I couldn't believe how angry I was.

She had left... with Niall.

Eleanor had confirmed they were going back to his but she had threatened me with bodily harm if I so much as thought about following and between the damage I had already done and the fear I had of Eleanor- she could be very intimidating when she wanted to be- I thought better of taking the trip to Niall's flat.

And now I was sat in my home waiting for Aria to show up as the hours ticked by.

Every time I would hear a slight creak in the house I would spring up from my spot to glance at the door hoping to see Aria and Jamie coming back home.

The longer I waited the more I wished I could take my earlier words back.

What if she didn't come back?

I didn't like that thought one bit because as mad as she made me, I was really starting to like the idea of her around.

I liked watching her interact with my daughter and her son. I liked when she would poke fun at me and then flash that smirk that let me know she was just doing it to annoy me.

But I had ruined that with my careless words and uncalled for insults all because I didn't like the image of Aria tucked into Niall's side.

And now I was alone waiting for someone to return that might not ever come back.

I wasn't comfortable with the amount of pain that brought me.

She had to come back.

I don't know how long I sat there in complete silence and darkness waiting but the next thing I knew the sun was just beginning to rise and peek in through the windows and the sound of the door scraping open was waking me from my restless slumber.

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes just in time to see Aria sneak past towards the stairs with Jamie napping quietly, tucked in his car seat.

"Aria." I rasped out causing her to freeze in her escape.

She didn't turn to me, didn't show any other indication of hearing me besides the stillness of her body.

I sighed once again kicking myself for messing this up. We had reached a level of comfort with each other for a very short period and I found myself missing it immensely right then.

"I just, I wanted to say-"

"Are you firing me?" She asked in a monotone voice.

I furrowed my brow and scratched the back of my neck. Why would she think that? I was the one in the wrong here, not her.

"No of course not, I just wanted to apologize. "

"Alright then." Again she cut me off as she placed Jamie's seat down gently on the floor at the foot of the stairs and walked over to me stopping just out of arm's length.

I bit my lip and let my eyes drift over her face, which looked much too tired, and down her body that I just realized was clade in Niall's clothing.

I felt heat course through my veins and a feeling that made me uncomfortably irritated settle over me as I eyed the familiar joggers and tee shirt. Closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths I reined all that in and decided to stick to my plan.

"I'm sorry Aria. I shouldn't have said what I did. I was slightly drunk and, you and Niall... you caught me off guard."

She just stared at me and nodded as she took in my words. It made me nervous that she hadn't said anything yet. Normally she would have already interrupted me to tell me that I was a douche or something along those lines but her silence was much more nerve-wracking and honestly I would have welcomed any insult at this point as the seconds ticked on.

"Can we just..." I ran my hand through my curls trying to think of what would be the best approach before deciding on the direct kind. "Can we go back to being friend?"

Again she just stared at me in silence. I felt like I was being examined under a microscope.

And then she sighed and shook her head ever so slightly before cocking her lips into a bitter smile.

"We were never friends Harry."

I wanted to protest, to tell her that we had been, even if it had been for just a day before I ruined it but she cut me off.

"Friends would never do anything, or say anything as low as what you said to me, and I get it. I work for you, you call the shots and I over stepped my boundaries, it won't happen again."

"Aria that's not what I-"

Her hand shot up to halt my words.

"From now on I think it would be best if we just keep this all strictly professional. You're my boss, I watch your daughter. We don't have to be friends, and if I may be completely honest with you, I don't really want friends like you anyway."

I actually felt a physical pain in my chest at those words. It hurt much more than it should have and I had no idea why.

"I'm sorry." I tried again.

"I accept you apology." She said with a serious look on her face and a curt nod. "Now if you'll excuse me Mr. Styles," she turned back around to gather Jamie from the base of the stairs before ascending away from me.

Again the stabbing pain at her using my surname as opposed to Harry, even her usual ‘Satan' or ‘demon-span' would have been more welcome then the cold ‘Mr. Styles' she had just used.

"You spent the night at Naill's?" I asked without any real emotion in my voice even though it killed me to ask.

I didn't miss the way her body tensed up half way up the stairs.

"He's my friend."

"Oh."

I was convinced at this point she was trying to kill me with the way every other word out of her mouth was causing me pain.

I couldn't deny the jealousy that bubbled up knowing that Niall was worthy of her friendship and I was now so far away from it that I was sure we were worse off now than when she first moved in.

She didn't wait for me to say anything else before she was out of sight.

It was such a strange thing, the feeling I was feeling. I hadn't experienced anything like it in a very long time, if ever.

I had never wanted to change someone's opinion of me as badly as I wanted to change Aria's right at that moment and it felt like it came out of nowhere.

Part of me wanted to run up the steps and beg for her to let me take everything back so we could go back to our starting friendship and another part of me knew I shouldn't, knew I deserved this after everything.

What was I supposed to do anyway, hold her down until she accepted my apology? That wouldn't work.

Maybe threaten to fire her after all? That would just make things worse.

I could go up there and kiss her senseless until she forgot why she was mad in the first place.
Even though it was a thought in my head it made me freeze. My hands stilled on my curls and my eyes widened as if I had said it out loud to a room full of people.

Have you ever been completely blindsides by a thought you had?

I literally did a double take at that thought.

Where had that come from?

I mean, sure Aria was attractive, it was the very first thing I noticed about her, and she was funny and smart and great with Darcy and a wonderful mother but...

But what?

There was no down side that I could see besides the fact that Niall was very obviously interested in her... or the fact that she now hated me.

I wondered how long I had been repressing thoughts like that one.

It was very nerve wracking. I knew I had to sort through my thoughts and soon because at the moment I was very confused by them.

The door opening again from behind me made me spin around.

Niall glanced up from where he had been staring at the floor to see me and I could see his jaw clench at the sight of me.

I knew I should apologize to him as well, but for some reason I couldn't make myself want to the way I had wanted to apologize to Aria.

I cocked my eyebrow in question as he closed the door behind him.

"Aria forgot Jamie's things in my car." He answered shortly making his way by me but I held out my arm to stop him.

He glared at me.

"I can take it to her." I said holding out my hand for the Winnie the Pooh bag that held all of Jamie's overnight things.

Niall laughed humorlessly and shook his head as he stepped back. "You and I both know she doesn't want to see you Harry."

I clamped my lips tightly and breathed deeply out of my nose, trying to calm myself. I didn't want to fight with one of my mates but Niall was touching on a sore subject right now.

And I didn't particularly like the idea of the two of them alone in her room, especially with the new revelations I had just come to.

"What did you two do last night?" I couldn't stop the question from leaving my mouth, and even as my brain screamed for the words to come back, mostly because I didn't think I was prepared to hear what Niall might say, my face stayed frozen in its stony stare down.

Niall's eyebrows rose impossibly high and for a second I felt like I was once again being examined but this time it felt like the observer had found something in my look.

Niall scoffed and looked away. "That just figures."

"What?" I asked confused by his reply.

"Nothing." He quickly waved off. "Honestly Harry, what Aria and I did last night is none of your business. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to take this up to her."

He shoved by me forcefully.

It was the first time Niall and I had ever fought, over anything. Normally we got on very well but at the moment it was all tension and hostility and it was odd.

It was Aria.

I knew she was trouble but I couldn't even bring myself to dislike her for it and I wasn't sure if I was okay with that.

"What are you doing to me?"

Notes

Enjoy! Let me know what you think lovelies <3