"Here, let me help you," Harry says kindly as he crouches down next to me and starts to pick up shards of glass from the floor,
"It's ok really if you cut yourself and can't play your guitar at your next show I'll have twenty-thousand screaming women out for my blood," I say, quickly pushing his hand away from the mess.
"Ha! In the less than twelve hours that I've known you, you've already managed to send a metal gate crashing on to your foot, fall over and then walk straight into me and smash a glass. If either of us needs protecting from themselves, it's you." He teases me, a small smirk forming across his lips.
"How about I just ask the barman for a dustpan and brush, eh?" I suggest and start to get to my feet. But, because I am just clumsy or maybe because God just likes to try and show me up in front of this man, alternatively, I guess it could, possibly, be because of the vodkas. The moment I start to try and stand, the whole world begins to spin, and I feel myself beginning to topple over again. One of Harry's long arms shoots out to steady me, and a small voice in the back of my mind tells me that I should probably be embarrassed by all this. Still, the combination of extreme tiredness and one too many drinks causes a loud, high pitched giggle to erupt from my throat instead.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a barman approaching us, dustpan and brush in hand.
"Ahh my knight in shining.... shirt," I say as I take in the man's appearance. He's tall, even taller than Harry who's got to be six foot at least and has short-cropped blonde hair, stunning blue eyes and is wearing a smart black shirt buttoned tightly against his Adam's apple. That can't be comfortable. I try and reach out for the dustpan, but he jerks it out of my way.
"I've got this ma'am, don't worry," He tells me, and I hear a trace of what I think is an Australian accent, could be New Zealand...Kiwi... She worked her way through a cheap pack of cigarettes... hahaha. Hang on, where was I?
"Ma'am?! How old do you think I am?" I ask pretending to be offended by his choice of words. Still, before I can say anymore, I feel Harry's strong hand wrap around my bicep and gently lead me towards a stool by the bar. He plops me down on it quite unceremoniously but keeps a hand on my shoulder as if to keep me steady.
"Can I get a pint of water, please?" He asks a second barman who is slightly red-faced and seems to have been enjoying our little exchange.
"Oooh no! I need another one of those pink things for Sammy please Mr Bar Keep. You know what? I think I'll try one of those too actually! Two pink things... I don't know what they're called. I had the glass to show you, but well, it's down there now." I explain, pointing to the mess of glass and the man on his knees with his dustpan and brush. Wow, I'm sure I wasn't this drunk a minute ago, it seems like all the excitement of my run-in with Harry, run in haha! Get it? Anyways, that may have exacerbated my inebriation. Look at me using big words, maybe I am not as think as I drunk I am, after all, I mentally pat myself on the back.
"I think maybe you've had enough for now, how about you have the water first? Then we'll discuss the pink thing. And, I think Sammy left," Harry says, nodding in the direction of the now-abandoned chair that I am sure Sammy was sitting on when I got up.
"Well, how rude!" I exclaim a little too loudly in the now-empty bar and wobble slightly on my stool. Harry lifts the glass of water off of the bar and stands in one swift movement. I notice a little curl slip out from underneath his bandanna and rest right in the centre of his forehead, I want to reach over and tuck it back into place, but I'm concerned that if I lean that far, I may fall over again and I think I've probably fallen into my new boss enough times already for one day.
"How about we go sit you somewhere a little less precarious?" Harry says, reaching out a hand to me as I start to spin slightly on the stool.
"Hmph. I'm not a child, ya know." I reprimand him as I twirl around on my spinny stool, weeeeeeee! But I place my hand in his anyway and allow him to drag me off.
"Not two seconds ago you were telling off that poor lad for calling you Ma'am, and now you're annoyed at me for treating you like a child?" Harry chuckles as he leads me back over to the seats that Sammy, Clarke and I were recently sat in and directs me onto the sofa.
"I will have you know, I am twenty-two years young Mr Styles. Both young and old enough to be allowed another drink" I complain, frowning at the glass of water in his hand.
"Trust me, Maddie, when you have to get on the bus with twenty other crew members later this afternoon, you're gonna thank me for this," He says. A small voice in the back of my head tells me that he might have a point, so I begrudgingly down the water. It tastes incredible, ice-cold and refreshing, and I find myself feeling quite frustrated when it's gone. I turn the glass upside down and tap the end over my open mouth, sticking out my tongue to catch the last few droplets.
"Better?" Harry asks, and as I look over to him, I see that his eyebrows are knitted together, causing little creases to form between them, right underneath the wayward curl. I give him a nod, not quite ready to verbally admit he was right. "How about we try a coffee next? How many drinks have you had, anyway?" He asks seriously, and I start to wonder if maybe I am in trouble here. It's not exactly professional to get drunk on your first night at a new job, but I've only had...
"Four? Five... I think. Clarke might have gotten me doubles though. And I haven't had the chance to eat much today.." I admit, lowering my eyes, so I don't have to meet his gaze.
"Coffee it is," Harry says and beckons to the nearby barman to place the order. A few minutes later, two large steaming cups of what looks to be strong black coffee are placed on the low table in front of us. I notice for the first time that instead of taking one of the armchairs scattered around, Harry is sitting next to me on the lush purple velvet sofa. With one ankle resting casually on the opposite leg and an arm swung across the back of the seat. I am struck again by how normal he looks, I don't think anyone who didn't know him would realise that just a few hours ago this man was wowing thousands of women in some fancy-schmancy suit at the arena down the road.
We sit in silence for a few minutes, our coffee cups emitting a light steam into the air around us, low jazz music plays from the distant speakers, and I close my eyes for a moment to take in the sound of the saxophone solo.
"Hey hey, this isn't a good place to sleep," Harry says, shaking my knee gently.
"Wasn't!" I growl back, forcing my eyes open "Was listening." I inform him and lean over to pick up my coffee cup, careful to use both hands so that I don't end up spilling it on either one of us.
"Do you always listen with your eyes closed? They seemed quite open during the show earlier" Harry says as he brings his own coffee to his lips.
"Well that's different, isn't it? You were there putting on a show. The man playing the saxophone isn't here, the only things for me to look at are just going to distract me, and I felt he deserved my full attention for his solo. Just like I gave you my full attention earlier." I see Harry look at me quizzically as if trying to figure me out, so I decide to quickly distract him "Although there were a couple of times I was watching your guitarist instead, he's kinda awesome." I tell him because it's true. I had been utterly mesmerised by the other man at times throughout the show. Especially during one of the songs I'd not heard before, can't think what it was called now, sampled George Michael. So I shall call it the Faith song I decide.
"Ha! Charming. You do realise the name on your ticket said Harry Styles, not Mitchell Rowland right?" He says in a mock-serious tone, but I can see that little smirk of his pulling at the corners of his plump lips, they look very soft... focus Maddie!
"Ahh see, I didn't check what the ticket said, some bloke gave it to me before the show. For a while, I thought he was just trying to get into my knickers, but then he went off prancing around the stage singing a song about sucking dick so that smushed that idea."
The laugh that comes out of Harry makes me jump so violently that I am glad my coffee cup is nearly empty, or I'd be wearing it about now, he reaches a hand up to his mouth in quite an adorable manner to cover his guffaws, and I find myself focussing on his lips again, they are very pink.
"Jesus, you're certainly not backwards in coming forwards, are you? I think I'm going to have to keep my eye on you, Maddie Graham. You're going to be trouble I can feel it," he says when his laughter subsides.
I drain the rest of my coffee and start to feel my head beginning to clear slightly, but now I am even more bloody wide awake than I was before, why did I accept more caffeine? I glance around the room for a clock, unable to locate one I pull my phone from the stupid clutch bag that I am still carrying around. Dammit, my suitcase is still outside in my car, I remember, as I tap at the screen impatiently, waiting for it to light up.
"Shit! It's five-oh-two!! I should really be in bed," I say, putting my head in my hands. My long brown hair falls around my face and blocks out the world for a minute before I feel Harry's hand pushing some of it back behind the ear nearest to him, trying to catch my eye.
"You say that a lot you know" he teases me.
"What shit? For your information Mr Popstar Styles, Science has proven that intelligent people tend to swear more than stupid ones. So maybe that just means I'm more cleverer than you?"
"Hmm, just not clever enough to put yourself to bed after your first night at a new job, eh? Or to at least have a decent meal before you start drinking?" Harry fires back quickly, not missing a beat.
"Touche. What about you, huh? You're up and about at silly o'clock in the morning too." I accuse him, sticking out a finger to poke him in the chest a little too hard, he rubs the spot vigorously. "Maybe I need another coffee" I mumble quietly by way of an apology and Harry gives an almost imperceptible nod to the barman who appears next to us with fresh cups almost instantly.
"I was in the gym," Harry says, gesturing to his outfit "As you can probably tell. Sometimes it takes me a while to come down after a show, the adrenaline you know? Working out is a good way to blow off steam."
The barman appears with our fresh coffees and clears away the empties, and I can feel the fog starting to lift as I sip on the scalding liquid. Still, despite the hour, for some reason, I'm not particularly eager to call it a night just yet, I'm quite enjoying talking to Harry.
"Don't you think that maybe if you're wanting to wind down, Coffee isn't the best way to go?" I ask him raising an eyebrow.
"Mines Decafe," He counters as he takes a sip of his own drink and flashes me a smile so brilliant that it takes a couple of moments for me to remember what we were talking about.
"Ahh, not just a pretty face then after all, eh?" I taunt
"What do you care if the bloke who's, erm how did you put it again? 'Prancing around and singing about sucking dick' is pretty or not, eh?" He asks, and I think I see a hint of something in his eye, intrigue maybe? Hurt? I can't quite figure it out.
"You just spent an evening with literally thousands of women screaming out your name. I think you already know you're hot without me having to boost your ego."
"One of the first things you'll learn about me Maddie is, I'm a narcissist. There is no such thing as too many compliments, or too many beautiful women screaming my name either," he says easily matching my smart mouth and keeping up with our friendly banter. I can't pretend I'm not impressed. You'd think with people throwing themselves at him hourly, he wouldn't need to have much of a personality really. Still, he's funny, and self-deprecating despite his claims of being narcissistic, he's smart and charming... Hmm, better stop those thoughts now, I think before I really do become 'trouble'.
"Women?" I can't help myself asking, but I hide my face behind my cup, so I don't have to make eye contact with him whilst he replies. Why do I even care?
"Love is love, right? I don't really do labels." he says simply before placing his empty cup on the table. "Ready for bed?" He asks, and I feel my face fall
"Ex-excuse me?"
"Well I did give you the free ticket, isn't this what you were expecting?" He says, his expression is unreadable, he looks deadly serious, and I feel my stomach drop down to the floor. Fuck, is he really expecting me to go to bed with him?!
"I.. I don't think... What I mean to say is..." I start to stutter, desperately trying to search my fuzzy brain for the right words to turn him down without offending him and/or losing my job. I raise my eyes to meet his, noticing as I do that they are a remarkable emerald green colour, and that's when I see it, the slight twinkle resting there. The index finger he is tapping against his lips is no longer able to cover the smirk that's growing on them, and I expel a huge long-held breath in relief as he gives up and starts to laugh that infectious little boy laugh again.
"Kidding Maddie. Jeez. Can't believe you fell for that, two seconds ago you were convinced I was gay! Besides, how much of a dick do you think I am?"
"After that move Styles, I think you're a pretty fucking big dick actually," I say and swipe him gently across the arm as I pull myself out of my chair and start to head towards the bar doors. I notice that Harry leaves a hefty tip behind and places out empty cups on the bar before following me out.
"Someone's mother raised them well. Helping out the damsel in distress, cleaning up after yourself. You aren't at all what I would have expected a popstar to be" I tell Harry as we make our way into the main foyer.
Harry shrugs nonchalantly in response "I know how lucky I am, things like this don't happen to guys like me often. I'm not going to let it change me into something I'm not if I can help it. It's hardly difficult to be nice to people around you."
"I guess not. Well, thank you Mr Styles, for coming to my rescue this evening" I say formally as we come to a stop.
"What did I say about that Mr Styles crap? What room are you in? I'll take you to your door" He says
"It's ok, I need to go and get my suitcase from my car first anyways," I tell him.
"Erm, no you don't, you aren't going out there at the crack of dawn by yourself! Where's your car?" Harry asks shocked
"Just in the car park. I'll be fine Harry, I'm tougher than I look" I reply, but I can already see from the look on his face that I am not going to get away with that.
"Which room are you in?" He asks again, and I pull the key from my tiny bag and check the number
"Two-Oh-Six."
"Car keys," he says, holding out his hand.
"Can I not even come with you?" I ask pouting my lips childishly up at him.
"Nope. You can wait right here. As you said, my mother raised me well."
Knowing I am beaten and quite frankly, if he wants to venture out into the freezing early morning mist then who am I to stop him? I place my keys in his outstretched hand and fold my own arms across my chest, giving him a brief description of the car and flop myself down on a leather chair nearby.
"Maddie? Maddie?" I can hear a voice calling to me from somewhere in the distance, someone's shaking my shoulder.
"What?" I snap, forcing my eyes open. Harry is looming over me, his wide eyes filled with concern "Ooh sorry" I apologise quickly.
"I'm afraid you can't sleep here either. Come on, let's get you to your room" Harry says and pulls me to my feet.
When we finally reach the door to my room, I quickly unlock the door and Harry places my suitcase in the hallway beside me. Turning back, I look up into those emerald eyes, which I notice now look kind of watery, I really shouldn't have let him stay up with me so late I chastise myself.
"Thank you for.. well... coming to my rescue, both times today," I say quietly suppressing a yawn.
"You're very welcome, although, you didn't tell me what you thought of the show. Other than the prancing.." He teases me
"I guess I didn't" I agree with a smile "I bet the suspense is just killing you."
"How about you put me out of my misery then? Come and have breakfast with me later? Say around eleven? Gives us both time to get some sleep and I'll know you've actually had a decent meal, unlike today, in case you decide to go drinking again" he scolds me
"Harry, you don't have to.."
"I know I don't have to, but I'd like to. I'm in the penthouse, I'll let security know you're coming" he says and envelops me in a hug before I can argue.
"Goodnight trouble," He says with a wink as he starts to walk back to the lifts.
"Night Mr Styles." I throw back, sticking my tongue out at him for effect before closing the door. I fall face first down on to the bed, and I'm asleep before I even have time to register that I've not so much as removed my trainers.