Dizzy Up the Girl

The next morning, I found myself waking up to the annoying ring of my phone. I turned over, blindly groping for my phone to see what idiot was trying to call me at 6:00 AM. While reaching for the phone however, combined with my typical clumsiness, I accidentally unlocked my phone to answer.

“Uh, Elizabeth?” I put the phone to my ear, trying to figure out who was on the other side, before the voice registered with me.

“For the love of...Harry, who gave you this number?”

“Nobody. I got it from Niall’s phone,” he went on. Bleary-eyed, I began to rub my face, feeling the desperate need to go back to sleep.

“And does he know that you were snooping in his phone,” I asked. He stayed quiet for a moment, likely trying to decide whether or not he should tell me the truth when we both knew the answer.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, Elizabeth. Besides, he doesn’t delete his messages! They’re hilarious,” he said. I let out a low groan, pinching my bridge of my nose.

“Harry, I would say that you aren’t supposed to do that. But you would just ignore me, wouldn’t you?”

“See? You’re catching on quick."

“Um, thanks, I guess. So, can we just get on to the part about why you are calling me at this ungodly hour,” I pressed. He laughed, and from the background, I could hear Zayn talking quite loudly to Niall.

“Oh, well, I wanted to talk to you about something. You see...,” Harry began before being cut off.

“Who you talking to, mate?” My eyes widened as I heard Niall call out to Harry.

“I’m talking to my mum,” Harry quipped almost too quickly.

“He’s lying, Niall. He’s on the phone with Elizabeth because he fancies her.” Hearing Zayn join in, I felt my cheeks blush, and my mouth went dry. I heard jumbled voices from over the phone, going back at one another as I stayed quiet on my end of the phone.

I mean, surely Zayn was joking. He had to, right? I had barely talked to Harry...save for all the times I took the mickey out of him. And he’s Harry for crying out loud! He could have any woman any day of the week if he wanted one...even two for that matter! I was just some plain jane from America with no job and medical bills that would make you see stars. What would a guy like him want with a girl like me?

“Ellie, you still there?” Breaking out of my thoughts, I let out a long sigh.

“Yeah, I’m still here.”

“Good. Sorry about Harry calling you. He’s not...uh...considerate when it comes to people sleeping. He doesn’t think before he acts, you know?” I laughed, glad to hear Niall’s voice though I could still hear Harry and Zayn speaking in the background.

“It’s really okay. I was about to wake up anyways,” I said softly before a yawn escape my mouth. Niall laughed before speaking up.

“Uh huh. Sure you were, Ellie. Did Harry...say whatever he was wanting to,” Niall asked, and I paused. Something in Niall’s voice made my thoughts spin, and for a split second, I really wanted to know what Harry had wanted to tell me.

“No, you stopped him right in time. Do I even want to know what he was going to tell me,” I questioned with my heart beating a little faster.

“It’s not my place to say, Ellie. I’m sure you’ll find out,” Niall went on with a softer voice, and I let out a short huff.

“That’s not fair. You don’t get to wake me up at 6:00 in the morning, and then not tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m not he one who called you,” Niall noted, and I nearly groaned with frustration.

“Alright, if that’s the case then, I am hanging up now. I would really like to get back to sleep. Do you know how long it took me to get home last night? There were roadblock all around the hotel, and I nearly hit some of your fans,” I said, my voice growing with each word.

“No, wait, don’t hang up.” I kept quiet before sitting up in my bed, reaching up to pull my hair out of my face.

“What?” Hearing my clipped tone, Niall answered quickly.

“I don't think that we’re going to be able to go out tonight.”

“Well, that’s great news,” I said sarcastically, wondering how this morning could get much worse, before Niall cut in.

“No, but I wanted to ask you something. I remember you talking about how you were interning at some studio for work experience, right?” Cocking an eyebrow, I nodded my head before realizing that I was on the phone.

“Go on.”

“I talked to the lads last night about it, so we checked with our managers, and you can come to a few sessions with us. If you want that is. I’m not sure what all you can do, but it can get you some more experience,” he said.

My jaw dropped at the offer. Getting my internship at the studio took several months to come through, and even now, I’m still like the studio’s “do-this” girl. It’s always carrying the instruments to the booth rather than playing them, and it’s never writing the songs but listening to them.

“You’re serious,” I asked, still in disbelief.

“Yeah, but you don’t have to. I just thought I would ask.”

“Niall, I don’t even know what to say except yes. A million times yes! I won’t screw up anything, I promise. You won’t even know I’m there,” I said, fully awake and buzzing with excitement.

“Ellie, trust me, we’ll know you’re there. You’re hard to overlook,” he said lightly, laughter lining his words.

“I didn’t think I look that weird,” I said.

“No, it’s just...you’re hard to overlook in a good way,” he replied quickly. With butterflies in my stomach, I took a breath and smiled to myself. Though it didn’t happen often, getting compliments always felt nice. We were both quiet for a moment before I heard rustling over the phone.

“Hey, Harry wants his phone back. Do you want to talk to him,” Niall asked.

“That’s fine,” I said slowly, nestling my phone between my head and shoulder as I stood up. If I was already awake, I was at least going to do something productive.

“Hello Elizabeth!” Shaking my head at his cheery voice, I made my way to my dresser before pulling out pair of shorts and a cool shirt to go workout in. Because, even though I hated exercise, I really needed to get back into shape.

“Yes, Harry, hello. Did you have a nice chat with Zayn,” I asked lightly, trying to show how taken back I had been by Zayn’s quip earlier.

“Oh, yes. It was quite lovely, but you and I have got more important things to discuss,” Harry said as I laid my clothes out on my bed before reaching under my bed for my favorite sneakers.

“We do? That’s really sad because I’ve got to get off the phone in a minute. I’m feeling somewhat productive, so I better do something about it,” I said.

“What are you going to do?”

“Believe it or not, lying in a hospital bed for so long makes you a bit lazy. And my doctors like to encourage me to hit the gym to keep fit, so I’m going to go out for a run or something.”

“You sure that’s safe,” Harry asked, and I was surprised at his sincerity.

“I’ve got cancer, Harry. That doesn’t mean I can’t keep active. I’m about to take my medicine for the day and treatment doesn't start until next week.”

“While that’s good to know, but I wasn’t talking about that,” Harry said. Reaching towards my nightstand, I opened the drawer and grabbed a pair of fresh socks and my medicine for the day.

“Then what were you referring to,” I asked before taking a sip of water from the bottle on my nightstand, washing my pills down with it.

“I was alluding to the fact that you’re so clumsy that you’re likely to hurt yourself.”

“Such a charmer, Harry. How do you do it,” I mocked, but he only laughed. “Either way, I’ve got to go. I usually go to the gym around here, but it’s being remodeled or something. I’ve got to figure something out.”

“Brilliant!”

“No, that’s not brilliant, Harry,” I interrupted as I began to pull on my socks.

“If you would have let me finish, you’d see why it was. Liam and I are about to head out as well. There’s a gym over here by the hotel that we’ve got reserved. Just come join us. We can just talk over there,” Harry said, and I stopped what I was doing.

“Yeah, but Niall had told me that I was going to head to the studios with you all today for some work experience. I’ve got to come back by here and change.”

“Or you can just bring some spare clothes to the gym. You can shower and...whatever else women do to get ready over here before we head out. Simple as that,” Harry pressed. Resigned, I decided the fight wasn't worth it.

“Will I at least be able to get to the gym without being harassed by your fans and paparazzi?”

“Just meet us there,” he said before giving me the address. I went over it a couple of times in my head, making sure I had it memorized before clearing my throat.

“You know, my life has become all the more interesting since I’ve met you,” I said casually, imaging the smug look on Harry’s face. He stayed quiet for a moment, and I wondered if my phone had dropped the call before he spoke up.

“Yeah, same here,” he said gently, and I felt chills run up and down my back. With a quick goodbye, I sat down on the side of my bed before laying down on top of my clothes that I had laid out. The only thoughts that ran through my mind were those about Harry’s smiles, Niall’s laugh, and about how the boys had made me feel over these past few days. To be honest, I felt scared at all of it. Too much too soon had never worked out well for me in the past. Closing my eyes, I brushed my fingers along my comforter, still thinking about a couple of international popstars that had unwittingly turned things around for me.

And, all of a sudden, too much too fast felt like a risk that was worth taking.