Harry's POV

England. The cold and the rain and the European houses are all very familiar to me, and it almost makes me feel like a different person. When I'm here without any of the boys, it almost makes me forget about my life in South Carolina. Almost. It would be a lot easier if I didn't have Carmen here with me. And if we weren't currently making out in the back seat of my car, which I leave with a friend in London while I'm away.

"Harry, wait, wait," Carmen mumbles against my lips. Both of us are breathing fast and I give her about half an inch of space to tell me whatever it is she'd like to tell me. But she doesn't say anything, so I just kiss her again. She seems like she wants to stop me for about a second, but then her hands knot into my hair and her legs wrap tighter around my waist and I take that as encouragement to continue. For some reason her being here with me...it makes me want her more. Probably because her coming is a sign that I'm not wasting my time; she wouldn't agree to spend Christmas with my family if she planned on ending things with me, right? I have some security now and it makes me want so much more.

My jeans are really fucking uncomfortable right now and when Carmen lifts her hips to push the against mine I groan. I feel her smile against my mouth and kiss her harder. She whimpers slightly and I grind my hips against her again. Her hands slide down my chest and around to my back, fisting the material of my shirt and pulling me down even more. There's never been this much desperation between us, and it's a little funny to me that it's happening right before she meets my mother.

"Okay, stop," she mutters again.

"What's wrong?"

She takes a few deep breaths and puts her hands on my arms. "I don't want to meet your family looking like we just had sex or something."

I laugh a little, since we were both thinking about the same thing. It's not like we were going to have sex right now, so it wouldn't- wait. Were we? Her lips are red and swollen and I'm sure mine are too, her hair sprawled across the leather seat since I pulled it out of the ponytail she had it in. I can't even really remember how we got back here...I pulled over into an empty parking lot to check something, who knows what, and here we are. The car isn't running but I am far from cold.

"I don't really want to see my mum with a hard on, either," I reply. She laughs and rolls her eyes.

"At least you didn't give me a hickey this time."

"This time," I repeat slyly. "Next time you might not be so lucky."

"You'll be lucky if I let you touch me in your mother's house."

"What? Why?" Okay, that sounded a little more wounded than I intended.

"Because," she laughs. "You...make noises and I don't want her to hear us or walk in on us or whatever."

"I make noises?" I repeat, laughing.

"Yeah, you do. Sex noises. I mean I think it's hot, but your family may not agree so let's just keep that to a minimum, okay?" She smiles and gently pushes her fingers through my hair, my cheeks a tinge red and her smile making my body tingle.

"I'm sure they'll leave us alone sometimes," I say. "What about then?"

"I'll think about it" She lifts her head to kiss me once more, soft and gentle this time, a promise for more. "Okay. Time to go."

"Fine, fine."

---

"Stop," I laugh, pulling Carmen's fingers away from her teeth for the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes. "Don't be so nervous."

"That's horrible advice!" She pushes both hands through her hair and then pulls it back into a braid. "I can't believe I'm doing this. What are you even going to tell them about us?"

I shrug. "That we're friends I guess? That's what I told my mother on the phone."

"Who am I all meeting again?"

I smile as I list off the names again. "My mum, my stepdad and my sister. Possibly her boyfriend, but I haven't met him yet either so you don't have to remember his name."

"Do you really think your mom is going to make me call her Anne? It feels disrespectful or something."

"She hates being called Mrs. Twist. Trust me, you can call them Anne and Robin. Gem is going to tease you, just to warn you. She likes annoying me."

"How would teasing me annoy you?"

"Because you're here with me..."

"Oh. Right. Harry, I'm really nervous." I look over at her quickly and try not to laugh at how adorable she is right now. This kind of side of Carmen isn't one I see often; usually she's strong and independent and she's got all these walls up to make sure no one actually knows how she feels.

"Don't be." I reach across to her lap and intertwine my fingers with hers. "It's going to be fine."

She chews her lip and stares out the window, and when I pull onto the side street my house is on she squeezes my hand tighter, probably without realizing it.

"I shouldn't have worn your sweater!" she says suddenly. I just laugh and pull into the driveway. "It's going to be so obvious that we aren't 'friends.' That's a horrible explanation, by the way. Plus, what if they don't like me? What if they hate my accent? They're probably going to think I'm just-"

"Carmen, slow down." She stares at the white house in front of us and I have to reach out to physically turn her face towards me so she'll listen. "My family isn't that judgmental, all right? They're not going to hate you or criticize you or any of that, so all of those horrible scenarios you have running through your head are all nonsense."

"What if they hate me?" she says quietly. She honestly sounds terrified, she really does. It makes me sad for her, and the small smile on my lips probably isn't very encouraging.

"They won't." She tries to look away from me again, but I put my hands on either side of her face and pull her close. "They won't. I promise." I put my lips against hers to keep her from protesting any more and she seems to melt into my touch. She sighs when we separate. "Okay?"

"Okay."

I step out of the car and run around to her side, knowing it's going to take a little encouragement to get her to the front door. Her hand stays in mine when I first pull her suitcase out of the back, then my own. I manage to carry one and pull the other, and in a very un-Carmen like way she lets me struggle with both while she stares at my house with a terrified gleam in her eye. When I push the door open she tugs on my hand.

"Shouldn't we knock?" she whispers.

"I live here," I whisper back.

With one last smile I pull her inside. There's a large living room to the right, my stepdad's office in a closed room to the left. The dining room is behind the living room and the kitchen is to the left of that, behind the stairs that start a few feet in front of us. If I had to guess I'd say my mum and Robin are in the kitchen making and eating breakfast while Gemma either isn't here yet or is upstairs sleeping in her room.

"It's nice," Carmen whispers.

"You don't have to whisper," I say, laughing a little. "Mum?"

As I shut the door behind Carmen I kiss her cheek, trying to encourage her. She smiles shyly at me and when I turn back around my mother is walking towards us, her arms already open. While it doesn't surprise me, her hugging Carmen first shocks Carmen, and she looks at me over my mum's shoulder while I laugh quietly.

"It's so good to meet you!" my mother says. She smiles widely at her and finally releases her grip. "I'm Anne, I'm Harry's mother."

"Carmen. It's really nice to meet you," Carmen says shyly. "Your home is beautiful."

"Oh, thank you. How was the trip? I hope you aren't scared of planes or anything like that."

"No," Carmen laughs. "It was good."

"Uh...hi Mother." She laughs and turns to me, hugging me tight. "It's good to see you."

"I think you get bigger every time I see you!" She steps back from me, tears brimming her eyes. "I missed you, baby boy."

"Mum," I groan. "I'm twenty, remember?"

"You're my baby," she says again. "The trip was good? I thought you got in early this morning. Did you hit traffic?"

When I look at Carmen her face is already burning and it takes a lot for me not to laugh. We should have gotten here about an hour ago, but our little pitstop was longer than I thought.

"Yeah, there was some traffic," I say. Carmen shakes her head at me.

"Well, we're just making breakfast if you want to join us. Some eggs and that. Or did you want to get settled first?"

I look at Carmen to see what she wants to do, shrugging my shoulders. Mum looks at her as well and she almost steps back.

"I'm a little hungry," Carmen says quietly.

"Perfect. Come along, then."

While my family is under the impression at this point that we're just friends, I reach for Carmen's hand anyway. She reaches for mine at the same time and I give hers a gently squeeze as I pull her towards the kitchen. I know how overwhelming this probably is for her. Robin stands when we get to the kitchen and shakes my hand and Carmen's.

"Been a while since Harry brought a girl home," he says to her. My cheeks heat and Carmen laughs a little.

"Is that so?" she asks, looking up at me.

"So...coffee?"

---

When we're finished eating breakfast over an hour later Carmen seems much more comfortable. My Mum keeps staring at her and then looking at me with this weird fucking smile and it makes me roll my eyes every time. She's not stupid; I'm not exactly trying to hide anything and she always tells me how easy I am to read anyway. Telling them Carmen and I were just friends was for Carmen's benefit, so I don't really mind if my family thinks we're more than that.

"I can show you to the guest room," my Mum suggests when we go to get our things.

"I remember where it is," I remind her. She nods and watches us go up the stairs, me carrying the suitcases and Carmen thanking her for breakfast behind me. My room is first when you walk up the stairs, so I put my suitcase in there. Carmen steps around me and looks around, eyeing various trophies and embarrassing photos. There's one of me and Gemma when I was probably three or four and I'm kissing her cheek. Apparently that's cute, and Carmen smiles widely when she picks it up.

"Is this you?" she asks, pointing to the photo. I nod and walk up next to her, peering at the picture. "Harry, you were so adorable."

"Were?"

She laughs. "That's what I said."

She sets the picture back down and turns around, eyeing my bed which I realize is the most embarrassing about this room. It's a double, which is bigger than the one I have at school, but my Mum refuses to change the bloody sheets. As a joke after I left she put Spiderman sheets under the dark blue comforter and when Carmen lifts them to look she's already laughing.

"Those aren't mine," I assure her, rolling my eyes but smiling anyway.

"No, they're nice," she says, laughing still.

"Come on, I'll show you the other room."

She nods and follows as I pull her suitcase towards the guest room. If I had told my mother that Carmen was my girlfriend she probably would have let us share a room. But I didn't, so the guest room it is.

"So here it is." I push the door open, revealing a room done up in all pale blues and soft colours and fabrics. It's the nicest room in the house, if you ask me. "You have your own bathroom here and the closet is just there."

"Its beautiful," she says, sitting on the edge of the bed and gazing around the room, looking around. "Your Mum is so sweet."

"Yeah." I sit down next to her and lay down on my back. "I don't want you to sleep in here."

She lays on her side next to me, her legs curled up so they're resting on mine. I reach for her hand and pull it onto my stomach, fiddling with her fingers.

"Friends don't share beds."

"It's pretty obvious we aren't just friends, don't you think?"

She laughs. "Even still, your mother isn't just going to let us sleep in the same bed."

"Why not?" She raises her eyebrows. "She wouldn't care."

"I would!"

"Why?" I laugh.

"Harry, that's weird."

"Not really."

"Yes it is."

I laugh and roll my eyes. "Carmen, they're not dumb. Plus, when I'm at school thousands of miles away they know I'm going to do whatever I want. It's a little pointless to try to control me for the two weeks I'm here."

"You're such a badass."

She lets go of my hand and crawls up the bed, resting her head on one of the hundreds of pillows that are there. When I lay next to Carmen her eyes are already closet, so I put my arm under her shoulders and pull her against me, her head resting on my chest. All I can think about while I listen to her breathing slow down is that this feels completely perfect. Having her here, spending the holidays with her, all of it. It's better than I thought it would be and I hope she feels the same way, because as I drift into sleep I can't help but picture another hundred Christmas's with her.

Notes

aww :`) theyre so cute.

sooo im going to write the next chapter like right now. BUT im not going to post it until i get somem responses. at least like three or four comments and i would reeeeeeeally like some more votes and subscribers :) so its up to you guys when you get the next one!

hope you like it :)