A Moment in the Crowd

Chapter 9: It's an honour

Author's Note: I know I started the story with more of Harry's point of view, but I'm finding it much more comfortable to write from Lily's. I think I'm going to continue from Lily's point of view from now on, and hopefully that doesn't bother anyone. I'll probably switch between the two after though.

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The entire concert seems to pass by so quickly that I'm finding myself shocked that the boys aren't on-stage anymore. I wonder what I'm supposed to do now, but the security guard that I hadn't realized never left pulls me towards an area that I can't help myself from thinking is backstage. The crowd screams for an encore, but I was here last night and when we screamed for more, the boys still didn't come out again, so I doubt they will tonight.

Am I really about to meet the entirety of One Direction? I sound like a little girl for a seventeen-year-old, and I'm sure I probably look like a little girl to Harry. He's already twenty, and the others are even older. I have no idea how I'm going to react to seeing all of them, if I'm actually going to see all of them right now.

"Where are we going?" I can't help myself from asking the security guard who will either confirm or deny my fears and wishes.

"I'm taking you somewhere to wait while I ask Mr. Styles what he would like to do. He seemed strangely desperate to get you into the concert, but I don't recall him asking I take you backstage and I need to make sure."

Oh, okay, so I'm just going to wait for my verdict then. Maybe he doesn't want me backstage now though, I mean he must be exhausted. He probably just wants away from all the fans and the attention after that concert. But the security guard saying that "Mr. Styles" had seemed "desperate" to get me into the concert gives me some sort of hope that I'm not ready to let go of. 

The man leads me to a sort of waiting room back stage and tells me to wait for him to come back. I don't know what's going to happen but I'm still dazed at the fact that I'm even here. A couple hours ago wasn't I sitting on a bench hoping to hear a bit of the concert from outside? How exactly did I get backstage? I know, I know. I met Harry before, but so many people meet Harry Styles on a daily basis, I'm still struggling to understand what the fuck he wanted from me exactly. Not that I'm complaining, of course. I wouldn't question it if he wanted to do anything to me. With me. What was I thinking before? My mind seems to have wandered elsewhere on its own. Not that I can blame it, we are talking about Harry Styles here. 

My heart stops when I hear the knob on the doorhandle to the little waiting room turn and I expect to see the little security man telling me that I should be escorted out now. Instead I'm face to face with none other than Harry Styles himself. Again.

How is it that I'm seeing him for the second time today? Where were these moments when I pined over him in my room alone? 

"You made it!" His face is beaming and his dimpled smile greets me. 

"Uhh yeah of course I did." I stumble over my words stupidly. Ugh get it together Lily this is not the time to be nervous. Pretend he's just a hot guy at school. Yeah because there are hot twenty-year-olds with tattoos at my school. Of course.

"How did you like the concert? For a second time round that is." He's still smiling at me.

"I loved it, you were all great." His smile seems to grow, not that I know how it possibly could get any bigger at this point. 

"I was actually wondering if you'd like to meet the other boys, maybe. If you're up for it?" 

If I'm up for it, is he fucking kidding me. 

"Yes I'd love to! If that's okay with them?" I realize they probably haven't agreed to this and I'm about to storm in on them like the crazed fan that I'm trying not to be. Harry offered, didn't he? Yeah I'm pretty sure he just did. 

"Great, come with me and we'll go find them." He suddenly grabs a hold of my hand and drags me out of the room. I don't know if it's the shock of the whole situation or the fact that I'm probably dreaming in my bed right now, but I swear I can feel a tickle of shock between our interlocked fingers. 

The next thing I know I'm being dragged out of the make-shift waiting room and wandering around backstage with Harry Styles. I wonder how long it'll take me to stop saying his entire name in my head. I might never kick the habit. 

"You seem more nervous than when you thought I was going to kick you out of the car today." He says to me after letting go of my hand. 

"I didn't think you would kick me out, I just gave you an opportunity to so you didn't have to look like a dick. Isn't that what your security is for anyway when it comes to fans?" 

Where the hell did that come from? I'm speaking, almost normally, to Harry Styles. And I think I just called him a dick. Pretty sure that wasn't a smooth move.

He's smiling down at me chuckling under his breath. 

"You know I can see you trying to hide your laugh right?" I say, taking full advantage of this crazed boost of confidence I'm having. I hope I don't say something stupid. The dick thing was already stupid enough, but he doesn't seem to either have noticed or minded. 

"I know." Is all he says. He's had this knowing smile glued onto his face since he walked into the waiting room. Am I missing something here?

Before I can over-analyze the situation any further I see Zayn fucking Malik standing in front of me. 

Holy mother of God is he beautiful. 

The shock is clearly written all over my face because Harry's nearly on the floor laughing at me. Somehow I know it's in no way malicious so I just ignore him while I introduce myself to Zayn.

"I'm Lily. I met Harry outside the hotel earlier today. It's such an honour to meet you, seriously."

An honour, really? What the fuck is coming out of my mouth?

"Nice to meet you too. Would you like a picture?" He says to me politely. I nearly scream but stiffle it before it can reach my vocal chords. 

"Yes I would love one, thank you!" 

We take a quick selfie on my phone. I just got a fucking selfie with Zayn Malik while Harry Styles is laughing his ass off at me from behind. Where the hell did my life go in the span of a day?

Zayn excuses himself politely to go to his dressing room. He seems sweet, but very guarded. I think he knows I'm just another random fan. In a way it's weirdly normal to be treated that way, especially since I was convinced I'd been dreaming with the way Harry was treating me.

"You couldn't have laughed harder could you?" I tell Harry once Zayn leaves. 

"I'm sorry. Was it an honour to meet me too, or is that just for Zayn?" He doubles over in a new fit of laughter, and even though he's making fun of me for being an idiot, I can't help but laugh with him.

His damn laugh is so contagious I don't know who wouldn't laugh along with him. 

"Come on let's go find the others so you can tell them what an honour it is to meet them too."

"Oh shut up, you're just mad that I didn't freak out as much when I met you." Probably because I was freaking out more on the inside. But he doesn't need to know that.