lust for life {l.s.}

part 4

A thorny tangle of nerves and apprehension are suffocating Harry as he paces around his sunlit kitchen, waiting for his "date" to show up.

Niall had been outright irate when Harry had told him what Jeff was making him do. The boy had stomped around the entirety of Harry's house until he was red in the face, beseeching Harry to back out of his contract. After a few teary conversations, the blonde had settled into a gentler role, trying to quell all of Harry's stressors.

This morning he'd done his best to soothe him, but even his best friend's lighthearted jokes weren't enough to ease his edge. This is his first PR stunt, and he knows if he fucks it up, or bails, Jeff will surely have his head and he might never step foot onto another film set again.

His manager's words are still ringing viciously in his head. The thought of getting replaced and ignored again has his stomach feeling rock solid with queasiness and questions. He knew it was lonely at the top, but evidently everyone has failed to mention that once you make it there, it's a constant battle to keep your spot.

"Harry, dude, you can do this. Stop underestimating yourself,' Niall pipes up again from the kitchen table as he pops another row of Smarties candy into his mouth. "I've seen you at a whole bunch of these parties and events now, and I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. Obviously, you wouldn't keep getting all these roles or be invited to these parties if you weren't doing well." the blonde points out.

"This is entirely different," Harry exclaims as he frustratedly rakes his hands through his carefully styled hair. Great, another thing for Jeff to berate him for. "I basically have to sell a relationship here, and I'm obviously going to have a hard time with that due to the fact that, oh I don't know, don't even like women?"

Sighing loudly, Niall levels him with an unimpressed gaze. "I know this is a major bummer, but you've got to change your tune or else you're never going to survive this. You'll get eaten alive, Harry. I've only been here for a while and that's the only thing I've figured out for certain. But you've got it lucky. You're still young, attractive, and can pass for a straight dude. Being this hunky casanova they want is definitely in your wheelhouse, especially if you think of this as another acting gig."

Squinting at his best friend suspiciously, Harry puts his hands on his hips. "Since when did you become so wise, huh?"

Niall shoots him a languid grin as he reclines obnoxiously in his chair, both legs crossed and held up by the kitchen table. "That's what I'm here for, my dude."

-

The interior of Romanoff's couldn't be simultaneously more lavish and more of an eyesore. The sullen red wallpaper is adorned by streaks of gold accents. There are flashy crystal chandeliers dangling mockingly from the ceiling and the mingling of different heavy perfumes clashes in an audacious intense swirl. Across from their half-moon booth is a wall entirely made up of mirrors so Harry can get a clear gaze of the stiff smiles he and his date are sharing.

Marla is lovely, all American charm with loose blonde curls and light pink lipstick and Harry knows anyone would be lucky to be seen with her. Her twiggy legs and long torso only accentuate the bright green ruffled jumpsuit she has on, but neither of them seem particularly excited to be in each other's presence.

Harry would be offended by it, he considers himself to be a lovely piece of company, but he's too distracted with the way there are several paparazzi stationed outside. He knows it will be splashed all over the paper tomorrow, and the thought of it makes him violently ill.

"So, you have a new movie coming up?" Marla asks as she dabs cutely at the corners of her mouth, despite the fact that the forkful of salad she just ate wouldn't be sufficient to feed a field mouse. Everything she does is cute and pretty, but it's not at all what Harry is attracted to. Unless a certain blue-eyed, golden-skinned boy happened to be those things. Then, he's open to compromise.