Settle Down with Me: Chapter 18

HARRY'S POV:

      My suitcase was starting to fill up and I was getting really excited for the wedding. I smiled shyly at Emily lying on my bed beside my luggage as she inspected the shirt I was packing and gave me a quick nod. I dropped it onto her chest for her to fold as I walked back to my wardrobe. She kept up a normal conversation and I answered when needed, focused on packing. I turned around to face her again and her eyes looked different, almost like they were scared.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I grabbed her face in my hands.

"Harry we're going to have fun this weekend right, nothing's gonna go wrong?" She asked quietly.

"Course, I promise to take care of you" I whispered never moving my eyes from hers. She nodded and gave me a smile as she pulled away from my hands and pulled herself into a sitting position. I watched her put my final few shirts into the luggage and pat them once before giving me my favorite grin. I started to do the stiff zipper and sighed when it wouldn't budge.

"Little help?" I asked her with a small grin. She looked at me with confused eyes as I picked her up off of the bed, laughing at her protests and placed her on top of my luggage.

"Squish down" I instructed as she started to wiggle her bum on the fabric. I yanked the zipper around slowly and finally smiled as the suitcase shut. I held my hand out in the air for a high five and squeezed her tiny hand as it collided with mine.

      The day's schedule was fairly simple, small rehearsal and a final fitting for our show outfits. I slid into the car beside Louis and pet his hair softly while he leaned his against the window. I smiled at Liam as he held Emily's hand between their legs; he gave me a wink back as he whispered something into her ear. She swatted his arm in response and I laughed as she rolled her eyes giving me a smile. We pulled into the arena and the usual routine started, we stopped to sign for fans and posed for as many pictures as we could. I looked around to keep track of where everyone was at all times, especially Emily- she was more fragile than the rest of us. I watched her hug a few girls out of the corner of my eye and I slowly drifted towards her, smiling at everyone I passed. I reached out to grab a bear from a pretty blonde when I heard a yell that sounded way too familiar. I whipped my head around to see Emily drenched and wiping her eyes. My mouth fell open as the other boys and I swarmed her instantly, Liam grabbed onto her shirt and I couldn't find anything to say- she was covered in clear liquid soaking her long hair.

"Are you alright?" Niall asked nervously.

"Who did that?" Louis yelled to the crowd. No one answered him.

"Honey it's okay I've got you" Liam said as he wiped the liquid from underneath her eyes.

"Please just get me inside" She whispered looking up at me, I nodded yes and pulled her and Liam along with me to the doors and let them slip inside before calling out for Zayn and Louis.

"If whoever did that is here, you should know that it's not acceptable and it will not be tolerated" I heard Louis growl before being pulled away by Niall. I waited for them to run over to me before following after Liam to the restrooms, we ignored the women's sign and all piled inside to see Emily drying off her shirt with the hand dryer. Liam was squeezing the liquid out of her hair with a paper towel and I could barely handle the look on Emily's face, I knew she was going to cry any minute. We all went to comfort her and placed a hand on a different part of her body as we all carried on a hushed conversation.

"I'm so sorry" I whispered to her sad eyes. She stared back at me and finally let her mouth fall into a small pout.

"It's not anyone's fault" She said seriously looking at all of us one by one. I reached forward and smoothed down her small brown eyebrows while she looked up at me.

      Once Emily was somewhat drier we all walked to the stage and waited for the stylists to find us. I watched Liam comfort his girlfriend on the stage, I didn't dare to intrude- I knew she would find me when she was ready. I watched her face; she hadn't cried yet simply stared in front of her with a serious look. She looked up at me and caught me staring, I didn't look away but I mouthed 'love you' in her direction. She blew me a kiss back and leaned into Liam's arm circling her waist. While we were waiting I pulled out my phone and opened up Twitter, I grimaced at the mentions of the incident. Some fans were sympathetic but others were proud of what the mystery person had done- that really set me on edge. I tried to control my anger as I clicked the compose button and began to type.

harry_Styles: We love our fans more than anything but whoever thinks this afternoon was something to be proud of is very mistaken.  
I continued to scroll through my home feed and saw the other boys had tweeted about the drink being thrown already, I was glad they did- we had to stick together so nothing like this would happen again.

louis_Tomlinson: I apologize for getting cross, but @Ms.EmilyCarlisle is a very good friend and I don't want anyone to be harmed. Ever. X

zaynmalik: You never know when some people will just go too far, if you have nothing nice to say then please don't say it.

Niall_Official: I love a good food fight but that wasn't cool, she's too sweet guys.

real_Liam_Payne: Wow. Don't really know what to say right now. It's so sad to see someone you love in that state- you know who you are- I think an apology is needed

      Our stylist pulled us backstage and we smiled at the five racks of clothing, we did as we were told and stripped down to our boxers. We changed into the any ensembles and twirled around slowly while we were checked for rips, stains and proper sizes.

"Next" The woman said to me as I took off the fitted blazer.

"How was she doin' Liam?" Niall asked as he pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"I don't know she's just being quiet" Liam said sadly staring down at his feet. I apologized for being slow as I slipped on another pair of dark jeans and adjusted them so they hung low on my hips. She nodded her head yes and went to inspect Zayn while I pulled a pair of Brogue shoes on my feet. Louis scurried around the room with Niall's shirt in his hand and I laughed as they chased each other swearing like truck drivers- Niall had the worst mouth when it came to cursing.

      After all of my outfits had been checked I slipped back into my t-shirt and walked out to the stage. I kicked my feet in front of me as I walked and hummed a small tune to myself. I walked across the black surface and made my way over to the wing Emily was in, I knocked on the shield they were using as a giant wall and poked my head around covering my eyes in case she wasn't dressed.

"It's alright Harry, I'm dressed" She said to me as she faced the worker beside her. I dropped my hand and my eyes widened in my head as she turned to face me in a long sleeveless blue dress, she looked stunning and it hugged all of the nicest parts of her body.

"That's really beautiful" I said as I tried to clear my throat. She twirled around and stared the fabric as it moved.

"You think so?" She asked with careful eyes, they still looked shocked. I nodded yes and walked closer to her as she pointed her chin up to look at me.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner" I said quietly so the other people in the room couldn't hear me. She moved closer to me and lifted her arm so I could hug her waist.

"I will be" She said sniffling, I pulled her into a soft hug so I wouldn't ruin her dress. She wrapped her arms around me and I kissed the top of her head as she leaned into my chest.

"It's okay babe" I cooed as I rubbed her back with my hand, making small patterns to try and calm her down.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked into my shirt and I flinched at how sad she sounded, she truly thought she had provoked whoever did this to her.

"No Emily you did nothing wrong" I said seriously as I squeezed her closer to me and took a deep breath to calm myself.

     After we all finished our fittings we ran over our lines and I felt confident with mine, I no longer needed the teleprompter when I spoke. I leaned against Zayn as we said our small speech and tried our best to fake excitement as a non-existing performance started. I watched Niall hug Emily while they waited to go on and say their lines, she gave me a small smile which I returned with a tiny wave. We practiced for about an hour longer and then moved to the media room, we were supposed to answer questions to play in between performances. I sat down on the small couch and gave the interviewer my best smile as she shook my hand.

"What do you think of this experience?" She asked me with a shy smile.

"It has been some of the best weeks I have had in a long time, I'm dreading leaving in less than a week" I answered listening as my voice continued to get huskier while I spoke.

"How is the relationship with your co-hosts going?"

"Well I always got along with the boys so that hasn't changed, but we all really like Emily- she's wonderful" I said the last past slowly, knowing I meant it completely.

"Any plans to keep in touch once this is over?"

"I hope so, with all the ways of keeping in touch now I plan on talking to her every day even if it drives her mad" I said cheekily as I listened to Zayn answering questions across the room from me.

"Any funny moments backstage happen recently?"

"I think one of the best is when Lou and Niall emptied all of Emily's things into our dressing rooms- she was so shocked she fell onto the floor. Or when Zayn and Liam were saying their lines Emily and Lou changed their lines on the screen and they ended up saying all these rude things until they finally caught on" I said laughing at the memory in my head. I heard Emily laughing behind me, I turned to face her and she gave me wink.

"Good times" She mumbled before answering her next question.

EMILY'S POV:

      Liam followed me into my room as I dragged my feet against the floor. I dropped my purse onto the floor and immediately started to pull the now dried sticky shirt off of my body. I pulled it over my head as Liam trailed along with me, I knew he was watching as I changed but I was too tired to care. I pulled on the sweater I took from him and put on my favorite pair of sweatpants. He sat down on my bed and stared at me quietly while I tied my hair. I walked to stand in front of him and wrapped my arms loosely around his neck. He didn't move his gaze but his hands came up to touch my arms and his fingers grazed over the fabric.

"You okay down there?" I asked as I pressed my nose against his, trying to catch his gaze.

"I should've stopped it" He said quietly, I shook my head no and kissed his frowning mouth.

"I should have kept you with me" He said again with a tight throat. I leaned up and wrapped him in a tight hug, feeling his hands tighten around my waist.

"It's over and done babe, no more" I said into his shoulder. He squeezed me again before finally releasing me to kiss my mouth. I smiled into the kiss as he squeezed my hips softly.

"Nice sweater" He mumbled against my lips, making them tingle.

"It's my favorite one" I said in the same teasing tone as I walked away from him and gripped the door handle. He pouted at me and held his arms out to me, leaving them in the air. I walked back and decided not to leave as I sat down on my knees across from him on the mattress. He pulled me towards him as I straddled his waist and kissed his forehead before he dropped his face onto my neck. I ran my fingers over the back of his neck and hugged him tighter; I knew he wasn't just sad because of this afternoon. Harry and I were leaving in the morning, Liam and I had never been apart yet.

"Will you call me every night?" He asked as he kissed my collarbone.

"Mmhm" I hummed as he looked up into my eyes and kissed me passionately. I kissed him back with just as much longing and continued until we were both out of breath.

"It's just a few days" I told him as I pulled away slightly smirking as his eyes remained on my mouth. I kissed him again and pressed against him as his hands moved up and down my body.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" I asked quietly, he answered by kissing me again quickly before staring at my face. I looked back and felt my cheeks starting to get pink, afraid of what he could be looking at.

"You're beautiful, you know that right" He said seriously. I thanked him and bit my lip nervously out of habit.
               ***

      I woke to the alarm I had set in the morning, feeling Liam spooning me from behind. I sat up slowly and slipped out of his grip as I left to shower. I bathed quickly and took advantage of the steam to calm my nerves. I got dressed in my clothes for the day before I left the small room to see Liam playing with my phone. I walked across the floor in three bounds and climbed on top of him to see what he was up to. He smiled smugly at me as he quickly typed, refusing to give me back my BlackBerry. Once he surrendered I hesitantly checked my Twitter page, sighing at my new tweet.

I love real_Liam_Payne, he has great abs (;  

I whacked his chest as I kissed his nose quickly, my hair grazing his cheek bones as it hung loose. His hands tickled my thighs just below my shorts as I stepped off of him and started to drag my luggage to the living room. Liam helped me with my bags and followed behind me as I grabbed my last minute necessities. I checked the clock and realized I had to leave in half an hour, I pulled on Liam's hand as I made my way down to the separate rooms and went to say goodbye to all of the boys, receiving nice hugs and a slap on the bum from Louis.

      Ten minutes and counting, I stared at Liam as he chatted happily about the football game we had missed after we fell asleep and I remained quiet, nodding my head when I needed to. I gave him a small smile and stood up opening my arms for a hug. He looked up at me and arched one eyebrow.

"Harry will be here in a few minutes; I'd like a proper goodbye" I half whined as I shifted my feet. He came to hug me and wrapped me in the tightest hug I had ever received. He kissed me like he did last night- it was needy and I kissed him right back letting him know I would miss him just as much. I pulled away when I heard a knock and Harry poked his head inside the room. He waved shyly and tried not to stare as Liam kissed me once more quickly and rubbed the small of my back.

"I'm just going to take your stuff to the car, come down when you're ready yeah?" He asked I nodded yes and smiled as he hauled my entire luggage into the hall. Liam sighed beside me and rested his forehead against mine.

"Stay safe, call whenever you can" He said sadly.

"I will I promise, and when I can't call I'll text" I said as I pecked his lips.

"Miss you already" He said as he let go of me and hovered in the doorway.

"See you real soon" I said as he waved goodbye and walked towards his room.

      I walked around my room quickly to see if I had missed anything and once I assured I was all packed I made my way to the parking lot and smiled at the waiting car with Harry in the driver's seat. I opened my door and hopped into the passenger's side buckling up my seat belt.

"Ready?" Harry asked excitedly, bouncing in his seat.

"Ready" I said happily as I turned on the radio and waved goodbye to the hotel as we pulled out of the lot and onto the highway.

      The drive to the airport was fairly short, once we had parked Harry held a hand on the small of my back and weaved me through the crowd of people waiting outside- I knew he was still sensitive about the drink incident. I walked along with my head down, tugging on my luggage as Harry rolled his along with my bag on his shoulder. I handed the clerk our tickets and waited patiently as she typed into her computer. She handed me back our little brochures and I nodded my head towards the seats, Harry walked directly behind me, the tips of his shoes bumping against my heels.

      I sat in the small grey chair and shifted uncomfortably as Harry played on his phone beside me. I draped my legs on his lap and tried to close my eyes and sleep but everyone was buzzing loudly around us. I let out a small groan causing Harry to look up at me with questioning eyes before holding up his phone in front of my face. I covered the lens as best as I could and argued with him quietly. He gave up and pulled me to sit on his lap; I followed along with his hands and sank down onto his bony legs. He held the phone out in front of both of us and placed his head on my shoulder.

"Smile" He instructed, I did as I was told as the light flashed. After the picture was successfully taken I dropped my head onto Harry's shoulder and watched him post our picture to Twitter.

Road trip with @MsEmilyCarlisle, looking as lovely as ever. x  

      When it was finally time to board the plane Harry stuck close to me again as we walked to the first class entrance and sunk into the plush champagne coloured leather reclining chairs. I rested my head against the built-in pillow and sighed happily. I carried on a conversation with Harry while we waited to lift off of the ground. He fiddled with the seats and trays beside me as he slipped the face mask onto his eyes, sticking his tongue out at me. I threw my head back in laughter and swatted his blindfolded face before pulling out my phone from my pocket. I scrolled through my contacts and clicked on Liam's name with a small smile.

We're just about to take off, miss you already xx- Emily

The movie playing distracted Harry as I carried on a conversation with Liam, smiling at his cute messages. I was very aware of Harry's hand resting on my knee while he watched the screen quietly, head phones stuck into his ears. I looked to the screen quickly while I waited for Liam's response and smiled at an attendant who passed our seats. I logged onto Twitter and smiled at all of the nice comments fans had made on Harry's picture from earlier.

Not fussed on planes, harry_Styles wouldn't know because he's too focused on his movie! X  

I scrolled through my home feed and jumped as my twitter mentions started to come onto the screen. I smiled at the familiar names and read the messages from the boys.

louis_Tomlinson: @MsEmilyCarlisle tell him to bugger off and that I am throwing a massive party while you are gone, miss you x

I nudged Harry's arm and showed him my phone screen, he read it quickly and smirked before turning to watch the movie again. I answered some more tweets and Liam's texts before the flight was almost over and I felt the plane start to land. I grabbed Harry's arm tightly, this was always the worst part for me.

"You alright babe?" He asked me as he tucked the ear buds into the small shelf.

"I hate landing" I admitted with a shy smile. He laughed and held my hand until we were safely on the ground before pulling me onto my feet and grabbing our luggage from the upper shelves. Harry carried all of our things out to the terminal of the London airport and I smiled at the sight of it, I had never been to England but I had always wanted to go. I looked all around me as we waited in line to collect our luggage from the huge conveyer belt.

      I followed behind Harry as we walked through the underground parking to the car rental shop. I waited patiently as he filled out the paperwork, pulling me against his side occasionally whenever I tried to leave and explore. It took a few more minutes for everything to be processed before the nice guy working the counter handed Harry the keys and sent us on our way. I linked onto Harry's elbow as he led me to the car we would have for the few days we were here. I whistled at the slick black sports car and handed Harry the bags as he loaded the trunk.

"Welcome to London" He said winking at me as he closed the trunk with almost no force, before opening my door for me so I could step inside onto the leather seats. I relaxed into the smooth surface and buckled my seat belt while he started the engine and pulled out of the airport lot.

      The drive to Holmes Chapel was really nice, Harry pointed out things that we passed and gave a small tour from inside the car. I watched out the window as we drove, excited to see everything I could. I listened as Harry told me stories about his family and turned to look at him; he was staring at me and smiling.

"Drive you crazy person!" I joked punching his arm.

"Don't hit the driver!" He yelled back as he tried to smother my face with his free hand. I swatted him away and adjusted my hair as he pulled a sharp turn, I wasn't getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road.

"We have to make one quick stop" Harry announced as he pulled into a giant garden store, I gave him a questioning glare and unbuckled myself before climbing out of the car. I grabbed onto Harry's waiting arm and followed him across the parking lot and into the store. We began to walk down the aisles and I questioned why we were here and ignored Harry's annoyed face. Finally we stopped in front of a giant furniture display.

"I wanted to get mum a swing for the backyard, she's always wanted one" Harry said as he pulled me onto one of the brown swings on display. I crossed my legs and pretended to sit like the queen as Harry draped his arm on the back of the giant seat. We moved the furniture back and forth and decided to try another one.

      I dragged Harry around the store until we had tried every swing in the store. We narrowed down our choices to two- one a dark brown and the other a white colour. We stared at the swings with pursed lips and talked quietly about the choice at hand.

"The white one is perfectly nice Harry" I said looking up at his face.

"But which one is nicer to sit on?" He asked looking at my smiling face.

"I'd say they're pretty much the same" I answered. He nodded in agreement and started to run his hands over the surface of both swings.

"Mum decorated the backyard with brown tables I think- they might have been black though" Harry said quietly.

"Well then I think we should get the brown one" I said confidently he wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. He nodded to the worker who had been helping us and asked for the brown swing.

      We walked through the store and I looked around anxiously as Harry paid for the swing. I saw a few girls staring at us so I waved casually and smiled as they waved back. I nudged Harry's hip with my hand causing him to look down at me, I pointed to the girls and he immediately waved at them before taking back his credit card from the machine.

"Cheers" Harry said to the cashier as he pushed the giant cart with the swing out to the parking lot. I help open the car doors as he slid the swing into the back seat and our adventure started up again.

      The rest of the drive was fairly short as Harry spoke about his town and showed me out the window his old school, the bakery he worked at and where he used to play. I listened quietly and smiled out the window, it was nice to see where he really came from. The car finally stopped in front of his house and my breathing started to become nervous.

"They're going to love you" He said as he squeezed my hand and helped me out of the car. I stepped onto the driveway when I heard running footsteps; I looked up to see a woman with long black hair running towards us being followed by a man and a younger girl.

"Harry!" The woman yelled as she wrapped him in a hug, the other hugged him quickly and I watched with an embarrassed grin.  

"This is Emily" Harry said as he placed one hand on my back and pushed me towards his family. They introduced themselves as Anne, Robin and Gemma. I hugged them all quickly and tried to take some deep breaths.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you love!" Anne said as she wrapped her arms around me again.

"It's nice to meet you too" I laughed quietly and squeezed her back.

"Come inside everyone, the tea's ready" Robin said as he helped Harry carry my luggage into the house. I tried to grab something but they refused my offer and Gemma ushered me into the nice house. I followed behind the girl who looked older than Harry and looked around at the family style decorated rooms.

"Mum has been waiting for you guys to show up all day, she's barely sat down" Gemma said winking at me. I smiled back and stopped in the hallway as Harry made his way inside, my bags in his hands.

"Are you sure you don't need help Harry?" I asked him nervously.

"S'all good babe" He responded as he placed my things against a wall.

      We all sat on the porch in the backyard at the dark brown table; thank god we bought the brown swing. I watched Harry's happy face as he caught up with his family and told stories from the show. I put in a few comments whenever I could and smiled at Anne as she stared at me exactly like my mother always did when I was home.

"Welcome to our little family Emily, and welcome home Harry" Robin said as he raised his glass in the air, we all clinked cups and finished his toast.

"Thank you very much for including me this weekend, it means a lot" I said nicely as Anne squeezed my leg.  Harry smiled at me and draped one arm across the top of my chair while I talked to Gemma about her dress.

      Harry dragged me inside the house and all the way to the staircase before calling out for his mom. She appeared beside me and placed one hand on my back while Harry spoke.

"I was going to put you two in Harry's room because your cousin is taking the spare, Harry said you two share a bed all the time" Anne said to me slowly.

"Sounds good" I said smiling at her, Harry nodded and began to take our things up the stairs. I carried my suitcase even though Harry had a small fit, insisting he would come back for it.

"Just walk Styles" I hissed as I heard Anne giggle from downstairs. I followed Harry down a hallway to a door that had his name on it. I smiled at the painted letters as he stepped through the threshold and made room for me to pass by him.

"Well this is it" He said placing his luggage on the double bed. I did the same and looked around the room; it looked just like I expected it would. It was clean but I knew that it wouldn't last long now that someone was staying in it. I looked at the pictures sitting on the wooden desk and smiled at a very young looking Harry.

"Cute" I commented slyly as Harry groaned from across the room.

"Please don't look at those" He whined. I shook my head no and continued to look at all of the childhood things around the room.

"Shall we give mum her gift?" Harry asked as he appeared beside me. I nodded yes and followed him back down the stairs and all the way outside. I helped him lift the swing as we carried it to the backyard and lay the giant box on the green grass. Harry called for his mom and she came running with a panicked look.

"Ta-dah!" Harry and I shouted in unison as she covered her mouth with her hand, staring at the picture of the swing on the box.

"Thank you darlings" She said as she pulled both of us in for a hug.

"It was all H-" I started but Harry pinched my hip causing me to stop short. I took the hint and simply smiled as she inspected the box excitedly.

"I'll build it for you tomorrow" Harry said as he kissed her cheek. I smiled at the gesture and gushed excitedly with Anne while Harry helped his dad with something in the house.

"I'm glad you like it" I said.

"I love it! I actually wanted to talk to you darling" Anne said slightly seriously. She patted the spot beside her on the steps of the desk and I sat down immediately.

"I wanted to thank you for taking care of my boys, sometimes they need a motherly influence and Harry said you have that covered." She said her eyes twinkling.

"They mean a lot to me, they're like family" I said smiling back at her. She hugged me quickly before pulling me inside the house for dinner.

      By the end of the night I was in desperate need of sleep. I followed Harry and Gemma up the stairs and immediately dropped onto the bed with a big sigh. Harry stripped down to his boxers and pulled on a pair of basketball shorts before lying down beside me.

"Hi" I joked staring at his face beside mine.

"Having fun yet?" He asked seriously, watching my face. I nodded yes and looked back up to the ceiling.

"Your family is great Harry" I said quietly.

"You fit right in, just like I knew you would" He said with a yawn before climbing to the head of the bed and sliding unto the covers. I followed his lead and lay down beside him pulling the blankets over my legs. Harry adjusted so he had one arm draped over my stomach and he placed his mouth close to my ear.

"See you in the morning" He mumbled before he started to snore softly. I looked over at my best friend beside me and played gently with one of his soft curls. I flipped onto my side and leaned in to kiss his nose. His eyes fluttered slightly but they didn't open and for that I was thankful, the last thing I wanted to do was wake up the sleeping boy beside me.