Look at Me - H.S.

~ Chapter 7 ~

The initial shock of meeting Harry and realising that stalker boy Barry was in-fact him this entire time seems to be a distant memory already. He noticed the name 'Barry' on my phone when it was ringing.

"Who's Barry?!" He questioned, confusion all over his face.

"Err...well, I thought it was someone pretending to be you, so I decided to name them Barry...you know, kinda like Harry, but not quite." I shrugged shyly in response. I mean, I thought it was funny at the time, now I'm feeling like a complete idiot saying it out loud. Except, Harry didn't seem to agree with me, he threw his head back, held his belly and let the loudest laugh jump from his mouth. His eyes were watering as he looked back at me trying to get a hold of himself.

"That," he chuckles while pointing at me "is bloody brilliant". I just shrugged again and gave him a shy smile, not really knowing whether to take it as some sort of compliment or if he now thinks I'm a complete idiot.

We've been in Harry's dressing room for just over an hour. Not an ounce of awkwardness around us. It really is like two friends catching up after not seeing each other for a while. The girls make the most of the free snacks and drinks despite eating a full meal not too long ago while making themselves comfortable in the armchairs. Harry and I sit on the small leather sofa that's sort of hidden behind the door we first entered through. Checking the time on my phone, I notice that there's only 2 hours until he's due on stage and start to panic slightly.

"I guess we better get going, we still need to find our seats before the support act starts and I'm sure you've got better things to be doing before you go on stage" I start to ramble. I don't want to be the reason for him changing his pre-show routine, he's already done enough by having us here in the first place.
No one appreciates when someone overstays their welcome.

"I guess we should get you to your seats, yeah." He huffs. "Can we catch up after the show for a bit? You can let me know what you think?" I can't help but smile and nod at him eagerly, he's just the sweetest human.
It's been so lovely talking to him, he's like a completely different person to the one who sings and dances on a stage in front of thousands of people. He's so chilled and almost shy at times.

With that, there's a knock at the door. He looks me in the eye and gives me a cheeky grin. Before shouting "come in!" His eyes never leaving mine.

It opens slowly and I can see Bailey and Elodie stiffen up immediately as they notice who's there. Grins slowly make their way to their faces and I can't help but panic slightly from still not knowing who's there. I can't see them yet as we're still sat on the sofa hidden behind the door. The girls look at the mystery person and then over to me, their grins only getting wider.

Harry stands up and holds out a hand to help me up. As I make it to my feet, he stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders and leans down to whisper in my ear "There's someone I'd like you to meet". I swallow hard, not sure how many more surprises I can take in one day. I just give him a nod to indicate that I'm ready. He squeezes my shoulders, probably being able to feel the anxiety seeping from me.

The person steps into the room, slowly closing the door behind them and my breath catches in my throat.

"Mum, this is Cassie, Elodie and Bailey" he introduces us, "girls, this is my mum, Anne"

She has a beaming smile on her face. Looking more stunning in real life than any of the pictures I've ever seen of her and I can't help but beam right back. The tension in my shoulders subside immediately as she makes her way over to the girls and holds out a hand for them to shake. Again, Elodie ignores it completely and goes straight in for a hug, Anne chuckles and reciprocates it in an instant, hugging my youngest daughter as if she's known her her whole life, rocking her gently from side to side. As she pulls away and looks down at her, holding her shoulders she softly says "it's nice to meet you, darling." Turning her attention to Bailey doing the same. Surprisingly, Bailey just seems so relaxed right now and hugs her straight back. Anne gives off the kindest aura and I can't help but admire her for a second. It's not long before she's turning towards me and Harry.