Red [h. styles]

Sixteen

16

"Oh my God! It's Harry Styles!" A young girl screamed, and Harry's eyes widened.

"Shit!" He muttered, grasping Jena's hand as tightly as he could. The three bodyguards they had with them formed a barrier around the two, keeping the hoard of girls from getting too close. They appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and Jena was terrified.

She had seen Harry's fans before, and she'd seen pictures of the fans swarming the One Direction boys. But it had never happened to her, not like this, and she felt like she was going to hyperventilate.

"It's going to be alright," Harry whispered in her ear, "I'm right here, squeezing your hand. It's going to be fine, I promise. The fans are dedicated, and sometimes they lose their grasp of personal space, but they have the best of intentions. We'll be fine."

Jena nodded mutely, fear transforming her face.

Satisfied, Harry turned towards the crowd, smiling dutifully at them. He took the pen handed to him by a security guard, signing autographs when he could reach the fans. He paused for selfies, the fans screaming in delight.

"Excuse me?" A little blonde girl asked, tugging on Jena's sleeve.

"How can I help you?" Jena asked politely, her smile still wavering with fear.

"Can I have a picture with you?" The girl asked, and Jena obliged, though slightly surprised.

Jena smiled, and the girl snapped the picture. "What's your name?" Jena asked.

"Emily," the girl said happily, "I love your hair."

"Thanks!" Jena smiled for real then, beaming down at Emily. "I like it too. But yours may be even better than mine."

"Really?" The girl squealed.

"Oh, yes," Jena assured her, "it's a very pretty blonde."

"I like you," Emily said matter-of-factly, "be good to Harry."

"If he's good to me," Jena joked, and then she was swept away through the crowd, Emily disappearing from her line of sight.

"You're doing great," Harry assured her, grasping Jena's hand once more. "We're almost to the car, then we'll head towards my mum's."

Jena nodded, blue eyes scanning the crowd. There was a slight disturbance in the pitch of the screams, a high-pitched voice tearing through the murmur. It didn't sound much like an excited scream, it sounded terrified.

Jena broke away from Harry and the bodyguards, pushing through the screaming girls as best she could.

"Hello? Are you okay?" Jena strained to be heard above the crowd, following the sound of the piercing scream. Finally, Jena found a young girl practically being trampled by the crowd.

"Move!" She demanded, the girls parting like the Red Sea. Her face was screwed up in a mask of anger, and with her ponytail all but falling out, Jena looked like an angered goddess of fire.

Jena knelt down next to the girl. She couldn't have been more than fourteen, dark eyes wide and tear-filled.

"What's your name?" Jena asked gently.

"Neha," the girl answered shakily.

"Okay, Neha," Jena said softly, "can you tell me what happened?"

"I wanted to see 'arry," she replied, voice trembling, "but I was too short. So I tried to go to the front, but some stronger girls knocked me over and I couldn't get up."

"Are you hurt?" Jena asked, searching for bruises on the girl's dark skin.

"I don't think so," Neha said, "I got stepped on a bit but nothing really hurts."

"Good," Jena said, relieved. "Be more careful next time, okay?"

Neha nodded, her eyes widening suddenly.

"Jena!" Harry's voice called out. "There you are! Don't run away from me like that!"

"Harry," Jena said, ignoring his scolding, "this is Neha. Neha, this is Harry. Neha here almost got run over."

"Would you like a picture, Neha?" Harry asked, his voice immediately softening.

"Can Jena be in it too?" She asked timidly, and Harry nodded, a grin spreading over his face.

The three took the picture, Jena and Harry saying goodbye to Neha and the rest of the fans.

Jena collapsed in the car, Harry sliding in next to her. The bodyguards were short to follow, giving the couple a bit of space.

"The crowd loved you," Harry said breathlessly.

"They came for you," Jena pointed out.

"True," Harry conceded, "but you acted like you'd been dealing with crowds your whole life. And the way you handled Neha, I—I'm impressed."

"What can I say?" Jena said modestly. "I care about people's well-being. The fans just seemed to appreciate that."

"Well, I appreciate it." Harry coddled, kissing her gently. "Now, let's go meet my mother!"