Night Changes

4.

I felt like I was asleep all for about two hours before I heard a shriek coming from the bedroom. Not long after the low cries got a bit louder I heard a deep voice call my name. "Harry!" It called groggily.

Moaning from hearing the shrieks from the other room I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I checked my phone and saw it actually wasn't as early as I thought it was, 7AM.

"Harry!" Liam called to me again as I slowly walked into the bedroom where the baby laid stressed out on my bed. Liam was still half asleep sprawled out on his bed, putting his head under his pillow to block out the sounds of the baby.

"I'm up." I yawned looking at the baby who laid his eyes on me and reached his arms up towards me. Begging to be held and taken care of I bent down to pick him up smelling something God awful. "Sweet Jesus." I gagged smelling the smell that lingered off the baby.

"What is that smell?" Liam muffled into the pillow once I had quieted the cries only slightly by picking Asher up.

"Mate it's the baby, I can't do this one." I shook my head looking at Asher who was kicking his legs in the air and moving his arms frantically.

"I'm sure as hell not doing it, that smells like a bomb exploded in his pants." Liam's voice was muffled in the pillow as he laid flat on his stomach. Sweat and anxiety was forming again over my forehead.

"This smells toxic." I commented moving out into the living room where I found Louis' closed door. Going to try and open it I jingled the knob but to no avail got it open.

Gagging while I walked back out the living room I located the unopened diaper package and wipes. Laying the baby on the couch and grabbing the diapers and wipes I also found some dish washing gloves and tongs so I could successfully go through this delicate process.

"You're a stinky boy aren't you?" I asked seeing him respond to my voice by quieting his cries. I saw this as a good sign and tried to make conversation, trying to buy myself time to figure out how to do this.

"Did you sleep okay?" I asked him seeing Liam come out of the bedroom and look at me funny. "I'm trying to make conversation okay?" I fired at Liam as I began to unbutton his onesie.

"Christ that stinks!" Liam covered his nose with hands as he stood next to me looking at the mess the baby had made in his pants. Gagging as I saw the sight I turned away from the baby to catch a breather.

"Okay here we go." I picked up a few wipes and began to wipe him where the mess had exploded on him. Pulling his ankles up I switched out the diaper with the tongs and pulled the tabs to secure the diaper around his waist. Taking the old poopy diaper with the tongs I got up and threw it into the trash that sat by the front door. "Hey we did it!" I cheered high fiving Liam with my yellow dish gloves I wore.

"Morning lads!" Louis came out with a smile on his face as if he weren't fazed by anything that happened last night.

"Morning!" Liam answered heading to the kitchen to start a pot of tea. Picking up the baby and propping him up in his car seat to sit since I still wasn't one hundred percent comfortable holding him.

Louis looked over with a furrowed brow confused by the sight of the baby I had just set into the car seat."Oh so all that wasn't a dream?" Louis sat down next to me at the bar while Liam poured steaming hot water into our mugs. "I thought for sure it was just the effect of too much gin and tonic." He shook his head and ran a hand through his unkept hair.

"Oh s**t!" I swore looking at my phone messages that hadn't been read yet. "Oh s**t! Ooooooh s**t!" I drew out reading the message sent by my sister.

"What is your problem?" Louis arched a brow taking a small sip of his hot beverage Liam had made.

Standing up from the bar stool I gave the boys both worried looks before answering. "Gemma is coming over! She said she was on her way ten minutes ago!" I stressed looking over at the car seat that was facing away from us.

"So... She comes over here all the time. What's the issue?" Louis was still not thinking straight from just waking up with a hangover. It was true that Gemma popped over here all the time but she couldn't see all of this.

"So!? Gemma can't see the baby! We have to hide!" I stressed making hand gestures as I began to gather up the supplies we had bought last night. Taking the bags of opened packages I began throwing them into the bathroom frantically while Liam and Louis helped.

"What about the baby?" Louis pointed out as my head automatically turned when the door knocked and jiggled to be open.

"She's here!!" Liam pointed out as I ran to get the car seat off the living room floor where Asher resided in.

"Harry? Hello?" I heard Gemma knocking the longer we kept her waiting. Pushing Louis towards the car seat I whispered for him to hide in the bathroom along with all the other baby stuff that was thrown in there carelessly.

"Hell no! I'm not going in there!" Louis whispered argued holding the carrier as I pushed him back into the bathroom.

"Stay in here." I whispered back shutting off the light and shutting the door to keep both the baby and everything else hidden.

"Harry?" Gemma knocked again as Liam reached to unlock the door. Opening it up to my sister as she walked in looking at me.

"Hey Gem!" Liam and I both said in unison. When she entered with the aroma of fresh bagels.

"What took you so long?" Gemma asked placing the white box full of bagels down on the kitchen bar. Taking off her grey knitted scarf I came up with an answer instantaneously.

"I was naked, sorry." I shrugged as Liam opened up the bagel box to help himself. "So what brings you over here?" I asked her as she sat down on one of the bar stools while Liam and I stood facing her in the small kitchen.

"Just came to say hi, where is Louis?" Gemma asked me. Gemma took a liking to Louis even though they were polar opposites. Louis was carefree and reckless while Gemma was responsible and the opposite of reckless.

"He ah... He ahhhh..." I looked over at Liam for some help but he had none to give as he shrugged. "He didn't come home last night, probably is passed out in a bar or something, typical Louis."

Laughing nervously with Liam my eyes drew to the passie sitting on the kitchen table just behind Gemma. I nudged Liam who was striking up conversation with Gemma, trying to get him to see what I was seeing his face flushed into that of worry while Gemma babbled on about whatever she was talking about.

"Are you guys even listening to me?" Gemma huffed noticing the lack of attention she was earning from Liam and I.

"Yes!" I laughed shaking my head with a nervous smile. "You were obviously talking about Jared."

"Harry, Jared and I broke up like 6 months ago." Gemma shook her head standing up and taking in a deep breath, "I'm going to use the bathroom. I have to wee like a race horse."

"NO!" Liam and I both shouted in unison reaching out of the air as to gesture she couldn't go. Just as we did so rustling was heard in the bathroom alerting the three of us.

"What was that?" Gemma averted her eyes to Liam and I wanting an answer from the mystery sound. Crossing her arms over her chest she walked towards the bathroom just around the corner.

"What was what?" Liam played dumb with a hand gesture as he pretended to disregard the noise entirely.

"That noise. It sounded like it came from-" I cut her off seeing she was getting closer to the bathroom. Sliding in front of her I finished her sentence nervous that she was going to see everything in the bathroom.

"The apartment gym downstairs, really Gem it's nothing." My anxiety was coming back and all sorts of scenarios were racing through my head. When Gemma wanted something she went after it and most always got it.

"Why are you being so weird Haz? Get out of the way, I need to wee." Flipping her hair off her shoulders she pushed me out of her away and reached for the door handle that harbored my secret.

"Gemma please I can explain-" I cut myself off just as she opened the door and switched on the light. About to say something and explain what she was seeing I saw that everything had vanished. Not a item was to be seen.

"Explain what?" Gemma asked getting annoyed that I wasn't leaving her to her business. My eyes tracked to the shower curtain were I could only guess Louis, the baby, and the baby supplies was.

"Just that you are the best sister ever." I went in to hug her, turning my head to give Liam a relieved face. "You are so understanding of other people and their situations." I patted her back before she pulled away from the hug.

"Okay... You're so weird!" Gemma shook her head, just as she was about to close the door a cough was heard within the bathroom that I knew came from the baby behind the shower curtain. "What was that?"Gemma looked to both Liam and I before going to the location where the cough had come from. Swiping the shower curtain to the side, Gemma revealed all the baby things covering the bottom of the shower while Louis stood up against the wall with the car seat in his hand.

"Hi Gemma!" Louis waved to Gemma as her face completely dropped seeing the baby looking back at her with his bright blue eyes.

"Okay what the hell is going on? Harry? Liam? Louis?" She pointed at all of us as Liam and I came into the bathroom. Moving closer to where Louis stood in the shower with the carrier in his hand the smile fades from his lips as we all saw Gemma's confused and shocked face.

"Listen I can explain." I told her blowing out a deep breath closing my eyes for a brief second to explain the mess of last night.

"Okay Harry then explain why Louis is hiding in the shower with a baby." Gemma folded her arms waiting for me to answer her looming questions.

"Okay.." I gulped feeling my palms sweat from the way Gemma was looking at me for answers. Her hazel eyes staring straight at me and were no longer concentrated on the baby sitting in the car seat. "Last night I got a knock on my door and this baby was on my doorstep. He came with a note saying that I was the father."

"What?!" Gemma shouted when her mouth dropped to the floor. Her arms dropping to her sides from them being folded in her chest.

"Well she took it better then expected actually." Louis smiled before Liam nudged him hard to the side where the baby wasn't.

"This has got to be a joke? You're joking right? Because you got me! Where are the cameras? Where is Ashton?" Gemma's eyes searched for the make believe cameras she thought were capturing this moment of her shock.

"Gem, this isn't a joke." The temperature was rising in the bathroom between the four of us clumped in the medium sized room.

"Harry what the hell? What the hell were you thinking? A baby? Seriously?" Gemma's eyes darted to the baby that was intently staring at me from his car seat. His little blue eyes concentrated on my voice as he watched me talk with Gemma.

"Gemma I always wear a condom."

"Well obviously you didn't since we have evidence of your slip up! Do you even know who the mum is?" Gemma went against my defense that I had built up for myself.

"It must have broken. And no I don't know who the mother is.." I saw Gemma run a hand down her face is disappointment. She groaned deeply as we sat in silence for a few seconds uncomfortably.

"Well, I'm going to go..." Liam stretched out the word go and pointed towards the open door before running out.

"Yeah me too! Bye Gemma!" Louis placed the car seat in the tub before following Liam's suit by running out of the tension brimming bathroom.

"Hey Louis wait up!" I called to him before Gemma grabbed the collar of the wrinkled t shirt I slept in.

"Not so fast Styles! We have to figure out a plan for the baby." Gemma glanced over at the baby who was still dressed in the clothes he came in yesterday.

"I know, I just don't know what to do with him. I can't be a dad Gem, I can't raise a baby." The same familiar thoughts and feelings wash back up after I had lost them last night in my sleep.

Just as I was explaining this to her I saw Gemma bend down into the car seat to pick up the tiny infant. Patting his back softly Gemma smiled at him as she looked at his small features. I could see her slowly falling in love with the baby as she held him in her arms.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before you had careless s*x. God Harry, you only care about your needs. You never think your actions can effect other people." Gemma smoothed down Asher's soft brown hair as she held him close to her. Pushing away from her he tried to keep his eyes on me, I had noticed he was always wanting to keep his eyes on me. "For once in your life you need to take responsibility for your actions."

"I know, I'm going to go by the police station tomorrow and drop him off. From there hopefully they can find his mum, I'm just not ready to be a dad yet. I have no experience what's so ever." Asher's little eyes looked at me from being in Gemma's arms. I could help but point out his facial features that resembled my own.

"Maybe that's the best thing for him. Do you know what his name is?" Gemma asked trying to look at his face but, he only turned away from her to face me; his lips slightly parted while he observed me closely.

"It's Asher." I have a weak smile towards him, in doing so I saw him try to c**k a smile in response to me.

"Hello little Asher! Hey baby!" Gemma greeted the baby drawing his attention back to her. "Hi baby!" She smiled at him trying to get him to crack a little smile.

"You know what?" Gemma looked back over at me while she continued to bounce Asher since he seemed to like it.

"What?"

"He looks just like you ya know. His little heart shaped lips and button nose." I watched Gemma admire the baby as he sat in her arms. Moving his arms around she smiled at his little movements.

All I knew was that I couldn't be a father. Not right now.

note// Harry seems to be in a bit of a pickle with all this. Any predictions?;)