HARRY'S P.O.V.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with Piper's parents and left at around five in the evening. I got on well with Charles. He was a nice guy and was really balanced in viewpoints. Marie was so genuine and caring; it made me miss my mum. I really needed to see her and introduce her to Piper. I knew she felt left out of it even though she'd never say that. Piper let me drive home as well; I don't know why she was so worried that I'd drive on the left side of the road. I knew how to drive in America. When we were in the car, she held my hand and it felt so calm and relaxing after such a hectic week.

"Should we get some food before we go back?"

I wasn't hungry yet but based on her question, I guessed that she was.

"Yeah, wanna call Riley and Cory so we can get them somehting too?"

She nodded and called Riley.

"Hey Ri. Are you guys hungry? -Oh, where is he?- uh huh- okay... Yeah, I'll get you a salad."

When she hung up, she looked concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"Her and Cory got into an argument and he left like 3 hours ago and she doesn't know where he went."

"I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah."

She looked as though she was in deep thought and I decided not to push the subject.

"Panera Bread sound good?"

"Sure."

She didn't seem so happy, but I knew she wasn't directing it at me. Not on purpose at least. We drove in silence for another 5 minutes before I pulled into a parking spot and we got out of the car. I walked over and wrapped my arm around her waist, kissing her on the head before we walked hip to hip into the restaurant. The line wasn't long- it was kind of an odd time to get lunch food, but that was a good thing.

"Hello, welcome to Panera- What can I get for-"

When she looked up and saw me, her face went blank, her eyes wide open. I wasn't in a bad mood, but I could tell that Piper was. She rolled her eyes immediately so I decided to try to down play it. I smiled at the girl behind the counter and continued to order.

"I'll take a Bacon Turkey sandwich and a cup of Broccoli Cheddar soup. Love, what do you want?"

The girl's hands shook as she typed in my order and Piper ordered for her and Riley. I handed her my credit card and waited for the receipt. When she handed it to me, I signed it but grabbed a napkin as Piper turned to get our drinks. I noticed the girl's name tag said Samantha, so I wrote her a personal note, in return for not letting everyone know I was there. I handed it to her and she grinned widely.

"Thank you so much."

"No problem. Thanks for being discreet. My girlfriend isn't in the best mood."

I whispered the last part and winked kindly as I walked over to find Piper. She had our drinks in her hand and we stood by the food pick-up, waiting for our to-go bag.

"You can talk to me about it, you know?"

"I know. I'm just- I don't know."

"Do you have reason to be worried?"

"A little."

She didn't continue, so once again, I didn't push it any farther. When we got our food, we walked out, receiving a few odd looks and camera snaps. When we got in the car, she held my hand, but remained silent. I just wanted to know what was running through her head. We got back to the dorm, and she stayed by me as we got in the elevator and finally, reached the dorm room.

"Ri, we're back."

Riley walked out of her room, tissue in hand. She looked like she had been sick but I think she had just been crying.

"Thanks for the food, Piper."

"Harry paid."

"Oh, thanks Harry."

"No problem."

We all sat at the table and silently ate our food. I looked at both of them every once in a while but neither looked up from their meals, obviously both miserable in some way.

"So, have you talked to Liam?"

Like a bomb, tears erupted from Riley, uncontrollable, loud sobs. What the fuck did I bring him up for? I felt so awkward, and that was the worst way to break the silence. Piper gave me a glare and walked to Riley's side.

"Shh. It's okay."

She stroked her hair and let Riley lay on her shoulder.

"It's- It's not okay. I'm sssso terrible. I-I can't believe I did that."

I didn't know what to do, but I had to do something. If anyone could speak for Liam, it would have to be me.

"Riley, I know he seems mad now, but I'm telling you- he's just hurt. He's going to get over it. He's a very understanding person and I think that over time, it'll be okay."

"Th-ank you, Harry. I just feel so bad. He didn't deserve that."

"No, but it's not the end of the world."

She nodded and tried to catch her breath and stop her tears. After a couple minutes, Piper was sitting next to me again and we were all eating. Once we were done, we sat a little longer, Riley asking how it was at Piper's parents' house and we told her what we did. In the middle of me boring them over the golf tournament, Riley's phone rang from her pocket. She took it out and looked at Piper and then me, shocked.

"It's Liam."

"Answer it!"

I shooed her away and she walked into her room. When she was gone, Piper looked at me, worry still over-taking her.

"Harry, I think I can talk to you about it now."

"Please do. I'm all ears."


RILEY'S P.O.V.

I cleared my throat and tried to sound normal as I answered my phone, hands shaking.

"Hello?"

"Riley?"

"Liam? Are- are you okay?"

He sounded... strange. I couldn't quite place it, but something was off.

"I-I'm fine. I was just thinking about you, though, and I think that you shouldn't have slept with
Cory. Why did you?"

He was slurring his words together and I could hear some other people talking in the background; not a big group, just a few people. Then, it was silent as I heard a door shut.

"Liam, we talked about this. I wish I didn't- I'm so stupid. I hate myself for it."

"Nooo. That's- that's not what I want, sweetie. I just. I want to erase it."

He sounded so sad and so drunk. I didn't know exactly what to say since he probably wasn't thinking straight. He was obviously hurt, just like Harry said, but I doubt he was really ready to talk to me.

"If I could, Li, I would. In a heart beat-"

He started to cry, not in wails or anything; I could just hear small sniffs and whines.

"Liam, please don't cry. I- I can't-"

Then I started crying, but my tears were like waterfalls and I couldn't control my speech, making
me sound just as drunk as him.

"Riley, can we erase it? Can we just pretend it never happened?"

My heart stopped. Did he mean that? Was that possible or would he take it back in the morning?

"We can try, but are you going to feel the same way tomorrow?"

"I've been feeling this way since we talked about it. I just didn't have the guts to say it."

"Liam, I don't deserve you."

"Riley, you do. I shouldn't have avoided you when I was planning the surprise. I shoulda known that'd come off bad. Let's just move on."

I really hoped this could work, but something told me it wouldn't be so easy when he was sober and realized that Cory still lived with us.

"Okay. But, let's talk about it again in the morning."

We talked for a couple more minutes and he fell asleep on the phone until all I heard was his
steady breathing.

Notes

Not a very eventful chapter, sorry. But, please comment! What do you think Piper will tell Harry? Where do you think Cory is? What will happen when Riley and Liam talk in the morning?

xx Thank you so much for reading <3 rate/subscribe if you haven't already! :)

yes i know the gif doesn't go with the chapter, but lol. they're too cute.