He's Not Worth It

In the next few days, Maggie spent a lot of time holed up in her apartment or at work. She didn’t see Harry much, on purpose – every time she knew he was outside she would avoid going out. She would even avoid going near windows in fear of Harry seeing her.

All week, she was bombarded by memories of her night with him. They would come back to her at the most inappropriate time – mostly when she was helping a customer at work or sitting in class. It wasn’t easy having such images raking her brain – not when her desire for that person was undying and absolutely intangible.

It wasn’t until Thursday that there was a knock on her door. Reluctantly she answered, only to find Harry on her doorstep. Her heart sped up and her cheeks got warm. All the images of them together were racing through her mind, making her uncomfortable in his presence.

“Hi,” he said quietly.

“Hi,” she replied almost inaudibly.

“I… uh, I need to go to London for a few days,” he said, looking at her warily, almost as if he were frightened of her reaction.

“Okay,” she said immediately, nodding her head.

“Can you…” He started. She already knew what he wanted.

“Yes, I will take care of Hemmy, Harry,” she told him. Of course she would. That’s who she was to him anyway, right? His dog sitter.

“Thank you… so much,” he said, giving her an awkward smile.

“I would never deny Hemmy,” she said, almost as an afterthought. She didn’t really even mean to say it. It just slipped out.

“Just me,” he said with a little bitterness in his tone. Maggie bit her lip and shook her head, feeling annoyed.

“Sorry,” he apologized, looking down at his feet.

“When do you leave?” She asked, going back to the subject at hand.

“Tomorrow,” he told her.

“Okay. Just bring Hemmy and his stuff by. I’ll be here,” she told him.

“Thanks a lot, Maggie May,” Harry said, giving her another awkward smile.

“No problem,” she said.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, taking a step back from her doorway.

“Yeah,” she nodded, gripping onto the front door.

He turned to walk back to his house and Maggie shut the door, having to take a deep breath to steady herself after being in his presence again.

The next day, while waiting for Harry to bring Hemmy over, Maggie spotted Liam in the courtyard with the dog. Deciding she wasn’t avoiding everyone, she went out to talk to Liam. He smiled brightly when she walked out, like he was super happy to see her, which made her feel good for the first time in almost a week.

“You look really nice,” Liam told her as his eyes dipped down to check her out in her long white maxi dress. She blushed and smiled wildly.

She didn’t think she looked that spectacular with her hair pulled up in a bun and no makeup on – she was going for comfort more than anything. But if she could make Liam Payne look at her that way, then she had to be doing something right.

“Thanks, Liam,” she told him. He smiled widely as he threw Hemmy’s favorite tennis ball to him.

“Are you here to say goodbye to Harry?” She asked curiously.

“Yeah, among other things,” Liam told her, watching as Hemingway ran to get the ball.

“Yeah? What kind of things?” She questioned.

“I came by to pick up some paperwork that Harry was supposed to fill out – of course he’s doing it last minute, meaning right now. And I also came by to get Hemingway,” Liam explained and Maggie’s eyes flared.

“What do you mean, ‘get Hemingway’?” She asked.

“He’s staying at my flat with me and Watson for the week. Didn’t Harry tell you?” Liam asked. Watson was Liam’s own dog, whom he talked about at length the day Maggie went into the studio with Liam and Harry.

“No,” Maggie said as anger boiled up inside her.

Without another word Maggie stalked toward Harry’s front door.

“Maggie?” Liam asked from behind her, but she kept on toward Harry’s house and flung open his door angrily.

Racing up the stairs, she found him at his breakfast bar doing the paperwork Liam mentioned – the same place he sat butt-naked eating an omelet with her not so long ago. He turned to see her coming toward him.

“Maggie,” he said, his reaction coming out as a gasp.

“Am I not good enough now, or what?” She yelled at him.

“What are you talking about? Of course you’re good enough,” he said, looking at her warily.

“Do you not trust me!?” She yelled angrily.

“I think you’re the one that doesn’t trust me!” He snapped, standing up from the stool.

“I trust you! You don’t trust me!” She yelled, turning it back on him.

“You’re the one who walked out of here, not me!” Harry yelled back in his defense.

“Wait. What are you talking about?” She asked, feeling confused.

“What are you talking about?” Harry asked, just as confused.

“Hemingway! Liam’s taking him now?” She yelled at him with a huff.

“Oh,” Harry said quietly.

“What the hell, Harry? Do you think I can’t handle him? I’ve taken care of him countless time since I’ve known you,” she said, still feeling angry.

“I figured you were angry with me and you didn’t care to have the burden of watching my dog,” he said quietly.

“First of all, Hemmy never has been, or never will be a burden on me. I love that dog like a child. And second, I’m not angry with you. Well, right now I am angry with you – but overall I’m not angry, Harry,” she told him truthfully.

“You’ve been avoiding me!” Harry snapped.

“Can you blame me!?” She asked incredulously.

“Yes!” He said, wide-eyed and full of fire.

“Harry, we… we can’t let that happen again. We’re… friends,” she sighed, letting the anger drain out of her.

“Okay, friend. It won’t happen again!” He said angrily, emphasizing ‘friend’ in a sarcastic way.

“Harry, don’t be like that,” she said sadly.

“How do you want me to be? We had a great night – after all we went through, we had a great night. And then you… you were just going to leave without saying a word,” he pointed out, making her feel bad in an instant.

“It’s not like I was skipping town. I was going next door!” She protested.

“Yeah, it would have felt the same either way. It does feel the same. You won’t talk to me, you avoid me. We’re friends. I want my friend back,” Harry explained.

“Fine. I’m here. Give me the dog,” she said childishly, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. Harry rolled his eyes at her and sighed.

“Why are you being like this?” He asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” she said, looking down at her feet. She didn’t know how to act around him. Everything was different.

“Well, please stop,” he told her. Maggie nodded her head and let out a sigh. She knew she was being petty and he didn’t deserve it.

“Let’s… let’s hang out when you get home from London. Just you and me and Hemmy. No alcohol,” she offered, trying to make peace.

“I’d like that,” Harry said, finally smiling at her.

“Me too,” she said as the side of her mouth quirked up.

“Good,” he said with a nod.

“Can I have Hemmy?” She asked again, quirking her eyebrow at him.

“I can talk to Liam,” Harry said finally.

“She can take him,” Liam said from the foyer, startling the both of them.

“How long have you been there?” Harry asked his mate, looking over the railing at him.

“Long enough to hear that Maggie wants to take Hemingway,” Liam said, smiling up at the two of them as Hemmy ran up the stairs.

“Is that okay?” Harry asked Liam.

“Perfectly fine. I’ll get his stuff out of my car,” Liam said and headed for the door.

“I can’t believe you were going to let Liam take my baby,” Maggie said, grabbing Hemmy in her arms.

“Your baby?” Harry asked, quirking his eyebrow at him.

“Yes, and I’m about to file for joint custody,” she joked.

“Oh, really?” Harry smirked.

“You know he loves me more,” she said with a wide smile as Hemmy licked her face.

“I think he does,” Harry laughed.

Liam brought all of Hemmy’s belongings to Maggie’s house as Harry loaded his luggage into Liam’s car.

“So, I was wondering…” Liam said, looking bashful as he stood in Maggie’s foyer.

“What were you wondering, Liam?” She asked, smiling brightly at him.

“I was wondering if maybe I could get your phone number – to maybe call you sometime,” Liam said, catching her off guard. A wide smile came across her face and he in turn smiled widely too.

“I’d like that,” she told him.

Right when they were done exchanging numbers, Harry showed up in her doorway, ready to leave for the airport.

“Ready to go?” Harry asked Liam.

“Yeah. Coming,” Liam said, clearing his throat. He gave Maggie another smile before he turned toward the door.

“I’ll see you later, Maggie,” Liam said as he bypassed Harry and walked out the door.

“Bye,” Maggie said, still smiling.

“I’m gonna say goodbye to Hemingway,” Harry called after Liam, walking up the stairs after Maggie.

“What was that? Was Liam coming on to you?” Harry asked her as they reached the top of the stairs.

“What? No. He was giving me Hemmy’s stuff,” Maggie said and almost laughed in his face. What was it to him anyway?

“Okay, good,” Harry said, scanning the room for his dog.

“And what if he was?” She asked curiously. She didn’t like the fact that Harry was acting like he had some sort of dibs on her.

“I just think it would be awkward,” he told her.

“It wouldn’t be that awkward,” she argued.

“Psssh,” Harry scoffed as he knelt down to Hemingway’s level.

“You sound jealous,” Maggie pointed out.

“Whatever, Maggie. I don’t want to fight with you. I’m leaving. Can we just… can we just be civil?” He asked, standing up with Hemingway in his arms.

“Yeah,” she agreed, dropping the subject for the time being.

“Take care of the little bugger,” Harry said, scratching the top of Hemmy’s head.

“I always do,” she told him.

Harry gave Hemingway one more ruffle on his head and then put him down on the floor before walking up to Maggie and wrapping her in a hug. Her heart sped up and she knew she missed being around him more than she thought. He held on tightly and kissed her on the top of the head before letting go. She had to take a deep breath in order to not feel faint.

“I’ll see you when I get back,” Harry told her in parting.

“Yeah. Have fun,” she said, her voice sounding breathless.

“If I could fly, I’d be coming right back home to you. I think I might give up everything, just ask me to. Pay attention, I hope that you listen, cause I let my guard down. Right now I’m completely defenseless. For your eyes only, I show you my heart. For when you’re lonely and forget who you are. I’m missing half of me when we’re apart. Now you know me, for your eyes only. For your eyes only,” Harry sang into the microphone at the London recording studio he was at with his friend and musical mentor, Julian Bunetta.

“That sounded great. Come back in here. We’ll play it back,” Julian said from his spot at the sound board.

Harry was so excited that he got to write and record with Julian again. He’d spent countless hours on the road, writing and recording with him back in his One Direction days. Julian was truly a master and Harry always looked up to him.

Once Harry came back into the room, Julian played the song back for him. He was more than happy with the way it sounded. Especially since he’d just written the song the night before.

“That sounds good,” Harry said with a nod, trying to sound modest.

“So…” Julian said, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“So? What?” Harry asked, eyeing him back.

“Who is it you’re singing to?” Julian asked curiously.

Harry chuckled and blushed immediately, not really sure he wanted to get into it.

“Who is she? This isn’t about Kendall, is it?” Julian asked.

“No. God, no,” Harry said immediately. As the days passed since their break-up, Harry was most definitely certain that being with Kendall for so long was a mistake. They weren’t right for each other.

“So, who then?” Julian asked.

“You’re like a gossiping girl right now,” Harry said, taking a sip out of his bottle of water.

“Why? Cause I want to know what’s going on with my friend?” Julian chuckled and Harry eyed him.

“Who is she?” Julian asked again, trudging on with the conversation.

“Her name is Maggie,” Harry told him finally, still feeling the heat in his face.

“And who is Maggie?” Julian pried.

“My neighbor in Los Angeles,” Harry said, taking another drink of water.

“How cliché is that? The girl next door, Harry? Really?” Julian laughed blithely.

“Shut it. She’s… she’s amazing,” Harry said as visions of Maggie’s beauty danced through his mind.

“Okay, so why hasn’t anyone ever heard of this Maggie girl?” Julian questioned.

“Liam and Louis met her,” Harry told him.

“So what is Maggie like and how long have you been pining for her?” Julian chuckled, nudging Harry’s arm.

“She smart. Really brilliant, actually. She’s had a 4.0 gpa for the past four years in college,” Harry told him.

“Damn,” Julian laughed.

“I know. She’s crazy smart. And she loves Hemingway – he’s actually staying at her house right now,” Harry explained.

“Oh, she’s the dog sitter,” Julian chuckled.

“Yeah. She always watches Hemingway for me whenever I go out of town,” Harry nodded.

“So how long have you been pining for her?” Julian asked again with a sly smirk.

“I don’t know. For a while. We kind of… hooked up recently,” Harry said, blushing even more.

“When? Didn’t you and Kendall just break up?” Julian asked incredulously.

“It was the night Kendall broke up with me actually,” Harry said, looking away from him because he kind of felt like a twat.

“Jesus. You don’t waste any time, do you?” Julian asked with a laugh.

“I don’t know… we just… we got really drunk together and it just happened,” Harry told him.

“I just happened? Sex isn’t accidental,” Julian said with a ‘bullshit’ face in Harry’s direction.

“Okay, I wanted it to happen. But afterward she pretty much told me it wasn’t ever going to happen again. So that’s where we’re at right now,” Harry said awkwardly.

“Ouch,” Julian hissed.

“Yeah, it sucks,” Harry said, feeling down about it.

“So, then she doesn’t know who you are?” Julian joked, sending Harry a sneaky smile.

“She doesn’t care,” Harry sighed.

“Or maybe she does care and she’s just as insecure as you are,” Julian pointed out.

“She’s not insecure,” Harry stated matter-of-factly.

“I would have said the same about you, but I know you too well after all these years. On the outside you’re as confident and cocky as ever…” Julian started to explain.

“Hey, I’m not cocky!” Harry protested. Julian cocked an eyebrow, but kept on talking.

“…but on the inside, you’re a mushy little marshmallow,” Julian chuckled.

“I’m not a marshmallow!” Harry protested again.

“Yeah. Whatever, man. I’m just saying, maybe you and Maggie are one in the same,” Julian told him.

“Do you really think so?” Harry asked, really trying to think hard about all his interactions with Maggie.

Was she really just a shy girl and he just never noticed it? She always seemed so confident with him. Julian really had him thinking and it only made him want to get back to LA that much sooner.

Harry came back after five days in London and Liam brought him home from the airport. Maggie and Hemmy were incredibly excited to see Harry – and Maggie was also excited to see Liam. He text Maggie the day after Harry left and they started texting each other quite a bit over the week. She liked that he could make her laugh and he was just so sweet. She wasn’t sure of her feelings for Liam, but she wanted to find out if they were compatible at more than just a texting relationship. She wasn’t going to count him out just because she had these stupid unrequited feelings for Harry.

Maggie let Hemmy out the door when she saw Liam and Harry pull up and he immediately bolted for the gate.

“Boys!” Maggie called out, smiling widely as they got out of the car. They both were wearing huge grins when they saw her. Maggie let Liam through the gate as Harry got his luggage from the trunk.

“Hey, you,” Liam whispered to her as he squeezed her hand, unnoticed by Harry.

“Hey, back to you,” she greeted him with a smile just for him.

“How’ve you been?” He asked.

“Same old, same old,” she said with a smirk.

“Mm-hmm,” Liam hummed as he watched her adoringly. It was an unnerving feeling because she didn’t know how to react to that kind of look.

“Maggie May!” Harry said, coming through the gate.

“I think there is a little boy you need to say hi to before you do anything else,” Maggie said playfully, pointing to Hemingway at his feet.

“Oh, Hemingway! I missed you, little bugger,” Harry said, bending down and ruffling up Hemmy’s fur. He let Hemingway attack him with kisses before he put the dog down and stood up in front of Maggie again.

“Maggie…” Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

“Hi, Harry,” she said into the collar of his jacket.

“Has Hemingway been good for you?” He asked, pulling her away to look into her eyes.

“Yeah, but he missed you. I’m starting to re-evaluate where his love lies,” she joked.

“Hemingway’s never lived by the rule ‘love the one your with’. He’s always done his own thing,” Harry chuckled.

“That must be it,” she laughed blithely.

The three of them and Hemingway hung out together at Harry’s for a little while. They ordered Chinese food, enjoying each other’s company. Harry talked about London and all the projects he had on the horizon in regards to his solo career. It was fun and interesting for Maggie to be in-the-know about things like that.

Throughout the evening she was almost certain Harry started catching on to the fact that she and Liam knew each other a little better than just two acquaintances that met in passing. He kept looking at them skeptically when they’d bring up something they’d already talked about with each other.

Maggie decided to leave around eleven and Liam said he was going to head out too – which caused Harry to look at them skeptically again. But he never said a thing. Maggie left moments before Liam and as she was opening her door, he walked over to her.

“Maggie…” He said quietly.

“Oh, hey. I thought you were leaving,” she said, pointing back to the parking lot.

“I was. I am. I just want to ask you something,” Liam said with a shy smile.

“Alright,” she said, closing her door, giving him her full attention.

“I was wondering if maybe you’d want to go out with me this weekend. Like on a date?” He asked. Maggie immediately smiled and blushed as she bit her lip. A date with the gorgeous Liam Payne?

“I’d like that,” she said, feeling quite bashful.

“Great,” Liam said, looking proud and happy that he got the answer he was looking for.

“I’ll call you with the details,” he told her.

“Alright,” she nodded, biting at her lip again.

“Goodnight, Maggie,” Liam said, pulling her into a quick hug.

“’Night, Liam,” she said, giving him a little wave before she walked into the house.

Smitten. She was definitely smitten.

Notes