A few days later, Julie was sitting at the counter writing in her notebook when Amanda walked in. They hadn't spoken since their fight. Amanda wondered what JJ was always writing in that notebook. It was one thing she didn't know. Every time she came close though, JJ always closed the book and put it away. Maybe it was her journal. If it was, she was sure she was writing about her. They had never fought like that. And they definitely hadn't gone this long without talking on purpose. Just as she suspected, JJ closed her notebook and got up. She grabbed the notebook and an envelope; she walked past Amanda without saying anything and handed her the envelope. It was JJ's birthday today; why was she giving her an envelope? She didn't want to open it. She was afraid it was a note telling her she was leaving. It would be just like her to run away after one fight. She wasn't going to be that friend though. She wasn't going to let her push her away. She would fight back. Someone had to. She sighed and opened the envelope. Her jaw dropped with shock. It was a plane ticket to FL and VIP pass to One Direction's FL shows. The one before and on Niall's birthday, which was in 9 days. It was JJ's birthday, and she's giving me this? Amanda thought and started to cry. She knew JJ had a good heart when she showed it, but this was too much. She felt horrible that she'd been so busy trying to be the last to apologize that she hadn't even told her "Happy Birthday" yet. She read the note. JJ had arranged the time off at work with the time they had coming to them and booked everything. Niall didn't know; she'd set it all up with Lottie. It was going to be a surprise. Amanda couldn't stop the tears now. Could it be any more perfect? She knocked on JJ's door.

"It's open." She heard JJ say. She was slightly shocked JJ had let her in so easy.

"Can I come in and talk to you?" She watched JJ who was lying on her stomach writing in her notebook. JJ closed the book and put it aside.
"Yeah, sure." JJ said as she sat up on her bed.

Amanda practically tackled her. "Happy Birthday!" She started crying again.

JJ fell backwards but hugged Amanda and let her lie next to her with her head on her shoulder. She missed her friend. She didn't have many, and none as close as Amanda.

"Why, JJ? Why would you do something like this when I acted like such a fool and said some pretty nasty things?" Amanda said. "And it's your birthday, not mine."

"Because I love you." Julie said.

Amanda laughed through her tears. JJ was so matter of fact sometimes. She said things as if everyone should know them, and that's all that needed to be said. "I love you too, but I can't believe you did this. It's so much."

"Not really. All I had to buy was the plane ticket." Julie shrugged.

Yep, so matter of fact. "Not just the money. You had to arrange it and get the stuff and arrange a week off work and everything." Amanda said.
"Two weeks off." Julie said.

"Two weeks? Seriously? How did you manage all this so quickly?" She asked.

She shrugged. "I wanted to do it."
Yep, that's all that needed to be said. If she wanted to do it, she would. No matter what. "How can I go without you?"

Julie shrugged again. "I bought a ticket and got the passes, but I'm not going to go. I haven't spoken to Harry since the night of our fight, and I basically told him I was done and knew he was using me for sex; so yeah, I don't think it would be best for me to go. Even for you and Niall."

"You have off work the full 2 weeks too?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah. I can just relax for a change." Julie said rubbing Amanda's back automatically.

"I really wish you weren't so difficult sometimes." Amanda said.

"Amanda, please." Julie started.

Yep, she was still a bit irritated; she'd called her Amanda. "No, I just mean you could apologize to him. Tell him you didn't mean it."

"I'm not sure I didn't though. Not completely. I don't blame him. It's just as much my fault as his, but I'm not sure I didn't mean it. I've accepted what happened. I'm just not sure I can be in a casual relationship with him." Julie said. "I'm not sure I can keep my head and let it be just that."

Amanda sat up and looked at her. She was falling for Harry, she thought. She could tell. JJ was afraid of her feelings for him. Afraid he could never feel the same way. Why didn't she see it before? She should have remembered that JJ fought the hardest when she was scared. "JJ he would be lucky to have you. He's not stupid. He knows that. You just have to let him in a little. Let him show you. Don't be scared of the feelings. How can you ever fall in love if you are always scared of falling in love?"

"Let's not get carried away here, Panda. No one is talking about love here." Julie got uncomfortable and stood up.

Yep, she was scared. "Isn't that what we all want at some point, JJ? Someone to love and someone to love us back?"

"Not all of us, Panda." Julie said.

Amanda felt that wall starting to go right back up. How could she not have realized before Harry that this girl was completely afraid of love?

"Yes, JJ even you. And I will be the first to tell you that I love you, and I can tell you that when you love someone you treat them amazingly. Look what you did for me? You said it's cuz you love me."

"I hate you." Julie said.

Amanda laughed. She was calling her Panda again and saying she hated her. They were back. And she knew she'd made sense of the situation because JJ had said she hated her. She only did that when she didn't have an argument to make.

Niall knocked on Harry's door. They had 2 days off between shows. They were all debating what they should do with their downtime. "Hey. You wanna go out or something?"

Harry looked at his phone. He still hadn't heard from Julie. It'd been days. He'd texted her a couple times, but she never answered him. "Nah, man, thanks; but I'm not really into it today."

"Still haven't heard from her, huh?" Niall asked. He pulled out his phone when it rang.

Harry didn't even have to ask. He knew it was Amanda. Made him feel even worse.

"Hey, Princess. I didn't expect to hear from you yet, today. Thought later." Niall said.

"I wanted to call early because I want to take JJ out for the day." She was having a hard time already not telling him about the surprise.

"You guys kissed and made up? That's awesome. I'm so glad to hear it! So, you're going out to celebrate that?" Niall asked.

"Yeah, Niall full on make out session." She rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, but it's her birthday today, so I wanted to make sure she did something. She wouldn't ever do it for herself."

"Wow Amanda, way to put that make out scenario in my head. And it is? Seriously?" He looked at Harry; he knew he didn't know. "Why wouldn't she say anything? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it's JJ." She said.

That's all she needed to say. Niall understood completely. "Yeah, should've guessed."

"So, should I call you when we get home? I don't know how late it will be, and it will be even later where you are." She asked.

"Yes, of course anytime. Can't wait. Have fun. And make sure she knows...." Niall didn't have to finish.

"I will tell her she should have told you, I will tell her 'Happy Birthday', and that you hate her." Amanda laughed.

"See you already know me so well. Talk to you later, Princess." Niall said hanging up.

He looked at Harry.

"So, they made up? That's good. They're going out? Guess that's good, too. They should celebrate getting over the fight." Harry said sadly. He actually didn't want to think about her going out without him. Where would she go? What would she do? Would there be other guys there that she was interested in? She didn't think they had anything, so would she just move on to the next?

"Yeah, that." He had to tell him. Harry would never forgive him if Harry knew that he knew it was JJ's birthday and didn't tell him. She should have told Harry, and she should've told him too, for that matter. They were friends. But like Amanda said. That's just JJ. "And because it's JJ's birthday today."

Harry looked up at him. Niall could swear Harry was holding back tears or maybe anger. Or maybe both. "Of course it is. And of course I had no idea. And of course she wouldn't have told me." He got up.

"What are you doing? Where are you going?" Niall asked.

"I'm not sure yet. But right now, I have to do something." Harry said as he walked out of the room. He walked right past Liam, Louis, and Zayn without saying a word.

"What's up with Harry?" Zayn asked Niall.

"Amanda just told me it's JJ's birthday today, and of course, Harry didn't know. And he still hasn't heard from her. He said he's not sure what he's going to do, but he has to do something. I'm not quite sure what that means either." Niall told them.

"Seriously, why didn't we know it was her birthday." Liam said.

"Right." Louis said. "We could have done something."

"That's just how she is, guys." Zayn said as if he completely understood.

"Well then Mr. Understanding. What can we do for her then, if you know her so well?" Louis asked.

Julie was finishing getting ready to go out with Amanda. She wasn't sure it was a great idea, but Amanda insisted they go get something to eat and then out to a club. It had been a really long time since they had gone out. After she was ready, she sat on the bed and put her shoes on. She heard her text alert. She figured it was Harry. He still texted once and a while, but she hadn't answered yet. There was still too much confliction for her to determine what to do. She finished putting her shoes on and stood up and looked at her phone. She read every text but just couldn't respond. It wasn't from Harry. It was from Niall. There was a video attached to the text. It was of Liam, Louis, and Zayn singing "Happy Birthday" with birthday hats on and a cake with them. They sounded amazing, and they were acting silly and funny. It made her smile. Seemed like a long time since she smiled. At the end they all said a little something and Happy Birthday, and Niall turned the camera on himself. He said "Happy Birthday, stubborn girl. You should have told us, but we hope you have a great day anyway. Remember, I hate you, too." They all blew kisses towards the phone, and said "Happy Birthday" again, blowing noise makers and throwing confetti in the air as Niall stopped recording. How could they know? Amanda! She shook her head. She should have known. She did notice Harry was missing from the video. Maybe they didn't tell him. Or maybe he was so angry he didn't care. She didn't want to think about that right now. She walked out into the front to meet Amanda. "Hey Panda, check out this video I just got from Niall." She handed Amanda her phone.

Amanda couldn't help but laugh. They were so goofy; all of them. And of course Niall ended it with the "I hate you, too" bit. She also noticed Harry was missing. She looked at JJ to determine if she was mad that she'd told Niall. She didn't seem to be. She was watching the video again. She seemed kind of sad. "They're mad and brilliant. C'mon let's go. There will be no sadness tonight. Tonight, we party like we're rock stars."

"Panda we are the furthest things from rock stars." Julie said.

"Yeah, ok, but let's go see how long we can stay awake anyway." Amanda laughed.

They enjoyed a quiet dinner and then went to a club. The club scene wasn't exactly JJ's cup of tea; but Amanda wanted them to let loose and listen to music, so she decided they should try it. She was a little concerned though. JJ usually didn't drink much at all. She wasn't exactly following that tonight. She was already tipsy and still drinking. She figured she should let her go a little. JJ needed to let go of some of the stress and sadness. When a guy started to get a little too close though, Amanda had to step in. "Hey JJ. I think it's time we head home."

The guy protested, but JJ left with Amanda willingly. "Thanks for the rescue, Panda Bear, he was just a little crazy." Amanda held her arm, because JJ was having a little bit of a hard time walking a straight path.

Amanda was amused. Panda Bear? That was new. The guy that was hitting on her was hot, but Amanda reasoned he wasn't Harry, so of course JJ wouldn't want anything to do with him.

Once the girls got home, Amanda helped JJ from the cab and up to the apartment. They both stopped and stared when they got to the door. The biggest teddy bear they had ever seen was leaning against their door with a birthday balloon attached. There were also dozens of roses in all different colors sitting around him. Julie's head was spinning from the alcohol. This threw her for another loop. She felt Amanda's hand on her arm. She looked up at her.

"Harry." Was all Amanda said.

Julie's eyes filled with tears as she walked up to the bear. The bear had a long sleeve shirt on that looked like Harry's chest and arms, tattoos and all. It looked like he had his arms out looking for a hug. She picked up the card. It said 'I really wish it were me there holding you in my arms, but if you ever feel lonely or like you need a hug, know I would always choose to be there if I could. Lie in these arms and call me. I miss you Julie. Happy Birthday, All the Love H'.

Julie bit her lip. She didn't want to cry. It was by far the sweetest sentiment anyone had ever said or done for her. She took a couple deep breaths to try not to cry. She picked up the bear, but it was so big, she could hardly carry it. Amanda helped her get it to her room, and all the flowers into the apartment. There were a lot, and it made the whole apartment smell amazing. After she got them situated, she went to Julie's room. She smiled when she saw it. Julie was cuddled up lying on the bear's chest with its arms wrapped snugly around her. It was probably the cutest thing she had ever seen. She looked like a little girl next to that giant bear. She snapped a picture. She had to send it to Harry. She guessed he probably needed something right now. She captioned it "Someone may have had a little too much to drink and passed out, but she couldn't be more content," She watched Julie a little while longer and then went to call Niall.

Harry picked up his phone and checked his message. He smiled. A real smile in what seemed like the first time in a longtime. He had thought Julie would disregard his attempt and his present, but he was wrong. She was there, asleep, in the picture. Head on the bear's chest which was the picture of him, and she'd perfectly positioned the arms around her like he was holding her. The only thing that would have been better was if it were him holding her. She didn't send him a message, but it was ok. Baby steps and her accepting the gift from him was a small step. He texted Amanda back. "Thank you Amanda, thank you." There was a lot to work on yet and a lot to get through, but it was something. Hopefully, things were looking up.

Amanda was in the middle of talking to Niall when she got Harry's text. "Oh, Harry just text me back."

"Um, why are you texting Harry?" Niall asked.

She laughed. "You texted JJ earlier. Are you jealous?"

He laughed. "No, and I sent her a birthday video from the guys."

She laughed again. "I sent him a picture of JJ and the gift he got her. He was thanking me."

"Oh, so he did get her a gift. That's awesome. I didn't know what he was doing when he left." Niall said. "Send me the picture."

"Um no, I don't think I should. You'll have to have Harry show you if he wants you to see it." Amanda said.

"Ouch, conspiring with Harry now." He tried to fake hurt but couldn't help but laugh.

"You're not very good at pretending you're hurt Niall." Amanda laughed with him.

"Yeah, I know. I wish I could see you. It seems like this tour is going on forever so that we barely have any time off, and we are across country from you." He said.

Amanda was still having a hard time keeping the surprise visit from him, but JJ had worked hard at making it a surprise so she couldn't tell him. "I know Niall. It sucks, but the tour doesn't have that much longer left. I know you have the album promotion to do after that, but hopefully you will have a little more time, and we can see each other. For now, we can just keep talking and learning more about each other."

"I love the sound of that." Niall said. They talked for a while longer until Amanda couldn't stay awake any longer, and then they said their goodbyes.

Niall knocked on Harry's door and waited. Harry sleepily answered the door. "Niall, it's the middle of the night."

"Actually it's like 5 in the morning," he laughed and went in. "I just got off the phone with Amanda, and she said you text her."

"So, you came here at 5 am to tell me not to text her?" Harry asked.

"No," Niall laughed. "She said she sent you a picture of JJ with her present from you and said she wouldn't send it to me, that I had to ask you to see it. So here I am."

Harry shook his head. "You could've waited til I woke up for that." But he got his phone anyway.

"You're awake now." Niall laughed. He looked at the picture. "Aww, isn't that cute." It was. It really looked like Harry was holding her, minus the big bear head and no hands. He looked up and saw Harry smiling. It was a great sight to see.

"I'm glad she liked it. I was worried she might ignore it or get angry I sent it. She didn't call or text, but Amanda must've known that and sent this. She also said Julie passed out because she had a little too much to drink. So, maybe she will. I'm just happy to see this." He said looking at the picture again.

"I'm glad. It's good to see that smile again. Now go to sleep; you shouldn't be awake." Niall laughed as Harry punched his shoulder. Amanda had told him she liked her video they sent her, and she seemed to enjoy the gift from Harry. He was glad she'd had a good birthday. He left and went to bed.

Over the next few days, Julie still hadn't texted or called Harry, but every night, and even sometimes during the day, Amanda would send him pictures of Julie with the bear. She slept with it every night, and she even had it with her when she was watching tv or writing. He was grateful for Amanda; she gave him hope. He couldn't wait until he had time to go to LA though. He really needed to see her and talk to her. For now, her cuddling in his fake arms every chance she got would do.

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

*the story is complete fan fiction