This story is called “Harry and I.” I named it that because it was suggested to me by a friend. The excerpt below is Chapter 5 of the story. This piece does not directly connect to the pandemic, but it has been a way to help remove myself from my life every now and then. I chose to submit this specific chapter because I believe it showcases the story without giving too much away. My inspiration for writing this was the boy-band One Direction. Me and my friend Ella were huge fans back in the day, and we used to read fanfic all the time. Since we’ve noticed Wattpad has become popular again, I decided I wanted to write my own story. I hope that by reading it my audience will get a good kick of nostalgia. If for some reason anyone wants to continue reading the story, you can find it on Wattpad. My username is megg132, and I have about 25 chapters published so far. :)
As I started to drift back into consciousness, I could hear voices floating all around me.
“Do you think she’s dead?”
“No you idiot! If she was dead she wouldn’t be breathing,” said a British voice.
“Hey! Wasn’t this the girl reading a book earlier?”
“Yes. I think so. There was a book in her bag,” said an Irish one. My eyes fluttered open, and I spoke abruptly.
“You went through my purse?” I shouted. Five late-teenage boys were staring down at me. I was laying on something that resembled a cot.The one with the Irish accent and blonde hair laughed.
“Not me. Harry did,” he said and gestured to a boy with curly hair.
Suddenly, I remembered everything. The stupid concert, me winning the contest, and fainting on the stage. I tried to sit up, but Curly gently put his hand on my shoulder.
“You might want to lay down for a bit longer Love,” he told me. I shook his hand off and sat up anyway.
“Don’t tell me what to do Curly,” I snipped at him. He looked at his friend with shaggy hair and brown eyes. They both started laughing hysterically.
“I actually prefer the name Harry, “ he said in between laughs. I rolled my eyes.
“My bad. I don’t know any of your names,” I admitted. They all looked shocked.
“You’re joking right?” asked the one with a buzz cut. I shook my head.
“Nope. I didn’t even want to go to this dumb concert. My friends dragged me along,” I explained with an eye roll.
Oh no!Melany and Ella were probably insane with worry right now! I rummaged through my bag, looking for my cell phone. I had 17 missed calls.16 from my friends, and one from my Mom.
It was almost 1 am. I decided to call Ella first, but then I forgot I was surrounded by 5 strangers.I cleared my throat.
“Could I get a bit of privacy?” I asked.
Curly looked around uneasily.
“Well, you see, I’m not sure that would be a good idea. What if you faint again?”
I glared at him.
“I only fainted beacuse of that stupid light that flashed in my face! Right now the bigger threat to my safety is that I have no idea where I am and I’m surrounded by boys I’ve never even met before!” I shouted at him. He sat down next to me and took my hands in his.
“Calm down Love! We were just trying to help you,” he told me calmly. I jerked my hands away from his.
“Fine. I get it. Security liabilities or whatever. But do all of you have to be here when I’m on the phone?”
Harry shook his head.
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ll stay with her,” he said to the rest of the band. They all nodded and walked off, the Irish one giving me a wink before he left. We were in what looked to be a makeup room backstage. There was a large vanity, an oak desk, and a velvet couch. I took a deep breath.
“What’s your name again?” I asked him in a calm voice.
He smiled.
“Harry. Harry Edward Styles,” he said with a grin.
“Okay. Could you go sit over there?” I gestured towards the couch.
“Sure. Since you asked nicely,” he said cockily. I waited a few seconds for him to move, then I dialed Ella’s number. The line rang for a few seconds before she picked up.
“Liv! Where are you!”
Wherever she was was dark and noisy, so it was hard for me to understand her.
“I’m still at the Moda Centre, at least I think I am,” I told her, while glancing at Harry for confirmation. He nodded.
“I knew it! After you fell on the stage me and Mel tried to go get you, but the security guard stopped us! Then, once the show was over, we tried again but he said that we would have to wait outside. We’re on the way to Mel’s car right now,” she explained to me.
“There’s a huge line of traffic though. We might not be able to get to you for an hour or two.”
I sighed.
“Don’t worry. I’ll call my Aunt Amanda and see if she’ll let me stay at her house. She lives near here, and I can take an Uber.” I heard Melany’s voice in the background.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded.
“Yes, I’ll be fine. Just get home safely, okay?”
“We will! Oh, and if by any chance you run into Niall, please get his autograph for me,” Ella said excitedly.
“Or Zayn’s,” Melany shouted from behind.
I could see Harry smiling, to which I just rolled my eyes.
“Sure thing. Bye!”
I hung up on them and took a deep breath.
“No one wants my autograph?” Harry asked with a mock frown.
“Oh believe me, they would both love your autograph,” I assured him.
“What about you? Most girls would have asked me for a signed picture by now.”
I shrugged.
“I’m not really like ‘most girls’ I guess.”
He smiled at me.
“I can tell. How are you feeling?”
“Better. Now that all the loud music is gone,” I told him.
“That’s good. Do you want some water?”
I nodded.
‘Okay, I’ll be right back!”
He left the room, leaving me alone to make my next phone call. My mom didn’t pick up, so I left her a voicemail message.
“Hey Mom, sorry I couldn’t talk earlier. I’m not gonna get home until tomorrow morning though. I’m gonna be staying at Ella’s house. Love you!”
“I thought you were staying at your auntie’s house?” Harry was back, holding a glass.
“She’s out of town. I didn’t want my friends to worry though,” I explained to him. He handed me the water and raised his eyebrow suspiciously.
“Well then, where are you going?”
“Um, home? I can just get an Uber.”
“Where do you live?”
I huffed at him.
“And why would you need to know that?”
He smirked at me.
“I meant, how far away from the city do you live?”
“Oh. Like an hour. Maybe 90 minutes if there’s traffic,” I told him after chugging the drink. He gave me a frown.
“Love, that’ll cost you a fortune. You can stay with me and the boys tonight.”
I scoffed.
“Are you out of your mind? What makes you think I’m stupid enough to go into the city with 4 strangers?”
“Actually there’s 5 of us Love.”
I glared at him.
“No. I’m leaving now,” I said sharply and I tried to storm out the door. He stepped in front of the door to block me from leaving. For the first time, I got a good look at him. He was tall, maybe 5’10 or 5’11. He had deep green eyes that had a bit of brown and yellow flickering in them. He was grinning, so I could see his dimples.
“Harry, please move,” I said as calmly as I could. He smirked. It seemed as if he was enjoying this whole ordeal.
“Olivia, please sit down,” he said mockingly. I took a deep breath.
“Why do you want me to go with you? Where would we even go?”
“Well for one, I don’t want you fainting in a cab or on a street. I would feel awful if anything happened to you. We were planning on spending the night at The Duniway. I’ve heard they have a great breakfast buffet.”
I sighed. A night at a fancy hotel didn’t sound awful. And I was very tired.
“How do I even know that I can trust you?”
He gently reached for my hand as he gazed into my eyes.
“Well, I mean, I did carry you off the stage after you passed out.”
Now that I thought about it, I do remember seeing eyes that looked exactly like his. However, I didn’t like the weird feeling that had started to arise in my stomach. I pushed his hand away and took another deep breath.
“Okay. Fine. But you have to get me home tomorrow. And I want to stay in my own room,” I demanded. He gave me a beaming smile.
“Deal. Let’s go find the rest of the boys,” he said, holding the door open for me. I stepped through, hoping that I wasn’t making a big mistake.