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

Chapter 59

*the same night as Chapter 58 btw*

ELOISE DUPONT

My hotel room was a whirlwind of energy and glitter. Red for Jade, black for Harper, and a dusting of silver glitter on me and everything I own. That was thanks to Jade.

It will draw his eyes here, she said while she dusted it over my legs. Oh and here, she said again while adding some to my chest. I drew the line eventually, but I think deep down I look like Edward Cullen probably.

Harper's black hair cascaded in tight, glossy curls around her shoulders, the process of perfecting each strand like a ritual she'd been performing for years. She was focused, curling her hair with the precision of someone preparing for battle. Only, for Harper, her only battle tonight is going to be against the horde of fans to grab the perfect shot. Harper has never been to a Harry Styles concert before, and tonight, she was about to witness it for the first time just how crazy it can be. Luckily, she was a pro at handling anything, and this would be just another adventure for her.

Jade, already dressed in her eye-catching red leather jacket, was swiping through lipstick shades in her makeup bag. She'd been swatching them on her wrist for a good fifteen minutes, fully committed to finding the exact right shade that would make someone stop in their tracks. And by someone, we all mean Ricky of course.

The radio was playing softly in the background, and as Harry's voice floated out of the speakers, I hummed along, nodding to the beat. Jade's eyes flicked up, noting Harper's pre-concert excitement.

"Do you think you'll be like all the other little fan girlies and scream when he comes out or are you too profesh' for that sort of thing?" Jade asked, a smirk tugging at her lips as she pressed a red to her lips, swiping over them twice to enhance the color. Her teeth looked extra white against the shade.

"Me? Scream?" Harper scoffed, narrowing her eyes as she set the curling iron down. "Nah, I'll just act like I've seen him a hundred times before. Play it cool. Can't let them know I am not already the hottest photographer on the scene, you know?"

Jade let out a dry laugh. "Oh, yeah, okay. Sure, because that's totally how you act. Elle, do you remember when she dragged us to see that one boy band she was obsessed with in college?"

"Hey, stop, that doesn't even count and you know it. They were going to totally break up and it was my last chance to see them. Besides, you did the same thing for that K-Pop group you forced us to see during Spring Break!" Harper flicked a teasing glance her way and I giggled along to the bickering girls. It was just like college and none of us had changed one bit. "No, for this one I am going to be so calm, cool, and collected. This guy is gonna' wanna' tell all his friends about how good I was, and cool. Then they will all want to hire me and I have to beat them away with sticks. First, I just have to make sure he knows I'm the most nonchalant, focused, intimidating one in the crowd."

She only added intimidating because the fanbase of bands she really wants to shoot for is a bit more scary than Harry Styles fans. Harper likes some heavier music than what Jade and I like. When we graduated college, she graduated from boybands, leaving behind the Jonas Brothers for instead Bring Me the Horizon and Bad Omens.

"Intimidating? Harpsichord, honey. You're 5'1"," Jade shot back, raising a brow.

"Doesn't matter," Harper said with a grin, "I've got height on my side with these bad boys." Harper pointed to her chunky platform boots, the black leather gleaming in the soft light of the room. The shoes helped for sure, but the thing with Harper is, it didn't matter what she wore, she had a presence. Harped was someone you would notice when she walked into a room, she commanded attention. I know it seems like I have always envied my friends, but I did. They were so powerful, strong, beautiful, and amazing. I didn't want to steal that from them, I just strived to be half the type of person they were, because to me, they were amazing in every way.