Throughout the ride Lori listened to slow, soft songs that went with the tranquility of the night. She would smile if she heard Harry sing and when she realized that Harry’s blazer smelled like him. Buildings turned to trees as the bus came closer and closer to Lori’s home. The ride ended quickly and soon Lori was walking in the dark on the sidewalk, listening to Imagine Dragons. Night winds rushed past her and she tightly pulled Harry’s blazer around her torso, silently thanking him for lending it to her and becoming intoxicated from his smell. As she stepped in front of her house she took out her headphones and quietly unlocked the door. The dark, familiar house held an eerie silence so Lori tip toed to her room, not wanting to wake up her parents from their most likely drunk slumber. Most parents would want to know why their daughter was out at one thirty in the morning, but Lori’s parents weren’t the type to really be on top of things. After going into her dark room Lori threw all of her clothes onto the floor, except for the blazer which she hung on a wire coat rack. All of her jewelry came off one by one and she changed into a tank top and shorts. When she went under the covers she immediately fell asleep with Harry on her mind.
Paul was the one to pick up Harry after Harry had called him. When Paul picked him up they went straight back to the hotel. A lecture was given on how he couldn’t just disappear all the time even if he was an adult, but Harry wasn’t listening because he was too focused on remembering the events of that night. His schedule was always busy, always hectic, but today was far more insane because now he would remember what happened that day; that was the day he met Lori. There weren’t that many fans camping outside the hotel so Harry tried to be as quiet as possible so he wouldn’t wake them up. The boys were all upstairs hanging out with their girlfriends so Harry decided to let them have their triple date and talk to Niall who was sitting on a bed with his guitar. Harry began to change into something more comfortable.
“Someone came back late. Spend the entire time with Lori did you?”
“Yeah, it was fun. We got some food and then she went home.”
“Why’d you guys leave? Wanted some alone time?” Niall asked with a wink.
“No, no. I just saw Taylor so I didn’t want to start anything. That break up was pretty awkward and I was with Lori so that wouldn’t have helped.”
“So you like Lori?”
“Yeah, I really do. She’s lovely, cute and hot, funny, is a fan so that’s great, has a pretty smile and these beautiful brown eyes, oh and freckles. I dunno, I just really like her. Everything about her seems so happy and cheerful and she’s just really cool and chill. We both like the same music, also good. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her which is kind of scary, but yeah I really do like her.”
“She seems like a really nice girl, yeah me and the lads were saying we really like her. Don’t screw it up because if you lose her then we lose her. Do you think you’ll see her again?”
“I invited her to our hotel tomorrow, but I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
“I think we both know what you two are going to do,” Niall said with a mischievous grin. They both laughed at Niall’s assumption and Harry shoved his arm.
“Shut up, I don’t want to screw this up. I’m going to bed, nighty night my Nialler.”
*******************
Loud arguing woke Lori up, but it wasn’t the yelling that surprised her, it was the fact that her parents were capable at being up at eight in the morning. Not caring what the latest fight was about, Lori decided to get up and start the day by taking a quick shower, her parents wouldn’t be able to hear the water at the volume they were shouting at. After she did a quick shower she checked her phone to see what the weather would be like and she saw it was going to be hot so she decided to wear something comfortable. She brushed her teeth and her hair which she quickly put up in a high ponytail. Once she applied her eyeliner and mascara she gathered her phone, wallet, Harry’s blazer, and key and jumped out her one story bedroom window. Immediately she felt the sun begin to heat her exposed skin and she started to scroll through her songs. Lori decided to go to Christine’s house and soon she walking in the warm sun, listening to Fallout Boy thank someone for the memories.
"Wake up, Lover Boy!" Louis shouted into Harry's ear.
Harry pulled the covers over his head attempting to hide from the boys. His attempts were useless as they pulled back the covers and started to sing "Harry loves Lori," repeatedly. Slightly annoyed by their singing, Harry finally got up and started to get ready. They all got some breakfast and started to play soccer in the hotel room. Being singers didn't mean you had to be boring, so they would mess around and have fun.
"So Harry, when's Lori coming over?" Niall asked loudly once they had all settled down. All of the boys started whistling and began to pat Harry on the shoulders. He just smiled and laughed them all off.
"Um, I don't know. We didn't discuss a time actually. Oh shit, I forgot to go tell the manager to let her in. I'm gonna go do that now."
Harry jumped off the couch, walked out of the room, and went into an elevator. When he got out he began to walk towards the front desk and saw all the fans outside the hotel waving their signs and screaming until their throats ached. He waved to them, a huge smile on his face, and he started towards the desk again, but before he got there he heard a familiar voice call his name. Behind him was Lori and his smile grew wider as she walked towards him. As he began to walk to her the man behind desk with dark rimmed glasses and slicked back dark hair quickly stepped between them.
"Sir, should I call security for this young lady?" the man asked as he shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose. It was obvious he was annoyed with all the fans around the hotel, sneaking in and screaming constantly. They were ruining his hotel.
"No, it's fine, she's with me." Harry waved his hand for Lori to follow him into the elevator. "How'd you get inside?" Harry asked once they were alone inside the elevator.
"Well first this morning I went to my friend's house and hung out there for a bit and then her mom brought me here on her way to her son's hockey practice. My friend, Aaron, works here so he snuck me in."
"That was really nice of him and your friend's mum."
"Oh, here," Lori said as she handed Harry his blazer, "Thanks for letting me barrow it."
"Anytime."
They stepped out of the elevator and into the carpeted hallway. Fancy lights lined the pure white walls and the floor was practically spotless. Lori admired how beautiful the hotel was from the detailed trims on the wallpaper to the shiny golden doorknobs on the doors. She followed Harry into his hotel room and saw that the rest of the boys weren't in it. As Harry was putting something away in his room Lori sat on the counter and examined how the guys had made it look so comfortable instead of prim and proper like the rest of the hotel. It had some clothes on the floor, things were scattered around, and plates were in the sink.
"Where are the rest of the boys?" Lori asked when Harry came out of the room.
"Probably in the other room, this one is me, Louis, and Liam's. Sorry if it's a mess by the way, Louis is the messiest out of all of us and well there's three lads in here so it uh, yeah." Harry smiled at Lori, showing off his dimples and then he shook his head and swept the curls out of his shinning green eyes. "Come on, let's go see them."
Lori jumped down from the counter and followed Harry to the room next door. They knocked on the door and Liam opened it, but before he could say hi a soccer ball hit him in the butt. He turned around and kicked the ball back at Louis, hoping to hit him for revenge. The boys were playing soccer inside again and now that Lori was here they had an even number.
"Wanna play some football?" Zayn asked.
"Yeah, now the teams can be even," Niall added.
"Sure, I'll play."
The teams were Lori, Louis, and Liam against Harry, Niall, and Zayn. For over fourteen years Lori had played soccer so the boys were impressed by her skills, of course she wasn't trying all that hard, they were in a hotel room not the World Cup. Whenever she would score or doing something cool the boys would always say "Ohhhhhhh." Rules weren't really enforced so most of the time the other team, specifically Harry, would just lift her around the waist and put her down away from the ball. Playing soccer in such a care free way was relaxing to her and the lads as well. It took things off their minds. She was careful not to destroy anything, but she wished she could say the same about the boys. Things were thrown across the room and left on the floor, but at the moment they didn't seem to care. Finally the boys ended the game with the L team winning by two points.
"Let's go to the pool," Louis suggested.
"You're really good at football," Harry said while they headed back to his room.
"Thanks, I play on a team. We have a game tomorrow and I'm excited for it. I'll wait out in the hall while you guys get dressed and then we can head down to the pool."
Harry nodded and then smiled at Lori before closing the door. While Lori waited for the boys she put in her headphones, listened to music, and tried to distract herself by looking at the pictures on the hotel hallways. There was one of a calming beach with bright blue ocean waters and white, still sand and you could see a flock of seagulls in the distance, free as could be. Lori wanted that, she wanted to be free like those birds, she wanted to smell the salt coming from the ocean waves and let the warm sand fall through her fingers. Besides soccer games, she didn't travel much because she couldn't. The only places she could go were the ones in walking distance or if she had some extra cash she could take the bus or taxi somewhere. Pennsylvania was too small for her, she wanted out. Her mind was so filled with desires and her music was so loud that she jumped when two fingers poked either sides of her hips. She took out her headphones and quickly turned around to find Harry smirking at her. It was obvious he found it amusing whenever she got frightened.
"A little jumpy, are we?" he asked.
"Well that's kind of what happens when someone surprises you. Come on, the guys are going to leave without us."
Lori and Harry followed the boys downstairs to the pool and put all of their stuff on a table. Boy after boy jumped into the pool, trying to make a bigger splash than the last one. Since Lori didn't have a bathing suit she left her socks and shoes under the table and sat on the edge of the pool, dipping her legs into the cool water. The boys of coursed messed around, splashing each other, dunking each other, even doing a chicken fight. Little splashes of water hit Lori, but nothing too damaging. She laughed at all the guys; they were so normal it made her glad they were famous. Harry swam up to Lori, his usually curly hair was flat, wet, and covering his eyes.
"Why don't you come on in?" he asked cheekily.
"Sadly, I'm not dressed for the occasion," Lori said as she waved her hand over her outfit. Harry brushed his wet hair out of his face and looked up at Lori.
"You're going to the concert tonight, aren't you? All the lads' girlfriends are coming along too so you'll have people to talk to during the show."
"You don't have to bring me again, I mean, I don't have tickets. Plus, I'm a little intimidated by all of their girlfriends. Don't get me wrong, they're really nice and everything, but honestly, I'm kind of scared of how perfect they are. I'm actually scared that if I stand too close to them I'll give them flaws."
Harry laughed at Lori's irregular phobia. "Don't be mental; they're normal just like you."
Lori scoffed. "They are not normal; they're so beautiful it's scary."
"You're beautiful too."
"Aw, how sweet of you. I think you're also beautiful, well me and a billion other girls. So what time is the concert going to start?"
"Seven thirty, but we got to be there a few hours early and we have to pick up all the girls from their hotel so we'll probably leave in a few minutes. Do you have the time?"
Lori pulled out her phone and checked the screen. "It is almost two o'clock."
"Oh, we should get going then. Oi boys, we got to-" Harry turned around to find the other boys were already drying off.
"Sorry man, we didn't want to interrupt," Liam said.