To Fall So Deep

A smile formed on Nina's face as she threw her hand to her heart. While this was a constant duty for Harry to bring Nina food during her breaks, it still overwhelmed her. The past month has been tough for them. They were each other's secret, and it proved difficult to keep it that way. With the help of Elissia, Leina, and Nina's boss Mr. Hamilton, the two lovers were able to sneak their way around Ashford to see each other.

"Hey baby," Nina kissed Harry on the lips.

"Ah, young love," Mr. Hamilton airily declared, shutting the door and leaving the duo alone.

"I missed you," Harry said through the kiss. He cupped Nina's cheeks, and deepened the kiss, pulling her body towards him. Nina sat on his lap, just as Harry's tongue licked her bottom lip. Her mouth opened slightly, and he let his tongue inside, massaging the walls of her mouth. Nina pulled away with a grin on her face,

"Babe, you naughty boy."

"Only for you," Harry shrugged, giving Nina a wink. She gave him a quick peck on the lips again before standing up from Harry's lap.

"What did you bring me?" Nina sat on the chair opposite to Harry, eyeing the Vitale's Place paper bag on the table.

"Elissia hooked it up," Harry stuck his hand inside the paper bag and pulled out two disposable, plastic tupperware. The hot food inside caused the clear plastic lid to hold several bubbles of condensation. Harry lifted the lid off of one tupperware and slid it towards Nina, "mushroom ravioli."

"This smells amazing," Nina closed her eyes, taking a deep inhale into the freshly made Italian food below her nose. "What about you?"

"I got the same thing. But Elissia knows you too well because she totally threw this in," Harry grabbed another smaller tupperware from the inside of the paper bag. Harry lifted the lid to present to Nina the inside contents.

"Are those…" Nina's words drifted, with her mouth slightly agape. She looked up at Harry with wide eyes, and he simply flashed her a big dimpled smile.

"Yup! Ice cream filled Macarons," Harry mused Nina, enjoying her excitement. "Babe, you don't look at me like you look at desert… I'm offended."

"Well Harry, if you keep bringing me deserts, then maybe I'd give you a look of love too," Nina joked.

"I can't believe I just lost to melting dairy, and a French biscuit," Harry pouted, as Nina giggled. Her laughter was music to his ears, and his eyes met hers. "I love you… now eat. You can't have desert unless you finish your entire meal."

"Yes sir," Nina played along. She opened the small plastic package that carried the utensils and pulled out the fork. She delved right into her food, and Harry did the same.

Both Nina and Harry continued eating their meal with a smile on their face, finally coming to terms with this new routine. Sneaking around was becoming easier, especially with the help of close friends. As long as they kept up a front at school and in public, everything was peachy keen. But the amount of love and dedication that Harry and Nina had for one another was something that couldn't be made up and penned in a fairytale. Their devotion was better than a fairytale; it was a love that was touched by the Gods and Goddesses themselves. Each moment they are denied from a warm touch, a kiss, or even a smile, was a moment that felt like a dagger to the heart.

"Babe, my 30 is over," Nina informed, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"Already?" Harry pouted. "Ask for another 30!"

"Harry, you know I can't do that. I have two hours left in my shift, and you have Liam's man-over to get to. I'll text you later,"

"I'm thinking about telling the boys about you,"

"I don't think that's a good idea," Nina stood up from her chair and approached Harry who turned in his seat. He laced his fingers with her's, kissing the back of her hand.

"I hate lying to them," Harry admitted. He softly kissed the other hand.

"But honey," Nina sighed, letting go of Harry's grasp. She stepped in-between his knees and sat on one of his legs. "If you tell the boys the truth, they may not take you back a second time. I don't want you to lose your best friends."

Harry shrugged, dropping his head into Nina's chest and hugging her waist, "you just said it. Best friends. If they really are, then they'd have my back."

"Ultimately, it's up to you. But I don't think you should," Nina cupped Harry's face with her hands and forced him to look at her. She leaned in and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you too… stay here with me forever, don't go back to work,"

"I have to! There are lattes to be made!" Nina laughed, standing up.

"I guess," Harry murmured with a frown.

"I'll text you later," Nina promised. "Thanks for dinner. It was lovely."

"Anything for you sweetheart," Harry winked, as he watched Nina turn around and head out the door where the raucous sounds of the cafe filled his ears.

* * * *

It had been a couple of months since Harry stepped foot into the massive Payne residence, but the second he did he felt right at home. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt for letting his friends walk so easily from him. He and Liam knew each other the longest, and considered the Payne family to be his own.

The Paynes refused to pay for maids, cooks, or chauffeurs, and that's how Harry preferred life-- though he wouldn't trade Rosie's cooking for the world. The main foyer was sprinkled with shoes and jackets, and the welcoming scent of Mrs. Payne's cooking infiltrated his nostrils.

"Dude, I almost forgot how fit of a cook your mom is," Harry breathed deeply into the air, suddenly feeling hungry again despite the fact that he just ate dinner with Nina.

"She got a little too excited when I mentioned tonight's man-over. She went all out. Even baked a chocolate cake," Liam mentioned, turning to face Harry as he started up the stairs. "Though I think Niall's already taken a bite into it."

Harry and Liam plopped down on the massive-sized wrap around couch in the upstairs loft. The chocolate-brown couch was probably the oldest piece of furniture in the entire house, as it was more than enough space for all five boys to sleep comfortably in when they were six years old, till now as young adults. Louis and Niall were in front of the large flat screen television playing a round of Just Dance on the XBox.

"We went from weird kids playing Mario Kart, Mortal Combat, and Grand Theft Auto, to even weirder men battling each other on Just Dance… what the hell happened?" Harry hysterically laughed, as he watched Louis and Niall mimic the moves of a cartoon character on the screen to the tune of some Britney Spears song.

"Don't forget the onsies Harry," Zayn reminded him, looking down at the soft, one-piece suit that covered his entire body with soft fleece.

"Hey!" Liam shouted with seriousness etched on his face as he pointed at Zayn, "onsies will always be cool."

"YES! I won!" Niall whooped excitedly, throwing his arms into the air in delight. Louis punched him the in the shoulder,

"You cheated. I have a bad leg from last week's football game."

"Don't play that shit with me Tommo. I won fair and square. Now pay up!" Niall held out his hand with a smirk. Louis rolled his eyes and groaned,

"Here!" Louis pulled out a crisp10 Euros and slapped it into the hand of a very satisfied Niall.

"Thank you," Niall snickered, placing the bill into his pocket.

The evening continued as upbeat as any ultimate "man-over" could be. Mrs. Payne would bring up her homemade dishes with an ear-to-ear grin, elated when seeing her grown son and his friends enjoy each other's company. Ignoring the violent games they used to spend hours playing, the wolf pack pursued their lack-of dancing abilities with several rounds of Just Dance. After sweating profusely, and keeling over from side-splitting laughter, the five friends toppled back onto the couch surrounded by crumbs of cookies, potato crisps, and Skittles.

"Lads, can I be serious with you for a moment?" Harry apprehensively asked. The boys turned their heads to face him.

"Sure mate, what is it? Did you want a rematch on Just Dance?" Louis joked.

"No," Harry sassed, a smile leaving his lips. He sighed, "I'm seeing Nina."

There was silence for a few moments as Harry anxiously waited for any kind of response from the boys. They looked at Harry like he had dropped a bomb, making him slightly regret not listening to Nina. He couldn't exactly tell what his friends were thinking, as all they did was glare at him without any movement or words.

"Say something!" Harry pressed, his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Sorry mate," Liam chuckled. His laughter was followed by Niall, Louis, and Zayn's, as Harry sat in utter confusion.

"What the hell is so funny? This is a serious matter! I'm trying to be honest with you lads!" Harry blurted. His tone was frosted with insult, and aggression.

"Harry, we know," Zayn finally stifled his laughter to answer his offended friend.

"What?" Harry's face drained, and he let his jaw drop, "what do you mean, we know?"

"We're not thick Harold. Just because you stopped speaking to Nina at school, have grown a tolerance for Jezabelle, and swore to us beforehand that you and Nina are done, doesn't mean we can't tell when someone's still very much in love with the enemy," Louis explained matter-of-factly. Harry was speechless.

"That, and Elissia may or may not have let it slip," Niall shrugged with a pseudo-innocence and a cheeky smile. "I think she fancies me."

"Shut up, no she doesn't," Louis punched Niall in the shoulder. "She fancies me."

"Guys!" Liam bellowed, attempting to bring the topic back to its roots. Louis and Niall immediately turned their attention to Daddy Wolf Pack with a sudden expression of amity. With sincerity in his tone, Liam continued, "we all know that Elissia fancies me, so like, can you not?"

"Unbelievable,"

"This guy,"

Niall and Louis scoffed, bending back from Liam's red-herring of a comment. Harry couldn't help but to let out a laugh. This "man-over" was definitely what he needed.

"So you aren't mad?" Harry eased back into the topic of Nina.

"No, we're not. But I'm surprised that you're not," Zayn admitted.

"What do you mean?" Harry questioned.

"We were the ones you let you down first," Louis disclosed with a frown. "We shouldn't have sided with our parents so quickly."

"We're best mates-- the wolf pack! And we support each other no matter what," Niall pronounced with pride and dignity.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me feel," Harry sighed in relief, sinking back into the couch. "So glad to have you lads by my side again. My dad's a total git when it comes to Nina and her family. She would be very pleased to know that you guys aren't against her. She likes you guys."

"We like her too," Liam declared, speaking on behalf of the other boys.

"Speaking of Nina," Niall began, taking the time to look at each one of his friends, "my brother says there's a mole in the office. Someone's been leaking confidential files of Nina's therapy sessions from when she first moved to Ashford."

"No fucking way? Leaking them to who? My dad? Is that how he's been getting all this information on the Dela Vera family?" Harry began piecing the puzzle together, trying to evaluate his dad's deceitful ways.

Niall nodded, "Greg's a huge supporter of Leo Dela Vera, and ever since your dad's first public broadcast on Leo's decision to run for Mayor, he knew someone was being a little sneaky around the Psychotherapy department."

"Could it be Nina's therapist?" Liam suggested, and Niall shook his head. He sighed, and with reluctance, revealed a total game-changer,

"Greg doesn't think so… He thinks it's a patient."

Notes

Hey hey hey!

How's everyone doing this week so far? Hopefully well! Tomorrow is Friday and I am super psyched. A friend of mine is throwing a party, and I'm really excited. I've been to college parties, but not the typical ones you see in movies-- or read in fanfictions for that matter. This party is suppose to be cray-cray, but I'll let you know if it really is haha. Ohtayyy! Chapter 31. I love the boys! <3 I wanted to pay homage to their young X-Factor days, Daddy Direction, and their infamous onsies. Sighhh. I miss those days lol. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Leave feedback, vote up, and subscribe if ya do! Also, if you haven't yet, check out my latest story called ZERO TO EIGHTY. :D

Thanks a lot for reading!

-Erica Jaine <3