A Moment in the Crowd

Chapter 36: Surprise visits

When Harry and I are both fully dressed, we sit next to each other on the side of the hotel bed. I turn to face him and I catch him already looking at me.

"What should we do?" I ask.

"With what?" He responds and eyes my face.

"With us." I state.

"Well... I don't see why we can't just see where it goes?" He suggests and I find myself nodding in agreement.

I guess we don't need to establish any kind of relationship yet. We just can't resist each other, I mean that's no big deal right? Right. I'm definitely trying to convince myself that we don't need to be labelled, but the thought of Harry being caught with some other girl haunts my mind.

I can see that Harry is starting to wonder about my silence, but the quiet is soon broken by a tap at the door.

"Are you expecting someone?" I ask him, and he smiles.

"No, but you are." He says and I'm immediately confused as well as curious.

He moves to open the door and when I peak around the corner I can't help myself from squealing at the sight of the person standing in front of me.

Paola. I run to her and wrap my arms around her, nearly screaming her name.

"You didn't think I wasn't gonna show up for the party, did you?" She says through our excited hug.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I ask her as I finally let her go.

"This carrot invited me." She points towards Harry and I laugh at her. She's not used to being around Harry though, and like me, she's a fan at heart, so she corrects herself. "I'm sorry I didn't mean that, I was just joking." She says through a massive smile in his direction.

"Don't worry." He waves it off and I usher her inside the hotel room.

"So, I see someone is still in her clothes from last night... hmmm?" Pao eyes me up and down and I can feel the heat return to my ears. I hastily cover them with my hair and laugh.

"It's not like that." I tell her through my embarrassed smile, but she gives me a look that says she knows exactly what it's like.

"Harry said you weren't going to be at the hotel but apparently plans have changed." She laughs at the both of us.

"You can ask her about that one. I should leave you two, I'll be back later." Harry swiftly exits the room, not forgetting to add a small jacket to his outfit. 

Pao sits on the bed and motions for me to sit next to her. I move onto the middle and cross my legs while resting my back on the headboard.

"You weren't fucking kidding when you said that Canada was cold! What the fuck is this place, the North Pole?" She chuckles and then shivers for effect.

My smile widens so much and I laugh along with her.

"A bit of a weather change from Miami isn't it? But don't worry, you can always wear those 'cute sweaters' eh?" She covers her eyes at my comment on the sweaters. Not too long ago Pao was texting me about how the cold weather allowed us to wear supposedly cute sweaters.

We are incessant in our laughing and smiling, and catching up, until finally she lays down on the bed and looks over at me while calming her giggles.

"So, how's Harry in bed?" She raises an eyebrow and I scoff at her direct questioning.

"Come on, you know I wouldn't." I tell her through giggles.

"Actually, I know you probably would. Honey, no one blames you. Every girl alive would fuck that boy, so at least spill on the details." She excitedly gets back up and faces me, legs crossed. If she only had a bag of popcorn, she'd look like she'd be ready for the movies.

I sigh before answering.

"Fine, fine. We may or may not have had a moment of weakness a few..." I look around for my jacket and pull out my phone to check the time, "hours ago." I finish and she squeals.

"No fucking way, what did you do? Did his cross necklace keep getting in your face while he was on top of you? Oh my god, I don't think I'm ready for this." She's breathing deeply as I go to sit back down on the bed in front of her.

"Calm down Pao, please. No, he didn't have his necklace on. But he did have his rings on and they pressed against my waist and it was cold but his hands were warm and Oh. My. God. He's fucking sexy, it's all I'm gonna say." 

She squeals and then sighs loudly while she rests back down on the bed.

"If only that could happen with Louis and I." Her eyes are distant and I can tell she's picturing Louis just as I had pictured Harry even before we'd met.

"Pao, come on. Look at yourself. Louis would fuck you in a second, excuse the term, but it's true and you know it." She smiles and looks at me.

"You think so?" I laugh and nod.

"I know so, especially since he has the same humour as you." She's zoned out in her dream state of thinking about Louis and I laugh before realizing something.

"Holy shit! Pao, we could totally double date! Oh my god I'm going to ask Harry the second he gets back, I'm serious." 

Her eyes immediately widen and then she sits up and puts her hands on my shoulder.

"Lils no! I'm not ready for that!" She's wide-eyed and worried, but I can see the lingering excitement.

"He's back in the U.K I think anyway, you'd have time to prepare yourself."

I notice her body relax and she lets go of my shoulders.

"Good, I can barely see Harry for longer than two seconds. He's so much hotter in person, I can't breathe around that boy." 

I laugh and remember feeling the exact same way, yet strangely comfortable at the same time around Harry. It's been so long that I haven't seen him in the context of his fame, I almost forgot that anyone outside of myself actually knows who he is. It's strange, and Paola's expression of her being around him brings me back to the realization to who he really is.

"I'm only here for a couple of days because Harry paid for the flights and everything, but I have to visit again for our double date. Unless you three come to Miami? Actually, we should do that!"

I can see her excitement building as she begins planning the whole double date in her head and I can't help the smile that seems glued to my face. As strange as it is, this is actually our first time meeting each other. I almost forgot that before this, we've only ever texted. I love the way she speaks and her Venezuelan accent pours through each word making everything she says sound foreign and somehow more interesting.

We both turn in unison as we hear the door open and a soft knock pound at the same time.

"Is it safe?" Harry's voice asks us and his figure appears through the doorway.

I can feel Pao's hand grasp mine tightly and I laugh to myself and her anxiety around him. I don't blame her, it took me months to get used to him being around. Even now I'm lost in his presence.

"We're not going to fucking bite Harry." I say and Pao eyes me with wide eyes at how comfortable I appear. I shrug and smile.

"Uhh, I got Paola a room just across the hall. Hope that's alright?" He asks and she nods at him, but doesn't answer. I assume that it's because she can't find her words around him.

"Come on, let's get your stuff into the other room and then we can go to my apartment so I can change." I motion towards my tight black dress that I feel like an idiot in now.

Soon Pao and I are off together, and we say a short 'see you later' to Harry as he stays in the room. I make sure to text him when we're on our way to my apartment, asking about that double date with Louis. He responds almost immediately saying he'll try to plan it.

I wonder why he's still here, even though I know it must be because of me. I hadn't realized he'd been around campus for the month of numbness, but I guess he has. I realize suddenly that I should probably ask him how he knew I was going to be at that party in the first place. I chuckle to myself at the thought of Harry following me. He could never be as stealthy as that, especially when he's being stopped every few seconds to be taken into a picture.