How You Lost The Girl (HYGTG #2)

Chapter 3

A/N: SHOCK AND HORROR I ACTUALLY UPDATE!

Harry's P.O.V.

My gut was feeling weird and even though my body begged for food, my gut was refusing to take any of it. I had a five star meal prepared by a five star chef in front of me on the table and all I could think of was how I had ruined it. It had started out as a work of art and now I couldn't really distinguish the meat from the potatoes. I was that bad.

I didn't feel like eating at all and fancy wine has never really been my thing. I would've rather had a beer. I would've gone wandering around the streets of Brooklyn to find a traditional English pub, but none of my mates were here anymore.

I couldn't quite process it yet. We were all on break. For an indefinite time. I couldn't remember what life was like before the band and I couldn't imagine it either. For the past years, all I had experienced was traveling, tours, press, recordings, always in a band format. I never thought I'd feel this lonely without those weirdos.

I couldn't even look at the meal in front of me anymore, never mind eat it. I wanted to have somebody to talk to, the way I did this morning. How had I gone from having a loud, fun breakfast with all of my best mates to feeling this abandoned for dinner?

"Sir, can I bring you anything else?" a waiter asked. I eyed him up and down. He was dressed in the most uptight outfit someone could ever be forced into, from the collar of his perfectly pressed white shirt - that obviously dug into his throat - to the shiny, pointy tips of his lacquered shoes. I shook my head no, then started to speak.

"The check, please," I answered as I got my phone out of my pocket.

He was weirdly eyeing down my plate that looked like greenish puke. "Are you going to serve any more of your meal?" he asked, and he was probably begging God for me to say no, so I couldn't further ruin someone's precious work.

I shook my head no as my contacts popped up on my phone. Who did I know in NYC?

Taylor

What was this annoying voice in my head that kept pestering me? Yes, Taylor was in New York, I knew that. But I also had the firm belief that the city was big enough for us not to run into each other. Right?

Yes, of course, that's why you stayed here... To test this hypothesis

And, great the voice was getting sarcastic on me. God, what did I do to deserve this? I opened up the contact of the only other person of whom I was sure that I would find somewhere in this metropolis. I hit the blue call button before I had time to overthink - or simply, just think about it at all. The phone started ringing as I put it to my ear and my eyes started to roam over the room.

The people gathered in this posh restaurant all looked the same. Women dressed in elegant, expensive dressed or suits with flashy jewelry, all dolled up for their husbands or lovers - you could never know with these people. And the men were all serious, clad in business suits especially tailored for them, with their ties tight enough that they must've had trouble breathing. To me, they were all the same, from the elder couple in the corner to the young, rich lovebirds in the center of the restaurant, right under the fairy light candelabra. And she was so beautiful too. Tall, thin, with porcelain skin and blonde hair... All she missed were blue eyes and she would be Taylor.

"Harry? Mate?" a voice rang in my ear and I still couldn't quite get out of my shock.

"Oh, SHIT," I murmured, but apparently the microphone had picked it up.

"What happened, mate?" the voice asked and now he sounded worried.

"Nothing, nothing," I said, but my eyes were glued to the table in the middle of the room. There she was in all her glory with her boyfriend. Thinking about the bulky, tan guy across from her as her boyfriend felt wrong, like someone was twisting my insides. And, of course, she would have replaced me by now. Why was I feeling like this? I was a fool, that was why. "Wanna meet up?" I asked and eye turned to look at me.