“Loren, wake up! It’s time to go meet Louis!” Gracie jumped onto my bed, jolting me out of my dream about Harry. I’d called my momma when we’d gotten back to the hotel last night and talked to her about the boys and hanging out with them in Atlanta. She was happy that I was making new friends outside of our town, especially friends that were boys – boys who weren’t Connor. She didn’t like Connor and I together and she knew as well as everyone else that we would probably end up married if no knight in shining armor stumbled upon our sleepy town, and soon. I rubbed my eyes and found that Gracie and Katie had already been downstairs for continental breakfast, and were completely dressed and ready to go. It was 8:30am. We weren’t meeting the boys until 11.

“Why in the world are y’all dressed already?!” I pulled the covers over my head, begging for some peace and quiet. We’d gotten back to the hotel around 2 and didn’t get to bed until 3. I was exhausted.

“We can’t be late!” Gracie jerked the covers off of me. “Get up!” She yelled while clapping her hands.

“Sheesh! For a twelve year old, you sure are bossy!” I sassed her and she rolled her eyes. I rolled out of bed and trudged to the bathroom. I found my toothbrush and brushed my teeth. “Hey, Grace, I’m about to shower. Do y’all need anything from the bathroom right now?” I hollered, wiping my mouth.

“Um, no. But can you do us a favor?” Gracie peeked around the bathroom door with wide eyes. She seemed scared.

“Sure, what is it?” I turned to face her.

“Can you do our makeup for today?” She spoke so softly that I could barely hear her. Our daddy’s rule was no makeup till 16. He wanted his little girls to stay little girls, but I knew how excited Gracie was for our day today so I agreed.

“Yes, but just a little. I’m sure Louis likes it when girls look natural, anyways.” I winked at her.

“Thanks, Lor. You’re the best big sister ever!” She skipped back into the bedroom area of our hotel room to paint her nails with Katie. They were so star struck and I thought it was the cutest thing. I closed the bathroom door and switched on the shower. I needed to sort through my feelings and thoughts, and the shower was where my best thinking happened.

Harry looked so heartbroken last night after I’d denied his kiss. And he had been so sweet to me. He didn’t even know me, yet he was so kind. Not to mention, he was so gorgeous. He wasn’t my usual brawny, cowboy boot wearing type physically, but there was something about him that just made me want to stare at him for days. Then there was Connor. I loved him, I truly did. But we’d gone in circles for so long. And he’d hurt me so many times. I decided to be around Harry again and see how he acted and if he flirted, I decided to flirt back. I needed to try something different, plus something in me wanted Harry, badly. He was just so irresistible.
-------------------

“Louis, I’m so glad you asked us to show you around! We’re going to have so much fun!” I heard Gracie shout as Louis greeted her with a hug. Louis and Zayn were the only two boys to show. I couldn’t help but be disappointed. I was looking forward to spending the day with Harry, but I guess I deserved it. The boys had come to pick us up from our hotel in a rental car.

“So, where are you taking us today, Gracie?” Louis asked as we climbed into the car. His eyes twinkled, and I could tell he loved kids.

“Well, we don’t get to spend much time in Atlanta. In fact, we haven’t been here since the aquarium opened up. So I was thinking we could go there! It is the biggest one in the world, ya know?” Gracie couldn’t contain her excitement.

“You, my dear, are a fantastic planner! How about we grab an early lunch so that we won’t have to rush inside the world’s largest aquarium?” Louis looked to all of us for approval. Everyone nodded in agreement. Zayn and I laughed quietly at his dramatic act for the girls.

“How about the Varsity?!” Katie suggested.

“What do they serve?” Zayn asked.

“Hotdogs and a whole bunch of other stuff!” Katie answered, just as excited as Gracie.

“To the Varsity!” Louis pointed out the window and made his voice dramatic again. Gracie and Katie went into fits of giggles. I picked up my cell phone so that I wouldn’t be awkwardly not joining in on the conversation. I hadn’t fully had the chance to get to know Louis or Zayn so I was a bit uncomfortable. They were very sweet and genuine, but I just didn’t know them well enough to carry on much conversation. My nerves may have played a role as well, considering I was in a car with two of the most popular boys on the planet. I scrolled through my Facebook account, trying to distract my mind from Harry. I wanted to ask where he was, but I didn’t want anyone to know that I’d noticed Harry’s absence. As if on cue, like he knew I was thinking of someone else, my phone buzzed with a text from Connor.

Can’t wait to see your pretty face tonight! I’ve got a special evening planned for us. Love you. –Connor

I brushed my fingers over the touch screen to respond.

Miss you, Con! I’m ready to see you tonight! Love you too. –Loren

I slumped back in my seat, ready to get home. I hated being up and down like this. I wanted Harry, but Connor was the one waiting for me back home. And I really had no chance with Harry anyways. I was ready to spend my afternoon with a bunch of fish, and then just get home to Connor so I wouldn’t keep being so wishy-washy. I had to get away from anything that reminded me of Harry Styles.

“So, I’ll bet you’re wondering where Harry is, eh love?” I jumped a little as Louis broke my chain of thought.

“Oh, um actually no.” I laughed it off, hoping he couldn’t tell that I was lying. Louis smirked, as if he could see right through my terrible attempt to hide my curiosity. He shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention to Gracie, who was sending me dirty looks for talking Louis attention away from her. I wanted to grab his shoulder and shake it out of him. He knew what he was doing to me. He wanted me to admit it before he’d tell me, but I was too stubborn to admit that I wanted so desperately to know why Harry wasn’t here. We soon arrived at the Varsity and got in line.

“Wow, this place is cool!” Zayn remarked, listening to all the “What’ll ya have?!” being shouted. That was the greeting you got when you ordered. It’s part of what made the experience so unique. We ordered and found a seat next to the window. We could look out over the city, and that was what held my attention until Louis’ phone rang.

“Yeah mate, we’re having lunch right now. No, we’re going to the aquarium in a bit. Are you sure? Okay we’ll see ya. Bye.” Louis’ eyes fell on me during the conversation, and he held them there as he hung up.

“Gracie, the other boys are going to be meeting us at the aquarium. That okay with you?” He broke his gaze in my direction and turned his focus to Gracie.

“Sure!” Gracie squealed.

“What about you, Loren? Is that fine with you?” His eyes flickered with curiosity.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” I shrugged, taking a bite of a french fry, hoping to convince him that I wasn’t falling for his games. I was not about to admit that I was beyond excited that Harry would be joining us at the aquarium. Not even Louis Tomlinson was going to pull that out of me.

We finished out meal and got back into the car. After a quick drive, we arrived at the aquarium. I was more excited than I let on. I loved stuff like this. We went through the admission gates and headed into the main lobby area. Louis tapped on his cell phone and placed it up to his ear.

“Hello, are you and the other lads here yet?” Louis sounded impatient. We were all ready to see these fish.

“We’re right here!” Voices shouted from behind us. We turned to see Niall and Liam, but no Harry. My stomach dropped and I desperately attempted to hide my disappointment. Louis eyes burned a hole through me as he tried to catch my reaction, but I wasn’t letting him have it. I smiled at him and started to lead the group to the first exhibit.

“C’mon boys! There’s a lot of aquarium to see, right Gracie?” I smirked at Louis and I knew he knew that I was onto him.

“Right!” Gracie grabbed Louis’ hand and marched behind me.

We continued through the aquarium after seeing tons of cool fish. We came across an open area with little manta ray pools. You could stick your hand in the pool and touch the manta rays. I was ecstatic. I rushed over to the pool and stuck my hand in, feeling the slippery animals. I marveled at how neat they were. I reached out to pet one of the bigger animals when my hand brushed someone else’s who was reaching for the same manta ray that I was. I turned to apologize.

“Harry?! What are you doing here?” I was startled, yet extremely happy to see him.

“I’ve never been here and I wasn’t going to miss out just because you turned me down.” He grinned playfully, but I saw the hurt flicker in his emerald green eyes.

“Sorry about that.” I elbowed him, hoping to relieve the tension in his face that he was trying to hide.

“Did you see the Beluga whales, yet?” His eyes grew large.

“No, not yet.” I giggled at his reaction.

“Well, c’mon! They’re the best part!” He grabbed my hand and led me through a few corridors and straight to the Beluga whale exhibit. “Aren’t they amazing?” He watched the huge creatures swim about.

“Wow, they really are!” I put one hand on the glass, watching how the creatures zipped through the water. One whale was racing around the huge tank. Harry and I both laughed as the whale tried to get the others to join in.

“So why did you just randomly show up? Why didn’t you come with Louis and Zayn or Niall and Liam?” I looked at Harry, letting my curiosity get the best of me. He diverted his gaze from the whales and began walking towards the next exhibit. I followed.

“I wanted to know how you’d react. Crazy, I know. I mean I barely know you and I’m trying to find out how you feel about me. I don’t know. You just seem different, Loren. And I don’t mean that in the cliché way. I mean that in the ‘you really are different from any other girl I’ve ever met’ way.” He looked down to his feet, almost as if he wasn’t sure of what my reaction would be.

“Oh. Well, we are from two completely different cities – if you can even classify my town as a city!” I laughed. I was glad that he wanted to know how I felt, but I didn’t want to tell him. Then I would have to bring up Connor and that was just something I didn’t want to get into, especially when we were both leaving in a few hours. I’d probably never see this boy again, anyways.

“I’ll have to visit this little town you talk about. I can’t imagine a town so small!” He laughed.

“Trust me, you’re not missing much. Sometimes I’d rather live somewhere in a big city, like Atlanta – where no one knows you or your business. You can do what you want when you want, and no one really cares. There aren’t any expectations here. It’s nice.” I admitted.

“So people in your hometown expect a lot from you?” Harry asked, as we stopped by another exhibit, full of coral and exotic fish.

“No. That’s just it. They expect you to fit in the mold of the town – do what everyone else has done for the last hundred years. Grow up, get married, have kids, work a farm, die – the cycle repeats generation after generation. I don’t want to live that average life, but at the same time it’s all I know how to do. Part of me wants to break free from it, but the other part of me knows I never will, so I accept it and I long for it. Plus, I want to make my parents proud. It’s just complicated.” I sighed, watching the fish swim around without a care in the world, finding myself a bit jealous.

“Well, everyone has a mold they feel like they have to fit – even I do. But what’s important is fitting the mold that you set for yourself. No one decides that but you.” Harry spoke so effortlessly, like he’d been working on that statement for years. It inspired me, but as usual I didn’t want him to know.

“You feel like you have to fit into a mold? You’re Harry Styles for Pete’s sake!” I joked.

“That’s just it. People get this idea of who you are, and you’d better not disappoint them or else you lose fans, your name is trashed, and management yells at you. And that’s all usually just for being yourself - just because you’re not who the people think you should be.” He looked tired.

“It must be tough.” I realized he was pouring out his heart. I was slightly uncomfortable because I hated when people were emotional with me. Harry must’ve sensed that the serious moment wasn’t sitting too well with me because he pepped up really quick.

“Let’s go see the dolphin show!” He grabbed my hand and drug me towards the dolphin stage. It was like he was 10 years old again. I giggled, seeing him go from adult Harry to child Harry with the simple thought of a dolphin show. We met up with the rest of the gang and found a seat for the show. The dolphins flipped and performed many tricks at the command of their trainer. By the time the show was over, we were all awestruck by the majestic creatures. We were the last ones out of our seats and we headed for the aquarium exit. We’d seen all there was to see, which had been a lot.

“Gracie, I am so glad you showed me around Atlanta today. I cannot thank you enough! That’s why I’m giving you tickets to come to our show in Tennessee – if that’s okay with your parents of course!” He handed me the tickets, which were complete with backstage passes.

“Ahhh, Louis, you’re the best! I love you!” Gracie beamed.

“Aww, love you too, kiddo!” Louis smiled. The duo had really bonded. It was almost as if they were brother and sister. I couldn’t help but notice it. Our brother and Louis were about the same age so Gracie really took to him. She’d said before that Louis had several little sisters, so I guessed that was why he was being so good with her.

“Thank you so much, Louis! This means the world to her.” I smiled at him, giving him a quick hug goodbye, but not forgetting his sneaky attempts from earlier.

“Loren, can we talk?” Harry pulled me aside.

“Sure!” I nodded. “What’s up?”

“Look, I know you’ve turned me down once, and I promise, this is not me asking you out. But here’s my number. Call me if you ever fancy getting out of that little town for a bit. Maybe it will help you create your own mold.” He grinned.

“Thanks, Harry! That’s really sweet of you.” I pulled him in for a hug, realizing that he’d actually listened to me, and wanted to help me, in a good way. The girls and I hopped into a car that the boys had arranged for us and headed back to the hotel. They got into their own car and made their way to the airport to go to another city, for another show. I watched Harry get into the car, and then I watched the car as it made its way farther away from us. The excitement that bubbled over in my body was getting out of hand. I couldn’t deny the attraction that was settling in my heart. The attraction for the one and only – Harry Styles.

Notes

Hope you enjoy! This chapter was mostly just setting up for what's happening next! :)