Harry’s POV

Sven has given me two days off. Three blissful days from my busy life is much appreciated. Perhaps he felt sorry for me for going through the plan that’s why he’s given me a break. Either way it was a welcome change from what I’ve been used to these past few months of touring.

So how did I spend my free time? Doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was nice to wake up when I wanted to wake up, to eat a rare homecooked meal, and to see some friends and family. Mum and Gem stayed with me overnight and it was just like the old times.

I wasn’t sure whether to tell mum about the plan or not. Gemma obviously knows because even though I try very hard, I can never seem to keep a secret from her. She knows me too much. In the end we both agreed not to tell mum because I didn’t want to upset her.

It’s bad enough that Gemma has to go along with this plan and as my sister, be in my “girlfriends” life too, but I was going to shield my mum from that kind of lie. It was for her own good not to know.

Call it mother’s intuition, but she brought up the subject of dating over dinner the other night and I nearly choked on my food.

“So Harry, any girls that I should know about?” she asked casually.

I looked at Gemma discreetly. She kind of shrugged before shoving mouthful of pasta in her mouth to stop her from saying anything.

“No mum,” I said as convincing as I could, “you know I’m way too busy working.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t have someone too keep you company on lonely nights,” she winked at me as she said that.

“Geez mum. Don’t be gross.” Gemma made a face as if that was the most disgusting thing she’s ever heard.

I poked my tongue at her before turning to face mum. “Mum, you know you’ll be the first to know if I ever get a girlfriend.”

“As long as I don’t have to find out from the news, I guess it’s fine.”

“Oh mum,” I attempted to laugh it off.

“My baby is a man now,” she said as she kissed me affectionately on the cheek.

I didn’t say anything after that. I realised that my fake relationship would be highly publicised and no doubt that management would tip off the paparazzi of my whereabouts. Sooner or later, I would have to come clean to my mum and tell her about the relationship.

Gemma could see that I was quite tense after that, and she gave me a reassuring pat on the back.

“Don’t tell her,” she said quietly.

She was right of course. It would break mum’s heart if she finds out that I said yes to the plan. She would think fame was changing me, and would not see it from my perspective – I am protecting the band and the boys. I am doing this for them, for all the hard work we’ve put, and for the fans.

After mum and Gemma left, I became all too aware of the quietness lull of my own house. In other circumstances, I would have basked in the quietness and relished the time on my own. Instead, I couldn’t that awful feeling at the pit of my stomach.

The thing about peace and quiet is that sometimes you just can’t shut your mind off . You can’t help but think of everything you’ve been doing wrong lately.

It wasn’t so much that I was feeling guilty about lying. I mean, I am feeling uneasy about that. But more so, I was worried about who I was turning into. Lying to mum about something as big as that, putting my sister through a year of pretention, lying to the fans. . . not to mention making the boys feel guilty about what I’m doing. I also feel awful at my apparent rudeness to Jess.

I mean, I still don’t like her or think very highly of her, but the fact that I was rude? That’s not who I am at all. I don’t know Jess, but already I’ve been so judgmental. Maybe she only took this job because she desperately needed the money. I’ve seen the contract and I know how much Sven is paying her for this.

Or maybe she’s just looking for fame, trying to use you to gain publicity for her blog, trying to ride your popularity so that her career can take off.

No, no. I shook those thoughts out of my head, this time determined to really get to know her. If I can’t be friends with her, I could be civil at least. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll just think of her as a fan. I’m always nice to fans.

I felt much more positive about this whole thing already. I know from experience that a year can fly by really quick and this time next year, my image would be different, the gay rumors will hopefully stop, and all the sacrifice I am making will be worth it.

With that, I threw on the nearest shirt I could find over my black jeans, chucked a beanie on cos I haven’t washed my hair, and tied the laces on my Chucks. I am going to go to that café and visit her right now. Sven did say that the sooner this plan happens, the sooner it will all be over.

Jess’ POV

“Where the fuck are you?”

I saw my phone flash with this message coming from an unknown number. Strange.

I quickly typed in a reply – “Home. Who’s this?”

Within a second later, I got another text from the same number.

“You’re supposed to be at work.”

I had a moment of panic before I remembered that I checked my roster earlier this morning and knew for sure that I didn’t have to be at work today. My manager James gave me the day off after all the overtime I did last week when Harry came to the store. He said I deserved the extra day off, and so far it’s been absolute bliss.

Until I was rudely interrupted by that text.

“No I have the day off. Who is this?”

I was trying to open my email to check my roster again. Unless I was dreaming this morning, there is no way that I am meant to be there right now. Before the attachment from the email could even load, I heard my phone blast a Skrillex track in the loudest volume. Startled, I looked at it and saw it was the unknown number.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Where the fuck are you? You’re meant to be working today or have you forgotten?”

There was no mistaking who was in the other line. Harry.

“No I’ve got the day off. Why are you calling me?”

“I was at your work and you where nowhere to be found!” he said slightly raising his voice.

“Yeah, that’s because I told you I wasn’t there.”

“Well you’re meant to be there. Or have you forgotten about the plan?”

“I sent you guys my roster for the week. Did you not get it?”
Silence.

“Fucking hell. I drove all the way here for nothing. You could have at least told me!” he spat angrily.

“Well I could have. If I knew you were planning to see me.”

“Bloody waste of time.”

“I’m sorry if you think I wasted your time, but you should have known I wasn’t around today.”

Another silent patch. I could hear him sigh on the other line.

Finally, he spoke again. “When are you in next?”

“Tomorrow, 9-4.” I answered flatly.

“Okay then.”

The line went dead after that. Well, now what?

–

I was tired, grumpy, and annoyed. The rest of my day off to be honest was quite shit. I didn’t understand why Harry seems to go out of his way to be rude to me. Like okay, I get that you’re pissed about the situation and you’re not happy about being forced to hire someone to pretend to be your girlfriend, but do you have to be so obvious about it to the point that you’re rude?

After that conversation, I really felt like he was just nitpicking at this point. Just finding little loop holes and errors so that he would have more reason to dislike me. I don’t understand why he just seem to hate me though? We have barely spoken two sentences with each other. It’s not like we know each other.

Okay.

I guess I’m upset because since I got sucked in to this One Direction fandom, I did feel like I somewhat know him before entering this “relationship”. I have formed an idea of what he’s like in my head and maybe I’m just not willing to see things realistically.

Whatever. When I woke up this morning, I decided to stop giving a fuck anymore. If he doesn’t like me, fine then. I won’t like him too. I would try and disengage from all things Harry Styles starting from blasting the band’s songs in the morning.

It seemed to backfire on me, though, because the minute I got to work, I could hear some pretty familiar tunes blasting in our speakers. I tried to ignore it as I made my way towards the staff room and put down my bag.

I found my apron from my locker and stood in front of the full-length mirror that was in front of the door. I examined the dark circles under my eyes, annoyed that they seemed to be more prevalent when I tied my hair up, I gathered a big section of my hair in a ponytail, leaving my fringe messy and layered to frame my face a bit. I decided to put on a dark purple lipstick too, just to distract attention from my sullen eyes. Just as I was taking my lipstick out of my bag, the door opened.

“Hey girl,” Emma greeted. She was already in her uniform – black skirt and simple black skivvy, her short ash blonde hair straightened to perfection. Her make-up was simple and I contemplated whether or not I should ask for make-up tips from her.

“Hey Em. What’s up?”

“It’s quite busy out there. Mind if you started a bit early today?”

“Yeah sure. Let me just shut my locker.” I said as I put my lipstick back in my bag. Oh well. My lips are chapped anyway.

The busy morning tea rush finally died down half an hour later, and as I was putting the milk back on the fridge, I felt Emma rush beside me. Eyes lighting up, she started talking to me enthusiastically.

“So,” she started, “you will never guess who was here last yesterday.”

Harry Styles.

“Umm. . . the queen?” I asked stupidly.

“Well, not quite but he’s a royal in his own right! Harry Styles!!” she said dramatically.

“Oh wow.” I feigned interest, hoping that she wouldn’t catch the sarcasm and lack of enthusiasm in my voice.

“Yes! It was a short visit though and he only got a muffin for takeaway.”

“Was there an eruption of fans again after he left?”

“No, it was much calmer this time. Didn’t even hear a buzz when he came in.”

“Did you serve him?” I asked.

“Yeah. And he was perfect,” she said dreamily, “he was just so lovely. You can tell he’s just such a genuine nice boy.”

Can you really though?

“Mmm. That’s awesome, Em. Is this why One Direction was playing when I walked in this morning?”

“Please don’t judge me,” she joked, “you’ll understand once you get sucked in to the fandom.”

Oh I do alright. I know perfectly well, Em. More than you could ever know.

Just then, we noticed a slight commotion outside. Flashing lights, some yelling, and I knew exactly what was coming.

The little bell on the café doors rung when he opened it. I could slightly hear the noise from outside and the sound of the cameras clicking as he walked in. Third time seeing him in the flesh and again it barely registers.

He walked in here in his blue jeans and casual grey t-shirt and beanie, and the tininess of the place made his presence all the more known. He seemed different than the last time though. He seems a bit more relaxed, his green eyes softer, kinder.



There goes my heart then.

We made eye contact as he approached me at the counter and I tried to appear nonchalant by playing with the pen. I knew Emma was behind me trying to do the same by pretending to thoroughly clean the coffee machine.

“Hey,” I couldn’t help but give him a smile.

“Hi, how are you guys?” he asked addressing Emma and I.

“Umm really good. What about you? Back again?” Emma asked.

“Yeah, guess I couldn’t stay away,” he said as he looked at me.

“What can I get you?” I tried to change the subject.

“Can I get a cup of tea for now?”

“Sure,” I said and handed him the number for his table, “I’ll bring it out to you soon. Take a seat.”

“Thanks, girls.” He grinned. You gotta hand it to the guy. He sure knows how to handle the ladies.

I can hear Emma saying “oh my god” over and over again even though she was trying to be quiet about it while I prepared Harry’s order.

He stayed longer this time around. I’m not saying I was timing him, but he was probably there for a good half hour. A few fans approached him and asked for photos and autographs, but they were much subtle than the last time. People mostly left him alone, and I watched as he sipped his tea leisurely.

He looked a lot like the Harry I had in my head. He was actually being really friendly this time. Maybe it was because we were in a “work” scenario, but I had a feeling that maybe he really didn’t hate me and that we just got off on the wrong foot. As I was letting that train of thought fill my head, I didn’t notice that Harry was now standing in front of the counter again.

“Could I get some of those muffins for takeaway?” he asked Emma.

“How many?”

“Six,” he smiled.

As she was busy putting his order in little takeaway bags, Harry attempted to make small talk with me.

“How’s your day so far?” he asked.

“Good. It was busier in the morning though. How’s yours going?”

“Not too bad, I think today is the first time I’ve been out and spent that long drinking tea before. It was lovely.”

“Oh, cool. It’s always fun having time to yourself.” I offered kindly.

Emma handed him his order while I processed his payment. He and Emma continued to make small conversation, and as I was waiting for the receipt to print, he introduced himself to us.

“I’m Harry, by the way.”

“Emma,” she replied shaking his hand.

“Jess,” I said extending mine, “here’s your receipt.”

“Right, thanks for that.”

I handed him his box of muffins, and as I reached out to him over the counter, our eyes met again. His green eyes were striking and I almost dropped what I was holding.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you,” he said before turning around.
For the second time in a span of a few days, I had the same Taylor Swift song I had in my head the first time we met playing again. Goddamnit.

Notes

Yay for the longest chapter so far! Hopefully you guys didn't mind the length. I feel like I've been slow at updating lately, but school has been kicking my ass! So hope you liked this extra long one. It's full of the Harry we know and love, plus his family (The story of my life vid man. All the feels!) relationship is kind of explored a bit.

P.S.
Keep the comments coming! Can't wait to show you that extra bit I've been working on for the fic x