Wednesday's eyes fluttered open as she yawned, seeing the stream of light coming into the room through the crack in the curtains. For a few moments, she lay there sleepily on her side, watching the light and not thinking about anything else, until an overwhelming feeling of regret and shame washed over her as she felt someone next to her on the bed move around, reminding her of where she was and what she'd done.

"Morning beautiful," Patrick rasped, curling his arm around her middle as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck, planting a kiss.

She swallowed, feeling her muscles tighten slightly as he did.

"Morning," she replied uneasily, rolling back to see him looking down at her with a small smile and feeling even more guilt.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked, playing with her hair with his other hand.

"Yeah, thanks."

She shifted uncomfortably on the bed, worming her head out of the way of his hands and starting to sit up.

"No, don't get up just yet," Patrick whined, pulling on her hand and bringing her back down to him, raising his eyebrow suggestively. "We could go for round two."

He kissed her before she could even say anything, his mouth working on top of hers as she lay there, unsure of what to do. She hated how thankful she was when it ended quickly.

Forcing a smile to him and pushing him away, she sat up again.

"I actually need to get going home," she said apologetically, standing up and walking towards the clothes scattered on the floor. "I'm going back home for Christmas today."

"Oh," Patrick replied sadly, sitting up in bed, his naked torso highlighted under the morning sun. "Can't you put it off until tomorrow? We could spend the day with each other, catching up and discussing everything. We didn't get to do much talking last night."

Wednesday forced a tight smile at him, hoping she didn't show any of the ick she was feeling. It was weird how quickly after breaking up she'd gone from being enamoured by him to barely able to tolerate him.

"Sorry, I promised mum."

He nodded in understanding, his lips still set in a small frown. She shrugged on her jeans and sweatshirt, finding her bag and trainers before looking back to where he lay, watching her move quickly.

"I'll...um...phone you. When I'm back in Holmes Chapel," she said to him, more for his comfort than her own.

"Okay," he nodded, standing up in nothing more than his boxers and walking to her, kissing her on the cheek. "Have a nice Christmas baby."

She forced a smile at him one more time, trying not to feel too sick at his words before exiting his bedroom and going down the stairs, opening the front door and letting herself out into the freezing cold December air.

Walking quickly down the path and around the corner, she didn't stop until she was at least two streets away and out of his view. Catching her breath as she finally slowed down, she held onto a wall next to her as she closed her eyes, feeling sickly anxious at what she'd done.

"Fucking idiot," she chided herself under her breath, sighing in frustration.

Patrick lived on the opposite side of London to her and so she got her phone out and ordered a taxi, getting in when it arrived a few minutes later and shutting the door harder than she'd intended.

"Good night then?" the taxi driver asked Wednesday as he looked at her through the rear-view mirror, smirking slightly at her dishevelled appearance.

She looked down to herself, seeing the same outfit she'd been wearing yesterday; she'd shoved her hair up into a frizzy bun and hadn't bothered to wash her face, so no doubt it was spotty and gross. It was obvious she was doing a walk of shame.

Forcing a smile back at him, she didn't bother to answer. Instead, she leant her head on the window and stayed like that for the whole ride home.

Once she was back in her house, she stripped off and went for a shower. She felt dirty, like her body had been touched without her permission. Of course, that wasn't the case. She'd let Patrick touch her within 15 minutes of going over to his the night previously, only wanting one thing to make her forget the day. Sex.

Sighing as the water ran over her face, she knew she'd fucked up. After the months of separation and final talks and closure, she'd gone back to him when she'd been weak and vulnerable, messing all their progress up. And now, Patrick was under the assumption it was because she wanted to give things another go. Maybe 4 or 5 months ago that might have been true, but now she just felt past it. Past him, past their relationship. With a troubled expression, she realised she would have slept with anyone last night to cope with her loneliness—Patrick was just the easiest option.

Getting out of the shower, she looked to her phone to see a couple of text messages, her eyes narrowing as she realised they were from Harry.

She wished she could ignore his messages and pretend she didn't care if she left him hanging, waiting to find out what she would decide, but she couldn't. Huffing, she typed out a quick reply, hitting send and nodding at how well she'd managed to get her current mood towards him across whilst still answering the question.

After getting dressed, she packed the last of her stuff and did one quick sweep of the house to make sure she had everything she needed, before bringing all of her bags and cases out and placing them into her car. Locking her front door, she strapped in for the long drive, sighing sadly as she realised this would be her first lone Christmas drive home for years. Her irritation at Harry only increased for putting her into that position.

She spent most of the drive switching between radio stations, turning over when Christmas songs came on (which they did on seemingly every channel) before giving up and turning it off altogether. 4 hours later, after the Christmas traffic, she was pulling onto her mums drive and switching off the engine, sitting for a second and enjoying the silence that she knew would end as soon as she stepped into the house.

Grabbing her bags from the boot, she heard the front door open and the usual light footsteps of her mum running to her. A second later, she felt arms wrap around her.

"I've missed you Nessie," her mum cooed, her small height making her head rest somewhat comically on Wednesday's boobs.

"Missed you too mum," Wednesday replied with a small smile, returning the hug before going back to pulling her things out of the car.

"Where's Harry? I thought you two were driving up together with Gemma and her boyfriend?"

Wednesday stiffened at the mention of him, knowing that sooner or later she'd have to explain to her mum what was going on there. For now, though, she chose the latter option.

"Can you, uh, help me bring my things into the house please?" she asked with a smile, changing the subject.

"Of course, sweetie," her mum nodded, grabbing her suitcase and heading back into the house as Wednesday followed behind, locking her car.

A second after walking through the front door, she felt paws jump up at her and she quickly put her bags down to bend down to Pongo and give him smooches.

"Oh, I've missed you handsome," she cooed, giving him stomach scratches as he panted happily, his tail wagging out behind him.

"Is that my oldest grandchild I hear?" a voice called out a moment later, and an elderly woman with a walking stick appeared in the doorway, smiling down at her.

"Hi nanna," Wednesday smiled, walking forwards and bending down to hug her.

Her nanna had always been a tiny woman, merely reaching 5 foot, but that didn't stop her from being one of the most glamorous women Wednesday knew. She always distinctly smelt of cigarette smoke, mints and Chanel perfume and refused to leave the house without red lipstick on. The handle on her walking stick was made of wood and carved into the shape of a horse's head, signifying her love of horse racing. She was also a keen drinker, always requesting glasses of rum and coke or port and she always wore a pair of black rimmed glasses, that made her blue eyes look 3 times bigger.

"I swear you get taller every time I see you," she observed, tilting her head up to stare at Wednesday.

"Or you just get smaller," Wednesday grinned, laughing as she lifted her walking stick to lightly smack against her leg.

"Cheeky," her nanna tutted, turning around and walking into the living room.

Wednesday followed her and was greeted with the sight of her grandad sat on the chair furthest away from her, too enthralled in his murder mystery show on the TV to say anything other than hello to her. Turning her head to the long sofa, she saw her auntie Helen sat at one end, blowing her a kiss hello and her cousin Isla at the other, sheepishly saying hello before looking back down to her phone.

"Where's Harry?" her nanna asked as she sat back into the seat next to her grandad, placing her stick beside her. "I thought he was coming with you?"

Wednesday saw Isla perk up, looking up to Wednesday.

"Harry Styles?" she asked up to her older cousin, the excitement she was trying to downplay extremely noticeable.

"Of course she means Harry Styles darling, which other Harry would it be," auntie Helen interjected, taking a drink from her glass of wine.

Wednesday swallowed, hoping this topic wouldn't go on for long. "He uh...he had some work things to do before coming up."

Her nanna's face fell as she deflated into the seat. "Oh, well that's a shame. I love seeing Harry, he gives lovely hugs. And he's easy on the eye too."

Wednesday rolled her eyes as Isla opened her mouth again.

"Will he be...coming over?" she asked nervously and if the thought of that happening didn't make Wednesday equally nervous, she would have laughed at her little cousins' excitement at the prospect.

She forced a smile down at her. "Maybe."

"You'll see him at Christmas Eve Isla," Wednesday's mum added, coming back into the room after taking the bags upstairs. "Anne, his mum, throws a Christmas Eve party every year and we always go, don't we Nessie?"

"Yeah," she smiled tensely, thinking of ways she could get out of going this year.

"Right, all your bags are upstairs love. Do you want a drink or some food?"

"I'll go get a drink," Wednesday smiled, crossing out of the living room and going into the kitchen, letting out a breath of relief at the silence once they were out of earshot.

Pongo sidled up to her as she grabbed herself a glass of juice and she crouched down to him, stroking him sweetly, always comforted by his presence.

"Hey boy," she whispered, smiling at him. "You're not going to annoy me this week, are you? No, of course not. You could never annoy me," she cooed, scratching behind his floppy ears.

Pongo panted, a lopsided smile on his face as he enjoyed the feeling.

"I have a feeling you're going to be my only friend while I'm at home," she said quietly, looking up and staring at dining room for a second before swallowing away the lump in her throat.

"Wednesday, come and tell nanna all about where you're touring next year," her mum shouted from the living room and with a sigh, she got up and went back to where they all sat.

The rest of the day was just as hectic and talkative as it had when she'd arrived. Question after question was directed at her; where would they be touring? When would they start? Who would be looking after her house when she was away? Was she seeing anyone? Was Harry seeing anyone? Would he be coming over soon?

By the time the day was over, and they'd eaten dinner and watched some old TV shows her grandad was fond of, Wednesday couldn't wait to sleep. Being unconscious was the only bit of relaxation she was going to get this week it seemed.

Getting into bed with her mum beside her, she felt like a little kid again. When the nightmares about ghouls and ghosts would wake her up in floods of tears, she would walk to her parents' room, clutching her favourite teddy whilst tears rolled down her cheeks and ask if she could sleep in with them. Her mum would open the duvet cover and let her cuddle in, and she would feel so safe, so protected by the people she loved most in the world.

Only this time as an adult, there was a sense of something missing. The bed felt slightly too big with just the two of them and once they'd said goodnight and the lamps had been turned off, Wednesday had rolled onto her side away from her mum's view, wiping away the silent tear that slipped out.

The next morning, Wednesday awoke to the sound of loud voices and the clanging of pots and pans. Instead of going downstairs and re-joining the commotion, she decided to get some fresh air and put on her running gear, heading downstairs and putting a leash on Pongo so he could come along too.

"Where are you going love?" her nanna asked as she appeared in the kitchen doorway, watching her grandchild.

"Just for a run nanna. I'll be back soon," she smiled, opening the door and welcoming the fresh air.

Quickly stretching in her front garden, she set off lightly and Pongo followed her pace, slowly running alongside her. It wasn't long before she'd reached the end of her street and turned onto another familiar one. Her eyes squinted as she got closer and closer to Anne's house, a surge of anxiety coursing through her when she spotted Harry's range rover. He was home.

Trying her best not to look at the house, she continued running and passed by it without so much as a glance, feeling weird that usually she would have stopped in by now.

Getting to the end of that road, she took a left onto the open country road that had a field next to it, the one that was situated behind Anne's house. Away from any cars or people, she took deep long breaths, smiling down to Pongo as the cold breeze hit her warming skin.

They'd only been running down the road for 5 minutes or so when Pongo started pulling on the leash towards the field and began barking loudly. She followed his trail of sight, looking to see a fast approaching body running over the field towards them, similarly kitted out in running gear.

"You've got to be kidding me," she panted quietly, recognising Harry's blue beanie and white running leggings under his shorts.

"Wednesday wait!" he yelled, getting closer, but she picked up her pace, going faster than she usually would as she looked ahead, ignoring him.

Despite her attempt to go faster, Pongo's refusal to go at her pace and Harry's own stamina meant that within a minute, she heard his rapidly approaching footsteps behind her. Stopping when he appeared at her side a minute later, she sighed and looked over at him.

"What?! Can't you let me run in peace?"

She'd tried to make her tone sound as uninviting as possible, but with Pongo jumping up at Harry excitedly and her breath coming out in quiet gasps, she knew it hadn't had the effect she wanted. Harry crouched down to give scratches to Pongo and she considered pulling him away, but she knew even she wasn't that mean.

"Right well if that's all you ran over here for, feel free to run back," she forced a smile, not quite looking at him as he got up.

"I thought I'd run with you," Harry said, nervously biting his lip.

"Sorry, it's a private running session. Only room for one person and one dog," she hit back, gathering up Pongo's lead in her hand and guiding him away, ready to start running again.

Turning away from Harry, she started jogging again, feeling Pongo looking back at him and tugging him along.

"We'll be having words when we get back," she whispered down to Pongo, who looked up at her with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Traitor."

The faint sound of steps behind her made her look over her shoulder cautiously to see Harry, jogging at a similar pace to her about 5 steps behind. His head was down as he followed her lead and after about a minute of this weird, silent running situation, she stopped again.

"Okay, what are you doing?" she asked, turning to face him fully and he stopped just in front of her, with not even a bead of sweat on his face.

"I'm running," he answered as if it was obvious, offering no further explanation.

"What, the exact same route as me?" she asked incredulously.

Harry shrugged, looking up to her. "I don't know which route you're going."

"Right, so you're really going to do this?" she asked, standing with her arms crossed.

"Do what?" he asked, and she felt her anger turn up a notch as she saw him battle a grin.

"Stay behind me the entire run, like a weirdo."

He sniffed, rubbing his nose. "Well, you told me I can't run with you. So, I'm not."

She did say that, but she didn't want this as the outcome instead. Knowing he was the only person equally as stubborn as her and would always find a way to one-up everything she did, she turned around, desperately wishing she'd brought her headphones now. Running again, she tried to take bigger steps and hold a faster pace, but from the sound of the footsteps behind her she was about as effective at outrunning Harry as cup of water would be against a bush fire.

Every 5 minutes or so, Wednesday would make sure she sighed loud enough for Harry to hear, a reminder to him of how she still felt towards him. He didn't say a word, just carried on running behind her and poor Pongo had never been so confused in his life, constantly looking between the two feuding adults and wondering why they weren't side by side, as they usually were.

Throughout this whole period of silent running and hyper awareness of Harry's presence, Wednesday had done nothing but ruminate on Harry and Daisy. She'd plagued her own mind with images of them, trying to imagine what they discussed and what they did together. After twenty minutes had passed of her saying nothing, she felt the anger within her bubbled right up to the surface, too strong to hold in any longer.

She stopped and flew around to look at him with flared nostrils and a scary gaze.

"Why?" she asked, watching as he stopped quickly, his breathing come out hitched as he looked back at her.

"Why what?" he asked through heavy breathes.

"Why did you do it? Why did you sleep with Daisy and why did you lie?"

His face fell to an expression Wednesday couldn't read, but one thing she noted was how he didn't seem surprised by the question at all. It was almost like he'd been expecting it from her. Like he'd known running after her would get her so riled up, she'd have to speak to him. Dickhead.

"I felt...I felt lonely, the night we first got together. It was the night of the album listening party, the day we'd all been at Abbey Road."

Wednesday recalled the day, remembering how they'd all gone for drinks the night after hearing the album. After one drink, Wednesday had left, but not before Harry had spotted the messages coming through from Patrick.

"Why did you feel lonely?" she asked, confused. From what she could remember, he'd been in high spirits all night.

Harry looked down, shrugging. "Sometimes when I'm drunk, I get in my own head about things."

Wednesday felt her face soften slightly, before standing up taller and resuming her angry stance.

"Okay and?"