Far Away

24

Harry's POV

I stood next to William, leaning against the door frame as we waited. A minute or so went by before I raised my brows at him.

"Relax, Harry. Be patient." He sighed.

"How long does it take to answer a door?" I muttered, stumbling forward when the door handle began to turn. I stood beside William and watched the door swing open to meet the eyes of a woman, probably in her fifties, who wore bright red lipstick and black thick rimmed glasses.

"Harry! So nice to meet you." She exclaimed, extending her arm towards me with a warm smile. "I'm Cindy, Victoria's manager."

I nodded and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, too." I nodded over to William. "This is William, my-"

"We've met," Cindy said, stepping back into the hotel room and opening the door further. I looked over to William, wondering when he would have had time to meet up with Victoria Sparks' people. "Come in!" Cindy welcomed.

William and I stepped inside of the room, our eyes wandering around the further we walked in. The boys and I have stayed in pretty nice hotel rooms, but this was just something else. Crystal chandeliers lined the ceiling, while white marble lined the floor. Exquisite bouquets of bright colored flowers sat in vases of different shapes and sizes. Gold curtains draped the windows, and a table filled with an assortment of desserts and fruit lay across the table cloth. Obviously, Victoria Sparks was very welcomed at this hotel.

"Boyfriend!" A high squeal sounded. I turned around just in time for Victoria to jump giddily into me and wrap her arms around my neck. "So nice to see you again." She said, taking a step back. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her makeup was obviously done by a professional. Her blue eyes looked me up and down, her bright pink lips pursing as she studied my outfit. "You look adorable. That'll do."

"Do?" I asked. "For what?"

"The rumours are going to start today!" Victoria chimed, walking past me to the dessert table. After looking over the selection she settled on a single strawberry. "The media's been told that you were seen at my hotel, and they're going to get pictures of you leaving."

"Okay..."

Victoria studied me. "You sound confused." After a couple of seconds she gasped. "Am I your first fake relationship, Harry?"

The look on her face was incredulous, as if the idea of never having a previous fake relationship was completely bizarre. "Yes?" I said, feeling more discomfort settle over me as I realized Victoria wasn't the only one in the room giving me that look.

"Aw! That's precious!" Victoria cooed, after biting into her strawberry. "Come," She said, walking towards me and grabbing my wrist. "We have to talk about each other. Finalize things to say in interviews and boundaries and all that boring stuff."

As Victoria pulled me away, I looked toward William and squinted my eyes at him so he could see how unimpressed I was. William only shrugged, then turned his attention towards Cindy.

Victoria pulled me along into a separate smaller room which looked similar to the one we were just in but without as many bouquets and less space. She let go of my wrist as she walked to the couch, then patted the cushion beside her.

I walked towards the couch and sat down, crossing my arms.

"Are you nervous?" Victoria asked.

"No."

"Good! I wouldn't want my boyfriend to be shy around me."

"I'm not really your boyfriend..."

"No!" Victoria said, shaking her finger at me. "You have to put yourself in the role, Harry. Just like if you were in a movie. You have to make yourself believe we're in some kind of relationship, or else the media will see right through us." Victoria said. She closed her eyes and let out a breath. "Alright, so if you get asked in interviews about me, act bashful. Let the media wonder about us, let them ask questions that never really have to be answered."