Lori got up and followed Harry through the long hallway. Along the way the rest of the boys joined them and greeted Lori with smiles and hugs.
“It’s our savior,” Liam said as he gave her a hug.
Niall and Zayn also said hi with witty remarks about her saving them.
“Guys, let it go,” she groaned.
“You have saved our lives. We are eternally grateful.”
Lori laughed at the Toy Story quote. Louis walked over to her, one hand on his hip and the other pointed in her face. “Harry is mine! You can keep your grubby hands off him!” Louis did a hip swivel, snapped his fingers in a “z” formation, and strutted away only to come back and give Lori a huge hug.
As the boys got their mikes put on Lori chatted with all of them about how different everything felt back stage. When they were ready she wished them good luck. The moment they got on stage Lori heard the volume of the fans’ screams triple. Hundreds of girls’ dreams were coming true all at the same moment. The boys were energetic throughout the entire performance and would act goofy at the most random times. Girls threw almost everything on the stage; bras, beach balls, stuffed animals, etc. Tears came when they performed slow songs like “Moment,” or “Summer Love.” Seeing the show, Lori realized why so many girls loved them: they were normal, teenage guys who acted stupid half the time and loved singing. Near the end of the show Louis called out Christine’s name and said a “special friend, hoped you enjoyed the concert.” Christine screamed with everything she had and cried frantically. While they performed “What Makes You Beautiful,” Liam and Zayn ripped open Harry’s shirt causing the fans’ screams to reach maximization. Lori couldn’t believe they could actually get louder, but she laughed as Harry tried to hide his bare stomach which Lori thought was very fit.
At the end, when they all came off the stage, Lori went over to Louis and thanked him for doing the shout out.
“Anytime babe.”
There wasn’t much time for talking as we were rushed to the car parked outside the back entrance of the stage. Luckily the driver knew Lori was coming so there were six seats and she didn’t have to sit on Harry’s lap again. As they went outside the summer night air blew in their faces and ruffled their hair, but it felt refreshing to Lori. The six of them went into the car and immediately drove away, fans chasing after them. Lori looked back and watched the fans run until they turned a corner.
“Is it always like this?” Lori asked in amazement to Niall.
“Yeah, pretty much. Great though, these fans are amazing.”
“So where are we going?”
“A club to meet up with all Liam, Louis, and Zayn’s girlfriends. We’re all just going to hang out for a bit.”
“A club? Aren’t you guys under age to drink here?”
“Yeah and it’s terrible, I mean for God’s sake I’m Irish, but they have really good food so I’m fine with it and we’ll all have a chance to show off our dance moves.”
The boys took quick power naps on the way to the club; even Paul was sleeping in the passenger seat. Lori stared out the window and watched the buildings pass by. She had lived in Pennsylvania her whole life and yet she didn’t notice it’s potential. When the sights of the dark city started to bore Lori she started to take ridiculous pictures of the boys sleeping. Her fingers quickly pressed the camera button as she posed with the passed out band members, making funny faces as they slept. Paul’s stirring made her quickly put her phone away and act as if she wasn’t doing anything. He asked her to wake up the boys as they would be arriving at the club in a few minutes. She gently woke up each boy with no trouble, but of course Harry was cheeky the moment he woke up.
“I must still be sleeping because someone this beautiful can only be in a dream,” Harry said in a husky, sleepy voice with a dimpled smirk on his face.
Lori blushed and looked at the floor of the car as a small smile appeared on her face, avoiding Harry’s gaze at all costs. She silently thanked none of the boys heard his flirty comment otherwise they would have teased her and Harry like they did when she had to sit on his lap. They rolled in front of the club and all piled out of the car and to Lori’s relief there weren't too many reporters at the scene, but the huge bouncer was a little intimidating. Music could be heard even before they had entered the building, once Lori went inside the only thing she heard was the bass of the song blaring out of the speakers. Flashing lights blurred her vision for a moment and she jumped as a hand grabbed hers, but she quickly relaxed when she saw the owner of the hand was Harry. Another smirk appeared on his face when he saw how jittery Lori was, but he led her to the private room they had reserved to meet up with the boys’ girlfriends. They weaved through the crowd and walked by a large, muscular man guarding the door just like the one at the first entrance. Everything was quieter in there, but you could still hear the bass pound its way through the wall. This room was a little fancier than the rest of the club, a private bar, private restrooms, leather couches around the room for people to sit and talk without music cutting off their words. Inside the room were three girls, all very beautiful, and they all had one of the boys giving them their full attention. Liam took his girlfriend onto the dance floor immediately while Louis and Zayn stayed in the room to chat with their girlfriends. There were more than just the boys in the room, Lori recognized more celebrities and a few models she saw in magazines Christine had shown her. Christine was constantly trying to look like a model. Harry led Lori over to one of the couches and they sat down as a redhead waitress brought them cups of water. Lori saw the way the waitress looked at Harry, the same way every girl looked at Harry; with admiration. It was no lie that Harry was attractive, stunning green eyes, dark curls that fell the right way, full lips that formed into his infamous dimpled smile. If you could resist him, you could resist anything. Seeing him in person was different, it was like seeing a character out of a book or that really cute guy you see in the hallway on your way to math class. Lori wondered what it was like for him, what it was like to be loved by so many people, and she couldn't help, but feel something about him made him different. She liked him, but she didn't want to. They drank their water and started to talk more about music. Lori was about to say something about how she almost learned guitar when she paused.
“Something wrong?” Harry asked with a look of concern.
Lori snapped back to reality. “Sorry for spacing out, it’s just I know this song.”
Harry listened for a moment and attempted to recognise the words, but he just shook his head. “Who is it?”
“A band called Atlas Genius, this song is called ‘If So.’ I didn’t think they’d be played in a club.”
“Do you want to go dance to-” This time it was Harry’s turn to freeze. Lori tried to see who he was looking at in the crowded room, but she didn’t see anyone.
“Shit. Run, run, run.” Harry grabbed Lori’s hand and pulled her towards the exit, obviously trying not to be seen by someone specific. They ran through the crowd, dodging dancing people until they burst through a back door. Scenery blurred by as they ran faster and faster into the night, passing buildings and cars and people. Cold air rushed into Lori’s lungs as she tried to keep up with Harry’s long strides. He was quite impressed by how well Lori was keeping up and he was glad she hadn’t asked any questions yet, she just went with it.
“Do you even know where you’re going?” Lori asked while laughing.
“Um, no, not really.”
They ran and ran until they ended up in an empty park with a fountain in the middle, a few picnic tables, and two swing sets. Street lamps showered light, showing them mostly everything in the park. Lori sat on edge of the fountain, catching her breath and Harry joined her. When her breathing was even again she walked over to the swings and looked at Harry.
“These seats are funner,” she said.
Harry walked over to the swings and sat on the one next to her. “Funner isn’t a word.”
Lori shrugged and began to swing. “But I was right, wasn’t I?”
They swung for a little bit, either staring up at the black sky that was filled with stars or at each other; both of them equally enchanting. Harry began to slow down and Lori did the same, he got up, and hovered over Lori who looked almost childlike as she stared up at him from her swing. His longer fingers wrapped around the cold metal chains that held her swing and felt the swing move back and forth.
“Do you want to go get something to eat?” Harry asked after he did his famous hair shake.
“Sure.”
Lori got off the swing and they started walking around, looking for somewhere to get food. Most places were closed due to the time, but soon enough they found a diner and decided to eat there. When they entered a blonde hostess in her late thirties seated them in the almost empty diner. Only a few people were there including two teenage girls, an old man and woman, and a lonely looking guy by the bar. The same hostess was their waitress and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Both of them ordered water and started to look over the menu.
“So who were we running from?” Lori asked without taking her eyes off the menu.
“Um, an ex of mine. She was uh, a little difficult to break up with. If she saw us together she’d probably get the wrong idea and have a fuss.”
“Who was it? If you don’t mind me asking.” Lori added quickly
“Taylor Swift.” Harry looked up and knew Lori was smiling even though everything below her eyes was covered by the menu. She slowly sank further behind the menu when she felt Harry staring at her. “What?”
“Nothing, it’s just I’m not a Swiftie. She’s just not exactly my favorite artist. What do you think you’re going to get?”
“I think I’ll get a hamburger and fries. What are you going to get?”
“An Oreo milkshake.”
“A milkshake? Are you not hungry?”
Lori shrugged. “I’m just in the mood for a milkshake.”
When their waitress came back they gave their order and returned the menus. She gave Harry a quick wink and left, leaving a surprised look on Harry’s face and Lori holding back her laughs.
“So it’s true,” Lori said.
“What’s true?”
“That you’re a cougar catcher.”
Before Harry could deny it the two teenage girls came up to him and asked for pictures and autographs. They all posed together as Lori took the photos with each girl’s phones. Each of them was given signed napkins since there wasn’t anything else for Harry to sign. Their last request was that they get a hug before leaving so Harry gave them both a big, tight hug.
“Bye Harry, have fun on your date.”
“Oh it’s not a-” Harry tried to say, but they were already gone.
Lori just laughed as the food was brought to their table. They talked while they ate, Lori even showed Harry to dip a French fry in a shake. Harry made Lori laugh as usual and once they were done Harry asked for the check. Lori reached into her pocket to get her wallet, but Harry stopped her.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to. Like you said, it's not a date.”
“I want to.”
Lori leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheek. “Thanks.”
They left the diner and started heading to a bus stop so Lori could get home. Harry had offered to just take her to his hotel, but she just called him crazy and said she needed to get home. Cold air rushed at them as they waited for Lori’s bus to come. After seeing Lori shiver for the second time Harry gave her his blazer to keep her warm and then swept his curls out of his eyes.
“I don’t think I like the idea of you out on the streets so late at night,” Harry said, “You should just come home with me.”
Lori scoffed. “Yeah, stay at Harry Styles’ hotel for a night and then leave the next morning. Wouldn’t the press love that?”
“Yeah, maybe it’s not the best idea. Well if we’re not having a sleep over do you want to hang out tomorrow?”
Just then bright headlights blinded them and a bus was soon in front of them. The doors opened and Lori climbed the stairs, but when she was on the top step she froze and turned towards Harry. She nodded and waved goodbye as the doors closed. Harry watched her bus until the two small red lights were consumed by the night.