As I walked out of the bathroom, fresh from my shower, I saw Ed already lying on my couch watching TV.
"Dude… its only 9" I said tightening my towel before walking over to him. I could tell he had already started drinking and was in a really good mood. "Make me a drink while I go get ready" I kicked his sprawled out foot and headed up the stairs to my bedroom in the loft. I pulled on a pair of black tights and my honey brown riding boots. I didn't want to be dressy considering Ed was wearing jeans and a t-shirt so instead I put on my oversized cream tunic and topped that off with my vintage levi's denim jacket I had so lovingly chopped the sleeves off of many years ago. I was still a bit of a hippie at heart. I let my long, curly dark brown hair rest down my back, pulled off a successful cat eye and I was ready to go. I skipped down the stairs to find six shots lined up on the counter, Ed ready to pound them down.
"A round of Virgin Pussies for you! Cheers!" He grinned handing me one shot glass after another. Four shots later I had to stop and he finished the rest.
"Who names a shot Virgin Pussy? You Brits are so vulgar!" I laughed in my worst British accent, already feeling my buzz as he ushered me out of the door, grabbing my jacket on the way.
"You're gonna have fun, love." Ed declared loudly as our taxi sped through the streets. I wondered for a second if I would be stuck babysitting him but shook it off as he started to sing along to a song on the radio. He was right; tonight I would just have fun. I didn't know anyone here and if it sucked, I could just hop in a taxi and go home. Ed knew these guys and wouldn't care if I jumped out early. I adjusted my jacket as the taxi turned the corner onto a dark but well-kept street. Almost no houses had their lights on except for one building at the end of the road which seemed to be dark except for the top story and roof, which lit up the cloudy night sky. The taxi slowed to a stop in front of the building and Ed jumped out of the car, dropping some money into the front seat. He ran to the front door of the building pushing on the speaker button like a mad man.
"POTTER!" He yelled when a voice finally answered and the door unlocked into darkness, he looked back to make sure I was following him before running inside. I couldn't help but laugh at his utter excitement and ran in to catch up.
We dropped our coats off just past the front door and six floors up, the lift opened to what could only be described as a room full of models and rock stars hanging out in the most exquisite looking hotel lobby. Of course, it wasn't a hotel lobby, instead it was apparently a very fancy decorated "den" of sorts with modern looking chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings and a full bar at the far end. People walked about, kissing the cheeks of everyone they saw and just generally looking rich and beautiful. Music filled the room and images were projected onto the walls making the space feel more like a club than a simple house warming party. I could tell it wouldn't be hard to get lost in the mix and grabbed onto Ed's arm as he walked into the crowd, apparently looking for someone, but we instead found the bar.
"Holy shit, this place is crazy." I shouted so he could hear me over the music.
"I know right, their label put all this fancy shit in here. I think everyone's on the roof." He motioned and after we got our drinks we made our way to a small spiral staircase filled with people going up and down. Once upstairs it was like a completely different scene, there were about half the people on the roof in twice the space. The edges of the landing were draped in Christmas lights and there were random sofa's scattered about. People were clumped into groups here and there and the vibe was just a lot more mellow and relaxed. Music and laughter filled the air as we made our way to a large group huddled around a small fire pit.
"Weasley, you've come to rub me up with that big penis, yeah?" A guy with bright blue eyes broke away from the group and ran towards us, picking Ed up off the ground and spinning him around. He was shorter, but solid and I couldn't help but notice his bright red pants cuffed around his ankles and the striped suspenders he was pulling off quite well. The two guys yelled and exchanged banter while the rest of the large group started yelling and heading over, practically attacking Ed with pure, unadulterated man-love. I stood back and observed the dance of the bromance as a group of around 5 guys and a couple of girls crowded around Ed like they hadn't seen him in years. Ed hadn't really spoken about these guys so I really knew nothing about them other than they were a band and had been out of the country for months recording an album or touring or something. I didn't know their names but some of their faces did look familiar, especially one of the boys. He was taller and tan with short curly hair. He was wearing navy blue slacks and a denim button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His soft brown eyes caught mine for a second before getting lost in the love fest that was Ed Sheeran.
"So rude, come here Jules" I heard Ed's voice from the small crowd as they all looked over at me. I took the last swig of my liquid courage and stepping up to shake their hands. I was met with an assortment of some of the most beautiful men I had ever seen and I could feel my cheeks blushing red uncontrollably. "Louis, Naill, Zayn, Liam, and that titty fucker is Harry but you call him Potter. This is Julie, be nice to her she's American." He joked.
"Hello Julie" they all rang in perfect unison, as if they had practiced, and I must have made a weird face because they all started to laugh at me, reaching out to pat my arm or shake my hand.
"Nice to meet you, babe!" Louis, the blazing blue eyed boy said stepping up and putting an arm around my shoulder. "A mate of Sheeran is a mate of mine!" he sang, his intoxication quite obvious.
"So, nice to meet you guys." I sounded shyer than I expected as Naill, a young looking blonde boy took my empty cup and replaced it with another drink.
"Welcome to the UK!" he spoke fast, his Irish accent much thicker due to a handful of drinks in his system.
"Do you smoke, Jules?" Harry asked, rolling out every letter in my name with his deep, raspy voice. He stepped up, close to my face and raised his hand to reveal a joint between his long, thin fingers. I involuntarily held my breath as I shifted between his hypnotic bright green eyes and the rolled joint just inches away from my face.
"Don't corrupt the poor girl, Harreh, let her be!" Louis chimed in, pushing Harry away square in the chest, causing him to fall back. Harry and I never broke eye contact as a huge, cheeky grin took over his face and he placed the unlit joint at the corner of his deliciously red lips. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively before spinning around on his heels and casually walking away towards a group of girls. I watched, from the corner of my eye, as he walked up to one of the girls and planted a big kiss on the corner of her lips, nearly toppling them both over with the force. The girls just giggled and grabbed at his body, loving the sudden attention. He was the playboy. I made a mental note in my head.
"This is my super fit lady love, Eleanor" Louis introduced me to a beautiful girl and before we even had time to speak he was pulling me towards another group of girls, she just laughed and smiled at me apologetically for the state he was in. "This is Dani, Liam's leading lady and Jackie Naill's wife!" He pulled us all in for a big group hug before bouncing off and out of sight.
"He's so blasted, they're not married." Dani laughed to Jackie before the girls turned back to me. "So nice to meet you Julie, welcome! We've missed them so fucking much. Did you come here with Sheeran?" They looked down at me expectantly. They were tall and gorgeous in short mini dresses and high heels. Next to them I felt underdressed and unimpressive. I shook the thought away, taking another sip of my drink.
"Oh my god no, ha!" I laughed noticing my buzz from earlier was much closer to intoxication than I remembered. "He's my neighbor, I just moved here so he likes to drag me out, ya know?" They just looked at me in silence for a second, taking in what I was saying, before laughing and nodding their heads.
"Your voice is funny." Jackie said in such a strong Surrey accent I could barely make it out, all I could do was laugh along; the poor thing was so drunk.
Later in the night after I noticed Eleanor and Zayn taking Jackie downstairs, presumably to bed, I wondered over to the bar set on ordering my very last drink before calling it a night. By then, Ed had disappeared off somewhere and the initial group had blended into the rest of the crowd. I made my rounds, making friends with strangers and even making a couple of industry contacts before finding a nice seat, off to the side, to do some people watching.
"Are you having fun?" A voice, though smooth but fast, gave me a shock. I turned my head to see the same brown eyed boy I had briefly met earlier, Liam.
"You scared me, oh my God." I said, resting my hand on my quickly beating heart. "But yes, yes I am. This place is so crazy, you guys live here?" I shuffled most of my weight against the bar and looked up at him, trying to focus my eyes.
"Uh, yeah." He said, looking around, as if he almost didn't believe it himself. "We moved in months ago and then immediately went to America to do some promo so it's pretty much like we're just now moving in. This place is incredible, it really is. We just got back last night…." He smiled sweetly, just looking at me for a second longer than felt natural. His lack of a buzz made me sober up just a bit. He wasn't holding a drink in his hand, just an almost empty water bottle. I didn't want to look like a lush so I straightened up my posture and thoughtfully nodded my head, trying to avoid actually speaking. "You're from the US right…..? That's what Ed said… what part?"
"California. Los Angeles, really. But I've been coming to the UK since, like, I was born, you know?" I heard a slur on the last couple of words and just smiled sweetly. "I love it here, I just moved here for good like a couple of months ago to stay with my sister Jane… yeah." He listened intently and then just let out a little laugh. I was probably making a complete fool of myself but whatever, I would probably never see these guys again. "I met your girlfriend earlier, so cute oh my god!" I playfully pushed his shoulder and he smiled, quickly looking away and scanning the rooftop.
When his eyes met mine again, a much more serious expression read on his thick brows. "Do you not remember me, Jules?" He asked taking my drink from my hand, his voice was low and he looked deep into my eyes. It seemed like eternity passed before I could speak, all I could do was blink and bit my lip, shaking my head in confusion. Did he look familiar, yes, but I figured I had just seen him on TV or read about him in the paper… "You honestly don't remember me?"
"I'm sorry, I'm so confused…" I started to twist my hair around in my hands, trying to concentrate, as I stepped back from him. Turning to walk away, I was a little too drunk to deal with what was going on and his serious demeanor was making me uncomfortable. I didn't know where I was going but just steps away from the stairs a strong arm scooped me up by the waist and swung me around. I found myself face to chest with Mr. Potter himself.
"Woah, Titty Fuck. I'm a lady. That kind of hurt…" I heard myself slur as I closed my eyes for a second, rebalancing myself in his grasp by placing a hand on his surprisingly hard chest. I could hear Harry let out a loud, hyper laugh along with the people standing around him. When I opened my eyes he was bent over, his face level and just an inch or two away from mine; the joint, much smaller now was still hanging dangerously from his lips as he studied my face with an intense, stern expression.
"You're drunk. My name's not Titty Fuck." He finally flashing a grin and tightening his arm around me. When he stood up straight he had to be at least 5 inches taller than me and I felt like a small child on his arm. He scent was weed swirled with expensive cologne and I couldn't help but notice the outline of his chest through the thin, white t-shirt he was wearing under his fitted heather blazer.
"You're high." I mocked his accent, slipping the joint between my fingers and gliding it out of his perfect lips. I inhaled deeply, slowly and placed the little burning stick back where I had just swiped it. Harry took the joint from his lips and passed it to someone else before sliding a cold finger across my cheek, turning my chin up to meet his eyes.
"Would you like a tour?" his voice purred.