Adasyn gave one last glance in the mirror before turning the corner. Her almost course, curly hair was black onyx that perfectly framed her face and her earthy brown skin was clear of blemishes thanks to light makeup. She was making her way out the front door when she was swooped around for a prize-worthy hug.
"I'm so proud of you honey" her dad exclaimed through her hair, "I know you'd rather be chillng than working at a---"
"Dad, I know" she interrupted coldly, " If you keep holding me up like this I'm gonna be late."
He cocked his head and grinned while giving her an encouraging shove out the door, "I'm going to miss you in Uraguay!"
Adasyn's parents often went on charitable trips to help others in foreign countries. Adi usually tagged along, but this year her father thought it would be best if his 16 year old daughter stayed at home to start working, or interning as one would say. She bid him no goodbye, but instead plugged in her earbuds in preparation for the long walk ahead. "Yellow" by Cold Play had ended when she found herself infront of the A100 Radio building. Her back was dripping with sweat from the unforgiving heat of late May, and she noted to remember to take a cab in the future. When she entered the radio station she was greeted by what looked like another intern; she was Middle Eastern and pretty, but had an annoying aura. The stranger was bouncing with delight at the glance of her new colleague.
"O-M-F-G. You must be Adasyn, we are going to be best friends, Jo told me to wait up on you so he could tell us the rules of the road around here." She bubbly rushed.
Before Adasyn could answer she was pulled down a hall into what looked like Jo's office. It was the mother of all messes: papers in disaray, abandoned file cabinets, and empty CD cases filled the room. Adi was foreboding that this would be her main job, picking up after a middle aged man. Oh what fun. But actually, he had something else in mind.
"Adasyn, Shafi hello!", His voice was radio worthy and he was fat as Buddah. "I know it's a mess in here, but don't worry; you'll clean it up. Right now I really want you guys to start workng in the LIVE room to prepare for One Direction's special appearance."
Shafi couldn't sit still on the news, Adasyn on the other hand wasn't thrilled. Jo continued," I need you guys to get that room ready for the boys and prepare for phone calls from screaming fans, because dear Lord, I'm not answering them. I also need you guys to find interesting questions to ask the boys during the interview, I know it's late notice, but you're bound to find something."
Geez, this is my first day on the job and I'm already put on intensive labor duty, thought Adi, but she pretended to be atleast half as enthusiastic as Shafi and promised her best.
"No little ladies, I need more than all you can offer, these boys are screaming a big audience, and as they say 'the bigger the better.'"
Shafi and Adasyn worked until the sky shone dark at 8, pondering questions for the boys, but they felt like they were getting no where. The girls agreed that they should go home to sleep on their ideas and come up with something before work the next day.
****
The next morning Adasyn woke to hear the buzzing of her iPhone. Half dazed, she read the blinking text: Don't worry about the questions, I tots got this! -Shafi.
Adasyn put her phone in her back pocket, grateful she didn't have to finish some lame questions for an even lamer boyband. The bubble-gum-pop music was definitley not her style, as she was into more edgy beats. Either way, this was part of her job and she grabbed a to-go snack and a cab and headed to A100.
When she got there Shafi was decked out in bright One Direction apparel. Adasyn was in a gray tank top and faded shorts, oh well. They walked to the large backroom of the building together at an attempt to hide from Jo and his endless list of chores.
"The boys will arrive in like an hour!" Shafi exclaimed as she handed Adi the questions. They were pretty good, or atleast better than Adi could have ever done. "I gave a copy to Jo and he loves them, aren't I amazing?"
Adi nodded, sat in an open sofa, and began to write in her daily blog prior to the boys arrival. Adi loved to write and was forcing in the time in this insane new radio schedule; she wouldn't let the anxiety of a boyband get in the way of her passion. Not until they came atleast.
The boys' arrival was kind of a surprise. Jo had came to the back of the building ten minutes before the boys shone out of the back door (so much for secret hiding). Louis entered first, casually dressed in some shorts, TOMS, and a loose fitting tee, Zayn followed quickly after with his hands tucked neatly behind his back, Niall next to Liam, Harry, and then some members of managment. Adi and Harry shared a long glance. Awkwardly long. She had only seen the boys in the magazines a few times, but never really took a good look at them, and Harry was beautiful. His hair was thick and brown, definitely an attention grabber, but maybe it was his eyes that entranced her, green spheres that shone kindred to Georgia's summer grasses, sorrounded like an island by the waters of peachy-tanned skin. Adasyn quickly looked away, knowing that if her pigmentation was fair enough to blush she'd look like the flesh of a watermelon right now. No one else seemed to notice the chemistry and Jo led them to the LIVE room.
As the radio host had predicted, girls showed up, by the dozens, and they called non-stop. Adasyn and Shafi were constantly telling screaming, crying, hormone-infused girls that they couldn't see the boys, and it was a tedious, boring job. It was until one of the radio people came to Adi that she was released from the never ending phone calls.
"One of the boys wants to see you." said the radio lady.
"Uh... okay..." replied Adasyn; she grabbed Shafi by the arm and deserted the telephone and the mentally deranged directioners standing outside the building.
"Thanks for dragging me along." Shafi said, sounding a little more subdued than usual, I guess she too was reluctant if she would answer one more burning call from a crazy tween. Plus, Adi needed her as a support against which ever boy wanted to see her.
When Adi walked into the large backroom, where she guessed everyone was taking a break from all the questions, she was immediatly greeted by Harry. And to her dissappointment, Shafi had left her hanging and ran to Niall and Liam.
Geez this is so weird. What's this kid's name again? Gawd he's hot. Focus Adi. He's just some member of this lame bubble-gum-pop European band. Adi relaxed herself.
"Hey", Harry greeted.
"Sup bro." Adi said while peircing her coffee-colored eyes into his green forest eyes in attempt to look through them, but she only found herself looking into them.
Her back was against a wall and Harry leaned over her with his hand adjacent to her shoulder, they were uncomfortably close; Adi felt trapped, suffocated, awkward, but entranced by his irises.
"I'm Harry, you know from the band; you and I are going to hang out tonight."
The entrance to his soul was blocked and Adi got the picture, real fast.
"No, I'm not going anywhere with you." She remarked hollowly, "I don't care who you are, you don't make my plans." She looked around nevously for the refuge of Shafi's presence, but Harry turned her head gently with his knuckles.
"It's a date then?" He said through grinning teeth, "give it a try, you'll love me."
That's when Jo came to break things up, a fake smile was painted on his face to cover up some sort of frustration.
"Of course she'll go with you!" He said with false enthusiasm. His red face locked on Adasyn's and he whispered, "or someone will miss out on those college creds."
Adi instantly thought of her dad; she couldn't let him down. In a mimick of Jo's expression she corrected her actions, "of course I'll go with you, uh..."
"Harry", the popstar finished, "The Fish at 9, deal?"
Adasyn nodded and strode away like a gazelle in close proximity to a lion, she ran up to Shafi who was showing Louis, Liam, Zayn, and Niall how to break an apple with their bare hands. Adi pretended to be enthused, and she laughed along as Niall was failing to follow Shafi's technique. She was startled when Harry rested his hands on her shoulders, and he chuckled politely as if Adi and him had become more than mere acquaintances. She shrugged him off. He ignored the reaction and walked toward Jo who was talking with management, he whispered something to them and their eyes burned on Adi like hot coals on a bare back. She pretended not to notice, something she found herself doing a lot today, and cheered Zayn on as he split his apple in two.
***
The Fish was an upper class resteraunt, filled with light poetry and an abundance of coffee. Adi had chosen to wear a pale peach dress and a dark red cardigan, hoping the organic colors would be fit in such a setting. She was preparing to call a cab when a car swiveled onto her lot. Harry stepped out of the car and she met him at the driveway to receive an expected compliment and a light kiss on the cheek.
"Classy bastard." she thought as she helped herself up to shotgun. Harry was certainly cute, but she guarded herself with the idea he was playing her. She used this thought as security against his intimate gestures.
"Jo gave me your address" He informed.
"Figures..." Adi looked straight out the shotgun window in order to avoid all eye contact with this acclaimed stranger.
Silence choked at them until the question that was fervent inside Adi spit out like fire from a dragon: "Sorry if this is cumbersome to ask, but why me? Why was I picked to go on a date with you? Or is this just the usual with celebrities..."
"I'm not a celebrity" he bit.
"Whatever, highly renouned?"
"I felt a connection. That's what happened, I felt a connection between us, stronger than I've ever felt and I didn't-"
"I didn't ask for a romance novel dude. Your not just going to sweep me off my feet like you might be able to with your fans, so you can stop being all lovey dovey, it's seriously nauseating me."
He ignored her rude attitude and pulled into The Fish. This time an indie band was playing instead of the typical poetry. Even though Adi lived in the deep suburbs of Georgia, Harry was immediatly recognized, but thankfully he was not in a crowd that cared much about his genre of music. Eventually, and much to Adi's surprise, he was ignored.
Even so, the waiter was head over heels for the mainstream, Mr.Styles, but pretended not to care. She tried to keep a conversation going between her new customer, but eventually left to get the orders.
"So we are leaving Hotlanta in a couple days." Harry advised.
"Have fun" Adi said, but quickly reinterpreted what he was saying.
Her tone was low, but angry and heavily stressed, "You might think you can drag me along to some artsy-poetic eatery with you, but I'll be damned if you drag me around the world like a suitcase!"
"Suitcase, no! I promise you will travel first class." Harry joked.
She glared at him but said nothing, she didn't need to, her eyes spoke for her. They were melting away like a Hershey's bar in the insistency of the sun, but he still carried himself nonchalantly.
"Jo says your resume inquires your love for writing, you'd be writing an online blog for One Direction, up close and personal, sponsored by A100 and SYCO Entertainment. You'd answer directioners' questions, write blog posts, it would be just like the magazine you've always wanted", he added with a smile for affect.
Even though directioners are annoying, I'd be in the entertainment biz to satisfy my father while doing what I love. Adi was not completely fond of the idea, but its up sides were definitley something worth considering.
"Your parents already said yes and they have signed all the papers you need, now it's up to you. What do you say love?"
"Uhhh...", she thought back to Jo. He would surely fire her if Harry's pleasures weren't fulfilled, and the answer Harry wanted was obvious. Saying no equals losing your job and dissappointing your parents?
"Yes." she breathed through her teeth, "I'll do it."
Harry's dimples caved into his face and he pushed his thick brown hair back; the waitress arrived with salads for both of them. Deep inside Adi had wished Harry hadn't taken her to a place this posh, she really craved the comfort of a Big Mac right now.
"Your father said he'd feel most comfortable if you stayed at the hotel with the boys and me until our departure, being alone in a big house is never safe."
Really? I could really use a cliff to jump off of right now, and that sure as hell isn't safe. Adi said to herself.
"Okay whatever!" She scolded, then dug into the leafy mess on her plate without saying another word.
***
Harry parked infront of Adi's house and got out. He helped her out of her seat and with a hand around her shoulder, walked inside her house.
"Let's get packing!" he exclaimed and followed Adi to her bedroom.
She grabbed a suitcase from the top of her closet and haphazordly threw it onto her bed.
"Be careful" Harry warned, "You don't want to just throw yourself on the bed like that!"
Adi couldn't help but chuckle at their silly little inside joke and she began to fold stuff into the case. Harry, with his hands behind his back, looked around the room as though it was a museum. One wall was filled with framed, historically inspirational, black and white photos from events like: the Tianamen Square, Martin Luther King, Gandhi and Mandela eras. A huge bulletin board took up the adjacent wall and was cascaded with meaningful printed quotes and pictures that were derived from a wide range of literature and other sources, but the most impressive was an insane jumble of creative art drawn by Sharpie directly onto a once naked wall. A massive tree filled up the space and different images filled the tree; the artistry screamed with emotion.
"That's amazing." Harry said in awe.
"Thanks", Adi said, once again thankful that her dark complexion forbidded blushing.
Although the peice was incredible, Harry found more interest searching through her drawers, and he stopped searching when he found her underwear.
"I swear if you don't close my dresser right now I will cut you!" Adi said, instantly frustrated by him for the umph-teenth time.
Now it was Harry's turn to blush, his adorable dimples once again exposed, but he didn't obey and picked up the neatly folded batch of clothing and dumped them into the suitcase. Adi finished off her packing by putting in her Macintosh laptop and charger then zipped up the suitcase. Time to hit the rode.
***
Adi woke in a bed that was not her own, in a place she was unfamiliar with. Her bare feet padded along the carpet as she entered the foreign bathroom. She splashed water on her face in an attempt to reclaim her thoughts. Adasyn recalled leaving her home in Harry's car but never actually arriving to a hotel. He must have carried her. Wierd. She took a hot shower and when she was dressed she went to the kitchen where she found Harry watching E with toast on the table. He looked up at her and smirked.
"Hot" he said.
Adasyn ignored him and helped herself to a slice of heated bread. She was still chewing when he grabbed her lower back and looked down at her; his fingers marking the dimples at the bottom of her spine.
"Departure is tonight love, we decided the earlier the better, considering we are about done with Hotlanta." Harry said.
"Don't call it Hotlanta, nobody in Atlanta actually calls it that.", and with that said she twirled out of Harry's grip and asked: "Where did you sleep?"
"Don't worry, I shared a room with Zayn."
"How did you get in here?"
"I got the key."
"Well hand it over."
He dangled it like meat to a Rotti and she chased him around the room like it was so until he ran backwards and they both came tumbling onto the bed. Adi struggled to get up, but this was playing out like in the movies and he held her there by the waist.
"Okay you win, now can you please give me the key to my hotel room?"
"No problem love." And, with her still in his grasp, he slid the key from her lower back into her back pocket with he flat of is palm; he held his hand there and it was obvious it was a smooth move to grab her butt.
"I might not seem like a physical threat, but I won't be afraid to start if you can't find another place to put those wandering fingers." Adi promised.
Harry laughed and was about to force a kiss when Adi kneed him right in the unmentionables, and her freedom was reclaimed as she bolted straight for the door. She tried to run to the elevator when Lou Teasdale and Niall stopped her in her tracks.
"Everything okay deary?" Lou pondered.
"Please I have to-", and she slithered away from them and into the elevator, where she quickly pressed LOBBY. The door was shut before Hazza could make it close enough to touch it, but he wouldn't have dared to go in anyway considering what awaited in the Lobby.
****
Tons of directioners greeted Adi, and she pretended to be a normal resident of the hotel, unaffiliated with One Direction. She knew Styles wouldn't dare mark his ass down here, considering the insanity of raging fans. She walked to the bar of the hotel where she new saftey was insured.
Harry would leave for his concert in a few hours, in that time I could prepare my blog. Before he comes back to the hotel I could hang around with Paul's extra security and ride the faculty tour bus to avoid him. Perfect plan. But why don't I tell someone about Harry's playful, yet sexual assault? I have to write about the guy I dread most, and now I'm in most fear of!?! But if people find out it will be exploited and result into more madness and drama. I'm sure Harry Styles knows this, damn him, and damn this stupid internship.
****
The tour bus was heading south to Florida, and Adi knew she could rest easy with ONLY the One Direction staff around her. It was captivating to see what happened behind the scenes: from the makeup and clothing to the lighting of the stage. Everyone seemed to serve their own special purpose to the group, but Adasyn had the best purpose of all: to write! SYCO had specifically given her a little spot on the official One Direction website and Adi had formatted it to 'Update on the boys', 'Fun facts', 'Talk to the Blogger', and 'Everything in Between'. Even though she preferred informative or political writing, this blog was actually pretty fun. She was quietly enjoying herself when the phone rang... the caller was obvious.
"Harry?" asked Adasyn
"Hey love, I've forgiven you."
"Not even Jo can make me apoligize for that; I hope my efforts paid off."
"Don't worry, I'm still recovering."
"Learned your lesson?"
Harry didn't answer and instead replied, "Meet me at the Tampa Beach behind the hotel."
Adi didn't reply and hung up. She didn't have to do this, no one was forcing her, Jo wasn't here to say anything, nor her father. There was a deep fear growing inside Adi, that's why she constantly shut him down at every romantic oppurtunity; she was afraid. There was only one person she could lean on.
****
"Hey."
"Hey!" replied Shafi. Adi was lucky she chose to communicate through Skype because she could read Shafi's emotions like a good book; she missed the company of her new friend.
"How's cleaning up Jo's dirty office held up for you?"
"I think you know the answer Adasyn, I might not have known you long, but I know when a girl needs to vent and when they just want to talk about life."
I guess Shafi can read me too, Adasyn concluded. And she did vent, but in the privacy of text, so no one could eavesdrop. It felt good, every detail was shared and everything that chained Adi's mind was freed from out her heart and into Shafi's thoughts.
"Go, go to beach, what's the worst that could happen in such publicity? -Shafi"
It felt good to finally have the advice of a trusted friend.
****
It was sunset and the beach shone purple and melted gold. Harry sat on the cool sand shirtless with his hands wrapped around his knees, being warmed by the heat of a fire. He looked out at sea, his hair blowing every which way in the low sunlight, dark brown and thick. Adi appeared in a thin skirt and rock band tee and Harry looked up at her and smiled. She sat next to him, she was a tall girl, but felt minature next to Harry, and she stared down at her naturally big feet that were noticably smaller than his.
"Sorry for forcing you into all this mess." said Harry.
She looked up at him, and like the first time they had met, she looked into his foresty-green eyes, not through them. She looked so deeply that her eyes watered, but she did not turn away. Instead she kissed him.
Her lips pushed strongly into his, parting slowly, as if it were routine for them. Harry's fists pressed into the sand, trying to stop the pressure of her body from pushing him back. Harry pulled away and laid her head on his bare, toned, and muscular chest and they lied there, the fire burning at their side, and the stars glistening like lights that brightened the intensity of a newly created love.