"Hey pretty gal," a strange accent calls out to me. I pause my folding of clothes, ready to mouth off the gross customer. I always try not to be rude to customers, but creepy men hitting on me is the limit. 

My eyes widen when I see who it is. "Niall," I whisper, pulling him to the fitting rooms so we can't be seen. "What are you doing here?"

"Ouch, kinda harsh," he feigns hurt. I roll my eyes, wanting a real explanation. "We all heard about you and Harry making it official! Congrats!" 

I gesture him to lower his voice. "You're telling me, you came all the way back to America to tell me something you could have called for?"

"Nah," he chuckles, "the rest of the boys are here too."

My jaw drops to the floor. "What?"

He nods and chuckles again. "What can we say? We're proud of our girl! You finally managed to whip Harry."

I cast my eyes downward. "Well, not really. It was more the whole 'fate' thing."

He pushes my chin up, forcing me to meet eyes. "Hey, don't think that. Many people don't stay with their soulmates. It wasn't just fate."

I smile, appreciating the compliment. His smile says one thing, but his eyes say another. Do I see sadness?

"Alrighty," he walks out. "I'll see you at home."

"Okay," I reply before realizing what he said. 

Home?

~~~

Surely enough, Audrey and I pull into our apartment after work and there they were. 

Harry opens the door for us, giving an apologetic smile. "They really insisted on staying."

Audrey walks past him, confused about what the hell he's talking about. When she notices the ex-band members sitting in our kitchen, she stops in her tracks.

"Oye, Ellie, you never told us about your pretty friend," Zayn smirks at the blond. I cringe, but she seems to like the attention. Her cheeks tint pink, but she has a confident smile on. 

"Haha, and this friend is the one who owns the place," she smirks back. "Who gave you permission to stay here?"

Everyone's faces drop. "Uh..." Liam begins.

My friend's face breaks into a smile. "I'm kidding!" The whole room sighs with relief. "You can do whatever, just make sure I don't hear it," she adds, walking to her room.

My cheeks turn bright red, realizing what she's talking about. The boys stay oblivious. 

Harry hugs me from behind and rests his head on my shoulder. 

"I'm sorry," he breathes into my ear.

I'm just confused as to how we're going to fit seven people into this apartment. 

As if he senses my thoughts, he let's go. "We'll make it work, only if you want."

I nod.

"I call Ellie's bed!" Zayn smirks, hopping off the barstool. He slings his arm around me and begins walking toward the hall. "Show me around, babe."

An annoyed Harry physically removes his hand from my shoulder. "Shut up," he mumbles, still not used to being romantic around the boys.

I know Zayn, and all the others, only joke about me to tease Harry. I know they would never do that to their friend. 

It's kinda fun!

"You know, I was thinking, maybe I should sleep with each of the boys. One each night. That way, everyone gets to sleep on the bed at least once," I say innocently.

All the boys catch on and agree with me. "Yeah, sounds good!"

Harry throws his middle finger up at the boys. "Shut up," he mutters once again.

I decide to stop, not wanting to put him in a bad mood. "Aww Harry," I coo. "Is someone jealous? Don't worry, you're the only man for me."

Okay, maybe I didn't stop. What can I say? It's fun!

"El, can I see you for a minute?" He asks quietly,  already dragging me to the room. The boys cheer behind us, making Harry flick them off for a second time.

Once we're in my room alone, he smirks. "You know, teasing is fun as all, but it really hurts my feelings." 

He begins doing the usual, which is backing me into a wall. I innocently take steps back, looking into his eyes. I gently collide into the hard surface.

"Well," he places his hands on my waist and dips down to my neck. He plants wet kisses all over and it takes everything for me to not moan. He brings his lips toward mine, and I anticipate a kiss. "I guess I have to punish you." 

My eyes shoot open and feel the loss of contact. Harry nonchalantly sits on my bed.

"W-what?" I ask, shaking from the adrenaline from our almost kiss.

His smirk never fades. "You heard me. I'm punishing you, no kissing until you behave." 

He gets up and walks past me into the living room. I stay still, in shock that it just happened.

"Where's Ellie?" a voice asks from the living room.

I can almost hear the smirk in his voice. "She's in timeout." 

Before they can question it anymore, I compose myself and walk into the room.

They barely look up at me, continuing what they were doing before. 

Audrey decides to come back out, claiming she felt bad for leaving me alone with five dudes. Of course, she also makes a comment about how I shouldn't even mind, considering they're all gorgeous. I numbly agree, only focusing on the curly-headed boy. 

He catches my eye and smiles for a minute before giving his attention back to his friends. 

A sigh escapes my lips. Audrey looks over at me with her eyebrows raised. "What?"

I debate on telling her my dilemma. I eventually decide on it. If I don't tell her,  then who?

"Harry isn't kissing me because he's a big baby and can't take a couple jokes."

She finds this amusing. She bursts into a fit of laughter, which causes everyone to look at her.

"What?" Louis asks curiously.

I elbow her in the side as a warning. I don't want to be more embarrassed than I already am. 

She doesn't seem to mind my threat. "She... Harry... AHAHAH" She squeezed out between laughs. They all waited for her to calm down, but every time she relaxed, she would laugh again. Eventually, they got tired of her and stopped paying attention to me.

Karma is so weird sometimes. 

"Are you serious? You let him have that power over you?" She whispers when she's done, but has a lingering smile.

I roll my eyes. "What should I do, be starved for affection?"

"Stupid, you're supposed to show your power over him. Ugh, nevermind. Just act like it doesn't bother you and he'll regret it."

She's right. In a way, it's another form of teasing. He'll get annoyed if I don't cooperate. 

"So," she calls out, "Ellie and I are going to sleep together in one bed. You guys can use mine and the couches."

I whip over to her, shocked she would even suggest this. She just winks and gestures to Harry, who seems disappointed.

It's all part of the plan. 

They all begin fighting for the bed, arguing who deserves it.

"They literally could just stay at a hotel," Audrey mumbles, staring at the arguing boys.

They could, so why aren't they?

Audrey lets out a dramatic yawn. "Okay, we're retiring for the night. Everything you need should be in the linen closet." She links arms with me and drags me to her bedroom.

"Aren't we sleeping in my room?" I ask after she closes the door.

"Change of plans," is all she says. "I'm taking a shower. I'll be out in a bit."

It takes everything in me to not go out and see where Harry's sleeping. I'm dying to know.

I glance down to see I'm still wearing my work clothes. Crap.

I quietly sneak out to my own room. I knock before opening the door. Louis and Liam are laying on the bed, on their phones.

"He's not in here," Liam smirks.

"I know," I say defensively. "Just wanted to grab some clothes, jeez." I walk over to my dresser and pull out PJs. I decide on shorts and a t-shirt, knowing I shouldn't sleep in Harry's shirts. It'll just boost his ego. 

As if on cue, the bathroom door opens to reveal Harry. A very wet Harry. His skin is covered in water droplets, his hair flopped against his head. A towel is wrapped around his waist, not hiding the view of his abs.

Before I can be caught staring, I grab my PJs and walk out without acknowledging him. "Goodnight boys," I call out before running into Audrey's room. Once the door is closed, I do a little dance, proud of my restraint.

I used to be so different. Before, I wouldn't even bat an eye toward him. I could go weeks avoiding him. Now, everything's different. 

Something's changed in me. I just hope it's for the better.

"How long are they staying for?" Audrey asks when we're both lying down. "You move so freaking much."

I stay completely still, suddenly conscious of my movements. "I don't know. Besides, this wouldn't be a problem if you just let me sleep with my boyfriend."

The weight shifts and she's now propped up on her side, giving me a crazed look. "Girl, you have got to show some power. Stand up for yourself! I know this is just a silly little thing but if you don't do it now, it'll be worse in the future and he'll walk all over you."

I sigh, knowing she's right. I look up at her smirking face and realization dawns upon me. I sit up and point at her. "You did this on purpose! You said you'd cockblock us! But... I already told Drew!"

Her smile widens. "I know. I still like bothering you," she boops my nose. "I'm not kidding about the other thing though. Be independent."

I silently curse my best friend and plop back into bed. 

~~~

"How did y'all sleep last night?" Audrey asks everyone before answering her own question. "I, for one, did not get any sleep! This bitch kept moving in bed all night. She does it all the time! Just ask Harry."

"I do not!" I defensively yell before realizing she's making fun of me.

"She does," Harry adds fuel to the fire.

Luckily, his friends are just as amazing as he is.

They all unanimously agree with Audrey, implying I've slept with each one of them before. Harry doesn't expect it and it sure shuts him up.

"Breakfast anyone?" 

Harry and I both cringe, remembering her burnt eggs.

"Uh, how about we order something," I pitch in before anyone has to suffer from eating Audrey's awful cooking. 

Once everyone's orders were in, we decide to pick it up instead of paying a delivery fee. Before Audrey could volunteer to drive, Harry does. Also, apparently I'm the only one interested in going. 

She tries to object, insisting she wants to come, but the boys remind her that they can totally ruin the house while she's gone. She reluctantly agrees to stay home. 

For some reason, I'm nervous about being alone with Harry. He's definitely grumpier when we're both around the guys, but I also know it's because they tease him mercilessly. 

Yet, here I am, doing the same. 

As soon as I sit in the range rover, Harry's hand instinctively goes to my thigh. His other is on the wheel.  

"I'm surprised you know how to drive in America," I blurt out. 

He lets out a small chuckle. "It's not that hard. Wait, I forgot I'm talking to an eighteen-year-old who doesn't have her license."

"Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Couch," he corrects me. I laugh thinking about how Harry managed to get booted to the couch. "Yeah yeah, laugh. I got booted from my own girlfriend's house."

My heart flutters when he says the g-word. It sounds so weird coming from him. Especially when it refers to me. 

"Do you think Audrey will be okay, alone with the guys?" I bite my lip with nervousness.

Harry waves it off. "She'll be fine."

"You do realize that our friends are hanging together..." I say. Harry has a lazy grin on his face, not understanding my concern.

"Yeah, so weird, right?"

I narrow my eyes. "Our best friends, some may say. You know, the ones who know way too much about us?"

His eyes widen with realization. "Fuck, we better hurry."

A/N:

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