Sunday, May 27 2012
New York, NY

Three days into the tour came a welcomed day off. The boys were grateful for it, as it gave them a small opportunity to look around New York City and have a little break.

They’d slept in a hotel the previous night. Even though they’d toured before, it was still always difficult to sleep in a cramped tour bus. Much like the day off, the opportunity to sleep in an actual bed had been welcomed. For Liam, Zayn and Louis, this meant a pleasant rest.

For Niall, this meant a couple hours of tossing and turning. Over and over again he thought about Brittany, Harry, and their management approved relationship that didn’t even exist yet. That, and the probability of it even coming to fruition.

At first he thought that Harry might ask Brittany on a date, and she would giggle and tell him no.

Then Niall remembered that this was Harry. So he imagined him asking Brittany on a date, and her falling to her knees with gratitude, exclaiming to the world that, yes, she would absolutely love to!

Then Niall remembered that he did not, in fact, live in a teen movie.

It was useless to think about, and he wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much. He liked Brittany, sure. She was pretty, friendly, and she was around all the time. Perhaps it was simply the fact that now she was untouchable. Even if it had been a bad idea before, the fact that management now approved of one of them dating her made it all the more worse.

And the fact that it was Harry and not him? Well, that was just typical.

As for Harry, he spent the first couple hours of the night tossing and turning as well. Of course, he was far more excited than Niall. The more he thought about Brittany, the more he grew attached to the idea of dating her.

So, he laid there, thinking about ways he could ask her out. With their day off it would be the perfect opportunity. He would wake up early, be sure to meet her for breakfast, whisk her off her feet and enjoy a perfectly wonderful day in the city.

As Harry fell asleep with a smile on his face, Niall drifted off wearing a pout.

The next morning, Harry wasted no time in putting his plan into action. Instead of taking the opportunity to sleep in, he got up early and made his way down to the restaurant in the lobby and waited for Brittany to arrive. The girl had to eat sometime, didn’t she?

He sat at a table quietly picking at some hashbrowns (with security lingering in the corner in case of incident) as he waited.

Unbeknownst to him, Niall had also woken up early. He too, had come up with a plan. Management had approved of Harry dating Brittany, but simply for the publicity it would bring to the group. That would work regardless of which member dated her.

So, Niall was certain that if he just told Harry how he felt about Brittany, he would understand. He was a good friend. He would step away.

Niall took a deep breath as he stepped into the restaurant. He hadn’t anticipated seeing Harry there quite so early. He’d only meant to get something to eat.

“Morning,” he said, sitting down at the table across from Harry.

Harry gave him a strange look. It was unlike Niall to wake up any earlier than he absolutely had to. Especially when they were on tour. “What’re you doing up so early?” he asked.

Niall shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep well. Just excited about the tour I guess,” he lied, not particularly wanting to get into it with Harry right away. “What about you?”

“Yeah… me too,” Harry said, peeking over Niall’s head in search of Brittany. He wasn’t too keen on revealing the details of his plan. If he did, he was sure that he would just be made fun of. There really was no point as far as he was concerned.

The two boys sat silently for a few minutes. The waitress brought Niall a cup of coffee, and he sipped on it, trying to work out what he should say to Harry. He drew in a breath as he sat the mug down on the table. He figured he may as well just get it over with.

“Look, Harry, I actually sort of wanted to talk to you about something…”

Harry knitted his eyebrows and studied his friend. It was rare he saw Niall looking so serious. “What’s up, Nialler?”

“Well, I just – ”

“Hold that thought,” Harry said, jumping up from his seat as he saw Brittany stroll into the restaurant.

Niall turned around. That was just his luck.

“Hey Brittany,” Harry said, walking up to her.

“Hey,” she replied sweetly. “You’re up early.”

“Yeah,” he said, waving his hand slightly. “What are you doing today?”

Niall tried not to look like he was paying attention, but it was difficult to not listen to them.

Brittany shrugged. “I don’t know. Nothing really. Just enjoying my day off, I guess. What about you?”

“Fancy that,” Harry said with a grin. “If you want to enjoy your day off, I’ve got just the way for you to do it.”

“And what’s that?” Brittany asked, raising her eyebrow slightly, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Well, I haven’t had much of a chance to see the city, so I was thinking you could show me around. Give me the real New York experience.”

Brittany put her hands on her hips, but that smirk never left her face. “And what makes you think I know anything about New York anyway? Is it just because I’m American?”

Harry clasped his hand to his chest. “I’m shocked you would think that. No, it’s because I read that you used to live in Albany when you were a child. I reckon you’ve been to the city before. You see Brittany, I take the time to research and learn about the people who come to work with us,” he said with a grin.

Niall rolled his eyes as he heard this.

Brittany giggled.

Niall rolled his eyes again.

“All right,” she replied brightly, “It’s a date.”

Harry continued to grin, while Niall suddenly lost his appetite. He stood up from the table, meaning to leave the restaurant. Perhaps he could catch a couple more hours of sleep if he tried.

“Oh, Niall,” Harry said as Niall walked past where he and Brittany were standing. “Sorry about that,” he apologized, glancing at Brittany. “You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about?”

Niall forced a grin. “Nah, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t that important.”

Harry was unsure what to make of that, but just nodded.

“Morning Niall,” Brittany said, glancing up at him.

Niall looked at her, and that fake grin he had plastered on quickly faded. So much for telling Harry what he felt. He supposed now he just had to get over it. “Morning,” he muttered, before quickly walking away.

Harry and Brittany shared an odd look, but the moment was quickly forgotten. “I guess I’d better just grab something quick,” Brittany said with a wink. “Since now I’ve got to get ready for our day.”

***

“Come on, Harry,” Brittany laughed, pulling him towards a food truck. “It’s not that bad. I swear it has the best falafel in the city.”

Harry wrinkled his nose and reluctantly followed Brittany. “It’s not the truck I’m worried about, it’s the picture on the side of it.”

She rolled her eyes, but her face still wore the same radiant grin that it had all day. “It’s really good. Just trust me. You said you wanted the real New York City experience, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah,” he replied, still looking sceptical.

“Then just trust me,” she winked, walking up to the truck and ordering for the two of them.

Harry watched her from behind. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and it bounced as she walked around with him.

A true reflection of her personality, he felt. She was fun and easy to be around. She was able to keep up with his wit, which was something he had yet to find in another girl.

“Here,” she said, handing him some sort of pita sandwich wrapped in paper. He eyed it suspiciously. “Don’t just look at it,” she laughed. “Eat it.”

“Right,” Harry replied, looking at her and slightly biting his lip. “Before I do that though, there’s something else I want to do.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

“This,” he said, leaning down and planting a soft kiss on her lips. Brittany was a little surprised at first, but quickly got used to the feeling and happily pursed her lips against his in response.

When Harry pulled away, he smirked at her, unwrapped his food and took a bite. “You were right,” he said nonchalantly. “This is pretty good.”

Brittany just watched him and smiled to herself. “Well played, Harry Styles,” she said. “Well played.”