Carmen's POV

Why girls wear dresses I'll never understand. The entire time consists of holding it down so nothing important is showing and making sure the minimal fabric covers what needs to be covered. Open backs, straps, no straps, high-low, max, short, who the fuck cares? Why can't I just wear jeans?

"Ivy, I don't like this one either," I tell her from inside the fitting room. I told her Harry is taking me out for dinner and she insists on me getting something new to wear, even though I still have the dress my Dad bought for me that I've only worn once. But apparently since Harry has seen it already I have to get something new.

"Show me."

With a huff I open the door and step out. The dress is red, so the colour is too bold for me. I didn't even want to try it on, but she made me. She makes a face.

"I told you. It sucks."

"Okay," she says, sighing. "Try the next one. Black is probably your safest bet."

"I really don't think Harry is expecting me to wear a dress," I say from inside, pulling the material over my head. The next one is a little less daunting, simple black cotton with long sleeves, a modest 'v' neckline and a cutout in the back below my bra. If I had to say that I like a dress, I would probably say that I like this one.

"Harry will appreciate it, trust me."

"Yeah, but it's not even really a date." I step out and stand in front of the mirror. "At least, he didn't say it was a date."

"You look amazing!" she squeals, jumping up from her seat. It startles me, and she stands beside me to fiddle with my hair and the neckline. "It makes your boobs look really good."

"Shut up," I laugh, swatting her away.

"And you're going out for dinner with just the two of you, that's about as date-like as it gets. He may not have expressed it, but you seriously aren't dumb enough to think he doesn't see it as a date, right?"

"For the sake of my sanity can we pretend it isn't one?"

"Umm...no."

I roll my eyes. "Okay, fine. Something else happened, though."

"What?"

"He umm...he asked if I wanted to spend Christmas with him. Like at his home. In England."

Her mouth drops open and I fiddle with the hemline of my dress. When Harry asked me that...to say I was surprised would be the understatement of the century. We aren't even together, so to go home with him for a whole two weeks and spend Christmas with his family...it's a big deal. It's a really big deal. I'm flattered that he asked me, that he would be okay with me spending all that time with his family, but it's not just a casual afternoon hanging out. I would be there with them for two weeks in a place I've never been before with people I've never met. It's terrifying.

"Holy shit," she says. "What did you say?"

I shrug. "I said I would think about it. I had already told Liam I'd stay with him, so I would feel bad not going now."

"Carmen, you have to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Hiding behind Liam. This would be good for you. See a new place, spend time with Harry, meet his family. I know you guys aren't 'together,' but you might as well be and this is what couples do. Your Dad isn't coming home, anyway. Spend your break with someone you care about."

"I care about Liam," I mutter. Not nearly in the same way, but I do. He's my best friend. It might be too soon to take this kind of step with Harry, but the thought of not being around him for two weeks makes my chest hurt. When we didn't speak for three weeks it was like hell for me, and if I can avoid that, why wouldn't I?

"I can practically hear you arguing about yourself in your mind." She smiles. "You're getting that dress, by the way."

---

"Exams are the worst," Liam groans, flopping onto my couch. I half-laugh at him, a little distracted by my plans for tonight. "How'd yours go?"

"Okay, I think. We'll see. I'm just glad they're over. When are you going home?"

"You mean we?"

I nod, my lip between my teeth. Ivy is the only one I told about Harry's invitation and obviously Harry didn't tell the boys either because Liam hasn't said a word about it to me. He was so happy when I said I'd go home with him and now I don't think I can change my mind without hurting his feelings.

"My mum said she'd come get us tomorrow or Sunday if we wanted. The rest of the boys are staying until Sunday, so I thought we could do that too? If you want, it doesn't matter to me."

"Yeah, Sunday works," I agree, getting us each and apple and bringing the jar of peanut butter over to the couch. He sits up so I can sit too and we both cut the apples into pieces. "How's Talia?"

He makes a weird face. "She's good."

"Liam."

"What?"

"Liam."

He sighs and puts down the apple. "I think maybe...I don't know, things are different lately."

"Different how?"

"She's always angry at me for something and whenever we're together- which isn't a lot lately- we just argue. It's not fun anymore."

"So you're....do you want to break up with her?" I ask slowly. He falls back against the couch and I copy him, staring him down until he answers me. Liam is the sweetest guy on the planet and hurting people is his least favourite past time.

"I don't know," he says finally. "Maybe."

"If you're not happy..." I shrug and take a spoonful of peanut butter, no apple. Not that I know much about relationships, but they're supposed to be easier than fighting all the time. If it's more trouble than the happiness it brings you, then it's not worth it, right? I guess...I don't know.

"Are you happy?" he asks. The question catches me off guard and I look over at him again. "You know...Harry."

"Oh." The peanut butter feels more sticky than usual and I shift uncomfortably. "I mean...yeah? I guess...he makes me laugh."

"That's good."

"He's taking me out tomorrow night."

"About time."

I nudge him with my elbow. "It's not his fault. I've been a little hesitant, if you hadn't noticed."

"His patience is admirable," he concedes. "I just don't want you getting hurt, Carms. You were a mess-"

"I know," I say quickly. I don't need reminders. "We're taking things slow."

He looks over at me with an amused expression, surprise mixed in. "Really? You mean you haven't...you know..."

"Liam!" My face turns red and I whack his arm. "You're so weird, why would you ask me that?"

"I don't know! I'm surprised! You guys did it without knowing each other's names so, I thought you would have already-"

"No," I say, laughing awkwardly. "We haven't."

"Okay then. Glad we cleared that up."

"Yeah."

"Anyway," he says dramatically, reaching for the remote. "How about that movie?"

---

The next morning the sun is far too bright and my room is really cold for some reason. The blanket remains on my body when I get up to make a pot of coffee, my eyes still half closed and I can feel the bird's nest resting on top of my head pretending to be my hair. As I'm scooping coffee grinds someone' arms wind tight around me over the blanket, and it scares the life out of me.

"Liam!" I screech. I spin around, surprised by the green eyes peering down at me. "Oh. Harry."

He smiles and reaches for the corners of the blanket, wrapping it around him and me. "Liam is on the couch. Good morning, sunshine."

"Don't look at me," I mutter, hiding my face against his chest. He laughs.

"Why?"

"I look like I just woke up from the dead."

"I mean...I wasn't going to mention the hair, but it's not that bad."

"What are you doing here?" I ask, winding my arms around his waist and trying to steal his body heat. He keeps the blanket around both of us with his hands on my back.

"I brought you breakfast." I smile against his chest and my heart swells. "Liam ate half, though."

"He sucks."

"Yeah, I know. Why are you friends with him?"

"I can hear you!" Liam calls from the living room. Harry laughs.

"So are you going to release me from your death grip, or do you want to stand here for a while?"

"I'm freezing," I admit. He drops the blanket and pries me away from him, and as I'm about to protest he starts to pull the sweatshirt he was wearing over his head. His smile is adorable as he holds it over my head for me to put on, and when the material passes over me I take a deep breath, revelling in the smell. Harry smells amazing.

"It might help if you wore pants sometimes." He looks down at my legs and shrugs. "Just a suggestion."

"What's wrong with my legs?" I tease. He smirks and picks up the blanket again.

"I'm not saying you have to wear pants all the time," he clarifies cheekily. He winks at me and walks back into the living room. "I brought coffee too, by the way."

"Okay, one sec." I head over to the bathroom and lock myself in there so I can attempt to control my intense ugliness. Smeared mascara, messy hair, a faint print in the side of my face from my pillow. I'm so attractive.

I just throw my hair in a messy bun and wipe the makeup from my face, and of course brush my teeth. Before stepping back out, I can't resist the urge to hold Harry's sweater against my nose to smell it again. I love this.

When I step back out Liam is still laying on the couch with his blanket from last night, and he doesn't appear to be moving any time soon. So instead of trying I just get the blanket from the floor beside Harry and sit on his lap, pulling it over both of us. His hand rests on my bare leg under the blanket, slowly trailing up.

"What'd you bring?" I ask shakily. His thumb brushes against the lace underwear I'm wearing and that damn crooked smile flashes at me. My face heats and he chuckles a little bit.

"Some muffins and stuff from Marla's place." Harry leans forward to get the bag off the table, holding me in place while I try not to fall off his lap. He sets the bag in front of me and turns his face to the side a bit.

"What are you doing?" I ask, looking in the bag. He touches his cheek with his finger and I roll my eyes, laughing a little. He wants me to kiss his cheek. So I do. "Thank you."

"And your coffee too," he says, he leans forward again and I squeal, putting my arms around his neck so I don't fall over completely. He laughs and tilts his lips up to mine, capturing them quickly as my hand finds the coffee cup.

"Okay, quit it," Liam gripes from the couch. Harry kisses my jaw and settles back against the chair while I pick at a muffin. "Where are you guys going tonight?"

"Yeah, where are we going tonight?"

He grins. "Can't tell you. It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises." I fucking love surprises.

"Too bad." He shrugs and takes a piece of my muffin. "Ivy already told me you bought a dress."

"Of course she did," I mumble. He smiles.

"I like it when you wear dresses," he says quietly, his voice comforting. "You'll wear it, right?"

"You two are the worst," Liam says. He sits up and smiles at me, so I know he's partly just teasing me but also partly annoyed. "I have to go anyway. I haven't packed anything."

I stiffen at the mention of packing. I don't know what I'll be packing for yet, and none of my stuff is even close to a suitcase. Harry doesn't seem phased, though, he just waves bye to Liam and when the door closes his regular, not stressed attention is on me again.

"So do I get to see this dress?" Harry asks. "Maybe get a little private fashion show?"

I laugh and shake my head. "You wish. I haven't decided if I'm actually going to wear it, since apparently it's freezing outside."

"Yeah, this place is chilly," he agrees. "Is your heat on?"

I shrug. "Who knows. Probably. Anyway, I'm only staying here one more night so it doesn't really matter."

"Right."

He's about to say something else when my front door opens again. Ivy comes in with a giant bag under her shoulder and Louis behind her.

"Harry! You're not supposed to be here!" she says. She looks at Louis. "Told you you'd need to drag him out of here."

"They're not getting married, Ive. They're allowed to like...look at each other before they go on a date."

"It's less special and I want to get her ready."

"Hang on, it's like ten in the morning," Harry says, holding a hand up. "What do you plan on doing to her for the next...ten hours?"

"Well that's for me to know and you to never find out. Now shoo."

Notes

i dont have a lot to say about this one...i just love them. all of them.

i like this chapter.

thanks for the new votes and subscribers :D its AMAZING weeeee im so happyyyyyyy

love you guys :)