July, 2017.

"Happy birthday, love!"

His face freezes on my screen and I would be laughing at how silly he looks if I wasn't so frustrated right now.

It is bad enough already that he can't be wishing me a happy birthday in person, so the fact that the connection sucks makes it all even worse.

I guess it goes without saying we never took that gap year I suggested all those months ago.

That night we spent together at his house last Christmas made it abundantly clear that neither of us was willing nor able to go through another second of being apart. Let alone a whole damn year.

But this time we were determined to do it right. By the book. And the first thing we did, as the normal couple we were so committed to be, was going on a proper date.

At first things were quite crazy. As soon as people saw us together, and because for the first time in forever Harry actually confirmed he was officially dating someone, the news spread like wild fire and we were suddenly in the eye of a storm that took us several weeks, months even, to weather.

But we didn't really care that much. We both knew that come March his scheduled would become absolutely insane, so we were focused on taking the utmost advantage of our time together without letting anything else get in our way of doing just that.

So he settled in New York, more specifically in my apartment. And since Jasper insisted on shacking up at Jack's while Harry was there, we pretty much had the entire apartment to ourselves aside from the fewer times he would come to pick up a few things or to hang out.

We spend a lot of time talking, really communicating with each other. Which made me realize how little of that we had actually done in the past. And by the time March came around, although I was sad to see him leave, I wasn't scared. Neither of us were.

It hasn't been a walk in the park, though. Going from waking up next to him every morning to having to literally check a schedule I put on the fridge to keep track of where he is, or doing the math in my head so I don't call him too early or too late, is definitely not fun.

"Thank you, babe." I reply with a smile while looking at the watch and noticing that is the stroke of midnight. "Are you heading out or getting home?"

He's in France at the moment, promoting and attending the premiere of his movie. Three days ago he was in London. And three days from now he gets to be here for a good few days.

I'm really excited about that, the red crosses on that calendar in the fridge are sufficient evidence of that. But it's hard for me to be happy about it today when it's my birthday and he is miles away from me.

"Neither, actually. I just woke up so I could be the first to wish you a happy birthday." A wide smile flashes through his face as he rubs his eyes. "Am I? The first?"

"Yes. Yes, you are." I assure him the second Jasper burst into my room with a bottle of champagne and a cupcake with a lit candle atop of it. "And here comes the second, I suppose."

Jasper rushes to my side, awkwardly hugging me with his full hands as I wince at how close the flame is to my hair.

"Hey, Harry!" He exclaims, shoving me aside to get a good look at my computer, and I snort. "Has she told you yet? Can you please shrill some sense into her tick, beautifully red headed skull?"

I try to push him aside but he doesn't even bulge and I roll my eyes in annoyance.

"Well, it is quite thick... and beautiful, no doubt." Harry jokes winking an eye at me. "What is it?"

I open my mouth to say that it's nothing important, but Jasper gets ahead of me and tells him about this stupid night club his boyfriend is opening tomorrow night, and how they want me to go so we can celebrate my turning twenty one years old.

"It does sound fun, love." He tilts his head sideways, pursing his lips.

"Have you met me?" I ask him, outraged and obviously rhetorical. "Does clubbing sound like something I would find even remotely entertaining? No way. I rather stay home to be honest."

Jasper goes at it again; doing that same lame speech he gave me earlier about the importance of the rite passage that is getting wasted, in his own nonsensical words, under the protection of the law.

"Yeah... we do that when we turn eighteen, though." I point out, once again, this time with complacency. "Been there, done that."

Both of them burst into a synchronized, obnoxiously loud fit of laughter, which I witness with my hands on my hips and in disapproving silence.

"You're just too cute." Harry snickers, then takes a deep breath to calm himself down and his face becomes quite serious all of a sudden. "Now seriously... I hate that I can't be there with you today, but I would hate it a little less if I knew you won't be spending your birthday alone and in your pajamas."

And that face he makes, ladies and gentlemen, should be plastered in every dictionary next to the term Emotional Blackmail.

"I hate you, Styles."

Harry shrugs sheepishly and Jasper squeals with excitement. As for me, I just let myself fall in the chair in front of the computer and I stare at it in defeat.

"I hate you, too." He claps back, and then I hear a voice at the other end that sounds like it's coming from a speaker. I don't quite catch what it says, but Harry seems to be nervous about it. "Okay, good! I have to go now..."

I frown and try to focus on his surroundings, although there's nothing much to see other than a giant window and a blue sky at the other side of the glass.

"I thought you just woke up. Where are you?"

I don't have much time to make further questions, or to figure out what's going on, and after he gives me a rushed explanation about having to get ready for a yet another press round, he says goodbye with a kiss and a luv ya and then the screen goes black.

"What the hell was that?" I slam the computer shut, more confused than anything, and I turn around to look a Jasper.

"It's a busy one that man of yours." He replies waving his hand in the air, like there was nothing weird about how Harry just behaved. "I'm gonna let Jack know that you're game for tomorrow and when I get back, we are popping that babe up!"

And he storms out of the room, leaving me with a melting candle and a cold dripping bottle creating a ring mark on my desk.

*****

I've tried calling him back a few times last night after he hung up, and all day long today. But there was no reaching him. And maybe it's just me, but Jasper has been acting really strange and sneaky since this morning.

If something like this had happened last year, I would have been freaking out and probably jumping to conclusions that would made me moody and irrational.

But that's not what's happening now. And although I am still rather confused about Harry's behavior, I am more curious than anything else.

"Are you..." Jasper opens the door as he knocks without waiting for my permission to enter. "Wow! Someone is going all the way tonight, eh?"

I give him a wink of the eye before I take a final look at myself in the mirror; the truth is that, maybe because I was trying not to think about the whole thing too much, I've actually put a lot of effort into my appearance for tonight's celebration.

I had spent a lot of time trying out different outfits and their combinations - the Everest like pile of clothes on my bed can attest to that -, and I eventually decided to go with a loose, high waisted mini skirt covered in tiny silver sequins and a black, see through crop top that is casual enough to dress the flashy skirt down just a bit.

I thought about wearing some sheer black stockings so there wouldn't be too much display of skin, but since we're in the middle of the summer and I will probably find myself ripping them out in the loo sooner rather than later, I thought it would save me some money and a hell of a lot trouble by leaving them in the drawer for another occasion.

As for the shoes, well, let's just say I am not being so practical in that department because I climbed up into the highest heels I own.

What can I say, girls will be girls. And shoes ought to be our undoing.

"Let's go before I regret it." I grab my bag, checking that everything I may need is in there, and then we're off.

Less than fifteen minutes later we were stepping out of the cab and, even though there was a really long line of people waiting to get into the club, we managed to walk past them and straight inside where Jack was already waiting for us.

The first thing he did was greeting me with a hug while he wished me a happy birthday, and after putting a gin and tonic in my hands, he guided us all the way through the crowded room to the very back where a thick, velvety curtain was falling heavily from the ceiling to the floor.

"VIP, uh? Now this is fancy!" I nudge Jasper on the side, and he smirks in my direction as he slides the dark fabric just enough for us to walk in.

The first person that comes to our encounter, jumping up and down and singing happy birthday, is Olivia.

Behind her appears the rest of the group; a few friends from school and the hotel, an Irish blond lad whose laughter resonates through the place, a Doncaster native with a wicked grin, a  guy who, despite the noticeable dark circles under his eyes, looks like the happiest, luckiest man in the world, and a fellow redhead with a plaid shirt I can barely recognize without his small guitar in his hands.

One by one they hug me. One by one they tell me how amazing it is to see me. And one by one, they remind me of the boy with those green eyes, that flawless bone structure and dimpled smile that is not here.

But then the air inside the room seems to change. And the warmth I always feel when I'm around him sneaks from behind me slowly until it surrounds me completely.

I don't move, though. I just stand there feeling how every hair of my body stands on end with expectation, but also with fear of being wrong.

"Happy birthday, love."

A/N:

Oh my god! I can't believe I finished this chapter. You have no idea how many times I wrote it and deleted it. I just wasn't happy with it... And I still have my doubts about it.

It's been a rough couple of months. My grandmother got really sick all of a sudden, and we had to say goodbye to her. Then I had to do some work at my apartment and things got really busy for me.

But I still wrote a little every day yet I hated it.

Oh well! It's done now. And I hope you liked it.

Also, this is the last chapter of this story. But there's an epilogue coming. I hope it doesn't take me this long.

Love you all and thank you for waiting.

Lucy.