for this moment in time// h.s.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Kiss And (Don't) Tell

(Harry's POV)

It was only a few seconds after she barreled into my arms that she let go but honestly I was so caught by surprise I couldn't quite realise it. Taylor was smiling, saying something but I couldn't hear her over my own sudden tailspin of thoughts.

What in the world, what the hell, what-

"Hey!" She laughed, waving a hand in front of my face, "I didn't fly out for you to space out on me Harry."

I scratched the back of my neck, a bad nervous tick I had, trying to laugh. "Sorry, just really out of it I guess. Performing was-"

She nodded, like she understood. Which I guess she probably sort of did. But the thing about Taylor is that performing energized her, she loved it and just put any nerves she had into her set and then was just buzzing for hours afterwards, which was what I'd learned when we'd all met her at the Kids Choice Awards.

Back then, we'd both (illegally for her, semi-illegally for me) thrown back a couple glasses of champagne backstage and flirted pretty heavily. She had a boyfriend at the time though, so I'd taken it all pretty lightly as had she. We'd apologized the next day and remained sort of friends though Ed.

But if what Ed had said was true, if her and Connor had broken up...what if she thought...

No. No, what was I even thinking? We were decent friends and that was all. Besides I...I don't know actually. I mean how could I?

Something's going on with Morgan.

But Calum likes Morgan.

And you aren't allowed to.

Simon would send her back home if anything happened.

Nothing's happening. We're friends.

It felt like a lie.

~~~

(Morgan's POV)

"—The crowd was so loud!"

"Right mate, it was insane!"

"—like we were on fire."

"They were shouting!"

And so are you. I thought but smiled anyways. Calum and his friends were more energetic than Liam or any of the other friends I'd had. Not that that was bad, I just really didn't like shouting. There'd been enough of that back home.

As they continued to talk about their show—which had been amazing, they really were great as a band—my eyes idly wandered around the room, easily falling into people-watching as I left myself puzzle over the lyrics I needed to work out.

I was supposed to have a session tomorrow before we flew back to the States for their US leg, and as of right now I had a mess of verses with no chorus, and all songs have to have a chorus so in other words I was screwed. But as anyone will tell you, in order to write you have to have inspiration and the actual time to write and right now I had none of those things so here I was. Watching Zayn and Louis talk in a corner of the room about who-knows-what, Gracie fixing Liam's hair he'd messed up and Harry talking to-

What the hell?

He was standing there talking to Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran. And yes I'm well aware I'm in a room full of people more famous than most could ever hope to be but for whatever reason being in the same room as Ed Sheeran felt like a life goal accomplished. Oh jeez, and now I was fangirling over it.

Just as I was trying to work up the nerve to do-I don't know what actually but something- in order to talk to him, the doors at the front of the room fly open and a blonde blur of a human runs in, collapsing into-