HARRY

The sound of a woman’s scream woke me from my sleep. I awoke with a start, involuntarily gripping the sheets on either side of me as I tried to catch my breath. As I slowly began to become more and more aware of the situation around me I realized the screaming was coming from an all too familiar voice.
Eleanor.
Great, they were fighting…again. Ever since we’d gotten back from the last tour it really felt like that was all they did anymore. Eleanor constantly complaining that Louis didn’t make enough time for her and Louis firing back that every time he tried to she always had something else going on. Since we’d returned to our flat a couple weeks ago it had been the same old argument day in and day out.
It was getting unbearable.
“I’m out of here!” Eleanor’s voice sounded through the walls and I closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable door slam that would follow.
It only took seconds.
Rubbing my hand through the tangled mess that was my hair, I sat up in the bed and readied myself to go check on Louis. As repetitive as his and Eleanor’s arguing had gotten, Louis was still my mate and I hated that he was out there hurting.
When I finally managed to stumble out into the living room I found Louis sitting on the couch with his head down and in his hands.
“What happened this time?” I asked and at the sound of my voice Louis jumped. He met my eyes and shook his head, letting out an exasperated sigh.
“Sorry, mate. You have to be so sick of hearing this shit,” Louis commented, feeling completely deflated, “Hell I’m sick of having to keep saying this shit.”
I plopped down on the couch next to him, “I just wish you two would work it out. Or just…” I paused, letting my voice drop off. Louis eyes met mine.
“Just what?” he asked and I contemplated lying to him about what I was going to say, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“Just end it,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. As soon as the words left my mouth Louis jumped up from his seat, turning to face me.
“Just end it? Just fucking end it,” he yelled, “That’s your fucking solution? This is Eleanor were talking about, Harry. The girl I’ve been completely in love with for two years. The girl that has been here for not only me but all of us. How could you think sending her packing is even an option?”
I held his eye contact as I chose my words carefully. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and I knew when it came to Louis, Eleanor was definitely a touchy subject. Rubbing the tip of my finger against my lip nervously, I finally spoke, “I know it’s not something you want to think about, mate. But it’s clear to me and almost everyone else that you two are miserable.”
I paused, gauging his reaction. He seemed pretty calm so I continued, “I know you love her and honestly that will probably never change but the question is are you in love with her? Or are you just clinging to what your relationship used to be when you were both happy?”
Louis eyes me steadily, considering my words but he said nothing. I waited patiently, giving him the time he need to respond and just as I began to think he wouldn’t answer me at all he finally said, “I don’t even bloody know anymore, Harry.”
He turned and walked back to his room and all I could do was sit there and think about the look that was on his face before he turned away from me.
He looked completely broken and my heart shattered for him.



STEFANIE

As the cab driver loaded the last of my luggage into the trunk I was amazed that I had pulled off packing for four months using only three suitcases. The past two weeks since the meeting had flown by and it was finally time to head abroad.
“So, this is really it?” Erin’s voice sounded from behind me, I turned and looked into the tear-filled eyes of my friend. I was going to miss her horribly.
“Not quite yet, not without one last breakfast at the Gee Whiz,” I proclaimed with a goofy smile. The Gee Whiz Diner was a great little spot on Greenwich Street where the service was amazing and the disco fries even better. Erin and I went there one night when I first moved to the city and over the years it had become our place. It was only fitting that we went there one more time before I left.
We jumped into the cab and I instructed the driver where to go, slipping him a fifty to wait outside for us while we ate.
“I can’t believe you are going to be gone for five whole months! What am I going to do without you?” Erin asked before slamming her fork into her plate of eggs.
I laughed at Erin’s dramatic inquiry, “It’s only four months and you’ll be fine! You’ll have the whole apartment to yourself and just think about how for all that time we won’t have one single fight about who gets control of the remote!”
Erin tapped her pointer finger against her chin for a moment contemplating my words and then slowly her pouty lip transformed into a giant smile, “That’s true…hey let’s get you to the airport now and I can run home and have my first Friends marathon in two years!”
Even though her joke was lame I couldn’t help but laugh. We finished our meal, hopped back in the cab and headed towards JFK International Airport. I had a nine a.m. flight on British Airways flight 160 non-stop to London’s Heathrow Airport and this was definitely a flight I couldn’t afford to miss.
“Call me when you land,” Erin instructed pulling me into a tight hug. I pulled back slightly before responding, “If I call you when I land I’m going to wake you up. It’ll be 9 A.M London time but it will be 4 A.M New York time.”
“Uh, duh. You forget who you’re talking to,” Erin said rolling her eyes, “Unemployed woman here. It’s not like I have to get up early for work.”
A laugh burst from my lips right as an announcement came over the intercom stating last call to board my flight; which was all it took for the smile to fall from my face. I was trying to be strong for Erin but inside my heart was breaking just like hers. I would miss her horribly.
“I promise you, Habib. You will be fine,” I spoke confidently, using one of our childhood nicknames for each other, “You’ll find another job soon and it will be a thousand times better then working for that tool bag.”
Erin snorted before replying, “I know, Papu. Have fun! I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” I answered honestly pulling her in for one last quick hug, I turned towards the terminal wiping the tears from my eyes as I walked away from my New York life to start the job of my dreams.

HARRY

“Come on, Harry you’re going to make us late!” Louis yelled from across the hotel room and I couldn’t help but laugh only a couple weeks ago he and I were having a heartfelt conversation about how much he loved Eleanor and how he couldn’t even fathom the idea of not being with her and then today, the day of the new stage manager’s arrival, Eleanor was the furthest thing from his mind. All he had talked about all morning was the fact that Stefanie was coming. He insisted that he was just anxious to start rehearsals for the tour but I knew Louis better than that. This had nothing to do with the tour and everything to do with woman in charge of it; which admittedly baffled me. I hadn’t seen Louis act this way since the first time he met Eleanor and I knew for a fact that no matter how many girls had thrown themselves at him since we’d become famous he never strayed, hell he never even spared more than a glance in any of their direction. He’d always been a one woman at a time kind of guy which just made his reaction to Stefanie all the more inexplicable.
I wanted my friend to be happy and the more time I’d spent around him and Eleanor lately the more I realized that she wasn’t his “one”. I’d spent my entire life looking for my “one”. For the one girl that would steal my heart and take my breath away. I know in today’s world it’s an almost nonexistent notion but truth be told I was a hopeless romantic and I believed in true love. Unfortunately, on my path to finding it, I’d both found and made a lot of mistakes.
“Seriously, mate,” Louis grunted, pulling me from my train of thought, “Let’s go!”
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” I chuckled, shaking all thoughts of romance from my mind, “I’m coming.”
I began walking towards the door when one of the magazines on the coffee table caught my attention. I picked it up and glanced at the headline, rolling my eyes.
‘Harry the heartbreaker’ was printed in big bold letters above a picture of me and my ex, Taylor. Little did the world know that I was the one that had gotten my heart broken. Taylor had ended our relationship right before my birthday and almost instantly began spreading horrible rumors about me. In the beginning I tried to tell my side. I tried to defend myself but regardless of what I said in any interview my words never failed to be twisted making me out to be the bad guy once again. In this world the truth doesn’t matter, what matters is what sells.

STEFANIE

As soon as the plane was safely landed on the ground, I grabbed my cell phone from my purse and texted Erin.
Safe and sound on the ground-S
I knew Erin had said to call, but I felt terrible calling her at four in the morning her time. Tucking my phone in my back pocket I boarded the escalator to the downstairs baggage claim area. Before I’d even found my luggage my phone chimed, apparently Erin had been waiting up for my call.
Thanks for letting me know you got there safely…. even though you didn’t call:-P –E
I attempted to ignore the pang in my chest as I read her words, missing my best friend already. As I put away my phone once again I began watching the carousal for my luggage, luckily my bags were the first couple out. Glancing down at my watch (which I’d already set to London time) I realized that I only had a few hours to head over to my new flat and check it out before my 3:00 meeting with the rest of the production crew. The cab ride to the Queens Gate Apartment Complex was located in Kensington which was only a short ride away from the airport.
I pulled the key from my purse and when I opened the door my jaw dropped. The flat was gorgeous. Decorated in a contemporary style it was exactly how I would have furnished it if I had done it myself. Apparently who ever decorated the flat for me had done their homework. I dropped my bags down in the foyer and ran over to the sleek black sofa, throwing myself on top of it. It had been long flight and I was absolutely exhausted. Setting the alarm on my phone, I close my eyes and drifted to sleep in no time at all.
I arrived at the meeting ten minutes early, allowing myself to get acquainted with my new office and board room before everyone else arrived. Surprisingly enough they were almost identical to what I had in New York.
When everyone began to arrive I was already perched at the door waiting eagerly to greet everyone as they entered. These were the people I was going to spend the next four months of my life with and needless to say I wanted to make sure that I started things off right. Once everyone was seated I began the meeting.
“Let me just start off by saying I’m excited to have the opportunity to get to know all of you over the next few weeks and hopefully we can all work together to make this the best tour One Direction will ever have. This tour is also a special one because we will have the pleasure of having Director Morgan Spurlock join us for about 5 months as he shoots a documentary for the boy’s upcoming movie. Before I go any further are they any questions?”
The meeting flew by in no time at all and everyone on the crew seemed to be open to all of my ideas and plans for the tour. From what I could tell they were a hard working crew and if everything went according to plan I had no doubts that the entire tour would go as well as the first meeting had.
ERIN

After a long day of job hunting I was glad to finally be home. I managed to put in five applications and had two interviews, both of which were for designers that nobody’s ever heard of so it wouldn’t be likely that I could gain popularity from working for them. I was feeling exhausted and hopeless.
As I returned home I closed the door to the apartment I shared with Stefanie and sighed heavily. I was feeling down on myself for not having a job and honestly missing my best friend horribly.
Just as I was about to pick up the phone to order lunch it rang. I was slightly confused when I saw Stef’s number because I knew she should be in her meeting.
“Hey, Stef, is everything okay?” I said when she answered the phone.
“Hey, why wouldn’t everything be okay?” Stef replied sounding a little perplexed by my question.
“No reason just thought you’d still be in your meeting. What’s up?”
“Actually the meeting went off without a hitch. I had to call you. I’m so excited,” Stefanie replied and I could tell from the tone of Stefanie’s voice that what she had been saying was completely genuine. I opened my mouth to reply when a beep when off in my ear.
“Hold on one second, Stef, I’m beeping,” I replied and chastely clicked over to the other line. When I heard the voice on the other end, confusion flooded my mind.
It was Chris, my ex and after the way we had ended things I couldn’t believe he was actually calling me. He had been terrible to me. I’d fallen for him fast and learned the hard way that people aren’t always what they seem. At first Chris was the perfect guy, always doing the sweetest things and saying all the right things but it didn’t take long for me to realize that the reason he knew what to do and say was because he had so much practice on so many different girls. Chris was a text book player and by the time I realized that I had already fallen for him…hard.
And needless to say the end of our “relationship” was the worst my heart’s had ever broken.
“Hey baby doll,” Chris cooed into the phone and I cursed my bodies’ immediate reaction to his voice. Chris had been terrible to me emotionally but as far as physically…that was an entirely different story. It was at that moment that something clicked in my head…after the terrible week I’d had, Chris was exactly the kind of distraction I needed. My emotions had gone a rollercoaster ride and maybe, just maybe Chris’s type of physical comfort was exactly what I needed, and this time Stefanie wouldn’t be able to stop me from having a little fun. That’s all it will be…fun. I took a deep breath to steady myself before answering, “Hey, What’s going on?” I said with a slight sigh as if to sound like I was not too impressed with his call.
“Listen, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the other night.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked trying not to sound desperate. I have to play this just right so that he doesn’t get the idea that I’ve been pining for him since we broke up.
“Yeah. You looked gorgeous, as always.” He said smoothly making me wish he wasn’t as charming as he knew he was.
“Thanks. You were looking pretty good yourself.” I replied lamely.
“It’s just a shame Stefanie had to interrupt us…” he trailed off waiting for me to defend Stefanie like I always did when he said anything to suggest she was too over protective.
That’s when I remembered, Stefanie was still on the other line…shit!
“Yeah, listen I’ve got someone on the other line. Can you hold on for just a sec?”
“Anything for you, babe.”
I quickly clicked over to find Stefanie was still patiently waiting, it was this that made me feel guilty for the lie I was about to tell her, “Stef? Can I call you back? My dad’s on the other line.” I said praying she didn’t hear the hesitation and shakiness in my voice.
“Sure!” she answered brightly, “I still have some work to do at the office but I should be home in about an hour, sound good?”
“Yeah, sounds good.” I can’t believe I just lied to my best friend and she didn’t question it for a second. I’m going to hell for this. I clicked back over and asked Chris, “You still there?”
“Yes I am.”
“Good…so…”
“So, getting back to what I was saying earlier. I was going to be in your area later and wanted to stop by.”
“Oh?” This was it, my opportunity to have some fun.
“Yeah but I don’t want to have a run in with your body guard. So if she’s home maybe it’s not a good idea for me to come by.”
Before I could stop myself I blurted out, “Actually…Stefanie is out of town…for a while.” Why did I tell him that last part?
“Really? How long?” he asked as the sound of honking horns and street traffic suddenly appeared in the background.
“Well, I mean she won’t be back for at least tonight.” I said not really wanting to commit to any extended time frame in case I decide not to take things past tonight.
We continued to talk for another ten minutes and occasionally I’d hear more street sounds in the background and every once in a while it sounded like Chris was becoming winded. Just as I was laughing at a joke he made there was a knock at my door. I walked over to answer it and much to my surprise Chris was standing on the other side with the phone still up to his ear. “Hey Erin I gotta go. I’ll call you back later okay?” he said being cheeky. I couldn’t help laughing at his joke as I put the phone down and pulled him in by the collar of his shirt, closing the door behind us.

STEFANIE

It had been two weeks since I’d arrived in London and needless to say the pressure of managing not only a tour but a world tour was more intense then I had ever imagined it could be. At times things had been pretty chaotic, but on the flipside it was also amazing. The tour schedule was great and I was completely awed by all the places around the world that I would be visiting, places I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be. Not to mention the incredible crew the company had hired for me. I hadn’t really made any friends here yet, but I was hoping that would come with time. As much as I hated to admit it there had been some days that were incredibly lonely but those were the times I would call Erin back home and magically my mind would be set right again.
After only a few days of being here, I luckily stumbled upon a gym that was located in the hotel that some of the crew and the boys had been staying in and at six A.M this morning that’s exactly where I was headed. After I pulled on my shorts and tank top and threw my hair into a ponytail, I headed to the gym and as I pulled open the door I was surprised to hear someone call out my name.
I turned around to see Liam walking towards me wearing jogging pants, a t-shirt and some running shoes.
“Heading in for a workout?” he asked once he finally caught up to me. I looked over at the door and back at him with a smirk on my face, “Nah, I just felt like holding the door for everyone.”
Liam looked at me perplexed for a moment and then recognition dawned on his face. He let out a hearty laugh as he replied, “Yeah, I guess that was kind of a stupid question.”
Instead of responding I just smiled up at him and walked through the door heading straight for one of the treadmills that were lined up against the mirrored wall on the far side of the gym. I entered my settings and just as I was about to press start, I noticed Liam stepping onto the treadmill beside me.
“Mind if I join?” he asked with a charming smile, “I don’t want to impose, I just hate running alone.”
“Me too,” I countered, motioning with my hand for him to go ahead. He smiled over at me again and then turned his attention down to the buttons on his treadmill. So I did the same, pressing start I began a slow jog allowing my muscles some time to warm up before I would kick it up a few notches into a sprint.
“Stef?” Liam called out and I turned to find him, still staring down at the control panel with a confused expression on his face. I pressed the button to pause my machine asking him if he needed help.
“Yeah, I’m not sure how to work this bloody thing. Usually I run out on the trails but with the rain this morning I was forced to come here,” he responded sheepishly. I leaned over to help him and found myself asking, “Do you run every day?”
He shrugged his shoulders, “I try to. Once the tour starts it can get a little complicated with all the fans and stuff but I do try.”
“Me too,” I agreed, then added, “Not that I have to worry about fans swarming me or anything but I’m sure once the tour starts I won’t be able to get much running in either. Lots of work to be done and unfortunately I’m not sure I’ll find the time.”
Liam considered my words for a moment.
“We should make time, no excuses.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You and Me…we’ll make a vow to keep each other in check with running once we go out on tour,” he supplied filling in the blanks for me. I pretended to consider his offer for a little while before finally responding, “I’ll agree under one condition,” I paused keeping my face stoic.
“What’s the condition?”
“That you show me some of the trails that you run on. I don’t know my way around and it would be amazing to get out of this stinky gym,” I finished with a smile. Liam chuckled, “I think I can agree to those terms…. In fact,” he stopped turning to face the large picture window on the other side of the room, “Looks like the rain has decided to stop. Why don’t we head out now?”
I grabbed my towel and water bottle from atop the treadmill and jumped down, “Lead the way.”

ERIN

The last two weeks have become a routine. I’d apply for jobs and go on interviews during the day and at night I’d meet up with Chris. I was always so excited when he came over and loved seeing his reaction when I’d show up at his place wearing very little or nothing under my coat, but then an uneasy feeling started to settle in as the days passed. I realized that most often we’d just meet up and hook up. Once or twice he’d stay the night but when he woke up in the morning he’d shower and leave almost immediately.
This afternoon he came over just after a business lunch. I opened the door and he quickly said hello as he entered my apartment and kissed me before taking off his shirt, pulling me towards my room. The way he ran his fingers down the valley between my breasts made me forget that just minutes ago I had planned to have a serious conversation with him about what we were doing. He lifted my shirt over my head and sucked harshly on my neck while I unbuckled his belt. Before I knew it we were both completely undressed, and as I reached my high I screamed out his name.
When it was over we both laid there for a minute catching our breath. “Damn babe,” Chris started to speak, “is it just me, or was that the best it’s ever been?”
I honestly couldn’t tell but he said that after every encounter we had. That was just his go to because he doesn’t know how to have an actual conversation. He looked at me waiting for my usual response of, “Mhm baby.”
After another minute he got up and headed towards the bathroom. He usually wouldn’t get up so fast and I was kind of hoping that since he was done with work early he’d stay a little longer and we could have that talk. “Where are you going?” I asked.
He looked back at me and said, “I’m getting dressed.” As if this shouldn’t be surprising to me, but it was.
“Okay well what do you want to do tonight? Maybe we go out and grab some dinner?” I said trying to sound casual. With Chris you couldn’t be demanding or he’d shut down.
“Sorry, I can’t,” he yelled over his shoulder as he grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen, “I have plans with the guys tonight.”
I was already dressed, standing in front of my mirror fixing my makeup when he came back in the room. He walked up behind me and placed his hands low on my hip. “That was fun baby.” Chris said before placing a kiss on my cheek. “I’m so glad I get to just enjoy being with you without all the strings like the last time we tried this.” He gave me a little pat on my bottom before grabbing his jacket. “I’ll call you later babe.” He called out as he walked out of my room, and left me standing there dumb founded. How could I be so stupid to think that things were going to be different this time? I felt even worse for not seeing it right away. Over the last two weeks we hadn’t gone out anywhere. Not one single dinner, movie or anything even remotely date-like. Stefanie was right for trying to keep me away from him. The blinders were always on when it came to him, and I was a fool to think that anything, especially that, had changed.

LOUIS

“What do you mean you can’t make it down again this weekend?” I yelled into the phone making no attempt to hide my annoyance. Three weeks! It had been three fucking weeks since I’d been cooped up in this hotel room getting things settled for the tour and not once had Eleanor made it out here. She always had an excuse, always some ridiculous reason why she couldn’t make the short trip over here to see me.
“Baby, I really want to come, but my mum needs me. She’s been a mess since Noah left. I just can’t leave her,” Eleanor cooed in the phone, attempting to calm my temper.
It didn’t work.
“Noah took off three weeks ago, El. There is no way that she still needs you at her beckon call every fucking weekend!”
“I’m not dealing with this shit, Louis! Call me back when you calm down.”
And with that I heard the click of the call disconnecting. Without thinking I ripped the phone from the wall and threw it across the room. I had to get out of here I couldn’t stand this room anymore. Grabbing my wallet off the night table I stormed out of the room, slamming the door as I went.
I loved Eleanor so much, but not matter how much or how hard I loved her I couldn’t help but feel like I was fighting a losing battle. All we ever did was fight anymore and I just couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that she was keeping things from me. I knew Eleanor’s mum long enough to know that she would never keep her from coming to see me. She had been the one that paid for the plane tickets for Eleanor to come see me before we made it big, when I couldn’t afford to buy them. She had always been the biggest advocate of our relationship and she just would never tell El to stay home.
The sound of familiar laughter pulled me from my thoughts as I exited the elevator and walked into the lobby of the hotel. The smile that formed on my face the second I saw her was beyond my control. Stefanie was wearing black yoga pants and a bright pink sports bra and damn her body was amazing. Since she’d arrived I’d never seen her in anything other than the business suits she seemed to have and endless supply of. Business suits that had left my imagination running wild thinking of what was hiding underneath them. As good as my imagination was, it hadn’t even come close to envisioning the perfection that was standing in front of me now.
A perfection that was currently being marred by the sight of Liam laughing with her as she jumped on his back, piggy back style.
Since when were they friends?
I was about to turn away hoping to escape before they saw me when Stefanie’s eyes met mine.
“Louis!” she yelled, waving her hand at me with a breathtakingly beautiful smile on her face. I watched as she tapped Liam’s shoulder and pointed in my direction obviously pointing my whereabouts out to him. Liam began making his way towards me with Stefanie still on his back.
“Hey mate!” Liam called out, reaching his hand out for me to shake, “Are you waiting down here for Eleanor?” he asked and the sound of her name was like a bucket of cold water being poured on me.
“Um…no. She’s not coming,” I informed him but turned my attention to Stefanie, “What are you guys up to?”
“We’re just getting back from our morning run,” Stefanie replied with a warm smile.
“You guys do that a lot?” I asked my tone coming out almost jealous.
What the hell was wrong with me?
“Yeah, every day for the last week or so,” Liam said and the infliction in his voice told me that he had picked up on my behavior.
“Right…well have a good day you two,” I mumbled quickly, turning and walking away before I could do or say anything else I would regret later.

Notes

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