'There's no dotted line to sign away your freedom
I acknowledge you for what you do to keep strong
I'll always get behind you, don't get me wrong
I don't ask for much, just be honest, with me'

We managed to sneak out to the front of the airport unnoticed, thanks to Shaft 2.0, whose name I just learnt is Joe.

Hm, he does look like a Joe...

He led us to the carpark where Harry's car was parked in silence and then walked away to god knows where after Harry retrieved his keys.

When plans changed to Harry driving us there, I didn't expect to meet a freaking Range Rover!

I guess I should be used to the fact that he can afford these things quite easily but sometimes I just forget.

The past week or so with Harry really felt like it was just us again. I felt like I was spending time with the boy I practically grew up with while getting to know him at the same time.

Not some famous boybander with a bank account the size of Europe!

But I guess that's just the reality of things.

"We need to make a pit stop first, if you don't mind" I told him as he started driving.

Something about Harry with one hand on the wheel and the other on his lap looking so relaxed makes me feel things that I haven't felt in a long time.

"Sure love, where to?" he glances at me with a smile before turning his attention back to the road.

I direct him to Maria's house which takes us around fifteen minutes from the airport.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry's POV

I watch as she walks up to a white house surrounded by many beautiful plants and trees.

She kneels in front of a plant pot and lifts it up revealing what looks to be a key and enters the house.

Now that she's gone, I can feel my heart rate returning to normal.

I'm always nervous around her. Scared of saying or doing the wrong things. Scared of her realising that she's too good for me.

I'm lucky enough that she evens makes time to hang out with me in her already busy life.

She's accomplished so much already. Without me.

She's grown and matured so beautifully. Without me.

The level of confidence and strength that she has in herself is unbelievable and I never doubted for a second that she would turn out this amazing.

I feel like my feelings for her grow everyday and it's getting harder to hide it.

But I have to.

My thoughts are interrupted by the closing of a door. I look up and see Mia walking back towards me, balancing a bag on her shoulder and a sleeping Mari on her chest.

I quickly exit the driver's side and open the backdoor for her as she seemed to be struggling.

"Here. Let me take that" I gesture toward the bag on her shoulder. She smiles gratefully and carefully slides it off her shoulder to me.

I take it from her, my fingers grazing her arm in the process and carry it to the boot, careful not to make too much noise and hop back in to the driver's seat.

I turn in the seat to watch in the back. My heart swells with pride as I watch her gently lay her sleeping daughter across the backseat.

She kisses her tiny forehead and whispers something that I can't hear before looking up and locking eyes with me.

Busted!

She flashes me my favourite smile before closing the door and hopping back into the passenger seat and fastening her seat belt.

I watch her every move, admiring everything about her.

I probably look like a creep with my staring because she turns to look at me confused.

"What?" she asks touching her face and looking in the rearview mirror "do I have something on my face?"

"You're perfect" I blurt out, letting my mouth run away with me.

Shut up Harry! You're gonna creep her out!

However, she takes my word vomit as a joke.

"Yeah, okay. And the Earth is flat"

I'm over the moon that she doesn't take me seriously considering her tendency to over think things.

But I'm crushed that she doesn't know how perfect she is and I'll never get the chance to really tell her or show her myself.

I'd like to have a word with whomever had the pleasure of putting that ring on her finger because they're obviously not doing a great job!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mia's POV

I finally finished the coffee.

Half an hour into the drive to Holmes Chapel.

I'm still exhausted though.

Mari is still fast asleep in the backseat in the same position I laid her in.

I missed her so much.

I felt like a part of me was missing.

You're perfect

His voice rings in my ears. I don't want to over think it but I can't help it.

No one has ever said those words to me before. They somehow made me feel special, like I was special to someone.

But he couldn't have meant them in the way I thought. He just couldn't.

To distract myself, I turn my attention back to the angel in the backseat.

I smile at the slight crinkle in her forehead and the steady rising and falling of her chest.

"You're so great with her" his deep voice snaps me out of my daze causing me to turn back around in the seat to face front.

"You think?" I ask unsurely, letting a sliver of my insecurities shine through.

"Oh absolutely! Anyone can see you much she adores you. The bond between you two is admirable" he gushes and I look at his side profile, observing the soft look on his face as he spoke.

"How do you do it?"

"How do I do what?" I ask slightly confused by his question.

"Be such a great mother while balancing two jobs and yet you still stay true to yourself. You know what you want and you do what you have to to get it"

"My cereal is proof of that" he teases.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry's POV

She laughs and then apologises "I'm sorry! I was hungry!"

I shrug it off, not upset about it in the slightest.

I didn't care that she snagged my midnight snack. She could snag all of my snacks and I still wouldn't care. In fact, I'd willingly give them to her if she wanted.

"I guess it takes a lot of sacrifice" she answers with a thoughtful look on her face, referring to my previous question "it's not easy at all but for her, it's worth it. I just learn to take life as it comes" I nod taking in her words as a comfortable silence envelopes us.

From the corner of my eye, I see her subtly try to stifle a yawn.

Usually I'd find it cute and try to capture the memory but considering the circumstances, my heart aches at the sight.

"Why don't you get some shut eye? We still have a while to go" I suggest, trying to get her to agree with me.

She hesitates before another yawn comes causing her to give in.

I wish I knew what was bothering her so much to the point of her losing sleep. I wish she'd tell me.

I know that she will but when she's ready. I won't push her to tell me anything that she doesn't want to because I'm afraid in doing so, I'll push her even further away from me than she already is.

I'm working on that too.

I lower the radio hoping that some quiet will help her fall asleep.

But it backfires when she starts twisting and turning in her seat in the silence. I can't see her face as she's facing the window, away from me.

I don't know what to do. I feel totally and utterly helpless.

When she huffs I decide that I can't take it anymore.

"Can't sleep?" she turns her head to look at me at the sound of me voice.

"Sorry, I'm weird" she mumbles turning back to the window "I can't sleep in cars unless there's music playing"

"No worries! What kind of music?" I perk up, glad that she's opening up so that I know how to help her.

"Don't worry about it" she shuts me down.

Call it instinct but something tells me there's more to this than she lets on.

Maybe I can try to coax something out of her.

Yes! I know what I said....but maybe she needs a little push?

"If it's not too much to ask" I trail off catching her attention before continuing "can you tell me why you haven't been sleeping properly lately?"

Please tell me

Maybe it's the exhaustion, I don't know who I should be thanking, but it somehow gets her to spill.

My eyes grow wide as saucers but I try to hide it not wanting her to see my surprise.

"Remember in my letters, I told you about someone named Blake?"

Okay...this is not how I imagined this going.

Who's Blake?

What letters?

"What letters?"

"My letters? The ones I sent you almost two years ago? Ring a bell?" she asks, her tone laced with confusion.

Nope, not a sound. You hear any bells ringing?

"I've got no idea what you're talking about" I answer growing curious as her confusion levels rise.

Surely if she sent me letters, I would've responded to them.

I'm not that big of a prick.

It makes sense now why she said what she said when we talked in her living room.

I thought she was referring to the fact that I stopped sending her letters. Not that she thought I received her letters and just ignored her.

This is so messed up.

"So you're saying that you never got any of my letters?"

"I swear I didn't. I have no idea what you're talking about" I feel the need to reassure her. Remind her that I'm not the kind of person to do that. I don't know how much of her image of me has changed over those four years but I've made it another one of my missions to get back in her good books.

"So if you didn't get them, then who did?"

"It's a mystery to me" it really is. My knuckles turn white as I gripped the steering wheel.

Who the fuck touched my stuff?

I don't really get angry. It's a rare sight but when I do, the lads say that I'm quite scary.

I'm very personal. I don't like when people go through my things without consulting me first. It gets on my nerves.

Where could they have gone?

After this weekend, I'll ask the housekeeper to search around my house while I conduct a search of my own on the bus.

I have to find those letters.

Satisfied with my plan, I glance over at Mia.

I want so much to take away the sadness on her features. There was something in those letters. Something that she wanted me to know. It's the only logical explanation to her sudden mood change that I can come up with.

We fall into a deep silence where she just stares into space and gets stuck in her head.

I realise that she does that often and I want to be able to read what they mean.

I want to know everything about her.
"Mia?"

I feel her gaze lingering on me before she sighs.

"I-" she starts and I wait patiently for her to continue.

Give her time.

"It's not that I don't trust you" she rushes out "quite the opposite actually"

Don't do it. Don't do it Styles!

I couldn't do it. I couldn't hold back the grin making it's way across my face. She just made my day right there.

Maybe I don't have a lot of work to do. Maybe I've already landed myself back in her good books.

"A lot has happened these past four years and it's really hard to talk about sometimes"

I need her to know that she can trust me again like she used to and not feel that I'm pressing her for details on her life that she's not ready to tell.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me now. I understand, you need time"

"I don't know Harry. People say I tend to test their patience" she says unsurely.

"Well they're idiots and I'm not them. Quite frankly, I don't want to be an idiot anyway" I try to lighten the mood.

And it works.

"You sure about that?"she sasses.

"Oh shush"

I can't contain the smile on my face and glancing away from the road to her and back, I can see she's doing the same and it makes me so giddy.

I did that!

My smile doesn't last long as another yawn escapes her.

"If I asked you the same question as before, will you give me an honest answer?" I ask cautiously fearing her answer.

But I'm not letting this go. This has been eating away at my brain since Thursday.

It's Saturday.

I'm getting an answer out of her one way or another. I'll take whatever I can get.

She stays silent and I fear that I pushed too far.

She's right, you're an idio-

"If I'm going to answer this honestly, I'm going to have to start from the beginning"

Well I wasn't prepared for that!

"I wasn't honest with you while growing up" she admits and I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach.

"I'm sorry, please don't hate me" she rushes out in one breath.

Hate her? I could never.

"It's ok, I guess" I respond not really knowing how to "as long as it wasn't really important"

Maybe she didn't tell me because it wasn't really important. Maybe it was meaningless but we told each other everything either way.

And I mean everything....

"It depends on how you look at it. I don't think it's that important" she saying indifferently shrugging her shoulders.

As we stop at a red light, I turn in my seat to look at her in anticipation.

"Well I guess I'll have to be the judge of that then"

I watch as she takes a deep breath, knowing her probably giving herself a pep talk.

If she says it isn't that important then why is she making it out to be?

She looks as though she's gearing herself up to reveal something monumentally life changing and it does nothing to calm my rising nerves.

The suspense is killing me!

From the corner of my eye, I see her leg bouncing up and down and it takes everything in me not to reach over and calm her nerves.

"Do you remember how much of a musician my dad was?" I nod. Her dad was one hell of a musician. I admired him a lot while growing up. He was a struggling musician but that never detoured him from his love of it or from sharing his talent with the world.

She continues looking out the window. "One day, when I was, I think around six, I was bored, well Tia and I. Tired of playing with dolls, watching television. We were just bored out of my minds!" she chuckles and the corners of my lips tug upwards.

"I remember aimlessly walking around the house then hearing the sound of a guitar playing and dad's soft humming and instantly being drawn to it. I pulled Tia with me and saw him sat in the gallery strumming away at his guitar with a book at his side and a pencil between his teeth. When he noticed we were there, I asked him if I could try" she stops suddenly so I turn to look at her as I stopped at a red light.

She stares into my eyes for a bit and I want more than anything to know what she's hiding under her blank, unreadable stare.

"Did he let you?" I ask trying to grasp where her story is leading.

She shakes her head with a smile "He said he would've if I was a bit older and teased me about my tiny hands"

I focus my eyes back to the road when the light turns green but yet she still had all of my attention.

"I don't remember much about what happened after or what the hell I was thinking!" she exclaims before continuing.

"All I remember was seeing the guitar lent against the wall. Back then I had a really wild imagination and thought it was calling my name!" I chuckled at the absurdity of what she said but also because I know she really did imagine it considering the crazy things she came up with when we were kids.

"Ya I know. Ha ha" she sarcastically replies making my amusement cease but a small smile remains on my lips as evidence of it.

"Anyway, in the end..." she trails off and I grip the steering wheel in anticipation.

"In the end..." I echo.

She sucks in such a deep breath that I fear her lungs might explode from the large in take of oxygen before rushing out so fast, I think I heard her incorrectly,

"IntheendIpickeduptheguitarandstartedplayingittheneveryonerushedooutsideinshock like" she gasps "ohmygodhowthehellisshedoingthat?"

"Hold on, back up a bit" I said trying to wrap my head around everything she just said.

"Did you just say you picked up the guitar and started playing?" I clarified and she nods.

Good, because that was the only thing I understood from what she said.

Wait-

Did she just-

"Just like that? No lessons, anything? Just pure curiosity?" I ask, my tone laced in shock.

Mia plays guitar, who would've thought? I knew she took piano lessons for a while but another instrument as well?

Must be nice considering the closest thing to an instrument that I can actually play is the kazoo.

She lowers her voice,"I guess. I just watched his fingers move over the strings and mimicked it. See? Not a big deal!"

I feel my mouth hang open. How could she say that?

"Not a big deal? How many six year olds you know randomly picks up a guitar and starts playing it?"

"There is literally a five year old asleep on your backseat who has a love for secondary school Math and Physics" she deadpans. Good point!

"Were you good?"

"Like you said, you'll have to be the judge of that"

"Will you ever play for me?" I ask hopefully. I've been trying to learn how to play the guitar recently. Don't get me wrong, Niall is a great teacher but I think I'd much rather Mia.

No offense Niall!
He can't hear you twat!

I wonder if she'll be open to the idea. I really hope she does. It could be so much fun.

"I don't play anymore Harry" she says sadly, looking down playing with her fingers.

What?

I should abandon all hope and just accept what she says but it just wouldn't be me if I did.

What's my name?!

"Why not?" I playfully whine but there's a sliver of hope in me that she wants to continue this honest streak.

I see her turn to look at me and I glance between her and the road waiting for an answer.

"Too soon?" I ask when she doesn't respond and she nods before turning to look out the window again.

An awkward silence settles and before I can stop myself, I blurt out,

"Why didn't you tell me?" It's been at the tip of my tongue since the start of this conversation.

I know, it was before we met but I thought we knew everything about each other.

I thought I knew everything about her.

At least it felt that way.

"Because" I hear her let out a defeated sigh "Because everyone started treating me differently. Like I was this special being above all the other kids my age. It felt like it was the only thing I was known for"

"I never liked attention so from the start, everything just got uncomfortable especially from such a young age. Things like 'Oh, you're so gifted!' 'She's one of a kind' didn't sit well with me at all"

I wish I could say I know exactly how she feels, but I don't. She experienced it and that's how the situation made her feel.

It kills me that she probably kept this to herself for all these years.

Was that the reason why she stopped playing the guitar?

"When we met, you were the only person who didn't treat me differently and genuinely wanted to be friends with me, so I figured that if I didn't tell you..." she trails off, letting it hang in the air.

She thought that if she told me then I'd treat her like everyone else.

Jeez that's a lot to take on...at six/seven years old.

"After a few years, I decided that you deserved to know and it wasn't fair of me to keep a part of myself from you. You were my best friend, you know"

My curiosity got the better of me "What changed?"

"I overheard my piano teacher telling my dad that I was this 'prodigy' and 'that I was wasting my gift'" she spits with distaste.

"I snapped, completely lost it. It made me feel like I was some experiment to lock up in a science lab or something. People like Elton John are prodigies. Not me! I was done, couldn't take it anymore but I didn't stop playing. I just played for myself and my family" I nod my head, finally understanding her reason.

Do I agree with it? Not necessarily but it all comes down to the nasty things we call insecurities and I can't fault her for that.

Besides, to be fair, I wasn't totally honest either but it was for a good cause.

What if she didn't like me back and it made things all awkward?

What if she thought I was weird for liking my best friend.

See? Nasty guys, I tell you!

"I'm really sorry"

"Don't apologise. You had your reasons and I understand" I reply softly and as reassuringly as possible but not enough as the uneasiness in her expression remains.

"Besides, it's in the past anyway. And you told me now. No point dwelling on the what ifs"

I sneak a glance at her. She opens her mouth to respond but doesn't get the chance as the sign on the other side of the road catches her attention.

"Four hours gone already?"

'Welcome to Holmes Chapel'