Know: A Harry Styles Fan Fiction
World's Biggest Boy Band
"You're just a daydream away, I wouldn't know what to say if I had you" - All Time Low
• • • • •
It starts out small. The second Harry and I leave the restaurant, a group of teenage girls shriek and wave anxiously from across the street, some hopping up and down to see over the passing cars. I vaguely recognize two of them as the girls that came in earlier.
"Shit, I forgot," Harry mutters as he fumbles for his sunglasses.
"What are you doing?" I say, confused. The rain has let up but the sky remains dark and sunless.
"You're right, it won't make a difference now," he says, quickly jerking me back toward the restaurant. "Let's go."
Right after we turn around, the girls flock across the street, sprinting after us. Traffic is abruptly blocked by these jaywalkers and angry, impatient drivers honk repeatedly but can barely be heard over the screams. Pablo, sensing trouble, hurries over and locks the front door before the girls reach us.
I stand back and watch from inside the restaurant and that's when it gets bigger. The entire glass surface is covered with girls, cramming and squeezing against each other. With every passing second, another two dozen girls join the mass until I can't see any part of the street anymore.
They scream Harry's name like their life depends on it. Some are even crying. Their hands and faces press on the windows and I hold my breath, anticipating the glass to shatter and the chaos to be released inside this tiny restaurant. It's a frightening sight, to tell the truth. I feel like I've stepped into a zombie horror movie.
"Will one of ye' mind tellin' me what's happened?" says Pablo. He doesn't sound mad, just baffled.
Harry shoots me a brief glance before explaining that he's in a boy band that's quite well-known around here.
"Ah, is it those One Direction lads my granddaughters always be jabberin' about?" the old man asks.
"Yes, sir," Harry says humbly.
Pablo pulls down the shades, prompting the girls to groan and yell in complaint.
"Come," he says, escorting Harry and I into the kitchen. "There's a door that'll lead ye' to an alleyway behind the building."
He slowly cracks open the back door and pokes his head outside.
"Alright, should be good 'ta go," he confirms.
We thank him as we leave.
"Of course, my darlin'. Be careful now."
Harry and I silently round a corner, just missing the hoard of girls who are still peering into the windows. We tactfully duck behind bushes and parked cars until we're at least five blocks from the restaurant but Harry still has his hood and sunglasses on.
"I think we're at a safe distance now," I assure him.
He shakes his head. "You can never be too safe."
"So you're used to his kind of thing, then?" I ask. "You seem pretty prepared."
He shakes his head again, smiling this time. "How could anyone get used to hundreds of girls following them around? I don't think I ever will."
"They all seem madly in love with you," I say.
"They're all very sweet," he says gratefully. "I wish I could stop and have a chat with every one of them but I just can't do that. It's not safe. And I don't want you to get hurt."
I look up and study his eyes through the side of his glasses. They stay fixed on the sidewalk in front of us.
On the subway ride back home, I let the mechanical hum of the train lull me into a brief nap. When we arrive, Harry gently shakes me awake from his shoulder. As he walks me to my apartment, there's a new feeling of something between us that I don't know how to put into words.
"Do you still want me to prove it to you?" Harry asks when we get to my door.
"Prove what?" I ask.
"That I'm in a boy band."
I shake my head. "I think those girls today were enough proof."
We both gently laugh but I can tell it's just a filler. I want to invite him inside but I don't want him to get the wrong idea. But maybe he won't. It's not that late in the night yet. He holds my gaze for a while. I can feel him wanting to ask if I won't.
Instead, he says, "I've got to get going. My manager rang me while we were on the tube and she says we've got some One Direction stuff to do. "
A sudden sinking feeling weighs me down. I don't know why I'm so disappointed but I try to push it away as best as I can.
"Oh," I reply.
"I'm sorry, Jules," he says.
"No, no, it's okay," I say, hoping I sound more convincing than I feel.
He starts chewing on his lip and looks down, staring at his shoes. It almost seems likes he's... shy.
"Can I see you again soon?" he finally asks, peeking up at me.
"It depends. How much are the meet and greet packages?" I respond.
He leans forward, laughing.
"It's a serious question!" I say. "I'm a student on a tight budget, you know."
"For you, zero pounds and zero pence," he answers as he hugs his arms around my head.
I return the embrace, my face warm against his beating chest. His shirt smells like mozzarella and ocean mist. Ten heartbeats pass before we release.
The apartment is empty when I walk inside. Effy has already started her bartending shift and won't be back until the middle of the night. After heating up a frozen dinner, I set up my laptop at the kitchen table.
In the midst of working on another class project, Harry wanders into my mind. I decide to take a quick break and search him up on the web. What did he say his band is called? New Direction? Or is it The Direction? Several failed search attempts later, I give up.
And then I see a banner on the side of one of the websites. It only catches my attention because Harry's on it, between the arms of a blonde boy and another brunette with a shorter haircut.
"See our new film, One Direction: This Is Us. In theatres now!" the advertisement urges in bold, red letters.
He's in a movie? Why didn't he mention that before? A number of other questions arise in my head as I type One Direction into the search box. A link to a news article sits at the top of the results.
World's Biggest Boy Band Does It Again: The Records 1D Broke This Week.
"World's biggest boy band?" I murmur to myself in bewilderment. Harry? The same Harry I've just spent the day with? Sure, he's ridiculously good-looking but beyond the surface, he's completely normal. I simply can't wrap my head around Harry being a full blown celebrity.
After a long night's work, I sluggishly roll into bed. That night, my dream takes me back to the scene at the restaurant when the girls spotted Harry. This time, they were actual zombies pressing against the glass, their mouths oozing with blood.
• • • • •
It starts out small. The second Harry and I leave the restaurant, a group of teenage girls shriek and wave anxiously from across the street, some hopping up and down to see over the passing cars. I vaguely recognize two of them as the girls that came in earlier.
"Shit, I forgot," Harry mutters as he fumbles for his sunglasses.
"What are you doing?" I say, confused. The rain has let up but the sky remains dark and sunless.
"You're right, it won't make a difference now," he says, quickly jerking me back toward the restaurant. "Let's go."
Right after we turn around, the girls flock across the street, sprinting after us. Traffic is abruptly blocked by these jaywalkers and angry, impatient drivers honk repeatedly but can barely be heard over the screams. Pablo, sensing trouble, hurries over and locks the front door before the girls reach us.
I stand back and watch from inside the restaurant and that's when it gets bigger. The entire glass surface is covered with girls, cramming and squeezing against each other. With every passing second, another two dozen girls join the mass until I can't see any part of the street anymore.
They scream Harry's name like their life depends on it. Some are even crying. Their hands and faces press on the windows and I hold my breath, anticipating the glass to shatter and the chaos to be released inside this tiny restaurant. It's a frightening sight, to tell the truth. I feel like I've stepped into a zombie horror movie.
"Will one of ye' mind tellin' me what's happened?" says Pablo. He doesn't sound mad, just baffled.
Harry shoots me a brief glance before explaining that he's in a boy band that's quite well-known around here.
"Ah, is it those One Direction lads my granddaughters always be jabberin' about?" the old man asks.
"Yes, sir," Harry says humbly.
Pablo pulls down the shades, prompting the girls to groan and yell in complaint.
"Come," he says, escorting Harry and I into the kitchen. "There's a door that'll lead ye' to an alleyway behind the building."
He slowly cracks open the back door and pokes his head outside.
"Alright, should be good 'ta go," he confirms.
We thank him as we leave.
"Of course, my darlin'. Be careful now."
Harry and I silently round a corner, just missing the hoard of girls who are still peering into the windows. We tactfully duck behind bushes and parked cars until we're at least five blocks from the restaurant but Harry still has his hood and sunglasses on.
"I think we're at a safe distance now," I assure him.
He shakes his head. "You can never be too safe."
"So you're used to his kind of thing, then?" I ask. "You seem pretty prepared."
He shakes his head again, smiling this time. "How could anyone get used to hundreds of girls following them around? I don't think I ever will."
"They all seem madly in love with you," I say.
"They're all very sweet," he says gratefully. "I wish I could stop and have a chat with every one of them but I just can't do that. It's not safe. And I don't want you to get hurt."
I look up and study his eyes through the side of his glasses. They stay fixed on the sidewalk in front of us.
On the subway ride back home, I let the mechanical hum of the train lull me into a brief nap. When we arrive, Harry gently shakes me awake from his shoulder. As he walks me to my apartment, there's a new feeling of something between us that I don't know how to put into words.
"Do you still want me to prove it to you?" Harry asks when we get to my door.
"Prove what?" I ask.
"That I'm in a boy band."
I shake my head. "I think those girls today were enough proof."
We both gently laugh but I can tell it's just a filler. I want to invite him inside but I don't want him to get the wrong idea. But maybe he won't. It's not that late in the night yet. He holds my gaze for a while. I can feel him wanting to ask if I won't.
Instead, he says, "I've got to get going. My manager rang me while we were on the tube and she says we've got some One Direction stuff to do. "
A sudden sinking feeling weighs me down. I don't know why I'm so disappointed but I try to push it away as best as I can.
"Oh," I reply.
"I'm sorry, Jules," he says.
"No, no, it's okay," I say, hoping I sound more convincing than I feel.
He starts chewing on his lip and looks down, staring at his shoes. It almost seems likes he's... shy.
"Can I see you again soon?" he finally asks, peeking up at me.
"It depends. How much are the meet and greet packages?" I respond.
He leans forward, laughing.
"It's a serious question!" I say. "I'm a student on a tight budget, you know."
"For you, zero pounds and zero pence," he answers as he hugs his arms around my head.
I return the embrace, my face warm against his beating chest. His shirt smells like mozzarella and ocean mist. Ten heartbeats pass before we release.
The apartment is empty when I walk inside. Effy has already started her bartending shift and won't be back until the middle of the night. After heating up a frozen dinner, I set up my laptop at the kitchen table.
In the midst of working on another class project, Harry wanders into my mind. I decide to take a quick break and search him up on the web. What did he say his band is called? New Direction? Or is it The Direction? Several failed search attempts later, I give up.
And then I see a banner on the side of one of the websites. It only catches my attention because Harry's on it, between the arms of a blonde boy and another brunette with a shorter haircut.
"See our new film, One Direction: This Is Us. In theatres now!" the advertisement urges in bold, red letters.
He's in a movie? Why didn't he mention that before? A number of other questions arise in my head as I type One Direction into the search box. A link to a news article sits at the top of the results.
World's Biggest Boy Band Does It Again: The Records 1D Broke This Week.
"World's biggest boy band?" I murmur to myself in bewilderment. Harry? The same Harry I've just spent the day with? Sure, he's ridiculously good-looking but beyond the surface, he's completely normal. I simply can't wrap my head around Harry being a full blown celebrity.
After a long night's work, I sluggishly roll into bed. That night, my dream takes me back to the scene at the restaurant when the girls spotted Harry. This time, they were actual zombies pressing against the glass, their mouths oozing with blood.
@twelve
Thank you so much! Means a lot. xx
5/12/14