Harry walked into the hotel room and glanced around at all the people. A few of his costars, but mostly it was industry people, makeup and hair people and the interviewer. He sighed, such as life on a press junket. He didn't remember things being this exhausting when the boys were doing this same thing when This is Us was released but then again he wasn't at the precipice of falling hopelessly in love with someone then either.
Everything he did, everything he heard, everything he saw reminded him of her or of some conversation they had. It was starting to get sad. Harry couldn't do anything without the heavy weight of missing her on his shoulders.
He was in the middle of shaking hands and pleasant greetings when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.
I've had some wine
He instantly smiled. Drunk Elena was fun. This boring interview just got a whole lot more interesting that's for sure. He tapped to respond,
Uh oh
He saw the three dots pop up indicating she was responding.
You grab yourself onstage a lot.
Harry stopped himself from bursting out laughing as the sound people clipped a microphone on him.
What?
I'm bored.
Didn't we discuss about how dangerous googling is?
I made the mistake of falling into the YouTube rabbit hole. Watching concert videos
Oh...well what can I say? Sometimes things need to be repositioned
Is that what you're doing when you're grabbing the other boys' nuts too? Repositioning?
Len...
Because you guys grab each other's nuts...like...a LOT!
Harry slapped his hand to his forehead as he shook his head slightly.
Maybe you should watch something else
She was silent for a few moments. Harry giggled to himself and looked up just in time to see the interviewer take her seat across from him and a few of his co-stars. He looked down at his phone just before he shoved it back into his pocket.
What are you doing?
About to do an interview
Oh. Sorry. I'll leave you alone
Harry smiled, shook his head a couple more times and then shoved his phone into his back pocket.
The interview was boring. Same old questions, same old mundane discussions. How did he like being in a movie? How was the transition from music to movies? Did he have fun shooting? Blah blah blah. Harry could have phoned in this interview. He tried his best to stay engaged but when his phone buzzed in his pocket, it was all he could do not to get up and walk out. He'd much rather be talking to Elena anyway.
Finally after about 30 minutes of listening to his co-stars drone on about things they'd discussed three interviews ago, there was a break. Harry pulled his phone out of his pocket immediately.
Who's Larry?
Harry's eyes widened. Oh shit. He definitely didn't have the time for this discussion.
Larry is that crazy uncle you have that no one talks about
I don't have a crazy uncle
Good then we don't need to talk about it
Larry Stylinson...?
Harry frowned. This just ceased being funny. Elena had now stumbled upon one of the darker parts of his career. This would require a longer discussion and one that didn't happen over text.
Len...stop googling
It says you and Louis are being kept apart by management
Harry looked up just as another interviewer walked into the room. In a few minutes he wouldn't be able to save this conversation from happening, though he was doing a shit job of saving it at the moment anyway.
Len...
Can I meet Louis?
Sure if you want to
Louis' baby isn't real!?!??!?
I swear to God
Alright, you have to explain the teddy bear
Harry's frown grew deeper as he ran his hand down his face. There was no use. She'd already seen it. He'd just have to deal with it and hope she got drunk enough not to remember it.
Len I'll tell you all about Larry another time ok?
Liam only has one kidney?
Jesus.
Baby how drunk are you?
Pretty drunk. I don't have practice or a game tomorrow
I'm bored
You gave me those CDs so I was curious, this is your fault
And I really miss you
Harry felt the familiar squeeze in his chest.
I miss you too.
Harry was saved when one of his costars microphones went out. His brain started working overtime. He had a day and a half with no press and nothing happening when he returned to London from Japan. He could conceivably detour and not go to London but rather go see Elena. It had only been a week, but the weight of missing her was already terrible.
When is your next game?
He glanced up, the issue with the microphone had been fixed. The interview would be starting any minute.
Friday. We play England. Ha ha
A slow smile spread across Harry's face. Perfect. That would be perfect. He could go surprise her at her game, spend a few hours together and then get on a plane to London. No one would even know he was gone.
Gotta get back to this interview, Len. I'll text you when I'm done
I'll probably be asleep or puking
He laughed out loud and then quickly quieted himself down when everyone looked at him.
Alright then. I'll talk to you tomorrow?
Have a good interview
Harry smiled down at the conversation. He was about to click his phone off when he felt it buzz again.
I've just stumbled on a website called onedirectionfanfiction.com
Christ.
--------------------------------------
Elena never mentioned Larry again, much to Harry's excitement. The minute he'd gotten back to his hotel room after his interviews were done he bought a plane ticket back to Los Angeles. Two more days and he'd be able to see her, touch her, hold her. And he wasn't about to let another opportunity to kiss her pass him by.
He heard his phone buzz. It took him a moment to find it since it was still on silent. His face broke into a huge smile when he saw Elena's name on his screen.
What's this thing about you liking to be naked?
It was a thing when I was younger
So it's no longer a thing?
I mean...I cover up the essentials
Bummer
Harry actually snorted out a laugh. In the week since he'd been gone, she'd managed to entertain the hell out of him during every interaction. And he had no reason to believe that would change anytime soon. Elena's carefree attitude and love for life were something he felt like he hadn't been able to find in his other relationships. She had it in spades.
Are you hungover?
I wasn't that drunk
Coulda fooled me
I read some fan fiction
Yeah? Anything good?
Lots of things about you being a dad. I think. I mean...the word daddy was used. I didn't pay that much attention
Harry's eyes widened. Daddy in the world of the One Direction fandom wasn't relegated to just a fatherly role. There's no telling what on earth she read.
They can get pretty creative sometimes
You've read some?!?
Sure I have. I get bored easily, remember?
Which one did you read? I wanna read it
Len...
I can see your face whenever you text me my name, just so you know
Practice today?
No. Day off. I have all day to read about your skills as a father
Maybe we leave the fan fiction thing alone for awhile?
My parents and my brother are in town
Tell them all I said hello
Oh sure. Hey mom, dad, Eric...Harry Styles says hello
They would know who I was?
My parents don't miss Entertainment Tonight
Skype date tonight right?
Absolutely
Alright. I need to go shower and eat breakfast. See ya tonight
Harry said goodbye and set his phone down. She was eating breakfast, he was staring out onto the black darkness of night. It seemed unfair that the first relationship he had with actual potential to turn into something real had started out with this kind of distance. He just hoped she stuck around for the good parts.
--------------------------------------
Elena pushed the door open to the house her parents were renting while staying in LA. Frank and Carolyn Bennett were over the idea of hotels once they'd retired. And Frank was all about AirBnb. Elena didn't push the idea that she could easily have bought them a second house out here. Frank's pride would never allow his daughter to pay for anything.
Carolyn immediately pulled Elena into her arms,
"You look tired dear. Are you sleeping enough?"
"I'm fine, Mom."
"Sleeping?" Frank bellowed as he walked in from outside in flip flops and some baggy cargo shorts with his Texas A&M polo shirt on, "Athletes at the top of their game don't need sleep isn't that right honey?"
"Sure, Dad." Elena answered as he pulled her into his arms and pressed a kiss to her temple, "Where's Eric?" Elena asked as she grabbed a few grapes off of the plate of fruit Carolyn had set out.
"He and Shelly just went to put Ruby down for a nap upstairs."
Elena frowned,
"Sorry I missed her."
Carolyn pulled a pitcher of freshly made lemonade out of the refrigerator,
"We told you to be here by ten, Dear."
Elena nodded. It was generally ill advised to tell your ridiculously straight laced parents that the reason you missed the ten o'clock deadline was because you'd been passed out after a night of drinking, so she kept quiet.
"There's the soccer star." Elena turned around when she heard her brother's voice behind her.
Eric Bennett was Elena's other half. Since they were kids they were inseparable even though Eric was two years older. Even with Chrissy around, there was no one else who knew Elena better.
She flew into his arms. It felt like they hadn't seen each other in so long,
"Thanks for putting Ruby to sleep before I could see her." Elena said slapping at his shoulder when he set her down on her feet.
"Hey, the kid has a schedule...just because you can't get your butt outta bed in time to see her..."
Shelly walked around the corner just then,
"Elena!" She yelled as she threw her arms around Elena's neck. Shelly has been one of Elena's good friends in high school. The idea that she'd married Eric should have been gross but it just wasn't. Shelly and Eric were disgustingly meant to be, "How's everything going?" Shelly asked as she pulled away.
Elena shrugged, turning back to lean against the counter,
"Alright. Still training for the World Cup."
"You have the match against England soon right?" Frank asked.
"Yeah. Coach is trying to get us all to focus on that."
"Trying?" Eric asked as he took a seat on the stool. Shelly came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Elena shrugged,
"Lots of distractions...ya know how life is sometimes."
The kitchen went completely dead silent. Everyone staring at each other for a moment and then four pairs of eyes all converged onto Elena. She popped a grape into her mouth before realizing they were all staring at her,
"What?"
Carolyn glanced at Eric and then back at Elena,
"Distractions? Honey...you've never been focused on anything but soccer."
Elena silently swore at herself as she glanced between them. They were all suspicious now. If she didn't come clean about something they'd never let it go. Especially Eric.
"W-well not...not me." She finished.
Elena wasn't ready to tell them about Harry. Not now. She didn't even know what they were, how was she supposed to tell anyone else?
Elena cleared her throat,
"I'm...I'm still focused. Totally. Yeah."
She sounded painfully unsure. A tone she didn't think she'd ever used while discussing soccer in her life. Her parents were sure to pick up on that.
Only they didn't.
Frank nodded,
"Course ya are!" He bellowed as he turned to walk back outside, "Burgers should be done in about 20 minutes."
Shelly released Eric from her grasp and joined Carolyn in pulling out plate after plate of condiments and appetizers and put them outside on the table.
Elena breathed a sigh of relief. Dodged that bullet.
--------------------------------------
Lunch had ended. Ruby would be awake in a bit. Frank sat himself on the couch and watched a random golf tournament he found while Shelly and Carolyn cleaned up in the kitchen leaving Elena and Eric alone on the patio.
Eric sipped his beer but kept his eyes trained on his sister. Elena knew what was coming. She hoped and prayed he'd leave it alone, but she knew better. She'd halfway pulled off the label on her own beer bottle when Eric leaned forward,
"So..." He started.
Elena set her bottle on the table,
"Don't start with me."
Eric raised his eyebrows,
"Start with you? What makes you think I'm gonna start with you? Couldn't be because you were lying through your teeth about distractions earlier..."
"Shutup...mom and dad will hear you."
"Please. Dad can't hear anything that isn't six inches in front of his face and mom only hears the sound of Ruby crying nowadays...so spill."
Elena cast a worried glance at him. Eric was like a dog with a bone, especially when it came to his sister. There was no way she was gonna throw him off,
"There's nothing to spill." She said, taking a nervous sip from her bottle.
Eric sat back in his chair, studying her closely. He shook his head,
"Elena...what is going on? Because whatever it is...it's big. I've never seen you secretive about anything in your entire life. Christ I even knew the day you got your period."
"That's because you came into the bathroom without knocking."
"You would've told me anyway."
Elena opened her mouth to protest and then clapped it shut. She shook her head,
"That may be true...but-"
"But what? Tell me what is going on..."
Elena stared into the worried face of her brother. It seemed odd to see that look on his face. Considering the last two years of his life had been spent putting that look on every face in their entire family while he was deployed in Iraq.
As much as she wanted to keep Harry a secret, she couldn't from Eric. She leaned forward,
"There's a...a guy."
Eric stopped drinking his beer mid-sip. In all his years as her brother he'd never seen Elena give two shits about a guy. He swallowed,
"Alright. Who's this guy?"
Elena frowned,
"Do I have to?"
"Elena-"
"He's famous."
"How famous?"
"Really famous. Like...really really famous."
Eric's eyes narrowed,
"Elena who is the guy?"
Elena hesitated. How on earth was she supposed to say this? She had a thing for Harry Styles? Jesus even saying it in her head, it sounded stupid.
"Elena!"
"Harry Styles!" She whispered through gritted teeth.
Eric stopped and for a moment, Elena thought she might get off on this one. Eric didn't know who he was. But as the smartass smile crept up on her brother's face, she knew she wasn't ever going to get off that easily.
"Is that..." He stopped, "That boy band kid?"
"He's not a kid. He's older than I am."
"And you think...he's interested...in you?"
Elena looked over at her brother,
"You don't?"
"Well, I mean...Elena come on...he's like...famous famous. He has like 25 million followers on Twitter."
Elena narrowed her eyes,
"How the hell do you know that?"
"Shelly's a fan."
"Oh great." Elena said, throwing her hands up. She folded her arms over her chest, "Yes, Eric. He's interested in me."
Eric studied her for a moment. He'd never known his sister to make things up. But this would've been a tough pill to swallow for anyone. Elena sighed as she pulled her phone out. She pulled up Harry's Instagram and held it out to her brother. The picture Harry had posted of her a few nights ago with her medal around her neck,
"NOW do you believe me?"
Eric ripped the phone out of her hands,
"HOLY SHIT ELENA!" He yelled.
"Shhhhhhhhhhhh!" Elena scolded taking her phone back, "I don't want mom and dad to know."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't know what we are...I just met him a couple weeks ago." Elena shoved her phone back into her pocket, keenly aware that Eric was still watching her, "What? God say it."
"He's posting pictures of you on his Instagram."
"Yes."
"That's kinda serious, Elena."
"So?"
"So I think it's kind of obvious what you are."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Is that the only picture he posted of you?"
Elena stopped,
"Well...no. But the other one was from the game the other night. He was on the sidelines. That doesn't count."
Eric laughed as he lifted his beer up and took a long sip. Elena waited for him to finish,
"What? God I hate it when you do that." She sneered.
Eric finished his sip and let out a long deep breath,
"Elena...you don't have a lot of experience with guys...so let me explain a few things to you." He sat forward, "He's famous. He could have anyone-"
"Thanks for reminding me."
"Yet he's posted you on his Instagram...twice...in the span of a week." Eric stopped for a dramatic pause, "I mean...I'm no rocket scientist but I know what that spells out to me."
"A minute ago you didn't even think he was interested."
"That's before I saw my baby sister posted on his Instagram...twice."
Elena threw a grape at him,
"Shutup."
"Elena..." He called her attention. When she looked at him, gone was any amused smile from his face, "Do you like him?"
Elena thought for a moment. Eric wouldn't tell anyone, she knew that for sure. She leaned forward,
"Eric, I've never felt this way before. I care about what he thinks. I care about what he's doing. I care about what he's not doing. I like hearing his voice. When my phone buzzes with a text message, I get this stupid little jolt in my heart." Elena pointed to her chest, "Seriously, not even shitting you...it's like an electrical current I can feel to my toes. He's kind and he's funny and he doesn't patronize me. He's not looking to replace soccer in my life. He just wants to be there when it all goes down. I like it." Elena finished, "I like it a lot."
Eric stared back at her. His baby sister had never been the emotional type. It was different, but fun to see her get this silly about a guy. A slow smile broke out over his cheeks,
"Bout damn time."
"For what?"
"For you to realize there's more to life than a goddamn soccer ball. I should've known it was serious when you remembered his name."
Elena narrowed her eyes at him,
"Shutup and if dad heard you say that he'd smack you upside the head."
"If dad heard you say that you were focused on anything but soccer he'd have a heart attack."
Elena nodded,
"Another reason for you to keep it quiet. Promise?"
Eric gave a slight nod of his head,
"You know I won't say anything."
"Thanks."
Just then Ruby came tearing out of the house. The little girl made a beeline for Elena's lap, landing on it with a thud she immediately launched into a rambling story about what happened that morning before Elena got there.
--------------------------------------
Elena made it home just in time to peel herself out of her sweaty clothes and get into her comfy PJs for her Skype date with Harry. She thought about nothing but her discussion with Eric her entire drive home. She knew he wouldn't tell her parents, but it still seemed weird now that at least one member of her family knew that Harry existed in her life as more than just a mysterious entity that wasn't really real.
She was halfway into her PJs when she heard the ringing on her computer. She pulled her hair from the ponytail, finished pulling her shirt on and hit the answer button just in time.
The top of Harry's head flashed onto her screen. She giggled,
"Nice hair."
Harry's head shot up, an instant smile appearing on his face,
"Sorry, was just waiting for you to pick up." His smile faded slightly, "Look beautiful, Len."
Elena blushed,
"I just got home."
"How's the family?"
"Great. It was nice to see them. They'll be at my game Friday."
Harry kept the smile on his face despite the slight bit of panic that rifled through him at the idea that he'd be meeting her family if he showed up. It didn't matter what happened while he was there as long as he got to spend the entire time with Elena.
"Well that will be nice to have them close I'm sure."
Elena let out a deep sigh,
"I told my brother about you."
The smile returned to Harry's face,
"Did ya now? What'd he have to say?"
"He doesn't believe...he doesn't think..." Elena sighed, "He says you're like super famous. Super duper famous."
Harry raised his eyebrows,
"Super duper famous...that's pretty famous."
Elena waved her hand,
"He's an idiot. Forget I said anything."
"Len..."
Elena diverted her eyes downward, a move that would always concern Harry because Elena never had any trouble looking him in the eyes. She sighed,
"He says that the fact that you've posted me on your Instagram twice...that it means something." Harry stared back at her but said nothing. Elena looked up at him, "He says you can have anyone you want."
"Well he's wrong." Harry answered back after a moment.
Elena's face fell,
"He is?"
"I can't have anyone I want, Len. Although I hope the one I want realizes that posting her on my Instagram twice means a whole lot of something..."
Elena stared back at him. God, that was better than when she'd heard she was selected to play on the World Cup team. She leaned forward,
"Eight days, 12 hours, 46 minutes..." She said softly.
"What's that, Love?"
"That's the countdown..." Elena looked down at her phone and then lifted it up to show the countdown on her phone, "Until we get to be in the same ZIP code again."
Harry smiled,
"There really is an app for everything."
"Will you see your mom and Gemma when you're in London?" Elena asked as she clicked her phone off.
Harry thought for a moment,
"Yeah, probably. Gem lives in London now and I'm sure my mum will come down for a bit."
"You miss them?"
"I do. But we keep in touch. I just got off the phone with my mum before I called you." Elena nodded, diverting her eyes downward once more. Harry instantly got the reason for her diverting her eyes this time, "Gem knows about you, Len. She knew the minute you showed up on my Instagram twice. But I wanted to wait until I saw my mum in person to tell her."
Elena looked up,
"I wasn't - I didn't -" She stopped, realizing that protesting was stupid at this point, "Ok." She finally said.
They were both silent for a moment. Neither knowing how to process the fact that family members were now involved. Elena perked up suddenly,
"Oh...so I read some fan fiction this morning."
Harry sighed. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by fan fiction. It was a part of the package of who he was. But some of it could get a little intense. He'd read stories portraying him as everything from a drug dealer to the world's most devoted father,
"Find anything interesting?"
"Yeah." Elena answered, "I found out that you as a daddy has absolutely nothing to do with fatherhood."
--------------------------------------
Harry bounded up the stairs of the private jet he'd rented. He had 36 hours to make it to LA, hang out with Elena and then get to London. Almost 24 hours of that would be spent on a plane. But it was worth it. To see that face live and in person he'd have flown anywhere.
He set down his bag on the couch and glanced around the plane. Thankfully he would easily be able to stretch out and get some sleep for the entire flight. At least that way he could stay awake for Elena's game and the ten hours afterwards they would have together before he had to leave again.
"I take it you are Mr. Styles." Harry heard a deep voice behind him. The pilot looked to be in his late 50s with salt and pepper hair and a smile that Harry was quite sure is the reason his wife fell in love with him.
"I am."
"Donald Warren, I'll be your pilot for this flight. First officer Grant is already in the cockpit. And then we have Robin around here somewhere who will be your flight attendant."
"I'm right here." She smiled warmly, "Would you like some champagne, Sir?"
Harry shook his head,
"I'll be sleeping most of the flight."
Robin smiled,
"Oh alright. Well I'll make sure to keep things quiet then."
"Thanks."
Donald gestured towards the front of the plane,
"Give us a few moments to get things checked out and then we'll be under way. Flight time should be about 11 hours."
"Sounds good."
Harry closed the door to the bedroom. He gave one last look at his phone before turning it off and sliding it into the drawer in the table next to the bed.
With any luck he'd be in LA by the time he woke up and in the arms of the greatest girl in the world.