All I Ever Wanted

“Hey, Leah. It’s Spencer. We need to get you back into the studio ASAP so call me. We have a few interviews set up, and we need to set up some more shows. Talk to you soon!” I deleted the voicemail and made a mental note to call him.

Harry’s birthday was in three days, and I was supposed to leave for Holmes Chapel in two, so Spencer and the studio would have to wait. I pulled into the driveway. I’d been to the supermarket, and shopping for Harry’s present. I’d had no clue what to get the boy who had everything, so I’d settled on a several vintage band t-shirts, a new pair of his favorite Raybans, and a new Audemars Piguet watch. He’d loved his old one, but had complained here lately that it was looking a little worn.

Sometimes he was more worried about the way he dressed than I was.

“I’m homeee!” I sang out as I walked in the front door of Harry’s place. No one answered. I shrugged, and went ahead and brought the groceries in. As I put the milk up, I noticed that there was a note on the fridge.

Went out to find something to do. We were bored. Love you! –Harry

Good, he’s away so I can wrap his presents. There’s no telling what Harry, Zayn, Louis and Liam are getting into right now.

Niall left just after their second LA show two nights ago to spend more time with Emma. I was beyond ecstatic that they’d worked everything out. I grabbed the bags and rushed upstairs to wrap Harry’s gifts so they’d be ready for tonight.

Harry and I were having dinner tonight, because he was leaving for Holmes Chapel bright and early tomorrow morning. The other boys were leaving for home in the morning, too. I didn’t like the fact that everyone was going their separate ways for a week, but since they had a week off, there was no reason for them to stay here in LA. I put a piece of tape on the last edge of the box to Harry’s new watch when I heard the front door swing open.

“Honey, I’m home!”

I slid the presents up under our bed, out of sight, and hurried down the stairs.

“You’re all soaking wet! Where have you been?” I took in the sight of the four wet boys in front of me.

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

“Well, we were bored and the boys realized they wanted to take me to celebrate my birthday early. So we went out and bought a couple of jet skis. We were riding around and around and then we were going to get food, but Liam wanted to ride a little more. So we rode some more and -.”

“We discovered this cove just outside of the bay. It’s gorgeous and it has a rock you can jump off into the water. That’s why we’re all wet.” Louis interrupted Harry, getting to the point of the story. I giggled.

“Wait, that sounds illegal. Isn’t the bay protected?” I asked.

“Oh it’s illegal. Isn’t that sexy?” Harry wagged his eyebrows.

“No, but I want you all to take me! Why was I left out?!” I poked out my bottom lip. The other boys laughed because I told Harry his bad boy ways weren’t sexy, but he pouted.

“You were at the supermarket!” Zayn exclaimed. I shrugged.

“You guys better let me know next time you come across something cool like that.” I shook my finger at them, making them all roll their eyes at me.

“Well, we’re all going out for drinks tonight, since you two lovebirds have a date.” Liam said, in his girly voice. “I’m hitting the shower!” He hurried up the stairs, with Zayn and Louis following behind.

“Illegal is actually pretty sexy.” I turned to face Harry.

"Excuse me, Leah.” He teased. “I’m going to shower.”

I laughed and followed him upstairs to get ready for our dinner date.

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“I really, really, really, really want you to come with me. Can’t you just tell Spencer you have priorities?” Harry begged. We’d ordered our dinner and were waiting to eat.

“I tried, baby. He won’t let me off since I just got back from Mexico.” I tried not to give the surprise away. Harry absolutely could not find out that I was actually going to be in Holmes Chapel. I pouted to be extra convincing.

“I’m going to miss you so much. Ugh.” Harry sank back into his chair.

“I’m going to miss you too, Haz. But we kind of have to get used to this. You live in London, I live in LA. I’m about to have to go back to work which is based in LA while you’re touring the US, and then eventually other countries. This will be good practice.”

I tried to convince him, realizing how sad the future was going to be.

“Fuck. Sometimes I hate being famous. If we weren’t we could be getting married, settling down, moving in together. I’d see you every morning when I woke and I’d kiss you every night before I slept. That sounds so nice, Le.”

I thought about his statement and began to wish the same thing.

“It does sound good; marrying you, having babies. But then again, if it weren’t for our fame, we would have never met.”

Horror flashed across Harry’s face. “Well, now that I realize that, I will never curse fame again. It brought me the most precious thing I’ve ever known.” He smiled, melting my heart.

The waiter interrupted our moment as he set our plates down in front of us. We joked around for the rest of dinner, trying not to think about how hard it would be when we couldn’t see one another every day. At the end of the dinner, the waiter brought Harry out a birthday dessert. I whipped out a candle from my purse and stuck it on the brownie. Then I pulled out a box of matches to lite it. Harry was making fun of me/laughing at me for pulling all of that out of my purse, but hey, I was prepared. There was no happy birthday song since it was a really fancy restaurant, so I sang to him myself. People nearby looked on and a few even cheered when he gave me a big kiss after the song. He fed me a few bites of his brownie and once it was gone, he opened his presents, which I pulled out of my purse. He loved each gift, cooing over them like a kid.

As we walked out of the restaurant, he looped his arm around my neck and I reached up to hold his hand. “I want to spend every birthday for the rest of my life with you.”

“Good, cause I want to, too.” I winked at him and we made our way to his car.

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Today was the day! I was flying to Holmes Chapel and boy, was I nervous. I’d met Anne and Gemma, but none of the others. I absolutely adored his mom and his sister, and I was sure I’d adore the rest of his family; I was just hoping they’d feel the same about me. I sat in my seat on the plane ride, dreading this long flight. I switched on my iPod and began to relax.

I thought about this trip, and how excited Harry was going to be. We’d talked on the phone about a thousand times since he’d left and all he could talk about was how much he wished I was there. Gemma had set everything up so perfect. My flight would land in London at around 10pm. From there, I would travel to Anne’s home in Holmes Chapel - where Harry was staying. Gemma said that every year, they all stay up until midnight on one another’s birthdays, so at midnight, I’d ring the doorbell and she’d have Harry answer the door. Then all would be perfect and I’d get to stay here with them for three more days, and celebrate Harry’s birthday with him. I couldn’t contain my excitement.

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I checked my watch. I was at Anne’s neighbor’s home, waiting for midnight. It was half eleven. Anne’s neighbors were very kind. I’d been here for only about twenty minutes and I’d already become great friends with the family – the Robinsons. They had two young daughters – both who loved One Direction, so I took pictures with them and promised that Harry and I would visit them before we left.

I checked my watch again – 11:45pm. I decided to make the journey across the street. I quickly walked across the way, trying to stay in the shadows – just in case Harry happened to be near a window. I arrived at Anne’s place at 11:52pm. I was beyond nervous, but also extremely excited to see Harry. I ran my fingers through my hair and adjusted my coat. After a few moments, I checked my watch again. 12:00am, on the dot. I rang the doorbell, taking a deep breath. A quick moment later, Harry opened the front door.

“SURPRISE!” I threw my arms open for a hug, and burst into giggles.

He was wearing a party hat, and he looked adorable. He stood there, in shock. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Happy Birthday, my sweet Harry!”

He slowly hugged me back, still trying to comprehend the fact that I was in Holmes Chapel. Anne, Gemma, and Robin came running to the door and hugged me.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Harry grinned from ear to ear as Gemma passed out cake and wine.

Yes it’s midnight. Yes, we're eating cake and drinking wine. Yes, they are my kind of people!

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!” I grinned, kissing him on the nose.

“Eeeew PDA!” Gemma laughed. I’d gotten lost in the moment and forgot they were even here. I began to blush.

“Gemma, hush! They’re cute!” Anne winked at me and Harry laughed.

Robin made a toast to Harry and Anne snapped a picture of us, both in party hats. We giggled at the picture, and I quickly uploaded it to Twitter.

Happy Birthday to the best boy I know! Love you Harry! Xo

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“So, this is your old room?” I said, as Harry and I squished on the double bed. Anne had a guest bedroom, but Harry insisted that we sleep together in his childhood room.

We’ll be all close and snuggly, he said.

“Yeah, where I spent a lot of time outs.” He laughed.

We laid in silence and I cuddled closer to him.

“You’re the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.” He kissed my forehead. “Oh wait, I did get that Xbox one year…”

I pinched the back of his arm, causing him to yelp.

“Yep, the Xbox was definitely better!” He giggled, holding his arm.

I rolled my eyes.

“Thank you for being here.” He whispered. “It means more than you know.”

“How could I miss your birthday?!” I caught his glance and he kissed me.

“Goodnight, Xbox!” He chirped.

“Goodni- HEY!” I laughed, realizing what he’d said.

“Goodnight, Leah. I love you.”

I pulled the covers tighter around me as Harry hooked his arm around my waist, pulling me closer.

“Love you too, birthday boy.”

Notes