(Harry's POV)

 My mum wasn’t too happy about me leaving home and going back to London with the guys, but she managed to get the boys to at least stay for dinner and then the night. The ride from London to Holmes Chapel wasn’t that long, but it was already getting dark out and she didn’t want them to drive in the drizzling wet darkness. We piled into the living room with masses of pillows and blankets thrown everywhere. The next morning, we folded everything back up and packed up my things.

 My mother gave me a tight hug, still obviously upset about my departure.  I had promised her that I would stay until I was completely back on my feet, but I felt well enough and that house was getting stuffy. Gemma came by and we were actually all together in the first time in a while. It was nice, but nice things had to come to an end. I was surprised to see the guys in my house, all four of them, crowding into the small entryway. I never thought I would be so relieved to hear their voices. After all it had been two months since the accident and hearing had been a large part of my problem. The left ear was back, but the right ear was still taking its sweet old time.

“What?” I perked up, swearing I had heard someone say something in the car. It was a good thing Louis had a large SUV that could fit all of us along with my belongings that I took with me to Holmes Chapel.

“I said ‘you sure are talking more.’” Liam repeated himself, nudging me in my ribs. I smiled. It was true. That barrier between my voice and my hearing was broken down now that I could actually hear myself. Well, I could half hear myself. “Have you tried singing?” All heads, except Louis who was keeping an eye on the road, turned to hear my answer.

I scratched my head, pushing my curls off my forehead. “Not really.” I said, defeated by the even thought of singing. I cleared my throat and moved around to get confortable in my seat again. The cast on my leg got in the way and made it hard to adjust myself.

“Just not ready, yeah?” Zayn asked. He completely understood it. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t even know if I could anymore. Music was my life and I had lost the ability to listen to it. Everything else stopped in my life. Harry Styles without music wasn’t someone I wanted to be, but was forced to be.

“Yeah. I guess so.” I said softly. Zayn half-smiled and patted me on the shoulder.

“Whatever happens, man.” He reassured me.

They had my back. Music or no music.

Throughout the ride, Niall would tap on the dashboard and make a tune. They others would hum. It was probably an effort to get me to do something, but I closed my eyes instead, falling asleep in the backseat of the car. I was shook awake when we were getting close. I jolted up, hitting my head on the roof of the car. “What? What’s going on?” I settled down and rubbed the top of my head.

“Mate, we’re just back in London. Don’t freak out.” Louis called from the front seat. He pulled into his complex parking lot and stopped the car. I narrowed my eyes, squinting to see the bulky man standing just near the entrance with an angered expression plastered on his face. Shit. Paul.

All of our eyes connected as we thought about the trouble we would be in. I had been keeping in contact with Paul since I left, but the past few calls I ignored. I guess management was getting really bad with him asking where I was and such. Also, I’m pretty sure that the guys didn’t tell anyone where they were going. So the whole band disappeared and I bet no one had a clue as to where they all went.

“He looks pretty mad.” I spoke all of our thoughts.

A collective sigh filled the cabin of the car. “Well, here we go.” Louis pulled the keys from the ignition and stepped outside. Paul was nearing the vehicle, his arms roughly placed at his sides. His expression was still stern. Niall and Liam piled out next and then Zayn, finally leaving me last to get out. Paul’s face turned to shock when he saw me. For a few seconds it looked like he was glad to see me, but the sternness came back and he pointed towards the entrance to Louis’ building.

“Inside, now.” We filed into, me in the back, crutching my way with ease into the building. Paul patted me on the back. “Nice to have you back, Harry.” He said, standing on left so that I heard him with my good ear.

“Don’t go to hard on them, yeah?” I asked, looking ahead of me at the boys who had seemed to shrink in size under the pressure of Paul’s glare. He merely blew out a long breath in response to my request and we made it to Louis’ doorway after riding up in the elevator a few floors. Once inside, Paul remained silent which only worsened the feeling in the air.

“You had a meeting with management today.” He broke the silence, staring from Louis, down the line past Niall and Liam and ended his glare at Zayn. “And I had to tell them why they couldn’t meet with their signed contract group because I had no idea where they disappeared to.” I was right, nobody told anyone where they were going. Basically, their mission to come and get me angered management even more. I hoped that my return would make up for the drama.

“We we’re getting Harry. You know, so that management could talk to all of us.” Louis stood like Will Smith showing off his family and I was the family. “Tada!”

 “We really need to talk about you guys not going off and doing things like that.” Paul pinched the bridge of his nose. He was annoyed with us for sure, but he couldn’t stay that way. “I rescheduled for tomorrow. Please be here when I come back tomorrow.” With another sigh, he left Louis’ flat and we watched from the window as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“So….” I started, starting to feel the pinch under my armpits from my crutches. “I’m going to go ahead and sit down.” I hobbled over to the couch and plopped down. Niall followed me, slinging his arm over my shoulder and pulling me into a half hug. “Ah, watch the ear.”

“Oh ye…” The rest was muffled. Everyone else in the room had started to talk and the voices got muddled together. After being in a house with only my mum and Robin for nearly two months, I forgot what it was like to be back in the light of things with a bunch of guys that couldn’t stop talking.

“How about a pow wow?” Louis fist punched the air. “Get Harry back into the swing of things, yeah?”

I raised my hand up. “No thanks. Not now.”

“Come on. It’ll be fun.” Liam assured me. I had just started speaking after being silent for so long. Who knew what my singing voice would sound like without uttering a single tune for a long while. I cleared my throat, letting the boys know that I was getting ready.

Zayn sat in front of Louis’ coffee table and began to tap his hands on the wooden surface. Niall shot up from the couch and ran to somewhere else in Louis’ apartment. He came back with his acoustic guitar in his grasp. “I knew I left this here for a reason!” He sat down, tuning the guitar quickly and then nodded at Zayn who slowed down his tapping. Niall played a few strings until Liam started to sing.

“And I’d give up forever to touch you”

“’Cause I know that you feel me somehow”

“You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be”

“And I don’t want to go home right now.”

Iris acoustically was something beautiful in itself. Props to The Goo Goo Dolls. Liam’s eyes closed as he strummed his fingers on his thigh. He nodded to the beat and it was Louis up next. I sung the words in my head as he sung out loud.

“And all I can taste is this moment.”

“And all I can breathe is your life”

“When sooner or later it’s over”

“I just want to miss you tonight”

“And I don’t want the world to see me”

“’Cause I don’t think that they’d understand”

Before I even knew what I was doing, all eyes were on me and the music stopped as I belt it out, feeling the song deep down. My throat felt strange as I forced the notes out. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Upon seeing all of the guys smiling at me, Niall strummed his guitar harder and I continued.

“When everything’s made to be broken”

“I just want you to know who I am”

We fell back in laughter. Zayn was doubled over, his head on the coffee table. Louis and Niall sat on either side of me, hugging onto me, but being weary of my still injured ear. Liam held his fist in my direction and I bumped it with my own. “Told you it’d be fun.”

Probably the most fun I had had in a while.

A/N: Yay, Harry can sing again! Please comment and vote and do ALL the things! Also, go check out the prologue to Until Now and tell me what you think!