Harry's week went back to being nothing but a routine for him. He was used to that happening when it came to his work, especially when it involved traveling. He'd spend the morning through the evening with the important clients that wanted to know about the products they were interested in buying and what Harry could do to help them out. Then he'd take a taxi back to his hotel, which he learned early on that he was not a fan of the LA traffic and having to wave a taxi down before driving into the heavy traffic that annoyed him. Once he was back at his hotel room, he'd call his boss and update him on whatever he did during the day. Then he'd go out to dinner in the late evening, which were also quite busy around that time. His day would officially end with a call to Niall and a shower before he went over things for work and fell asleep with the TV on.
When it came to calling Niall, besides the time differences and the higher phone bill he would have for making international calls, Niall didn't always answer his calls. Harry didn't want to go straight to the conclusion that he was bust doing his late night job. Maybe he was out with other friends or with Liam and his boyfriend in a loud place that he couldn't hear his phone. Then when Harry would hear from Niall it was usually in the form of a text message, apologising to Harry that he missed him. The time difference didn't exactly help when it came to returning phone calls. When it was nighttime for Harry it was the morning for Niall and vice-versa. That was a reason why they tried to schedule a time to chat.
Harry sort of felt like he was back to the way things were before that accidental phone call that practically changed his life in a big way. He was working all day and then coming back to a place where he was alone, hoping that a certain boy would be available for him to chat with or have phone sex with.
It wasn't the sex that Harry was missing out on. It was more missing Niall than anything else. He actually found himself missing when Niall would tease with him and he'd get to hear Niall's laugh. Harry wasn't able to get that from Niall's text messages. Just talking to Niall would make Harry's day and he hasn't really spoken to him since his first night in.
Harry fully understood that Niall had a life of his own, keeping himself busy by working or just going out, Harry was busy too and he was sure Niall gave Harry that same level of understanding. They weren't going to stop living their lives just for each other. Harry would never ask Niall to do such a thing, except maybe Niall giving up his job with the hot line because Harry knew he'd promise himself to Niall if their relationship became more than just a casual thing. All Harry wanted was the same in return, which he didn't feel like that was asking too much of Niall.
Now, he wanted to try and ring up Niall again, hoping the results would be different than the last few times he's tried to.
He sat on the end of his bed, feet planted to the floor, as he held his phone to his ear. Harry couldn't help but count as he already memorised how many rings it would take for him to be greeted with the robotic voice of Niall's voicemail. With each passing ring, he couldn't help but talk to himself.
"C'mon, Niall. Pick up. Pick up." He mumbled while his other hand was twirling a string that was hanging off of one of the cuffs of his shirt.
"You've reached the inbox of Niall Horan, who is not available at this time. To leave a message please state your name, message, and callback number after the dial tone." The robotic voice said to him, Niall's own voice pronouncing his name.
"Hey, Niall. It's Harry. I was just trying you before I headed out to get some dinner." Harry rubbed at his eye with his fist as he fought back a yawn. "Give me a call back once you get this. Bye." He hung up his phone and sat on his bed for a moment to collect his thoughts, trying not to think about Niall was possibly doing right now back home.
He really felt like talking to someone right now, feeling a bit lonely after being away from everything that was becoming familiar to him again for the past week. It was probably too late to call his mum so he thought about ringing up Gemma to see how she was doing, maybe also ask her about her friends so he could have a long conversation with somebody who wasn't a person he was working with. He was tired of talking about work for the rest of the day.
Harry went back into his contact list onto his phone before he found Gemma's name. His fingertip touched the phone icon by her name before he put his phone back to his ear. This time he didn't need to count the number of rings that it took until his call was answered.
"Hello?" Gemma answered, a commotion going around her that made it a bit difficult for Harry to hear her.
"Gems, it's Harry." Harry told her, raising his voice up a bit incase she was having trouble hearing him in return.
"My dear brother! Hold on, let me step out so I can hear you." She answered and Harry could definitely tell the difference once she left wherever she was.
"Out in the city again?" Harry asked her before he turned to look over at the clock to see what time it was and to figure out what time it was where his sister was.
"Yeah, a few friends decided to go out last minute." She told him with a small laugh and Harry couldn't help but to worry about his sister being out, not wanting any men to try and chat up Gemma. She was tough enough to fend off anyone if she wanted to but Harry couldn't help but be protective of her. It was more difficult to now that he was away in America.
"So, are you going to tell me all about your lovely trip to California to torture me?" Gemma asked with an exaggerated whine to her voice. Harry already knew that Gemma was a bit jealous of him and he didn't mind that one bit, even though what he was actually doing in the state wasn't anything to be jealous of.
He shook his head. "You know very well that I'm here strictly to work so unless I need to describe every inch of my hotel room to you, then I'm afraid that's as lovely as it gets. Plus, I'd send you pictures of any places that I know you'd die to be at." He smiled, a little bit victorious.
"Must be bored if you're ringing me up. You can't even go out to a nightclub there?"
"It's only going on six in the evening here. I wouldn't go by myself anyway. What fun would that be?"
"True. You might meet some people though. American girls would love you just for your accent." She joked with him, but she was absolutely right.
Harry rolled his eyes at his sister. "I'm not looking for random American girls to sleep with, Gems, and I don't want to get into that conversation with you." Plus, he already had someone at home that he'd rather sleep with. When he said 'slept' he also meant by actually sleeping next to Niall.
"We're old enough to have this conversation. I have no problem with it, Harry."
"Yeah? Well, I never want to hear about anyone who sleeps with my sister. I don't even want to think about what could possibly happen once you hang up on me." He said, really wishing that Gemma would change the subject.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'd rather not meet a guy in the club anyway. So, why are you calling me for?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I just wanted to have a chat with you. Can't I ring up my sister to see what's going on in her life?"
"I thought you had a new friend you are always seeing these days?" Gemma asked with interest.
"He happens to be busy." Harry replied.
"Thanks for thinking of me as a backup." She teased him.
"Actually I was thinking of calling mum before you so you're more like a backup to my backup." He chuckled before he stood up from his bed and walked into his bathroom to check himself out in the large mirror, fixing up his hair by running his hand through it as Gemma spoke.
"Mum?! There's no way she'd be up at this hour, you nutter!"
"I realised that." Harry argued. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to your friends now." Harry told her, thinking that he's keep Gemma from having fun and that she probably didn't really want to be spending her night out chatting with her brother.
"All right. What are you gonna be doing?"
"Just going out to dinner and then probably falling asleep to some random film I find on TV once I come back." It was exactly like his life before he returned to the social scene.
"Yeah, I'm definitely not jealous of you anymore." She laughed. "We'll have to hang out again when you come home."
"That sounds like a plan. Just call me when you're free." He walked back out from the bathroom and slipped his phone back into his pocket to make sure he had his room key to get back in. Then he checked his other pocket for his wallet.
"Will do. I'm gonna head back inside now. My friends are probably looking for me. Love you."
"Love you, too, Gems. Have a fun night."
"It'll be more fun than yours." She joked before telling him 'goodbye' one last time before hanging up on him.
Harry smiled once he slipped his phone back into his pocket. Then he made sure to leave his TV on in his room so that nobody would assume that it was empty. Before he left he also made sure that he placed his 'do not disturb' sign on the outside handle of his door.
There were plenty of restaurants by the hotel Harry was staying at that he didn't have to try and get a taxi for to bring him somewhere further into the city. The first night out, a wealthier client of the company where he worked brought him out to a steak place where they couldn't be seated if they didn't wear suits and ties. Harry thought that was a bit ridiculous but he couldn't really argue it out loud because he was with a client and he knew that he had to be respectful oh him and the fact that he even brought him out to dinner and paid for an expensive meal. The client didn't have to.
Harry ate at some 24 hour diner type place. The food wasn't too bad and he's actually been eating there for most of his trip. It was the easiest to get to and he figured the prices were reasonable. He didn't need to go all out when it came to his meals. He did miss his mum's cooking in comparison so when he was back home he hoped his mum would invite him over to hers so he could enjoy the food she cooked.
After he finished his meal and paid for it, Harry remained sat in the booth that could easily fit three more people into it. He sort of wished that the seats were filled up right now, thinking about going out with Niall and Liam and his boyfriend, Louis. It'd be nice to go out and do things like that instead of sitting somewhere that was meant for people who weren't alone.
Then Harry went back to his room to end his night in another boring way that he couldn't believe he used to enjoy. He showered his day of work away and then was sat up in bed with his laptop on his lap to check if there was anything else he had to do for work. After that, he searched the TV channels until he found something to watch.
He glanced over to his clock and decided to call Niall one more time that day. He was sure Niall would be happy to hear that Harry would be coming home the next day. Harry was already feeling a little bit happier at the fact he could tell Niall that.
That happiness went away when Niall didn't answer and Harry had to share the news with his voicemail instead.
"Hey, Niall, it's Harry again. I just came back from dinner and thought I'd ring you up. I guess you're busy again so I'll just see you once I'm back. I leave in the morning California time so I'll see you soon." Harry spoke to Niall's voicemail lamely, feeling awkward leaving this message and wanting to tell Niall that he missed him without sounding disappointed that Niall didn't answer the phone again.
He shook his head at himself once he hung up, tossing his phone gently on his bed with a sigh before got out of bed and he walked over to his suitcase, opening it up to start packing his things to hopefully return to a life that he's been pretty content with lately.
___
The next morning Harry had to check out of his hotel room by 11AM. He allowed himself to sleep in, missing out on the complimentary breakfast but that didn't bother him. He'd be leaving for the airport early enough that he could have lunch there.
He couldn't wait until he was back home again. A week away was almost more than enough for him now when it used to feel like it wasn't enough. Harry preferred the comfort of his own bed as well. Of course he'd have to get himself back to his normal routine there right after his body was sort of getting used to the schedule he created for himself in the states.
"Did you enjoy your stay, sir?" The young man working the counter in the lobby.
Harry handed his card keys back to him as he replied, "Yeah, everything was great, thanks."
The lobby worker smiled as he typed on his keyboard to bring up Harry's information and billing. Harry handed him his employee credit card to pay for his room and then waited until he was finished with checking out.
Then he had to go through everything else again: getting a taxi, driving to the airport with some traffic, enter the airport and check in with his bags, go through the long line of security, and then find where his gate was before he could go off and find food during the few hours he had left until he could even board the plane. He prayed for no flight delays.
Harry ate the food he ordered where he waited to hear that he could board the plane. He was hungry and quite tired from the long week he had. He'd probably sleep on the plane again, hoping that it would help out with the jet leg and time change he'd experience later on.
Once he was on the plane to go back home, Harry tried his best to get comfortable in his seat. He couldn't go to sleep until he listened to the safety instructions and the plane was taking flight. He looked out the small window and watched as he actually leaving California. In the sky, Harry leaned back and closed his eyes.
When his eyes opened again, Harry checked to see how much longer he had until he was back in England. He still felt tired when he woke up but at least he woke up closer to being home. The rest of the time was spent watching a film on the small TV screens, a film that wasn't even released to purchase yet.
The airport wasn't that exciting of a place to him. It was when he was younger because he never thought he'd ever get to fly on an airplane in his life. Now that he has, it wasn't anything special to him. All the waiting around didn't give him much excitement. He was now watching the baggage claim, which astonished him when he was a younger boy. All he wanted were his bags so he could finally just go home already.
While he waited, he turned his phone back on. After a minute, his phone was notifying him of emails and text messages that he were sent to him when he was flying back. He scrolled through them, only feeling like answering the more urgent ones.
His thumb stopped its upward motion on the screen when he saw Niall's name. Any urgent messages were less important to him when he saw his name.
Niall
come around mine after ya land. Don't even go t yours. Time doesn't matter
Well, Harry could definitely do that. It didn't matter if all of his energy was drained out because hearing from Niall and getting to see him in a matter of a half hour or so seemed to bring him back to life.
Whenever I look at what chapter I'm on in this I think back to a year ago when it was simply a one shot haha and then when I'd literally take months to update it! As I've said in the last chapter there's still quite a lot to go!!