The Intern

Chapter 4

Harry’s POV

Niall was doing everything in his power to piss me off.

               Throughout the entire sound check he was smiling at Grace, hugging Grace, whispering in Grace’s ear, and practically sitting in her lap. You’d think the two of them had known each other for years, the way they were acting.

            That had always been Niall’s gift though; he could make anyone feel comfortable around him. I wasn’t jealous though, I didn’t get jealous. As we were getting dressed for the concert I pulled him aside to figure out what he was doing.

 “What the hell is the deal with you and Grace?” I asked, not doing a good job at hiding the irritation in my voice.

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about Harry” he said with a devilish grin.

 "Oh you know what I mean. You’re practically snogging her face off every chance you get. What happened on that trip?” I asked, growing even more irritated.

 “She’s a sweet girl, we’re friends. If you really care that much though you should say something to her, make an effort to get to know her better. Calm down too, you look about ready to punch me in the face. Bros before hoes don’t forget that mate” Niall ruffled my hair and went over to get his make-up done.

 He was right; I needed to calm down, she was just a girl after all.  I went to get ready, a process that took a long time due to my hair, and did my vocal warm-ups. When I got the okay to start heading to the stage, my nerves kicked in. Even after all the shows we’d done I still wanted to puke before we went on. I paused for a moment and tried to collect myself, taking deep breaths through my nose.

 “Harry, are you okay?” a familiar voice called from behind me. I turned to see Grace’s ice blue eyes watching me with a look of concern.

 “I’m fine, just a bit nervous” I replied back shakily.

 Grace took my hand and gave it a small squeeze.

 “Harry you’re going to be fantastic! Trust me; I’ve been to a few concerts, you boys are amazing live. I never did get to properly thank you for saving me in the airport” she said with a laugh.

  “No problem at all, I know how overwhelming that can be the first few times” I said, my nerves evaporating.

 She smiled, which made me smile, and gave me a small kiss on the cheek.

 “Well I really appreciate it. Now go out there and smash it” she whispered in my ear before disappearing backstage.

 It took me a minute to collect myself; I had a hard time even remembering my name. Suddenly I felt someone pushing me forward and I knew it was time to go on. I took my place next to the boys, failing to wipe the smile off my face, as the video montage began.

 That night was the best performance I had ever given. It felt like I was flying the entire night; knowing she was back there, watching me. Well us, but mostly me. After it was all over I ran off stage, searching for her, only to discover she wasn’t there.

 “Carmen where’s Grace?” I asked concerned.

 “She had an emergency she needed to take care of” Carmen said, without looking up from her clipboard.

 “Well is she okay? Is she coming back?” I asked, trying to get her to look at me.

 “I’m fine” I heard a voice call from behind me and I turned to see Grace watching me with a smile.

 “There you are Grace, glad you got that taken care of. We need to get the boys on the bus before the madness ensues” Carmen said, hurrying away with Grace at her heels.

               After we were all rounded up, we headed to the underground parking lot and boarded the bus. I found Grace sitting by the window and quickly slid in next to her.

 “Hey” I said as we lurched forward.

 “Hey! You sounded awesome, just like I said!” she said with a massive smile.

 “You were right”.

 “I’m always right” she said back with a wink.

 “I’m sure. Did you get your ‘emergency’ taken care of?” I asked cautiously; in case it was a sore subject.

               Grace simply nodded, distracted as we pulled past the crowds of fans waiting for us. She watched with wide eyes as the girls began to scream and take pictures, some even began to chase after the bus as we pulled away.

 “Amazing isn’t it? I mean I guess you’re used to it, but the fact that they wait there for hours, just for a glimpse, it’s crazy.”

  She shook her head in wonder at the crazy antics of our fans. Before I could respond, Niall sat across from us and gave a mischievous grin.

 “Listen you two, we’re headed out! I got the okay from Carmen so all of us are going to hit the pub. Sean, Izzy, and Kayla are also going to come with us” Niall said enthusiastically.

 Grace opened her mouth to protest, but Niall placed a finger to her lips.

 “I know what you’re going to say, so don’t say it. I talked to Carmen; she said it was fine for you to take the night off if you don’t do anything stupid. You’re coming with us, no arguing, you’re the only way we can get Harry to come” Niall said, walking back over to Izzy.

  After we got to the hotel, I showered and changed and our group headed out to the pub.

  I learned two things that night; Grace is crazy when you get some alcohol in her, and she can’t dance to save her life.

 I was in the middle of talking to Louis when I noticed she was gone. I excused myself to go look for her, and found her huddled in the corner on her cellphone. When she saw me she quickly ended her call and waved me over.

 “Hey, did I interrupt something?” I asked when I reached her.

 “No just my parents, they worry about me a lot. It’s good that you came anyways; I was sick of talking to them” she said with a laugh.

 “Happy to be of service” I replied back smiling.

 “Thanks for taking me out too, this is beyond fun!” she said, stumbling into me a bit.

  “Don’t thank me, thank Niall” I replied, holding onto her arm.

 She looked up at me with a smile and began to drunkenly run her fingers through my hair, trying to tame the messy curls.

 “I forgot how fun it was to just have a night on the town. My sister and I used to do it in high school all the time” she mused, more to herself then me.

 “Used to?” I asked hypnotized by the feeling of her hand in my hair.

 “Yeah, she died last year; leukemia” she whispered, removing her hand and taking a drink from her cup.

 I placed a hand on her shoulder, not entirely sure what I should do.

 “Let’s dance” she said suddenly, taking my hand and leading me onto the dance floor.

 Her idea of “dancing” was spinning around in circles and jumping up and down while I watched. Still, it entertained the hell out of me to watch her stumble around drunkenly and pretend like she knew the words to all the songs.

 Suddenly the music shifted into something slower and her eyes settled on me. She grabbed my hand and placed it on her waist, wrapping her arms around my neck. We moved slowly to the music and I went to move a stray piece of hair off her face.

 Before I could even register what was happening, my lips were against hers and her hands were tangled up in my hair.

 She pulled back suddenly, her eyes growing wide as she registered what had happened.

  “I have to go” she mumbled, pulling away from me and heading to the door.

 “Grace, wait!” I shouted, making a grab for her.

 It was too late though; she was gone.