Later that evening they were all sitting at a table at the small diner in the resort. It was relatively quiet, as they had a late dinner and had informed the manager ahead of time they were coming. Dating Niall and Harry made everything just a bit more complicated. Everything was light and fun. There hadn't been a time where things seemed so light. Especially with Julie.

Harry watched her for most of the evening. There were still signs of fear in her. Especially when new people came into the diner.  She still seemed to watch over her shoulder some, but she was much quicker to relax. He saw that she had learned some methods to relax and come back into the present instead of letting the fear take over. They had managed so far to keep their relationship pretty quiet. Even though they had some small encounters where people wondered who the girl was with him, the rumors didn't seem to get out of control. Probably because the rumors of him and Kendall never seemed to go away. Some people wondered, some people didn't, and some assumed she was just Amanda's friend. He wasn't going to shout it from the rooftops. First because that just wasn't him, and second because he knew Julie wouldn't appreciate it. But he wasn't going to try to hide it anymore either. They needed to try to have as normal of a relationship as they could in order for this to work. He knew a relationship with him would never be considered normal, but what they could have as normal, they should.

Amanda smiled most of the night. It was so nice to have the four of them back together. Things had gotten so bad, and so complicated. But this was nice. This is how she wanted it. Her best friend, her best friend's boyfriend, and her and her boyfriend all happy together. She also was happy to see JJ laughing and relaxing. She hoped that JJ's sarcastic, funny, sassy personality showed up more from now on. She watched Harry for a while. She wanted to make sure that she still saw the sparkle in his eye when he looked at JJ. She was happy to see that it was still there. She had worried up until tonight. Harry dealt with a lot. She was proud of both of them. They had gone through so much. Hopefully, it was now going to be easier for them both.

Niall took Amanda's hand. He leaned over and kissed her. She looked happier than she had in quite some time. He knew she somehow was less worried about JJ. He was too. He knew there was still a lot to get through, a lot to process; but whatever JJ had done the three weeks she was gone seemed to help her cope with all of the things running around in her head. He sensed the fear still; he sensed the questions. He sensed still the vulnerability she had. But she dealt better. He was happy for everyone. He hoped going forward it continued to get easier instead of harder. He hoped that the worse was behind them.

Julie concentrated on the tools she had learned in therapy and the tools she was still learning. She tried to stay in the moment instead of wondering what could happen. It made her nervous when new people came into the diner. She was always concerned people would want pictures with Harry and Niall and that they would be interrupted; she tried not to worry about it, but it was still hard. She was still partially concerned about the fallout from Vegas. Johnny had yet to talk to any media and as far as she knew he'd stayed away, so far, but she was still worried about it. She had learned she needed to try and deal with things as they came up and not find trouble in things that hadn't yet happened, but it was hard. She did laugh and smile a lot more that night than she can remember doing in a very long time. She was so happy Harry was there. Her heart had been breaking when he was angry with her. She understood perfectly why he was, but she hated every second of it. She was trying her hardest to make sure she worked on everything. Used everything she was taught. She had to admit, it felt pretty good to get out of her head sometimes. She accepted it wouldn't always be easy for her. But she was more ready now to face things. At least she hoped so.

The diner had a small karaoke system in the corner. Julie had contemplated as they were sitting there, if she should go up and use it. Every now and then people would sing a song or two and it was fun. She was trying to do things out of her comfort zone. Finally, she got up some courage. She stood up. "Panda. Let's go sing karaoke."

Amanda looked at her and laughed. "What?? Are you insane?"

"No, let's do it. C'mon." She pulled Amanda's arm until she got up with her and walked to the machine.

Harry looked at Niall and laughed. "Well, never thought I would see this. They haven't even been drinking yet." He leaned back on his chair.

"Yeah, seems a lot is changing." Niall said taking a drink.

"Well, let's hope it stays for the better." Harry said looking back at the girls.

"I do hope so. You ok?" Niall asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. If she's healing and focusing on believing in herself, I think it will only be better for us. I'm not going to lie. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to come back. She hurt me. No matter how much I understood her struggles. Leaving for three weeks without telling me where she was going, or what she was doing, killed my heart. But coming back, and seeing her working through things differently than she did before, it already gives me hope." Harry nodded.

"I'm glad, Amanda said JJ was seriously heartbroken when she thought she'd finally pushed you away for good." Niall said sitting back in his chair.

"Well, I never wanted to hurt her either; things just were bad." He shrugged. "But we will continue to talk and work through it." Harry looked over at the girls when music started playing. He was surprised to see Amanda walking back towards the table.

"Yeah. I don't sing. I haven't had enough to drink. Besides. This song is all JJ." She laughed and put her chair right next to Niall. She sat down, took his hand and leaned against him.

Julie had decided on "Don't Worry Baby" by the Beach Boys, changing the words up to fit her singing it instead of men. She was embarrassed, but part of her therapy was to do things out of her comfort zone. This was definitely that. She never sang in front of anyone. Only in the shower or shout singing the lyrics at concerts and over them playing at home. She couldn't look at Harry, Amanda or Niall at first. She sang quietly the beginning of the song:

Well it's been building up inside of me
For oh I don't know how long
I don't know why
But I keep thinking
Something's bound to go wrong
But he looks in my eyes
And makes me realize

And he says "Don't worry baby"
Don't worry baby
Don't worry baby
Everything will turn out alright

She slowly looked up at them. They were all watching her intently. She still couldn't keep eye contact yet. She watched the monitor with the lyrics even though she knew them word for word. Harry had thrown song lyrics at her a lot. This song was how she felt with him. He always tried to take her worries away, and when she was with him, it was the only time she felt them take a backseat to everything else. And when she was in his arms, she almost forgot about them. She took a chance at the last part of the song and looked over again. She saw Amanda and Niall smile and then Harry caught her eyes. When he did that, she could never look away:

Oh what he does to me
When he makes love to me
And he says, "Don't worry baby"
Don't worry baby
Don't worry baby
Everything will turn out alright.

She finished out the song and handed the microphone back. She took a deep breath and blushed as the few people in the diner clapped. She walked back towards the table, and when Niall and Amanda gave her a standing ovation, she seriously blushed. "Knock it off." She took Harry's hand when he offered it. She then sat on his lap when he pulled her to him.

"Baby, I didn't expect that from you." He said looking up into her eyes.

"I know. But you're always hitting me with song lyrics. Or at least you did for those two days in FL awhile back. I just wanted you to hear it, and I didn't have to come up with my own words. The Beach Boys did it for me." She said.

"That's my snarky girl." He laughed.

"Maybe, but it's true Harry. I know it's not all the time, and it still won't be. But when you're here and you hold me and tell me it's going to be alright, I believe it. Even if it's just for the moment I'm in your arms." She leaned down and whispered. "And when you make love to me, I forget everything because that feeling engulfs my whole heart, my whole soul." She put her hand on his cheek. "I love you, Harry Styles. No matter what happens that will never change."

He looked at her. God, what she did to him. The words she now said. He wanted her alone. "I love you." He whispered in her ear. "I want to make love to you tonight."

She smiled and let out a breath of relief. She honestly didn't know how good they were right now. But what he said gave her the confidence that they were back on track. "Then we shall." She said quietly and kissed him quick.

The boys settled the bill and Harry held the door open for everyone to go out. Amanda shook her head because not 10 feet from the door, Niall and JJ started a snowball fight with each other. God, it was so nice to see. She looked up as Harry slid his arm around her shoulders.

"What are we going to do with them?" He asked.

Amanda laughed. "Same as at the beach. I'm just gonna let them at it. I'm sure at some point I will hear them both say I hate you." She shook her head.

"Yes, their relationship, I tell you." He said walking with Amanda. Niall and Julie were running around in the snow like crazy still fighting with each other. Julie had jumped onto Niall's back and knocked him down into the snow. The laughter was great. He couldn't help but smile widely.

"Harry, I mean, I know I've seen you with her since you've been here, but are you really ok with JJ?" Amanda asked. "I'm sorry, I have to ask. I have to know."

"Yes, Amanda. We will talk and work through this. I don't want to leave her. I want her with me also. It's still going to be hard, but we will try our best. Especially since we start the tour in about a month. When she's going through some of the hardest parts, I will be away. Pretty much a world away. I'm going to count on you to keep me updated and keep her going forward." He said to her.

"Oh, no worries. I got her. She's gonna be in the best hands." Amanda said.

Harry and Amanda both got hit with snow. Julie and Niall had snuck up on them while they were walking. They heard laughter and then got snow in the face.

"Not so serious." Julie laughed. She screeched when Harry grabbed her and took a handful of snow and rubbed it on her face. She pushed away and tackled him into the snow. She then reached Amanda's legs and pulled her down into the snow. When she saw Niall walking up to them, she looked at Amanda. They both grabbed a leg and Niall fell right on his ass next to them.

They played that way the short walk from the diner to the cabin. They were all cold and soaked by the time they made it inside. Each couple said their goodnights and went their separate ways. They all had to change and shower and they all needed some alone time.

*if you are enjoying the story please vote/comment/share. I would love to be able to respond.

*the story is complete fan fiction