"I left money on the kitchen counter, behind the cookie jar. And you know the emergency numbers, right? And dress properly, when you go out. Don't do anything stupid! And I love you." Mom preached hurriedly in front of the door.

"Yeah, yeah mom. I love you too. It's not the first time, I'm alone. I'll be fine! Naomi will probably come over for a few nights." I said.

"No boys, okay? I have nothing against them, but you know. You can't spend the night alone with a boy, understood?" Mom said with a serious face.

"I don't even have a boyfriend! Don't worry about it. Get going already. Bye!" I said and opened the front door to mom. She gave me a big hug and went to her car. She backed out of the front yard and waved me for the millionth time.

I closed the door behind me and smirked for a bit. I was kind of glad being home alone. I had decided to throw a birthday party on Friday. I just told mom I would invite a few friends over, which was fine with her. But with few friends I meant all of my friends. Oh well, she wouldn't get to know anything about it.

I called Naomi later on in the afternoon. She told me excitedly about her date with Harry last night. He had taken her out for dinner to a nice restaurant and they had finally kissed. She was so happy and excited and I was happy for her too. I had thought about the whole scenario and obviously chose my best friend over a boy, who I hardly even knew. Maybe this was exactly what Naomi needed to calm down a bit and enjoy being a teenager in a more suitable way. She was always a bit too into boys... But I loved her no matter what.

"We are seeing each other again today. My parents are going to some date with their friends, so there won't be anyone home. You know what that means?" Naomi laughed at the other end of the phone. Oh, I knew.

"Oh gosh, Naomi! Please, remember protection. Are you sure you want to go down that way just yet though?" I didn't want to preach and sound like a nun, but I hated how she always ruined everything by having sex five minutes after knowing a guy!

"Hey, it's who I am. I can't help it. And you know it. I'm young once, okay? I'm not looking for someone to settle down with. And neither should you!" She answered and I heard from her voice that she was a bit angry at me and my comments.

"I know. And it's not how I meant it. But there's nothing wrong with just dating someone for a while and waiting to develop real feelings for them..."

"Whatevs. Let's make a deal; you do things the way you want to and I make my things the way I want to. I don't want to fight with you over this, again. If you think I'm a slut, then you do." Naomi interrupted me and hung up the phone. I was stunned for a little while. I called her back and thankfully, she answered.

"Hun, I don't think you are a slut. I just love you and want you to know you're worth a lot more than that. But I know I can be a bit annoying with my opinions from time to time." It was my way to apologise.

"I'm sorry I hung up the phone like that. I love you too. See you tomorrow at the gig? I can pick you up." And this was her way to apologise.

"Sure, I'll see you tomorrow. Have fun tonight with Harry!" I smiled and ended the call.

My day went slowly, although I tried to do stuff. I had done my grocery shopping and decided to cook some dinner. I boiled pasta and made a creamy vegetarian sauce with it. Just as I was about to start eating, the doorbell rang. I got up from my seat hesitantly and wondered who the hell it could be.

"Hey Gracie, can I come in? Did your mom leave already?" Liam asked with a smile on his face.

"Oh hey! I was just about to eat. Come in. Mom left hours ago. You want pasta?" I was actually happily surprised to see him. Liam hanged his coat and said yes to pasta.

I got him a plate and filled it with food and gave him a glass of water. I sat opposite him and watched him eat.

"This is really good." He mumbled with pasta in his mouth.

"Thanks, it's my favourite. Is everything ready for tomorrow?" I asked about the upcoming gig.

"Yep, all set. Can't wait to get out and perform. We'll do six songs this time, more than we have ever done before." Liam looked proud and he should be, I thought.

"Um, about Harry and Naomi. Can we talk about it?" Liam suddenly said after a while.

"What about them?" I was totally surprised and probably looked really puzzled by his question.

"Well... Please don't ever tell neither of them I told you anything, okay?" He looked straight to my eyes and I could tell he really meant it.

"Of course not. I never do that. What is it?" I really wanted to know why he seemed somewhat worried.

"Harry is like a brother to me. We grew up together and even after I moved here, we have kept contact and seen each other on every holiday. I love Naomi, you know that. She can be a little crazy sometimes and hangs with every other guy... But I love her." Liam started and I was even more confused.

"Keep going, please. I'm not really following you." I encouraged him.

"Harry is kind of a player and he is like... Like a male version of Naomi. But he has the ability to make girls really, like really into him. And when things start to get too serious, he backs away from it all and the girl is left with a broken heart. I just don't think Harry and Naomi are good for each other. I feel like this could escalate to something really ugly."

"Right... A player. Well... Don't they fit each other perfectly then?" I was disappointed to hear the truth about Harry.

"Can't you see it? Think about it, think about Naomi. When she wants something, she gets it no matter what. And she won't let go easily. And Harry has no problem letting go, it's more like a rule to him. I smell trouble, don't you?" He was almost shocked.

"To be honest with you, at the moment, Naomi just wants to have sex with him. I can't really see her being too serious about him either." I wasn't really worried about her getting hurt.

"I've seen girls like Naomi crying their eyes out over Harry, trust me. I just thought you should know and help her out, if the situation requires." Liam said thoughtfully.

"You're really sweet, you know. I know he is like 'your boy' and still you are watching Naomi's back too. Thanks for telling me, I try to keep her on the safer side." I smiled at Liam and brushed his arm. Any other guy would probably have thought I was trying to hit on them with a gesture like that, but we were like a brother and a sister.

We finished eating, I cleaned the dishes and we went to the living room and watched some TV. After a while, I saw Liam's eyes being closed and his head almost hanging.

"Liam! You can't sleep here, I'm sorry. Don't even think about it." I laughed and played with his hair.

"Gracie, I was just about to fall asleep!"

"You need to go home then. C'mon!" I laughed and forced him up from the sofa by pulling his hand with my both hands.

"Fine, fine! I'll go. Thanks for the dinner sister. See you tomorrow!" Liam said and left.

---

The next day

"This sucks so bad! I can't believe it!" Naomi was yelling on the other end of the phone. I had to take my phone off of my ear, because she was being so loud.

"I know babe, it sucks. But another time, okay? It's not like it's their last gig. It's just the beginning." I tried to calm her down. Her parents forced Naomi to join them for an Easter-party at their aunt's place.

"I know, but who the hell decided to have party in the middle of the week? Fuck my life." She was so pissed.

"Hey, how was last night? Did you have fun?" I changed the subject and tried to make her think about something else.

"Oh, it was alright. Harry is definitely a bit harder than some other guys. I tried to swoon him in any way possible so he would come home with me, but no. We did make out quite wildly inside his car and I definitely felt that he was excited. But yeah, nothing more happened." Naomi explained and sounded as if she had already lost interest. Brilliant.

"And Harry didn't want to come over?" I couldn't believe what she had just told me. Compared to what Liam had said about Harry, this didn't sound anything like him.

"No, he didn't, alright? I'm sorry, I'm just a little annoyed at him too. It's been over a month since I've had sex." She was being serious and I almost laughed at her comment.

"Right. I haven't had sex in... Wait for it... Six months." As if it even mattered really.

"But you are such a good girl anyways. I don't understand how you can wait for it for so long. You know how amazing it can be!" Naomi was laughing a little.

"I'm not sure if the sex I've had has really been that amazing. It was more like clumsy and always the same with my ex. I'm sure it can be greater with someone else." I chuckled and really hoped so.

"Haha, poor you! Well, I'll let you know if any progress happens with Harry. But I can't really see myself staying interested if nothing big happens in the following days. I don't want to play games here, either you give it to me or you don't." Naomi said confidently and I shook my head and was relieved she couldn't see my reaction. That girl would never change.

I called up some of the others coming to the gig, but the girls were already there as the boys had soundcheck. And Theo wasn't available either, he was coming there straight from somewhere else than home. Great. I checked the timetable for the buses and started to get ready.

I had just finished putting on my make-up, when the doorbell rang. It reminded me of last night, when Liam had showed up from nowhere and I wondered who it was this time. I jumped down the stairs and opened the door. I almost choked up when I realised who it was.

"Liam told me you could use a drive to their gig. That's why I'm here." Harry said, came in and closed the door behind him. He oozed sexiness with his bold move. I didn't even ask him to come in! "We still have plenty of time so take your time if you still need to do something." He continued as I was still trying to find something to say. Why did he have the ability to make me all nervous? I hated not being in control.

"First of all, hi. And come in. And thanks, I could really use a drive." I finally said and smiled at him. He responded with an adorable but somewhat cocky smirk.

"I need to change, then I'll be ready. You can um, wait in the living room. Give me five minutes." I said hurriedly and just wanted to get out of the house.

Harry went to the living room as I almost ran the stairs up and went straight to my closet. I picked out some casual clothes and started to change. I had just gotten my jeans on and was putting my bra on, when I realised Harry was standing in the doorway of my clothing room.

"Oh god, Harry! I'm getting dressed here!" I said and covered my upper body with my hands. I felt my cheeks turning insanely red. Harry didn't respond, just smiled and turned around. But he didn't leave. That boy had some nerve, I thought!

I had no choice but to dress quickly because I didn't want to be half-naked in front of him for any longer. A million thoughts were going through my head. I felt excited, annoyed, confused and like slapping him to his face. No one does shit like this, who does he think he is? I remembered Liam's words again and they made more sense than talking with Naomi before. I told Harry I was ready and he turned around to face me. We just stood there, looking at each other. The whole situation was probably the weirdest I had ever been in. Somehow, it felt a little dangerous... In a sexy way. And I liked it to some extent.

"You look very pretty, Grace." Harry said with a low voice. I blushed again. Did he mean my outfit or my boobs, which he had almost seen clearly?

"Thanks... I guess." I didn't like it though. He knew that I knew he had been out with Naomi. What on earth made him think this was okay? To call Naomi's best friend pretty and watch her get dressed. I needed to talk to him.

We left soon after and drove to the youth club. We barely talked to each other and there was definite tension between us. I wanted to say something about what had just happened, but I was still blown away by it all. I tried to go over in my head what exactly I would say to him, but decided it would be best to just say it as it was.

"Hey, can you wait for a minute before we go in, I need to talk to you?" I said as we parked his car.

"Um... Yeah, of course." Harry responded and obviously realised what I was going to say. He looked down to his lap where his hands rested.

"About earlier, at my house. It wasn't cool, okay? You knew I was getting dressed and I told you to wait in the living room. And then... You called me pretty, which is nice and all... But you are going out with Naomi and you know she is my best friend. It's just not cool in any way. And it felt a bit weird..." I blurted everything out. Harry kept on looking at his hands.

"I know... I don't know why I acted the way I did. It was stupid. I'm really sorry." He responded but I wanted to know more. His answer made me anxious.

"Don't you have anything else to say? Why did you do it, really?" I said seriously.

"I honestly don't know. I don't want to ruin this... You're a great girl and Liam has only told me good about you. I was being a jerk. I know better now, you're not like other girls." He responded and finally looked at me.

"If you thought I would come running to you after I saw you standing there, then no. I'm not like that at all. Glad, if you understand it now. But what about Naomi? What is that thing between you two?" I wasn't going to ask anything about her but for some reason, it was really easy to talk to Harry.

"She's fun, really bubbly and loud all the time. Time flies with her and I like her confidence. But um... We'll see..." He started and I felt like he wanted to say something more but stopped for some reason.

"But she is all about sex?" I said without thinking and regretted it right after. Harry lifted his left hand and brushed his fingers through his hair, trying to think what to answer to that.

"I bet you know her quite well. And it's probably exactly the way you think it is." He managed to say.

"Right... Well... Just give her time, if you really like her. She is an amazing girl at the end of the day."

We got out of the car and walked to the club. Harry opened the door and held it open for me. The gig was a lot of fun and the rest of the evening went normally and I actually really enjoyed Harry's company. He was really sweet to everyone and had obviously a big heart. He made me laugh more than anyone had probably ever before, unless you counted Niall.

After four hours, Harry gave me a ride home and even walked with me to the front door. I felt like it had been a date because we were ending the evening this way. And it felt wrong because of Naomi. Although there wasn't really anything going on between us. He was charming, handsome and a great lad for sure... But way too cocky and too much of a player for me. And he was with Naomi. I was kind of tired of reminding myself about it all the time.

"I had fun tonight. Great gig, I'm still amazed at what I just heard. They are really good." Harry said and shook his head in disbelief. His curly hair was bouncing a bit with his movement.

"They truly are great together." I didn't know what else to say.

"So... Have you been able to sleep at night after that movie?" Harry continued with his hands in his pockets.

"Haha, surprisingly well actually! Maybe I'm growing up. Thanks for the concern." I laughed a little and looked down to my feet.

"Thank goodness, right? I guess I better go home now. Nice seeing you, Grace."

"You too, Harry. By the way, I'm having a birthday party this Friday. I would like for you to join us." I decided to invite him properly.

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it for anything. See you then at the latest. Bye!" He said and gave me an awkward hug. "Sorry about the earlier again. Hope we are cool?" He asked and held his hands on my arms for a little too long. I looked at his hands holding me and he let go.

"I'm just glad we were able to talk about it and it's all good, trust me. You're a good lad, Harry. I'll see you this Friday!" I said.

Notes