Over Again

Chapter Eight

A few weeks later, Harry and I were about to go on our first proper date. Sure, the past few weekends I’d been travelling back and forth to London to spend time with him and vice versa, but due to his busy schedule the most we’ve done is hang around his apartment or the studio. Today he was taking me out to some fancy restaurant in the city so I busied myself around my Dad’s apartment, getting my hair and makeup done and making sure my outfit was complete – I’d spent the last five hours shopping with Eleanor. Harry was supposed to pick me up in less than two hours. Once I applied the best makeup look I could do, I curled my hair into loose waves.

“Georgia? Are you ready yet? Harry’s here.” I heard my Dad knock on my bedroom door. I tugged at the hem of my red body-con dress before taking a deep breath and stepping out into the living room. I walked up to Harry, my heels raising me at eye level with him, and he kissed me on the cheek. I wanted so badly to just start making out with him then and there - I had that urge a lot when he was around - but I had to restrain myself around other people. We said goodbye to my Dad and Harry took my hand as we walked towards the elevator. The restaurant was classy and the menu was well over priced, I almost asked Harry if he’d driven us to the right restaurant until I quickly remembered that this was his life now – wining and dining at fancy places, driving around in expensive cars, travelling the world. I smiled to myself at the thought of being a part of his busy lifestyle.

I sipped the last of my Chardonnay while Harry signed the bill for our meals. The single rose in a vase was the only thing left on our table when Harry held his hand out to me, “Dance with me?” he asked. I looked towards the empty dance floor and shook my head.

“Yeah, no, that’s not going to happen.” I laughed.  

“Come on George!” He begged a little too loudly and a few people around us were staring. I rolled my eyes before finally obliging.

“Did I tell you that you look breath-taking?” He whispered as we slow danced, my arms wrapped loosely around his neck.

“No,” I smiled as I rested my head on his shoulder.

“Well, you do.” He repeated.

“Thanks, this is probably the most revealing outfit I own,” I confessed. We both chuckled.

“I love you,” said Harry once our laughter died down. And for a couple that’s only been dating for a few weeks, those three words would’ve been a major step. But Harry and I had told each other those words before, this time it just meant a little more than friendship.

“I love you too,” I swear I could hear his heart thumping against his chest as the words escaped my mouth.

At around 11:30pm, Harry and I decided to go back to his place. As we exited the restaurant, flashing cameras blinded us. This was something Harry was used to, not me. I was so overwhelmed by the lights and the paparazzi yelling things out at us that I’d completely forgotten the fact that Harry had a fan base made up of millions of teenage girls who would be furious at the fact that he had a secret girlfriend. We weren’t exactly hiding our relationship; we just hadn’t made it a priority to tell the whole world. But none of that mattered at that moment; I just wanted to get out of there. I literally couldn’t see any further than a metre. Harry let go of my hand and I felt him rushing me into the passenger seat of his range rover. I kept my head down while Harry tried his best not to run over anyone. That was my first ever encounter with the media.

Once Harry had locked the door to his apartment behind us, I noticed his mood had quickly changed. “Are you okay?” I asked worriedly.

“I’m sorry,”

“Hey, it’s not your fault…”

“I just wanted tonight to be perfect for you.” He said, his voice quieter than usual.

“Perfect is overrated,” I kissed him on the lips.

I felt Harry’s hands make their way to the small of my back as he pulled my body closer to his. Clothes began coming off and things were getting heated when a sudden knock at the door surprised the both of us. Harry opened the door to have none other than Louis walk straight into the apartment, his laptop in his arms.

“The fans aren’t happy about the news,” Louis stated as he settled onto the couch, placing his laptop on the coffee table in front of him. The browser was open to his twitter page, his timeline full of comments about Harry and I, photos from tonight already all over the Internet. I noticed Harry staring intently for my reaction, and I didn’t want to worry him by making him think the comments got to me, so I just laughed it off.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked me after Louis had gone back to his own apartment.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I plastered on a smile as I climbed into bed beside Harry. He gave me a knowing look, so I flashed a genuine smile, “I don’t care about the hate Harry, I’m happy with us and I’m not going to let some stranger with a computer change my mind.” He sighed and proceeded to wrap himself around me, cuddling my body into his taller frame. 

***

I didn’t see Harry for the next 85 days while the band kicked off their American tour. I found myself back in my usual routine in Cheshire: Waking up everyday to a message from Harry, going to work or lounging around the house, going on a scheduled Skype date and then lying in bed talking to him over the phone until ungodly hours of the morning when I’d finally pass out, only to wake up with less than 5 hours of sleep just to repeat all that. Everyday I would countdown to the last minute when Harry would be back in England and I had dreams of that cliché moment when we would finally run back into each others arms in slow motion.

But none of that cheesy crap happened on the day of the band’s arrival. Heathrow airport was filled with hundreds of screaming fans as well as flashing cameras. Bodyguards escorted me, Eleanor and Danielle (who Liam had gotten back together with a few days before they left) into a much quieter, secluded area. The screams became vastly louder which signalled the arrival of the world’s biggest boy band. We didn’t actually get to see the boys until we got put into the Mercedes van with them and I swear it almost looked like we were a bunch of horny high schoolers.