Counting the Stars

Though I have often been saying that the Florida sunset was the prettiest scenery I had ever seen in my entire life, I was instantly proven wrong. Times Square at night was possibly the most beautifully, breathtaking thing to see. I wasn't sure if it was the actual scenery, or the thought of being here in the flesh.

My entire 18 years of life were spent hoping and wishing for something bigger than my small community in Los Angeles, and New York had been the subject of those hopes, wishes, and dreams. To be standing in the middle of the place I had always wanted to be was probably what made it so beautiful.

There were people hustling and bustling every which way. Whether they were coming from the east or the west, north or the south, there were people everywhere you turned. People walking down the street, up the street, coming out of stores, or hopping out of taxi's, you were constantly surrounded by people. For any other normal person in the world, the amount of stranger's surrounding me should have made me feel claustrophobic, not overjoyed like it was making me feel. Thinking about it past the fact that they were all strangers to me, they were also a normal human being's just like myself. They had a story to tell and a reason for being here, in Times Square, at the exact same time as I was. Thinking about that seemed to make their extremely close proximity a little more bearable.

Harry walked next to me, pointing out a few sights that he had recognized from their first trip to America. Whenever he saw some place familiar, he'd point towards it and go, "Oh, look over there, Callista! That's..." Then he would continue to tell me all about the place and some crazy story to follow. Even though he wasn't a native to the area, he sure knew a lot about what was happening around Times Square.

We had walked up and down the length of the tourist attraction at least three times, but each time we did, we saw something new that we hadn't already seen. It turned into a game of sorts. The first one to point out something new they had spotted got a point. Whoever had the most points by the end of our "escapade," as Harry liked to call it, got to ask the other person a question, no matter how personal or invading it was.

Sometime in between our third walk up the street, Harry had reached out and taken my hand in his. My first reaction was to draw away quickly, but after some slight deliberation, I let him keep a hold of my hand.

Harry looked down and smiled widely at me, "Thanks for coming with me today. It was nice getting to talk to you one on one."

I had to admit, Harry was definitely the character. We hadn't spoken much since I joined the tour, and after today, I regretted that. He was a lovely guy with a just as charming personality. He knew when to say the right thing, and he always said it at the right time. I was completely comfortable around him.

"No, thank you for inviting me out. If you hadn't, I'd probably be sightseeing by myself in the Big Apple," I joked, offering him a smile.

He chuckled, "Well, we still have some more sightseeing to do! We only saw Times Square today, nothing else!"

"Harry, it's nearly 9 at night. You seriously think we'll be able to go out and see more sights?" I questioned him and his logic.

He shook his head, continuing to laugh, "Oh, Callista... That was my not-so-obvious attempt at asking you to spend tomorrow with me, as well."

My mouth formed an 'O' shape, now understanding what he was asking. I smiled at him, "I'll only go with you tomorrow if you take me out to dinner tonight. You can't take a lady out all day, practically starve her, and then expect her to go on another adventure."

He rolled his eyes, "Come on ya bottomless pit, we'll go get dinner."

It took us about 25 minutes to find a place to eat. Not only did it take a while to maneuver around the mass clumps of people, but we couldn't decide on a place to eat. Harry was insisting on taking me to a fancy, sit down restaurant. I on the other hand, was completely opposed to the idea. Not only were we completely under dressed for such a place, I just wasn't feeling fancy food. Harry told me that it didn't matter if we were under dressed, he was Harry Styles and he did what he wanted. In response to that, I pulled my hand away and playfully shoved him, accusing him of having an "inflated ego."

After a long 25 minutes of debate, we settled on a tiny diner that was located a few blocks down from Times Square. With it being 9:30, there wasn't anyone else in the whole place, making it quite easy for us to get a table. Harry led us to a booth in the back corner. I sat down first, and thankfully, he sat down across from me. Sitting next to each other was too coupley for my liking. Granted, I had sat that way with Niall, I don't think it would have felt right sitting that way with Harry.

The diner was a cliche, 50's themed diner. Different vinyl records lined the wall and the checkerboard pattern was appearing everywhere. A jukebox was in the corner opposite of our booth, playing an older song that had a familiar tune.

"I think you guys completely reshape your band... Like, still be a boy band, but sing this style of music," I spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

Harry rolled his eyes at me, "I don't think that would go over very well with our fan base."

I deadpanned, "Nothing, goes over very well with your fanbase."

Harry rolled his eyes again, "I don't understand what you have against our fans."

I didn't even bother answering the question, knowing I could go on for forever. Thankfully, the waitress came over and set the menu's down in front of us.

"Good evenin' you two, aren't you just so adorable?" The waitress greeted us. She had to have been at least 60 something. Her comment made me blush, which in turn, made Harry laugh, "Well... Can I start ya off with somethin' to drink?"

We put in our drink order's and she walked off, leaving it back to just the two of us. Unlike with Niall, the conversation didn't pick right back up and flow. I looked around the diner awkwardly, examining my surroundings. While Harry looked directly at me.

"Can I help you?" I asked, my eyebrows raised in curiosity.

Harry shook his head, "I was just admiring your beauty."

I knew better than to fall for anything Harry said, so I laughed at him. This was probably the 10th time he's used that on a girl.

Harry looked at me curiously, "Why are you laughing? I gave you a compliment."

"Because that's probably the 10th time you've said that to a girl, hoping to get in their pants," I shrugged.

Harry sighed, "Callista, I'd wish you would realize how beautiful you actually are. I've noticed how since you came back on the tour you've just kind of been moping around. You constantly talk to Eleanor and Louis, and even Liam and Zayn. We never really talked, but now you NEVER talk to Niall. I'm not that stupid. He's dating the devil in disguise, which clearly shows that he's an idiot. Try to move on?"

"Can we not get into this discussion right now? Let's enjoy our food and have a nice dinner, and discuss something like this later."

--

"HARRY STOP IT!" I shrieked, turning around to slap Harry on the chest.

We left the diner at around 10:30 and began our walk back to the hotel we were staying in. Harry was walking behind me, and every so often, he'd run up and grab me by the waist. Each time he did so, I'd scream quite loudly and hit him. This was the fifth time it had happened in a 10 minute walk. Sighing in defeat, I stopped walking and let him catch up with me. Once we were side by side I grabbed onto his hand. He smirked in triumph as we walked for a while, hand in hand.

The stars were up in the sky, shining brightly. During this tour, each night I'd look out and examine the stars. Depending on where we were at, they were either super huge and super bright, or tiny and dull. Tonight, they happened to be huge and shining brightly in the sky. I admired the stars for a while, looking up towards the sky as we walked. Not looking where I was going, I stepped in a hole in the sidewalk, falling towards the ground.

Harry being the idiot he was let go of my hand as I was falling, causing me to continue falling and hit the cement. The fall didn't necessarily hurt, but the landing did. I fell awkwardly on my foot, my ankle going one way and my foot going another. To avoid seeming weak and vulnerable, I began to laugh uncontrollably as I tried to stand up.

"Oh my, Callista! I am so sorry! I didn't know what was going on and what was happening and- WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? Sit back down and I'm going to carry you back to the hotel room. There is no way in hell I'm allowing you to walk with your ankle like that," Harry rambled on.

As he promised, he leaned down and scooped me up bridal style in his arms. He pulled me close to his chest and began the journey back to the hotel room.

"Harry, you're a fucking bastard for letting me fall," I mumbled into his chest. I didn't bother to pull away from him, so I made myself comfortable and snuggled up closer to him.

He sighed, "I know I am. If it hurts tomorrow, we'll go find a hospital to take you to. It's too dark to see how bad the damage is."

"Let's just say on a scale from a normal human, to your fan, it hurts like the girls that wait outside of your houses," I mumbled again.

Harry laughed, "What does that even mean?"

"It means it hurts like a bitch!" I almost shouted.

"Come on, love. We're almost to the hotel," Harry replied, ignoring yet another one of my jabs at his fans.

Harry carried me for about another 10 minutes until we came to a dead stop, "Harry, what's going on?" I asked, not bothering to pull away from his chest and take a look.

"Your best friends, also known as our fans, are surrounding the hotel entrance," Harry leaned his head down to whisper in my ear.

"Fucking wonderful! Tell them to back the fuck up so you can set me the fuck down and I can get some fucking rest," I said, purposefully cussing as much as I can.

"Was it really necessary to cuss four times in that single sentence?" Harry asked.

"Yep!"

After another few minutes, Harry began to walk again. He explained to me that he was going to try the back entrance, or a side entrance, and hope that no fans saw him. I didn't know what was going on because I kept my head buried in his chest, not bothering to move. I knew what teenagers looked like, I didn't need to see them again.

"And, one just got a picture of us going in the back entrance. When your bum and crippled ankle are all over the internet, we can blame my fans," Harry remarked as he made our way to the hotel room.

I took the last few minutes in his arms to my advantage, inhaling the scent of his cologne and taking mental notes on it. The scent seemed to fit him perfectly, just screaming Harry. His breathing pattern was slightly uneven, most likely from carrying me however long it was from the spot of my accident back to the hotel. Pressed up against him, I could feel his chest. This was definitely a position I could get used to being in.

"Alright, Cal, I'm gonna set you down so you can open your door, okay?" Harry asked like I was a two year old.

I pouted, "Nooo, too tired. Let me sleep in your room."

He made almost a noise of shock, which caused me to giggle, "You want to sleep in my room? You do realize that I'm still going to have to set you down so I can open the door?"

I sighed, "I don't even care. Just don't leave me alone with a foot that hurts in that room. I don't like being by myself."

He set me down on the ground so he could open his door up, almost instantly scooping me back in his arms. He walked over and set me down on the bed.

"Well then, just start staying with me. Louis shares a room with me, so I can just let him and Eleanor stay in your room so I don't have to listen to them all night. Now you won't be lonely," Harry suggested, smiling at me after he set me on his bed.

I smiled at him, genuinely appreciating his suggest, "I could kiss you right now, Harry. You're the best."

"Then do it," He challenged.

I thought about Niall and how we had kissed, and now I would be kissing his best friend. But then I remembered that he had kissed me while he was still in a relationship, and still is in a relationship, with my best friend. I got caught up in the moment and completely forgot about Niall and Caroline and the relationship they had going on. I pulled Harry down and kissed him on the lips, letting him take control. I knew I was screwing everything up and making things more difficult, but at the moment, I didn't care.