Undercover | H.S.

21.

ELLIE'S POV

My head is pounding. My eyes flutter open and I quickly slam them back shut when the light flooding in from the window only intensifies the throbbing in my skull. I roll away from the source and reattempt to open my eyes. As the room comes in to focus I realize I'm not in my dorm room. I take in my surroundings and come to the conclusion I'm in a hotel room, and a fancy one at that. I have no recollection of how I got here or why I'm wearing a large black T-shirt that was definitely not my attire from last night. I groan as yet another sharp pain shoots through my head as I roll out of bed. I manage to steady myself on my feet and step out of the bedroom into the common area of the suite. I find Charlie passed out on the couch in much the same state as me except she appears to have kept her previous nights clothing on.

My mind begins to wander to last night and I suspect I know who's hotel room we're in, I think I'd known as soon as I'd assessed the shirt I'm wearing. I hear water running behind the door to my left and I assume he's  cleansing himself of last nights activities. While I wait for him to appear I grab a water bottle from the mini fridge. The cool liquid quenches my dry mouth and helps to slightly dull the ache in my head. I finish off the bottle just as the bathroom door swings open revealing a half naked Harry Styles.

My eyes are glued to his body. His hair is damp and hangs nearly to his shoulders now, he's let it grow even more since I saw him last. His shoulders are as broad as ever but he's more muscular. As my eyes travel father I see it's not just on his arms but his whole body, he's been working out and it definitely suits him.

"Ahem" he coughs and my cheeks heat as I realize I've been caught staring.

"Like what you see?" He smirks.

"Eh, you're alright I guess" I chuckle trying to laugh off my embarrassment.

"You feeling okay this morning? You were pretty smashed last night."

"Yeah, I'm good. Slight hangover but nothing too awful."

He simply nods and an awkward silence takes over the room. After a few minutes he finally asks, "did you enjoy the show?"

I smile, "Yeah! You guys were great I'm so glad I got to see you in your element."

"What did you think of the new songs?"

I'm quiet, not exactly sure how to answer. "They...they were great. A few just seemed very....personal" I say as our eyes connect.

"I write what I feel."

"I'm so confused." I say honestly "That song was about loving someone so much you'd walk away from everything to be with them....but you're the one that walked away from me"

"It wasn't intentional."

I laugh sarcastically. "How exactly does one completely ignore someone, unintentionally?"

He sighs and looks down while squeezing the bridge of his nose. "I guess......I guess I felt like it was better for you. You were starting university and the media had finally let you get your life back to normal, the boys and I...let's just say we're a fucking sinking ship and"

"What's going on with the boys?"

He looks at me with disbelief, "all of that and that's what you get out of it?"