PIPER’S P.O.V.


My mom and Anne hadn’t left my side since Harry left. I was in a much better mood now that I knew Harry would come back. It obviously still made me nervous that he hadn’t yet; but, I was relieved nonetheless. I was glad he was thinking; the thing was, I didn’t know what he was thinking. He could’ve thought about it all and still decided that us having a baby together was a
bad idea.

“You know, Piper,” my mom held my hand in hers, “We need to get you to a doctor as soon as we’re home. We should also look into non-drug related methods of dealing with anxiety. I’m sure Dr. Edwards will be able to help with that.”

I nodded, honestly feeling my anxiety skyrocket at just the mention of not taking meds. Sure, I had been able to forgo them earlier; but, there was surely going to be more stressful situations in the next nine months that distractions just wouldn’t work for. She was right, though; I couldn’t imagine hurting Harry’s and my baby.

Before she could stress me out with more talk of doctor’s visits and my mental problems, there was a soft knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

Anne stood up as I asked the question, kissing the side of my head before walking toward the door.

“It’s me,” Harry’s voice was muffled, but it was definitely him.

Anne opened the door and revealed my shivering boyfriend. Mom stood up as well, hugging me and following Harry’s mom out of our room. I didn’t say anything, but I scooted over and pulled the covers down next to me for Harry to climb in. He did so gladly after kicking off his shoes, cuddling his freezing body up to mine.

“Where the hell were you? You’re cold as ice!”

He chuckled and pulled my body close to his, “Was on the roof.”

I nodded my head and wrapped his huge hands in mine the best I could, rubbing them together to create some heat.

“Piper,” he sat up, still letting me warm his hands, “I have a lot to say, but I should start with sorry. I’m sorry I left like that. I’m sorry I freaked out a little and didn’t talk to you before panicking. I’m sorry if I caused you any anxiety or grief. And lastly; but, most importantly,” one cold hand moved to my stomach, rubbing gently over my shirt, “I’m sorry for not showing how truly excited and thrilled I am to have a child with you.”

Even though I still wanted to discuss his coping tactics, I couldn’t bear to be angry with him anymore. With something so beautiful happening, there was no way I could have done anything but smile. I cried as well, of course, but mainly smiled.

“Now, about the way I acted-“

“Harry,” I stopped his speech prematurely, sitting up and resting my head on his shoulder, “Your mom told me that it’s your way of handling things- you need alone time to think. That’s fine and all, just try to talk to me first next time, yeah?”

Harry smiled widely and pressed his lips to mine, “Of course, sweetheart. I’m going to have to make a lot of changes; but, I’m okay with that.”

We sat in silence for a while, both thinking peacefully for the first time that day. It had already been hectic and it wasn’t even noon.

“Harry,” I interrupted the silence once it became eerie, “We’re going to have a baby.”

He practically giggled and pulled my body toward his until I was seated between his legs, “I can’t wait.”

“What are we going to do, though? Like with us living in two different countries; Jesus, I’m still in school and you’re always touring. I- What are we going to do?”

Those problems only seemed to occur to me after I was sure Harry wasn’t leaving me on the spot. It didn’t need to be so dramatic, though, for our situation to suck. It already did.

“Well,” Harry massaged my neck softly, “My offer still stands about you moving to London. I know it isn’t your ideal plan, but it’s probably the best for our family.”

Our family. If I had speculations or doubts before, those words pushed them right out the window. Obviously, I still wanted to finish school and I hated to leave my family; but, Harry was right. We had our own family now and this is what was best. It was the only way it’d work.

“Okay,” I nearly whispered.

Harry tensed his hands and then stilled them, “Wait- really?”

I could tell that he wasn’t sure if he heard me right, “Yeah, Harry. I’ll move to London. Preferably before I blow up like a balloon.”

He laughed giddily, holding me close to his chest and squeezing me tightly, “Consider it done. Piper- I can’t- I’m so happy; I don’t know what to say!”

Harry Styles at a loss for words. I was quite proud of myself, “Just say you love me.”

And he did, over and over again, while kissing every inch of my face. He rolled onto my body and gently held my hands against the mattress above my head, “I love you so fucking much, Piper. I’m so glad that you’re here with me; You’re the most stable thing in my life and I’m so lucky.”

I grinned at that, wiggling my hips until his breath caught in his throat from the slight friction, “Well I’m glad you feel that way, ‘cause I’m not going anywhere.”

He smirked and ground his hips against mine, “You’re totally right; you’re not.”

I lifted my head the best I could to capture his lips in a forceful, impossibly-satisfying kiss, his stiff length pressed highly against his thigh, yet still prominent in his tight pants. He rolled his hips languidly, continuing to kiss me, even though I was too flustered to properly kiss back; my lips were parted and he nibbled at my bottom lip, holding my hands on the pillow with one of his, while the other caressed my body, hovering longer in places I knew to be his favorite. He slowly moved his body down, kissing along my jaw and down my neck, at each of my sensitive breasts and finally once on my stomach, “D’ya want a boy or a girl?”

I chuckled because I knew that this was what it would be like from then on; every moment would revolve around this baby. Harry’s just like that.

I shrugged, because I hadn’t thought much about it. It hadn’t even been a full morning since I found out I was pregnant. Plus, most of that morning had been spent worrying over a brooding Harry, “I really don’t know. I guess a boy would be nice. He’d have his older sister growing up, and they could be best friends just like me and Cory always were.”

Harry must have noticed my expression drop at the mention of Cory, because he pulled himself up to lay next to me on the bed. It hadn’t been the same with my brother in the past year and Harry knew that, “Hey, I think he’s alright, babe.”

Before I knew it, I was sobbing. I figured it would feel better to know why I’d been so hormonal recently; but, it didn’t help. I felt everything so strongly, “I don’t think he is. I know he’s not.”
Harry kissed my forehead, brushing my hair out of my face, “I think he’s just hit a rough patch. He’ll get over Riley and move on with his life. I’m sure of it.”

I sobbed harder because I knew my brother and I knew it wouldn’t be that easy, “I’m not, Harry. I’m scared for him. He’s not himself. He’s- He’s like he was in high school. What if he-“

“No, don’t think that way, alright? He’s gonna be okay. He’s here with all of us now. That’s a step, isn’t it? He came and got me from the roof when I freaked out like a little bitch,” we both laughed, all the while I was sniffling and crying, “Piper, everything’s going to be okay. We’re all going to be fine; I promise.”

All Harry could do, though, was promise that he wanted everything to be okay. He had no control over what actually would happen. I didn’t tell him that, though. I just kissed his cheek and scooted down to lay on his chest, “I wanna sleep for a bit.”

I could feel Harry nodding, “Want me to leave?”

I shook my head frantically, “Never; just hold me.”

He kissed the top of my head and held me. He held me like he could never fathom letting go.


____________


CORY’S P.O.V.

(The next afternoon: Christmas Day)


Everyone was sat in Piper and Harry’s suite. There was even a tree and decorations. It was all very festive and happy- for most people, at least.

I did my best to put on a smile; I did it for my parents; but, mainly for Piper. She was weaker, yeah, but she also always caught onto me before anyone else. I didn’t want her to worry about me when things were going so smoothly. I could tell she was, though, by the way she looked at me: as if I were about to fall apart.

“Alright, everyone,” Piper stood up from the couch, a wine glass filled with water in one hand and Harry’s hand in the other, “I guess it’s been a pretty crazy year for everyone. As the technical hosts,” she giggled and glanced at Harry, “we want to thank everyone for coming all the way to New York for Christmas. It means so much to have our families together and for everything to be going so well.”

Piper began to tear up, which supposedly had become a daily occurrence, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m so lucky to have you all. Mom, Dad, you guys have always been so supportive of me and I’m thankful everyday that I had you as parents. Cory,” I looked up from where I was sat on the floor, next to where Andy was coloring, “You mean so much to me, to both of us,” she quickly corrected herself, squeezing Harry’s hand. I forced a smile and nodded in her direction; but, she continued, “You’re the best baby brother I could have ever asked for. You’re so caring and protective, but you also love Harry and that means so much to me.”

I smiled, feeling my heart sting with each of her words. It shouldn’t have been like that. Her speech should have made my heart feel light, but it only felt heavy; misrepresented. She made me out to be some hero, some strong person that’s been there for her, but I’ve done nothing of the sort.

“Anne,” she faces Harry’s family next, leaving me to overthink all of what she’d said thus far, “I can’t explain how happy I am to have begun getting to know you. You’re such an amazing woman and you’ve literally raised perfect children,” Gemma snorted and wrapped an arm around her mom’s shoulder while sipping champagne, “Robin, what little I know about you is from Harry and he literally paints you as this knight in shining armor who makes his mom so happy. You know how much he loves her, so that means a lot,” Harry’s step-dad smiled widely, “Gemma, you’re like this ray of light and you make everything light when we’re all taking ourselves a bit too seriously. You’re so smart and wonderful, though, and I look forward to spending a lot more time with you in the future.”

Gemma stood up and hugged my sister, kissing her cheek and mumbling, “Cheers,” before gulping more champagne and sitting down once again.

“Liam,” I didn’t want to hear what she had to say about him, really, but I listened politely anyway, “You’ve honestly been a rock through everything. You’re the person I count on when you’re all on tour. I know that you keep Harry in check and make sure he doesn’t think himself to death.”
He smiled and snaked his arm around Riley’s waist where they stood by the table.

“And Riley,” I felt my heart swell at her name, “I can’t begin to tell you how much you mean to me. You’re the greatest friend, but you’re more than that. I feel like you’re a part of me, and no matter what I’m feeling or thinking, you know just what to say to make it okay.”

Riley blinked away what must have been tears, and Liam pulled her closer. That should have been me comforting her and loving her. Me, not him.

“Karen,” Piper moved on while I was still staring at Riley longingly, “Wow, we started off badly, didn’t we?”

Karen laughed and shook her head, stuck in nostalgia, “But, you’ve become such an unlikely friend and I think that it says a lot about you as a person. There are so many things that could have gone wrong in the past few months, but you’ve prevented them and I’ve wanted to thank you for a really long time, but I feel like thank you just isn’t enough.”

Karen grinned lovingly, sitting on the couch next to my mom.

“Andy,” the little girl’s head popped up from her coloring book at her name. She stood up and ran
over to Piper and Harry, sitting on her father’s lap, “Andy you’re such a good girl. You love your mommy and daddy so much, and you always behave so well. I’m proud of you.”

“I’m proud of you, too,” Everyone laughed at her little outburst and Piper leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, “I also love you, Pipey.”

Everyone cooed and I just chuckled, watching the little girl as she snuggled up to her dad. That could never be me. I would ruin a child. I’d never be stable enough for a family. Ever.

“And last, but absolutely not least, Harry,” Harry perked up and kissed Piper’s hand that was still in his, “I can’t begin to thank you for saving me. You’ve been here for me through thick and thin and there’s been a lot more thick than there should have been after only six months of dating.”
Piper wiped away a few tears and took a deep breath, probably remembering all the shit that she didn’t deserve to go through.

“Anyway,” she cleared her throat and intertwined her fingers with Harry’s, “As you guys already know, Harry and I are having a baby,” everyone smiled or squealed excitedly; even Karen, who I imagined would have been a bit jealous or put out, “and with that being said, we obviously don’t want to raise a child between two different countries, so we’ve decided that the best thing for us will be for me to move to London.”

My mom gasped and clutched my dad’s arm. She wasn’t angry, though. My mom wasn’t like that. She knew that it was for the best, so even though she was disappointed and shocked in the moment, she was going to make the best of it. I knew she would.
Anne and Gemma tried not to look too excited since they obviously knew how my parents would feel. I could see how happy they were, though, and that made me glad that my sister was in good hands. They really loved her.

I didn’t have the chance to observe everyone else’s reactions, because I was overtaken with my own emotions. My heart physically hurt at my sister’s news. She was the whole reason I was strong, or pretended to be, at least. She had always needed me.

She didn’t need me anymore, though. I glanced around the room and saw how many people loved her and cared about her more than I ever could express. I wasn’t good enough like I used to be. It was once me and her against the world, but now she had Harry, and I was glad for that.
Because I couldn’t be strong anymore. I wasn’t enough anymore. And that was okay.
When everyone dispersed to get ready for dinner, I slipped away and began to cry hysterically once I knew for sure that no one was within earshot.


____________


HARRY’S P.O.V.


I zipped Piper’s dress slowly, kissing the back of her knock gently and watching her face in the mirror, “You look beautiful, love.”

She nuzzled into my touch and adjusted the neckline of her red and silver dress I bought her, “Thank you for the outfit. I love it.”

I grinned and nodded, “Yeah, fits you nice. Get to see all your curves,” I ran my hands down her body, feeling her hourglass shape and she giggled.

“Alright,” she stopped me abruptly, “We better get going. The limo is downstairs.”

I held her hand and retrieved her purse and coat before leading her out to the living room. It was empty, besides the large tree with presents still underneath it. We had decided to open them after dinner instead of early in the morning. Andy got to open hers on Christmas Eve after much begging and crying.

“They should be in the lobby by now,” I told Piper and she smiled, pecking my cheek.
I followed her to the hallway and all the way to the elevator. When the lift opened, we found Piper’s dad, dressed in his suit and tie, looking frantic, “Hey, have you guys seen Cory? We haven’t seen him since we were in your room. We thought he was napping or something, but-”

I felt Piper’s hand clench as she shook her head. I didn’t even remember talking to him when everyone left to get ready.

“You guys go downstairs,” I kissed Piper’s forehead and gently nudged her toward her dad, “I’ll find him.”

Piper’s eyes were sad and I couldn’t have that. I smiled reassuringly and watched her disappear behind the automatic doors with Charles. My smile faded immediately then. I knew where he had to be.

I waited for the next elevator to come and took it to the top floor, just like I had the morning before, when I had run off. Once I was on the top floor, I found my way down the hall to the roof access and pushed the door open. I climbed the ladder-type stairs and pushed my way through the hatch. I immediately felt the freezing wind and shivered, wishing I had a scarf on.

“Cory?”

I stood up completely and stuffed my hands in my coat pockets. I didn’t hear anything and it was pretty dark up there. My eyes began to adjust to the limited moonlight and I finally was able to focus on Cory’s dark shadowed figure sitting on the ledge, his feet dangling on the opposite side.
I slowly approached him, surprised that he hadn’t even turned to acknowledge me. It worried me, really.

“Hey,” I spoke softly once I reached him. He sniffed and finally turned to face me, his eyes bloodshot and his face tear-stained.

“Please leave,” his voice was wrecked, shaky and weak. He had to have been freezing. He wasn’t wearing a jacket of any sort and appeared to have been there a while.

“Cory, I can’t just leave you here. Come on, everyone is waiting downstairs for us. You still have to change.”

Cory just laughed bitterly, “No, it’s really fine. Just go.”

I shook my head, breathing the thin air and watching my breath as I exhale, “M’not leaving.”
Cory sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, “Trust me, you don’t want to be here. I’m not worth your time.”

I tried to take another step closer to him, but he flinched, “Stay there. Don’t come any closer.”
His tone was warning and I didn’t know what he was actually threatening me with. I did have some terrible ideas, though, “Come on; you don’t have to come to dinner, but at least come inside and warm up. You can shower and go to bed if you aren’t feeling well-“

“Feeling well. What the hell does that even mean anymore? I don’t know what it’s like to feel well because I’m not well. And I never will be,” I’d never had Cory snap at me like that. I’d heard he could be that way, but this was new to me.

“Don’t say that, mate. You’re just having a hard time right now, and-“

“No, it’s not as simple as that. Harry, you’ve got so much to live for, ya know? My sister, you’re daughter, this baby- They need you. No one needs me, though,” he stood up on the ledge and for a moment I thought that he was going to join me on the ground. He didn’t, though, and I immediately started to inconspicuously pat my clothes for my phone.

“Dammit,” I huffed, feeling that it wasn’t there, “Cory, that isn’t true! So many people need you. Piper needs you; hell, I need you. You always know how to make her feel better and sometimes I just can’t.”

He shook his head, dropping his arms to his sides, just standing there, looking over the skyline. The only noises were the wind, sirens, and cars horns.

“Cory,” I began to grow desperate, “Riley needs you.”

Something sparked within him and I could physically see it. He turned slightly to look at me, waiting for confirmation of my claim, “I mean it. Her and Liam have fights all the time, because she won’t let go of you. She cares about you so much, Cory.”

I could see his chest heaving and he faintly smiled, but only for a second, “She deserves better than me. I could never make her happy.”

I swallowed thickly as his demeanor returned to how it was before, bitter and cold, “No, Cory, you’re wrong. Riley is always happy when she’s around you. You’ve just locked yourself up so much recently and made yourself believe that she doesn’t love you. She does, though, Cory. She does-“

“Enough!” Cory cried out, bringing his hands to his face and sobbing into them, “You’re just playing with my heart. She could never love me and I could never deserve her love. I’m useless and pathetic.”

“No, you’re not-“

“Let me finish,” he harshly interrupted, “Harry, there are people who find happiness and there are those who don’t. I just wasn’t one of the lucky ones. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of the strong ones either. I can’t cope with being unhappy. It’s not within me, alright? Just, promise you’ll take care of Piper and you’re kids. Be there for them. Never leave.”

I was just screaming at that point, begging him to come down, but he ignored me, yelling with
purpose over my lamenting.

Then he started to mumble, under his breath, clenching his fists at his sides, “Dying Is an art, like everything else,” he shifted his weight between his legs nervously as I paced, trying to think of something to do. I was useless and helpless, “I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real,” he recited the poem quickly, with his eyes closed and suddenly grew silent. He stood there and I tried to quietly approach him. He lifted his arms out to his sides and took one last deep breath, “I guess you could say I've a call.”

With that, he jumped. I lunged forward and gripped the tail of his shirt, but it gave immediately and ripped from the momentum of his jumping. I screamed as loud as I physically could as I watched him fall, feeling as though I killed him myself, as though I sent him to his peril. I felt as though I had pushed him. Time seemed to move slowly, and I couldn’t get a handle on what was real. Was it real? I could hear faint screams from the ground and after some time passed- I could only guess how long- sirens followed. I curled into a ball near the ledge, gripping my hair with my fingers in anger and frustration, rocking back and forth deliriously.

It was real. Just like that, Cory was gone.

Notes

Before you decide to plot my death, remember that there is a sequel... even though I don't know how to apologize for killing Cory.... :/ ummm yeah, please let me know what you guys think, though. I want your emotions, please (even if you hate me now)

Anyway, thank you guys so so so fucking much for all of your support and help through writing this. It's been so amazing. This was the first fanfiction I began and I'm so proud to have finished it. I hope you've all enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it.

I've mentioned it before and I will again, if you guys ever feel depressed or have suicidal thoughts, don't keep it in. Get help, please. I don't want anyone to view this book as one that glorifies depression and suicide, because it's something that tears apart lives of friends and families. Never think you're not good enough to live. <3

Don't forget to subscribe to the sequel- Unfinished Memories. I will be starting it very soon :) xx love you guys! Message me if you want to and please comment!!


I cried so much writing his death :(