*Niall’s POV*

It was nearing the time for me to go to Autumn’s Sunday dinner thing. I had been contemplating all day whether or night I should go, but I eventually I decided I would. It would give me a chance to see Autumn again and get to know her friends a bit better. Besides, how could I say no to food?

I had just finished getting ready when Louis came in the room – fortunately *without* his awful girlfriend.

“Hey, Niall. Would you like to join me in a game of FIFA?”

“Hey, Tommo. Sorry, I’m headed out to dinner with Autumn and her friends.”

“Autumn again, huh? You must actually be serious about this one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know. You never usually keep girls around for more than a couple days, so I assume you’re serious about this girl.”

I didn’t want him to know how strongly I felt about Autumn. But if even Louis noticed things were different with her, then I had to wonder if Autumn noticed too. I’m still trying to figure out where I want this ‘relationship’ to go. “I don’t know if I’d call it serious, but it’s something. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Hey, I’m just pointing out the facts mate. I heard from Liam that her friend – Sarah? Selena? Whatever her name is – told him that Autumn told her that she’s really into you. So maybe she’s serious about you too.”

I kind of liked the thought of Autumn talking me up to her friends. It made me feel less vulnerable…like I wasn’t the only one having such strong feelings. I know she likes me, but she hasn’t gotten to know me completely yet. And who knows if she’ll still feel the same when she gets to know me better.

“I appreciate your opinion, Louis. But you have horrible taste in women, so I don’t think I want your relationship advice,” I teased. “I’m heading out now though, I’ll see ya later.”

“Ha! Nice one. Just, promise me you’ll play a couple rounds when you get back, yeah? That is, if you plan on sleeping alone tonight,” he winked.

I rolled my eyes back at him, “bye, Lou!”
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I showed up at Harry’s place on time, but I was too nervous to knock so I took a few minutes to hype myself up in the hallway. I knew getting along with Kelsey would be a breeze, but the few times Harry and I interacted were kind of awkward and tense. Okay, Niall. Just breathe. I checked out my reflection in my phone, ran my hands through my hair a few times, straightened out my shirt, and gave two hard knocks on the door. A few seconds later, Kelsey welcomed me inside and directed me towards the dining table. She was trying to make conversation, but I was finding it hard to focus. From the table I could see into the kitchen where Harry and Autumn were busy dancing around while flipping pancakes. They must’ve been having a really good time, because they didn’t even acknowledge I was there. I was beginning to get a bit agitated, but I was trying my best not to show it.

Just then, Autumn spotted me from the kitchen and ran over to greet me.

“Niall, I’m so glad you came!” she ran up and wrapped her arms around me. Hugging her made all of my negative feelings fade away. As soon as I smelled that familiar scent of vanilla, lavender, and fruity shampoo I felt a million times better.

“I’m glad too. Good to see you as well, Harry.” I did my best to be polite and shake his hand, even though things still felt awkward between him and I.

“Same to you, Niall.”

I helped Autumn and Kelsey set the table while Harry cleaned up a few dishes in the kitchen. He came back to the table carrying a huge plate of bacon and eggs, a couple stacks of pancakes, a bowl of fruit, and some orange juice. My stomach began to growl loudly, and I was *just* about to serve myself a plate when Kelsey slapped my hand away.

“Aye! What was that for?”

“You can’t eat yet! We completely forgot the syrup!” I looked across the table and sure enough, there was no syrup.

“Well we can eat without it, can’t we?” My stomach was in knots because I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

“No Kelsey is right. I can’t eat pancakes with no syrup!” Autumn pouted.

“Well what do you propose we do then?” Harry asked. He looked to be about as hungry as me.

Autumn and Kelsey made eyes at each other from across the table, gesturing back and forth with raised eyebrows and head tilts. Harry and I looked at each other in confusion, and I had a feeling they were up to something.

“Why don’t you boys go get some syrup from the mini bodega?” Kelsey suggested.

“Both of us? Like, together?” I asked. I didn’t mean to sound rude, but if I had to go then I’d rather be with Autumn. Or Harry could just go alone…I liked that idea better.

“Yes that’s a great idea! I’ll just give you guys the money. It’s like a two-minute walk, you guys can handle it,” Autumn tuned in.

I so badly wanted to take Autumn with me, but at that point I was so hungry I just wanted to get it over with. And it’s so hard saying no to her….

Harry looked at me, and I could tell he was equally annoyed. “Whatdya say, Niall? Up for a walk?”

“I guess so.”

We grabbed our coats and headed out in the cold.

“So…where are you from, Harry?”

“England. And you?”

“Mullingar. What brought you to New York?”

“I came here on scholarship last year to study art history and journalism. I miss home, as I’m sure you do, but I have to admit that having the girls around makes me feel a lot less lonely. How about you?”

“I feel ya on that one. I came here on sports scholarship to study business. I’m a pretty simple guy, and I lived a simple life back home, but I wanted to experience something new and exciting. And I feel the same way about my friends here, it helps me forget how much I miss home sometimes.”

It turns out that Harry isn’t such a bad guy after all. We ended up sharing some funny stories with each other about how weird it was adjusting to the city and American life. We also talked a lot about music and discovered we grew up on some of the same bands. By the time we got back to his apartment I felt a lot more at ease, but I still had an important question to ask him.

“Hey, Harry? Before we go back in I need to ask – how long have you known Autumn? Like have you two, you know…hooked up or anything?”

For a moment he just stood there laughing to himself, and I began to feel a bit worried. “No, I would never! I mean – don’t get me wrong she is an amazing person – but I don’t see us ever going there. We haven’t known each other long, but she’s like a sister to me. I care about her, that’s all.”

“Oh, tank God. I’m normally not the jealous type, but I have to admit your relationship with her was pretty intimidating.” I can easily tell they’re close friends, and Harry is an attractive guy with gorgeous hair and an accent, not unlike myself. I know how American girls react to that because I’ve experienced it – so I wouldn’t have been surprised if Autumn had fallen for his charm.

“I totally get where you’re coming from, Niall. And since we both clearly care for her, let’s make a deal. Let’s both promise to do everything we can to keep her happy.”

“Deal,” I agreed.

“I’m glad we’re having this heart to heart conversation, but I am starving. Shall we go back inside?”

My stomach growled in response. “Well that answers your question then, doesn’t it!”
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The rest of the evening went much better than I originally anticipated. After the dinner we had a blast playing card games; and I found out Autumn is a horrible liar because we were playing 'BS', and every time she put down the wrong card she would bite her lip and try to avoid making eye contact. I called her out every time.

Before I left for the evening Harry and I exchanged numbers so that we could keep in touch. The more time I spent with them, the more comfortable I felt just being myself; which is much different than other girls I've been with. Hopefully Autumn feels comfortable being herself around me, too. I'm starting to feel like maybe, just maybe this could turn into something real.

Notes