I gasped. "Oh Tom...sorry, I didn't mean to I just-"

He walked over and took the envelope from me and sighed. "It's fine...I just didn't want you to find out like this..."

"Can I just ask...why is that girl giving you a wad of cash?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing Doug...you don't need to know."

"How do you know her? I thought I recognised her from somewhere..."

"Er...she might've gone to our school or something." He muttered.

"Tom...I'm so sorry for looking in there, it's none of my business I'm just seriously worried...you're not in any trouble are you?"

He looked deep into my eyes for several seconds before looking away. "I'm dealing with it."

"Do you need help? At least tell me what it is...please Tom?"

He shook his head. "Just forget you ever saw it Doug."

I nodded, even though I knew I could never get rid of seeing the amount of cash that was in that envelope.

X-X

Harry's POV

I'm so worried about Dougie...what's happened to him? Nobody has any clue where he is, he keeps on ignoring my texts and calls and he's missed weeks of school!

"Harry! Your friend's here!" My mum called up the stairs.

I jumped up, immediately expecting it to be Dougie, running down the stairs and to the front door.

Danny stood there in his red coat, wearing a scarf and gloves too. "Hey." He smiled.

I forced a smile onto my face, even though I was so disappointed Dougie wasn't here. "You okay, Dan?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I was just wondering if you wanted to see Dougie?"

My eyes darted to his, then to behind him, hoping he was hiding at the back. "You know where he is?!" I asked excitedly.

He shrugged. "James said he saw him yesterday, by his friend's house."

"Who, Fletcher?" I asked curiously.

He nodded.

What the hell is he doing there? "Alright, can you remember where he lives?"

"I've got the address on a bit of paper, let's just give it to a taxi or something."

"I can drive you!" My mum's cheery voice was heard, as she put her head round the side of the kitchen doorway.

I sighed. "Alright then, let's go."

"Great, where are we going?" She said, reaching for her keys.

"Dougie's friend's house." Danny said, handing my mum a scrap of paper with the address on it.

She nodded but then looked uncertain. "How come he's staying there? That's a bit worrying that your boyfriend's staying with another man."

I rolled my eyes, looking at Danny chuckling to himself. "Mum please, it's fine."

She raised her eyebrows. "Alright fine."

X-X

We arrived at his house around 15 minutes later, my mum parking at the end of the road.

"Shall I come with you two so I can kick his friend in the arse if he's sleeping with him?"

My eyes widened in shock. "Mum, please! Shut it!"

After trying to hide my embarrassment, Danny and I quickly escaped away from my mum and got to his doorstep.

I timidly pushed the doorbell, patiently waiting for an answer. A tall, blonde woman answered the door, looking strangely at me before turning to Danny.

"Er...hi, Mrs Fletcher...is Tom in?" Danny quietly asked, looking up at her.

She nodded then called. "Tom?"

"Yeah?" We heard a voice call and then loud footsteps as a blonde figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Your friends are here." His mum said, walking away.

"Oh...hi." Tom whispered, looking back and forth from Danny to me.

"So?" I raised my eyebrows.

He looked puzzled at us. "Can I help you Judd?"

I rolled my eyes. "We know Dougie's here, we want to see him please."

Tom laughed. "I already told you at school, I have no idea where he is, but he's not here."

"Please cut the bullshit Fletcher, we saw him here!" I rolled my eyes, pushing him out the way and striding into his house.

"Wait!" He called, running after me, Danny trying to keep up behind.

I ran up the stairs, I shouldn't really be searching around other people's houses, but I guess this is an important reason.

"Dougie?" I called down the corridor.

"Hey, who was at the door?" Dougie appeared around a corner, gaping when he noticed it was me.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered, walking closer to me.

"Dougie please...you've been ignoring me for weeks now, we have to talk." I whispered back.

"For god's sake, don't just barge in here!" Tom shouted, panting, as he made it to us.

"Tom...I'm sorry, I know I said I don't want to see anyone, but could you just give us a few minutes please?" Dougie asked, running a hand through his hair.

He frowned, but nodded, walking back downstairs.

"I'm sorry for not speaking to you Harry...I've been feeling so down." He muttered, walking into Tom's room, plonking himself down on his bed.

I sighed and sat next to him. "It's fine Doug...what happened?"

"I got kicked out." He whispered.

"Oh my god Dougie...I'm so sorry." I awkwardly wrapped my arms around him and brought him close to me in an uncomfortable hug.

He starting sobbing, I was so awkward in situations like this, I started to just gently rub his head. "Have you heard from your mum?"

He shook his head. "I don't want to...she hates me."

I sighed. "Doug...she doesn't hate you, she loves you, it's probably a bit hard for her to understand. Why don't you come and stay with me? You didn't have to come to Fletcher."

He wept louder, sniffing and rubbing his nose, making my top slightly damp. "You don't even like me...you always say you don't when I ask."

He was right, I've been awful. I can't admit that I like him...it's just not the kind of person I am, I can't admit it to him or myself.

"I...I...I'm sorry." It was all I could say. I hung my head in disappointment, waiting for him to say something. Anything.

He got up and began to walk out the room. "Please...don't do this to me. If you like me, then tell me." He murmured.

"Ok" I whispered.

He raised an eyebrow. "So do you like me?"

I slowly nodded.

He walked closer to me, looking me straight in the eye. "Prove it." It was all he said, before leaving the room.

I sighed. How the hell am I supposed to prove that we're friends?! What do friends do?

X-X

Dougie's Pov

I sat with the Fletcher family at the table as we ate dinner. There were so many things that were on my mind, firstly about that girl and her 'gang' who came earlier and gave Tom a load of cash...what the hell is he hiding from me?! I couldn't stop thinking about the afternoon visit from Harry. I guess I was quite harsh on Harry...I shouldn't take my pain out on him. I'm just extremely stressed right now with what's going on with my family.

"You know, I think you should see your family Dougie." Debbie said quietly, whilst handing more potatoes around. "Your mother called earlier." She added when I didn't reply.

My eyes shot up to hers. "She did?"

She nodded. "She wanted to know if I've heard from you, I obviously said I don't know."

"Thank you." I whispered.

She smiled. "It's fine, talk to your mum though."

I nodded. "Maybe I could take a little visit tonight."

"Yeah, I'd happily take you." She smiled.

"Thanks, Debbie." I smiled they're such a nice family, I'd love to be a Fletcher instead – much better than a Poynter.

X-X

Seeing as I agreed to go back home to visit my mum and sister, Debbie and I quickly escaped away back to my house after dinner.

"Do you want me to wait, Dougie?" She asked when we arrived outside.

I shook my head. "It's fine, you can go home."

"Alright, call me if there's any trouble."

I nodded. "Thanks for everything Debbie" After waving her off, I gulped, slowly making my way to the doorstep and pressing the tiny silver doorbell.

My heart beating, I waited for a while, hearing several footsteps inside. The door was suddenly wrenched open as I looked into the eyes of..."Harry?!"

He widened his eyes at me, slowly running a hand through his hair, making it look ruffled.

"Oh...Dougie. Hello"

I pushed past him into the house and walked into the living room to see my mum and sister sitting there, both with red eyes, they'd clearly been crying.

"Dougie, I was just here to speak to your mother." Harry said, re-entering the room.

I glared at him. "Why?"

He took both my hands in his. "I came to plead for forgiveness and that if your mother would be okay with us being together, because I truly love you, Dougie Poynter."

I could see all the honestly in his face. He clearly didn't 'love' me, but he wanted to be friends, he really did.

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in what feels like forever, finally got a chapter done though! :S