Jade is pacing.
I trail her movements with my eyes as though it's a tennis tournament. It makes me feel slightly dizzy.
The cream walls of the hotel contrast with Jade's outfit from the show we've just watched. It's dark outside now, so the low lights coming from the strip of L.E.D. against the headboard of the queen size bed, glows golden pools into the room, shadowing the corners.
I'm perched atop the bed, playing with the fray on the edge of the throw blanket the hotel has provided- the ones that are more decoration than they are practical on keeping you warm, with a floral design, which, doesn't need to be used what with the barmy weather outside. I get tired of watching her pace and roll my eyes.
"Will you stop that? I'm getting a headache," I sass, grabbing the cup of water at the side of the bedside table. I take a sip, the coolness soothing my scratchy throat from all the shouting and screaming at Harry.
"I just... how on earth are we this amazing to have landed in a position like this? Harry got us a fucking hotel room, for Christ sake!" Jade exasperates with a huff.
"It's all because he wants to be my boyfriend," I say half heartedly.
Jade snorts. "Yeah, right, of course. Whatever you think, dear. Should we order ice cream? I fancy strawberry. Or maybe mint. Huh... room service?"
She only ever craves ice cream when she's excited or worried. And I have a feeling that, right now, she's both.
"We can't possibly do room service when Harry is paying for this," I interject with a shake of my head.
She gives me a pointed look, head tilted slightly to the left. "Lou, come on, majority of his paycheck came from our pocket anyway. Remember the merch we spent? It's basically our money anyway. Cycle, innit, full circle of life." With that, she picks up the phone on her side of the bed and dials for room service.
By the time the ice cream comes, I'm in my pyjamas after a hot shower that resulted in me daydreaming for half of it, wishing Harry was here with me. We now sit on the bed, propped up with as many pillows as possibly manageable that they provide. The free view TV plays a random telly shopping show that we use mostly for background noise. The low hum of the person talking is quite soothing until it turns into someone shouting through the TV that they have the best cleaning product known to man. It makes me jump, and Jade's breath to hitch in her throat.
"I mean, come on, it's one in the morning," she bites, shaking her head and spooning the remainder of ice cream into her gob. "Why is there no Sofia The First, or Barbie on?"
I shake my head and proceed to lick the remnants of ice cream from my spoon, the minty flavours contrasting with the bitter dark chocolate. "Uh, because kids would be asleep by now? What kid is up at one in the morning?"
Jade scoffs and gestures to herself. "Um, me? Hello? I am a child that needs Barbie. More specifically the Swan Lake movie."
"I preferred the mermaid one meself." I shrug when Jade smiles at me.
"God, you're so gay."
I roll my eyes. "Just because I've watched the whole franchise of Barbie and My Little Pony, doesn't automatically make me gay, Jade. You're forgetting I have younger siblings."
Jade tilts her head. "Tell me, Lou, when was the last time you watched one of these shows?"
I pause for a moment to think. "Probably... Tuesday? I think. My Little Pony was on, the equestria girls."
"Mhm, and what is the show that Doris and Ernie can't seem to stop watching?"
"Bluey." I'm trying to figure out where she's going with this. It slowly starts ticking into gear in my brain and I frown.
"Yes. So that means you most certainly didn't watch it with them, because I know that those two will pick up a fight if neither Bluey nor Cocamelon is on." She folds her arms as if she's just achieved the biggest crime case of all.
I dab some melted cream on my finger and run it over her face.
"Don't spill my secrets, Sapphire."
"No secrets to spill, Louise, you just gave me that information on a silver platter."
I grab the bowl of ice cream, popping it on the bedside table, and switch off the TV. "Go to sleep, Jade," is all I reply before rolling over and switching off the lights above the bed.
Jade is giggling softly. "Goodnight."
I ignore the goodnight and close my eyes, hoping sleep will come and consume me so I can face tomorrow with Harry in arms reach.
...
My eyes blink slowly, staring up at the ceiling. Jade's soft snores come from beside me, the only sound to be heard as the windows cancel out any outside sounds.
I can't sleep.
It's three in the morning and my brain just won't let up with thoughts. Thoughts of what the future holds, thoughts of what will happen tomorrow. Thoughts of what will happen when we make it to Germany and meet Liam and Celine.
I've only seen so much of Celine on Instagram and Twitter. She posts occasionally photos of her and Harry and Liam. She gives us content on Daddy Issues, which is enough for anyone to follow and be her fan. She also runs a bleeding Stan account for both Harry and Liam as if she's just another regular fan, which is fucking hilarious, and only so many of us know of it because she put her account on lockdown after someone decided to give her death threats.
Arsehole.
I sigh heavily and roll over until my feet hit the ground. I can't be arsed to put the slippers or shoes on, so I grab the key card and shove it in my shorts pocket before leaving the hotel room.
Maybe a stroll will clear my head.
And a bottle of juice from the vending machine in the hotel lobby.
I take the stairs instead of the lift, needing to burn off a bit of energy from the adrenaline of the concert prior. Harry can put on an awfully good show, and I cannot wait for night two of Scotland.
Everything is dead quiet when I get to the lobby. The deep armchairs empty, the only person being that of the receptionist behind the desk on his phone. He smiles at me when I walk in, one of those fake customer smiles that I know all too well on doing.
It's so strange knowing I don't have work tomorrow, either. The fact that I normally would be working on a Saturday and this happening instead is all so bizarre.
I go to the vending machine, and search in my pocket for some change. Patting my pockets, I've come to the conclusion that I have in fact, not got any sort of change on my whatsoever, and that my money is still nestled in my wallet upstairs that sits idle on the desk.
I flop my head into the glass of the vending machine, groaning defeatedly.
"You alright?" a voice asks from one of the chairs, and I startle.
I whip my head around to see Harry fucking sitting in the blue fabric chairs, phone propped on his belly from where he slouches, feet propped up on the coffee table before him that has magazines scattered all over it.
"Jesus," I breathe. "Since when did you get in here?"
Harry grins at me. "I've been here the whole time. Watched you stumble off the last step and everything."
I heat slightly rosy at that, biting my lip to stop a smile. "That's embarrassing. Don't suppose you have a few quid on you?"
Harry nods, toes the wallet beside his foot. "In the second compartment. Get me a Snickers while you're at it? I'm suddenly peckish."
I hesitate, staring between Harry and the wallet. He motions toward it with his head, a reassuring smile on his face.
"You're putting a whole lot of trust in me right now. What makes you think that I won't just take the wallet and run?" I ponder, taking a step closer.
Harry laughs lightly, his nose wiggles slightly with it and it's adorable, brings butterflies in my stomach.
"I've trusted you enough to call you a friend. I'm just broadening that trust further. I know you're not that type of guy. I have superpowers, you know, that tell me when someone is a bad egg."
I quirk a brow. "Like your sixth sense on knowing when there's a camera near by?"
Harry laughs outright at that. "If you like, yeah. It comes with that power, I guess."
"If you believe that guy is superman," I mumble under my breath, a sudden lyric coming to mind. I shake my head to clear it. "Well, I'm very flattered that you trust me enough to look inside your wallet. I trust you enough with mine, too, but there's not really much there. Just a bank card that has less than a grand in it and a Polaroid of my siblings." I walk toward the wallet and fish out a few coins. I can't help but sneak a peak at his driver's licence photo and I smile at the cropped shaggy hair.
"Money isn't everything, Louis," Harry inputs with a shake of his head. "There's more to life than a number to one's name."
I blush a bit at that and turn back to the vending machine. I slot in a few coins and punch in the codes for a bottle of Oasis orange and a Snickers. Both items slowly fall and I snatch them up, tossing the Snickers in the air without a warning but Harry catches it with one hand without looking anyway.
Jesus Christ, this man's reflexes has my thighs quaking.
"Thanks," he mumbles with a small smile.
I swallow and sit down in the seat beside him, cracking my drink open. "No problem."
"So, what brings you up at three in the morning?" he questions, taking a bite of the chocolate bar. He stops mid chew, looks down to the bar. "You're not allergic to nuts, are you?"
I snort. "Babe, nuts is the only thing I live for." I wink and he chokes on a peanut. "Calm yourself, Curly. I couldn't sleep, especially with Jade's snoring." I rest my feet on the table. "What about you, why are you up?"
"Adrenaline, for me, takes a while to settle. And also it gets quite lonely sleeping in a bed so big. I can't seem to sleep without my... nevermind."
I tilt my head, wondering what he was about to possibly say. Without his spouse? Without his cat at his mum's place? Without his favourite pillow? What?
"I can't sleep well alone if it's not my own bed, either. Have to have something there to occupy me. Sometimes, I'd sneak into my younger siblings' room and curl up on the floor beside them so I didn't feel so alone." Wow, saying that out loud makes me sound like a right sado.
Harry gives a pitiful smile. "It's alright, I sneak into Gemma's room when she's over sometimes. Just so things feel like how they used to be, you know?"
"It must be weird with everything changing so much around you. Having to travel so much and not be home most of the time," I state. It's strange for me now, leaving the country alone for the first time, and having this opportunity for the test of the year. I don't know if I'll be able to adjust or be able to enjoy it fully. Sometimes routine and the known is the best thing for me.
"You get used to it. It becomes the new norm after a while. But I do prefer staying home, yet the fans I do love to keep happy."
"You're too good for this world," I whisper.
Harry turns a nice pink at that, and his tired looking eyes turn even softer to the point where they're almost slits.
He stifles a yawn. "I'm not anything special," he tries and I'm already shaking my head.
"You're the most special thing that came into my life, even if you didn't know me for the majority of it. I don't understand why you want to be friends with someone like me."
He shifts in his seat. "Because you seemed like a really good bloke, Louis. And truth be told, I'm getting a little sick to death of claiming celebrities using me as a boost to be 'friends'."
I sit up a little at that, taking another sip of squash. "I don't want to pry. But what do you mean by that?"
He thumbs his bottom lip. "It's fine. Let's take Roman Kemp, for example. He only ever pops up to see if I'm okay when he needs a favour. More specifically me coming onto his show. He's a bit of a user."
"What an absolute arsehole," I grumble angrily. No one should use anyone for status. If Harry was an ordinary guy and I so happened to know him then, I'd still want to be his friend. I have a fat fucking crush on him for Pete's sake.
Harry shrugs. "It is what it is." His eyes look sad at that, and I do everything in me to refrain from hugging him. Harry rubs his tired eyes and stands with a stretch. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's best I go to bed. Got a show tomorrow and all. I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast, Louis."
"Goodnight, H," I mumble, watching him pass and go up the stairs.
I stay in the lobby until five in the morning before deciding to head up to catch some sleep.
A/N OMFG HI
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