Nora spent the next several days trying to get five high-profile, endlessly busy rock stars packed for tour. For the sake of her sanity, she tried her very best to stay as far away from Harry Styles as she could. Between the things he said to her and the way he looked at her, she knew it was going to be a challenge not to smack him across the face every time he opened his mouth. And she really didn’t want to lose her swanky, piece-of-cake tour gig. She planned to put in her time with the guys, but also to enjoy as much of the States as she could along the way. She still couldn’t believe she was even picked for the job. Last year at this time, she was an interning college student at Syco, trying to learn the in’s and out’s of the business, and look at her now – on tour with the biggest band in the world. It was a dream come true and she knew it.
“So, do you like your job so far?” Nora’s boyfriend Grant asked as she lay in bed with her cell phone perched on her ear.
It surprised her that he was even asking about it. The fact that she was going to be in the States, but not with him was a sore subject between them. Grant recently graduated college and went back to the States for the summer. It was the plan all along for Nora to spend the summer with him in New York – they even rented an apartment together – but when she was offered the position with One Direction, she couldn’t turn it down.
“Uh, yeah sure. I mean, the real job hasn’t really started, but I’ve been helping them get ready for tour and stuff and it’s been okay,” I told him.
“Hmm. Has that one said anything to you lately?” He asked sounding displeased. Nora knew which one he was referring to right away.
She made the mistake of venting to him about Harry after their first meeting, which only made the distance between them worse. Grant was worried about her, and Nora was worried that Grant would find some sort of reason to turn everything right back around on her.
“Um, no. Not really,” Nora said, being vague on purpose. A flashback of Harry’s palm on her ass cheek stuck out in her mind like a bad dream – except it was a stark reality.
“I swear, that little creep better keep his hands off of you,” Grant grumbled angrily into the phone.
“I mean, he’s not going to like, rape me or anything,” Nora said, furrowing her eyebrows, knowing she’d be better off closing her damn mouth, rather than giving Grant these wild images to think about.
“He better not fucking touch you,” Grant snapped, causing Nora to cringe to herself. Yeah, she was an ace at putting her foot in her mouth.
Nora quickly looked around her small flat trying to think of something to say to change the subject.
“Just… just drop it,” she said when her brain came up short of ideas.
“I’m not going to drop it, Nora. I don’t like the idea of you going out on tour with this guy,” he said once again, for the millionth time.
“I am well aware where you stand on the subject, Grant,” Nora snapped back at him.
“Yet you’re still going,” he hissed bitterly.
“Yes, I am. And you’re just going to have to get over that,” Nora told him, feeling a flood of annoyance that he was still trying to get her to ditch a once in a lifetime opportunity – an opportunity that would no doubt advance her career to heights she couldn’t even fathom. No, she was not going to quit any time soon.
“Get over it?” He scoffed, sounding quite angry over the phone.
“Just say it. Just fucking say what you need to say, because I’m sick of the tension,” she snapped at him.
“You’re sick of the tension?” He said with a dark laugh.
“Yeah,” she said firmly.
“Well, I’m sick of you subjecting yourself to that little dick’s bullshit. I’m sick of you going back there every day to put up with more. I think you secretly like it. Because he’s rich and famous and…” Grant started.
“Are you kidding me!?” Nora yelled at him.
“No, I’m not kidding,” he shot at her.
“You think I like to be degraded like that!? You think I ask for it? That’s bullshit, Grant. I can’t believe you!” she yelled at him.
“YOU KEEP GOING BACK!” He screamed.
“IT’S MY FUCKING JOB!” Nora screamed back.
“It’s your job to be sexually harassed!? I don’t fucking think so, Nora!” He yelled.
“It’s not like that all the time, Grant. I told you that. Everyone else it perfectly nice to me. It’s just him,” Nora told him once again, sounding like a broken record. It seemed like every time they talked, the subject of Harry Styles would come up.
“You must like it,” he said bitterly.
“How dare you even say something like that to me. What the fuck, Grant?” Nora said as the anger built up inside of her.
“It’s true!” He growled.
“Screw you, Grant. Don’t call me again until you can treat me with some respect,” Nora snapped.
“Kind of like Harry Styles—” Grant began, but Nora took the opportunity to hang up the phone before she heard the end of his degrading sentence.
Grant didn’t call back and she didn’t expect him to. She tossed and turned in bed that night thinking about Grant – thinking about Harry. Everything in her life was so upside down since she started her new job. She wondered if it would ever straighten out again.
In the morning as she was getting ready to go over to the massive house that the boys in One Direction were sharing as they finished up recording their album and got ready for tour, her phone rang. After she raced across the room to get it, she saw Grant’s name light up the screen. She groaned inwardly as she took the phone call.
“Nora?” Grant questioned.
“Yeah,” she said, sounding short on purpose. After all, he was the reason she barely slept the night before.
“Nora, I’m sorry,” Grant said quietly. Nora stayed quiet, wondering if she even wanted to accept his apology.
“Nora?” He questioned a moment later.
“Hmm?” She hummed.
“Did you hear me?” He asked.
“Yes. But frankly, it doesn’t mean much…” she told him.
“It doesn’t mean much?” He snapped, sounding angry once again.
“Yeah, it doesn’t mean much when you don’t mean it,” Nora growled.
“What the fuck, Nora?” Grant scoffed.
“No. I’m over this, Grant. I’m over your disapproval. I’m over the fact that you can’t seem to trust me. You can’t see past the fact that there is a mildly good looking person that finds me attractive—” Nora began.
“So you do like him,” Grant said, missing the point by a mile. Nora scoffed to herself.
“Goodbye, Grant,” she said.
“Nora!” Grant snapped just as she was about to pull the phone from her ear.
“What?” She asked.
“You’re breaking up with me?” He asked, sounding slightly emotional.
“It’s time,” she said quietly.
“So that’s it? Four years, Nora. FOUR YEARS! You’re throwing it all away!” Grant started to yell, giving her the perfect opportunity to press ‘end’.
She took a deep breath and looked up at the clock.
“Shit!” She gasped, realizing she was definitely going to be late. Wonderful.
As she sped through the streets, she wondered how much trouble she’d get in for being late. She hadn’t been late yet, so she didn’t really know what the consequences were and it scared her a little. She didn’t want to mess up.
Driving her tiny European car was a lot different than driving her Dad’s old pickup truck back in North Carolina. She spent four years in Europe, and she still found it difficult to drive on the opposite side of the road. But luckily enough for her, she made it safely to the large London mansion, ready to start her day. Only two days and counting until they loaded onto a plane to head State side for tour.
Nora headed into the house, making her way to the kitchen, hoping she would make it in without anyone seeing her. But sure enough, as soon as she stepped foot into the kitchen, the refrigerator door closed and Harry Styles stood in front of her wearing only a tiny pair of boxer briefs.
“Christ!” Nora gasped at the sight of him
“Hello, love,” Harry smirked at her, scratching his fingernails idly across his stomach.
Nora’s eyes dropped down to the noticeable bulge in his pants, before she quickly looked away. But apparently she wasn’t quick enough.
“Like what you see?” Harry smirked.
“Right,” she scoffed, trying to act as if her face wasn’t blushing a bright crimson.
“He’s really friendly,” he said, grabbing onto his crotch.
“Oh, Jesus. Please stop,” Nora growled, setting her bag down on the counter.
“He can make you see Jesus if you want to take a ride,” Harry said, still talking about his penis.
“Wow. Get over yourself. Nobody wants anything to do with your little friend. Especially me,” Nora scoffed, rolling her eyes at him.
“Are you sure about that?” Harry smirked at her.
“Gross,” Nora said, trying to shake off the disgusting feelings he was giving her.
“You’re lucky I like you, otherwise I’d have to report the fact that you’re almost a half hour late,” Harry said to her as he turned to make his way out of the kitchen.
She glared at the back of his head as he departed and hoped that karma would take over and make him trip going up the stairs or something.

The next two days were spent shipping tour equipment and the guys’ personal belongings to the states for tour. It was stressful, but necessary. She just hoped everything would make it in one piece, including herself.
When the time finally came to getting on the plane for New York, she was filled with a sense of relief and excitement. It was finally happening. Her adventure was beginning.
Nora spent the first six hours of the flight in first class with an empty seat next to her. She had never flown anything but coach on nothing but full airplanes before, so the space and freedom of first class was a luxury she had never known.
She spent nearly half the flight sleeping in her cushy seat, only to arise with a seatmate next to her.
“Never thought you were going to wake up, love,” Harry said, grinning at her from the seat next to hers.
“What are—what are you doing?” She asked, feeling a little disoriented.
“Louis was drooling on my shoulder. I thought I might get a bit better company up here,” Harry told her.
“You thought wrong,” Nora snapped at him.
“Did you wake up on the wrong side of your very expensive first class seat?” Harry asked her, cocking an eyebrow at her.
Nora blushed rapidly. She felt bad for snapping his head off, especially since it was the guys’ idea to have her bumped up to first class with them, which really wasn’t necessary.
“Sorry,” Nora mumbled, looking out the window at the dark gray sky. It was sure to be night by the time they got to their destination. But she couldn’t imagine anything better than seeing the lights of New York from far above.
“I made sure to put my say in when the bus schedules were being planned,” Harry said, ignoring her apology.
“What does that mean?” Nora asked, furrowing her brow in question.
“You’re with me, sweetheart,” he smiled, before sending her a wink.
Nora groaned and rolled her eyes before looking out the window again.
“Don’t fight it, love. Or do. That might be fun,” Harry said, patting the top of her thigh before he got up and moved back to his own seat.

Notes

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