s ex, she gave him a hug, and we left.

---

Sunday June 9th 2024 (The Next Day)

“Do we have to go somewhere? I just wanted to stay in the hotel room with you all day,” Iris whined. We have the full day to ourselves that my sister happily granted us, so now we’re in the rental car heading to someplace very special to us. The thing is, we’re in our old town, so I figured we should go somewhere we haven’t been in years, but I haven’t told her where that is.

“You’re just whining because you don’t know where were headed,” I laughed.

“Why can’t you just tell me?”

“Because we’re already here,” I stated as I pulled the car over on the side of the road.

After I put the car in park and shut it off, I turned to find her agape smile and wide eyes. “Are we where I think we are?”

I nodded, “Yes we are.”

“Oh my gosh. It’s been so long,” she breathed.

“Well, let’s go.”

We hopped out of the car and I locked it before meeting her on the other side of it and intertwining our fingers. We walked in silence as we took in the scenery before us, the only sound being heard is the woodchips that are crunching under our feet. The forest of trees looks exactly the same as it did the last time we saw them. They all stand a good ten feet tall and hold beautiful green leaves.

It’s when we reach the opening that things seem to appear different. Where a long field of grass once laid, yellow flowers are completely covering it. I distinctively remember those flowers. Before my life started spiraling downhill, I found this place covered in yellow flowers. I remember being convinced that those flowers had faded along with my happiness. I wished for the day that they’d come back, and now here they are.

“It’s so beautiful,” Iris gasped. “I didn’t know flowers even grew over here.”

“I saw them once, but there wasn’t nearly as many as there is now.”

“I can’t believe you brought me here,” she laughed her oh so beautiful laugh as we reached the gravel. We finally reached the tracks and sat our bums on them. I snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her into me, and she rested her head onto my shoulder as she held my free hand in her lap.

I smiled as I scanned the memorable area, “How could I not? This place was our sanctuary.”

“It was also our hell at times,” she laughed.

“I don’t think it was ever bad here. We just brought some of our demons with us here at times.”

She nodded against me, “I guess you are right.”

“This is where we first met,” I smiled at the memory. “I was such a dick to you.”

She shrugged, “It didn’t faze me.”

“No it didn’t.”

“It was also where our first kiss was.”

“Which one?” I joked. “The one where I was completely taken aback, or the one where we actually both kissed each other?”

“Both,” she giggled. “I groped you here once too.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that recollection, “That you did. This is where I first got you to trust me too.”

“True. I can’t even remember how many times we found each other in such bad situations here,” she sighed.

“There are too many to count.” Images of Iris holding a knife, pictures of Iris laying on the tracks in hopes of the train hitting her, flashes of her running towards me with a bloody lip and bruises, and visions of her crying her eyes out play in my mind. I’m sure she remembers the many times I came here feeling nothing but anger, the time I came after my father choked me, and the time I threw my wheelchair and cried into her stomach.

“You also asked me out twice here before,” she grinned widely. “Both times made me so incredibly happy.”

I angled my head so I was looking down at her, “Good.”

“I wish we would’ve said we loved each other here first too.”

I rocked myself into her a bit and teased her, “Well that’s your fault, isn’t it?”

“I couldn’t help it,” she defended herself with a smile. “In that moment, on that street, I just had to say it. I realized that you are nothing like the awful people that I had in my life, I figured out that you are the one and only person who’d do anything in their power to keep me happy, and I knew in that moment that I was in love with you. You were the only person who could see who I really was behind the sad face and the horrible names. You brought out the real me that hardly ever came out because she was in hiding. You made and make me feel wanted, cherished, and normal. You let me get to know the real you as well, and it made me so uncommonly happy. You still make me so so so happy, and I love you.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d feel the same, you know?” I admitted to her.

“Why not?”

“It had only been five months of even knowing you, and I was in so deep. I’d find myself thinking about you from the moment I’d wake up to the second I’d fall asleep, and even in my dreams, you’d appear. I thought I was going crazy or something,” I chuckled, making her laugh as well.

“I constantly wished a better life for you, and I kept wanting to take all of the pain for you,” I continued. “You keep saying you were some broken girl, but I never saw that. I saw a girl who was full of life, saw the good in people, had a big heart, and wanted the best for everyone around her. You made me want to be a better person because there I was, hating the world while you loved it even though it wasn’t treating you right. You helped pull me out of the hole I dug for myself, and you made me realize there is some good in the world that I haven’t ever seen before. While I was guiding you to the path of optimism, you did the same for me. You were my angel that saved me from the darkness. I love you, Angel.”

I stood to my feet and brushed the gravel off of my trousers before offering Iris a hand to help her stand as well. Once she was on her feet, I immediately wrapped my arm around her torso and gently traced her cheekbone with my fingertips as I gazed into her eyes. I then cradled her face in my hands and pulled her in for a deep kiss. These emotions, these butterflies, and the power her touch has on me has never faded, and never will. I’ve grown to appreciate every ounce of change that washes through me with just a simple touch from her. I love this woman, and that will never change. We certainly got the life we deserve after conquering our battles.

The sound of some sort of horn stopped my lips actions, and I slightly pulled away from Iris. My eyes wondered past her a bit, and they grew enormous after seeing what's behind Iris.

“What?” Iris placed her hand on either side of my face and forced me to look down at her. “What, Harry?”

Another horn sounded and before she could turn around, I quickly grabbed her and pulled her off of the tracks with me. Of course, being the klutz she is, she lost her footing and brought me down with her. We tumbled onto the gravel, causing clacks to be heard as we rolled across them and finally landed into the flowers.

I should be asking her if she’s okay, but I can’t help but look back at the tracks instead. Iris and I exchanged horrified expressions before busting into laughter. Our laughter echoed through the air, bouncing off of the trees and back into the opening. Soon, our giggles faded as we took in the sight before us.

“The train finally came,” Iris breathed as we stared at the coaches (train cars) passing us one-by-one.

“It finally came,” I repeated.

Notes