The Gambler

They had been stopped at least fifteen times every hour and it was enough to make the group go mad. Of course, none of them hated meeting their fans, in fact they all loved it. But when they were just trying to blend in with the crowd and enjoy each other’s company, it got a bit annoying. The only time it had died down slightly was when the boys had left them for an hour to rehearse. The girls had taken that time to have a spot of lunch and shop at the more expensive stores so Louis wouldn’t chastise them.

When the boys met them back at the HMV, Elle had taken to walking beside Eleanor rather than Harry after a particularly jealous fan had made a snotty remark about the two.

Harry tried not to let the remarks bother him, but he couldn’t help but find it gnawing at him that maybe Elle was having different feelings about him. He knew it would probably be worse online, the pictures no doubt already being posted everywhere. The tabloids and fans would pick them apart, dissect every move they made. Just when Harry was beginning to get a headache from all of the thoughts swirling through his head, he felt a small tug on his right hand.

His eyes looked first at his hand that was now entangled with a pair of jeweled fingers and then trailed up to meet Elle’s face. She sent him a genuine smile before turning away and pulling him behind her. He glanced behind him to see that Louis was with Eleanor while the other three were talking to some fans outside with the help of Paul and surprisingly, Ray.

“You look stressed.” Elle mused and looked at him over her shoulder. She dropped his hand as she began to look through the bras laid out on the white dresser top.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “I’m just not looking forward to everything coming out of this trip.”

She froze for a moment and looked over at him with a worried expression, “So you don’t want to do-whatever this is-with me anymore?”

“No!” Harry protested and shook his head, “I want to do this with you. I want to be with you. I’m just worried that you won’t want to be with me after all of the media gets out of control.”

Elle’s face relaxed and she glanced around them before turning back to him. She closed the small gap between them and placed her hands on either side of his face, “You stupid, silly boy. I like you, despite my initial hesitations and nothing-I mean absolutely nothing-could make me not want to be with you.”

Harry’s heart soared and a strange sense of butterflies rose in his stomach. He pressed his lips to hers in an instant and for a moment the pair was lost in trading kisses. She pulled away first and he pressed his forehead against hers.

She grinned up at him, “But you still haven’t asked me to be your girlfriend.”

“Will you be my gir-” He was cut off by her hand clasping over his mouth.

She narrowed her eyes at him with a playful grin on her face, “You are not asking me out in a Victoria’s Secret.”

“Not really romantic, is it?” He joked and looked around to see that every single person in there seemed to be staring at the pair. He gave a tight lipped smile before turning back to Elle, “Can we go soon? I want to spend some time with you without the boys and Eleanor.”

Elle smiled and nodded, “I just have to pick out a few bras and then I’ll be ready to go. Wanna help?”

“You do realize you just asked an 18 year old boy to help you pick out a bra, right?” Harry teased before turning to face the bras in front of them.

Elle laughed and nodded her head, “I’m trusting you not to be a total perv.”

“Then I’ve already given you a reason to not trust me.” Harry smirked as he held a black lacy bra up for her to see, “I like this one.”

“I do like lace.” Elle said with a small purse of her lips. She clucked her tongue before nodding, “That one will do. I just have to get my size.”

“I can get it for you!” Harry said with a shit eating grin.

Elle rolled her eyes and pushed him out of the way, “Nice try, Pervy Pete.”

They carried on around the store as quickly as possible. Harry felt only a little awkward as he helped her pick between patterns and designs, not understanding the difference at all between a ‘demi cup’ and a ‘t-shirt bra’. To him they looked almost all the same, but every time he showed her a new one, she’d say she didn’t like it and gave it a new name.

By the time they were done, Elle had purchased seven new bras while Eleanor had purchased three and something else. Harry, knowing Louis was more immature than him when it came to boobs, had sent the older boy a knowing smirk when Eleanor gave a small blush when Elle asked her what she had purchased.

“ELLE! IS THIS YOUR NEW BOYFRIEND?”

“ELLE! HOW LONG ARE YOU IN TOWN FOR!?”

“HOW LONG HAVE YOU TWO BEEN DATING?”

The questions continued as the group made their ways to the cars. Liam, Niall and Zayn were already in their vehicle with Paul. So Ray took it upon himself to guide the two couples to the remaining SUV. They piled in, this time Harry sitting beside Elle and were soon bustling back to the hotel.

“Elle,” Ray called from the front once they were away from the screams of fans, “Your mom called me while you were shopping, said you weren’t answering. Give her a call when we get back?”

“Sure thing.” Elle answered immediately before biting her lip and looking out the window.

Harry knew something was up, but decided not to comment on it. Instead he slid his hand across the seat between them and ran his thumb lovingly over the back of her hand. Elle turned and looked at him, giving him a small smile before intertwining their fingers together. Harry squeezed it reassuringly and sent her-what he hoped looked like-a comforting smile.

They arrived at the hotel quicker than he had thought they would and before he could protest, Elle and Eleanor were running towards the elevator. Ray was jogging behind them with a shake of his head.

Eleanor called out over her shoulder, “Harry! Paul gave us your other room key so we’re getting ready in your room! We’ll meet you in forty minutes in Louis’ room. You’re not allowed to come in yours!”

With that, the doors shut on the elevator, but not before Elle gave Harry a coy wave.

“Your girlfriend’s insane.” Harry said with a small laugh and pressed the button to wait for the next elevator.

Louis laughed and nodded before putting his hands in the pockets of his pants, “I could say the same about your girlfriend. Or have you not asked her yet?”

“Waiting for the right time.” Harry said and copied Louis’ stance just as the other three boys caught up to him. He nodded at each of them, “Interesting day to say the least?”

“Number one trending topic on twitter. And the third, fourth, sixth and seventh.” Liam said with a grin as he looked up from his new iPhone.

Harry’s jaw dropped and his eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

“Trending Topics: Harry and Elle, Elle Peters, Harry Styles, Ellarry, Helle.” Liam recited before letting out a laugh, “I quite like ‘Helle’ as your couple name.”

Harry let out a low groan and Zayn clapped him on the back, “That’s what you get for dating a famous celebrity, mate.”

The group laughed and stepped out of the elevator onto their floor. They decided to congregate in Louis’ room to wait for the girls. Liam retreated to his room only briefly to call Danielle while Zayn was busy texting Perrie on his phone. Niall lounged on the bed beside Zayn while Louis and Harry began to argue over who got to pick the show on the television.

Meanwhile, in Harry and Elle’s room, clothes were strewn over the beds and floor as the two girls began to plan out their outfits.

“This shirt is amazing! Oh my god!” Eleanor exclaimed as she picked up the red peplum top from Elle’s suitcase.

Elle smiled over at the brunette, “You can wear it tonight if you want.”

“What? No I couldn’t.” Eleanor said with a shake of her head.

Elle laughed, “Of course you can. It’s not a big deal. I’ll get it back from you in the morning. Red would look amazing on you.”

Eleanor bit the inside of her cheek for a moment before she smiled over at the popstar, “Thank you so much. I promise I won’t get any spaghetti sauce on it while Lou and I are at dinner.”

“I sure hope not!” Elle teased before she held up two different earrings to her ears, “Do you guys have reservations somewhere?”

“Yeah, we do,” Eleanor said before pointing to the earrings on the left, “Lou made them a week ago at this little Italian restaurant. He’s booked the whole restaurant for us.”

“How romantic!” Elle exclaimed and began to style Eleanor’s hair for her, “I have no idea what Harry has planned. I imagine we’ll end up at a McDonald’s.”

Eleanor laughed, “Sounds about right.”

They spent the next twenty minutes getting ready swapping stories and laughter. Elle felt like she had made an instant connection with Elle. She didn’t have to worry about her talking to her friends back home about what she said or selling her out. It was nice knowing she had made a friend that seemed to know exactly what she was going through when being with a boy in the biggest boy band in the world.

“El, come here. Let’s take a photo.” Elle said as she stood in front of the floor length mirror, her iPhone in her hand.

Eleanor sauntered over and the pair posed together. Elle quickly sent the best one out to her Instagram, Twitter and Facebook page.

Love this girl! x @eleanorjcalder

“Let’s go wow the boys with out beautifulness, shall we?” Elle asked and held an arm out to Eleanor.

The brunette giggled and linked her arm through Elle’s and they left the hotel room. Their heels clicked even along the carpeted hall until they got to Louis’ room. They began to bang on the door and yell, “OH MY GOD! ONE DIRECTION! WE’RE YOUR BIGGEST FANS! O-M-G! 1D! PLEASE LET US IN, WE LOVE YOU!”

Liam pulled the door open this time and he shook his head with a smile on his face, “Can’t we ever have just a simple knock on the door?”

“Never, love.” Eleanor said before passing him and pulling Elle with her.

Niall and Zayn quickly commended them for looking so lovely. Louis stood with his mouth agape at Eleanor. He quickly recovered when she began to laugh at him and he stood up to wrap his arms around her, “You’re gorgeous.”

Elle smiled at the interaction before she turned to look at Harry. He sat on the bed and his expression was much like Louis’, except his eyes were much more intense as he stared at her. She blushed under his gaze before she sat down beside him, “Do I look ok?”

“Ok?” Harry repeated before he licked his lips, “You’re stunning. I mean, you’re always stunning. But you’re especially stunning right now.”

She laughed and looked away briefly to ask Liam when he was going to give her the Skittles he owed her and Harry took the time to glance at her legs. The shorts that she wore were short and fit perfectly to her thighs. Her legs were long, emphasized by the shorts and the strapped heels she wore. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back and framed her face perfectly. Elle looked absolutely beautiful and Harry was suddenly at a loss for words.

Eleanor and Louis left first, saying they’d see them at the venue later. Zayn, Niall and Liam left next to go find a small burger place to grab a bite before the show leaving Harry and Elle in the room alone.

Elle smirked at him, “You’ve been so quiet since I came in. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Your beauty is mesmerizing.” He joked, though deep down he really meant it.

Elle laughed and rolled her eyes before she stood up. She held her hands out to him, “So where are we going for dinner this evening?”

“Hmm,” Harry pondered and took her hands in his before standing up, “I’ve kind of planned a bit of a picnic at the venue. It’s on this beautiful water front and it has an amazing view of the lake. And I thought it would give us some privacy.”

“Sounds perfect.” Elle said before kissing him quickly, “Let’s go though, I’m starving!”

They made their way downstairs, Ray dutifully waiting for them. They quickly made their way through the growing crowd outside and were on there way to what Elle hoped, would be an amazing and perfect night out.