Oh, fuck me. I knew Audrey was dumb enough to do some shit like this.

I'm greeted at the airport with a giant poster board. Cute, right? Wrong. 

Audrey holds up a giant sign reading Welcome back from jail! 5 years too long!

I groan, walking right past her. Drew is standing about five feet away from her. My best friend follows behind me. 

Drew immediately engulfs me in a warm embrace. "It's good to have you back. A month is way too long." 

I smile and nod. I see his amusement toward Audrey and hope their relationship is better than when I left. 

"Aud, I'm going to kill you," I snatch the sign out of her hands. "Hi babe, how are you?" I pull her into a tight hug.

"I've missed you. Have to catch you up on a lot." She laughs, linking arms with me. We begin to walk toward the parking lot.

"Oh girl, I do too," I respond, thinking of all the details I'm going to tell her about. 

We both giggle as we walk out. Drew rolls his eyes at our girly reactions. When he's slightly ahead of us, I nod toward him and wink. Her face turns bright red and she looks down. I laugh, knowing only he can have that effect on her. 

To my surprise, Audrey is the one who drove here. I wonder how she forced Drew to tag along. 

"I call backseat," I yell. 

Audrey looks at me, amused, and Drew is puzzled. 

"Ellie, you're supposed to call shotgun," he laughs.

I shrug, opening the trunk and plopping my bags in. "Well, I want to sit in the back. I want all the room I can get, especially after that flight." Of course, I had extra legroom, so it wasn't that bad, but they don't need to know that. 

Drew sighs, "I guess I'm riding in the front."

I narrow my eyes at him. He doesn't have to act disappointed. I know he secretly wants it. What can I say, it's the bond.

Audrey's blushes, but tries to hide it. Drew doesn't seem to notice and focuses on helping me with my bags. I thank him and crawl into the backseat. 

I give an exaggerated sigh when they're both in the car. "This feels nice."

Both roll their eyes before Audrey begins to drive. The ride home is filled with silly stories we tell each other. 

"Oh, speaking of, Valentines is coming up! Are you doing anything?" Audrey asks, making eye contact in the rearview mirror. 

I don't know if I should talk about Harry's and I's relationship in front of Drew. He still doesn't know about us.

Well, I can at least assume he knows something is up. 

"No idea," Drew and I chirp in unison. 

She drops Drew off first and we all say our goodbyes. Once he's in his house, I crawl to the front. "Tell me everything!"

"You would have known if you were actually here," she snorts. "Sorry. It's just..."

"What?" I ask, utterly confused

"You promised to help and then ditched. It's kinda rude."

She has a point. "That's true. I'm so sorry." 

She begins to laugh so hard, I fear it may impact her driving. "I'm kidding El. I'm glad you got to have an exotic trip with your boyfriend."

I scrunch my face. "It was hardly exotic."

She waves me off. "Whatever. Well for me, the plan's on pause. I'm just surprised he tolerates me! I guess I'm one step closer. You gotta help me."

We pull into my driveway and she assumes she's invited in. I gladly let her, knowing we have so much to spill.

"Oh, hey honey." My mom nonchalantly calls out from the kitchen. I stare in awe. No big reaction? Really?

When Lily sees me, she barrels towards me. She squeezes me in a tight hug, which takes me by surprise. "This is the same body that One Direction hugged," she says under her breath.

Wow, no one really seems to care about me.

"You're cheap," I laugh, physically prying her arms off me. She sticks her tongue out and acknowledges Audrey. We both carry my bags to my room and shut the door so no nosy sisters can hear.

"Tell me everything!" Audrey beams, pulling me into my bed.

"It's a rollercoaster," I explain everything, from meeting Harry's old band to the cheating incident, to our dates, the ball, and leaving.

Her mouth opens wide as she listens to everything. 

"Oh, and I had sex," I add nonchalantly.

"OMG!" She squeals. "No fucking way!!! How was it?"

I hesitate. "Uh..." Should I tell her?

"What?"

"I didn't cum," I whisper awkwardly. Everything else about that night was perfect, except this. 

Her eyes go wide. "What? There's no fucking way... But he has such a reputation!"

I nod in agreement. "I know right? I didn't wanna tell him, so he doesn't know. I faked it," I sigh. "It was still good, just ended too fast. I think he was just a little excited we were finally doing it," I add, feeling a little defensive. 

"Hmm... a man that can't pleasure you isn't the man for you." 

My face tints red. "Well, he has before. Just not with sex."

She has a confused expression until she realizes what I'm talking about. "Ellie! You naughty, naughty girl." 

I groan, covering my face in embarrassment. She laughs, enjoying my pain.

Why do I tell her these things?

"When's he coming back?" She asks after the laughter dies down.

I shrug. "No idea." 

She gawks at me for a minute, then changes the subject. "Okay, back to me. What are we going to do with Drew?"

I get distracted by a text, but Audrey grabs my phone.

H: back home safe? X

"Aww!" She coos at the message. She types a response for me, then clicks to my home screen. "Wait, this is so cute! El!" 

I begin blushing again, remembering it's a picture of Harry sleeping. I had taken it as a joke, but saved it as my home screen. Now I can't stop staring at it. 

"Shut up," I mumble, grabbing my phone. 

"You're getting quite red today." She raises her eyebrows. 

"At least mine likes me back," I tease. My expression drops when I see her sad smile. "Fuck, that was a low blow. I'm sorry... He doesn't hate you. He just needs to see the real you."

She slowly nods. 

I feel so bad. Sure, Harry and I have a weird situation, but at least I can be with him. She can't. Not yet, anyway. 

"Okay, let's find out our next step. Have you guys hung out since I left?" I change the tone.

She gives me a sour face. "Okay, I hate to say this, but I think you need to do something first.

I cock my head at her. "What?"

"You need to tell him that you're over him."

My heart drops. "W-what are you talking about?"

"This whole time, he's been waiting for you to come back. He definitely thinks he still has a chance with you, even though you broke up. You need to do something about that."

I sheepishly smile. "Right. Okay, I'll tell him."

She gives me an approving smile. "Great, until then, can we eat? I'm starving!"

As on cue, my mom knocks on the door. "Come in," I chime.

She walks in with a big smile. She holds her hands out and I run into them, giving her a big hug. "Hi, sweetie. Sorry, I was busy in the kitchen. We'll talk about your trip, but later. I need to head out to work."

I huff and nod.

"Did you tell her yet?" She asks, focusing on my friend.

She doesn't answer and curiosity gets the better of me. "What are you guys talking about?"

"As much as I'd love to see your reaction, I need to leave." My mom plants a kiss on my head. "Bye El, bye Audrey." And just like that, she walks out of my room.

"What?" I ask Audrey.

Her face is covered with a big smirk. "I'll tell you later. Let's eat first. I'm sure your mom just made food."

I groan, following her downstairs. I hate when people don't tell me things.

"Ooh! Spaghetti!" She moans, grabbing plates.

We eat quickly, mostly because I want to know what they were talking about. 

Once we're done and the table is clear, I sit facing her.

"Okay, jeez. You have no patience," she sighs. I grin, waiting for her to continue. "Okay, well since I have a job and am working really hard, my parents decided to buy me a two-bedroom apartment!"

My face lights up. "No way! Holy shit, that's amazing!"

She smiles widely. "I know right?"

"So, what are you going to do with the second bedroom? A gym? Studio? Guest room?" 

Her smile drops. "You're so dull El."

"Hey!" I say defensively. 

"The second bedroom is for you, stupid," she smacks the back of my head. 

My face goes blank. "W-what?"

She laughs. "I knew you'd be surprised!"

"But... I don't think paying rent is in my budget..." I sigh. Stupid financial decisions.

My best friend looks at me in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? Dude, I just said my parents are going to pay for it."

My face twists into realization. "So you're saying..." 

"We're going to live together and you're staying for free! In our very own apartment!" She clears up.

I begin squealing out of excitement, and she joins. 

"It's going to be so fun! I can't wait!" I yell. She excitedly nods, agreeing with me. 

"And we'll be close to work and probably college! It'll be so fun!" 

In all the fuss, we don't hear Lily coming downstairs. "Can you guys be any louder?" She has an irritated tone. 

I ignore her attitude. "Lily! I'm moving out!"

She rolls her eyes. "I know. Mom already told me."

I begin squealing, my friend following in suite. 

"Ugh," Lily yells before running upstairs. 

"Oh my gosh, I have to pack!"

A/N: Not my best work but I'm exhausted. Please point out any mistakes if you see them! Love you all 🥰