*Harry's POV*
"Niall's going to kill me." I stated, consumed in the current subject of Katie's injured hand.
I felt horrible. If I hadn't sneaked up from behind her while she was playing, this wouldn't have happened. But I couldn't help it! I couldn't believe how beautifully she played that song. It got me thinking why she never approached the piano before. It was almost like she was... hiding something.
"Why?!" She exclaimed, looking shocked. "You didn't even do anything! This is all my fault..." She lowered her head in shame. For the past ten minutes now, all she has done is blame herself for what happened, and let me tell you.
It was killing me.
I couldn't stand to see her beating herself up so badly. She was being so hard on herself, no matter how many times I told her it was fine and that she didn't mean it and that I forgave her. She was such a sweet and genuine girl, it was almost impossible to think that she meant me any harm.
"Katie, look at me." I said quietly, lifting her chin up with my finger to meet my eyes. Her cheeks flooded with the now familiar pink flush, not only making her extremely cute, but oddly sexy in her own effortless way. She was just indescribable; genuinely unique.
And it made me speechless.
"What?" She asked innocently, snapping me back to reality as she waited for me to continue.
"It's not your fault." I answered without hesitation. "If it wasn't for me sneaking up on you none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry." I said with as much sincerity as I could muster. For some reason, I found myself wanting to make her happy. I didn't want to see her hurting like this as she took all of this guilt on herself.
"But I punched you!" She said with disbelief. " What do you mean it's all your fault?! I punched you! In the face!" She started to ramble. "I wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to put a restraining order against me! I mean, it's kind of understandable knowing that I basically just assaulted you. But -"
"Katie!" I cut in, giving her an amused smirk as the blush once again made it's way into her cheeks.
"Sorry. I was rambling, wasn't I?" She asked shyly, breaking eye contact with me.
"Kind of." I replied with a knowing grin. I was currently finding it physically impossible to fathom how she could be so cute. Suddenly, she let out a small gasp of shock, her pink lips forming a small 'o'.
"It's starting to bruise!" She said, the dread evident in her voice. She immediately took the ice pack off of her what-seemed-to-be broken hand and pressed it to my jaw once again.
This girl was so hard to understand.
"I'm fine, babe!" I started, looking up to see her red face as she reacted to the nickname I just gave her. "We need to look after your hand right now, okay?" I said, reaching to pry the ice pack off of my jaw and back onto her knuckles as gently as possible. She flinched as it touched her swollen fingers, shutting her eyes closed and clenching her teeth as if trying to keep for crying.
The sight of her like this broke my heart.
"Okay. It's hurts now." She whimpered weakly. "It hurts a lot." Her voice broke as a tear rolled down her flushed cheek. Without hesitation, I reached out and wrapped my arm around her waist, bringing her small body into me. She ducked her head into the crook of my shoulder as if on instinct; her body started to shake as sobs racked through her body.
"Don't cry." I begged, rubbing soothing circles on her back as I silently begged for her to stop. I couldn't stand it to see her cry like this. "Please don't cry. I'm going to take care of you. I promise, okay?"
No response.
"Do you trust me?" I asked, dreading the possible response of rejection.
She nodded against my chest.
I gave a silent sigh of relief and a small smile before I continued. "Good. So how about I take you to the hospital so we can get you checked out, hm?" She looked up to give me a look of horror as she gulped; but none the less, she nodded. I gave her a reassuring smile as I took her good hand in mine and pulled her off of my lap and out of the kitchen. I couldn't help but notice how perfectly her small hand fit in mine.
"Wait!" She halted, tugging me a step back. "I need pants." She stated, looking down as her legs that were only covered by the thin fabric of Niall's navy blue boxers. "And a bra." She added quietly, her cheeks turning crimson as she realized she said the last part out loud.
I smirked.
"I'll just go get changed and then we can go." And with that, she skipped up the steps, caressing her injured hand to her chest. And it was right then and there that I realized something that would change me.
It was going to take everything I had and more to make her fall for me.
*Katie's POV*
"How you holding up?" Harry asked with concern
I was sitting in the passenger seat of Harry's fancy car, my head leaned against the headrest, eyes closed and teeth clenched as I tried to keep the pain concealed.
"I'll be fine." I said, not risking a glance over in his direction.
He would see right through my poor act.
The truth was, I absolutely hated hospitals. Which explains why the closer we got to the hospital, the more nervous I became. To sum it up as best as possible, the last time I've been to one basically scarred me for life. It was two years ago that my cousin had gotten into a bombing incident while on his deployment to Afghanistan. He was shipped back home and was in recovery when I saw him again, and let me tell you. It was not pretty. There is still this constant dread in the back of my mind that one day, my brother will end up in the same predicament. I fear the day that I will get a phone call from the hospital telling me my brother has been checked in. Not once have I stopped trying to convince him to leave the Army and get a normal job, but he always refuses.
He insists that hospitals don't scare him like they scare me.
"So?" Harry insisted, interrupting my train of thought.
"Um- sorry... I was... kind of in a daze." I apologized, looking to where he sat behind the wheel. I couldn't help but notice how his tattooed muscles flexed unconsciously as he gripped the steering wheel. I felt my heart pace speed up without my permission as I looked at him. He was being so sweet to me this whole day, and I didn't have any explanation for his change of view towards me. "What did you say?"
"We're almost at the hospital. And I'm guessing that there will be paparazzi. Have you had to deal with them before?" He asked.
"Uh, no. The only times I went out since I got here was with you guys, so unless there were some that I didn't see then no." I responded. It was kind of weird, now that I think about it. I mean, these boys are loved worldwide. Doesn't that mean they have paparazzi following their every move?
"Yeah, that's because Niall went to extra measures to make sure that they didn't spot you." He said with a chuckle.
Extra measures?
"What does that mean?" I said, wincing as the car hit a bump, causing my hand to hit the car door.
This time Harry didn't seem to notice.
"He basically doubled up on security, called around to make sure that the papz were expecting us to be some place else. You know, those types of things." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
"He didn't have to do all of that." I said, feeling guilty that he went through all that trouble to keep me out of the public eye.
"He really cares about you, you know." Harry put in after a few moments of silence. I silently nodded in response. The sound of this news made my heart swell. After all of the years that we have been away from each other, we still had a strong friendship.
And I loved him for it.
"So..." I started, not knowing how to put my next question.
"What?" He asked with a smirk. A smirk that I was now growing quite fond of.
"Can you call Niall?" I asked hesitantly, knowing that he knew exactly what I meant.
"Haha. Uh- no." He said, laughing sarcastically as he instantly shot down that possibility. "Sorry, but I would like to keep my face from gaining another bruise."
"He won't punch you!" I exclaimed. Niall's too sweet to harm anybody. "Please just call him! I'm too scared."
"Why don't we see what's going on with your hand first, and then we can debate whether or not he needs to be called." He suggested, pulling into the parking lot of the hospital. My stomach started to feel queasy as I took in the sight of the massive building.
"Okay."
"Shit." He mumbled, instantly putting on his aviators.
"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at him curiously.
"The paparazzi beat us here." He explained, nodding his head to the parking lot. There were already a few vans and cars parked in a group and some people were waiting with cameras. "Okay here's the plan. Once I park, we get out of the car as quickly as possible. I don't want you letting go of my hand, or you might get lost if they swarm us, okay?" He asked looking over at he with a serious face.
"Mm-hmm" I hummed, nodding my head as I started to feel nervous.
Man, it must suck to be famous, I thought.
"Keep your head down and don't talk to them. I'll take care of everything." And with that, he parked in the only free parking spot we could find and handed me a pair of sunglasses as I unbuckled my seat belt. "Put your hair down." He said, pointing to the messy bun perched high on my head.
I did as I was told.
"Ready?" He asked, his hand ready to open the car door as quickly as possible. I nodded. We both opened our doors and got out of the car. He was at my side in a matter of seconds, pulling my left hand into his right as we made out way down the parking lot and towards the dreaded hospital doors.
And then, we were swarmed.
"Harry! Harry Styles!"
"Harry! What are you doing at the hospital?!"
"Who is this lovely lady?!"
"Why are you at the hospital?!"
"Are you two dating?!"
"What's her name?!"
"Are you okay?!"
"Are you two getting a pregnancy test?!"
The last one made me laugh to myself. These people came up with the strangest rumours.
The blinding flashes of cameras going off three times a second had me momentarily disoriented. How Harry seemed to be fine right now was beyond me. The papz where starting to crowd in on us very closely, and I could feel Harry's grip on my hand loosen until it was finally gone. My feet stopped moving and I was surrounded with people and cameras and microphone recording thingies.
"Are you Harry Styles' girlfriend?"
"What's your name?"
"How old are you?"
"Why are you with Harry at the hospital?"
I didn't know what to do. I was starting to get shoved from side to side; front and back. I didn't know where to go. That was when somebody's camera crushed my bad hand against my thigh.
Hard.
"Ow!" I whimpered to myself as I felt the pressure on my hand release and the person was yanked back by a powerful force.
"Don't touch her!" Harry's voice sounded from behind. I turned around with tears springing to my eyes as the pain started to flood into my hand, once again. It was a good thing I was wearing sunglasses. "Back off! Leave her alone!" There was pushing and shoving all around me. Things were moving to fast; and if you add that to the fact that I was currently scared shitless and my fear of hospitals was now increased tenfold then you've got a problem.
Well, I've got a problem.
"Come on." Harry's voice was suddenly right by my ear. He arm made it's way around my waist this time as he practically dragged me out of the crowd and into the hospital doors. My paranoia started to set in as I took in my surroundings. "Katie, I'm so sorry!" Harry apologised as he took off his sun glasses. I did the same and wiped my eyes from any evidence of tears. Too much was going on. Being swarmed by people, the added pain in my now throbbing right hand, my fear of hospitals, and my lack of water in my system. It was all adding up and it was too much for me to handle. So I guess the only thing my idiot self could come up with in response to all of this was to faint.
And that's what I did.
*Harry's POV*
"Katie, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, taking off my sunglasses as she did the same.
Sure I've seen some rough paparazzi. But this? This was just too much. All of those idiots made it so much harder for me to get Katie here without any more injuries. But guess what?
They had to fuck up those plans too.
I looked down at Katie's face as I noticed the weird expression she was wearing. She looked scared, exhausted, confused.
She was a mess.
"Katie?" I asked, worry seeping into my voice. Suddenly, her face went lack and her eyes closed as she started to sway where she stood. Immediately, my hands shot out to catch her falling figure. I started down at her limp body; absolutely shocked. "Oh my God." I mumbled, frozen in place. Sure, I've seen many girls faint in front of me, but I didn't actually know them. I actually feel like I have the duty of keeping Katie safe; and so far, things weren't looking too good. Katie was only out for about thirty seconds or so until she came back. Her bright green eyes fluttered open and what were her paled cheeks now filled with colour once again.
"Haz?" She asked, confusion laced into her words. She brought her arms around my neck as I tighten my grip on her. I was carrying her bridal style as I walked towards the reception desk.
"You're gonna be taken care of soon, love." I explained.
"What seems to be the problem?" The receptionist asked, not looking at from her paperwork.
"My friend here doesn't seem to be feeling too well." I explained. "And I think she broke her hand."
"You might need to wait in the-" She started, finally looking up from her desk. That's when she recognized me and changed the direction of her sentence. "I mean, just wait one second and one of our nurses will escort you to a room."
I smirked.
"Thank you very much." I said, taking a step to the side.
*Katie's POV*
"Niall?!" I exclaimed, spotting a head of blond making it's way into the white hospital room.
I sat up from the hospital bed as I spotted Niall's worried face. The Doctor had already casted my confirmed slightly fractured hand. He said it would take two to three weeks for it to recover, which wasn't so bad, according to Harry. Who by the way, has not left my side since this whole thing started. It was nice to have someone with you when you needed them most.
"Katie!" Niall exclaimed, coming up the left side of the bed and wrapping me in a firm yet gentle hug. We stayed like that for a while, loosing track of the time. It was only when we heard the rest of the boys' voices that we separated.
"Katie!"
"Are you okay?!"
"What happened?!"
"Oh, just look at her!"
"HARRY WHAT DID YOU DO?" Niall yelled, spinning around to face a collected Haz. I reached my good hand out and grabbed hold of Niall's tee-shirt just as he made an attempt to leap at Harry.
"Niall!" I yelled, snapping his attention back to me. "It was my fault! Haz didn't do anything!"
"What do you mean?" He asked, looking back at Harry.
"Katie-" Harry started, but I cut him off.
"No! It was my fault. To make a long story short, when I saw you're note, I thought you meant all of you boys went out. So when I hear a noise downstairs I thought it was a robber. So I grabbed a metal pipe-"
"You grabbed a metal pipe?" Lou asked as he started to laugh.
"Shut up! It was self defence!" I defended. "Anyways, so I looked all over the flat and when I got to the music room I got distracted by the piano. So I start to play-"
"You play piano?" Niall asked with a look of astonishment crossing his face.
Shit. Nobody was supposed to know that.
"Well, I mean. I was trying my hand at it-"
"Are you kidding?" Harry asked, bewildered. He turned to the boys and continued. "She's amazing! She was playing River Flows in You!" He exclaimed as the boys' mouths dropped in shock.
"Harry, if you don't shut up I'm about to give you another bruise." I stated with warning in my voice.
"Wait- So it was you who gave Haz that bruise?" Zayn asked with amusement. "Damn, girl."
"Guys! Just let me finish the story!" They all shut up. "So I was um... trying my hand at piano when all of a sudden, Haz sneaked up behind me. So I freaked out and punched him in the jaw, thinking he was the robber. Turns out he wasn't." I added sheepishly. At this, Liam burst out laughing.
"You got that right, Katie!" He exclaimed, wiping tears out of his eyes.
"So then, Harry drove us to the hospital, but there were already paparazzi here. So We tried to stay together and I got lost in the crowd so Harry here," I gestured towards where Haz was sitting, "pulled the guy off and took me with him. But then it was all too much to handle so I fainted but now I'm okay so yeah." I said really fast, finally finishing the recap of what happened earlier on. I looked around at the boys' faces. The was a mix of amused, shocked, disappointed, things I didn't even know (A.K.A. Louis' face). I sat there and waited patiently until Niall broke the silence with a punch to Haz's arm.
"OW man!" He whined, holding his bicep in his hand. "What was that for?!"
"You're jaw broke her hand." He stated with a blank expression. I can't tell you how hard it was to try to keep in my laughter, and from what it looked like, the boys also agreed.
Harry's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"Cmon Niall!'I said with a chuckle. Ìt wasn't his fault! I punched him!"
"Still." Niall said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.
"It kind of sucks though." I said, lifting my hand slightly. "Now I can't do anything."
"Yes you can!" Lou yelled excitedly.
"Like what?" I asked with a smile. Louis never seized to amuse me.
"You can help us write a new song!" He suggested. Wait, did I hear him correctly.
Me? Help One Direction write a song?
"I mean, since you seem to be amazing at piano."
I laughed at this and held up my hand as I wiggled my fingers. "In a cast, remember? I can't play."
"You can still help us come up with some lyrics!" Liam suggested.
"Yeah! And we can do a twit cam!" Zayn suggested with a pleased smile. Oh no.
Please no twit cams.
"That's a good idea!" Niall put in. "The picture that the papz got from today are going to be everywhere, so we might as well introduce you to the fan base." He said with a shrug. "It will make sure that they understand that you are not Harry's... girlfriend."
I blushed at this, looking over at Harry. He looked amused at the sight of my blush and sent a wink in my direction.
This only made me turn even more red.
"By the way, if you see any titles on magazines saying "Harry and his mystery girlfriend might be pregnant", don't be surprised." Harry said with a chuckle. "Those papz were coming up with some weird rumours."
"I wouldn't believe it for a second." Niall said with a smug look.
What was that supposed to mean?
"I agree with you there, my friend." Zayn agreed, sending Niall a knowing glance.
What's going on?
"Alright Kaitlin Niroman, you've got the okay to head out. Come back if there are any problems." The nurse said. I winced as when she used my real name; I personally didn't think it suited me at all. "Also, remember that you have a follow-up appointment with Doctor Gren in two weeks." With a final smile, she was gone.We all made our way out of the room and out to the front where a car was parked at the entrance.
The paparazzi were swarming.
I felt Niall take my good hand in his as we made our way out of the building. Flashes where going off at every angle, making sure they got a winning shot every time. We all piled into the big car, and the second the last person got in the driver took off towards the flat.
"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that." I stated with a small smile as I looked around at the boys.
"Me neither." All the boys replied in unison. I gave a real smile.
Wow, I thought fondly, looking at each of the boys. This is One Direction.
And they are each wonderful.
***
HEY YOU.
YEAH YOU.
I LOVE YOU!
YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! WE HAVE REACHED OVER 300,000 READS ON 'When in London"! I just want to say that I thank everyone who has contributed. The votes that I have recently been getting is insane! And as usual, I always enjoy reading all of your lovely comments. So for that, I thank you all. MOVING ON. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPTER? Did I flip anyone to team Karry? Are you still team Natie? And who are all the Kiam, Latie and Zatie shippers? Also, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE HAPPEN NEXT? Tell me what you want to see happen next because honestly, some of you guys' ideas are actually really good! And to be honest, I'm kind of running out of ideas. As you can see this chapter wasn't the best, so GIVE ME SOME IDEAS! Comment what you think should happen next and follow it with ** so I know you read the author's note! I always have a soft spot for the people that spend their time to read these things :3 ANYWAYS I hope you've all had a great break, an awesome Christmas and a happy new year! I hope 2013 treats you all better than last year did! Stay safe!
~Skylar xx