We're Alright

When I’d agreed to pick James up from his parent’s house I hadn’t realised quite how far away it was. It was the weekend we were supposed to be going to Harry’s step-dads and I’d convinced Harry to let me bring James. I could understand why he wouldn’t want him there, it was the one place he could just relax after all but I trusted James and I really wanted Harry to meet him. I wanted to know that the boys approved. I didn’t need their approval, but I wanted to know my friends liked him. Who doesn’t want their friends to like their boyfriend? Anyway, the result was he had finally relented and agreed he could come. So now I was left with the task of picking him up and making it to Harry’s by 5pm when Harry was lighting the bonfire whether I was there or not.

University had broken up today but I didn’t have any lessons so I was able to leave early. James however had gone home last weekend while I was away. He’d been reluctant to come, almost as much as Harry had been to have him there, but I wanted him to meet Harry. To see that he wasn’t just some stupid celebrity. I knew they’d get along if they were just willing to give each other a chance. Unfortunately for me this meant I had to drive from Dundee to Oxford to Holmes Chapel. It was a long enough drive from Dundee to Holmes Chapel! It worked out that I was driving for more than nine hours, and that was without traffic.

After six hours of driving I’d arrived at James’ house. His parents had gone away for the weekend which meant that there was no awkward ‘meet the parents’ situation, because I was pretty sure we were too early on in our relationship for that…I mean we weren’t even really in a relationship. He hadn’t officially asked me out yet.

“You’re here!” he beamed as he opened the door pulling me into a hug. It was the first time I had seen him since I had run out on him after his birthday dinner. I’d felt awful but he’d completely understood, which was something I loved about him; he was so understanding.

“I’ve missed you too!” I laughed as he finally let me go, opening the door wider to let me in. The house was nice and cosy, nothing like I had expected. It was obvious he had money from the way he had talked and the fact he was from The Cotswolds, but his house showed a different side to his family. I had expected a huge house with lots of bedrooms and flat screen TV’s. Instead I found a small cottage that couldn’t have had more than three bedrooms, the living room wasn’t very big and just nothing like I had imagined. However all the furniture appeared to be antiques and the art work on the wall suggested there was money. Not that it mattered to me; it added a little bit more to the puzzle that was James.

“Are you ready?” I asked absentmindedly as I stared at the photos that lined the mantel piece. There were pictures of James from when he was a baby right up until now. The last one was of the day he left for university. He was stood in front of his car with his mum and dad, his mum had been crying and his dad looked proud. It was adorable.

“I am.” He said as he reappeared with his bag. I turned to smile at him. James was a handsome guy. Tall and well-built with dark brown, almost black, hair and hazel eyes that sparkled; they were so full of mischief and wonder. It made me wonder how I’d almost said no to him that first day. I’d missed him so much since being away and I hadn’t seen him in the two weeks since his birthday. I felt awful about rushing out on him when I had. He’d refused to tell me what he wanted to ask me and had promised to tell me in person. I was tempted to bring it up now, but I wasn’t sure now was the best time.

“I do however have one thing to ask you before we go, and I say before we go because that gives you a chance to change your mind about me being there this weekend.” he laughed nervously. “I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend? Oh god that sounded so childish.” He groaned and I laughed. He was so nervous.

“Of course I do!” I barely managed to contain myself as I flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I’d been hoping this is what he wanted to ask me. Being with James just felt right, it was like being with Harry but there was something more to it. With Harry and I we were just friends, but with James there was something else, a spark. I felt drawn to him like a magnet and I had only hoped he felt the same.

“I’ve been trying to work up the courage to do that for weeks.” he breathed, relieved to have it off his chest. I stayed there a while longer with my arms wrapped around his neck and his around my waist. When I tried to pull away he leant down placing a kiss on my lips. It was sweet and soft and then it was gone. It felt nice. It felt right. “Well we should probably get going.” he suggested, directing me towards the door.

“Do you want me to drive?” he asked as he finished placing his bag in the boot of the car. I hesitated for a moment; should I let him drive? It only took me a few seconds to decide that I’d been stifling a yawn the whole way here and letting him drive would probably be the best thing. So I agreed.

I passed him the keys and climbed into the passenger side of the car. I decided to text Hannah, the girl from Longleat. I’d been talking to her since the day after. I text her thanking her again and apologising and we’d been talking ever since. It was nice to have a female friend and as it turned out she’s applied for Dundee this year and she’d got in. She was going to be coming up in September.

It was nice to know there was going to be someone other than James I was going to be able to rely on. She turned out to be just as cool as I thought she was as well. She was sarcastic and witty and she hadn’t tried to bring the boys up once. She really wasn’t interested in me because of them and I liked that. It was clear she had a bit of a crush on Louis though, I mean not that I could blame her. I think everyone who knew him did. He was the right mixture of mean and kind and he was hilarious and sarcastic. Sass master was an accurate nickname the fans had given him.

I pulled out my phone to text her and let her know about James. She couldn’t understand why I would be dating someone other than Harry when –in her words- he was ‘so smitten’ with me. I mean I guess it might seem that way to someone who had just met us, but Harry and I had been that was since we were kids. We were just friends, we were family. There was nothing else to it. James and I however, had something special. I could feel it.

I didn’t even get Hannah’s reply before I was fast asleep. I hadn’t realised how tired I was, but I’d been sleeping less than four hours a night since we’d gone back in an attempt to catch up with the work before summer. Luckily I had finished everything I had missed in the time I was off. It hadn’t been easy but I’d managed it. Now I was exhausted though. When I woke up it was because James was shaking me and asking me for directions. We were nearly there and it was only a little before four.

“What’s going to happen if they don’t like me?” he asked as we pulled up to a stop. I could see the boys out back playing football and I knew it wasn’t going to be long before one of them spotted us.

“They are going to like you.” I assured him. “If they don’t then they don’t. It doesn’t make a difference to me.” I admitted. I always thought that if my friends hadn’t liked my boyfriend then I would dump him but there was something different about James. That and the fact I never imagined that all my friends would be a group of five slightly over protective guys in a world famous band. All of which just lead to them being paranoid.

I was about to say something else when there was a bang on the glass and Niall’s face was smushed up against the glass. I erupted into fits of laughter. Niall was so child like it was cute, and when he pulled his face away he was wearing the cutest little smile I had ever seen. He was so proud of himself.

“Hello!” I cheered as I climbed out the car. Niall had practically jumped into my arms and I didn’t even have the door shut yet.

“You didn’t invite me to longleat!” he protested, but the smile still hadn’t left his face.

“I’m sorry!” I laughed pulling him into a hug. “Right! Niall this is James!” I introduced as I pulled away.

“Aye! James is my middle name! Maybe we’re related or something!” It was a good thing he was in a boyband because if he wasn’t I don’t know how he’d survive in the real world.

“Right, well I’m going to go and introduce him to the others.” I laughed as I dragged James to the back yard where the boys were still playing football.

“Amelia! You’re early!” Harry smiled, but it faltered when he saw James behind me. I almost didn’t notice it because he plastered a smile straight back on his face.

“Yeah I left earlier than I planned. I was just too excited.” I admitted. I’d barely slept the night before because I was just so excited to be able to see everyone again. Not only James, but the boys as well.

“Can I talk to you privately?” Harry asked scratching the back of his head nervously, his eyes flickering between me and James.

“Not an issue with me.” James shrugged, retreating to the fire pit where Liam and Zayn were sat to introduce himself.

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked. Surely it could wait, I had just got here after all and James didn’t know anyone; I felt bad for leaving him.

“Can we go for a walk?” he asked but I knew it wasn’t really a question so I followed him out of the garden towards the fields that led back towards town.

We’d been walking aimlessly for ten minutes before I finally decided to ask him what was wrong. He’d seemed hesitant to bring whatever it was he wanted up and I wanted to know why.

“Do you still want to go to Ghana?” he asked so quickly I almost didn’t understand him. I thought for a moment. Did I want to go? I’d been thinking about what Harry had said and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to cope with that. On the other hand I did still want to help them. “Because I was thinking…if you did…I’d like to go with you. I mean we could go out there for a few weeks after Christmas when I have some time off. It would mean you’d get to see what it was like out there and then you could decide whether you wanted it to be something you wanted to do seriously.” he hadn’t looked at me once. Just talked. He seemed afraid to see my reaction. Not that I could blame him. I’d acted awfully towards him before when we’d talked about it.

“Thank you, Harry. The fact you would do that for me means a lot. Are you sure? I mean that’s time you should be spending resting and letting Anne spoil you rotten!” I teased. That boy didn’t lift a damn finger when he went home and I swear to God Anne just followed him around cleaning up after him.

“Seriously? A month with my mum and Robin? I mean I love them, but I could not spend a month with them.” he laughed, looking at me for the first time. “So what do you say?”

“I’d love to.” I beamed. Going with Harry wouldn’t be so bad. I wouldn’t be alone and I’d have my best friend with me. “Hey! I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, but James asked me out!” I could barely contain my excitement. “This is like the best thing to happen to me since….since well you came back into my life.” I smiled up at my best friend. He didn’t say anything for a second, and he had a look on his face that I didn’t understand.

“I’m taking it you said yes? Well I’m really happy for you. He seems like a decent guy.” his voice came out slightly strangled. I wanted to ask him if he meant it but at the same time I didn’t want to cause an argument with my best friend, especially not when I had to spend the weekend with him.

“Thanks. I think you’ll love him.” Harry and James were so similar. They were both charming and funny and both very private people with big hearts. They also had similar tastes in music, though I had to admit I did prefer Harry’s.

“Are you two serious then?” he asked as we continued to walk.

“I’m pretty serious about him, but we’ll see how it goes. I really like him Harry. He’s something different. He’s never made me feel different and he’s never brought up my friendship with you outside of genuine interest in my best friend.” I leaned on him, entwining my arm with his.

“He sounds like something else. Just, don’t let him hurt you. I don’t think I could stand to see you hurt.” he sighed, resting his head on top of mine.

“I’ll do my best. I’m just glad to know I have a best friend who cares about me so much and I know will be there for me if I need him.”

“I’m really your best friend?” I could hear the smirk in his voice and it caused me to laugh.

“Of course you silly boy. Who else would it be? You’ve been there for me since before I can remember. Even when I didn’t deserve it, which is always. I never valued your friendship enough and for that I’m sorry. I really don’t deserve someone as amazing as you in my life. Thank you for sticking by me.” I could feel the tears prick my eyes. I didn’t want to cry, but talking about my friendship with Harry always seemed to make me a bit emotional.

I felt Harry stop walking, jerking me to a halt. “Then as your best friend I feel I have the duty to tell you to shut up. Stop being so pathetic!” he joked. “You’re a better friend than you give yourself credit for. Do you not remember that time we were out here and I fell and broke my ankle and you ran two miles in the dark to get help? You didn’t stop till you found someone. Or how about that time I asked Chelsea Maddens out and in year 10 and she showed everyone the message and you told everyone you’d stole my phone so that I didn’t get embarrassed. Or when my parents broke up and you spent the whole summer with me, making sure I was okay and just making me laugh when I didn’t think I could. You’re a good friend Amelia, you just sometimes forget that.” I felt my jaw slack. I hadn’t thought about any of those things in a long time. I didn’t even think of them as me being a good friend, just a decent human being. I mean who wouldn’t do that for someone they care about?

“You’re a good friend and a good person Amelia. You shouldn’t forget that.” Harry sighed as he pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me. “You’re my best friend too.” I felt the tears slide down my face silently. I’d never imagined a day where Harry would call me his best friend. “Right now, we should get back. God knows what the boys are doing to James. They were all looking forward to torturing him. Seriously Amelia, how bad of a person could you be if you have four of the most closed off boys in the world willing to let you into their lives and not only that but they all treat you like you’re their little sister and care about you just as much.” I couldn’t help but feel bad for James. I hadn’t even thought about that when I had left him, but at the same time the idea brought a smile to my face. I had people who I cared about and who cared about me. People who didn’t let people in easily, but they had let me in. They’d let me in and I never wanted to take that for granted.

Harry and I made our way back to the house, taking our time. I thought it would be funny to leave James to swear a bit. I just hoped they weren’t being too mean to him. It was nice spending time with just Harry. It meant a lot to me that he wanted to spend his time with me. I knew how precious it was.

When we eventually got back to the house I could hear laughter and someone playing guitar and I felt slightly relieved. They weren’t being too mean. Finally the boys came into view and I caught sight of Niall leaning over James who was holding a guitar. Niall looking like he was trying to teach James how to play the guitar and I felt my heart swell at the sight. They liked him, or at least Niall did and they were accepting him and I didn’t know what more I could ask for.

“Hey!” I heard the laughter in James’ voice as he looked up and spotted me across the garden. “You were gone for a while, Niall was just teaching me how to play guitar!” he informed me as he stood up to cross the garden and meet me. He planted a gentle kiss on my lips, pulling me into him as Harry ignored us and went to sit by Louis. “They’re really great guys. Kinda scared me to start with…started asking what my intentions were and stuff. They really care about you.” he smiled softly. Although Harry had just told me as much it was nice to hear coming from someone who wasn’t part of the group, who didn’t feel the need to tell me if even if it wasn’t true. It felt nice to know it was true.

“They’re great guys. I’m just glad you like each other. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.” I admitted. I dragged him over to the fire bowl where the rest of the boys were sat.

“Is it time to light the bonfire yet?” Liam asked.

“Oh please!” I squealed. I hadn’t been to a bonfire in a long long time. “Do we have fireworks?” I asked, just hoping that someone had brought some.

“No!” Harry chuckled. “Like I’d trust you lot with fireworks.”

“Want me to go buy some?” Louis offered, smirking at the discomfort of his best friend who clearly didn’t want us to have them.

“Yes!” Liam and I chimed at the same time.

“Liam you’re supposed to be the sensible one!” Harry complained. I guess it meant that if Liam agreed then it was generally viewed as a good idea because the next thing I knew Louis and Liam were out their seats and running to Louis car.

“We’ll be right back!” Louis laughed.

“This is all your fault!” Harry groaned pointing at me. “If something goes wrong I’m telling Robin it was because of you!”

I laughed and went to make us all something to eat. I knew fine well if I didn’t the boys would end up eating beans on toast. We couldn’t order in because the result would be people knew they were here and they wouldn’t get a single moment of peace. I found the kitchen stocked with food and made a mental note to thank Anne.

Less than half an hour later the boys were back with fireworks and the dinner was in the oven. I’d made a bit of everything. Just simple things that didn’t take too long to prepare or cook. I grabbed the meat and brought it out to the garden. I’d seen a BBQ when we’d been out here earlier and I decided since it was one of those rare nice summer nights in England we should make the most of it and have a BBQ.

“Who wants to cook the meat?” I asked holding up the sausages, burgers and ribs. I’d cooked the chicken in the oven because I honestly didn’t want to get food poisoning from the chicken. Harry didn’t hesitate snatching the meat out of my hands. Niall attempted to grab it from him and they ended up rolling around on the floor fighting. Between laughing and trying not to double over I pulled my phone from my pocket and filmed it. I’d upload it to keek at the end of the weekend.

“Take a picture with me!” I demanded as I pulled James closer to me. I took a snap of us as he kissed my cheek and I pulled a funny face. “This weekend is going to be perfect.” I smiled as I sank down onto James’ lap.

Harry had decided to use rock, paper, scissors to decide who would cook the meat. I wanted to warn Niall that Harry never lost but I thought about it for a moment; Niall would probably undercook it just so he could eat it quicker.

“So how did you two meet?” Zayn asked, lighting his cigarette.

“Aren’t you supposed to be quitting?” I laughed. It had been all over tumblr the past few weeks.

“Nah. Why’d I wanna do that? I just let the fans believe what they want.” he smirked, offering me one. I gladly took it. The boys were stressing me out. Harry had given Niall permission to go and light the bonfire and I could just see a disaster ahead. “You still haven’t answered.”

“I was drinking coffee and he came over to talk to me. Not all that interesting.”

“Yeah except she was dodging all my advances. Took me damn ages to get her to talk to me.” James smirked.

“You hate coffee!” Zayn pointed out.

“Yeah that’s what she said. She went on to drink like four more cups. For someone who doesn’t like coffee she sure does drink a lot.” James smirked and I rolled my eyes. I was a uni student, of course I drank a lot of coffee. I left the boys talking and pulled out my phone. Tweeting the picture of me and James “Perfect weekend with my boys and my gorgeous boyfriend! Life couldn’t be better xx” I made sure the location setting was off before sending the tweet. It was something I’d been really cautious about since I’d met Harry. It wasn’t so bad if they knew where Harry was, but there were a couple of times where fans had shown up at where I had tweeted from looking for him.

I heard a cheer and it dragged me from my thoughts. I looked up to see the bonfire lit and Niall in one piece. I was relieved. I was seriously worried I’d be making a trip to A&E this weekend.

However it was almost as if I spoke too soon because three hours later when we were letting off the fireworks I found myself bundled in Harry’s range rover and driving to the nearest A&E. Louis had managed to burn his hand, and while it was barely anything he’d demanded we take him to get it looked at. Claiming he’d read some story of a guy losing his hand because he didn’t go and get it checked out.


“Louis do you believe everything you read on the internet?” I grumbled as we pulled up in the parking lot.

“No. If I did that me and Harry would be in a secret relationship. I’d probably also be dying of some incurable disease. Oh and I’d be a cunt.”

“You ARE a cunt.” I grumbled, unbuckling my seatbelt. I was now in for a long night in A&E. “I can’t even tweet this because I’ll be the one to get the blame.” If I tweeted it and tried to make Louis seem like an idiot there would be a back lash from fans who would basically blame me for even letting him near fireworks. Like I was his mother or something.

“Come on guys. The quicker we get inside the quicker we can get back.” James said as he rounded us all towards the hospital. I was thankful for it. I really was. I just wanted to get back to the house and finish my drink. I was the only one bloody sober enough to drive. I just had a feeling tonight was going to be a long one.

Notes