A Moment in the Crowd

Chapter 43: Separate lives

Harry:

"Hurry up, Harry! What are you doin'?" 

I turn my head to see Zayn motioning for me to catch up with the rest of the boys. Niall, Liam, and Louis are all staring at me too. The all too familiar bustle and chaos of backstage talk shows engulfs me completely. 

I can't help the guilt that seems to boil in the pit of my stomach. I want more than anything to be able to have some more time off, but it's already been two months since the tour ended, and that is easily the longest break I'm going to get. Lily must be confused as fuck at my seemingly random disappearance. 

I hadn't told her there was a deadline to the amount of time I could stay in Canada. I had to get back to the U.K eventually, not only to see my family for a bit but, also because we've got about a dozen talk shows to go on. The promotion of our fourth album is going to be taking up most of our time from now on, and I doubt there are many promotion dates in Canada. Regardless, I feel nothing but pain for having to leave her without so much as a goodbye. I knew all too well that if I had to say goodbye, I wouldn't have left. It's easy enough to dodge the texts, but a little less so to dodge responding. 

"Harry!" I hear Liam scream this time, and it forces me to come rushing to their sides.

"Mate, please try to act happy we're releasing a fourth album. The last thing you need is some bullshit rumour about how you're sad and the band is breaking up. God, they really take shit too far the media don't they?" Liam shakes his head, and I allow myself to take a deep breath.

Act happy. Act happy. 

The voice from the set booms through the audience and about three people wearing black with their attached microphones to their ears are shuffling us on.

The lights from the cameras blind me for only a moment, and I force myself to plaster on a smile. I wave at the audience, where I notice that a couple girls up in the corner are jumping around more than the rest of the middle-aged viewers that surround them. 

I allow the rest of the boys to take charge of this interview, nodding every now and again, flashing a smile and chuckling every time I see one of them laugh. 

It isn't until the interviewer mentions my name that I focus my full attention on the question.

"So, Harry. We hear that you've had a bit of a scandalous break, is that correct?" 

I smile at the woman who eyes me with what I like to call "The T.V face" . Every interviewer has one. It's that look they give you when they know they've asked something personal, but they go ahead and do it anyway because it makes for an interesting episode. 

"Have I? You seem to know more about it than I do." I chuckle at an attempt to diffuse the tension that has built on the couch for the five of us. The boys and I all know what's next. 

"Well, first we see a bit of a scandal with you and some hooker from a club in Toronto, am I correct?" 

It takes me a moment to put together what this woman could be referring to. Hooker? The mention of Toronto allows me to put two and two together. Lily.

I can already feel the anger boil in the pit of my stomach at the mention of Lily as a 'hooker'. But the interviewer doesn't allow me to answer her question.

"Also, we have a bit of a scandal revolving around you and Kendall Jenner." She flashes the magazine of Kendall and I, mid-kiss. 

"Does this mean you two are official?" She leans in closer to my end of the couch, and looks around the audience who give an "Ohhh" in response. Supposedly to try to tempt me into an answer.