Taste (H.S. / A.U.)

Chapter 18

HARRY STYLES

"Cleo."

Screams and shouts from everywhere.

"Theo?" She shakes her head. "Leo?" My voice inflicts and I can tell I am pressing my luck, running out of potentials of what this girls name might actually be. She shouts something back but my ears are ringing, in-ear monitors are not as great as everyone thinks. The lights play tricks on me and make me think I can read lips when instead it's all a bright blur of shining faces.

She shouts her name again. I swear my entire career could be summed up as this moment.

Harry Styles, Pop Prince of the Decade Who Cannot Pronounce Fans Names Ever

"TIA!" I finally caught it and she starts beaming a smile along with her friends jumping up and down next to her. "Ah, okay, yes, of course. Tia. Okay, Tia your sign caught my eye, can I read it to everyone?" Unanimous shouts from everywhere while the cameras pan to show the lime green sign with glittered words, "this sign says I wore a little black dress, so why don't you drag me down, I'm 18, you and I can make some Midnight Memories."

Hoots, hollers, shouts, screams, and laughter echo through the space. "Naughty naughty Miss Tia. Are you flirting with me?" I give a little kick in the air with my back foot while wagging my finger, which I know the crowd would love. Their noises show me just how right I am, along with numerous phones all lined up to record the interaction.

"Tia, I have one thing to say to you then. It's the...." I dramatically pause and smirk, because this is going to be a kicker. "Little things like this that make me have no control." Everyone was loving it. For fun I start walking back to the center of stage, "also Strong, Girl Almighty, and how about Ready to Run. There." Everyone laughs at the fact I just randomly list off part of One Directions discography for no reason. I couldn't think of anything else clever.

Tonight's show had a great energy and we were near the end, but like every show, I don't want it to end. I love the feeling of having this much happiness pouring through each of them matching my own. It's magical really.

Eventually the night comes to a close, and I must thank Santiago for a night of memories. I know in just a few hours there will be photos sent over from Lloyd for me to post, with my signature series of show photos, date, and place that I do each tour.

Only this night, something was different.

I was sitting there, looking through Instagram, Mitch on one side of me, Pauli on the other as we all sat in the back of a car taking us to post-show-dinner. Pauli leaned over and must have noticed the picture on my feed, the one I maybe was looking at a few seconds too long. "Isn't that the chef girl?"

Instantly Mitch perks up and tries to crane his own neck to see. I attempt to lock my phone and put it away but both friends reach for it, Mitch winning the battle. He quickly unlocks my phone and is met with what I was slightly staring at.

She was standing on a cobblestone street in New Orleans. A giant smile takes over her face, eyes almost closed in laughter, a slinky off the shoulder dark blue dress that was tight to her figure, and the streetlight illuminating her magically. She looked gorgeous, there was no denying it.

"Pretty girl." Pauli agrees with my internal thoughts that I didn't dare speak aloud.

Mitch scoffs, "I agree, but Pauli, you see what is happening here right?" He bumps his shoulder into mine, "our lad here has a bit of a crush I believe. Yesterday in Mexico City before the show I caught him fawning over her cookbook, then today he is pining over her online pages."

I deny the allegations, telling my friends that I am just curious about her since she didn't seem to be a fan. It was rare that happened to me, and it usually stuck with me because I appreciated it so much that someone didn't fall all over me, and I knew they would understand that. That brings the teasing down to a minimum, but it made my own brain louder. I wondered why I felt the need to justify why I was looking at the photos, perhaps checking in on Elle in the first place.

I don't dare tell Mitch the truth either. I liked three of her posts tonight. I guess hoping she noticed? Why? It doesn't matter. Maybe I am still hung up on the idea of why this girl might dislike me. I am sure it is because of the New York run-in-and-forgetting. I introduced myself to her for goodness sake. What a knob.

I have the entire day tomorrow free in Chile, and I planned to take some of the members of the band out for a day of adventures together. I go to my emails and double check all the events to make sure I didn't overbook or double book us.

From seeing the Sky Costanera, visiting the Catedral Metropolitana, and the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, we were going to see some amazing sights and places. I also secretly hoped we could have dinner at the Vina Cousino Macul, because I love a winery.

I knew the places I had planned would go great with the team, because over the years we have all really gotten to know one another and know that something we all appreciate is a good day of being a tourist and taking in the beauty of a new city or a new place.

"Harry, I know you planned some events for the group tomorrow, but did you see on your calendar that you have an interview via Skype in the evening? I can try to push it after dinner, but you need to do this because it is a good coverage for the tour." Mitch handed me back my phone and of course, I had not seen this and was confused by the new news.

"Who is it with?"

"Drew Barrymore. It's only about a fifteen minute segment, so I imagine about ten questions. I told her not to bring up the audition or anything like that, since she might have already heard rumors about it."

I nod, thanking Mitch for getting that taken care of. Sometimes he does more for me than my own managers do. Mitch is like a brother in that way, always looking out for me, despite the fact he is only six years older than me.

I agree to the interview, and direct my attention back to my phone, scrolling through emails - still nothing. I switch to other platforms. When I open up Tiktok I am met with a million videos of the Harry Styles Tour. Sometimes my favorite inside joke is even funnier than anyone could ever think. Everyone is right about me having a secret tiktok, but it's more comical if they ever learned that my secret page is a girl named Anna from Texas who has blonde hair, brown eyes, and just really likes going to concerts. Hence why Anna follows tons of accounts who post about her favorite artist Harry Styles. 

Anna has seen him twice live, and made sure to have videos, videos that Gemma took for me when she came to a show. She also posts about other bands she loves and sees, aka whatever is trendy and popular. I think recently she was hoping to go see Wallows or Sabrina Carpenter. Next week who knows what Anna will be up to, but this week she has been checking out tons of the Harry Styles viral moments.

I know in my head this is so random and weird, but it is the easiest thing for me. The real girl, her name is Tara and she is from Germany. Her mother was one of the tech members for HSLOT and when I met her she wasn't the biggest fan, but it gave me an idea. Tara signed an NDA to never reveal that she and Anna are the same person, or that Anna isn't real. Lucky for me, Tara doesn't even care about social media or having her own. 

I see a video throughout my scrolling of myself performing Style, iconic really. A few videos later is a throwback video of someone posting their favorite Niall moments from the One Direction days. I watch the whole video before saving it to my phone and sending the link to him via text, reminding him of some of the memories we share.

I revert back to Instagram, this time extra sure to not linger on anything in case the guys still want to consider my current moments as a lovestruck puppy that is deemed having a crush. I don't know her, how can I have a crush on her?

The car rolls into the garage and we are alerted by the driver we arrived, and not too soon, because I am exhausted and want to eat before crashing for the night. I love being in the concert, but afterwards I get the same feelings that the attendees have of post-concert depression, mixed with the emotions of just pure exhaustion.

Tonight was no different.