Harry’s POV

My little angel is asleep once again with her head on my chest. I push some of her black curls away from her face kiss her forehead. “I promise I won’t let them take you away from me.” I cradle her in my arms and rest my chin on the top of her head. “I love you.”

I sit in silence before the door opens revealing Niall and the middle-aged nurse. I totally forgot about him calling the nurse. “Am I correct to assume you are Mr. Styles?” She asks and I nod my head not really paying attention to her. For the night Dakota’s been here, the nurse had only came in once or twice to make sure everything’s going alright.

“Harry,” Niall calls and sets a backpack on my chair. I glance at the bag before up to him. “It’s clean clothes, your toothbrush, toothpaste, and a comb. Please look decent for Dakota. You look like sh*t.”

I look down and see I’m still Marcel. “Be right back,” I lay Dakota down on the bed and walk into the bathroom with the bag. I look at myself in the mirror and laugh softly at what I see. My curls were emerging from the gel, the collar was up the cuff button were undone as were the top two, the vest was off, and I wasn’t wearing the glasses. I look terrible.

First, I discard the vest and shirt before washing off the gel. I’m pretty sure my curls would like to be free since they were packed so close together. I dry off my hair with the paper towels and brush them out with the comb before moving on to brush my teeth. I put them aside and change into my normal clothes.

When I walk back out, the nurse is checking Dakota and Niall is on the chair. “Thanks,” I tell him and set the bag next to him.

"No problem," He sighs. "At least, compared to one outside." I furrow my eyebrows. "The paparazzi are here. They found out about the whole Dakota incident."

"What?" I nearly yell, but keep my tone down for Dakota. I walk over to the window and peek out to the parking lot. Sure enough, the front is crowded by men with cameras. I silently swear and lean against the wall. How am I going to get Dakota outta here? If the paps surround her, she will have a panic attack.

"Mr. Styles?" The nurse asks and I look up. The lady has papers in her hands and a pen. “Since Dakota is a minor, we need to send her to her parents—”

“No!” I yell and push myself off the wall. I sit down next to Dakota and hold her in my arms. I made her a promise I’m going to keep. “You can’t take her away from me. She can’t go to her parents. They’ll abuse her again.”

“Again?” She asks and I nod my head. “Mr. Styles, she has no other family. It’s either that or foster care—”

“No!” I yell at her. “You can’t take her from me. Just let me be her guardian. I’m nineteen. I can take care of her until she turns eighteen in September.” She raises her brows at me and look at her hopeful eyes. “Please.”

She looks over at Niall and I plead with my eyes for support. “Harry can take care of her. He’s fully capable of doing so. That and he’d go mental without her.”

I chuckle softly and rub Dakota’s arm. She glances over at me and sighs. “I’ll call the social worker over. She’ll give you the paperwork.” She walks out the door leaving me, Niall, and Dakota.

"What am I going to do Ni?" I sigh and lean into Dakota. She snuggles into my chest making my heart leap.

“What do you mean?” He asks sitting back down in the chair next to us. “You’re getting what you want. You get to keep Dakota. What’s wong?”

I look up to him and sigh, “We’re only staying for two more weeks. After that, I’d have to call my parents or something. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her with anyone. Not even my mum.” I nuzzle my head in her hair and inhale. She smells like tangerine shampoo. God, I love that. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Just invite your family over earlier so she can adjust,” He suggests. "Tell your mum some stuff you feel comfortable telling about her and help her."

I nod my head silently. That sounds perfect.


*~*~*~*

Today, I get to legally let Dakota stay at my house. The social worker questioned me about my age and how I'm dating Dakota. Since I'm an 'adult' and I can't have sexual relations with a minor. I would never force Dakota into doing that. I love her. She will let me when she's ready and I can wait.

I sit on the bed as Dakota gets dressed. I brought her another jacket. She loves those. She walks out of the bathroom with the bag on her back. She smiles slightly at me and walks over to take my hand. "Let's go, Harry. I'd like to go home and rest."

I stand and kiss her hand. "Are you sure, baby? There's paparazzi outside. I don't want you to get hurt." She takes a shaky breath and nods. "Don't worry." I kiss her temple and tell her, "I won't let anything bad happen to you." She inhales deeply trying to get her head straight. "Are you ready?" She looks up at me and kisses my cheek. "Let's get going."

I hold her close as I lead her out of the hospital's lobby. We are bombarded with men with flashing lights and cameras. Dakota curls into my side and starts crying. Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have taken this way. I hold her tight and rush to the Louis' car. He told me he'd pick us up and he'd be near the front. I find his car help Dakota get into the back. "Thanks Lou," I tell him. "This means a lot."

"Anything for my best mate and his girlfriend," He says and starts driving. Dakota continues to cry and I soothe her with my touch. He chooses not to say anything when he drops us off at my house and helps put her bags in her room. I tell him bye and he leaves and lay down with Dakota.

Sometimes I wonder why I have to be famous? If I wasn't famous, crowds and random people wouldn't be a problem. If I wasn't famous, there wouldn't be paparazzi bothering us. If I wasn't famous, there wouldn't be death threats from random people. Then again, if I wasn't famous, I wouldn't have been in Birmingham. I wouldn't have went to the café to get a drink. I wouldn't have ran into Dakota and I wouldn't have read her journal. I wouldn't have fallen in love with her. And I wouldn't be cuddled next to her.

"Harry?" Dakota's muffled voice asks.

"Yes?" I respond.

"What's going to happen when your break ends?" She asks.

I freeze for a moment. I really wish I didn't have to answer that. "I'm going to call my parents to take care of you."

She pulls away wide-eyed and yells, "Parents?!"

Notes

I feel bad cuz I almost forgot to update... School work is making me busy. I hate Math.