The "Biggest" Fan (EN)

38.

Lunch was served in one of those overly fancy hotel dining rooms. But the food smelled incredible, and for once, I was actually starving. My legs ached, my throat felt dry, and my head was spinning from the whirlwind of the morning rehearsal.

I plopped down into the chair next to Harry, exhaling dramatically. He gave me a side glance, his lips curling into that knowing half-smile that made my heart flip in ways it had no business flipping.

„Already tired?" He teased.

„No, I just haven't seen 7 a.m. in years," I shot back, waving a hand dramatically, "And I've definitely never had to rehearse the same bloody song a thousand times non-stop."

Harry chuckled, „At least I slept very well. Apparently, sleeping next to you is like a natural sedative."

„Well, it is, but I prefer having time for morning cuddles, not waking up to an alarm," I stabbed a piece of what I think was poached beef — it looked fancy enough to be anything — and shoved it into my mouth. 

It wasn't the lack of sleep, I was already woken up for hours. It was the fear of tonight. I shouldn't have been so nervous to perform with Harry, but I was.

Harry wasn't eating yet. Instead, he was watching me with those ridiculously attentive eyes of his, "Rehearsal went fine, don't worry," he said, reading me like an open book.

„Define 'fine'."

"You nailed your part, Louis," he said with a shake of his head, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

"Yeah, well, I only have one song. Not much room to mess that up. You've got, what, twenty on the setlist?"

"Twenty-two," he corrected with a smirk, "But I'm most excited for the last one. And you nailed that one, Louis. Seriously, relax."

Relax. Sure. Easy for him to say when his leg wasn't bouncing under the table. I forced myself to stop, taking a slow breath, "It probably looked like we nailed it because Victor wasn't there pointing out every microscopic mistake," I said, rolling my eyes. Then a thought hit me, "Wait... Isn't it weird we haven't seen him all morning?"

"Not really," Harry said, finally taking a bite of his food, "He's probably off managing something or yelling at someone. I don't usually see him much on concert days."

I hummed in agreement. Honestly, I'd be fine not seeing Victor for the rest of my life, let alone this tour.

"Excuse me. Are you Louis?" Suddenly, a polite voice interrupted. I turned back to see a young woman, clutching some paper sheet. She looked like an assitant and I could remember seeing her on the same plane as we were.

"Uh... Yeah. That's me," I said hesitantly, taking the paper she held out.

"Victor asked me to give this to you," she said with a tight smile before scurrying off like she didn't want to be anywhere near the fallout.

Harry frowned, leaning over as I unfolded it. The words were scrawled in Victor's signature aggressive print, the capital letters almost gouging the page:

1. NO ENTERING EACH OTHER'S ROOMS AT ALL.

2. NO WANDERING OFF WITHOUT SECURITY.

3. NO PERSONAL DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION WHEN TEAM MEMBERS ARE PRESENT.

4. STAY OUT OF HARRY'S REHEARSALS UNLESS YOU'RE INVITED (AND YOU'RE NOT).

5. DO NOT DISTRACT HARRY AND MIND YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS.

FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN CONSEQUENCES.

I stared at the paper, my stomach twisting.

"What the hell is this?" Harry asked, his face darkening as he read it.