The Girl Next Door. (Harry Styles)

Chapter 23.

Carlota's POV

It was nice having a day to myself, even if I was stuck at work. I spent the whole the day at my desk in the recording studio writing songs, producing the boy's albums which I have to say is coming on better than I would have ever imagined. When I left work I still hadn't spoken to Alex all day, I don't know if he showed up for a work or not, if he did he made no effort to come and see me. Ever since the boys have been in the studio Alex has been acting weird, not a good weird idea. I arrived at home just after 5 so I still had some time to myself. I ran myself a bath and just relaxed for a while. After reluctantly not wanting too I got out of the bath and I decided to get ready. I wore my black skinny jeans, a cream off the shoulder top and my black converse. My hair went naturally wavy and I didn't have time to straighten it so I left it, I reapplied some make-up, I had to look good, not for the boys but for the fact; yes they were famous and there would be a pretty high chance there would be paparazzi around somewhere. I'd had encounters with the paparazzi before, I had worked with some pretty famous people, it's not a nice having a random middle aged man shove a camera in your face. It's actually pretty frightening and if I was famous I don't think I'd be able to deal with it, I'd probably live inside all day. I finished getting ready, grabbed my things and headed for my car. I started the engine and headed towards Nando's, being a vegetarian I could tell this was going to be a fun night. Nando's is all about the chicken and I'm all about the vegetables. It didn't take too long to get there even though the traffic wasn't the best. Like I predicted there was a swarm of paparazzi outside, perfect. There was also a crowd of screaming girls, my next task was to get past security and try to persuade them I'm not a hormonal fan girl. Getting past both of the crowds was a lot harder than I thought it would be, these paparazzi people were strong but they were nothing compared to their fans. I couldn't get my argument across to security, they thought I was a fan. I was about to give up when I saw a familiar pair of eyes. Luckily for me Zayn was stood outside taking pictures with some of the fans, I think he had just got here himself. Fortunately he noticed me standing behind the crowds debating on whether to get home. He walked over to me which caused every single camera flash directed to where we were.

"What are you doing out here?" Zayn spoke a little louder than normal so I could hear him over the screams.

"Oh you know, taking in the view." I replied sarcastically. "They won't let me." I admitted.

"Come on." He said while taking my hands. I felt daggers in my back from the girls outside and the camera flashes got more intense, I thought I was about to go blind. Finally we got inside and I could breathe again.

"How do you cope with that, everyday?" I said stressing the point.

"You get used to it."

"You guys are brave; I wouldn't be able to cope." I confessed. We were seated at the back of the restaurant out of the way from any prying eyes, which was good; I was self-consciousness when I eat. I greeted everyone with a hug; Harry gave me an extra squeeze, which literally made my insides melt. The boys didn't seem to look me in the eye the whole time we were waiting for our starter and the conversation was starting to get awkward, it was awkward since there was hardly any conversation. I was pleased to see their faces light up when the main meal arrived; they hadn't seemed to smile throughout the whole evening. I was starting to think I had done something wrong. I noticed Liam elbow Harry who then gave out a nervous cough, I had a feeling this wasn't going to be a good end to the evening.

"So, Lota, how was your day, have you spoken to Alex?" Harry asked. I raised my eyebrows at him, why was he bring this up? Liam elbowed him again, I was now confused but ignored his actions nevertheless.

"It was fine and no, I haven't." I said dimly.

"Oh right, okay." He said sounding nervous. "Carlota, we actually invited you here to talk about something." He said, his eyes searching mine for a reaction. I placed my fork down on my plate with little force. He just called me Carlota, he's not as stupid as he sometimes may seems.