The shrill sound of Marimba rang throughout the otherwise silent room, causing Addison, who’d been seated at her desk, to nearly jump out of her skin. For the past hour, she had been engrossed within her inbox. While many designers preferred to have their assistants handle correspondence, Addison liked to have as much personal contact with buyers and clients as possible. This meant that once every week, she sat down at her desk and replied to as many e-mails as she could possibly could without carpal tunnel kicking in. Normally she enjoyed a bit of light music playing in the background while working on tasks from home, yet she often found that the lyrics distracted her from her own responses. Thus, when wading through her inbox, she preferred to work in silence, although her phone had apparently not received the memo.
Picking up the device clamoring around the desktop, she quickly slid her thumb across the screen to answer the call before it turned to voicemail. “Hello?”
“Addison?” A sweet British voice sounded through the opposite end of the speaker. The voice was almost angelic and very familiar. It took her only several moments in order to correctly identify the speaker, at which point they had already carried on. “It’s Eleanor. I asked Harry for your number. I hope that’s alright.”
“Of course it is,” Addison pushed back her laptop, leaning back into the chair she was sitting in. It was at that moment that she realized how tense she had become. Every muscle in her body screamed from sitting in such tense posture for so many hours. This phone call actually came at a great time, giving her a chance to rise from her desk and stretch her legs.
“I know this is very sudden, but I really enjoyed dinner the other night and I’m headed back to Manchester in a few days, so I was wondering if you’d like to go out shopping or for drinks. If you have free time, that is.”
Addison rose from her chair, gazing back down at the screen of her laptop, full of bolded, unopened messages. Somehow, the idea of the returning to them wasn’t particularly appealing. And she had already made quite a dent this morning. A few hours off couldn’t hurt. It was the weekend after all.
“I’d love to,” she responded, running a hand through a tangled mess of hair. It seemed as if she had forgotten to brush it this morning after waking up. Striding into the bathroom, she began opening and closing drawers, in search of a brush. “When did you have in mind?”
“Um, are you free at all this afternoon, by chance?” Eleanor’s voice was hesitant, almost as if she had anticipated Addison would be otherwise inclined.
“Aha,” Addison mumbled under her breath, at last successfully retrieving a hair brush and running it through her thick dark locks. “Actually,” she spoke a bit louder into the phone’s speaker, shifting it to rest between her ear and shoulder, “I am. Where did you have in mind?” Deciding that her hair was presentable enough to go out in public, she tossed the brush back into the drawer and seized a can of hair spray to ensure that her loose waves wouldn’t frizz in the outdoors.
Eleanor trilled on the other end of the speaker. “Lovely! I’ve been meaning to go Barney’s. Although I’m sure you get there quite frequently.”
“I never say no to Barney’s,” Addison interrupted. The department store was one of her favorites. When their line had gotten optioned several years ago by the buyers are Barney’s, she almost passed out from sheer excitement. That night, she and Sabrina drank one too many bottles of champagne in celebration and spent the entire next day hugging the porcelain throne between doses of Ibuprofen.
“Would you be able to meet in an hour? Or do you need more time?” Eleanor asked.
“An hour’s fine,” Addison assured her, running through a mental checklist of what she would have to do in order to prepare herself. She was already dressed for the day and would only have to apply a bit of makeup before heading out for Barney’s. With it being Sunday, the traffic wouldn’t be as unbearable, making her commute much easier than normal. After a quick layer of foundation, blusher, and mascara, she was on her way to meet Eleanor. A lot of designers were particular about putting on a full face before leaving the house but Addison wasn’t one of them. While she believed in representing herself in the best possible way, she didn’t think a face full of makeup necessarily did the job.
Her commute was even shorter than anticipated, as she got off at the 59th Street and Lexington Avenue stop and walked the remaining distance to 61st. It wasn’t until she found herself standing on the ground floor of the bustling store that she realized she and Eleanor hadn’t agreed upon a meeting place. Between the number of floors and various sections, it would be almost impossible to find her by simply browsing. She would just have to call. As Addison rummaged in her oversized black bag for her cell phone, she heard her name being called nearby. Looking up, she found Eleanor, waving from several feet away. Addison returned the gesture and began to walk nearer to her.
“Lovely to see you again,” Eleanor smiled sweetly. “I’m so happy you could make it.”
“I never turn down shopping,” Addison remarked with a wink. “Where would you like to start? Are you shopping for anything in specific?”
“Wellll,” Eleanor hummed, running a hand through her brunette waves. Addison noted the way her eyes flitted back and forth around the store, as if she was looking for something. Addison assumed she was merely looking for some sort of directory or specific section. Barney’s could be vastly overwhelming if you weren’t familiar with how to approach it. “I wouldn’t mind looking for something to wear the LA show. Are you going to be there?”
Addison began to move towards the escalators, figuring they would start in the nearest section of women’s clothing on the second floor. “I’m not sure. Harry hasn’t said anything and I don’t want to impose. I don’t even know when it is.” Although she had told Harry that she had come to a show, she was still a little uncertain of how to go about it. Was she simply supposed to buy tickets and show up? Or did he want her to come along as his guest? Did it even matter what show she went to or were there only specific dates that she would be allowed to attend? Up until this point, she had been pushing these questions to the back of her mind, assuming that Harry would provide more details as his impending tour drew nearer.
Eleanor laughed, lifting a hand to her mouth to cover her smile. “It’s in a month. I assumed you’d be coming if you were available. Louis told Harry to ask you about it but he’s such a chicken.”
“Harry?” Addison’s eyes widened, shocked. She hadn’t ever necessarily pegged Harry to be a chicken. He’d been so forthcoming since the time that she had met him. She had assumed that if he had things to discuss with her, he would say it without any hesitations.
However, as Eleanor nodded her head in response, Addison began to wonder if the Harry she knew was the same Harry in front of his friends. “He’s terrible, really,” Eleanor continued as they exited the escalator. “He may not seem like it, but he’s got awful nerves when talking to girls, especially girls that he’s interested in. He’s called Louis loads of times for advice. I swear, since he’s been seeing you, he’s called him almost every day.” She wandered toward a display of mannequins, surveying their carefully crafted designs before beginning to peruse the rack behind them.
“Has he really?” Addison followed suit, as her mind buzzed, processing Eleanor’s words. Harry had never seemed nervous particularly nervous around her. Then again, she supposed he could have been putting up a good front. She understood how necessary a front could be in an industry where you were constantly placed in the spotlight. Nerves wouldn’t hold up and couldn’t be dealt with, especially in business situations. Still, their friendship had been fairly private thus far. He had no reason to put up any sort of front.
“Surely you must have realized,” Eleanor looked up from the cream blouse she had been surveying and turned her gaze towards Addison. “You’re the first girl he’s been serious about in some time. He rarely invites any of them to shows, and they most definitely go out to dinner with Louis and I. He really likes you.” She smiled, placing the blouse back on the rack, before crossing her arms and walked further into the section.
Addison stayed still, mulling over the conversation. Eleanor seemed well informed with information about the state of Harry’s feelings, no doubt overheard from his conversations with Louis. While she knew that Harry had intentions of being more than friends with her, it was still interesting to hear that he had discussed her with his friends. In a way, it made her take him more seriously. If he hadn’t meant what he said, there would be little need to bring her into more personal aspects of his life.
She was pulled from her thoughts as Eleanor inquired about her opinion on a pair of blue trousers. She nodded her approval as she realized that she had been standing in Barney’s for almost twenty minutes and had yet to find a single thing that she liked. It was time for her to take her mind off of Harry and onto something a bit more serious, such as what she would wear to this concert if she happened to go.
--
“Addieeeeeeee!” The shriek rang throughout the apartment, startling Addison from where she lay in a deep slumber. Theodore bolted upon hearing the noise, leaping off the bed and running towards the door with a series of grunts and yelps.
In seconds the door was flung open, almost sending Theodore skidding back several feet, and a lanky blonde leapt onto the sleepy girl’s bed. “Look! Look at this!”
The blonde shoved the brightly lit screen of her iPhone toward the other girl’s face impatiently.
Addison blinked, her bleary eyes struggling to make out the fuzzy print. Her eyesight wasn’t terrible without contacts but without any time to focus it was taking her much longer than Sabrina would have liked. “Are you reading?”
“Trying to,” the brunette mumbled, blinking rapidly. Almost as soon as her eyes focused in on the highlighted words, she wished she hadn’t regained clear vision.
A New One Direction Girlfriend?
Snatching the phone from Sabrina’s grasp, she continued to scroll through, noting pictures of herself and Eleanor that were obviously taken during yesterday’s shopping venture. How? She hadn’t even noticed they were being photographed. Judging by the low quality, she assumed someone had taken them with a cell phone. But still, wouldn’t she have noticed?
A small blurb followed the photographs.
It seems as if notorious player Harry Styles has found himself a new leading lady, though sources say that it may be more serious than his usual flings. Styles was first seen with Addison Williams, co-founder of KenWill Designs, at premiere of her line’s fall show. Now, with new photos of Addison joining Eleanor Calder, girlfriend of Louis Tomlinson, out for a day of shopping, we’re all wondering if a new One Direction girlfriend has been added to the mix. Hopefully Williams will fare better than the likes of her predecessors, including celebs Kendall Jenner, Taylor Swift, and Cara Delevingne. For an extended look at the previous love exploits of the hunky Hazza, click the link below.
Addison’s jaw dropped in complete astonishment. What in the world had she just read? “What the fuck,” she spluttered, dropping the phone onto her bed before quickly snatching it back up, thumb gliding over the screen to return to the top of the article. “Sources? Who are these sources? We’re not even dating!”
“But you could be,” Sabrina winked, nudging Addison’s shoulder with her own. “You’re lucky you actually look really good in those photos. Pretty, but not trying too hard. Very natural.”
Addison groaned, throwing the phone to Sabrina, deciding that she could look at the article not a second longer. “The last thing I’m worried about is how I look in those photos. Did you even read that? I’m just another fling. Some stupid floozy. This is terrible. Our line is going to go under because everyone will think I’m the slut sleeping with Harry Styles!” Her voice took on a shrill tone as the reality of her words sunk in. She had learned in her lessons with Jonathan that the One Direction fan base was definitely….passionate about matters concerning the boys. She didn’t want to think that this article would have negative side effects on her reputation but it was an unavoidable fact of life when you were included in the media. Addison tried to stay out of the limelight as much as possible but it seemed as if her efforts were now in vain.
“The line will be fine!” Sabrina hissed, throwing herself down beside Addison and wriggling until she was comfortably situated with her head on a spare pillow. “If I have to, I’ll start dating someone famous and cause an even bigger scandal. Then it’ll take all the attention off of you.”
“You have no idea how much better that makes me feel,” Addison responded drily, her tone of voice reeking sarcasm.
Sabrina pouted, sticking out her pink lower lip as she reached for Theodore who had come to resume his rightful place on the bed. “Don’t be such a sour puss. No one’s going to think you’re a stupid floozy or a slut. You and Harry are friends, most likely more than friends because of the way he looks at you, but for the time being, friends. You can’t let this type of stuff bother you. You know the truth and so does Harry and that’s what matters.”
Addison sighed heavily. Sabrina was right. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t let this article send her into a fit of madness. People were always going to talk. Rumors were always going to exist. Still, it was hard to let it fall completely to the wayside. Imagine if Harry saw this. What was he going to think? And what about the rest of his band mates?
“I can see your mind is still going at it,” Sabrina reached over and patted the top of Addison’s head. “Just calm down. I’ll even make you breakfast. How do you feel about waffles? Ooh, and bacon! Yeah, bacon fixes everything.” The blonde swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, holding out a hand to pull Addison out of the pit of misery she was creating in her bed.
Addison grudgingly took her hand and allowed herself to be pulled from bed, stumbling down the hallway where she smelled the scent of freshly roasted coffee that Sabrina had obviously brewed not long ago. She didn’t know exactly what to do about this situation, but at least she would have bacon and coffee while she figured it out.
A/N: I was too lazy to edit this chapter so I apologize for any spelling mistakes/grammatical errors. Thank you to everyone who's continued reading and has voted/commented! Xo