Life wasn’t what I expected it to be in all honesty. I was all normal and everything up until I auditioned for The X Factor and then from there is when life got a little bumpy. I was put in a group with four other guys by our mentor, Simon Cowell, you might of heard of him, and well from there, is where life turned signals into the fast lane. My name is Harry, Harry Styles, you may of heard of me, I am one-fifth of the boyband, One Direction. Yup, the One Direction, and the four other guys, Louis, Niall, Zayn and Liam, yeah they sorta became some of my best friends but even I can’t tell the lads what has happened to me. If life was to stop at me becoming one of the most recognized faces in the world, I’d be fine with that but its life, its not gonna play by any standards. So instead of that, life decides it’d be great to throw a little unrealistic, unbearable situations into my life. And it all began one last normal enough Monday.
I woke up in my new home in a up-and-coming neighborhood in London, completely unaware of what laid ahead of me for that week. Besides finishing the tour for our second album Take Me Home, and having turned nineteen a couple days ago, it felt great being home and having slept in until two in the afternoon and I knew that I shouldn’t have thought that cause all I ever think gets jinxed, for instances, while getting ready for a show in Chicago, I had to open my mouth and say it was gonna be a show unlike any other, that night onstage while jumping around, Niall fell off stage and broke his ankle and while at the hospital, I told the lads all was gonna be okay, so while walking down the stairwell with me, Zayn tripped over me while I bend over to tie my shoe and he fell and sprained his wrist and dislocated his pinkie, even though it was only five steps fall and another time, well actually, I think you get it. So when it was only three minutes since I woke up and I went to the bathroom to, um, use it when all of a sudden the landline rang, only ringing two times before it went to voicemail.
“Hey, its me, Harry. Sorry I can’t answer the phone right now, I’m either busy and not here or I just don’t want to answer your call but it’s not you, it’s me, haha. Uh, you know what to do.” BEEP, “Harry! It’s me, Louis! Pick up, god, where are you! You were suppose to meet us half an hour ago to do the Good Morning London! show! I’ve tried your cell like five hundred times, but it must be off cause it kept sending me to voicemail...Harry pick up, your gonna get thousand more messages not only from me but management! Just hurry up and get here!” BEEP.
At first I just stood and went on with my business like I usually do, but when I heard the Good Morning London! part, I sorta jumped and got warm liquid on myself. I had completely forgot about it, I didn’t remember about it when I went over what I had to do the next day planning for today before I went to bed. I quickly hurried up and washed myself off in the sink. I ran back into my bedroom and quickly put on the clothes I wore yesterday. Running downstair, I took my keys from the island in the kitchen and ran out into the garage, turned on my red-orange 1956 Pontiac GTO corvette, put on my sunglasses that were sitting on the passenger seat, (my cell was also sitting there!) and drove down to the studio as fast as I could.
By the time I got to the studio, not only did I have to get in but realized that I didn’t have any ID or for that, my license on me so the guy at the gate had to just believe and trust it was me. I could of easily called Paul and told him meet me at the gate and get me through but thank god I didn’t have to. I quickly just parked my car in front of some park cars and ran inside. Some guy was at the door already.
“Harry Styles?”
I nodded as the man let me in, handing me my mic and other junk to put on as I jogged on in.
“Your on in less than ten seconds,” he said as we both rushed in, I could already hear the music start to play, it was one of our older songs, It’s Gotta Be You, Liam had already started and I quickly turned on my mic and sprinted to the sign that read ‘STAGE: RIGHT’.
“....girl what a mess I made upon your innocence
And no woman in the world deserves this...”
I gave all I had and bursted on stage as Liam finished up, running into Zayn who I kinda threw off before he caught the both of us. Louis turned around to see what was up and then saw me and I could see him relax abit. I quickly gave Zayn a nod in thanks and walked up to center stage.
“Can we fall one more time?
Stop the tape and rewind
Oh and if you walk away I know I’ll fade
‘Cause there is nobody else,
It’s gotta be yooouuu”
- ♫ -
“You missed the entire show,” Louis said to me as we were backstage, “I called like non-stop before Liam remembered you had a landline and even with that you still didn’t answer. And we couldn’t send someone to get you cause everyone was literally busy.”
“Sorry” was all I could fit in but it wasn’t enough for Louis-who's-been-all-stressed-out-with-wedding-plans-Tomlinson.
“God then you show up wearing something completely soiled! I mean what is that on your shirt?!”
“Louis, lighten up,” Liam said, handing the tech-guy back all the mic, earpiece and wires he wore, “I thought it was pretty cool how he came in just in time for his part, on beat, tempo, and all.”
“Yeah, Harry did good,” Zayn agreed.
Louis took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “You guys are completely right,” Louis said, letting his shoulders fall down; Level 1 completed: Louis tension released, “Hey, sorry Harry, it’s just all this stuff going on right now with the wedding plans and Eleanor and all,”
“Hey, no, its okay, Louis,” I reassured him with a pat on the back, “But honestly, I can’t wait to go home and shower, and put on some clean clothes.”
“Yeah, you look terrible,” Louis smiled, letting out a little chuckle. I could see Zayn nodding in agreement out of the corner of my eye, “and you don’t smell so good.”
“Oh, just for that, you want to go and get some lunch with me?” I asked, Louis playfully shaking his in rejection, I turned to look at Zayn who also was quick to shake his head no.
“Did you say lunch?” Niall asked as he came in eating a donut that he must of found at the buffet table, he was on his crutches trying to balance himself and the donut in hand, “cause I’ll go, I’m starved.”
“Yeah, Harry here was just looking for someone to pay for,” Louis quickly said, patting my back, “Looks like he found someone.”
“Sweet, lemme just bring back this mic and we can go,” Niall said, crutching off to find the tech guy.
I could hear the lads laugh from behind me, I turned to looked at Louis.
“Now did I really deserve to have pay for Niall’s lunch?” I asked, Louis nodded as he laughed.
“Just think of it this way,” Zayn pointed out, “his cast smells a lot worse than you do as whole.”
- ♫ -
As much as I love Niall to death, I knew I’d have to bring along my debit card cause I didn’t have the money to pay for lunch in cash without having to go to the bank. We got in my car and drove off to back to my house, and thats when I started to feel weird, and it wasn’t cause Niall and I were singing along to Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream like a bunch of idiots smoking pot, but everywhere I drove, I felt like we were being followed. Now it wasn’t like the sort of feeling you get when you're being hunted by the paparazzi but it was a different kind of follow. But every time I looked in my rearview mirror, no same car behind us, so I shook it off.
“Lemme switch into some clean clothes and get my wallet,” I told Niall as I parked into the driveway, he nodded and looked around in my car, I ran to the front door, and took the key from the flower pot beside the door and went in.
Once in my room, I switched out my clothes into a clean pair of blue jeans and my old Jack Wills hoodie along with a pair of I think Louis’s vans that he had left here last month. I took my wallet off the dresser and took one last look in the mirror before I went back to the car, Niall still admiring my GTO. I could already tell what he was gonna ask when I got in and turned it on.
“About as much as my house,” I answered just as Niall was opening his mouth, then I stopped to think a little more, “actually, I think more.”
Niall stared at me in disbelief.
“Man, Harry,” Niall sighed, “oh well, I would of done the same thing, it’s one hell of car.”
“It’s my baby.” I said, petting her.
With that Niall and I drove off to Nando’s, as it came to a unanimous vote, if Niall getting two votes cause he has ‘two’ stomachs to feed can be called unanimous. I parked on the side of the restantart, and we ate outside so I could keep an eye on my GTO. I finished up some fries left on my plate as Niall was halfway through with his second plate of Nando’s famous Peri-Peri.
“Hey, I’m gonna go pay for this upfront.” I told Niall as I got up from my seat and into the restaurant, he just nodded his head, as he ripped apart of his chicken and chewed it.
“Get me a piece of double fudge choco-monster cake from the front too please,” Niall shouted behind me, I let out a ‘kay’ to let him know I got his message.
“That’s £27.89,” said the waitress-cashier women, staring at me admirably as I dug into my wallet for my debit card and handed it to her. She smiled and took it.
“Make it a £8 tip,” I said as she swept my card.
“Of course,” she smiled, then handed me back my card and a slip of paper and pen, “sign here and here.”
I signed the paper and handed it back to her. She smiled then stabbed the paper on one of the pointy needle things that they use for I never really knew what.
“Oh and one of those chocolate fudge monster things.” I told the waitress-cashier, pointing to what looked like to be it from behind the tiny glass bakery window.
Again, she smiled and nodded.
“£4.18.” she said, grabbing a small paper-plate and a piece of the cake and put it in a box, handing me the box as I handed her the money. She took the receipt and handed me one and stabbed the other one with force throw the metal needle thing enough to make me jump a little. She smiled back up to me, it just seemed creepy now, that smile.
“Here.” I said to Niall as I came back, dropping his cake on his empty plate; deciding just to forget about the creepy waitress-cashier lady.
“Awesome, thanks man.” Niall smiled, opening the box and breathed in the chocolate scent.
“Yeah, you're eating that here, not in my car,” I told him but I think he had the same idea as he scooped a huge piece of the cake in his mouth and nodded.
“I gotta use the bathroom.” I said, and went off to pee.
“Your friend enjoy the cake?” the waitress-cashier girl asked, that same smile plastered on her face as I walked back into the building.
“Yeah..” I said, as I walked over to the bathroom, but keeping my eyes on her, that not really a good idea cause I ran into some guy coming out of the bathroom, “Sorry” I quickly apologized and fixed his shirt and patted him on the shoulder before I realized I was only holding him up, so I apologize again, let him go on his merry way back to his table and then I went into the bathroom.
After I was done, went out and ran into the waitress-cashier lady again.
“Hi, sorry I keep running into you but I was wondering, can I, along with a couple friends, get a picture with you?” she smiled, her face started to remind me of the one picture that everyone called the obsessive girlfriend, the freaky one with her eyes all bulging out and smile so big it could rip apart her face if she just smiled a little bigger. But my mind just cleared her as a fan and thats why she appear to be so weird, though in the back of my mind something was set in alarm mode.
“Yeah sure,” I said.
“Great!” she smiled, though she never did stop smiling so there’s no real need to mention that she was still smiling. She took my hand and led us to the back of the restaurant, “we’ll take it back here,”
I looked around, it was a small , narrow alleyway, trash bins next to where we stood, a couple of free flying flyers, soda cans on the floor and other junk.
“Hey, where are your friends?” I asked her, looking down the alley, “I don’t mean to sound rude or anything but can we hurry this up, I left my friend saying I was going to the...bath....room,” I turned around to see the waitress-cashier lady wasn’t there anymore, that it was just me. At first I thought that I’d made up this whole thing in my head and there was no picture to be taken, that I must of ate something to cause this but then I heard a ear-smashing screech from behind me.
“What the he--” I shouted turning around to see the waitress-cashier lady with her friends but they didn’t look like normal twenty year old waitress anymore, they started to, I don’t know, aged into wrinkles and stuff really fast until they turned into ugly old hags, and I’m not saying it to be rude when I’m speaking the truth. And their hair, god it had to be something I ate cause their hair, it wasn’t hair, they were snakes.
Don’t look at the eyes of left one. a voice in my head said.
“We love you, Harry Sssstyles, ssson of Apollo!” the middle one shrieked so loud it was deafening.
“But I’m afraid that we mussst take you out,” the one from the left said, I could feel her eye balling me intently.
“Uh, yeah,” I started, slowing inching myself to the door, “Obviously I ate something bad and now I’m hallucinating so if you excuse me,”
I took a dead run to the door and saw the three ugly ladies dash to me.
“Get him, Euryale!” the middle one said, the one that was once my waitress-cashier.
“Don’t let him get away, Stheno!!” the one from the left shouted.
“NOO!!” the one from the middle shrieked again, this time I swear that she probably popped one of my ear drums. She dove for me and caught me by my leg.
“Get off!” I shouted, trying to shake her off, then decide whether it was polite or not, I kicked her in the face, hopefully she’d forgive me someday, but I didn’t want her friends to grab hold of me. I quickly opened the door and ran back into the restaurant where everything seemed normal.
“There you are.”
I jumped and turned around ready to attack the person but then I realized it was just Niall.
“Whoa-ho, man, a bit jumpy are we now?” he laughed as I lowered my guard down.
“Sorry,” I sighed, looking behind him from where I just came from.
“What are you looking at?” Niall asked turning around to find what it was I was staring at.
“Nothing-nothing, man... you didn’t hear anything?” Niall looked at me funny and then shook his head.
“Oh wait, there was this really loud car shriek that I heard a couple blocks down, everyone stopped and stared in that direction.”
“Oh...well lets get going,” I said, Niall and I walking, as much as he could on crutches, out back to my car.