Unexpected
Chapter 12
Charlie’s POV:
It’s nearing 6:00 and Harry still hasn’t returned from going to the restroom. I begin to worry as the other boys finish getting their microphones checked and their battery boxes strapped to their belts. I radio Paul and ask him what I should do and he says to run and check to make sure he’s okay.
I groan as I drop my clipboard next to the wall and sprint up the steps to the Men’s bathroom. I knock on the door and open it to see if I can see him inside.
“Harry? You in here?” After I hear no answer, I become worried and my mind starts to conjure up different situations that could’ve happened to him.
He could’ve slipped and hit his head on the toilet or choked on his gum. I know its improper etiquette, but I slowly open the door and walk in to check around the corner and hope to God I don’t see a lifeless body on the floor.
“Harry?” All of the sudden the lights go out and I can’t see an inch in front of my face. I try to search for the wall and instead my hands meet a toned stomach.
“I knew you’d come looking for me, love.”
///
Harry’s POV:
I paced back and forth in the bathroom, running a couple fingers through my hair. Where was she? This plan I had crafted up after the Meet & Greet would only work if she got here right before I went on stage.
After our “moment” during Little Things, I plotted my attack on Charlie. At first, I saw this attraction to only be one sided. But after I witnessed the way she looked at me when I sang earlier today, I knew she felt something too, even if she didn’t want to admit it. My plan was to assist her into seeing how much she really wanted to be with me.
I knew she wouldn’t willingly come with me if I asked her to, so I had to find a way to trick her into being alone with me. I told her I had to use the bathroom fifteen minutes before we were supposed to be on the stage, knowing she would have to come looking for me once I didn’t come back.
I positioned myself right next to the bathroom door so when she peeked in, she wouldn’t be able to see me. I smiled and gave myself a mental pat on the back when I thought about how perfect this plan was. She would come in, I’d turn off the lights, and once she found me, I would shower her with some of my famous charm and have her trembling beneath my touch in no time.
I heard footsteps jogging towards the door and I pressed my back up against the wall. The footsteps stop and I hear a small knock followed by a concerned voice.
“Harry? You in here?” I can feel my excitement bubbling in my stomach when I realize that my plan worked. I stand flush to the wall as the door opens and Charlie walks in, slowly peering around the corner trying to look for me. I quietly tip toe over to the light switch behind her and grab the toggle between my fingers.
“Harry?” And with that second call of my name, I shut the lights off. I hear her gasp quietly out of surprise and her feet begin to shuffle around, trying to find the switch. I walk towards the shuffling and feel her delicate hands press against my stomach.
“I knew you’d come looking for me, love.” Her hands fall from my stomach, leaving only warm handprints behind as a reminder of her touch. She speaks up and I can her voice is laced with irritation.
“Harry?! What the hell! You’re supposed to be on stage in ten minutes! Why did you turn off the..” I didn’t allow her to finish before my hands found her shoulders and pushed her up against the cold tile wall. I bent my face down close to hers and brushed my cheek against her temple.
“Do you know how incredibly sexy you are? That damn headset doesn’t make matters any better. I love that you get to boss me around; it’s such a turn on.” I feel her shudder underneath me as my lips ghost down the side of her neck before leaving a soft kiss on her exposed collarbone.
“H-Harry…you know I can’t. P-please. Don’t do this.” Her voice tremors when my hands travel down her sides to grab hold of her hips, the pads of my thumbs massaging the bones jutted out above her jeans. I move my body closer and I position my face so it’s inches away from hers, listening to the erratic breaths escaping her mouth in the darkness.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about this. I saw the way you looked at me when I sang earlier. I know you wouldn’t make the first move, so I’m doing it for you. And besides, I can keep a secret if you can.” And before Charlie has any time to respond back to me, I lower my head and press a light kiss to her full lips.
I can feel her tense up underneath me as I start to move my lips, but as I continue to kiss her, she starts to unwind and lets me continue my journey of discovering the utter beauty of her mouth. My tongue lightly traces her lower lip, asking for permission to enter. I notice that she holds her breath in and hesitates for a few seconds, so I bring my tongue back behind my lips and I move slightly away from her face. However, I find myself completely elated as I find her arms latching tightly behind my neck and her lips forcefully meeting my own.
I accept her bold move and reciprocate by snaking my arms around her waist and pulling her in close to me, slightly lifting her off of her feet. I release a throaty groan as her hands slide up into my hair and tug at the baby curls on the back of my neck. Our mouths move wildly against each other and our breathing becomes choppy. I plant a hard kiss on her mouth before slowly taking her lower lip between my teeth and pulling gently. She lets out a soft moan that has me stirring in my jeans as I pull away from her face. I set her down slowly and hunch over to try and find her mouth again when I feel her arms quickly unlatch themselves from behind my neck and a hard palm coming in contact with my cheek. I step back in shock as Charlie starts shrieking.
“Shit, Harry! I told you! I can’t do this! You know I could lose my job!” I hear her start to feel for the light switch and she turns it on and whirls around to furiously glare at me. I’m still standing there holding my stinging cheek as she starts to pace in front of me.
“Don’t you have any self-control?! I can’t believe you would put my job in jeopardy just to try and have sex with me!” I let my arm fall from my cheek and cross tightly over my chest.
“I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure you just let me kiss you. It’s a two way street, love. And I didn’t see you trying to stop what was probably one of the hottest make outs I’ve had…ever.” She freezes for a second and I can see a light blush form on her cheeks before she shakes her head rapidly and throws her hands up in the air.
“I tried to stop you before! I told you I can’t do this! But you still did anyways!”
“Pssh. You didn’t want me to stop. I know you’re attracted to me, stop trying to deny this energy between us!” I almost regretted saying what I had said, because I could tell it had struck a nerve.
“JESUS CHRIST, HARRY! You’re not getting what I’m saying!! I CANNOT sleep with you! And even if I could, I still wouldn’t!! That kiss was a huge mistake that I have to live with forever! I’m not attracted to you and I never will be. You’re just like every other guy I’ve been with; narcissistic and can’t keep it in his pants. And that’s not someone I want to be with.”
I’m in shock as I let Charlie finish speaking. I have never had anyone, especially women, say things like that to me. I look into her infuriated stare and I feel a trace of guilt enter my mind. I reach out to touch her shoulder but she moves away quickly.
“Don’t touch me.” She snaps at me and I look at her with remorseful eyes. “You know, I thought deep down that maybe you weren’t who I thought you’d be, but you just proved me wrong. Good job.” She slowly turns towards the door and starts walking away. I see her stop and turn her head slightly, not making eye contact.
“Come on, you’re on in five minutes.” And with that, she’s out the door and I’m left with a pain in my chest. I replay what she said to me over again in my head and I run my hands through my hair in disbelief.
No woman has ever declined a romantic offer from me; I wasn’t used to rejection. My shock slowly fades and I become irritated when I realize how ridiculous this situation was. She 110% kissed me back, but she was trying to make ME look like the bad guy? That’s absolute rubbish!
Now when I think of her face, I only feel aggravated. She thinks she can just kiss me like that and say she doesn’t feel a single thing? Bullshit. I don’t need her ridiculous games. I could go out right now and pick up any single woman I wanted. And that’s what I planned on doing.
Charlie Cadigan was a thing of the past.
///
Charlie’s POV:
Once the boys went on stage, I huffed back to the Green Room and stayed there for the entire performance. I was so livid with Harry that I didn’t want to be anywhere near him. How could he just do that and think I’d be okay with it?! I know, I caved slightly and let him kiss me for a little bit, but it was just the heat of the moment! I didn’t know what to do! But once I got a clear head again, I stopped it instantly.
Now, my head was racing thinking about how if Jeremy might somehow find out. I couldn’t afford to lose this amazing job. I sighed and let my forehead rest in my palms. I needed a pick-me-up.
I sat up and reached in my pocket for my phone and dialed the number of the one person I knew would make me feel better.
“Hello?”
“It’s me..”
“Charlie? What’s wrong?” I let out a long sigh as I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
“Harry kissed me..” I rested my head in my free hand and felt wetness streak down my face.
///
After I had stopped crying, I finally told Emma the whole story. I told her about the kiss in the bathroom to our moment at the Meet & Greet and my naked encounter with him earlier that morning, which she got a good laugh out of.
“Charlie, you did everything you were supposed to do! You stopped the kiss before it went too far! Why are you crying so hard about it?”
I hesitated before I answered her question in a low whisper.
“Because…because I think part of me didn’t want to stop the kiss.” The other end of my call is silent for a couple seconds, then I hear Emma speak.
“..What?” I sigh heavily as I lean my head to rest on the back of the sofa.
“I know! I’m a terrible person! I told myself I wasn’t going to have feelings for him and I think I may now and I don’t know what the fuck to do! He makes me SO angry but I can’t stop thinking about him!” It wasn’t until I stopped talking that I heard Emma laughing at me.
“Is my misery humorous to you?” I question her with irritation.
“I’m sorry for laughing, sweetie, but you just have to try and look at it the way I do. Harry Styles is a hot piece of ass. Its 100, no 200% normal to feel attracted to him! It’s the way women work! There’s nothing in your contract that says you can’t be attracted to someone, is there?”
I laugh and shake my head. “No, there isn’t.”
“See? You’re fine, CC! Sure, he kissed you. But you did what you thought was best and you pushed him away. And even though you might have kissed him back for a few seconds, that doesn’t make you a horrible person! It makes you human. And by goodness, woman, I give you a lot of credit for doing something like that. Not many women could say no to a guy who looks like Harry. Be proud of yourself!” I smiled and felt my angst start to wither away; Emma always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better.
“Thanks, Em. But what do I do now? Do you think I stopped him from trying for good?”
“I don’t know. Maybe? I would just make sure to always be a little more aware of yourself when you’re around him. You never know when he’ll try to sneak up on you again.” I nodded my head in agreement and thanked her for the advice.
Because I still had some time before they boys were done performing, Emma and I caught each other up on the latest happenings in our lives. I told her about all the stuff I had seen so far on the tour and she told me about how she had landed a new modeling job for a big clothing company that I had never heard of.
She also revealed that she and Niall had been texting each other back and forth since the day we left London. I squealed with her over her new crush and promised I would try and get some juicy details about him while I was on tour.
I heard the door open and saw Paul standing in the doorway; he pointed to his watch and I gave him the okay sign that I would be coming in a second. I said my goodbyes to Emma, switched my phone off and jogged towards the stairway and down to the field entrance.
The boys were finishing up their last song as Paul ran me through the normal strategy to get them out of the stadium without running into large crowds of people.
We waited as they took their bows and said their thanks you’s and goodbyes. They all ran off stage and jogged over to the exit where we were waiting for them with a dozen security guards. I saw the all high five each other and laugh as they closed the space in between us. I could tell they were all sweaty from the reflection coming off their faces as the bright stadium lights beamed down on them.
Liam is the first one to reach us, followed by Niall and Louis. Zayn was bringing up the rear with Harry. I make eye contact with Harry for a split second before turning to walk with the group towards the shuttle.
As we were walking, Zayn came over and put his sweaty arm around my shoulder and grinned. “So how’d you like your first One Direction concert, babe?” I laughed nervously as my eyes flicker to Harry who has jogged up to walk with Niall.
“I’m sorry, Zayn! I had to miss it. I wasn’t feeling too well and I had to go lie down in the Green Room.” He pouted and trembled his lower lip and I laughed and tickled his side, causing him to jump away from me.
“Hey! I promise I’ll see it tomorrow night!” He nods and gives me a sideways hug as we head down the hallway and out into the parking lot.
I am so looking forward to taking a long, hot shower and changing into comfortable pj’s once we get to the bus. Today has been stressful in a lot of aspects and I really would love to relax before having to do it again tomorrow night.
The shuttle ride home is filled with the boys’ loud chatter about the stupid things they did on stage tonight. I look back every now and again and laugh at the stories they tell to each other. Every time I look back though I notice Harry silently staring out the window in the very back seat.
I can only assume his quietness is due to me yelling at him in the bathroom. I start to feel a hint of guiltiness build up inside me, but then I remember how I’m still mad at him, and I let the feeling slip away. He shouldn’t have tried to make a move on me and I think he knows that now.
Or at least I hope he does.
It’s nearing 6:00 and Harry still hasn’t returned from going to the restroom. I begin to worry as the other boys finish getting their microphones checked and their battery boxes strapped to their belts. I radio Paul and ask him what I should do and he says to run and check to make sure he’s okay.
I groan as I drop my clipboard next to the wall and sprint up the steps to the Men’s bathroom. I knock on the door and open it to see if I can see him inside.
“Harry? You in here?” After I hear no answer, I become worried and my mind starts to conjure up different situations that could’ve happened to him.
He could’ve slipped and hit his head on the toilet or choked on his gum. I know its improper etiquette, but I slowly open the door and walk in to check around the corner and hope to God I don’t see a lifeless body on the floor.
“Harry?” All of the sudden the lights go out and I can’t see an inch in front of my face. I try to search for the wall and instead my hands meet a toned stomach.
“I knew you’d come looking for me, love.”
///
Harry’s POV:
I paced back and forth in the bathroom, running a couple fingers through my hair. Where was she? This plan I had crafted up after the Meet & Greet would only work if she got here right before I went on stage.
After our “moment” during Little Things, I plotted my attack on Charlie. At first, I saw this attraction to only be one sided. But after I witnessed the way she looked at me when I sang earlier today, I knew she felt something too, even if she didn’t want to admit it. My plan was to assist her into seeing how much she really wanted to be with me.
I knew she wouldn’t willingly come with me if I asked her to, so I had to find a way to trick her into being alone with me. I told her I had to use the bathroom fifteen minutes before we were supposed to be on the stage, knowing she would have to come looking for me once I didn’t come back.
I positioned myself right next to the bathroom door so when she peeked in, she wouldn’t be able to see me. I smiled and gave myself a mental pat on the back when I thought about how perfect this plan was. She would come in, I’d turn off the lights, and once she found me, I would shower her with some of my famous charm and have her trembling beneath my touch in no time.
I heard footsteps jogging towards the door and I pressed my back up against the wall. The footsteps stop and I hear a small knock followed by a concerned voice.
“Harry? You in here?” I can feel my excitement bubbling in my stomach when I realize that my plan worked. I stand flush to the wall as the door opens and Charlie walks in, slowly peering around the corner trying to look for me. I quietly tip toe over to the light switch behind her and grab the toggle between my fingers.
“Harry?” And with that second call of my name, I shut the lights off. I hear her gasp quietly out of surprise and her feet begin to shuffle around, trying to find the switch. I walk towards the shuffling and feel her delicate hands press against my stomach.
“I knew you’d come looking for me, love.” Her hands fall from my stomach, leaving only warm handprints behind as a reminder of her touch. She speaks up and I can her voice is laced with irritation.
“Harry?! What the hell! You’re supposed to be on stage in ten minutes! Why did you turn off the..” I didn’t allow her to finish before my hands found her shoulders and pushed her up against the cold tile wall. I bent my face down close to hers and brushed my cheek against her temple.
“Do you know how incredibly sexy you are? That damn headset doesn’t make matters any better. I love that you get to boss me around; it’s such a turn on.” I feel her shudder underneath me as my lips ghost down the side of her neck before leaving a soft kiss on her exposed collarbone.
“H-Harry…you know I can’t. P-please. Don’t do this.” Her voice tremors when my hands travel down her sides to grab hold of her hips, the pads of my thumbs massaging the bones jutted out above her jeans. I move my body closer and I position my face so it’s inches away from hers, listening to the erratic breaths escaping her mouth in the darkness.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about this. I saw the way you looked at me when I sang earlier. I know you wouldn’t make the first move, so I’m doing it for you. And besides, I can keep a secret if you can.” And before Charlie has any time to respond back to me, I lower my head and press a light kiss to her full lips.
I can feel her tense up underneath me as I start to move my lips, but as I continue to kiss her, she starts to unwind and lets me continue my journey of discovering the utter beauty of her mouth. My tongue lightly traces her lower lip, asking for permission to enter. I notice that she holds her breath in and hesitates for a few seconds, so I bring my tongue back behind my lips and I move slightly away from her face. However, I find myself completely elated as I find her arms latching tightly behind my neck and her lips forcefully meeting my own.
I accept her bold move and reciprocate by snaking my arms around her waist and pulling her in close to me, slightly lifting her off of her feet. I release a throaty groan as her hands slide up into my hair and tug at the baby curls on the back of my neck. Our mouths move wildly against each other and our breathing becomes choppy. I plant a hard kiss on her mouth before slowly taking her lower lip between my teeth and pulling gently. She lets out a soft moan that has me stirring in my jeans as I pull away from her face. I set her down slowly and hunch over to try and find her mouth again when I feel her arms quickly unlatch themselves from behind my neck and a hard palm coming in contact with my cheek. I step back in shock as Charlie starts shrieking.
“Shit, Harry! I told you! I can’t do this! You know I could lose my job!” I hear her start to feel for the light switch and she turns it on and whirls around to furiously glare at me. I’m still standing there holding my stinging cheek as she starts to pace in front of me.
“Don’t you have any self-control?! I can’t believe you would put my job in jeopardy just to try and have sex with me!” I let my arm fall from my cheek and cross tightly over my chest.
“I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure you just let me kiss you. It’s a two way street, love. And I didn’t see you trying to stop what was probably one of the hottest make outs I’ve had…ever.” She freezes for a second and I can see a light blush form on her cheeks before she shakes her head rapidly and throws her hands up in the air.
“I tried to stop you before! I told you I can’t do this! But you still did anyways!”
“Pssh. You didn’t want me to stop. I know you’re attracted to me, stop trying to deny this energy between us!” I almost regretted saying what I had said, because I could tell it had struck a nerve.
“JESUS CHRIST, HARRY! You’re not getting what I’m saying!! I CANNOT sleep with you! And even if I could, I still wouldn’t!! That kiss was a huge mistake that I have to live with forever! I’m not attracted to you and I never will be. You’re just like every other guy I’ve been with; narcissistic and can’t keep it in his pants. And that’s not someone I want to be with.”
I’m in shock as I let Charlie finish speaking. I have never had anyone, especially women, say things like that to me. I look into her infuriated stare and I feel a trace of guilt enter my mind. I reach out to touch her shoulder but she moves away quickly.
“Don’t touch me.” She snaps at me and I look at her with remorseful eyes. “You know, I thought deep down that maybe you weren’t who I thought you’d be, but you just proved me wrong. Good job.” She slowly turns towards the door and starts walking away. I see her stop and turn her head slightly, not making eye contact.
“Come on, you’re on in five minutes.” And with that, she’s out the door and I’m left with a pain in my chest. I replay what she said to me over again in my head and I run my hands through my hair in disbelief.
No woman has ever declined a romantic offer from me; I wasn’t used to rejection. My shock slowly fades and I become irritated when I realize how ridiculous this situation was. She 110% kissed me back, but she was trying to make ME look like the bad guy? That’s absolute rubbish!
Now when I think of her face, I only feel aggravated. She thinks she can just kiss me like that and say she doesn’t feel a single thing? Bullshit. I don’t need her ridiculous games. I could go out right now and pick up any single woman I wanted. And that’s what I planned on doing.
Charlie Cadigan was a thing of the past.
///
Charlie’s POV:
Once the boys went on stage, I huffed back to the Green Room and stayed there for the entire performance. I was so livid with Harry that I didn’t want to be anywhere near him. How could he just do that and think I’d be okay with it?! I know, I caved slightly and let him kiss me for a little bit, but it was just the heat of the moment! I didn’t know what to do! But once I got a clear head again, I stopped it instantly.
Now, my head was racing thinking about how if Jeremy might somehow find out. I couldn’t afford to lose this amazing job. I sighed and let my forehead rest in my palms. I needed a pick-me-up.
I sat up and reached in my pocket for my phone and dialed the number of the one person I knew would make me feel better.
“Hello?”
“It’s me..”
“Charlie? What’s wrong?” I let out a long sigh as I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
“Harry kissed me..” I rested my head in my free hand and felt wetness streak down my face.
///
After I had stopped crying, I finally told Emma the whole story. I told her about the kiss in the bathroom to our moment at the Meet & Greet and my naked encounter with him earlier that morning, which she got a good laugh out of.
“Charlie, you did everything you were supposed to do! You stopped the kiss before it went too far! Why are you crying so hard about it?”
I hesitated before I answered her question in a low whisper.
“Because…because I think part of me didn’t want to stop the kiss.” The other end of my call is silent for a couple seconds, then I hear Emma speak.
“..What?” I sigh heavily as I lean my head to rest on the back of the sofa.
“I know! I’m a terrible person! I told myself I wasn’t going to have feelings for him and I think I may now and I don’t know what the fuck to do! He makes me SO angry but I can’t stop thinking about him!” It wasn’t until I stopped talking that I heard Emma laughing at me.
“Is my misery humorous to you?” I question her with irritation.
“I’m sorry for laughing, sweetie, but you just have to try and look at it the way I do. Harry Styles is a hot piece of ass. Its 100, no 200% normal to feel attracted to him! It’s the way women work! There’s nothing in your contract that says you can’t be attracted to someone, is there?”
I laugh and shake my head. “No, there isn’t.”
“See? You’re fine, CC! Sure, he kissed you. But you did what you thought was best and you pushed him away. And even though you might have kissed him back for a few seconds, that doesn’t make you a horrible person! It makes you human. And by goodness, woman, I give you a lot of credit for doing something like that. Not many women could say no to a guy who looks like Harry. Be proud of yourself!” I smiled and felt my angst start to wither away; Emma always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better.
“Thanks, Em. But what do I do now? Do you think I stopped him from trying for good?”
“I don’t know. Maybe? I would just make sure to always be a little more aware of yourself when you’re around him. You never know when he’ll try to sneak up on you again.” I nodded my head in agreement and thanked her for the advice.
Because I still had some time before they boys were done performing, Emma and I caught each other up on the latest happenings in our lives. I told her about all the stuff I had seen so far on the tour and she told me about how she had landed a new modeling job for a big clothing company that I had never heard of.
She also revealed that she and Niall had been texting each other back and forth since the day we left London. I squealed with her over her new crush and promised I would try and get some juicy details about him while I was on tour.
I heard the door open and saw Paul standing in the doorway; he pointed to his watch and I gave him the okay sign that I would be coming in a second. I said my goodbyes to Emma, switched my phone off and jogged towards the stairway and down to the field entrance.
The boys were finishing up their last song as Paul ran me through the normal strategy to get them out of the stadium without running into large crowds of people.
We waited as they took their bows and said their thanks you’s and goodbyes. They all ran off stage and jogged over to the exit where we were waiting for them with a dozen security guards. I saw the all high five each other and laugh as they closed the space in between us. I could tell they were all sweaty from the reflection coming off their faces as the bright stadium lights beamed down on them.
Liam is the first one to reach us, followed by Niall and Louis. Zayn was bringing up the rear with Harry. I make eye contact with Harry for a split second before turning to walk with the group towards the shuttle.
As we were walking, Zayn came over and put his sweaty arm around my shoulder and grinned. “So how’d you like your first One Direction concert, babe?” I laughed nervously as my eyes flicker to Harry who has jogged up to walk with Niall.
“I’m sorry, Zayn! I had to miss it. I wasn’t feeling too well and I had to go lie down in the Green Room.” He pouted and trembled his lower lip and I laughed and tickled his side, causing him to jump away from me.
“Hey! I promise I’ll see it tomorrow night!” He nods and gives me a sideways hug as we head down the hallway and out into the parking lot.
I am so looking forward to taking a long, hot shower and changing into comfortable pj’s once we get to the bus. Today has been stressful in a lot of aspects and I really would love to relax before having to do it again tomorrow night.
The shuttle ride home is filled with the boys’ loud chatter about the stupid things they did on stage tonight. I look back every now and again and laugh at the stories they tell to each other. Every time I look back though I notice Harry silently staring out the window in the very back seat.
I can only assume his quietness is due to me yelling at him in the bathroom. I start to feel a hint of guiltiness build up inside me, but then I remember how I’m still mad at him, and I let the feeling slip away. He shouldn’t have tried to make a move on me and I think he knows that now.
Or at least I hope he does.
Notes
UGH. I FINALLY finished this chapter. It took me SO long. But, I think I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I apologize for taking so long to post this update!Questions for the update...
Do you think Charlie did the right thing by stopping the passionate kiss with Harry?
OR
Do you think Harry's feelings for Charlie are completely gone?
Send me your answers! Hope you enjoyed this update!
Vote, comment, subscribe!
Much much love from me to YOU! :)
-Natalie Xx
Please updated ASAP pleas lov this story :)
4/2/14