The Assistant

By the time the bonfire was dying down, most of Nora’s family had gone home. And after her parents went to bed, Nora sat around the much smaller fire with the guys, chatting and having a good time. Harry’s lawn chair was slid right up next to hers as he sat as close to her as possible, every once in a while reaching out to touch her, like he was reminding her he was still there. She didn’t mind it so much though. It was kind of nice to see a softer side of Harry. It also could have to do with the fact that she gave in sometime after the fourth or fifth time Harry offered to get her a drink and knocked back a few herself. She was feeling good – quite sated actually.

All of the guys were ridiculously drunk courtesy of her uncle’s moonshine. But at least they were happy drunks. At one point, Niall began to chase one of the free-roaming chickens around the yard because he wanted to cuddle it. And when he was finally able to catch up with it, the chicken promptly shit on his shoe, which caused the entire group to erupt into mass-hysteria.

But the kicker of the night was when Louis wondered out loud if they were to piss on the fire, would it make the fire combust. Nora let out a loud laugh, knowing urine was mostly made out of water, not fucking lighter fluid and was pretty much the opposite of flammable.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Zayn said, standing up, literally whipping his dick out of pants to piss on the fire.

“Oh my god. Is this what a tenth grade education gets you?” Nora groaned just as the other four stood up, whipping out their own dicks, pissing on the fire.

“Hey! I made it to year eleven!” Louis scoffed playfully at her as he was mid-stream pissing on the fire.

“Well, let me educate you fools. Urine is mostly water, so essentially, you’re just putting out the fire,” Nora laughed.

Even with alcohol in their system, the water in the urine was enough to dilute any of the flammability of the alcohol. Besides, their bodies wouldn’t be able to consume enough alcohol to make their piss flammable at any point. It was illogical.

Louis laughed loudly, almost unable to control himself as he stuffed his junk back into his pants.

“Jesus. Way more penises than I was planning on see tonight,” Nora groaned to herself as she shielded her eyes.

“Just mine, eh, love?” Harry quipped, kicking playfully at the side of her shoe.

“Oh my god. Shut up, Harry,” Nora scoffed, kicking him back as the other guys laughed loudly at the two of them.

It was nearing two am when Nora decided to call it a night, bidding the boys adieu. Harry whined and told her he didn’t want her to go. She laughed and told him she wasn’t sleeping in a god damn tent – not when she had the opportunity to sleep in her childhood bedroom. But it wasn’t long after she settled into said bed when Harry came sneaking into her room.

“Harry, what are you doing in here?” Nora hissed at him as he quietly closed her bedroom door.

“I wanted to see you,” he told her as he eyed her lying in her bed half-naked.

“You said you were sleeping out in the tents with the guys,” she said, sitting up as she watched him cross the room toward her.

“Plans change,” he said with a shrug as he sat down on her bed.

“You can’t be in here, Harry. My parents are right down the hall,” she whispered, feeling anxiety swell up inside of her as she clicked on her tiny bedside lamp.

“Nobody will hear me,” Harry told her quietly.

“Yeah, because you’re leaving,” Nora said, pushing his arm to try to get him off her bed.

“Nor…” Harry said, gripping onto her wrist gently.

“Harry, why do you do this?” She sighed, rolling her eyes.

“Because…” he said evenly, but didn’t elaborate. Nora shook her head as she pulled her wrist out of his hand.

Harry leaned in toward her and she stared at him, knowing what he was doing, but she didn’t stop him. She didn’t even really try to stop him.

“Harry…” she breathed as his lips hovered over hers. Harry stayed like that for a moment, waiting for her to say something, but she didn’t.

A second later, his lips pressed gently to hers and she could taste the alcohol he’d been drinking.

“Have you ever had a boy in this bed, Nora – your childhood bed?” Harry asked, eyeing her seductively through the dimness.

“Coincidently, you are the first,” she breathed against his lips as he pressed in for another kiss.

“Were you a late bloomer?” Harry asked, smirking against her lips.

“No,” she scoffed, shoving his shoulder playfully and he let out a laugh.

“Shhh,” she hissed and he snickered.

“How many boyfriends have you had? Not including me,” he said, bouncing his eyebrows at her.

“I’m not including you, believe me,” she shot at him with a slight glare and he snickered again.

“What did I tell you about being mean to me, Nora?” He smirked devilishly at her. Something about him falling in love with her? It made her skin crawl at the thought.

“My entire family already thinks you’re in love with me,” Nora scoffed.

“And that’s a bad thing?” He asked, quirking his eyebrow.

“Yes,” she scoffed and Harry laughed.

“Shut it,” he breathed, leaning in to kiss her again.

“How many boyfriends, Nora?” He breathed against her lips.

“Why do you care?” She asked, pulling back to look him in the eyes.

“Just curious,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Three,” she said, just to get him to shut up about it.

“Not including me?” He questioned, even though she already told him it didn’t.

“Not including you,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Wow,” he said, heightening his eyebrows.

“What?” She asked, furrowing her brows in question.

“How many blokes have you slept with?” He asked, certainly doing a good job of prying into her life.

“Not including you?” She chided playfully and he let out another laugh.

“Not including me. Although, obviously I’m the most important,” he added in.

“Wow. Your ego knows no bounds,” Nora scoffed out a laugh.

“How many?” He asked with a wide smile.

“Three,” she confessed.

“A relationship girl, eh?” Harry asked, smiling fondly at her.

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“Now I guess I know why you were so reluctant to sleep with me,” he said, smiling widely at her.

“No. That was not the reason,” she scoffed, unable to even comprehend the audacity he possessed.

His fuck-all personality and complete disregard for anyone else’s feelings was the reason she was so reluctant to sleep with him. That and the contract she sighed – which would probably be her death warrant when the reckoning came.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Harry said, leaning in to kiss her again.

“You’re delusional if you think—” Nora started to protest.

“Shhh,” Harry said, quirking his head toward the door, causing Nora to shut up fast, her heart racing thinking that one of her parents was about to catch Harry in her bed. Although she was an adult, she still felt like a little girl in that room.

“What?” Nora whispered after a moment of only hearing silence. She couldn’t even hear the old house settling around them over the sound of her racing heartbeat.

“Nothing. I just wanted to stop you before you started,” Harry said, smiling deviously at her.

“Oh, you ass,” Nora said, smacking him as he chuckled light-heartedly.

“Shut it, Nora,” Harry quipped as he pressed himself forward, over-powering her onto her back on the mattress.

“You really are the worst,” Nora told him, looking up into his wide green eyes.

“The absolute worst,” he breathed, looking down at her, his bedroom-eyes ever-present.

“How many girls have you slept with? Not including me,” Nora countered, trying to snap him out of his deviant agenda. She made sure to really watch him, trying to read if he was lying to her or not.

“Hmm,” Harry hummed, looking like he was really trying to think about it.

Nora was ready for the bullshit to fly out of his mouth. He probably didn’t even know how many girls he slept with at that point.

“Not including you? Six,” Harry told her.

“Liar,” Nora scoffed, rolling her eyes. She didn’t believe that for a second.

“Liar? I’m not a liar,” Harry scoffed back at her.

“Six girls? That’s it?” Nora questioned incredulously.

“Don’t believe everything you read about me, love,” he countered, seeming a bit offended.

“What about believing everything I see?” Nora retorted, quirking her eyebrow at him.

“What are you on about?” Harry asked her, sending her an odd look.

“All the girls you had on the tour bus?” Nora questioned, pursing her lips at him.

“I don’t sleep with fans,” Harry retorted and Nora let out another scoff.

“I don’t sleep with fans,” he told her again.

“Ohhkay,” she exaggerated the word, still not believing him.

“Just shut it already,” Harry told her firmly, rolling his eyes at her.

“Fine,” she laughed.

A moment later, he leaned in kissing her lips and his body relaxed against hers. Nora didn’t know why she let him have his way so often. It wasn’t like he asked nicely or anything. He wasn’t nice. Except, sometimes he was… to her. And it confused her.

“Mmm,” Harry moaned lowly against her lips as he pressed himself against her and she could feel just how excited he was to be there with her.

She wondered if the thought of sex went hand-in-hand in his mind when he thought of her, like it did when she thought of him. She had been conditioned to not only want sex, but expected it when she was with him. It was what they did with each other more often than not. She really didn’t know all that much about him as a person because they didn’t talk much – not meaningful conversations anyway. The only thing she really knew about him was that he was a spoiled, entitled, privileged, self-indulgent, annoying, yet talented boy of a man. And the way they seemed to be getting closer now that they we’re ‘in a relationship’ made her want to get to know him better. He was after all, her biggest supporter in getting her back home to see her parents and it made her want to get to know the softer side of Harry.

Nora secretly wondered whether she would have the pleasure of meeting Harry’s family when they went back to Europe for the second leg of the tour. She kind of hope she could. She’d love to see where he came from – to see what kind of life he lived off of tour.

Her mind was so enraptured with thoughts of Harry that she hadn’t even been following along to the foreplay Harry was giving her. Before she knew it, his head was already between her legs and she let out an all-too loud moan as pleasure skated through her entire body with his mouth on her. It was a rare occasion that Harry decided to go down on her. She could count all the times on one hand and still have fingers left over. He was usually too interested in getting his to give her hers. But oh god, it felt so damn good.

“Oh my god, Harry,” she hissed, gripping her fingers tightly into the curls on his head.

“You’ve got to be quiet, Nora. Remember?” Harry pointed out, looking up at her with a sneaky smirk, her thighs wrapped around his shoulders, his fingers dug deeply into the flesh.

“Shut up. I know,” she breathed, narrowing her gaze at him. He laughed as his mouth went back to her and she could feel the vibration it caused and she nearly let out another loud moan, but stifled it just in time.

Harry’s tongue continued to swirl and his lips continued to suck until Nora’s body shook with sparse tremors. She had to bite her lips shut to prevent from making any loud noises. Harry continued on even after Nora found her end and she thought he might not stop now that he got started.

“C’mon,” Nora breathed, gripping his arm, ready for the main event.

“Had enough?” Harry asked, smirking up at her as he disentangled himself from her limbs.

“Obviously not,” Nora said, sending him a displeased pucker of her lips. Harry let out another laugh as he slipped his sweat pants down over the swell of his ass.

Nora bit at her lip as she watch him and a part of her didn’t even care if he saw her ogling over him. He was definitely well-endowed and sometimes a girl couldn’t help but appreciate something like that. Harry’s smile was partially mocking as he looked back at her, like he knew exactly what she was thinking. But the alcohol that swam through her veins, clouding her mind helped to keep the animosity at bay.

Quietly, Harry leaned in, connecting their lips and Nora’s hips welcomed his against hers. Harry let out a satisfied sigh as he pressed inside her and Nora had to bite her lip to keep from moaning. He began a slow rhythm atop her, kissing her lips lightly, almost sweetly.

“You’re beautiful,” Harry breathed in her ear as he left a few lingering kisses on the side of her neck.

“Harry,” Nora whimpered as unwanted feelings for him flourished in her heart.

Why did he have to be so… charming sometimes? She could literally live without a boy like Harry Styles in her life. But god damn it, when he showed unwavering respect toward her parents and the rest of her family, and ran around playing with her baby cousins, and called her ‘sweet’ and ‘beautiful’, and kissed her delicately, and acted like being with her was a pleasure in itself, Nora’s mind became clouded, unable to decipher what the truth was.

Her mind spun with thoughts of her and Harry – thoughts she knew she shouldn’t be having. She was drunk and he was being sweet and she knew better not to do this to herself, yet she couldn’t help it. She gripped tightly to Harry’s shoulders as he moved in and out of her. Both loving and hating the way he was making her feel. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.

“Nora…” Harry breathed in her ear.

“Hmm,” she hummed, but he didn’t respond as he quietly lost himself in her, his rhythm faltering only slightly.

Nora held him even after he finished, even after his body collapsed against hers. She was spiraling, down, down, down the rabbit hole. She drank the potion and now she was in Harry’s fucked-up version of Wonderland.

.

.

Nora woke up in her bed alone, which she figured was probably a good thing. Harry was smart enough to know it wasn’t a good idea for her parents to find him sneaking out of their only daughter’s bedroom, whether they were dating or not. At least Harry had enough respect for them, and for her to prevent it from happening.

When Nora finished getting ready that morning, she made her way downstairs, smelling the welcoming scent of bacon cooking and knew her mother was at it again with another memorable feast. She wondered if any of the boys were awake after their moonshine-fueled night. Nora was certainly glad she chose not to go down that road. Her uncle’s hooch sure packed a punch that you usually felt for the entirety of the next day.

“Nora, sweetheart,” her mother cooed as Nora turned into the kitchen.

“Hi, Mama,” Nora replied, smiling sweetly at the woman who gave her life. She was so happy to be home. Her parents were the best part of who she was.

“I hope you’re hungry. I’m just wondering if those boys will be awake before it gets cold,” her mom told her.

“Uncle Bill gave them all his hooch last night, so I’m not entirely sure they’re still breathing,” Nora quipped, snickering to herself.

“Oh, Jesus Christ. I don’t know why he’s always peddling that stuff around here,” her mom huffed, cursing her little brother.

“Well, he makes the best moonshine I’ve ever had,” Nora snickered.

“How many different moonshine’s have you actually drank?” Her mom questioned, eyeing her skeptically.

“Just Uncle Bill’s,” Nora laughed and her mom let out a howl of a laugh too.

“I blacked out the last time I drank that poison!” Her mom told her and it made Nora laugh harder.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to tell your child stuff like that,” Nora laughed, starting to get a side ache because she couldn’t stop laughing.

“Well, it’s the truth,” her mom chuckled.

Just then, the kitchen door swung open, revealing her father wearing overalls and a red Farmall baseball cap on his head. He was just getting back from milking the heifers.

“Good morning, darlin’,” he greeted Nora with a smile.

“Good morning—” Nora said, but cut herself as Harry stepped into the house wearing large galoshes on his feet and one of her dad’s Carhartt jackets. He looked absolutely worse for wear because of all the alcohol he drank the previous night, and it confused Nora as to why he was dressed in her father’s gear at such an early hour.

“Harry. What are you doing?” Nora asked immediately.

“Mm, nothing,” he said, looking a bit queasy.

“Harry got up bright and early this morning and offered to help me with the milkin’,” her dad chimed in.

“What?” Nora asked, her mouth nearly dropping open in awe. Harry shrugged his shoulders, like it was no big deal. But to Nora it was. It really was.

“You got yourself a good ‘ne here, Nor,” her dad said, walking in to kiss his wife quickly.

“Yeah,” Nora breathed, still watching Harry with wide eyes. Harry slipped out of the jacket, hanging it on a hook on the porch before slipping out of the galoshes and coming into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Harry told Nora quietly.

“Morning,” Nora breathed as Harry leaned in, kissing her on the side of the head.

“Are the other boys up yet?” Her dad asked.

“Not… not that I know of,” Nora chimed in, only then taking her eyes off of Harry.

“Hmm,” her dad hummed as he swiped a piece of bacon off of a plate.

“Carter,” her mom scolded, swatting playfully at his arm.

“I’m hungry. I’ve been up for the past four hours milking,” he retorted.

“Have you… you’ve been up that long too?” Nora asked, looking over at Harry again.

“Mm,” Harry said with a nod.

“How come you’re not actually saying anything?” Nora questioned, feeling a bit weird.

“I think I’m actually still quite drunk,” Harry said, heightening his eyebrows a bit as his lips turned up into a sneaky smile. Nora let out a laugh.

“Ain’t nothing new around here, Harry. I can’t even tell you how many times them heifers saw this old boy still three sheets to the wind at sunrise,” her father commented, letting out a laugh.

“Well, I can say with confidence that they saw me hurl into the bushes at one point this morning,” Harry quipped and all of them let out a laugh.

“Damn that Bill,” Nora’s mom cursed her brother again.

“I’ve never had alcohol as strong as that moonshine,” Harry commented.

“None of us have, baby. You should probably check on those boys in the tent. Make sure they’re still alive,” her mom told him. Harry let out a laugh before he realized she was mostly serious.

“Come on,” Nora told him, walking toward the screen door.

Harry followed behind her and slipped the galoshes back on his feet as she slipped her own boots on. The two of them walked out to the make-shift campsite to see Niall nearly lying in one of the lawn chairs with a dark pair of Ray-bans on and his hand on his forehead.

“You okay, Nialler?” Harry called out to him.

“Mm, not sure yet,” he mumbled, not moving a muscle.

“How much moonshine did you drink?” Nora asked curiously.

“Enough to make me vomit my entire digestive system out of my body,” Niall quipped, still not moving.

“How are the other lads?” Harry questioned.

“Pretty sure Louis was puking last night. Not sure about Liam and Zayn,” Niall offered.

It took quite a while for Nora and Harry to coax the other three awake, but they finally stirred. No one was exactly making any sudden movements and Nora knew all too well why. Her uncle’s moonshine was paralyzing.

After a while, they all meandered into the kitchen for breakfast and her father offered them all a beer to help with the hang over – a little hair of the dog. At nearly noon, their bus driver and stand-in body guard, Allen, informed them they needed to get back on the road to make it to the next venue in time for their next show. Nora’s entire stomach was in knots as she said goodbye to her parents for a second time.

“I’m so happy you’re happy, baby,” her mom told her as she squeezed Nora into a hug.

“Thank you,” Nora choked out.

“That Harry, he’s a catch,” she went on to say.

“Yeah. He’s definitely something,” Nora breathed as her stomach turned painfully.

“Make sure to give us a call every once in a while. We miss you so much, baby,” her mom told her.

“I will. I promise,” Nora told her as her mother finally pulled her out of her arms.

“Oh, Harry,” her mom gushed as Nora realized Harry was now standing behind her.

“Jeanie!” Harry said happily, using a nickname on her as he held his arms out for her. Nora’s stomach turned as her mother pulled him into a tight hug and she couldn’t decipher whether it was a good or bad thing.

“Darlin’,” her dad cooed, breaking her away from the sight of her mother loving-up on her fake boyfriend.

“Daddy,” Nora said, smiling at her old man.

“This has been such a treat,” he told her.

“It’s been amazing,” Nora agreed.

“I’m so glad you got to come home,” he said.

“Me too, Dad,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

“You done good with Harry, sweetheart. Your mama and me are quite taken with him,” her dad told her.

“Oh, Dad,” Nora choked out, feeling so guilty.

“I know, I know. I’m not tryin’ to embarrass you. But honestly, when we heard you were dating a British pop stars, I had my reservations. But he’s certainly proved himself. If he can get up at six o’clock in the morning and hold his own while milkin’ cows, still drunk as a skunk from the night before, then I know you’re in good hands, baby,” her dad explained.

“Oh my god,” Nora said, letting out a light laugh. How could that possibly be the criteria for being a suitable man for his daughter? Nora would never know.

“Be good and come visit us again soon. This will always be your home,” he told her, kissing the top of her head.

“Oh, Daddy,” Nora cooed as her tears immediately welled in the back of her eyes.

“I love you, darlin’,” he told her affectionately.

“I love you too,” she told him.

.

.

When they were all back on the bus, back in their world, most of the guys went back to sleeping off their hangovers. But Nora and Harry sat in the front lounge on their opposing couches, both of them on their phones. Nora was trying like hell to not think about all the ways Harry impressed her while they were in North Carolina. It made her long for things that were impossible.

That was until she saw the pictures…

Nora silently seethed as she sat on the couch looking at cell phone pictures of Harry with Nora at the Charlotte Gander Mountain, obviously posted by the two girls they met in said store. There were already rumors swirling around on the internet about Harry and Nora dating. Even video footage of Harry talking with Nora and her parents in front of the whole crowd at the concert in Charlotte two nights before. In the video, Harry had noticeable eyes for her and it was almost disgusting how much he gave away in just that short little clip.

It wasn’t until she scrolled to the end of the article off the HollywoodReporter.com that she saw a few pictures of the two of them standing around the bonfire at her family home – Harry’s arm casually draped over her shoulder in one, the next with his nose nuzzled against her cheek, and the last of the two of them sharing a kiss. Nora’s stomach turned. Who the hell took those pictures? Her mind immediately swirled trying to think of everyone who was there. There were so many people. Most of them were family, but there were a few faces she didn’t recognize. Friends of family members – mainly of her teenage cousins.

“Oh my god,” Nora breathed lowly and she noticed how Harry looked up from her from the opposite couch. Her heart beat was pounding in her chest over the fact that they had been outed to the world.

“What’s the matter?” Harry asked her as he pulled out the ear buds from his ears.

“This,” she said finally, thrusting her phone out to show him.

Harry leaned forward, grabbing her phone from her as he began to scroll through the article.

“Hmm,” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he handed her phone back to her.

“Hmm? Really. Hmm?” Nora asked impatiently.

“What do you want me to say?” Harry asked her, his eyebrows furrowing at her.

“This is… this is bullshit, Harry,” Nora growled, looking down at the phone again.

“Bullshit?” He questioned.

“Yeah, bullshit. A lie. A farce – that you made me a part of!” Nora shot her accusation at him like she was firing a bullet from a gun.

Harry shook his head, his entire demeanor noticeably dropping.

“If you wouldn’t have started this whole thing—” Nora continued.

“Spare me the melodramatics, Nora,” Harry scoffed at her.

“No! I never wanted this,” she said, trying to speak as lowly as she could so no one would overhear them.

“Well, you’re a part of it,” Harry snapped at her and she scoffed in response, thoroughly outraged.

“This is fucking bullshit,” Nora growled under her breath, looking down at the pictures again.

Her mind felt like it was out of control. The comments people were making about her on the article were absolutely appalling, all because she was supposedly dating their idol. It was sickening.

“Whatever, Nora,” Harry grumbled snidely, grabbing his cell phone and water as he scoffed and got up from the couch, leaving her in his wake.

Notes

Btw, I neeeeeeded to write Harry looking like this because it gives me all the feeeeeels: