Meh I lost everyone's comments because wattpad messed up my chapter ;( but I fixed it hopefully, sorry for the confusion!

So Harry's 3 cover magazines.

I'm so in love I bought all 3 and they're going on display right next to my 5 unopened MITAM albums. My ass is whipped.

Back to back update to celebrate. ;)

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Class had surprisingly ended quickly and before I knew it we were being dismissed twenty minutes early. I was standing from my seat, packing my binder into my bag with my head down. I could see Niall in my peripheral vision, standing by his desk and waiting for me. I had almost hoped he would have walked out and left. I don't think I would have been upset if he had.

Slinging my bag over my shoulder I finally looked up at him, my expression no doubt showing how wary I was about going anywhere with him. He gave me a small friendly smile, nodding his head towards the door where other students were already exiting through. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, falling into step behind him when he turned. He lead the way towards the door and we both shuffled behind the other students to exit the class. Once we were out in the hallway Niall turned to me, eyebrows raised and his lips pressed together. "Are you hungry? There's a café I know of down the street from campus."

"Actually..." I began and his face fell immediately. "I am hungry but I planned to go home to throw some stuff into the dryer. You can uh, walk with me if you want? So we can talk?"

His face lit up and his shoulders relaxed. "Oh yeah. Sure, that sounds good."

"Okay, lets go then." I nodded and began to lead the way down the hallway. Students passed in a hurry to get to their destination and I gripped the strap tightly against my shoulder in an attempt to keep it out of the way from the bodies shoving past. Niall was extremely quiet beside me and it wasn't until we were outside and heading towards the full quad on campus did he manage to say something.

"How are you?"

I took a quick glance at Niall, finding his gaze fixed ahead of us. "I'm good I guess. You?"

"Good," He replied, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. "I'm thinking of taking a trip to Ireland during winter break." He shared.

"Really?" This time I look at him with shock, staring at the side of his face until he nods. "You haven't been there since you were six have you?"

"No," He shook his head, biting the inside of his cheek before he sighed. "You know we planned to go the summer after ninth grade, but after my dad's passing we put the trip off. Remember?"

"Yeah." I say quietly, thinking back to the time Niall and I had been sitting upstairs in his room playing Mario Kart when we heard his mom screaming from downstairs. We ran down there so fast, horrified with her screams that I briefly thought someone had broken into the house or something. But the image of Niall's dad lying on the floor with his hand pressed to his chest as he struggled to breathe was so much worse. I ran to the phone and called an ambulance while Niall and his mom tried to help his dad. He passed from his heart attack before the ambulance even got there. And after that Niall had never been his same go happy self, yet he still tried his best to cheer his mom up. She was always sad after that and had cancelled the family trip they were supposed to take back home to Ireland. She wasn't ready to face Mr. Horan's relatives, or her own.

"How's your mom?" I find myself asking after thinking of her. She had been another mother figure in my life and I think not seeing her had also saddened me when Niall and I stopped talking. I missed her.

"She's doing good." He said and his eyebrows pulled together as he thought. "She's seeing someone, actually."

"She's dating?" I asked, surprise and excitement lacing my tone. By the small glare Niall sent my way at hearing it, it was obvious he wasn't too happy about the fact.

"Yeah. Some business lad. He's two years younger than her and he's got a son my age and a daughter two years older."

"Have you met him yet?"

"Twice. He seems like a nice one, and I guess he's okay. But nothing like my dad."

I could detect the sadness in his tone at his last five words and press my lips together, falling into a silence as we walked through the quad. There were so many students littering the steps as they ate their lunch with their friends. I took in the rest of my surroundings, recognizing the area being where I had ran off to the day I saw Harry at orientation and he chased me when I took off. My gaze skips over all the unfamiliar faces but I do a double take when I see a head of curls and a red flannel up ahead of us. I stare at his back and for a moment, I think It's not him. But then he turns his head and I catch his side profile, instantly recognizing the small mole on his lower jaw. I furrow my eyebrows when he turns back and the person standing behind him moves, giving me the view of the girl that's standing beside him. She's fairly tall and thin, her roots black while the rest of her chest length hair blended into a gray. Even from here I could see just how blue her eyes were, and when she turned her face more in my direction I felt my confusion turn to this ugly feeling. She was the epitome of the word hot and probably every straight boy's dirty fantasy. The sick feeling worsens when Harry laughs at something she says and she smiles up at him with a perfect white smile. Who was she?

"Isn't that your friend Harry?" Niall says beside me and my face twists into something that could only be described as disgust. I didn't like the feeling coursing through me at the sight of Harry merely walking with another girl. She could just be a friend, they weren't even doing anything, and yet the ugliness could only be described as jealousy.

"Yep." I mumbled and as if feeling my gaze the girl beside him looks right at me, her eyebrows drawing together curiously. I'm about to look away when she nudges Harry's arm, nodding her head in my direction to which he turns to. His eyes light up at seeing me and he waves, a friendly grin on his face until his gaze slides to Niall beside me. It falters, but nonetheless he keeps it there until I wave back and force a smile on my face in return. I turn away from him right after and quicken my pace to get the hell off campus, Niall hurrying to catch up to me.

"Aren't you two together?"

"No." I answer right away, glancing at him in confusion. "What made you think that?"

"I don't know. I just got this vibe from you two when I saw you both at orientation together."

"We're friends." I say, but it comes out like the thought repulses me. Niall seems to hear it because he's suddenly chuckling, eyebrows raised at me in amusement.

"Right, yet you feel more for him than a friend should."

I sigh in exasperation, irritated with the direction the conversation was taking. I didn't want to talk about him right now. Because if we did I'd start wondering who the heck the girl was he was with. "Didn't you say you wanted to talk?"

"Yes." He responded, falling into step right next to me when we finally exited the campus and were walking on the sidewalk. "I wanted to tell you why I stopped talking to you."

"So tell me then."

He didn't say anything for a long moment, the sounds of our shoes on the pavement filling the silence between us. I started to think maybe he wouldn't say anything at all but it wasn't until we were walking down the steps to lead us to the subway did he finally speak.

"You remember that party we went to just before I stopped speaking to you? The one we both got completely wasted?"

You mean the party you kissed me at? "Yeah, I remember."

He paused, stuffing his hands into his pockets as we neared the last of the steps. "I kissed you. Do you remember that?"

I nearly tripped on the last step but caught myself, swallowing the nervous lump down my throat as I did everything in my power to avoid eye contact with him. I couldn't believe he was actually bringing this up. "Yes. I remember that too."

"I never told you why I did that."

I stopped once we were standing where the subway would come, my foot tapping anxiously on the ground as we waited for the next one. "You don't need to tell m-,"

"I was in love with you." He spat out and I choked on air, my eyes widening before I looked up at him in shock. "I had been for a long time. I kissed you at the party partially because I was drunk and because I wanted to see how you'd react. And when you kissed me back I thought..."

"You thought I felt the same." I finished for him and he nodded once, lips pressed together as he looked elsewhere. "Niall, I was drunk. I had no idea what I was doing."

"I realize that now. At the time I didn't, I was too mad at you the next day when you rejected me that I thought cutting you out of my life was the best option. I couldn't be around you, I was fucking humiliated and just wanted to get over you."

"You should have told me." I mumbled and he turned back to look at me in disbelief. Blue eyes wide and mouth gaping at my words.

"And embarrass myself more? What good would that have done? Being around me would of made you uncomfortable and I don't think I would have been able to move on if I was constantly with you. Something had to change."

"So you kick me to the curb, just like that?" My voice rises with anger and his face falls, guilt filling his eyes when he forces himself to look at me.

"It wasn't like that Emmy. You know you're important to me, don't think I wanted to do what I did."

"I thought I was important to you." I state, crossing my arms over my chest. "You have absolutely no idea the shit I had been going through last year. You were the only person I would of felt completely comfortable with talking to about it. But you weren't there for me. Sucks, considering how many times I had been there for you."

"Emm-,"

He halts when I swivel around to face him with my eyebrows pulled together tightly. "You were a coward. I get why you felt you had to cut me out of your life but the least you could have done was man up and tell it to my face instead of letting me sit there for weeks-, months, blaming myself for it. Do you know how many times I asked myself what the hell I did to wrong? You went from always picking up on the first ring to completely forwarding my calls. You even went as far as blocking me from all social media. Maybe I was a bitch for not considering how you might have felt when I rejected you the next morning but I can't read your god damn mind, Niall. I didn't know how you felt because you never told me. I was clueless as to why you suddenly tossed me like I was an old toy you no longer cared about. I'm no angel but I know I didn't deserve that."

He hung his head and his eyes were filled with so much regret and sadness that I had to look away, otherwise my will to put him in his place would falter. "You're right. You didn't." He said quietly and when I didn't answer he looked up and sighed, stepping closer to me to lightly put his hand against my elbow. "I really fucked up the best friendship I've ever had, I know that. I knew that way before you got kidnapped but was too chicken to contact you because I already figured what I said wouldn't matter to you anymore." He pauses and my eyes flicker to the light from the approaching subway further down the tracks. "But when Lila and Morgan called me out of nowhere to ask if I had heard from you, and then I saw on the news you were kidnapped, I realized that I didn't care whether you felt the same about me or not. I should have been grateful to have you in my life at all, and the possibility of losing you completely was a huge wake up call. So I'm sorry, for treating you like shit and hurting you. I just want to be in your life again, in any way you'll take me."

I frowned at the ground, eyebrows pulling together as I thought about what he said. I really had no idea he had felt that way about me. Sure, I had started to wonder after he had kissed me but the possibility of my best friend having feelings for me seemed ridiculous. I guess it was because I had never thought of him that way. He had been like my brother, and I thought maybe he had seen me like a sister. I glanced at him briefly, staring at him warily when he gave me an unsure smile. His confession made me understand why he did what he did but it didn't make me any less angry. Nor did it mean we would ever have the same friendship we once had. But you can try. I pressed my lips together, releasing a breath from my nose as I kept my arms crossed. "I don't trust you."

"I know. That's something I'm going to have to work for, if you let me."

The subway passed by us and my hair blew against my face, Niall's blonde tousled hair getting mussed up. He made a funny face when a piece of his hair flopped over his eye, hand flicking it back like a child. My lips twitched in an almost smile and a weight pressed against my chest, reminding me of how much I missed having him as a friend.

"Fine," I found myself saying as the subway slowed down in front of us and I pulled the strap of my bag higher on my shoulder. "You're forgiven but that doesn't mean I've forgotten."

His mouth slowly pulled into a wide grin when my words seemed to have registered and he sighed. Visibly relieved with what I had said. "So, we're friends?"

"I guess." I told him and I froze in shock when he suddenly threw his arms around me. He wrapped me in a tight hug, my face pressing just below his neck. My arms hung loosely at my sides, palms splayed open like I was unsure what to do with them. After a moment of standing like a statue I hesitantly hugged him back, hands padding his shoulders lightly. I sighed into the hug, relaxing and deflating like a balloon when it hit me just how much I missed his hugs. He always gave the best, but now they came in second right behind Harry's. "Don't let me down, Niall." I mumbled and he squeezed me tighter.

"Wouldn't dream of it Emmy."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I arrived to the bookstore a few minutes passed 3:30, sighing tiredly once I walked in and felt the air conditioning. My stomach had been cramping most of the day but it wasn't until the walk over here that it had worsened. I kept having to pause during the walk, bending over in pain when I'd get a cramp that I could only guess what contractions felt like. I was hoping it would stop now that I was here but if anything, they just felt worse and I was doing my best to hide the pain from my face as I walked to the pastry counter. Barbra was the first to see me and at first, her face had lit up into a wide grin but then her forehead creased in worry.

"Emmeline! Oh honey you're pale." She said and Harry, who had his back turned to me while he was making a coffee, looked over his shoulder at hearing my name. His eyebrows pulled together at seeing me, lips twisted to the side but I forced a smile on my face when I turned back to Barbra.

"I'm fine." I waved her off and she frowned.

"Are you sick? If you're sick you shouldn't be working."

"No, I'm not. Just feeling a little light headed. I skipped out on lunch." I shrug and Harry walks back to the counter, putting a lid on top of the coffee and calling out the name of the person who ordered it. "Can I get a mocha coffee and a banana muffin?" I asked Barbra, reaching into my bag for money.

"Put your money away. You look like you're about to pass out," She told me, already grabbing the tonsils and reaching into the glass case holding all the pastries. She grabbed the muffin, but not before I saw her throw in a croissant as well. "Here, go eat. You've still got a half hour until your shift starts so try to rest before then." She hands me the baggy and turns to Harry. "Get her coffee together, I need to go put in a order for more batter."

She walked off then and Harry turned to get my coffee, looking over his shoulder at me as he waited for the cup to fill. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You look sick." He stated, frowning as he turned back around once the cup was filled. He slid it to me across the counter, handing me the cap for it. "Like extremely pale. It's scaring me."

"It's probably because I haven't eaten." I shrug, reaching for the sugar and creamer stacked on the side of the counter.

"You're on your period. I don't particularly think it's good to skip out on meals when you're losing blood."

My eyes widen and I quickly look around, making sure no one else heard him. There's a few customers looking at books and two in line at the opposite counter waiting for Ron to ring them up but no one is close enough to have heard him. I look back at him with narrowed eyes. "Would you keep it down? Jesus, let everyone know It's my time of month why don't you."

He smirks. "I could be louder actually." I send him a glare and he laughs, before he turns serious again. "No but really. You shouldn't skip out on meals. It's not healthy."

"I didn't have time to eat." I tell him, putting the cap back on my coffee after putting some sugar and creamer into it. I walk around the counter, moving to sit on the stool in the corner. Harry glanced around the store to make sure there's no customers before turning to face me. He leans his hip against the counter and crosses his arms over the apron he currently wore.

"Why'd you not have time?"

I sip on my drink, considering if whether I should tell Harry about speaking to Niall. But then I remember he had already seen us together, so he must know by now. "I walked to my apartment with Niall."

He stiffened at this, lips pressing together as he straightened his shoulders. "He went to your apartment?"

"Well, more like walked with me to it."

"You didn't invite him in?"

My lips turned to the side as I tried to gauge what he was thinking by his body language but I couldn't read him. He was doing a good job at hiding what he was thinking. "No. I ran up, tossed my sheets in the dryer, and came back down to meet him."

"Oh." He nodded and tilted his head slightly. "Did you two finally talk?"

"Yes." I felt my shoulders sink and frowned at the floor when I remembered our conversation. We were on good terms now but that didn't mean I wasn't angry anymore. And by the way he kept looking at me when we were walking back to campus, I had the feeling that those feelings he had for me might still be there.

"How'd that go?"

"He told me why he stopped talking to me."

"And...?"

"And he said it was because he was in love with me."

Harry didn't say anything, and when I looked up at his silence he was staring at the wall behind me. His lips were pursed and I watched as he rolled them into his mouth, sucking on them before letting them pop back into place. His gaze slid to me and when I gave him a look of confusion he looked elsewhere, lifting his hand to run his fingers through his hair. "I kind of figured."

"You did?" I asked in surprise and Harry shrugged.

"What other reason did he have to stop talking to you when he tries to kiss you again and you reject him? It was obvious."

"No..." I stop when he gives me a deadpan look. "Don't look at me like that I can't read minds."

"You don't need to, the action said it all. Were you really that oblivious?"

I scrunch my nose at him. "That's mean."

"Well come on Em. You're really going to tell me you never saw it?"

"No, I didn't. He was always affectionate with me but him trying to kiss me while we were both sober took me by surprise. I never thought of him that way so I didn't expect him to think of me like that."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why does it surprise you that he'd think of you like that?"

I pause to think about it and after a moment, shrug. "I don't know. Because I'm used to guys not paying me any attention, at least in that way. I didn't expect him too either."

Harry merely blinked at me, staring at me as if I was full of shit. "You really don't see it huh?"

"See what?"

He raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly, a chuckle bubbling up from his chest. "See that guys do pay attention to you. Three different guys already looked at you while they were in this store just in the few minutes you've been here. You didn't notice, did you?"

My eyes widen and slowly I look around the store, catching eyes with a customer that stood near the book shelf. He looked away once I caught him and my cheeks reddened when Harry looked over his shoulder to see the whole exchange, a smug grin on his lips at being right. "That was luck." I mumble and he rolls his eyes.

"Nope. You just have no idea how much of an affect you really have on some guys. You're stunning, and I, along with Niall are not the only ones who see that." He shrugs, turning his back to me to pick up a rag. My face heats at his compliment as he wipes the counter down, my eyes set on his back. The silence stretches between us and I clear my throat, deciding to change the subject when I remember something.

"Speaking of stunning, who was that girl you were with on campus?" He looks back at me and I force a smirk on my face. "New girl you're into?"

"You mean Cameron?" So that's her name. "She's in one of my classes. We just met today."

"She's pretty." I state and he turns to face me completely again after wiping the counter. "Do you think she's pretty?"

He stared at me for a moment, scrutinizing me but my face hid the way my stomach was twisting with nerves. "She is." Wrong answer motherfucker. I nodded, smirking at him to hide the burning jealousy I was feeling.

"Well I don't know her but from what I saw she looks like she might like you. You should ask her out." No he shouldn't! What is wrong with you Em?

"We just met." He said and crossed his arms again, staring at me so intensely I shifted on the stool uncomfortably. "And I'm not into her."

"But you said she was pretty."

"So?" He arched an eyebrow, moving to lean back against the counter with his hands curling around the edge. "I'm not blind, I know a pretty girl when I see one but that doesn't mean I want to go fuck them, nonetheless date them." He says and I clamp my mouth shut, feeling stupid all of a sudden at bringing the subject up. I don't say anything when Harry tilts his head and narrows his eyes at me. "Does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?"

"Me saying another girl is pretty." He responds and again, I seal my lips together. "Emmeline." When I make it known that I'm not going to answer him he pushes himself away from the counter. I freeze when he moves towards me, only stopping once he's right in front of me. "Does. It. Bother. You?" He asks again, leaning down slightly so we're eye level. My chest heaves with a deep breath and I straighten my shoulders when he arches his eyebrow at me like he's daring me not to answer.

"Honestly?" He nods. "Yes, it does bother me. I don't know why but it does."

His green eyes hold my gaze and I can only stare when he bites his bottom lip, raising his hand to trace a line down my cheek. He tentatively pushes a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "It shouldn't. Not when you're the prettiest of them all." He whispers and I feel my heart stutter in my chest when he steps closer, his back shielding the rest of the store from our view. He leans down, lips brushing my ear and sending goosebumps down my arms. "Especially when you're the one I'd fuck, date, and do just about everything with."

I literally feel all the breath leave me and before I have a chance to respond or let what he said register, he tears himself away from me. I'm completely baffled as I watch him turn his back to me and go to help an approaching customer. He's smiling and being his charming friendly self as if what just happened, never did. I tear my eyes away from him after a long moment and look at the clock to see there was five minutes left until my shift started. I shakily stand from the stool, picking out my muffin and taking a bite from it as I head around the counter.

"Oh and Em?"

I turn when I hear Harry behind me, seeing the customer leaving with their order and Harry staring at me with an intensity that has me glued to where I stood. I raise my eyebrows at him, swallowing the muffin down. "Yeah?"

"It bothers me too."

"What does?"

"That I'm not the only one that notices you."

Yet, what he didn't know was that he was the only one I wanted to notice me.

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Shits going down soon I can't wait. I wish I could write the whole story in one day uGh.

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