This chapter is long, so comment a lot & vote bc we made #193 in fan fiction!! :-)
Jess
Gemma and I listen to the radio as we drive to Julia's hotel. Ryan Seacrest was in the middle of discussing Kimye and their daughter.
"Hey, I bet you and Harry can be the new Kimye. I can totally see it. Jessry?" She says, then says it a couple more times as if she's testing how it sounds.
"It's Jarry," I correct, swiftly.
"Jarry?"
I nod.
"Sounds boring."
I laugh. "We are most definitely not boring."
"Don't you dare start talking about yours and my brother's sex life or I swear I'm throwing you out of this car," Gemma threatened.
I laugh even harder. "That's not what I meant at all, Gem."
Gemma tapped her hands on the steering wheel to the beat of a Ella Eyre song. "So, spill how you and Haz got together. Cause I know you two have liked each other for a while now, right?"
"Well, I have," I mutter. This was so awkward and I don't know why. Probably because this was Harry's damn sister.
She scoffed. "So has he. You don't even know, love. Anyways, just tell me!"
"Well, he came to Washington and then on our last day there, we went to this beautiful place I used to go to when I was little. We brought our cameras and everything and took pictures, then he asked me out..."
"But he has before," she blurted nonchalantly.
"Wait what?"
"He's asked you out before."
"How did you know?"
"Harry tells me things."
"Like what?"
She smirked. "That's for me to know and you to...not."
I point over to the hotel off on the left. "Here take the left. It's right there."
She does just that and we park in one of the spaces, Gemma turning off the car. The car floods into silence and she speaks up, turning her body to face me.
"Harry really cares about you, Jess. Do not let him go. Not to put any pressure on you or anything, but he'd be absolutely unrepairable if something happened between you two."
I held my breath and took in everything Gemma said. It was strange because that's exactly what would happen to me if something were to happen between Harry and I. That's exactly what I told Harry, too.
"Okay?" She concluded.
I nod my head. She smiles at me and I leave the car, jogging into the hotel due to the light rain. I walk straight to the elevator and press the third floor button. I wanted to make this as quick as possible before risking any paparazzi coming with Julia around. I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate that one bit.
"Excuse me, you dropped this." Someone tapped on my shoulder and I turn around to see a boy holding up my burgundy beanie. How did I not feel that fall off?
"Um thank you," I say quickly and quietly. I pushed my sunglasses closer to my face and to be honest, I felt like an idiot wearing them indoors.
I saw the recognition flash across the boy's eyes right when the elevator doors opened. I smile at him again and hurried into the metal contraption. Once I turned around, I saw the boy take out his phone and try to sneakily take a photo of me.
I cursed. Well there goes the plan of not being seen.
My phone chimes as soon as the elevator doors open to Julia's floor and I see that I got a text from Nick.
New Year's Eve is where? Sorry, Jamie is asking.
»Sorry, I meant to tell you. It's at Harry's sister's friend's penthouse somewhere. I promise I'll text you the address later.
It's no problem. Mark was talking to me earlier about this NYE kiss we're supposed to have.
»When is this damn stunt going to end
Not very happy about 😘😘😘 me huh
»Not to puncture your ego or anything, but I'd rather be 😘😘😘 Harry
No wound at all. I'd rather be 😘😘😘 Jamie anyways.
»Hate to end this conversation but I gotta go
L8r h8r.
I shake my head in amusement and start walking to room 302. I knock on the door, hearing a TV blasting through the thick wall. I was excited to see my best friend again. Even more so that I'd get to spend more than just two hours with her. Maybe we'd get four if we were lucky.
She opens the door and stands there with a conflicting look on her face. Her black hair was up in a bun and she wore jeans and a tee shirt with a leather jacket.
"Jess," she says in an almost enthusiastic voice.
I grin. "What? Are you not happy to see me?" I pull her into a hug. She hugged me back but something in the back of my head kept nagging me that something was bothering her.
"You alright, Jules?" I ask when we pull away. She nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, m'fine. I just gotta grab a few things. You can come in." She opened the door wider and the both of us walked in.
Her room was neat and organized like it always is no matter where she's at. Her luggage was in the corner of the room and her clothes in it were folded. She walked over to it and took out her purse and sunglasses. She was silent which was especially weird for Julia.
"When'd you get here last night?" I ask.
"I don't even remember to be honest," she blurts, running a hand through her hair. "The flight attendant was hella cute though."
She let a small smile appear on her face before she sighed heavily. "You know, I really am trying to be mad at you."
"Huh? Why?"
"You were supposed to pick me up a lot earlier than two o'clock." She took a seat on the bed and crossed her arms. "I bet you were hanging out with your lover."
I frown. "I'm sorry, Julia. I really am. I was going to come here as soon as I woke up, but then Harry--"
She cut me off and shrugged. "It's fine, Jess. You don't have to explain yourself. I understand that you have your public life and--"
"Harry has nothing to do with my public life, trust me. He-he can't have anything to do with it. I was just at his family's house and he wanted me to meet his friends and it went a little longer than expected." I left out the fact that I kicked around a soccer ball with him for an hour. I was such an unbelievably horrible friend.
"I said it's fine. Let's just go, okay? I'd like to spend some quality time with my best friend." She gave me a smile and hopped up, throwing an arm around my shoulder.
We go down through the halls as Julia describes what an "Italian God" this flight attendant was. She described him all the way from his "luxurious eyelashes", to his "dashing behind". I was glad that she seemed to have forgotten that she was mad.
"Fuck, I've missed you," I tell her and she laughed. We step off the elevator and I can instantly see paparazzi gathering outside. There were about four or five, but I still would've liked to get out of here with Julia not seeing this aspect of me. I grab onto her hand before we step out.
"Jess, how are you?" Someone asked.
"Good, thanks," I mutter back.
"Why aren't you staying with Nick? Did you guys break up? Are you fighting?"
"Is this your friend?"
"What do you say to the rumors about you and Harry Styles?"
I quicken the pace to Gemma's car. Julia gets into the backseat and I go around the other side to the passenger's seat.
"I'm sorry, Julia, I didn't think they'd show up," I say instantly. I look back at her and she gives me a small smile.
"It's fine, girl, really."
"Oh, by the way, this is Gemma, Harry's sister. Gemma, this is my best friend, Julia," I introduce them as Gemma backs out of the parking space.
"Hi, it's nice to meet you, Julia," Gemma says sweetly, waving into the rearview mirror at Julia.
"You, too."
•••
"You're kidding me," Gemma said. We were at a burger place a few minutes from Julia's hotel. The three of us were way too hungry to wait until we got back to Gemma's house.
"What?" I ask her.
She nods her head towards the window and I see several paparazzi standing outside. More than were at the hotel.
"What's up?" Julia adds, coming from the bathroom.
"Paparazzi can't seem to stay away from Jess," Gemma answers. "Harry's always told me to just ignore them. He also said to call him if something like this happened." She sent me a pointed look.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. We sure as hell are not calling Harry."
"Well, who're we gonna call? Nick? That'll help," she whispered, then laughed at herself.
"Don't you have bodyguards or something?" Julia asked.
"I hate calling them for no reason."
"I don't think this is for no reason."
"Order 851!" One of the workers called out a number. I walked over and grabbed the bag of food, and thanked the lady.
Now we had to make a decision. Go outside or wait it out. Waiting it out also meant the chance of a freaking mob happening.
"Call your bodyguard dudes, or something!" Julia exclaims, clearly getting pissed off at me.
I sigh. "It's not that many people. The car's right there. Let's just duck and go. Paparazzi here aren't that bad."
Both Julia and Gemma give me an uncertain look but nod their heads anyways. People around the restaurant follow our every move in curiosity as we head out the door.
"Jessica!"
"Jess, are you and Nick over?"
"Jess, when's a new music video coming out?"
"Is that Harry Styles' sister?"
"Jess! Over here!"
"Fuck! Where's my phone?!" Gemma shouts next to me. I could barely hear her over everyone, but I turn back and see her looking all around feverishly.
I grab her hand, but she pulls away and starts back to the restaurant. She has the damn keys. Julia squeezes my hand and I turn my head to see her trying to control her breathing.
"Hi, can you guys please step back?" I ask some of the paps.
"Hey, mate, move. She said back up."
"Oi, move out of the way!"
I smile gratefully at some of the paps, but none of the flashes seized. They were bright in the dim London afternoon.
"Where is she?" Julia asked in my ear after a minute passed by and she hadn't come back.
"Come on," I say and pull her with me, back into the restaurant. Right when I walked through the doors, I ran straight into Gemma. She shrieked, then clutched her chest once she realized it was me.
"I'm so sorry. I left it at the table. Let's go," she sputtered.
We hurry back outside and make it through the paparazzi. As I was getting into the car, I felt someone grab my arm, but I simply pulled away and closed the door. At the same time my heart was beating ridiculously fast. That's never happened before. Never has any paparazzi grabbed me.
"What the hell? I saw that, Jess," Gemma says, driving away.
"Saw what?"
"That man grab you! That's-that's assault or something!"
"Gem, it's fine--"
"No, wait till Harry hears."
"You're acting like Harry's her dad or something," Julia intervened.
Gemma laughed. "No, but he's a little protective of her. But I would even be pissed if someone grabbed my friend. Oh, wait, I am pissed."
"Let's just get back to your place and relax, okay?"
We all eat as we drive back. Gemma asks a few question to Julia and they make subtle conversation. I couldn't help but notice how flustered Julia still looked.
Once we get back to the house, I could hear the boys shouting before we even stepped foot in the house.
"Why don't you bring Julia upstairs? These lads are too roused up for more guests. At least for right now," Gemma says.
I nod and Julia follows me. She didn't ask about who "the boys" were or even ask about Harry. She just quietly followed me.
As we walked towards the stairs, Anne and Robin were walking down. "Oh, hey, Jess! Who's this?" Anne asked politely.
"My best friend, Julia. She's staying at a hotel nearby. She's from Washington. Er, Julia this is Harry's and Gemma's mom and step-dad," I say, placing a smile on my face.
"It's nice to meet you, Julia. You can call me Anne, and this is my husband, Robin. Stay however long you like. Jess here is very dear to our hearts, so whatever you need, let me know."
Julia smiles. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you so much."
Anne and Robin walk by us and we continue up the stairs, Julia not saying anything else.
I closed the door behind us once we entered into the guest room.
"What is wrong, Jules?"
She turned and sat down on the bed, picking on the white nail polish on her nails. I really hoped she wasn't mad at me.
"Is it Brady?" I suggest.
Her eyes shot up. "We broke up three months ago." Her voice was accusing and broken.
Lots and lots of swear words were flying around my head right now.
Brady is--was her boyfriend of two and a half years. I couldn't process how they'd ever break up. Whenever I'd see them around each other, they looked completely in love. They were practically the definition of a lasting relationship.
"Ju-Julia. I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?" I walk over to the bed and sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She made no movements. She was as stiff as a board next to me.
"I tried. You were on tour and you said you were busy. I called again the next day and you said the same. Soon, I just gave up. You're busy," she said dully.
I am the world's crappiest friend. Put it on billboards everywhere: Jessica Steele is the Worst Friend Known to Man.
"I..." I can't even express how sorry I am in words.
"I was going to tell you in Washington, but I just forgot," she said and shrugged, still looking at the ground in front of her.
"I'm so sorry."
A humorless laugh escapes her lips. "Like that's going to fix anything."
"Julia, what do you want me to do?" I say with all honesty. I pull my arm from around her shoulders and let it fall in my lap. I turn my body to face hers.
"I don't know. You're fucking famous. You have dozens of paparazzi follow you everywhere. Your coworker boyfriend-thing is in every aspect of your life from his sister being your new best friend, to his parents being your new mom and dad--"
She did not just say that. "Julia."
"There's no room for me in your life. Not like before. I don't have someone to talk to whenever I need it. I can't talk about soccer, I can't talk about school, I can't talk about my damn boyfriend of three years that I just broke up with."
Wait. She broke up with Brady?
"And you sure as hell aren't telling me anything about your new life. You've got Taylor fucking Swift to talk to, or some Victoria's Secret model, or some Grammy winner. Oh, and the fact that that could be you in a couple of months..."
"Julia, I know. I'm worse than a bad friend, but I want to talk to you and tell you things. This is not an excuse, but things are so stressful and complicated beyond belief."
She completely ignored me. "You didn't even call me last April." She turned her head and looked at me.
We sit in silence as if to let that statement settle in.
"I don't call anyone in April," I whisper.
"I bet you talk to Harry." What is she saying? She has the nerve to...
"Julia, we're talking about my parents now," I say, mostly to warn her about the line she's about to cross.
"And that leads to how your career started." She gives another line of humorless laughter.
My lips part as I stare at her in complete disbelief. I was shocked. Shocked that those words had just left her mouth. Her face softens and I think she's starting to see all of what she's just said.
"Jess--"
I get up and walk out of the room as quick as I can, closing the door behind me. I don't know where I'm going to go, but I'm sure as hell not going to the mess downstairs. I go across the hall to Harry's room instead. Nobody was inside so I just went to his bed tucked myself inside of his covers.
I didn't know I was crying until I felt Harry's pillow start to get damp on the side of my face. His minty vanilla musk scent overwhelms me and I feel a little bit better.
But how much better can you feel when your best friend says your successful career in music is a sob story?
"He's an arsewipe anyways, Harold," I heard Niall's voice outside say.
"I don't care about the bloody game. I lost. Oh, well. Just let Liam soak in his victory. He needs it for his ego," Harry says back. His voice somehow triggers a sense of relief in me. But at the same time their voices are getting closer and closer to this door and that is not relieving.
I sit up in Harry's bed and wipe my eyes, preparing for the both of them to walk in.
"Where's Jess?" Niall said.
"In her room with her friend. Don't think you wanna walk in there if I were you, mate. I guarantee you won't be seeing any naked pillow fights." Harry laughed.
"Yer an idiot."
The door opened and Harry and Niall both noticed me right away. Harry's eyes flitted across mine with concern and confusion and within seconds he speaks up.
"Niall, go back downstairs, please," Harry says lightly.
I was grateful that Niall didn't say anything, just smiled to me, turned around and walked out.
Harry approached me, his eyes seemingly getting more and more worried as he got closer.
"What's wrong, love?"
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Hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahhaha that was such a sudden ending, but this is already a hecccckkkaaa long chapter. :) sorry that there wasn't a lot of Jarry, but next chapter should make up.
I figured I should give an estimate of the next few chapters until the tour because it seems so far away: there will be around six more chapters until I want to kick off the tour. Maybe.
THANK YOU FOR #193 IN FAN FICTION
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Twitter: @wtvrharold
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