Stephanie's pov.
I've been awake for hours. Everything last night made me feel so crap about myself, I've not been able to take my mind off Harry. Why does he find it so hard to communicate with me? All I want is to sit down like adults and discuss how we both feel. It's so frustrating. Don't get me wrong I wasn't expecting to feel this way about him. I mean I had a stupid crush on him when I was a kid, but I didn't think those feelings would just suddenly creep back up on me. It just hurts knowing I'm not enough to help him, I'm not the girl who can make him realise its okay to show your emotions, or to love.

"Steph.." Jed knocks on the door and slowly opens it. I look up at him and he half smiles. "Can you come down stairs?" He asks as he looks more serious than he usually does.

"Is everything okay?" I ask and he nods telling me to follow him. I get up from my bed and I reach for my dressing gown which is hung up on my door. I wrap it tightly around me and I make my way downstairs following Jed. I feel slightly anxious to why Jed has asked me to follow him. Has something bad happened? Oh no, is Harry okay? My heart starts to race.

"Take a seat.." Jed says as we walk into our living room. Mum and Dad are already sat down on one sofa. I take a seat on the other one. Jed turns around and quickly leaves the room, we can vaguely hear him.

"What's going on?" I ask as I look at my parents. They both shrug looking slightly worried.

"We were hoping you knew.." Mum says and I shake my head. I turn to Jed who is now walking in with Harry. I sigh to myself relieved that it's nothing to do with Harry. I look up but he doesn't look at me and I have to look away as I feel my heart slowly sinking.

"You're part of this family too, so sit." Jed says and Harry does as he's told. He sits next to me but as far from me as he can. "Okay. Well, I wanted to get you all together because it saves me having to do this individually and you know how much I hate repeating myse-" Jed stops as Dad interrupts him,

"Jed, just tell us what this is all about.." Dad says as he leans forward, looking at him intensely. Jed nods and smirks.

"Okay, I'm moving out." He says with a smile that he just can't control. He dragged me out of my room just to tell me that? I suppose it's quite a big deal, but he's only moving out. My parents look at each other a little stunned. "I'm moving to London." He adds. Woah, I wasn't expecting that!

"London?" Mum asks in a high pitched tone. I look at Jed and his smile soon drops. "Why London? What's wrong with living here in Manchester?" She adds, she sounds a little offended.

"There's a position with Chelsea FC under eighteens as a coach assistant. I applied for it and I got the job!" Jed grins and my parents eyes widen and so does mine. I can't believe he is taking such a big step. I'm instantly confused as Jed supports Manchester United, so why would he want to work with a different team?

"Son that's brilliant!" Dad says as he gets up and hugs Jed. "Have you found a place?" He asks. He starts to explain that he will be living with two other guys that will be working with him. I glance towards Harry who looks at the floor.

"You know I would have loved it to have been Man united, but with an opportunity like this I really think I should take it! So I followed my heart, I love football and I know this is calling out for me." Jed explains as he must have realised that Mum and I would be confused to why he'd join/work with a different club.

"When do you go?" Mum asks as she's a little less enthusiastic as Dad. Jed looks to her,

"Next Wednesday." He says. Oh my god, that's in three days, he doesn't exactly do things slowly. Dad smiles and start to praise him, I know he's proud but I'm with Mum on this.

"Jed, it's a big deal going to London by yourself. What if you need someone and you're in trouble? We can't get to you so quickly in London!" I express and Jed looks at me and smiles.

"Sis, I'll be fine! I'm twenty two and I'm pretty sure I can handle myself. Don't worry about any of that" He explains and I can't say anything else. He's made his mind up and all I can do is support him.

Whilst Mum and Dad have a deeper talk with Jed, I excuse myself and head back up to my room. I lay on my bed and I close my eyes, I'm exhausted from lack of sleep.

---

Harry's pov
I felt a little awkward sitting there with Jed breaking out his big news. I'm happy for the guy, he deserves it. But once Stephanie excused herself, I did the same and went up to my temporary room.
I sit down on the bed and I start browsing through Facebook on my phone. One friend request from Amy James, Stephanie's best friend. I ignore it for now and put my phone back in my pocket. What am I doing here? I'm screwing my own life up and it shouldn't involve these guys, especially Stephanie.
I get up and I grab my jacket, I need to get some air and out of this house. I check my car keys are in my pocket and I take my wallet that's on the bed.
I make my way downstairs and I don't bother letting anyone know I'm going out. I leave through the front door and I unlock my car. I glance up at Stephanie's window as I start the engine, her curtains are shut. I look away and begin to reverse off the drive and I make my way out of their street. I could do with a drink, there's got to be a quiet pub around here somewhere.

After a few minutes of driving around I spot a small pub called the 'The Crown Inn', I turn right and I park up in their car park. The pub is quite small but it's very warmly, with a cosy effect. The walls are painted a cream colour that makes it look quite smart compared to most pubs I've been too. They have the fireplace lit and some mellow music playing quietly. I look at the woman behind the bar who is smiling at me.

"Hi.." I say as I look at her and she asks me what I would like. Should I play safe with a beer or should I get something a little stronger? "I'll have a whiskey please." Why did I order that..

"Okay." The woman smiles and I look around as she gets my drink. There's only a couple of people in here. "There you are my love," The woman says as she grabs my attention, I pay for my drink and I take a seat in the corner by the fire. This is quite cosy, it reminds me of home. I miss my family, although they're probably enjoying having no drama in their lives, I'd do anything to see my Mum.

"Harry?" I look up and see Amy, Stephanie's best friend looking at me. "What are you doing here?" She asks a little shocked.

"Just having a quiet drink. What are you doing here?" I ask and she smiles and points behind her.

"Mum owns the pub." She says and her mum waves over to me. I wave back and look to Amy. "Can I sit down?" She asks.

"Go ahead, it's your Mum's pub." I say as I take a large swig of my whiskey, the burning in my throat feels good.

"Where's Steph?" She asks as she takes her coat off. She leans forward on the table.

"At home I think." I say as I look at the coaster on the table, I start to play with it and I look back up at her.

"You okay?"She asks as she frowns. "I'm good at sensing when there's something wrong." She adds. I look away from her as I all I wanted was to come here and have a quiet drink.

"Well nothing is wrong, so it's a false alarm this time." I say as I finish off my drink and stand up.

"Harry stay and have a drink with me. On the house.." Amy says as she stands up and her eyes meet mine. "Be good to get to know you a bit better.." She smiles. Good luck with that..

"One more.." I say as I sit back down, she nods and asks what I want, this time I go for a beer. I watch her as she goes behind the bar and she starts to pour our drinks. Amy's a very attractive girl, she reminds me of Naomi in many ways such as her confidence and the way she takes care of herself. Her long brown hair matches the length of Stephanie's. Just thinking her name makes me feel like shit.

"Here you go." Amy says as she places the beer in front of me and sits down. "So why is Stephanie being boring and not here with you?" Amy asks. Great, I knew I'd be questioned I should have left when I had the chance.

"I didn't tell her I was coming." I say as I take a sip of the ice cold beer.

"Why?" She asks as she sips her drink. I shrug as I don't want to go into detail, I'm guessing Stephanie hasn't told her anything.

"We had a disagreement, it doesnt matter." I say as I start to feel a little uncomfortable. She looks away from me, sensing I wasn't in the talkative mood. But she soon turns to face me and leans on the table again.

"I'm going to be honest with you. When I first heard about you I wasn't so sure, I mean I didn't think it would be good for Steph to have you around." She says and I smirk, it's so typical how she felt. She continues, "but when we went bowling and you turned into protective Harry, you changed my mind. You made me realise that you are good for Steph. She needs someone like you Harry. I've only just started to think that way, but Steph has had bad luck with guys, you might be what she needs?" Amy says with a smile.

How can she say all that? I'm fucked in the head about my bloody feelings towards Stephanie and now she's just said all that! I don't know what to think, but I do know that I am not what she needs.

"Stephanie doesn't need me, I'm no good for her. She needs a guy who can tell her how he feels, to make her feel special. I'm never going to be that guy." I say as I look down at my drink. Amy bites her lip as she looks away.

"But I thought Stephanie knew the real you? She told me that she knew you weren't as bad you think you are. She believes in you Harry, I mean I tried to convince her you've changed but she said deep down she knew you were still the Harry she knew when she was eight." Amy sips her drink as she looks back at me.

I am still the Harry she knew, I've said that to Steph before. But only she sees that side to me because she makes me into that guy.

"Stephanie needs to stay away from me. She heard me talking to Naomi like a complete ass, I can't treat Stephanie like that, ever. So why would I get her involved in my life? Why let her risk it with me? When I could destroy her so easily. Steph needs to be loved and I thought I could be that guy. I tried to set the scene, I bloody kissed her, but I know I will never be able to give her everything that she deserves." I down half of my beer as Amy takes in my words, I slam the glass down on to the table.

"You kissed her?" She asks slightly impressed. I roll my eyes.

"Is that all you got from everything I just said?" I snap and I have to look away. I hate talking, I shouldn't be here doing this with Amy.

"No of course not but Harry! Wake up! You kissed her, you showed her you liked her by doing that. You know you don't have to sit down with someone and talk about how you feel? There are so many ways to express your feelings towards someone. Whether its writing them a letter, a poem or a song? Or just taking her out somewhere and saying a couple of words. You don't have to dive in deep and go into so much depth!" Amy says and she smiles eagerly. Why is she looking at me like that.

"Amy, I've said too much, I need to go." I say as I finish off my beer.

"No! You're not going anywhere until we figure out a way for you to express yourself to Stephanie. Stop being so cold and get yourself together! There has to be a way Harry and I'm not letting you leave until we've figured it out!" Amy says smugly as she sips her drink.
Oh shit...

---

Stephanie's Pov
I feel worse than I did before, why did I let myself fall asleep? I should have known sleeping in the day never agrees with me. I get off my bed and I open my curtains, I look away as the daylight shines brightly into my eyes. What time is it?

I look over at my phone on my bed and it's only just turned midday. I need something to eat.
I leave my bedroom and I can't help but look at the room Harry's staying in, I wonder what he's doing in there. Is he feeling angry, sad or confused like I do? Maybe he's not bothered, he was the one who said he had to stay out of my way. I wonder if he's homesick, I know I would be. I shake him out of my head as I start to make my way downstairs.

"You okay?" Dad asks as he meets me at the bottom of the stairs. I nod and he smiles as he continues towards the living room. I go to the kitchen to see my Mum weighing some flour, that's the best thing about Sundays, Mum always bakes.

"Hey, I thought you went out." Mum says as she looks over to me. I walk to the fridge and look at her shaking my head. "Oh.." She says as she starts to weigh the butter.

"What are you baking?" I ask as I grab the ham and cheese to make a sandwich.

"A Classic Victoria sponge" Mum says and I smile in approval. "You don't seem yourself, what's wrong?" Mum asks as she stops and looks to me. Am I really that easy to read? I look away and I grab the bread from the cupboard.

"Nothing is wrong, I'm just hungry." I say as I begin to make my sandwich, I can feel my Mum's eyes on me but I choose to ignore it. If I say anymore then she will see straight through me and I'd probably end up telling her and that's the last thing I need.

"Okay." She says, I can hear her smile breaking through. "So how was last night?" She asks as she knew Harry had done something as he borrowed all her accessories. Why did she have to ask me that,. I walk to the fridge putting the ham and cheese back.

"It was okay, nothing great." I snap as I take my sandwich and leave the kitchen, I can see in my head the smile dropping from my Mum's face. But I'm fed up of being questioned all the time, I need to be alone and away from anyone who mentions Harry. I head back up to my room but I pause. Everything is so quiet up here, I know Jed is at football but I can't hear anything coming from Harry's room. I really don't know why but I make my way to his door and I knock. Crap! Why have I just done that, he doesn't want to be around me.
Theres no answer. He wouldn't just ignore a knock, especially if he didn't know who it was. I knock again curious to if he's okay in there. No answer. I slowly take the handle and turn it, opening the door slightly I poke my head in to see an empty room. Where has he gone?

I step inside and look around, I know I shouldn't be looking at his belongings but I can't stop myself. The photos my Mum left for him are stood up on his bed side table. I sit down and look over at them, the happy smiling faces look back at me. I take the photo of Harry and I, we look so happy and so sweet. Everything in this photo is good, we were innocent, we had fun and we knew each other so well. But I have to face the fact that was then and this is now. But as I stand up, I take the photo with me and I leave his room closing the door behind me. I head into my room and I place the photo on my computer desk, I put my plate down and I sit in silence. I'm drawn back to Harry in the photo, why can't he be the sweet caring boy that he is there? Why can't he let me in and understand him. Why can't I stop thinking about him when he doesn't even care?
I've completely lost my appetite.

Notes

Sorry this chapter isn't great, I did struggle with what to write!
It all leads to a little more drama as Harry isn't impressed when he realises the photo of him and Stephanie has gone. But there's also something sweet on the way, Amy and Harry start to get on well and with Amy's help, Stephanie learns something about Harry that she never realised before.