Another World

I had just walked into the office when my phone began ringing. The ringtone I had assigned for Harry blaring aloud.

A smile already began playing on my lips as his name and picture appeared on my screen. "Hello!" I answered cheerily, which was odd for me considering I was not a morning person.

"Hello, love. How are you?"

"Exceptionally well. What's up, babe?"

"You won't guess what I just got."

"What?" I asked as I smiled, loving the way he would sound like a child on Christmas whenever he was excited.

"Two tickets to Paris!"

I slapped a hand on my mouth, screaming into it as I fought the urge to jump up and down in front of all my co-workers. "Harry, are you serious? They gave you the week off?"

"Yes and it'll just be me and you."

The room seemed hotter, my heart feeling like it could burst from happiness. This trip with Harry was all I could think about the second he mentioned it. "I could just kiss you right about now! Oh my God you don't how long I've waited to have you all for myself without any interruptions."

He made a low growl deep in his throat that made my whole body shiver with desire. "In that case I definitely can't wait."

I giggled. "I better go study some French or else we're fucked."

"Je m'appelle Harry. Je suis allé au cinéma avec copains et ma famille,"

I burst out laughing at the only two phrases he knew how to speak fluently in French. Anytime we would talk about France, he'd always feel the need to show off what he knew. But even though it translated to 'I'm Harry. I went to the movies with friends and family', it was admittedly sexy to hear.

"See I know French, so we're good babe." He said in between laughs.

"Oh yeah. If I ever need to tell someone I went to the movies, I know I can count on you."

I could hear him laugh on the other end and it suddenly made me miss him. I no longer wanted to be at work, but instead in his arms where his soft, brown curls would caress my skin as he nuzzled against my neck. I sighed realizing my day didn't even start and I already wanted to go home.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his tone becoming more serious with concern.

"I just miss you is all."

"I miss you more. I hope I can get out early so I can see you afterwards."

"Are you busy today?"

"Yeah, we're in the middle of a photo shoot up in Tunbridge Wells for the album."

"Oh yeah, you told me about that. How is it going?"

"It's been fun, and I have on a bow tie just for you."

"Hmm, you're going to leave that on for me to see later, right?" I asked, lowering my voice as I took a seat on my chair.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't?"

We shared a chuckle before I heard his name being called in the background. He sighed, answering back with annoyance. "I have to go babe, talk to your boss about the week, it's the first one of August."

"Alright, let's see if I can get it."

"Are you kidding me? That guy is in love with you, of course you'll get it."

I groaned. "Harry, don't do this. Goodbye, and I'll see you later."

"Goodbye love, try not to flirt-"

I hung up the phone before he could finish. I couldn't remember how many times we bickered about my boss and his supposed crush on me.

I shook off the little irritation that had built up whenever Harry mentioned my boss before heading into Christian's office.

"Miss. Evans, what a lovely surprise." He greeted me with a smile from his desk.

"Good morning, if you have time I was wondering if I could ask you about that week I told you about before."

"Ah yes, did you pick out a date?"

"I have, the first week of August. Harry planned this little trip to France for us, I hear it's beautiful in Paris." I spoke rather quickly. Whenever it came down to face offs with Christian, I always would talk faster than usual out of nerves. I couldn't point out enough how he could affect me with his intimidating gray eyes.

Since day one I always found him intimidating. Handsome, but very intimidating. The way he would look at me made me feel uneasy at times, maybe a tad scared as well. He just seemed kind of dangerous, like he knew what you were thinking just by looking at you with that stare he could hold for hours.

I shook my head and offered a weak smile, reminding myself to stay relaxed and not tensed.

"Unfortunately, I cannot give you that week. You see Miss. Evans, I had plans for you to accompany me to Los Angeles. That is for work purposes of course."

I felt myself stuttering for words as my heart felt like it dropped several feet. Los Angeles, with him!? What the hell for? "Sir, with all due respect can't someone else go? I mean, I don't know if he can just cancel the tickets just like that. We had this planned for weeks-"

He held up a hand to stop me, closing his eyes slowly. "It is mandatory. I'm sorry for the inconvenience it has caused, but everyone in the office has been required to make this trip at least once. I'm afraid it's your turn."

"But,"

"No buts. You will go, that is unless you don't want to keep this job. Is that clear?"

I gave a small nod, anger boiling in my blood. "Can I ask what this trip is for?" I asked, my voice straining a little.

"Fashion show. You'll be the one to report it."

I nodded again, turning to leave when he called my name. "Yes?"

"I do hope you'll realize just how much of a great opportunity this is."

I sighed. "Me too."

***

"He'll be okay with it. You know Harry can't be upset with you." Valarie reassured me as we shared a cup of coffee in the kitchen.

"I hope you're right. I just know this is going to cause problems between us. He's always talking about my boss liking me and now that he's cancelled Harry's plans for some trip to Los Angeles, I assure you he will think its some devious sabotage."

"Just explain to him how your job depends on it, he'll understand. He's a very understanding person who only wants the best for you, I can bet he'll be okay with the inconvenience."

"What about the part where I'll be traveling alone with Christian? You think he'll be understanding about that?"

She fought the urge to smile, taking a sip of coffee instead. "Probably not, honestly. But he'll get over it, just talk it out, alright?"

I nodded. "Are you heading over to Zayn's?"

"Yes, he's making us dinner. Besides, I don't want to stick around for whatever will happen. Will you be okay? I can stay if you'd like."

"No, no. You go, I'll be fine. I don't want you to hear that either, hell I don't even wanna hear it."

She gave me a hug. "It'll be fine, trust me."

I smiled. "Thanks, Val. You go have fun." I teased her, making her blush as she left.

Since Zayn and her had finally made it official, they were inseparable. Any little time he had free, Valarie would be at his side. Not that it was any different with Harry and I. I guess you could say we were all a bunch of lovesick puppies.

I sauntered over to the living room, cleaning up a bit before Harry arrived. I couldn't tell him via text that our little love trip was cancelled, I knew it would distract him from his work. Who would want to see an angry and sad Harry on the cover of their new album?

So I decided to invite him over instead. The rest of the day after receiving the news, I had been dreading to come home and tell him, to see his face crumble knowing the one time he had off, I wasn't. That we were once again being ripped apart by our jobs.

When the knock sounded, I could feel the nerves kick in. The guilt.

I opened the door and found a smiling Harry with the bow tie he promised to keep on just for me. "Hi!" He extended his greeting, the way I absolutely loved.

"Hi." I couldn't help but smile back.

He wrapped his arms around me, placing his lush, pink, soft lips on mine briefly. When we pulled away, he furrowed his eye brows in concern. "What's wrong? You're usually happy to see me."

"I am, of course I am." I answered, placing my hands on his chest. "It's just I need to tell you something."

His whole body tensed and I knew that he interpreted it the wrong way. "No, stay calm, babe. It's about the trip." I reassured him quickly.

His body relaxed a little bit, but the worry in his face didn't wash away. "What about it?"

I gestured for him to come in as I closed the door. He sat on the couch, looking at me with curiosity as I sat beside him. I struggled to find the right words to begin with, staring down at my hands as if they would give me answers.

"You can't go." He stated bluntly.

I shot my head up to look at him. He sat with his legs apart, hands folded in between, staring at them with disappointment.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, about to reach out for him when he stood up instead.

"He didn't want you to go, right? He couldn't let you be with me because he's that much of a jealous prick?" He shouted, fists balling up on his sides.

"Harry, baby calm down. It wasn't like that." I tried to reason, staying as calm as I could be.

"No? So tell me the reason, Kate. Tell me why you aren't allowed to go." He continued to shout, now facing me.

"He assigned me a trip to Los Angeles, for a fashion show."

"A fashion show? Oh really? Since when does Sugarscape report on fashion?"

"Can you stop yelling?" I asked, my voice beginning to rise with anger.

"Answer me then!"

"Harry, I don't fucking know, alright? This is what he told me!"

"And you're going to believe him? Let me guess, he's going along with you, isn't he?"

I meekly nodded, realizing how this whole situation sounded aloud.

He gave a short laugh that was filled with anything but humor. "Unbelievable."

"Look," I began, standing up to walk over to him. "I don't want to go, you know I don't. But my job depends on it, Haz. I can't get fired just for a trip to France. You can get your money back, right?"

"I don't give a fuck about the money! You thought of it as just a trip? Here I am, begging my ass off to get this week, all because I felt guilty for not spending enough time with you. But here you are, thinking of it as just a trip. Kate, this wasn't just a trip, alright? This was me trying to save our relationship from ending before it even began!" He yelled, his voice rising in crescendo with every word.

I blinked at him, afraid of this new Harry I never even seen before. He was so angry, the green eyes I came to love no longer containing that happy shine, but an angry one instead. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I just,-" I stuttered, not even able to form complete sentences. What was I supposed to say?

He shook his head in disgust before turning to head for the door.

"Harry, no. Wait, please!" I begged, quickly grabbing his arm to stop him. "Don't leave me like this. Talk to me."

"I have nothing to say to you. You just showed me how much you care about us." He replied as he faced me, eyes brimming with tears that hadn't yet fall to his cheeks.

"Don't you dare think that," I warned, my voice low and foreign to my own ears. "Don't you ever think I don't care about us! What the fuck do you want me to do? Huh? Leave my job? Leave my job so we can work this out?" I began yelling, absolutely pained that he could even think that low of me. "Well I'm sorry I can't do that, Harry! I can't throw away everything for a boy I just met two months ago! A boy who right now isn't showing me much of a reason to leave my job for."

His eyes widened a little, showing just how much that last part affected him. "What are you saying?" He asked, his tone filled with pain and confusion.

"I'm saying that if it were you in this position, you wouldn't think twice about leaving your career for me. So the fact that you're asking me to do that is completely selfish! I know how busy you are, I understand that. But there will be other weeks you're free that I'm not, and I can't leave my job for every one of them, can I?"

He looked away from me, focusing his watery eyes on a spot behind me instead. "But you're leaving with him. "

I rolled my eyes, sighing with frustration. "This is what it's really about, isn't it? It's about Christian. It isn't about me not being able to make it, it's about me having to leave you to go on a trip with him. A trip that's strictly business!"

"Business for you, Kate! For once can't you think like a man and see just how easy he's getting you to play his little game? He wants you and he'll do anything he can to get you to be his."

"Fuck off with that bullshit already! He's my boss, Harry, my boss! If he has a crush, let him! It's me who you need to worry about, I have the decision to be with him or not. And you have got to know just how much I care for you, just how much I want to be with you and no one else. His crush shouldn't matter to you, you have nothing to worry about." I cried, begging for him to understand just how absurd this whole situation was.

He sighed, dropping his head to gaze at his feet. "I know, it's just-" He paused to take a shaky breath. "I get very jealous seeing you with him. Maybe because I think you kissed him once before and you'll do it again. I know we've only known one another for a short time, but in that short time I've grown so close to you. To the point where I'm scared to lose you. I- I feel like we could go far, like we could take it all the way to a place we've never been,"

He cupped my face in both of his hands, his thumb wiping away a tear I hadn't noticed fall. "I love you, Kate. I don't ever want to lose you, I'm so sorry I acted like that."

I reached up to wipe away his tears, breaking into a small sob at his words before my lips pressed to his. All my anger and pain washing away into the kiss, both of us begging for forgiveness. Pulling away, I twirled my fingers into his soft curls, smiling up at him through blurry eyes as I whispered back the words I so desperately wanted to say. "I love you, Harry."