One More Night

"What can I get for you?" I leaned slightly over the bar as I half-shouted the question at the young man across for me. Niall grinned back at me, and I couldn't help returning it.

"I'll take a Copenhagen, if ya don' mind!" I had to lean just a little closer to hear him. As I backed away and reached for the imported brew, I nodded at him. His eyes were bright in the dim light, and already slightly glossed from drink. The Irish cutie had come up to the bar a couple of times, and I had taken a couple trays of drinks over to the large sitting area for the band. I popped the cap of the beer bottle and looked over at him.

"Want it in a glass?" His light brows came together and he leaned in, cupping his hand around his ear. I chuckled, because the gesture threw his blonde hair out of place. His darker roots were coming in. I curled my hand and tilted the bottle, and he straightened up and shook his head. I slid the bottle across the bar. Before I could pull back, he took my hand and placed a bill in it.

"Tip!" he called as he started to turn away. I smiled again and turned to place the bill in the tip jar. As I was placing it in, my eyes widened just a little - a twenty dollar tip for a bottle of beer? I shook my head; these guys had been tipping high all night, and I was completely okay with that, but I snuck a glance at Tony and had to admit that I was with him: It was crazy to think that people my age were making enough money for this.

I crossed the bar again, passing Tony to take an order at the other end. One of the other One Direction boys was there - Harry, the curly-haired stud - and the girl next to him was flirting shamelessly. He seemed pretty comfortable about it, smiling back at her, but I had been bartending for a while, and I could read situations like this like a book. She was pretty - gorgeous, even, and dressed to show it - but he was holding back. He was flirty, but it wasn't sincere, and it wasn't surprising. The heartthrob was recently taken, unless it was widespread spin story on behalf of all entertainment magazines ever. I rolled my eyes.

"Can I get you guys anything?" The pair glanced over at me, and I saw something like scorn in the buxom brunette's eyes. I gave her a closer once-over and withheld a grimace. The gold at her wrists and neck made me think she was here because of Daddy's money, and I was a lowly bartender who dared to intrude on her time. Of course, I was also an unnecessary distraction in Mission: Take Harry Styles' Heart, which probably didn't help the situation.

Harry, however, looked a little relieved for the break, and I put on my best "How can I help you?" smile - the hopelessly plastic one that everybody should have in their repertoire.

"Bourbon, thank you. A double." I nodded, grinning at the difference his accent made on the words. I glanced over at his companion as I was grabbing a rocks glass for the bourbon.

"I'll take a martini." Her voice was husky, but I was moderately sure it was put on.

"Apple?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. She narrowed her eyes in return, and I shrugged. "Okay, just a martini." I set Harry's bourbon on the bar and reached for a chilled cocktail glass, running it over with a clean towel just to be sure it was dry. "Would you like that shaken or stirred?"

"Shaken." I nodded and reached for the shaker, added the ice and the vermouth and grabbed the gin, wondering as I added it in if she had ordered it shaken because she knew the James Bond line and didn't know how to drink a martini. I got that a lot - women ordering a regular martini to look sophisticated.

She would have looked more sophisticated if she ordered it stirred, I thought with a little bitterness. I was bruising good gin so that she could look classy for someone who didn't care. With a little sigh, I speared two olives and added it into the drink, sliding it in front of the girl.

"Let me know if you need anything else," I said as she reached for the glass. She made a gesture that clearly said "be gone with you," and I pursed my lips to hold in a twitch. To be spiteful, I decided that the counter in front of me needed to be wiped, though it was still clean. When she took a sip and nearly gagged, I felt a little bit vindicated, and I was swept into a coughing fir from trying not to laugh. I glance up showed me that Harry was chuckling, too, though he was trying to be more subtle about it than I was.

"Something wrong with your martini, miss?"

"N-No, it's fine, thank you." I smiled again, and turned away, winking at Styles as I did. He started laughing again, and I could just barely hear him playing it off as I crossed back to Tony.

"Having a good night?" I asked coyly.

"I'll be having a better one when we divide up those tips later," he answered with just as much mischief. I laughed, loudly and freely.

"Amen to that!"

Half an hour of drink-slinging later, Tony approached again. "Take your break, Kitty Kat. I've got this."

I looked up at him. "You sure? Things are still pretty hectic."

"I'm sure. Grab a slice of pizza and pretend to enjoy the party. Convince people to drink more." I rolled my eyes, but I discarded my towel and crept out from behind the bar. As I did, I noted that the martini glass was still sitting, olives gone but otherwise untouched. I grinned to myself again and made my way to a lounge area across the room, aiming for the pizza on the table. I reached the table relatively unnoticed, but as I bent down and grabbed a slice of pizza, I heard a voice, and I recognized it.

"That's for guests, not the help," came the voice. "And I need another drink."

I gritted my teeth as I turned to face the girl from the bar. Now that I could see her fully, I could take in the skin-tight jeans, the cocky pose, and the six-inch "come and get me" heels.

"Really?" I responded innocently. "I had no idea." Her eyes narrowed and I pulled the pizza up to my mouth, taking a bite, and taking my sweet time chewing before I swallowed. I raised an eyebrow at her irritated expression. "I think your martini's still full, though, if you're woman enough to drink it. Maybe you should have gone for apple. I'll make you one of those, when I finish my pizza and I'm done with my break."

There was a cheer from behind me, and the girl grimaced and turned away in a huff, heading back to the bar. I rolled my eyes and turned to see the cheering section - and was shocked to see the members of One Direction grinning at me.

"Way to go, love!"

I bit my lip and grinned at Louis before looking down and toeing the ground. "Sorry about that," I said softly, embarrassed to have behaved like that in front of my employers for the night.

"Don' be!" Niall crossed over to me and threw an arm around my shoulder. I laughed a little, smelling the alcohol on his breath. "She had it comin'. Have all the pizza you want!"

I looked up at him and smiled again. "Why thank you, Niall."

"You're welcome, bartender!" I rolled my eyes and ducked out from under his arm, grabbing another slice of pizza - there was certainly plenty, and we'd been told when we took the job that we could be "party attendees" on our breaks. Well, I was a hungry party attendee.

"You can't just call her 'bartender,' mate." I glanced up; it was Liam speaking now. "She's a person, she's got a name."

"Oh yeah?" I took a vacant seat on the arm of a chair as Niall leaned closer to Liam. "What is it, then?"

I chuckled when Liam opened his mouth, only to close it again and glance over at me, flustered. "I... don't know, but she has one!" I rolled my eyes.

"So what is your name, love?" I turned to face Zayn. Damn, that boy was beautiful.

I held out my hands and shrugged. "I don't have one." His chocolate eyes - a richer shade than Tony's, with hazel tones - went wide. "I'm just a lowly, nameless bartender." His eyes said he was taking me seriously; I gave him the benefit of the doubt and put it down to the alcohol dulling his mind.

"She's taking the mickey out of you, Zayn!" Harry said with a laugh.

"Says you!" I retorted with a grin.

"Really, what is your name, lass?" I looked over and met Louis' eyes. They were narrowed at me in mock-suspicion.

"My name's Katherine, but you can call me Kat, or Kate. Or Katherine, I suppose, but I'd really rather you didn't."

"Her name is Katherine," Liam said pointedly to Niall, who rolled his eyes in response. I grinned at the pair of them as I continued eating my pizza.

"Nice to meet you, Katherine," Harry said from across the table. "And thank you for the bourbon."

I smiled again at the way he said it. Buhbin, it sounded like. "You're welcome, Harry. And the pleasure's mine. Brilliant choice of companions, by the way."

He grimaced. "Not my shining moment, I admit."

"So, Katherine-Kat-Kate," broke in Louis, "what brings you to our humble lodgings?" I raised my eyebrow and made a show of looking around the common area of the suite. Louis noticed. "What brings you to our lodgings?" he repeated, unabashed.

"Work," I responded simply.

"What brings you to work?"

I frowned at the question, not really sure how to answer.

"I think what Louis means is, 'Why bartending?'", Zayn said softly.

I raised my eyebrow and glanced at the boys. "Because it's oh-so-glamorous," I replied, deadpan. "I'm in it for the benefits package." I took another bite of pizza (I was on my third slice, now) as they roared with laughter.

"And what might those benefits be?" Liam asked as they were settling down.

"Well, the limitless supply of booze, of course!" This sent them into another fit, and I smiled. I wasn't used to clients this... cool, I guess. When we served high-end clients, they were usually snooty and condescending. These boys - young men, I silently amended - seemed very much like a group I would have come across when I was working the bar circuit, though infinitely better mannered. They were fun, I realized as Niall continued laughing on the floor, half laying on my foot.

"Oh!" I exclaimed suddenly, rising to my feet.

"What?"

"I love this song!" It was true. Billy Idol's song "Mony, Mony" was blaring through the speakers. I glanced toward the bar, and Tony was smiling at me from the juke box. I turned back to the boys with a cheeky grin. "Any of you boys fancy a dance?"

Moments later, I was clustered with the five bold British boys in the middle of the room. We were all dancing - although Zayn took some convincing - and it was a little ridiculous. None of us were moving to the same rhythm, and frankly, I was no dancer. My mother used to chastise me because when I moved I looked "like a stripper workin' an invisible pole". Right now, though, I didn't care. I was enjoying myself, sandwiched between Harry and Niall, with Zayn moving next to us as he became more comfortable. Liam's hand was thrown around Zayn's shoulder, and Louis was up against Harry's shoulder, laughing and jumping around. After Billy Idol came Lady Gaga's latest single (it was back to the radio), followed by - and this was truly beautiful - the newest One Direction track. I laughed openly as the boys cheered the intro and sang loudly along with themselves. When the song was over, I put a hand on Harry's chest with just enough pressure to get him to look down at me. I gestured to myself, then to the bar. He seemed to get it, because he nodded and stepped back, letting me through. As I walked away, Niall grabbed my wrist with a frown.

"I have to get back to work!" I explained in his ear. He kept frowning, but he let go and I walked over to the bar. I took up the towel and grimaced to see Harry's ex-companion flirting with Tony - and he was flirting back. I walked up to him. "Go on, Tony. Your turn. Try the pizza." I glanced over to the girl. "Or whatever else catches your fancy." He grinned back at me and walked off, leading the mystery girl to the dance floor.

The rest of the night was a blur. The boys frequented the bar now, and I took a couple of shots with them when they called me out on my earlier challenge to Tony's new friend. They were shocked that I could hold my own with my old friend Jim Beam. Eventually, the crowd thinned until it was just me, Tony, Tony's gal pal, and the band. When I got tired of hearing the flirting banter, I sent Tony on his way with his friend and his half of the tip, telling him I'd close up myself.

"Kat!"

"Yes, Niall?" The Irishman was very, very drunk.

"Are you all done?"

"Yep. Just have to clean up my mess."

"Take a shot with me?" I bit my lip, sure that it wasn't a great idea. But I had been around the bar for hours by that point, and I did like shots.

"Why not?" And three shots later, the bar still wasn't clean, and Liam was leading a nearly unconscious Niall to his room with an apologetic smile sent my way. I inclined my head slightly so that he knew there was no harm done and started wiping the bar with a new rag.

"My turn?" I looked up and smiled at the boy watching me from across the bar.

Several shots later, I was waking up. The sun was shining - and I was not alone.