All Again

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BECCA

Then.

Kelsey texted me early the next morning around 9am.
*Bobby wants to go away with me next weekend when we get back! Becca I’m screaming! Call me asap!*
I smiled for her.
I mentally calculated the time difference. It would be around 9pm yesterday for she and my family.
I shifted the clothes I had been unpacking since 8:30am and started punching in her number to call her.
Then, I heard a knock at the door. I wasn’t expecting room service so it had to be Harry or someone on his staff. I hung up the call.
I ran into the bathroom quickly and double checked my appearance.
I was dressed casually in loungewear and had absolutely zero makeup on, but I didn’t have time to fix it.
I fluffed my hair and once again splashed some water spritz on my face and then went to the door.
I smoothed my clothing and opened the door.
Harry immediately faced me. Standing in front of my door, he looked finer than ever before.
“Good Morning.” he said cheerily.
“Morning.” I said. I was sure my smile was growing impossibly wide.
He looked totally different from the night before. His hair was down and he was wearing a silk button up with his signature jeans.
He looked very, verrrrry handsome.
“Can I come in?” he asked softly.
I moved out of the way.
“How did you sleep?” he asked walking in the room.
“Like a dream. Even the beds are unreal.”
Harry chuckled as I shut my door behind him.
“I see you’ve started unpacking.” He gestured to the suitcase on my bed.
“A bit.” I said following him in the room.
He sat on the edge on my bed.
I stood by him and shifted my clothes away from him on the bed.
“How was your workout?” I asked.
“Good.” He said and stretched. “I needed it.”
He looked me over.
“Cute pajamas.” He teased. I looked down at my plaid pants and grinned.
“Shut up.” I said and he chuckled again. “So what’s on the plan for today?”
He laid back on the bed and rested his head in his hands. “Whatever you want.”
I could see the tip of his hip tattoos; the ferns that seem to point towards paradise and his white boxers.
He lightly yawned.
“You still seem tired?” I noted.
“I am a little. I don’t know why.”
“Well we can hang out here. I’m still a little jetlagged myself.” I admitted.
“Really? You sure you don’t want to go out? I mean, start our bucket list?”
“No. Let’s hang out here, get to know each other a little more.”
Harry raised his eyebrows suggestively.
“That’s not what I meant.” I said quickly and he smiled wide.
“I know I’m just playing.” He sat up. “So? Should I help you unpack?”
I giggled. “No. Just sit there.”
He looked around the room.
“Well I mean, you could turn the TV on or something.” He gestured to the blank screen.
“Fine.” I said folding a shirt. “Find something.”
Harry stood and grabbed the remote. “Have you ate?”
I nodded. “I still had some snacks left over from the flight so…”
“I mean food.” he interrupted.
“That is food.”
He shook his head no and turned on the TV.
“They have restaurants downstairs?” he suddenly offered, taking a seat back on the tip of my bed.
“Can you be seen in hotels?” I asked curiously.
“Sure. It’s a little different when we’re overseas. The laws are a little more protective of our privacy.”
I smiled. “Alright, well…let’s check it out.” I said.
“Cool.” Harry said, clicking the TV back off. He stood and put the remote back. “Let me just get my phone out of my room and you can um...change.”
I scanned my outfit remembering once again I was wearing pajamas.
I placed my hand on my hip playfully. “You mean you don’t like my outfit?”
“I love it but uh…” he stopped himself and smiled. “Yeah…” he trailed off, not answering. He looked adorable.
“I’ll change.” I said and he gave me a thumbs up.
We headed down to the restaurants. We had quite a few options since this was a five star hotel and we were partially connected to a mall. Harry browsed the menus in front of him.
“Okay,” Harry began, “We have French Fine dining, Chinese, International Barbeque, Casual, Italian…”
I cut him off.
“Jeez. You could have stopped at Chinese.”
He looked at me quickly.
“Is that what you want?”
“No, I’m just…it’s a lot.”
Harry smiled.
“Well, how about we try traditional Thai?” he suggested.
“Why not? It is Thailand after all.” I remarked.
“It is.” Harry said and we headed to the restaurant.
As we entered, I expected people to notice us, but no one even looked our way. It was 10am in the morning and far from packed though.
As we sat, Harry pulled his phone from his pocket and unlocked his screen.
He began to text someone.
In a lot of ways, he was like a regular teenage boy; he seemed hooked on his phone.
I picked up a menu and began to browse as he texted for a few minutes.
“Sorry.” he said finally as I decided on a entree. “That was rude.”
I looked up at Harry. His hands were now resting on the table and I had his full attention.
I smiled.
“No I get it.”
“It was work. Management just emailed me my new schedule and I needed to address some things. There’s some events that I’d rather not go too.”
“Oh. Is it harder being in a band?”
“How so?”
“Well, because you have to depend on other people. It‘s not entirely up to you.”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t really know. This is the only way we’ve done things. We do get the option, like I just did, to turn things down.”
“What did they want you to do?”
“Go to an event. Show my face. Some of the guys aren’t here, so they want me to go, but I’m not into all that stuff. Clubs and parties is the guys scene.”
“The guys…I completely forgot about them.” I said honestly. I had been so consumed in Harry the last few weeks, that I often forgot about them.
Harry smiled.
“You’ll meet them. It’s just we’re all spread out right now. Liam and Niall are here today if you want to see them.”
“Why do you guys spread out?”
“Different interests.” Harry said simply. “In the beginning we use to do everything together, but now, we kind of all venture and do our own things. Liam and Louis are pretty close so they spend a lot of time together but…the rest of us just kind of see each other when we can.”
“Who are you closest too?”
“Umm…all of them. I talk to Niall the most when we’re on breaks, and Zayn quite a bit on tour. I like to run things by him.”
“Oh.” I said as Harry’s phone buzzed.
He glanced at it briefly and then looked at me.
“I’m going to ignore that.”
I signaled for him to go ahead. “Answer it. Like I said, I’m just here. Do what you would normally do.”
Harry leaned on the table crossing his arms.
“Nah. I’d rather talk to you.”
I smiled and lifted my menu.
“Have you talked to Nadine lately?” I asked casually.
Harry smiled and looked at me curiously.
“Why do you like to talk about her?”
I chuckled. “I don’t. I’m just…I’m making conversation.”
“Well let‘s talk about you then,” he sat back, “ Besides, I haven’t talked to her. She’s kind of mad at me.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I didn’t really try to talk to her. I have so much going on, I didn’t really have time for all that.”
I was slightly confused, after all, we spoke a lot now. How would he have time to talk to me but not her?
Plus, he used past tense. Did they not talk anymore?
I started to respond, when our waiter came over and interrupted. She quickly took our drinks-both water- and left.
“Do you know what you want?” I asked as she walked away.
Harry shrugged. “I’m not really hungry. I ate earlier.”
“Then we can leave. I mean I told you I had snacks.” I offered gently.
“No.” he said. “We’re going to sit here and eat real food, not airplane snacks.”
I laughed.
“You’re kind of pushy.” I teased.
“No.” he said shaking his head in disagreement. “I just care.”
He said the statement so casually and turned away, but I felt my stomach do a small flip.
He cared.
About me.
“So what about you?” he asked.
“What about me?”
He turned back to me. “Well you never talk about a guy, are you dating anyone?”
I swallowed. Oh. We were going to have this conversation.
This was going to be embarrassing.
“Uh no.” I said quickly.
“Why not?” he asked looking back at me.
I stared in his green eyes and paused. I don’t think I could ever explain how intense his stare was. When he looked at you, he looked at you. It was like he saw every part of you and he wasn‘t even trying.
“I just don’t.”
He smiled slowly. “Is it because of school?”
I nodded no. “I just don’t date.”
“Ever?” he asked in shock.
“I mean I’ve had boyfriends of course…but, I’m just not interested in anybody right now.”
He continued to look at me for a few seconds but said nothing more.
After a few moments, he picked up the menu.
“I think I want some noodles.” he said suddenly.
He moved on so quickly from the conversation that I got whiplash. His mind must have been forever spinning. I learned quickly that he didn’t get bored easily and he easily entertained himself. It was probably why he was so charming and interesting. You just never knew what he was going to do.
I picked up my menu and confirmed my order.
After the hostess came back with our waters, we placed our orders and settled into a conversation about the tour.
It was clear Harry loved his fans.
He told me stories of fan signs and funny concert experiences.
“I get high on that stage ya know? Nothing thus far has been able to match it.”
“Nothing?” I asked curiously.
“Nothing.” he said making a bottom line with his hand. “It’ll be interesting in the coming years to see if I find something I love that much, but I doubt it.”
“You do seem like you love it.” I remarked.
He smiled.
“So who’s your favorite band? I never asked you.”
I shrugged. “I listen to so many artists, it would be unfair to say.”
“Oh come on, there has got to be someone.”
I shook my head no. “There isn’t. I love everybody.”
He pushed his lips out, thinking. “Okay…favorite song then?”
“Don’t have one.” I said with a laugh and he playfully rolled his eyes.
“I do really like James Bay right now though-” I added quickly.
His eyes lit up. “Which song?”
“Scars. It's on daily rotation lately.”
He smiled and nodded proudly. “Nice. I like you a little bit more now.”
We both chuckled.
Our food came shortly after and our conversation continued to flow easily.
As we got up to leave, Harry paid-I protested-and we headed back to my room.
When we entered, Harry settled back turning on the TV and I continued to unpack.
Harry watched the TV but he seemed to watch me more.
“You do realize we will be leaving again in a few days right?” He asked as I placed all my items around the room, arranging it as if it was my personal bedroom.
I smiled. “I do, but why shouldn’t I make it homey?”
Harry rested his head on his right arm and laid back against the pillows. “I’m not sure homey is a word.”
“It definitely is.”
He sat up quickly and swiped his phone. “I play a lot of scrabble. I’ll look it up.”
I giggled. “You would play a lot of scrabble.”
He looked up at me with a playful scowl.
“I’m offended. Scrabble is an excellent game.”
“It’s boring.” I teased though I kept my voice serious.
“Alright.” he said jumping up suddenly. “We’re going to play. I have a scrabble board in my room. I’m going to change your mind.”
I laughed a little louder.
“When someone says something is boring, that doesn’t mean they want to do it.” I teased.
“Actually it means they should, so they can learn to like it.” he said and winked.
I lifted the curling iron in my hand and showed him. “Sorry, I’m unpacking.”
He came over and reached for the curling iron. I playfully moved it out of his grasp and he reached for it again. I moved it further away and suddenly we began a small tussle for it.
We both giggled loudly as I jumped on the bed and ran around the room, trying to maneuver away from him. When he finally caught me, we both fell landing on the floor.
As we landed on the floor, our legs entwined and he ended up on top of me.
Using those long arms, he successfully pulled it from my hands and moved it away.
I was so caught up in the moment that I couldn’t even take in what had happened.
He was pretty much lying on me; our faces only inches away.
“Got it!” he smiled looking down at me.
“Punk!” I teased sticking my tongue out.
He gently laughed as he pulled himself off of me, and sat on his knees. He faced me. He still had the curling iron lifted high above his head.
“Do you want it back?” he asked wiggling it around. I gathered on my elbows, and prepared a response.
He seemed so happy and silly in this moment that I didn’t want it to end.
But it had too.
A small vibrate in his pocket broke our attention.
He rolled his eyes. “This bloody phone.”
He pulled it out of his tight pocket, without looking at the caller.
“Hello?”
Then his face softened.
“Hey!” he said warmly.
“It’s my sister.” he mouthed down to me.
He climbed off his knees and I reached for my curling iron.
He moved it out of my reach quickly and I smiled.
He stood.
“No, I’m not in my room.” he said after a few seconds into the phone.
I watched him as he listened to his sister and stood over me. I had to fight myself and not allow my eyes to trail down to the slight budge I saw in his pants as he towered over me.
He was completely oblivious to the large tennis ball in the center of his pants.
“I don’t know.” he said and then put his hand over the phone.
“Do you want to meet my sister later?” he asked quietly.
I shrugged. “Sure.” I said.
“Cool.” he said and then turned back to the phone. “I’ll meet you later in the afternoon. I’ll probably be in my room all day or across the hall if you need me before then.”
She said something and he listened, then he hung up the phone.
“Alright.” he said with a mischievous smile. “Now, let me go get my scrabble board.”
****************************
“Okay, that is definitely not a word!” Harry exclaimed.
I looked down at the board again and the word I had just added.
“SMH. Shaking my head.” I argued, pointing it out. “It’s an abbreviation, but a word!”
Harry laughed. “This is not texting Becca. It doesn’t count.”
He went and moved my pieces off the board. I scoffed and reached to move one of his.
“Well then Bogan doesn’t count.” I said flicking the pieces off the board.
“Bogan is a word.” he said taking the pieces from the side of the table and trying to put them back.
“It is not Harry.”
“Look it up.” he demanded.
“You look it up! What does it even mean?”
He grinned, his dimple so wide it could swallow me.
“I don’t remember.” he said picking up his phone. We had been arguing over acceptable words this whole game.
As Harry tapped on his phone, I fixed my S.M.H. that he had messed up.
“You just wait,” he mumbled. “It’s a word.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m still leading either way.”
Harry looked up from his phone. “That’s because you’re cheating!”
“I am not!” I exclaimed and giggled. “You’re just mad because I’m beating you at your own game.”
He rubbed his nose and shook his head.
“Okay. Bogan: slang word that can be used to describe a person with a lower working class background.”
I threw my hands up in defeat.
“How the hell do you even know that word?”
“I travel.” he said and winked. “And so…Bogan stays.” he said fixing his letters back.
“And shaking my head stays.” I repeated right after him.
“I’m shaking my head at you.” he said and I smiled.
I began to rearrange another word when we heard a knock at the door. We had decided it would be easier to play in Harry’s room so it must have been someone for him.
“Oh, hang on.” Harry said jumping up. His long legs almost tangled him in the chair and he almost fell.
I held back my laugh, biting my lip. He was a toddler, in a lanky adult body.
He just smiled at me as he walked to the door. “Don’t laugh at my clumsiness.”
I put my hands up in surrender. “I said nothing.”
He opened the door and a muscular well- built man looked back at us.
“Harry?” he called out with a big smile as he walked in the room.
“Hey Mark.”
He looked past Harry noticing me.
“Oh Mark,” Harry said turning as well. “This is Becca.”
I stood as the Mark guy came fully in the room and we shook hands.
“This is my trainer Mark.” Harry quickly explained.
“Oh.” I said. “Well I hope you gave him a good workout today because he’s being very mean to me.” I teased.
Harry sneered. “I’m an Angel.” he said and Mark smiled.
He hit his chest. “I wanted to show you something quick, but I’ll come back.”
“No it’s fine. What’s up?” Harry asked.
Mark pulled out his phone and handed it to Harry. “Read that.”
Harry took the phone and looked at the screen.
Mark looked at me.
“So Becca, how do you like Thailand thus far?”
“It’s warm.” I remarked.
He smiled. “You must live somewhere cold.”
“Only some of the year. I go to school in New York.”
“Oh yeah? How did you and Harry meet?”
“Starbucks.” Harry said, not taking his eyes off the phone but I turned to him in shock.
I didn’t know if he was being sarcastic about my mom‘s shop, lying, or if he really remembered the first time we had seen each other.
Mark must have read my expression because he turned to Harry too and Harry looked up.
“In New York.” he finished and then smiled.
“You remember that?“ I asked in shock. I didn’t even know he really saw me.
He shrugged me off. “I’m good with faces.” he said and continued reading whatever Mark had put before him.
“Oh well cool.” Mark said. He asked me a few more questions while Harry finished up, but I was still going over Harry’s answer in my mind. He had been with Nadine and surrounded by throngs of people, I couldn’t believe he remembered me.
After Harry finished reading, he handed the phone back to Mark.
“That’s funny.” he said and Mark smiled.
“Told ya.”
“Have you seen the new schedule?” Harry asked, switching the conversation.
“Course.”
“So tomorrow and then when?” Harry asked and Mark answered. They spoke a foreign language as they discussed upcoming dates and times. For what, I wasn’t sure.
“Alright great.” Harry said finally cueing Mark to leave.
Mark gave me a smile and waved.
“Nice meeting you.” he said. “Maybe I’ll see you again?” he said and then looked at Harry. His words were posed as a question.
Harry quickly turned as if he didn‘t hear the question.
I caught it.
I had a feeling most girls didn’t see a second or third visit.
I didn’t know how I felt about that yet.
I went back to my seat, sitting back down at the scrabble board. Mark left and then Harry came over, but didn’t sit.
“I think we have exhausted this game.”
I smiled. “Oh no, the Scrabble king is ending the game?”
“I’m pausing it.” he said finally sitting.
“Kay.” I said playing with the letters left.
“So are you ready for some Vampire Diaries?” I asked.
Harry’s eyes widened. “You didn’t actually bring it did you?”
I smiled wide. “Maybe.”
“Oh gosh.” he muttered. He started removing pieces from the board. “Well…I guess, we’ll be fair. Since you played a game, I will watch an episode of the Vampire Diaries.”
“Aww, that’s sweet, but I didn’t really bring it.” I reassured softly. “I wouldn’t actually do that to you.”
“I don’t mind.” he said. “I have a laptop.” he offered. “And a cord. Is it on Netflix or something?”
“It is. But we don’t have to watch it.” I emphasized again.
“No.” he said standing up. He moved to a bag in his room. “Friendship is 50/50. I’ll watch one episode.” he said with a small smile.
“Well I don’t know Harry. I don’t think you’re ready to get hooked. You don’t exactly get much time to do things and I don’t want you on stage dreaming of a show you can’t watch.”
He grinned wider. “Well I guess I’ll have to watch it before the show then huh?” he said, pulling his laptop out of his bag and I smiled.
He plugged up his laptop into the hotel TV, while I cleaned up our Scrabble game.
He actually seemed quite eager to watch the show.
“Whose the star?” he asked plopping on the bed. “I forget her name.”
“Nina Dobrev?” I guessed.
“Yeah her.” he said as I laid beside him. “She’s beautiful.”
“Oh, the truth comes out. You just want to watch her.” I said as I rested my back and head on his headboard. He was laying a little lower than me, propped on his elbow.
“No.” he said simply as the show began.
I watched him more than the show, sneaking glances.
The outline of his body and face, the way he moved his teeth over his lips when he was in deep thought, the way he smiled and the way his eyes lit up when he was amused, the way he liked to relax, the way he rested his head on the pillow and seemed at complete peace.
I was as well.
In the entire time I had been there, I had never been more comfortable than I was at that moment. He was settling with me and I was settling into him.
“Oh here we go.” he said suddenly breaking my thoughts of the handsome boy beside me.
I looked at him so our eyes met this time.
He turned to me with a smug grin.
“It’s him isn’t it?”
I turned and looked at the screen as Paul Wesley appeared. He and Nina Dobrev were meeting for the first time.
“Oh pay attention.” I said quickly. “This is important.”
He kept his eyes on me instead. “It’s him isn’t him? He’s the reason you watch this show? You must think he‘s hot.”
I smirked. “Trust me, this show is filled with hot men. He’s not the only reason.”
Harry smiled, continuing to look at me.
“So is he your type?”
“My type?” I questioned.
“Yeah.” Harry said briefly glancing at the screen and then back at me.
“No. I think the guy who plays his brother is hotter.” And then I leaned in closer to Harry. “He has gorgeous eyes.” I said purposely swooning.
Harry looked at me in amusement. “What color are they?”
“Green.” I said.
Harry looked offended. “I have green eyes.”
“Your eyes suck.” I said playfully but I joked.
Harry’s eyes were beyond beautiful and I would rather stare at him than Ian Somerhalder any day.
Harry rolled his eyes, faking annoyance and turned back to the screen.
He crossed his arms and pouted.
“Aww.” I said looking down at him.
His eyes didn’t meet mine.
I reached and caressed his cheek, trailing my hand down his jawline.
“I still love you though.” I said playfully.
Suddenly, Harry turned to me and looked at my hand as if it was a foreign object.
He looked at me so seriously that I instantly thought I had hurt him.
“Did I shock you?” I asked quickly. He didn’t respond, looking at my hands for a few seconds more and then turning back to the TV.
“No.” he said quietly.
I continued to watch him as he cleared his throat and sat up suddenly.
He shifted completely away from me and didn’t say another word as he turned away.
I didn’t know what I had done but the moment in the room instantly shifted.
Maybe he had a weird thing about people touching him, but I felt it was more.
He grew quiet and wouldn’t look at me.
As the first episode ended, he got up to start another, and then another when that one went off, but he didn’t really talk.
Maybe he had grown really into the show but I knew it was a lie I told myself.
I just hoped I hadn’t offended him. It would be a shame to already ruin the trip when it hadn’t even had a chance to begin.
“So do you like it?” I asked quietly as the third episode began.
“Yeah.” he said, keeping his eyes on the TV. He still wouldn’t really look at me, and he had shifted as far away on the bed as possible.
“Okay.” I just said because there wasn’t anything more I could think of.
I had messed up.
I just hoped I could find a way to fix it.

Notes