Working it Out

Despite the thrilling feel of his hand moving higher up your back, his skin against yours, you did stop him. Niall's touch was electrifying but you caught Harry's eye and instantly felt nauseous with guilt. Harry flashed you a smile that was so full of love. You shuffled away from Niall, feeling his hand fall away from your back. You daren't look at him. Those blue eyes were trouble.

After a few more minutes, sexurity shuffled the crowd of you out of the airport and in to waiting cars. Harry had squeezed his way towards you and the pair of you, Niall and Zayn ended up in a car together. You fell in to the seat next to Harry and felt your body press against the side of his. His hand found your knee naturally. It's like it just fit there.

"Welcome to Japan!" Harry said with an exhale of exhaustion. "I love this country," he added, a smile spreading across his face as he stared out the window. His fingers drew circles on your thigh, sending shivers up your body. Your arms covered in goosebumps at his touch.

"I'm not surprised you love it after last time we were here..." Niall said with an unpleasant edge to his voice. You had managed to push your previous encounter with Japan to the back of your mind. You and Harry didn't talk about it.

Niall obviously wanted to. "Remember Haz?" He persisted. "That party was wild. So were the girls." Niall's eyes met yours as he spoke. Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat and continued to stare out the window, shrugging his shoulders, feigning he'd forgotten. Niall flashed you a wink. You dropped your eyes to the safety of your lap, focusing on Harry's soothing touch, that had intensified as Niall spoke.

"It was a night to remember, that's for sure." Niall's voice rang around the silent car. The sound from Zayn's headphones created a background noise but other than that, frosty silence filled the air. You looked at Zayn, sleeping instantly, glad he wasn't a part of this conversation. He hated the way Niall treated you.

"Haz, what's the matter? Don't you want to talk about it?" Niall pressed. You knew Harry would snap. His eyes moved from the view outside and met with Niall's. You put a warning hand on his arm.

"No I don't want to talk about it Niall." His voice was frosty and cold. It took you by surprise. You'd heard that voice only once before from Harry. And that was a night you certainly wanted to forget... "Just drop it ok. We've grown up since then. Haven't we."

"Fine. You used to be fun." Niall stropped. His mood lasted for the whole journey. No one spoke again. You kept your eyes on your lap, on Harry's hands. ...

In the hotel lobby, you all reunited: the boys, the band, security, wardrobe, all the crew. Gathering around, you moved to the reception desk and instantly snapped in to work mode. Paper work signed and details discussed, you divided out room keys, reminded them all that the cars were leaving at 2pm tomorrow for sound check - and insisted no one was to be late.

"Thanks Jos, hope you're ok. Harry looked angry..." Lou stood beside you as the crowd dispersed and you handed her the key to your shared room. Her kind words almost made tears spring to your eyes. She was your closest friend on the road. You told her everything. And she knew Harry better than anyone.

"Yeah I'm fine," the waver in your voice giving away that you weren't. You and Lou pulled your cases and moved towards the lift. "Let's get unpacked. I need to talk to someone who isn't a boy. And I need a glass of wine!" She nodded at your suggestion and the two of you walked away.

As you walked, you pulled out your phone. You had 3 messages. One was from Harry.

'Dinner tonight? Let's go exploring. Love you, H x'

You let yourself smile and knew exploring cities with Harry after dark was one of the reasons you loved him so much.

The second message was from Niall. You were tempted to delete it without reading it. Why had he been so irritating in the car? He knew you'd rather forget last year's Japan experience. Reluctantly, you opened it. You felt the tears and the guilty sick feeling rise in you again.

'My room, 30 minutes. We'll do it Japan style. Have our own crazy party. Up for it?'

You forced yourself to press the delete button. You were done with this silly game. Harry was the one for you and he deserved more.

The final message was from a number you didn't know. You opened it and almost dropped your phone with shock. You gasped and Lou stared at you with a quizzical look. Your eyes were fixed on the screen. It was a grainy but unmistakable picture of you and Niall from the airport. From today. Niall's hand was clearly under your top. You were leaning in whispering - but it looked like a kiss from this angle. You felt cold and numb.

Who took this? And what were they going to do with it?

Notes

Comments welcome, thank you all for reading!