***Harry Styles***
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 – North London, England

I woke up in Louis’s arms the morning after my eighteenth birthday party to the sound of laughter that I recognized. My eyes flew open. Sure enough, Zayn, Liam, and Niall were all standing in the door frame of Louis’s bedroom – we had been caught red handed. Louis opened his eyes just in time, looked at me and noted the horror in my eyes, then pulled a classic Louis. He stretched his arms out and yawned dramatically.

“Good morning,” he said, as though nothing were weird. And, to be honest, it wasn’t the first time the guys had seen Louis and I in the same bed (fully clothed), or the first time they’d seen us snuggling, but probably the first time they’d seen both of those things combined with overnight sleeping. Other times it had been during quick naps on the bus that was crowded anyway.

“Harry, what are you doing in Louis’s room?” Niall asked, clearly amused.

“Harry!” Louis exclaimed, pretending like he had just now noticed I was lying next to him. I thought fast.

“Oh, I must have made a wrong turn when I came out of the bathroom last night…” I muttered, not nearly as good of an actor as Louis was. Louis tousled my hair. “I thought Louis was Jewel,” I tried adding on for good measure.

“And Louis, who in the world did you think Harry was?” Zayn asked. Louis looked at me. I saw it coming before he spoke.

“Harry,” he nodded. The guys laughed – this was normal behavior for Louis. In fact, if he had said any other name, they probably would’ve wondered more than him just making another classic Louis-loves-Harry joke (although, I hoped they were only jokes to those other than he and I). I had to give Louis credit – the guys dropped it.

“We just came to tell you the car will be here in an hour to take us to the hotel for our interview,” Liam said. We nodded.

“Is Jewel still in my bed?” I asked.

“No, she left with the other girls a few minutes ago,” Zayn said. “We’re gonna go, but we’ll see you soon.” We said goodbye, and the guys left. Louis got up and began getting ready for a shower. I watched him from the bed – the mood in the room had shifted the second the guys left.

“Good cover,” I told him, trying to gauge what he was thinking. He grunted. “Everything okay?” I asked. Louis wasn’t exactly a morning person, but he wasn’t not one, either. If he had to be up and at it right away – like this morning, for example – he could do it, but he would prefer to lie in bed until the last possible second.

“I thought we had discussed last night telling the guys,” Louis told me, his back to me as he sorted through clothes in his closet. “That was the second lie in less than twelve hours, Harry. I feel like we’re betraying them by not saying anything.”

“Then why didn’t you?” I asked. He spun around to look at me.

“Are you kidding?” he asked. “I saw the look on your face when you thought we’d been found out, Harry! You were terrified. I played it cool for you, but I’m beginning to think you’re embarrassed to be with me.”

“I’m not embarrassed to be with you,” I sighed.

“Really? Because it sure seemed like you much rather would have been with Miss Annoying Clingy Chick than me.”

“I slept in here, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, and then had to cover and lie about it to our best friends!”

“I thought you were the one who wanted to keep this quiet.”

“Not at the expense of our friends, or our band, not anymore,” Louis said, being too serious for Louis. I didn’t like that.

“Okay, fine,” I gave in. “Let’s tell them. After the interview today.”

“Are you…are you serious?” Louis asked me. I nodded.

“If it’ll make you happy.” My tone, on the other hand, was not happy.

“What will make me happy is you not feeling like you have to hide us, Harry! I feel like you’re just waiting for me to walk out on this, but I’m not going to; I’m in this for the long haul but lying isn’t what I’m about.”

“You haven’t lied yet! I keep doing it for you,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, but it still feels like I’m betraying them since I know the truth.”

“Fine. After the interview today,” I said angrily, marching out of his room.

“Don’t do me any favors!” he yelled after me. “Sorry I’m such a burden!” I spun around and walked straight back over to him, putting my hands on his shoulders with more momentum than I had intended, causing me to push him backwards until he hit the wall, and I held him against it while I planted my lips on his, kissing him passionately. When I was done, I pulled away and looked at him. He was trying to hide the surprise on his face.

“You are not a burden,” I told him. A slow smile crept across his face.

“You’re hot when you get all forceful on me,” he winked at me. I shook my head. “See, even you can’t resist my charm,” he said, and I was glad he was back to joking around. “You wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds without me.”

“Whatever,” I replied. “I just know you still owe me a birthday present tonight.” I popped my lips and ran out of his room into mine, where I got ready for the day.