One More Time [A Larry Stylinson FanFic]

Chapter 12: Week Eight

Tate was moving Marley through the corridors to her room. "Someone sent you a pizza," Tate said. "They had your mail code, and everything, but can you please let me know later it's not poisoned?" he asked, probably assuming it was from Harry, but worrying because it was outside her normal "workday" routine.

Marley zipped through her door, famished, and was pulling off the poofy skirt for some jean shorts at least. She looked at the pizza – it was from Tratorio's. Someone had driven her favorite pizza three hours to her hotel.

A note was drawn on the inside of the lid with Sharpie: "You were FABULOUS! Please tell me there are outtakes from that duet that you can spill for me!"

Jenna! Marley picked up her phone, and then took a slice and stuffed her face, not caring that her friend would probably answer as she had a mouth full of food. Which is of course what happened. "MARLEY!"

"THISHIGDSNDSKDNSDGOOOD," Marley managed around her mouthful of food.

Jenna laughed. "I had to take drastic measures to feed you. You look like you keep forgetting to eat; you've lost so much weight! Hey, I got standing room only tickets, and then a seat in the rafters, but that was WORTH IT! My GOD, GIRL!"

Marley was trying to explain to Jenna what this week was even like, and ended up in tears, crying because she couldn't tell her friend what she most wanted to talk about. "I think Country Girl is one of the Dixie Chicks," Marley shared with Jenna, once she had settled into sniffles.

"Oh, definitely. I think Natalie Maines," her friend said. "It was interesting watching her reaction to the duet with her song," Jenna added.

The girls talked about the show for awhile, and then Marley cried a little bit over not being able to actually hang out with Jenna when she was so. close. And Jenna assured her that everything was okay and she'd see her soon. Marley wanted so much to arrange a Tiny Stairwell Meeting with her friend. She knew it could be done! She was staying five floors below her. But that would be confessing just a little too much. She couldn't, not without checking with Harry first. And still, it felt like it would be stepping on the toes of a secret she was sharing with Harry right now. It didn't feel right, no matter how homesick Marley was for Jenna.

Speaking of stairwells, it was almost midnight, and Marley had to wipe away her eye make-up and redo it. Tate knocked and walked in while Marley was finishing, rolled his eyes, sighed, and finally dropped Marley off at the stairwell door. He told her he'd stand guard best he could, but things were crazy tonight. "That show was off the hook, and that's partly your fault, so I don't wanna hear it," Tate said, gruff as usual. Marley said thank you by sharing the rest of her prized pizza from home.

Marley slipped into the stairwell, and Harry was waiting two steps down, barely containing himself. Soon as Marley was clear of the door and he was reasonably sure she wasn't going to scream when he pounced, Harry scooped Marley up in a hug and spun her. They finally finished spinning because they both got dizzy, and sat down on the stairs, finally.

"You weren't kidding about hugging my guts out," Marley teased, but with an extra warmth in her voice.

"I'm so sorry about your Mum," Harry said. "My mum adores you, so once you meet her, you can decide if you'd like to let her adopt you."

"That's sweet, friend, but you don't need to..."

Harry interrupted her with a look that Bev would have been proud of. A glare-ish, stop-the-nonsense look with just his eyes and raised eyebrows that emphasized a we-all-know-what's-gonna-happen-with-that undertones. And then Harry pivoted: "Okay, let's see what we have tonight," picking up Marley's phone and finding her iTunes.