Harry's POV

I swear she's going to drive me crazy.

It's five in the morning and I haven't slept a wink, only looking over at her peaceful body sleeping beside me. I feel like I never know if I'm pushing her too much or if she genuinely enjoys it when I touch her.

I mean, at first she'd seem all for it...and then she's not. Who is she to think that she can just make my heart race when she responds to touches and then make it drop when she suddenly pulls away.

Oh yea. She's Mia.

Something I've noticed with Mia is when I try to put myself out there in the most subtle way possible - Yes, I can be subtle. Don't listen to what Mia says - she'd inch closer and do the smallest of things that gives me hope that she can relate to my deepest feelings for her and then she'd just...pull away and make a joke or try to change the subject.

Just like that.

So out of the blue.

And I'm left to wonder if she's just as nervous as I am or if I'm just making her uncomfortable. The last thing I want is to make her uncomfortable but I'll never know if she doesn't give me more to work with.

I'm trying here, Mia! Help a fella out, would you!

Mia sometimes needs a little push if you want to get something out of her which is why I haven't given up yet. Not since that night at the club because in my heart, I know that that wasn't just some drunk mistake...but my head is saying something else.

What I wouldn't give to relive that night again though. I'd take her cacking all over my shirt again if it meant that I could hold her and kiss her the way I did that night.

I'm pulling out all of the stops for this trip. She may not know it but I've got a lot of things planned for this trip and I'm just praying to the gods that nothing goes wrong.

Another reason why I couldn't sleep.

Today is the day to execute the next part of Operation Kidnap the Chicken.

Thinking back on it now, the way I planned this...yes, Mia has got me making itineraries myself now...maybe putting this part of the plan so early into the two weeks probably wasn't the best idea.

Oh God, I'm cold sweating!

And just as I thought my panicking couldn't get any worse, my phone starts bussing on the night stand beside.

The bright light of the screen temporarily blinds my eyes before it focuses on the caller ID.

Liam

Oh no. No no no...please not today.

Hestitantly, I answer it.

"Hey Haz..." from the way he suspiciously dragged his greeting with a high pitched voice, I know automatically that my worst fear for this trip was happening.

"Just say it," maybe it was my fatigue or my disappointment or both, my voice just sounded so down and just literally fed up.

"I wanted you to hear it from me first because I know how important today was for you," I can hear the sympathy in his voice, "but you're going to receive a call any minute now. We've got a last minute radio interview in a few"

They said we were going to be free for these two weeks! I felt like stomping, screaming...anything.

Can't a guy catch a break?

I look over at Mia with the phone pressed to my ear as I see her start to stir in her sleep. Instinctively, I start running my hand up and down her back, smiling to myself as I remember all the times that I've done this to coax her back to sleep.

"I'm really sorry, Harry. Truly I am," Liam's voice says through the phone, bringing me out of my trance and remembering that he was still on there.

I shake my head, eventhough he can't see me, and run my hand down my face in frustration, "It's not your fault, mate. Don't worry about it"

"We're really sorry, Harry!!!" I had to pull the phone away from my ear at the loud voices shouting in the background and I couldn't help the smile thay broke out on my face.

The best friends...brothers...any guy could ask for.

They helped me plan this entire thing so wanted to see it through just as much as I do. Maybe even a little more than me.

Wait.

Nahhhh.

Nothing in this world could change my mind about what I had planned for Mia today. No matter how nervous I was.

You know what? Nothing's stopping me.

"I can still do it. Maybe just a bit later than we had initially planned but I can still do it. Mia is going to know how I feel today, one way or another"

Immediately cheers started coming through the speaker and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright mate! That's the spirit!"

"Harry and Mia sitting in the tree, K-I-S-S-I- ouch!"

"Shut it, Niall. You're ruining the moment. We're suppose to sing that together after the date"

I hear Niall's voice say quietly, "Righttttt"

"Harry, you wanker! I knew you had it in you! Look mates, Harry's balls dropped today!! LET'S CHEERS" As if on cue, my eyes rolled at Louis.

"I'll see you guys in a bit" I say ending the call, letting out a long sigh. I know I promised her that she'd do what she had to get done while we were here and I meant it. She will do what she has to do as long as I'm around.

But there's just one tinsy tiny thing that I need to do first...just to put my mind...my heart at peace

Today is the day.

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Mia's POV

"So this was your master plan? Bring me to LA so you can drag me wherever you please?" I joked while I expected a cheeky response, I was a bit puzzled when he pulled me aside, away from the others and held me at my shoulders.

This guy decided to wake me up at the crack of dawn like some damn rooster and dragged me out of the house.

And when I say me, I mean only me.

It's one thing to be woken up abruptly without a proper reason and then it's another to hear that he shipped Mari off to some stranger!

Okay.

Maybe it wasn't a stranger...it was Lily's parents who's been dying to see her ever since we left LA to go live England but I didn't like how he went about it.

I wish he would have consulted me first before making this decision because it makes me feel as though I'm just pawning her off on everybody else instead of myself when I'm her legal guardian.

I haven't seen her in months because I had to leave her at someone else's home and now that I have her, she's at someone else's home again.

It just doesn't sit well with me that everyone else is taking care of her but me and this was my chance to redeem myself for the months I'd been away from her on tour.

I just wish he'd asked me beforehand and given me a proper explanation as to why she would need someone to babysit her when I was right here.

And I fully plan on having his conversation with him when we get back to his house but for now, I'm just going along with it.

"Listen..." he starts off so seriously that it takes me a while to believe that he isn't joking around, "I know this isn't what you probably had in mind but I swear, I just have to do this quickly and then I'm all yours"

Ummm...he got that I was joking with him, right? Right?

I think I'm speechless. I have no idea what to say to that. Is there supposed to be an underlying context to this conversation that I'm not getting? I switch my line of vision from his searching eyes to the other eight staring at us with wide cheesy smiles and gleaming eyes and my confused expression turns to disturbed.

That's not creepy at all...

"Uhh Harry..." I said slowly turning my head away from the others back to face him, "I think you took that a bit too seriously."

"And I know that I promised you that I wouldn't distract you from what you had to do but..." he continues to ramble on but he doesn't get to finish and I don't get a word in to reassure him because a man with headphones over his ears sticks his head outside the door that we were a little away from and beckons the boys instead.

I hear Harry let out a deep, frustrated sigh and opens his mouth, probably to ramble again, but I cut him off.

"Go" he doesn't move, still standing in front of me, searching my eyes for something that I'm not sure of.

"Go," I say again, with a smile and slightly pushing him in the direction of the door. "I'll be right here when you get out"

He stops suddenly and his puppy dog eyes widen adorably, "Promise?"

"I promise! Now go!!" I laugh as I push his back towards the door and he playfully resists.

"Don't you dare go anywhere, okay?"

"I won't"

"Good because we've got plans" were his last words before he went into the studio. I didn't choose to dwell on it that much because when Harry smirks at you, 98% of the time, he's just teasing so really anything he says with a smirk, you have to take with a pinch of salt.

As soon as they all quickly filed into the studio and shut the door, an immediate silence took over and suddenly the empty hallway felt like a ghost town. Noticing a small bench in a corner at the end of the corridor right by a window and recognizing that at this point, I didn't know what to do with myself, I walked over to the bench and sat down, directing my eyes to images of the busy streets on the other side of the window. I have no other options left but to either stand in the empty corridor like an idiot or people watch. I think the latter seems more appealing right now.

As my eyes glaze over the many figures walking up and down, past what seems to be hundreds of cars containing agitated drivers and the bright sunlight shining down on them and the blowing palm trees waving 'hello' in the breeze, I can't help but feel so out of place. It's amazing how I used to live here yet everything I see now, it's like I'm seeing with a fresh set of eyes. I don't know how much time passes but my shot at occupying myself is interrupted by a sudden commotion that seemed to be coming from downstairs. I didn't pay it any mind however, figuring that it wasn't any of my business.

That is, until a flustered Paul appears in the once empty hallway and starts walking towards me. This peaks my interest so I move away from the window and meet him halfway.

"Are you expecting anyone, Mia?" he asks as soon as I reach him. Expecting anyone? Hasn't he noticed that I'm practically a loner?

"No, I don't think so" I shake my head but I'm still interested in why he would ask me that and start thinking if the commotion from downstairs had anything to do with it.

"Splendid!" he exclaims, almost in relief, and then adds, "There was just this guy downstairs insisting that he was your 'sugar daddy' and tried to push through security. No need to worry though, we're in the process of getting rid of him."

I freeze at the name, almost immediately recognizing it and a wide smile makes its way across my face. No. Way. This goof!

"You just stay here and-"

"It's okay, I'll come down. No need to run him, he's my friend" I cut him off and send him a reassuring smile.

Walking down the stairs, I catch the sight of a tall, tan, lean and brown shaggy haired boy dressed in blue jeans and a white v-neck with a black leather jacket shrewn over his shoulder.

"Out of all the things you could say..." I say when I see him and he spins around at the sound of my voice, locking his deep brown eyes with mine, instantly letting his mischievous smirk spread across his pink lips, "You just love to find ways to embarrass me, don't you?"

"What can I say, it gives me life," he laughs and pulls me in for a hug as soon as I reach him. Wrapping my arms around him, a familiar, safe and warm feeling fills in my chest and I find myself not wanting to let go.

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Harry's POV

"Alright folks, that's all the time we have for today, I just wanna thank the boys of One Direction for dropping by the station this morning. I know for a fact that you guys have made a lot of Directioners' days today. Anyway, we'll be back after this commercial break"

As soon as those words left the announcer's mouth, I was quick to stand up from my chair and taking the headphones off my head. Immediately after he clicked the 'off air' button, I thanked him quickly for having us and proceeded to leave the studio with wide strides.

No time for lengthy conversations.

I'm a man on a mission.

"Yes my pretty bird...fly, fly away and let love set you free," I turned around to see Louis with one palm crossed over the other, imitating the movement of a bird flying away.

Soon after, Niall, Liam and Zayn started doing the same and making kissy faces at me and I blushed embarrassingly.

Wankers! I said to myself, shaking my head grinning at the antics while walking out the door.

I felt my heart start to beat louder and faster in my chest as I first stepped out into the hallway, the anticipation to see her face again heightened like never before.

This is it.

What I didn't expect though, was for the agonizing feeling of disappointment to well up in me when I fully stood in the hallway, waiting to lock eyes with her deep brown ones.

Only I didn't see her eyes...or her at all.

I saw an empty hallway.

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