(No Control - 62. Little Things, first part)

"Oh God," Jess moans faintly, and I grin to myself as I get out of the car and scoot round to her side to open the door for her.

I know she's nervous, but nothing can compare to pitching up to her parents' house uninvited to face her psychotic brother.

"You look terrified," I remark as she climbs out of the car.

"I am terrified," she replies through gritted teeth, so I lean towards her and kiss her, which forces a smile onto her.

"That's better. You'll be fine," I tell her.

I grab the bags out of the boot and look up to see Mum standing in the doorway beaming at us.

"Hi," I call to her, and she gives an excited wave as I sling both our holdalls over my shoulder and saunter up to the door. She flings her arms around me and I hug her tightly, one-handed.

I introduce Jess and then grin at her over Mum's shoulder as they hug.

I can tell Jess is bricking it.

We head inside to see Gemma, and I take great delight in breaking the ice immediately and reminding Gemma that Jess knows who she is already because she follows her on Twitter.

"Oh Harry! Don't embarrass Jess like that!" Mum tells me off immediately.

"She follows you too," I reply, without missing a beat, as her face turns beetroot. "Don't you Jess?"

"Harry," Jess begs, but I'm enjoying myself too much to stop yet.

"She's a big fan," I tell Mum and Gemma, and pull a this-is-awkward face at them.

"We do know all this," Gemma interrupts, looking at Jess. "He hasn't shut up about you for the last three months."

OK, Gemma needs to shut up now.

"It's been all 'Jess is a huge fan, she like, knows the drumbeat to Little White Lies, it's amazing,'" Gemma continues, mocking the tone of my voice. "And 'it was so funny the other day when Jess sassed Louis right back, he made some dirty comment to her and she just slayed him, it was brilliant!'"

OK, I mentioned those things once. She's making out like Jess is all I talk about.

"I've got far more shit on you," she finishes with a smug grin, and Jess grins too. I scowl.

While Mum makes a pot of tea I show Jess upstairs to my room, and as soon as the door closes behind us I slip my arms around her waist and brush my lips against her neck.

She wriggles out of my grip and points at me.

"You're in trouble," she warns, and I like the thought of this, so I laugh out loud.

"Why?" I ask, but of course I know why.

"You know why!" she scolds me. "Trying to embarrass me like that! You know how nervous I am!"

"It broke the ice didn't it?"

"I can't wait to hear what other shit Gemma's got on you," she says, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow at me.

"Pfft, she's got nothing," I lie.

"Sounds like she's got plenty. Talk about me a lot, do you?"

Come to think of it, every conversation I've had with Gemma lately has involved Jess in some way.

"Occasionally," I reply, trying to be casual, and I turn away so she can't see my face, but of course she knows me too well, and moves around to peer at me. I smile sheepishly, because I know I'm blushing, and she laughs indulgently.

"I have a double bed," I whisper in her ear, once I've pulled her back into my arms again.

"So I see," she murmurs. "But we're at your mum's house. It wouldn't feel right."

What?

I lean back from her so I can look into her eyes.

"What?" I ask in disbelief.

I haven't seen her properly in weeks, we had to be slow and silent last night to avoid detection from her parents, and now she's telling me it wouldn't feel right here?

"I'd just feel a bit uncomfortable," she says, looking me squarely in the eye. "It would be disrespectful."

"Are you joking?" I demand, and she frowns at me.

"No. Why, are you going to beg?"

A small smile plays on her lips as she says the last word. I get it. But two can play that game.

"I see what you're doing," I state, shaking my head at her.

"Don't start what you can't finish," she teases me, before ducking under my arm and throwing me a little smirk over her shoulder.

Damn, she's hot.

We head downstairs, and I adjust my jeans on the way because I have the beginnings of a boner. We discuss our weekend plans, and then Mum says my hair's getting a bit too long, and of course Gemma's ears prick up at this and she joins in, saying I look like a girl, so I tell everyone she's just jealous because I pull off a ponytail better than she does.

I notice Jess's eyes dart to my hair at the mention of a ponytail, and I make a mental note to put my hair in one of those mun things she likes later on, when she's trying to resist me. Shame I know her weak spots, really. Shame for her, that is.

We discuss the tour, Zayn, LA, the other boys, Gemma's job and Mum's side of the family. I can't seem to let go of Jess, and find myself gently touching her fingers with mine as we chat outside in the sunshine, or stroking her arm as I listen to Gemma.

"I'd better go and start preparing dinner," Mum says in the late afternoon, and stands up.

"Would you like any help?" Jess offers timidly, but Mum beams at her and waves her hand.

"No no," she says. "You lot stay out here and relax. Thank you for offering though."

"You sure, Mum?" I ask, and she nods before turning to walk through the open patio doors into the kitchen.

"I'm getting a bit cold anyway," Robin says. "Shall we move inside?"

We stand up and I notice goosebumps on Jess's arms.

"Do you want my hoodie?" I murmur in her ear.

"Yeah, actually, I am a bit cold," she says, looking up at me.

"I'll get it," I offer.

As I jog up the stairs my phone vibrates in my pocket, and my heart gives a weird jump when I see I have a text from Nadine.

I shut the bedroom door behind me and open the text.

Hey you. Long time no speak. How are you? :)

I stare down at it for a minute, with a funny feeling in my stomach. I glance at the door to make sure no one is coming, and quickly send a reply back.

Hi :) Good thanks, couldn't be better. How are you?

And I shove it back in my pocket, grab my hoodie for Jess, and head back downstairs. We decide to stay in for the evening, play a game of Scrabble and watch a film, but of course this requires some good scooby snacks, and as we don't have much in, I offer to head to the shop with Jess.

Gemma gives us a list and while Jess pulls her shoes on I see I have another text from Nadine.

Not bad. Had a tough couple of months. Was going to see if you wanted to catch up, but I see you're back in the UK :(

Yeah, sorry. Won't be back for about 6 weeks, I reply.

Why does she want to catch up? I'm intrigued as to why she's texting me after all this time.

"Ready?" I ask Jess, and she nods and smiles, so we get in my car and I drive into the village.

Jess freaks out as she catches sight of the bakery where I used to work when I was sixteen, and screams so loud I actually jump, and I pull into the Sainsbury's Local car park and switch off the engine before I respond.

"Yes, that is where I worked," I grin at her. "Would you like a full tour of Holmes Chapel? I can show you my old house, my primary school, where I had my first kiss..."

"That won't be necessary, thank you," she says, clearly ashamed of her reaction to W Mandeville.

"You're so cute when you fangirl," I tell her, and she whines at me to stop embarrassing her. "And you're even cuter when you're embarrassed," I add, and can't resist leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she asks, with her eyes closed. "I'm having a full on Harry Styles moment, in fucking Holmes Chapel, and you're telling me I'm cute and kissing me on the cheek?!"

It's official: I love it when she loses her cool and admits she's crazy about me. Admittedly, I wish it wasn't because I'm Harry Styles, but these moments are few and far between, so I can live with it. It's part of who she is, and I'm pretty crazy about her.

"Would you rather I kissed you on the lips?" I ask huskily, leaning close to her, deliberately trying to make her worse.

"Yes, but you would probably have to call an ambulance to resuscitate me, and that wouldn't be a good idea if we're trying to stay under the radar, would it?" she replies, staring steadfastly forward at the fence in front of us.

I turn her face towards me and give her a defiant kiss on the lips.

"For fuck's sake, Harry," she says, breathlessly. "What did I just say?"

"You look fine to me," I joke. It's a lie - she looks anything but fine. Her face is flushed and she's breathing faster than she needs to.

"That's because I'm used to hiding it," she replies, and then stops abruptly.

I feel the atmosphere shift. My heart rate quickens. She looks up at me. I'm barely breathing.

"So stop," I whisper.

"I can't," she whispers back. "The inner fangirl must stay hidden at all costs."

"I'm not talking about the inner fangirl."

"I know."

Well, this escalated quickly.

The tension in this car is almost unbearable, but in an exciting way. Our unspoken feelings are flying around us, practically bouncing off the car windows. There's no way out of this now. One of us is going to have to raise the subject of us.

"Soooo, scooby snacks," Jess says, loudly, and I release all the tension in one breath and stare out of the windscreen. What the fuck?

"Scooby snacks," I repeat, not quite believing my ears. "Come on then," I say with a sigh, and I get out of the car and open the passenger door.

She steps out and I lean almost against her to shut the car door, which is totally unnecessary, but I want to make her heart rate shoot up again, just because I can. As she looks up at me I brush my fingers against hers, and feel a tingle run down my own spine as a result. I quickly shove my hands in my pockets and we walk towards the door of the shop.

"Aren't you worried about being seen?" she asks softly.

"Not for the two minutes we'll be out," I reply. "And we're heading back to London tomorrow anyway. It's not like I'm staying for the week."

"What if... what if we're pictured together. Here. In your hometown," she asks timidly, and I shrug.

"There are no paps here. If any fans recognise me they usually just want a selfie and don't really take much notice of who I'm with."

There's no one around as we scoot inside and Jess picks up a basket.

"What flavour?" I ask, holding up two bags of Doritos.

"Chilli Heatwave," she says immediately.

"Not Tangy Cheese?"

She wrinkles her nose, and then smirks at me and raises one eyebrow. "Gross," she mocks, in a perfect imitation of my voice, tone and accent.

"Someone's been practising their Holmes Chapel accent," I tease.

"Holmes Chapel accent!" she scoffs. "There is no such thing. It's just a soft Manc accent."

"I'm from Cheshire!" I pretend to be affronted, and say this in a posh voice.

"The Real Housewives of Cheshire," she mutters, grinning. "You'd fit in perfectly."

"Oi!" I tease, nudging her with my food, and drop both bags of Doritos into the basket.

"You're getting the Tangy Cheese ones?" she says in disgust.

"Yes," I say, defensively. "What's wrong with them?"

"They stink," she declares. "They smell like feet. Don't be - " (she looks over her shoulder and then lowers her voice) "Don't be expecting me to kiss you later after you've had them."

I laugh delightedly at this empty threat and she pushes me with both hands on my shoulder blades as I turn away and walk off down the aisle, still chuckling.

We manage to pay for a variety of snacks without any hassle, but as soon as we walk out to the car park we are accosted by two teenage girls wanting pictures. After making them promise they won't post them on Twitter until I'm back in London, we climb back in the car and head home.

"Is there a pharmacy here?" Jess asks suddenly.

"Yeah, but it won't be open on a Sunday," I tell her. "Why?"

"We need condoms," she says.

Well well well. I thought it would be disrespectful to get up to mischief at my mum's?

"I thought you said you didn't want to do anything at my mum's house?" I ask casually.

"I don't," she says, but I can tell she's lying. "But we still need them. For... the future."

The future. OK. We'll see about that. Good job I know for a fact I have a few stashed in my bedside table.

"I see." I smirk. "Well if we don't need them for tonight we can just get some tomorrow, can't we?"

Worm your way out of that one, Miss It-Wouldn't-Feel-Right.

"I guess so, if nowhere's open," she mutters, and then glances at me. "Stop smirking."

I laugh out loud at this.

"I'm not. I'm just smiling. You could just admit you can't resist me, though," I tease, and she gives me a gentle smack on my thigh, making me laugh harder.

"You know I can't resist you," she pouts, and my stomach gives a gentle flutter.

My smile remains on my face all the way back home.

---***---

So, we haven't had any smut in a while, so I've broken this chapter here and written in some extra scenes into part two, which will be uploaded shortly.

Thoughts on this chapter? Leave them here :) xx