Cassie's POV:

“Night, Cassie, see ya tomorrow!” Cecily waved and left the rehearsing space. I gave her a short smile and returned to my notes. I was dead-tired and it was almost 2 in the morning, but I still hadn't found enough courage to go back home. After various calls and a tiring flight back to New York, I immediately went to the studio to do some rehearsing. I had talked to Demi, Niall and Liam, and they all understood, of course, but I still felt like this was my fault.

I could hear soft music filling the building and when I heard one of my favourite voices ever, I got up slowly and made my way to the stage. Standing in the shadows, I watched Paolo pour his heart and soul into our favourite song.

Cross the border,
Into the big bad world
Where it takes you 'bout an hour
Just to cross the road
Just to stumble across another poor old soul from
The dreary old lanes to the high-street madness
I fight with my brain to believe my eyes
And it's harder than you think
To delay this sadness
That creeps up my spine
And haunts me through the night
And life is good and the girls are gorgeous
Suddenly the air smells much greener now
And I'm wandering around
With a half pack of cigarettes
Searching for the change that I've lost somehow

I watched him sadly as he finished the rest of the song. I was missing Scotland. I was missing it badly, and Paolo was always a reminder of it. When he was done with the song, I stepped towards him and his face brightened up when he saw me.

“Cassie,” he said softly and engulfed me into a tight hug. I hadn't realised it, but I was crying slightly, and we stayed in our embrace for what felt like hours. The rest of the band had left, but we were still just standing there, hugging. It was soothing.

“Am I interrupting something?” a deep voice finally made us break apart and I turned around to see Harry standing behind us, hands in his pockets and a slightly pissed expression on his face. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him, and I wondered what that was about, but my mouth was already smiling.

“No, absolutely not. Harry, this is Paolo – Paolo, Harry,” I said and gestured for them to shake hands, which they did. Paolo looked friendly, but Harry was still a bit on the edge.

“I was coming by to see how you are. That interview was terrible,” he said to me.

“That's so sweet of you,” I smiled gladly. “I'm so sorry for it, Harry, I had no idea,” I explained with a feeble voice. He took my hand and tucked on it slightly, so that I would step closer to him. Putting a finger under my chin, he forced me to look up at him.

“It's not your fault, Demi told us the whole story. Don't feel bad, okay? Worst things could have happened,” he re-assured me. I nodded slightly and he give me a soft kiss on the forehead.

“Uhm... I think I'm gonna go now, Teri's probably waiting for me to call. See ya tomorrow, Cass,” Paolo interrupted us and I smiled at him when he left.

“He's got a girlfriend?” Harry asked, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, for quite a while now,” I said looking at him. Slight relief washed over his face “Harry Styles, don't tell me you just were jealous!” I exclaimed, looking at him cheekily.

“Please... it's not like he would stand a chance with you,” he just huffed, but I could tell I touched a nerve there.

“Harry was jealous... Harry was jealous,” I sang and danced around. He shot me an annoyed look before coming after me. I squealed and took off towards the costume department. I knew my way around here, and I was hoping to loose him along the way somewhere.

“Oh no, you come back here, you little...” he started from behind me. I just laughed and hid in a clothes rack. Turning the corner, he looked around for a moment before he saw my legs. When he started off into my direction, I jumped away and ran towards another aisle. My laughter gave me away, and, turning a corner, I was looking behind me when I crashed into something warm and firm. We both fell to the ground and landed on a huge pile of clothes, thankfully. Giving Harry a concussion was not on my to-do list. “Got ya,” he grinned at me while his hands were firmly wrapped around my body. I laughed whole-heartedly and laid down on his chest. Our breathing slowed down and I raised my head to look up at him. He was looking at me tenderly.

“Thanks, Harry,” I said. He raised a brow.

“What for?” he asked.

“For making me laugh after such a horrible day,” I gave back and smiled.

“Anytime,” he returned and brushed a strand of hair out of my face. “Can I ask you something, Cassie?” he started.

“Yeah, sure, anything,” I said. His expression became a bit more serious, but he was still playing with a strand of my hair.

“Where in the whole wide world would you like to be right now?” he said and looked at me, curiously.

“Anywhere in the whole, wide world?” I asked back and he nodded. “Well... there's only two places that come to my mind. Two places I feel absolutely free and happy,” I said, swallowing hard. I wanted to go to these places so badly.

“Tell me where, love,” he nudged me. I smiled softly.

“Neist Point on the Isle of Skye. The coastline is just amazing, and I could sit for hours on the stones, looking out onto the sea,” I confessed. He smiled comfortingly.

“And the other place?” he asked carefully. I sighed loudly.

“The rose garden in Regent's Park. That's my secret spot. There's a little bench, partially hidden from view, under a big arch of roses. Whenever I'm in London, I go there almost every day. It's... magical,” I was whispering now. I had never told anyone that this was where I liked to go, but it felt right telling Harry.

“Sounds beautiful,” he whispered back, stroking over my arms and back.

“Where would you want to go, Harry?” I asked with a stronger voice. He just smiled at me and I swear I saw a something glint in his eyes.

“Wherever my mum is,” he confessed. I 'aaaaw'ed and snuggled closer to him.

“You're adorable, Styles,” I teased and poked him in the cheek. He laughed lightly and tightened his arms around me. We lied there for a few more minutes, absolutely content.

“Alright, let's get back to the apartment, it's late,” he finally said and I got up from the floor. Extending my hand to him, we both got up and left. “I swear, there were hundreds of paparazzi outside the building today,” he told me when we approached Demi's apartment in the car.

“Really? Dear god... It's gonna be horrible the next few days, now that they know where we are,” I sighed loudly. He patted my left hand comfortingly.

“We can do this,” he tried to assure me. I shot him my best 'Seriously?!?' look and he laughed a bit. We got into the garage without any problems and by the time we reached the apartment, I was so tired, Harry almost had to carry me in. We walked down the hall and stopped at both our doors, which were opposite each other's. I turned around and gave him a thankful smile.

“Night, Harry,” I said softly. He looked at me for a long moment before he quickly closed the space in between us and pushed us both into my room.

“I'm not leaving you alone,” he said sternly and I didn't even protest when he took off his clothes and jumped into my bed. I just chuckled and got changed as well before I climbed under the covers. Immediately, he pulled me in closely and it just felt so... right.

“Night, Cassie,” he finally said and planted a tender kiss on my neckline. I shivered at the touch, which was more than pleasurable, and he pulled closer against my body.

“Love ya, Harry,” I mumbled sleepily before I drifted off into unconsciousness. In the distance, I swear I could hear a strong “I love you too, Cassie.” But then, I could have imagined it...

Notes

thoughts?