Stephanie’s P.O.V.
Later that night, it was the most depressing time. The guys didn’t want us to pack, but I knew that my mum would be pissed if we weren’t ready. We couldn’t do anything about it; our mums were already on their flight and would be here tomorrow morning, and then my dream that finally became a reality is going to cease. My mum was never going to hear the end of this.
“Harry, stop, I have to,” I spoke. We were sitting in the living room alone and every time I put a piece of clothing in my suitcase, Harry would take it out.
“No, you don’t,” he whined, seizing the tank top I had just nicely folded.
“Harry,” I warned, looking at him.
“Stephanie,” he shot back. After glancing in my eyes for a while, he finally gave me the tank top back and I repacked it.
“This isn’t fair,” Harry continued.
“I know,” I sighed. “But there’s nothing I can do.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” he asked.
“I don’t know, I don’t think so,” I answered. “Even if you really wanted to try, the question is what can you do?”
“Well, I know of one thing I’m going to do,” he replied, snaking his arms around my waist. Suddenly, he pulled me back away from my suitcase and hoisted us onto the couch, not letting go of me.
“Harry, I have to pack,” I complained.
“No. Tonight, you’re mine,” he grumbled. I shifted my weight and looked at him. He softened and said, “Just for a little bit?”
“Fine,” I agreed, snuggling back into him.
“I won’t be able to hold you like this for a while,” he whispered.
“A while?” I questioned.
“Yeah. I’m coming back for you. I already lost you once; I’m not going to lose you again,” he quoted, hugging me tighter.
“As long as you promise me that,” I mumbled.
“Forget promises. I will. Even if it means going to the ends of the earth,” Harry declared. “I love you, Steph. Don’t ever forget that.”
“I love you, too,” I whispered, closing my eyes and listening to our hearts beat in time, the surprisingly silenced cottage giving us enough to be together right now in this very moment.

A few hours later, I awoke to a still very quiet cottage, Harry asleep next to me. The outside world remained dark with the slivers of moonlight being the only source of light to see. I checked the time on my iPod and it was only 2 in the morning, meaning I still had about 12 hours until we were supposed to leave. Untangling myself from Harry, I stood up and padded over to the door, quietly opening it and slipping outside. The cool night air felt refreshing on my skin as I took a few more steps into the damp grass. Looking out into this yard gave me flashbacks of my past with Harry and I smiled slightly, remembering all of the fun we used to have. Everything was so different now and I just can’t believe my mum was being unfair. Why doesn’t she like England? She was born and raised here, but why can’t I be here? Is it something about me that she hates living here or something? Is it about my family? She didn’t even want me to go in the first place in fear of meeting my family, but why? Why does it even matter to her?
These questions kept popping up in my head and finally I shook them out to remind myself that I’ve got Harry and his family and I have all of the boys as well, not forgetting Rachel, too. Even if I was only here for a week, I still had an amazing time reconnecting with my past and making new memories with new friends. That’s when I felt a wet drop sliding down my face. Wiping it off with the sleeve of my shirt, I realized I’m going to miss this place, again. But I’ll be back before I know it.
Slowly, I went back inside the cottage and finished packing. I didn’t have that much to do; just a few more clothes that Harry kept from me. After they were neatly packed away, I curled up by Harry again and fell asleep, trying to tell myself that this won’t be the last time I’ll be in Harry’s arms.

The sunshine peeking in through the windows woke me up the next morning, along with the sounds of chirping birds and the scent of breakfast.
I’m kidding. That stuff only happens in fanfictions.
I actually woke up to the sounds of shuffling people loudly whispering. Opening my eyes, all of the guys were awake and moving about the cottage, helping Rachel finish her packing. I groaned and stretched, realizing Harry wasn’t next to me. While everyone was in the living room, I decided this was the perfect time to take over the bathroom, so I quickly got ready for the day, which consisted of flying halfway across the country back to my actual house in America. The thought of that made me nauseous and I almost blacked out in the shower, but thankfully I turned the knob to the cold water just in time.
After a frightening shower, I headed back out to the living room and greeted everyone, now just chilling and watching TV. I spotted Harry on one of the couches and filled in the empty seat next to him.
“Morning, love,” he said, reaching his arm over me.
“Morning,” I replied, not in as happy of a tone as his was.
“Aw, come on, babe, cheer up. I know it’s hard, but I hate seeing you this way,” Harry responded. I turned and gave him the cheekiest fake smile ever, wiping it off the second I turned back around. Harry sighed and snuggled me closer.
“They’re here!” Gemma announced, bursting through the door of the cottage.
“What?” Louis asked.
“But they weren’t supposed to be here for another couple of hours!” Rachel exclaimed.
Gemma shrugged. “I don’t know, but they’re definitely here.”
Slowly, we all exited the cottage and headed up to the main house. My nerves stood on edge as we stepped inside, and the sight of our mothers made me cringe. Harry was by my side the entire time, holding my hand to calm me down.
“You girls ready?” my mum demanded.
“Relax, Helen, they look like they just woke up! We also just got here. We’ve got plenty of time,” Rachel’s mum intervened. Thank you!
“The flight leaves in 5 hours and it takes 3 hours to drive back to London. We don’t have much time,” my mum defended. Rachel’s mum rolled her eyes. “Let’s go, girls. The cab is waiting outside.”
“No,” I declared, finding my voice. Harry squeezed my hand.
“What do you mean, no?” my mum asked.
“I’m not leaving,” I firmly said.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, child. Grab your bags and let’s go,” she repeated.
“I said, I’m not leaving. You can’t make me,” I announced.
“What is this nonsense?” my mum questioned.
“You lied to me. You kept the biggest secret from me about my biological family and you don’t even care. You don’t even want me to stay here to find out more and to actually meet them after so long. Why? Why is it so bad for a child wanting to know more about her real family?” I cried, almost ending up in tears. My temper was starting to fume and that gave me more fuel.
“I’m not getting into it here, Stephanie. Not in front of everybody,” my mum said.
“I knew it. Why don’t you want to say it to everybody? They have a right to know, too. They’ve taken care of me for the past week,” I defended.
“Taken care of you?” she snorted. “I would hardly define that as ‘taking care’. Look at Rachel, for example! Is this what they mean by ‘taking care of you’?”
“Harry’s family has been more of a real family to me than you ever have! They let me have freedom! They let me do the things I’ve always wanted to do! They don’t keep secrets from me!” I shouted.
“I was trying to protect you!” my mum yelled.
“Protect me from what? What possible harm is there for knowing about my biological family?!” I screamed.
“What is going on here?” Rachel’s mum hollered, halting the argument. “Helen, is this true?”
But before she answered, my mum pulled out a file folder and threw it across the table. “Here. I’m done with you. I can’t handle a trouble child such as yourself.”
The folder landed next to Zayn and he opened it, looking through all of the papers.
“Adoption papers?” Liam announced, reading over his shoulder. We all looked back at my mum.
“Don’t look at me! I knew this was going to happen, so I got everything all signed. I’m not your mother anymore, happy?” she claimed.
“Helen!” Rachel’s mum exclaimed.
“What?” she shrugged.
“I can’t believe you! This is what you call parenting?”
“I’m not a parent anymore,” she answered.
“You’re not even a friend, like I thought you were. This was all an act. Go to the cab right now and tell them to leave without me and them,” Rachel’s mum demanded, pointing to the door.
“Let’s go,” Anne jumped in, pushing my “mum” out the door. Did this really just happen?! I started to clap and soon everyone else joined me, whooping and hollering at the happy moment. Suddenly, Harry came around and faced me, kissing me out of nowhere. Thankfully, everyone was still cheering so they weren’t focused on us. Is this all a dream?
“Okay, now I know you’re all happy, but we have business to discuss,” Rachel’s mum declared, quieting us down. “What do we do about that folder?”
All of us literally didn’t make a word. This was the most anxious time of my life, no lie. I was now not signed with a family. Woah.
“I’d be willing to adopt you, honey,” Rachel’s mum spoke again.
“Me, too,” Anne agreed.
Oh, boy. This was a really tough decision. If I go with Anne, I’d be with Harry and I would be able to see my dad and Eli, not to mention being back in the hometown I was born in. But, that means I’d have to leave Rachel. And if I go with Rachel’s mum, it’s vice versa.
“Do you want some time to think about it?” Rachel’s mum asked. I nodded. “Okay. Well, just so you know, I will be leaving here today and going back home to claim your stuff from Helen, so it will be safe at my house. And I’m alright with you girls staying here for the summer.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as the boys clapped again. I’m not leaving England. Not yet, anyways.
“Whatever decision you make, I will always be here for you, darling,” Rachel’s mum smiled, coming over and giving me a hug.
“Again, me, too,” Anne said, joining our hug. Soon, everyone was crowded around me and that’s when the tears came out. They didn’t stop for a while, actually. It was a mix of happy, angry, and sad, but mostly happy because everything worked out.
“Okay, well, I’ve got to head off,” Rachel’s mum announced.
“Wait, how are you getting to London? The cab is gone,” Anne pointed out.
“Oh, shoot,” Rachel’s mum said.
“That’s okay. I’ll drive you,” Anne replied, grabbing her keys. “Nothing better happen while we’re gone! Gemma, you’re in charge.”
“What? She always gets put in charge!” Harry complained.
“Harry, you’ve got all of us,” I told him.
“Oh yeah,” he remembered. “Never mind.”
“Are you ready?” Anne asked Rachel’s mum.
“Yup,” she responded, opening the door and heading out. Anne followed after her and we watched as they climbed in the car and drove off.
“Woohoo!” we all screamed after they left.
“You’re staying!” Harry shouted.
“I know!” I yelled back.
“So what do you guys want to do now?” Louis asked.
“I don’t care, just as long as I’m with all of you,” I answered.

“Sounds good to me,” Harry whispered, holding me close. I couldn’t believe what just happened but I couldn’t be any happier. Helen’s gone from my life, I get to stay in Holmes Chapel with Harry, and I will see my dad soon. Insanity, am I right?

Notes

So I got a new computer because college student :) But I was writing this chapter and it was the first thing I wrote on my new computer and I had everything written AND I ALMOST LOST IT. I have a MacBook and I'm so used to Windows that I tried copying and pasting by doing Control C like I usually do with Windows but it's different on a MacBook and when I did, all of the writing was gone and replaced with a C and I didn't know where the undo button was so I closed out of the document and OMG it was horrible. But thankfully I got it back with the help of my brother who is a technology genious.
Anyways, there's more drama to come in this story! How are you guys liking it so far? I've been seeing some nice comments :)
Rachel and Stephanie :)