Harold

Chapter 2: Harold

Flabbergasted? Surprised? Not even those words could describe what was going through my mind when I found out the boy I had been driving around town with was the boy who all the girls were chasing. Was the boy who I would be working for. Oh, and was the boy who just heard me complain about the band, hoping they weren't like the Backstreet Boys.

I stepped out of the elevator waiting for someone to tell me it was a joke. I was sadly mistaken. Harry NOT Harold, Harry was standing next to me smirking.

"I didn't mean those things about your ba-"

"Alex, it's fine. The only reason I didn't tell you who I was in the first place was because I can't tell you the last time somebody didn't recognize me...It was kind of nice to be able to have a conversation with somebody without them asking for a picture or autograph." He assured me, as he gestured for me to follow him past a receptionist and towards the hallway I assumed led to the management team.

"Is it really that bad?" I questioned? I couldn't imagine having to live a life like that. Not having any privacy, having screaming girls everywhere you went.

"It's not bad. A little irritating at times, but the fans are so dedicated ya know? You just have to take a step back and weigh out the pros and cons. When you look at it, it's a no brainer." He smiled, as he led me into a office filled with loads of One Direction merchandise.

Two men sat in chairs next to the desks, quietly talking business until they saw us and quickly hushed up.

"Alex, it's nice to see such a beautiful face walk into here. I mean have you seen what I have had to look at for the past hour?" He laughed hysterically pointing at the chubby man George whom he had been talking to.

I chuckled, "It's nice to see you again Richard. You too George."

"I see you have met Harry already. He can give you a tour of the building and introduce you to the rest of the boys after we talk about some things." He said looking intently at the binder he had on his desk.

"Harry, would you mind giving us a minute?" Richard asked.

"Not at all, I'll come back in a few Alexandra." He winked, knowing I hated being called that as he walked out shutting the doors with him.

"Why don't you have a seat next to George and we can get signing papers and all that fun stuff." Richard said scuffling papers around to get them in order.

I sat down in the comfortable leather chair next to George, and started signing papers dealing with my paycheck. This job payed triple what I used to get at the bakery and that was just for one month.

"Now as you may know, the boys are very very successful. They have just finished their world wide tour, and are now working on a new album." George explained, starting a conversation I knew they both wanted to start for a while now.

"I actually haven't heard much about them. I've never really been into pop culture things or boy bands. I didn't even recognize who Harry was when i first met him." I chuckled, as they just stared blankly at me. Awkward.

"Well it's important that you know we take this very seriously. The boys need to have a good reputation if they want to continue to keep a good fan base. So we keep things very tightly bound around here. We control what the media says, and what they ask the boys during interviews. We just want them to be able to feel comfortable enough to know they won't be bombarded with questions they don't feel comfortable answering.." He said looking at Richard. Richard nodded his head.

"We need you to know, that you cannot be posting negative things about the band or making them look bad in any way. You have to look good also, you can't be out partying and engaging in any crazy stunts because that will effect the bands reputation. You are a key member of the group now."

"I would never do anything to jeopardize what the boys have worked for. I hope you both know that." I assured them.

"Of course, we just need you to sign these papers saying we are basically your managers now too. And that you need to do what we say.." Richard said, handing me a piece of paper. "And after this one you'll be done!"

I looked over the paper skeptically. I couldn't help but feel like signing these papers would have some negative outcome in the end. I did it anyways, just to get out of the room.

As I walked out to meet Harry, I was surprised to see Harry, and four other boys.

"Hello Harold, what do we have here?" I smiled knowing he would hate that I called him that. He cringed looking at me as I giggled.

"Harold? What's that about? I thought only I could call you that babe?" A dirty blonde haired boy laughed hysterically as he placed his arm around Harry's shoulders.

"Go to hell Niall." Harry replied rolling his eyes and shrugging him off.

"Alex, these are the boys!" He said exaggerating as he showcased them off like they were for sale.

"I'm Niall, the Irish one." The blonde announced, with a funny accent.

"I'm Zayn, the uh... i don't really know. I guess I'm like the artistic dark one. Aye lads?" He said stepping forward.

"Yeah you are kind of dark an mysterious. I'm Liam by the way." The cute brown haired one said grinning.

"And last but not least, I'm Louis. I'm not single. But I'll still give you my number anyways." He said grinning.

"Well I think it's kind of a given that I'll need your number.. Considering I'll be styling your hair and you might need to send me pics of hair styles you may want. Because you need an updated do, that's for sure." I said smirking back.

"Oh I like her, feisty little one aren't ya?" Louis said pinching my nose like I was a child.

I giggled, "it's nice to meet you guys."

We talked for what seemed to be forever. I discovered Liam was obsessed with Batman, just like me. Zayn loved art, just like me. That Niall loved America, where I was from. And that Louis was one of the funniest guys I had ever met.

After a tour of the building, we were all starved so we decided to go get lunch downtown. I convinced them to get Mediterranean food since it was my favorite.

They took me to a cute little resteraunt called Don Curtos, and it was completely deserted. Which is just what they were looking for. It was something I was going to need to get used to. Having to keep my head low when I was with them.

The resteraunt smelled delicious, and made my stomach rumble ridiculously loud. I looked up hoping nobody heard it. Harry was grinning, but didn't say anything.

After we were seated and the waitress took a picture with the boys, we ordered our food and patiently waited for it to be brought out.

"So Alex, what are you planning on doing with our hair? I mean I'm all for trying things as long as it doesn't involve abnormal colors and perms." Louis asked me, laughing along with the other boys.

"Yeah I'm not into that look either. Harry is the only one who could pull off a perm. And even he would be pushing it." Zayn chirped in from across the table.

"Really? I was hoping you guys would be a little more lenient with what you were okay with. I really wanted to add some frosty tips to Harry's hair, and maybe a bowl cut for you Louis." I said trying to keep a straight face as I looked around the table.

"I'm all in, as long as I can get the perm along with the tips." Harry said from beside me.

I reached over to play with his hair, "You know a perm could do you some good. I'll see what I can do." I replied no longer being able to contain myself I burst out with laughter. They joined in, and after we all caught our breaths the waitress came with our food. Thank goodness, I was starving.

We inhaled our food, and left as quickly as possible since the boys had been notified fans had spotted them and were crowded outside the front of the once empty resteraunt.

We exited through the back, and hopped into the separate cars. I said goodbye to Liam and Zayn, as they left to go see their girlfriend and soon to be wife. Niall, Louis, and I hopped into Harry's car as we head back to the management building.