The Hotel - H.S.

Chapter 1

                                                                                         Harry's POV

This hotel was a trip. Truly funky. I have never set foot in a place like this and I am happy to say I dig it. It seems to have been designed and decorated by Wes Anderson, furniture mismatched and wonderfully weird colors. This place was dripping with character, and knowing it was home for the next few months brought a smile to my face. Having my rental home we had reserved for these months while I write and record for my next album fall through at the last minute didn't piss me off nearly as much now. 

As I stood in line behind a smaller figure with a hood on, I glanced around. Straight ahead was reception, towards the left and right of that were hallways that seemed to wander down and wind, creeping off. I would definitely be exploring those. To the left side of the lobby I saw the entrance to a dark looking bar called "Wack", which seemed to have a menu posted up and some karaoke advertised. Wack? Really? Towards the right side of the lobby there was a small closed cafe surrounded by tables and chairs, as well as couches. There were signs and maps posted up with information about the rest of the property and I noted a pool on a roof deck, lots of banquet rooms, billiards areas, and office style rooms with computer access, etc. 

There was green everywhere, plants and ivy tucked throughout the decor and architecture. It wasn't a large lobby, but there was a lot of cool space. What I did NOT notice though, was people. It was 5:30pm on a Friday evening. The Wack was empty, there were no travelers milling about, and including myself there were only 3 people at registration. This place was a ghost town. My grin grew even larger, I hoped it stayed like this. 

As I thought about this unique place and the next few months, I was brought back to reality by the person in front of me being called up to the clerk at registration. The hood was still up, but judging by the look on the young, male clerk's face, it must have been a woman hiding in there. As if on cue, she took down her black sweatshirt hood and I saw a high, messy bun of lovely brown hair and a graceful neck. 

"Hi there Paul, I was hoping I could get another copy of my room key. I immediately lost mine yesterday and I sure am locked out of my room." My eyes widened at this beautiful, soft voice. I was immediately drawn to her slightly lower, but smooth voice. It was inflected with humor and she tilted her head to the side a bit as she gave a small laugh and looked at Paul. Poor Paul was just staring blankly at her, eyebrows slightly raised. As the seconds dragged by painfully slowly, the young woman's head straightened back up as she looked back at the silent clerk. He stared at her silently, mouth slightly open for much longer than average. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other (in super beat up old checkered vans) and I could literally feel the awkwardness building. I cleared my throat loudly and Paul shook his head with a cough. 

Paul

"Yes, yes, yes of course Ms. Miller. I will get you 2 spare keys for your room." He spoke rushed and reached around the lower desk quickly, hands out of sight. I fought not to laugh as I heard things being dropped on the ground and heard him softly swearing, reaching to pick things back up and make the keys. "Um, you know it's also karaoke night at Wack tonight in case you are interested in that."

"How fun, thank you for letting me know Paul. I will definitely be checking it out while I am staying with you." I could hear the smile in her voice, I'm sure Paul was about get knocked back on his ass when he looked up at her again. He raised his eyes to hers, while handing her the new key cards, and laughed a little too loud before launching into a rambling, fast forwarded speech 

"Oh it's not my hotel, I don't own it. I just work here. I live with my grandma but you could always stay with us if you needed to for whatever reason. I mean I know you have reservations here for a long time so you probably won't need to, but just in case this place is not to your liking we do have a fold out couch that my cat Paul usually sleeps on-" The young woman placed her hand on Paul's, removing the key cards from his fingers but keeping a hand on his, gently interrupting him.

"Your cat is also named Paul?" she asked with soft delight in her voice that I could not resist smiling at.

"Yes." Paul answered in a hilariously defeated tone.

She withdrew her hands and the keys, taking a step back and shaking her head with a light hearted laugh. "Thank you for your hospitality Paul, I appreciate the offer so much. You'll be the first to know if I am in need of addition accommodations." I internally praised her kindness to poor Paul. She turned and offered me a quick, tight smile as she walked away. 

Fuck. Paul never stood a chance. Even a 1 second glance had shaken me. She had gorgeous sea blue eyes surrounded by thick lashes and I registered the amusement and insane warmth in them quickly. I stepped up the to counter, where Paul had dropped his head down to rest his forehead against his still-outstretched hands on the upper part of the desk. I took off my sunglasses and tucked them into my shirt collar.

"Paul, my man, that was terrible."

"I am existing in a sea of anguish and regret." he answered in a muffled voice. I barked out a laugh and took out my wallet to offer my ID and credit card.

"It could have been worse, don't beat yourself up too much." I offered. He raised his head to look at me, his eyes widening as he paled a bit. Damn, instantly recognized.

"Yep. Just got worse. Just destroyed my personal record for being awful with women IN FRONT OF the biggest heart throb ever. This is fantastic. I quit." He pretended to take off his tie and walk away as I laughed genuinely. 

"Oh come on, Paul! Paul wait! Don't quit, I'm on your team!" I called out, chuckling. "I will help you! I can help you redeem yourself! Just get me checked in and I will be of assistance with the pretty lady" I slid my ID and payment card to him as he came back toward the counter, smiling but still shaking his head. We chatted as we went through the registration process, getting me all set up for 8 weeks of residency at this hotel. He let me know about karaoke night at Wack "oh Paul, I heard." spoken with a cheeky grin being my response, earning me an eye roll.

He gave me a map of the property and some insight into the interesting place. It was a new hotel, in a much less tourist-driven area of Chicago. They were off to a slow start and occupancy was incredibly low, which I was grateful for. As Paul was sending me towards the elevators with my room keys I stopped, a few steps away, turning back to him. 

"Paul, why is your cat named Paul as well?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I am an idiot, Harry." he answered with a straight face. I liked this kid already.