Hi guys! Um, so here's a quick one-shot. It's not gonna be continued (it is, after all, a one-shot). Yeah...if you read Stole My Heart, it will be updated tomorrow. Thanks to PinkGoesWithEverything for letting me stay at her house in the summer (which will be amazing!). ;) Thanks to maxwaylandgrey for listening to my rants...really. :D And thank you for reading! Please review. :) xxx
Harry always knew what he wanted. When he wanted to go to the X-Factor, he was determined to win. Although he didn't win, he tried his best—and this is where it got him. Thousands of screaming fans, knocking on his car's window as it drove away, bringing him with it. Thousands of fans, waiting in line for him and the boys to sign their albums, some of them crying, some of them too stunned to speak. He would never, ever take any of it for granted. He was in love with his work, and he would always favorite it over anything else.
Today, he and the boys were getting ready to go to a concert. They were going to perform their second show of the summer tour, the New Jersey stop. They were each in their hotel rooms, so Harry was in his, alone. There was a knock on the door as he adjusted his blazer. He was somewhat worry, but then he shook himself. They wouldn't have let anyone up unless the person worked with the band. He walked over to the door and, when he opened it, Louis was there. He wore a striped shirt, suspenders, and red pants. Harry rolled his eyes, but then again, he was wearing what he usually wore as well.
"Harry!" Louis said, helping himself in. Harry shrugged and closed the door. "Are you ready to find some hot chick tonight for you, mate?"
"Louis," Harry replied, rolling his eyes, "you know we can't have girlfriends here."
"Sex," Louis corrected.
"Oh, come on," he replied. "I can't get a girlfriend while they ask us not to. This is our job, Lou."
"I know, Harry, but you need a girl, and it's the summer. Girls from all over the place are everywhere. Take a chance, will you?" Louis patted his shoulder and then turned on the television. The newsperson was giving a report on them.
"Thousands of screaming fans camped outside their concert venue just in hopes of getting a glimpse of the British-Irish boy band," the lady was saying, her eyebrows rising as if she could not believe such a thing was happening. "Outside their hotel, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of crying and screaming fans waiting for the boys to come out. Todd is out there right now. Todd, how is it over there?"
The camera split in half, showing the newsperson they'd been watching before on one half and, on the other half, showing a polished man—Todd. "Well, Erica, it's hectic over here. They keep attempting to get inside—it's crazy! People are being shoved, and I see some people with bruises." He made a slightly pained face. "Oh, this is bad. It's impressive, really, the amount of fans that will just come together and stand outside the hotel for hours even though it's an extremely sunny day."
"Well," Erica said, clearly shocked, "that sounds like a massive amount of fans out there. Do you mind speaking to one of them for us?"
"Sure thing," Todd said. Then, as if they'd planned it all along, a girl appeared beside him. She was fit, in Harry's eyes. Blonde hair, blue eyes, not too tall, with a shirt that showed her stomach and extremely short shorts. "What's your name?"
"My name's Amber," she said, giggling. Her face grew hot.
"And how old are you?"
"I'm sixteen years old," she replied.
"Why are you here, Amber, accompanied by thousands of screaming fans?"
"Because One Direction is my life," she admitted. Harry smiled slightly. He knew Louis was watching him from the corner of his eye, but he didn't care. "One Direction is…wow. The boys are hot, they're talented, they've got great personality…they're everything a girl wants."
"And that alone is the reason you're out here today?"
"I'm here because I would love to date one of them," she said with a wink. "I wouldn't mind having a famous hottie as my boyfriend."
Todd laughed. "Well, there you have it, Erica. The fans are here just so they can meet their idols—and hopefully charm them." He shook his head disbelievingly. "It's crazy. But, oh well. Back to you."
"Thank you, Todd. It is quite crazy," Erica said with a small smile. "That, people, is the effect the British-Irish boy band One Direction is having on the girls in America and all over the world. Up next, we'll have the latest in the sports segment with Caleb."
Louis turned off the TV and looked at Harry, who rolled his eyes. "I know, mate," he said to his friend. "I never said it'd be easy to find a girlfriend."
"Louis," Harry said, groaning. "I don't want one."
"Oh, yes you do," he replied. "And you'll get one."
Harry chucked a pillow at him. "Fine," he said, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "But the concert is in five hours and we have to go."
"Through the back," Louis said. Harry nodded. He took his phone and shoved his room key into the back pocket of his jeans.
"Let's go find Niall and Zayn. Liam's already up. He texted me," Harry said as he shut the door to his room—and collided with a girl.
"Watch it," she snapped. "Ohmygod, it's HARRY STYLES." Her face changed completely as she discovered who she bumped into. He gave her a cheeky smile.
"Hi," he said.
"I'm gonna be in the VIP section tonight," she said with a wink. Then, her phone started to ring. She picked it up. Sadly, the room in front of Harry's was Niall's, so while Louis knocked, he had to stay there and listen to her phone conversation.
"Lindsay!" the girl shrieked into the phone. "You will never believe who I just met." There was a pause, and then a laugh. "No, I did not meet your favorite rock band. I met HARRY FREAKING STYLES!" There was an even longer pause. "Can't you just be happy for me?" The girl sighed. "I know I'm dragging you to their concert tonight, but think about it this way: you'll be meeting hot British guys and an Irish one."
"Come on," Harry muttered to Niall. "Open the bloody door."
"Yeah, yeah, alright, I'll stop bothering you. Love you. Bye," she said. When she turned around and saw that Harry was still there, she grinned, misinterpreting it. Shit.
"How did you find us?" he blurted out, before she could get started on her fangirling again.
"Oh, I didn't find you purposely. My dad's visiting and he's staying in the room next to yours." She jerked her head in its direction. Her phone beeped. "Crap, I have to go. See you tonight!" Before he could react to anything, she threw her arms around him, and then scurried off. Just then, Niall opened the door.
"Mate," Harry said with a glare, "I am going to kill you."
###
When their last song was over, the boys retired backstage. It was time for the meet and greet, and they'd give the boys twenty minutes to get prepared. Harry went to find some water and soaked his curls with it. He drank the rest of the bottle. Louis did the same next to him, smiling the entire way.
"I still can't believe this is us."
Harry grinned at his friend's face. He was smiling.
"I know," Harry replied. "Look, I'm gonna go call my mum, so I'll be back in two minutes."
He pulled out his American phone and dialed his mum's phone number. It may cost him a fortune, but he had the money to pay it. He would always have the money to pay it. And it came in handy most of the time.
"Harry?" his mother asked. "It's four in the morning."
"Oh god," Harry said, trying to hold back a laugh. "I'm so sorry, Mum."
She laughed. "It's alright, Hazza. How was it?"
"Amazing," he replied with a sigh. "We're gonna go meet the fans; I just wanted to ring you. Go to bed, Mum!"
"I will," she said with slight amusement in her voice. "I'll talk to you soon, alright? Love you."
"I love you too," he said, and hung up. He really missed her, and it was only the beginning of their tour. Hopefully she'd visit.
Harry made his way over to where they were instructed to gather for the meet and greet. They each sat in their chairs and the fans started filing in. Harry signed their things. Some of them were crying, others screaming…he didn't really think any of them were for him. Louis nudged him every time there was a fit girl, but she was always too stunned to speak, or crying, or yelling. Harry shook his head softly at Louis.
Then, finally, the girl from the hotel came. Harry liked her, although he knew he'd never be able to like her too much. She was too obnoxious and loud. There was a girl next to her. She was a brunette, as opposed to her friend, who had blonde hair and red streaks. The brunette had light green eyes, and the blonde one had blue eyes. The brunette wore jeans and a cardigan, while her friend wore shorts and a tank top. They looked so different, and they acted it. The blonde girl was shrieking.
"Calm down, Char," the brunette told her, rolling her eyes.
"Jessica!" Char—Charlotte?—replied to her. "Shut up."
Jessica rolled her eyes but said nothing. She was getting stuff signed. "Your performance was great," she told the boys. "You're really good at what you do. I'm glad there are still people who are actually good in this industry."
Harry liked her immediately. He liked her honesty and the way she could keep her cool. She liked them, too, which was a plus. And she was fit. She wasn't the hottest girl—in fact, Charlotte was even hotter than her, way hotter—but there was something about her that made her beautiful.
"Hi," Harry said to her, signing her album quickly. "What's your name?"
She smiled. "If you couldn't tell by the loud screams of my best friend, my name's Jessica."
"Well, Jessica, what kind of phone do you have?"
"What?" she asked, dumbfounded.
"I asked—"
"I know what you asked," she said slowly, "but why?"
"I like phones. And I'm looking for a new one." Harry shrugged. "For my mom."
She pulled out her phone. "It's an iPhone. Not the newest one, but eh." She handed it to him. "You can check it out, see if you want it for your mom. I can sell it, if you want."
"Oh, no, that's okay," Harry said quickly, but he took the phone from her hands. He went to where the phone symbol was and entered his phone number and his name. "Here you go. I might just get one like that for her."
"Good," she said with a small smile. "Well, nice to meet you." She said the last part to everyone. They all waved at her, and off she went.
"You like her," Louis said, and Harry didn't deny it.
###
"Was it as bad as you thought it'd be?" Char asked, a stupid grin on her face. Jessica rolled her eyes.
"I never, ever, ever said I thought it'd be bad. Their genre is just not my thing," Jessica said, and it was true. She listened to oldies, not boy bands from the current time, unless they were rock bands. But the shit that played on the radio every day made her sick. One Direction, however, was different. She noticed it from the moment they stepped on that stage. They actually made her like their songs.
"Okay, okay, but did you like it?"
"Yes, okay, I liked it. And yes, they made me like their music. Are you freaking happy?" she snapped.
"Ugh, why are you so pissed?"
"My sister's boyfriend called me today," Jessica said, and they fell silent.
"Oh." Char stared at her nervously. "And?"
"And he says I ruined their relationship," Jessica replied bitterly. It happened a week ago, when Chad and her sister, Amy, had been over at the family's house. Chad was a freaking pervert, so naturally, he tried to get into Jessica's pants. She slapped him, but then he took it the wrong way and kept going, his hands slipping under her shirt. And then her sister found them, punched Jessica, kicked Chad in the balls, and walked out.
Their mother never found out, and the only person who knew the truth aside from Chad was Charlotte—not that her word counted. She hadn't been there that day, so nothing could be proven. But that didn't matter.
"Whatever. It's a good thing, right? He can't do anything to you anymore," Charlotte said.
Jessica shrugged. "I suppose."
"Wanna prank call someone?" Char asked.
"Sure."
"Let's use your phone. Mine died."
Okay." Jessica pulled out her phone and they started scrolling through the contacts. They noticed something different. Their friend, Hannah, wasn't the only H there was anymore. There was a new contact. Their mouths dropped open.
Harry Styles.
"How the hell?" Jessica whispered, and then it clicked. When he asked for her phone. Classy, Styles. She shook her head and dialed.
"Hello?" It was him: his accent, his voice—him.
"Harry, what the hell?"
"Jess!" Char hissed.
"Jessica, I'm glad you called." He was probably smirking on the other side of the phone.
"Why didn't you just ask me for my number, like normal people would?"
"Would you have given it to me?"
"I don't know!"
"Exactly," Harry said. "I took the safe way out of this and just gave you mine."
"Okay, okay, it was pretty smart." Jessica grinned. "Why did you give me your number?"
"Because you're different," Harry said. "And I like you."
"You don't know me."
"Okay, well, I like your attitude. Better?"
"Very much so," Jessica replied, biting back a smile.
"When can we go out?"
"Well, you're forward."
"I like you."
"I thought we established that you like my attitude."
"Right," Harry said. "That, too."
"Styles!"
He chuckled. She couldn't help but smile widely. "Tour doesn't end until a month and a half from now." He sounded sadder.
"I know," Jessica said, willing herself to ignore the disappointment that she started to feel. Of course, she knew it wasn't going to be easy. He was a celebrity, for shit's sake! "I could, um…" She didn't know what to say.
"In two days," he said. "We have a one day break in two days."
"Perfect," Jessica said. "I'll see you then."
"Okay. Well, Jessica, it's been lovely talking to you, but I'm exhausted. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," she said, and the call ended.
"YOU'RE GOING OUT WITH HARRY STYLES!"
"Shut up," Jessica replied, cheeks burning.
"I WILL NOT SHUT UP."
"At least stop screaming, will you? It's giving me a headache."
"Okay, okay. BUT HARRY STYLES. Oh my god, how does that feel?"
"He's just a guy," Jessica said with a shrug. He was just a guy, although, obviously, the world saw more to him than that. They saw this hot guy who could sing and was British and sexy, and was part of a boy band. And he was famous as hell. Their tour sold out. They…shit. They were really famous. That was why dating him would cause trouble.
But she would take the risk.