Harry’s P.O.V.
I did it. I actually did it. I finally kissed her. I finally made my move and it seemed like she enjoyed it, too. Pulling away, I slowly opened my eyes to find her shocked, smiling, and blushing, basically like a shy little girl. She was so cute and I couldn’t believe it took me this long to figure it out.
Steph snuggled back into me and focused on the movie, our arms tangled up in each other. I grabbed the blanket beside us, which fell from both of us moving, and dragged it over our bodies, capturing the warmth and love between us. All of those late nights arguing and fighting with Jade was nothing compared to this. I’ve only been with Steph for almost 2 days and I’ve never felt this way. I don’t know what it is, but it’s like she’s my answer for everything. I still can’t believe I let her out of my life for a few years but I’m glad that I reconnected with her because this whole past year with our constant messaging and Skyping to now actually being with each other in the same country has opened my eyes to how much she has changed my life. I’ve always had a soft spot for her when we were young, but since we were so young, I never knew what it meant until I started talking to her again.
All of a sudden, the rest of the boys began getting up and moving about the room. I glanced at the TV and sure enough, the credits were rolling. My eyes looked down at Steph and she was sound asleep in the crook of my arm.
“What movie are we watching next?” Louis asked loudly.
“Ssh! Steph’s asleep,” I muttered.
“Oh, sorry!” Louis whispered.
“Aww!” Rachel cooed. She made a heart with her hands and looked straight at me. I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her, to which she just laughed at and headed into the bathroom.
“Everyone knows you’re in love with her, Styles,” Zayn pointed out, standing up and stretching.
“Shut up, Malik,” I replied, shaking my head.
“Are you denying it?” he scoffed. I stayed silent. They didn’t need to know. “Whatever,” he said and walked over to Louis.
There was no way I could move with Steph cuddled up next to me, but I didn’t care because I was comfortable and satisfied. But now what was going to happen? Was she going to question it, sit down and talk to me about it? I know that’s what you should do but I didn’t know if I was ready to find out.
A few minutes later, everyone piled back in the living room and started the next movie. We picked out a hilarious comedy, so all of us were laughing our heads off. I tried not to laugh too hard because Steph was still sleeping, but halfway through, she woke up and realized what was happening. She focused on the movie and was giggling along with us, so I didn’t feel bad when all of us were practically rolling on the floor. We acted as if the kiss never happened, but on the inside I felt somewhat awkward. I can’t forget something like this and I knew we would have to eventually talk about it. Later, this can happen later. Focus on the movie, my brain butted in. So I shook my head and began chuckling at the movie again.

Rachel’s P.O.V.
Sitting next to Niall gave me butterflies. Honestly. I didn’t even know why! I’ve known Niall almost my entire life, so why was this so different?! I will admit, though, seeing him at the airport was the perfect way to enter into England and exit that stuffy plane. But there’s something more and I didn’t know what it was or what to do. I had only been with him for not even 2 days yet.
The second movie started and we came back in the living room, sitting on the couch I used as my bed. As usual, I cuddled up next to him and he threw a blanket over us, just like how Harry did with Steph. My eyes wandered over to them and they were so cute. Now that I had really gotten to know Harry, he’s a great guy and it blows my mind that they’ve known each other since forever. I was just glad that Steph was finally happy again.
Suddenly, I felt fingers softly intertwining their way in my hand, fitting perfectly together. My breath began to get shallow and I was a little bit afraid to move. This was the first time he ever showed signs of something more. But I kind of liked it. I squeezed his hand to tell him it was okay and he returned it, keeping them together. We stayed like that until the end of the movie and by that point, he had fallen asleep. Well, it was getting late, I don’t blame him.
Everyone else who wasn’t asleep stood up and headed their separate ways to get ready for bed. I had to wait until the boys were done in the bathroom before changing and brushing my teeth, and when I was done, Niall was still out on the couch. I didn’t feel like moving him to his mattress on the floor, so I curled back up to him by his side and closed my eyes, my imagination instantly active with fantasy stories that I knew won’t happen, but was fun to dream about.

Stephanie’s P.O.V.
A few days later, we really hadn’t been doing much, other than sitting around at the house and touring Holmes Chapel. The thing that’s been bothering me, though, is that Harry hasn’t talked to me about the kiss and he hasn’t really done anything romantic to me, either. He seemed kind of distant and awkward and I don’t know what’s up with him.
“Tomorrow’s Saturday. What do you guys want to do?” Liam asked. “We’re open, we don’t have to go in for anything.”
“How about the lake?” Harry suggested.
“I like that idea,” Louis agreed.
“Yeah. It’s supposed to be really hot tomorrow, anyways,” Zayn added.
“I love lakes and beaches,” Rachel commented.
“Lake it is,” Liam confirmed.
“Sorry, guys, I’m going to have to let you all go on your own. I need to catch up with my dad,” Elijah rejected. My heart skipped a beat.
“Can I come?” I questioned him. Elijah hesitated, then nodded at me to go into the other bedroom so we could talk privately. I followed him and sat down on the edge of the bed while he closed the door.
“I’m really sorry sis, but not this time. I know he would love to see you and you want to, also, but you just got here a few days ago and considering everything went fast for you when you were in America, I think you need some more time to calm down and relax,” he explained.
“This is our own dad we’re talking about, Eli! I haven’t seen him for years!” I defended.
“Steph, it’s too early. I don’t want you to feel so stressed out with so much happening,” Elijah replied.
“It’s making me stressed out that I can’t see him!” I shouted, tears forming in the corners of my eyes.
“Next time, I promise. Just relax here with Rachel, Harry, and the other boys. We’ve got the entire summer to see him. Just give it a few more days, alright?”
“I don’t know if I can wait that long,” I said.
“You’re going to have to,” he responded, sounding concerned.
“What? Is everything okay?”
“Everything will be fine. Trust me.”
He embraced me in a brotherly hug and let me go back to the living room. Elijah stayed in his bedroom for the rest of the night and now I was concerned for him. Everything was not going to be okay.

The next day, Elijah left really early in the morning before the rest of us were up, maybe even before the sun was risen. All of us packed for a fun day at the lake and piled into Anne’s large car (in America, a minivan, I’ve learned). As we drove, Harry was still very awkward towards me and it was killing me on the inside. So he just kisses me and acts like he likes me, but then completely ignores the fact that it had happened.
The lake was beautiful as soon as we pulled up into a parking space. I couldn’t stop staring at it because it reminded me of Lake Michigan when I lived in Wisconsin, but as I kept my eyes open, I realized this is another place of my childhood. The memories were faint, but I know I’ve been here before.
“Help us unload, guys!” Louis shouted from the trunk of the car. I sighed and helped them carry blankets and baskets and all sorts of stuff to a picnic table near the shore. As we settled down, Harry seemed like he was avoiding me. He didn’t even assist me when I was struggling with the pile of blankets in my arms. That’s it, I have to talk to somebody about this. Once we were set, I pulled Rachel to the side and explained the situation.
“Ok, do you remember our movie night a few days ago?” I started.
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, during the first movie, when all of you were focused on it…Harry and I kissed,” I confessed.
“Oh, my God! Steph!” Rachel screeched, a huge smile planted on her face.
“Shut up! Anyways, he hasn’t said anything about it and it feels like he’s been avoiding me ever since. He’s hardly talked to me and I don’t know what’s up,” I admitted. Her smile turned into a face of deep thinking.
“Well, I don’t know boy logic, but I’ll talk to him about it and see if he reveals anything to me,” she suggested.
“Thank you,” I breathed.
“Hey, that’s what friends are for,” Rachel responded.
We walked back to the table and I tried to focus on the conversation, but I was really watching Harry. He was out of it, not even participating in the conversation and sharing a laugh with us. This was very different for him and I was beginning to be concerned.

Harry’s P.O.V.
I didn’t know what to do. When I saw Rachel and Steph talking together, I knew they were talking about me. I felt really bad for how I’ve been acting towards Stephanie, but I just didn’t know what to do. I guess I was scared that she wouldn’t like me back and we’d never have a relationship and that the kiss ruined our friendship forever and that would break my heart even more and…
Laughter filled my ears as I realized everyone was around the table, talking and having fun. Everyone but me. I could feel Steph’s eyes on me, but I didn’t dare succumb to them. Suddenly, someone tapped on my shoulder and I realized it was Rachel.
“A word, Styles?” she said, and strolled off in the opposite direction. Reluctantly, I stood up and followed her into the trees behind us.
“What’s up?” she demanded when I caught up with her. Uh, oh.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Oh, don’t play dumb with me,” Rachel replied. “Steph told me what happened. You can’t just kiss someone and then not do anything about it!”
“I don’t know what to do!” I defended.
“Well avoiding her isn’t the answer.”
“I know, I know,” I breathed, looking defeated.
“You have to talk to her. She’s devastated that you’ve been ignoring her.”
“I’m just scared,” I admitted.
“Scared of what? She loves you with all her heart! Can’t you see that?”
“I know, it’s just…what if being in a relationship with her will ruin our friendship? What if it ruins us completely? What if— ”
“You’ll never have what you want if you keep overanalyzing everything. You two have a long history and I’m positive nothing can ruin a friendship like yours,” Rachel explained. I sighed. “Go talk to her. She needs to know you care enough about her to fix something like this. What if this happens during your relationship? You can’t just ignore her. Fix it up. I promise something good will come out of this.”
I inhaled a deep breath and she smiled at me. I returned it and exited the woods first, Rachel right behind me. As we neared the table, I knew exactly what to do. Tapping on Steph’s shoulder, I nodded in the direction of the beach. She stood up and followed me out of our little social circle and to the shores of the lake. As soon as we were far enough away from everyone, I took her hand to start us out and continued along the shoreline.
“Steph, I want to apologize,” I began. “I’m sorry for being such an idiot, I’m sorry for ignoring you, I’m sorry for everything. After we kissed, I didn’t know what to do. I was scared that maybe you wouldn’t like me as much anymore, I was scared that you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore, and I was just a complete jerk.”
“You’re right about one thing,” she replied. “I don’t want to be your friend anymore.”
My heart sank as the words came out of her mouth and I stopped in my tracks. I turned and faced her with a disappointed expression on my face. Her, on the other hand, was smiling, which made me confused.
“Boys are so oblivious!” she exclaimed, grinning and looking up to the sky.
“You’re happy about this…” I said, still confused.
“How long is it going to take you?” she asked, giggling.
I thought about it and FINALLY put all the pieces together. I was such an idiot.
I took both of her hands in mine and looked straight into her eyes. Taking a deep breath, I said, “Stephanie, will you be my girlfriend?”
Immediately after I asked the question, her lips were on mine, kissing me passionately as we did a few days ago. I will admit I missed this, even though we had only kissed once before.
“I’m taking that as a yes?” I questioned after we broke apart.
“Again, you are so oblivious!” she shouted, turning and walking again.
“So that is a yes,” I stated.
“Yes!” she answered, swinging our intertwined hands. “How stupid can you get?”
“Hey!” I exclaimed, a bit offended, but I smiled.
“Kidding. I love you,” she responded. The last part caught me off guard and the smile faded from my face. Should I say it back? I don’t know! She looked at me and her grin was wiped off, too. Say something, you dolt!
“I love you, too,” I replied. And I meant it.

Notes

Sorry for all of the different P.O.V.'s, but for how this story is going, it needed to happen!

Rachel and Stephanie :)