I Don't Want to Be Wasting My Time Alone

"MICHAEL!!!!!!" I heard several knocks on the door as I was fixing my face in the mirror of Michael's bathroom. I exited before he opened the door, trying not to make it seem too obvious of what we had just done. God, I hoped the room didn't smell like sex.

I watched as the three boys huddled around Michael and gave him gigantic hugs. It warmed my heart to see how much the 4 of them loved each other. One by one they all came and hugged me, happy to see me as well. Josh followed and patted me on the shoulder, thanking me for staying with Michael for a few days.

"It really was no problem at all. Not having to hardly leave the hotel was nice and relaxing, actually." I watched as Ashton plopped his bags on the "untouched" bed in the room and he collapsed with a belly flop.

"These beds are so nice." He muffled into the pillows. Calum and Luke piled on top of him and I watched as Michael joined the dogpile. I could tell he was so happy to have them back.

"Hey, can you come out in the hall?" Josh asked me, his face buried in his phone.

Michael's head shot up and he watched as I followed Josh out of the door.

"I emailed you the schedule, did you get it yet?"

"No, I haven't really checked my mail yet today, but I can..." I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

"Well, it's pretty hectic the next few days. Are you sure you're okay with staying over here? I can send you home and get someone else here if you're too exhausted, I know you need a break."

"I really don't mind." I smiled at him.

"Well tonight's your last free night for a while, so if you want me to make sure they stay cooped up in the hotel, you can go out tonight. Word is out that they're all here, so the boys have to stay on lockdown mode until we move hotels tomorrow."

I nodded, "Yeah, that would be nice. I'll check and see if there's anything I can find to do."

"Just let me know. Thanks, Lydia." Josh gave me a quick hug and I hugged him back. I felt like I should say bye to Michael, but I really didn't want to make it seem obvious, so I just trudged back to the elevator and made my way back up to my separate room.

I collapsed on my bed as soon as I made it back to my room and I listened to the silence of the room, accompanied by the muted sounds of the busy city outside of the tall, glass windows. I must have dozed off, because I shot up in bed as my phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I answered, rubbing my eyes.

"Hey! Are you still in the city?!" My friend Jenn from school was over in New York on an internship and I had completely forgotten to tell her that I was still here.

"You must have ESP, Josh is letting me out of the hotel for a night. He's keeping the boys for once. I'm assuming you're free?"

"Well, a few girls from the internship were all going out tonight and I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. I saw your Instagram post yesterday and it made me think to call you. We're going to a late dinner at 8, and we've already made reservations."

"What time is it now?"

"6. Oh God, did I wake you up?! I know you're exhausted..."

"No, no! Just taking a nap. I haven't really been that busy, just keeping Michael cooped up since he lost his passport... I've barely left the hotel except for alcohol runs and pizza runs."

"Ooooooh." I could tell what her voice was implying. "Details."

"Maybe after a few drinks." I blushed. "Why don't you come over and help me get ready? I'll send you the hotel info and ring the desk so they know that you're coming up."

"Sounds good. I'm assuming you need something to wear?"

"No, just need help picking something out... And it's more fun to get ready with a girlfriend!" I said. "Living out of a suitcase and with a crew of almost all boys sucks."

"I can only imagine. But it's the life you chose!"

"And I regret nothing about it, babe! Hurry your ass over here. I miss you! And be careful." I warned her before we said our goodbyes. I sat up on the bed, wiping my face of sleep with my hands. I decided to check my phone for messages since I was awake now.

You didn't tell me bye :(
Lydiaaaaaaaa. Are you in trouble?
Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
What did Josh say?
Don't make me ask him.
I will.
I'm about to.
No I'm not.
Tell me what happened.
LYDIA! I'M ABOUT TO COME TO YOUR ROOM.

I checked the timestamp on the text and noticed most were 10 minutes apart or less, and the last one had just been sent seconds before Jenn called me. I heard a knock at my door, so I jumped up and checked the peephole.

"I hear you walking around. Quit ignoring me." I saw Michael's wild red hair and pale face peeping through the peep hole as well. I laughed as I opened the door. "Jesus Christ, did you die in here?" He asked, pushing past me. "It smells so clean in here."

"You're going to get caught!" I said as soon as my door shut.

"No I'm not, I told them I left my charger in here when I was up here earlier." He used air quotes and smirked. Michael wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug, almost lifting me off the ground. "Why did you ignore my text messages?"

"I just woke up from a nap. My friend Jenn called and she's in the city as well, so we're going out later for drinks. Speaking of I need you to let me out of this death grip so I can send her the address to here." I pushed out of Micheal's arms and picked up my phone, quickly typing the address to her.

"Why's she coming here?"

"We're going out." I picked up my makeup bag and walked into the bathroom to fix myself. I turned in the curling iron and leaned close to the mirror to fix my eyeliner. Michael took a seat on the toilet lid.

"Where are you going?"

"Dinner and out."

"Where?"

"I don't know, Michael. Some of her friends from her internship are all going out and she thought it would be a good opportunity for us to hang out."

"Guy friends?" My lips curled up into a smirk at the hint of jealousy in Michael's voice and I thought I'd play dumb.

"I don't know. I didn't ask her, but I'm assuming since its an internship that it's got both guys and girls."

"Can I come?" I let out a chuckle.

"No. Josh would never allow it. Plus I don't know if you can even get into the clubs we're going to."

"You're going to a club?! Come on, they'll let me in. Look at me."

He held out his sleeveless pale arms and pointed at himself. "Michael, just leave it be. Most of the clubs here are 21 and everyone else is the same age as Jenn, which means they're the same age as me. So I just think bringing someone who isn't 21 would be the smartest thing. No matter who you are." I said, matter of factly. I knew I was making him mad because I saw the tips of his ears turning as red as his hair in the reflection of the mirror.

"Well, we're having a hotel party tonight."

"Cool." I responded quickly. I saw my phone vibrate on the counter and it was Jenn saying she was a mile away already. "Ashton's okay with that?"

"It was his idea. Well, his and mine."

"Well I hope you guys have fun." I said. I knew Michael was just trying to make me jealous. It was working a little bit, but I was more excited knowing how jealous he was of me going out.

"Yeah. Me too. Well I need to get back. I'll see you later." He stood up and hugged me from behind, propping his chin on my shoulder and kissing my neck. I felt my legs get weak at his kiss and I melted back into his body, closing my eyes. "Have fun tonight, baby." I turned around to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I pecked him on the lips and pulled back, staring into his green eyes.

"You too." I winked at him, and he squeezed my hips, kissing me again, even harder. He backed me up into the countertop and picked me up so I could hop on top of it. He stepped between my legs, pushing himself against me. I tangled my legs around his waist to get him as close to me as possible. Suddenly, my phone vibrated off of the countertop. "Shit." I pushed him away and hopped down, picking my phone up and answering it. "H-hello?"

"Hey, I'm walking up to your door right... now." I heard three polite knocks on the door and I hung up the phone while simultaneously kissing Michael.

"You've gotta go. I'll maybe see you tonight?" He kissed me on the cheek.

"Maybe." He smirked before opening the door and passing Jenn with a quick hey.

Jenn watched him walk down the hallway and into the elevator before she walked into my hotel room.

"Could that have been anymore... obvious?" I giggled at my friend, bringing her in for a huge bear hug. It had been six months since I had last seen her in the city and we hadn't really talked that much minus a few text messages here and there.

"I'm sure it could have been. But I'm glad it wasn't." We talked and caught up as we both finished doing our hair and getting dressed. Jenn had brought a change of clothes with her so she could spend the night at the hotel with me. I picked up my phone to send a text to Josh to let him know what my plans were in case something happened and he sent back a quick "Great :) Have fun!" text to me almost immediately. I grabbed my phone from the charger and put it in my small black bag before once overing myself in the mirror again.

"Ready to g- You look so good. Wow." Jenn asked me, but interrupted her own self as she looked at me. I had put on my favorite leather pants, a black crop top I had been dying to wear, my favorite red blazer, my Louboutins and some red lipstick. I nervously swatted my hair behind my shoulder, feeling the prettiest I've felt in a long time. "You guys fucked today didn't you? You've got that, 'just fucked' look about you."

I laughed, "Maybe we spent some of this morning doing that... And every night we've been together." Jenn let out a laugh as I checked my bag for the room key and shut the door behind me. She was telling me about her friends in the internship on the elevator. We heard a ding and the doors opened, without paying attention we both stepped forward, running into Ashton and Luke.

"Wrong floor ladies. Where are you two going tonight?" Luke asked, checking us both out. He extended his arm and I knew he was holding the elevator for Michael and Calum. They both looked at us, and I could tell Michael was trying his best not to stare at me.

Jenn name dropped the name of the restaurant and club we were going to but I couldn't really pay attention to what she was saying. The air was thick in the elevator and I could feel Michael's eyes raking my body.

"Hey." Jenn nudged me to knock me out of my trance and pushed me off the elevator. "Earth to Lydia."

"Yeah, yeah I'm here."

"Barely." She muttered and I laughed, telling the boys bye as they made their way to the front desk to purchase some snacks and drinks.

---

Two hours later, we were leaving dinner with the 4 other girls Jenn was doing the internship with and we were making our way to the club. There was a line at the door already despite it only being 10 o'clock, but the girl named Ashleigh waved at the bouncer and he let the 4 of us in. Someone had reserved a large portion of the club tonight, but she knew everyone who worked at the club. There was a thin layer of smoke throughout the whole club, and there was barely any room for movement between all of the bodies.

"We've got a table up there!" She pointed up at the second level of the club at an empty table with a small RESERVED sign on top of it. I nodded and gave her a thumbs up as I made my way to the bar to order mine and Jenn's drinks. I sipped and looked around at all of the people that were in here. I had never really been "out" much in New York, and the amount of people that they were allowed to cram into one small building always amazed me. Jenn and I followed the other girls up the stairs and past the small gate to our table. As I was walking by, I felt someone pull on my arm.

"Hey, wat-HEY!" My voice quickly changed, realizing who had pulled on my arm. "What are you doing here?" I asked none other than Harry Styles. I knew all of One Direction from the boys previous tour with them, and Harry was the biggest flirt I had ever met. He was the kindest of the band other than Niall, and he and I were always hanging out when we had a free minute. Sometimes he would sit in with me as I watched the 5SOS soundchecks. He was always flirty, and I was obviously attracted to him, but nothing had ever really happened except a few glances and winks.

"Just had a few days off so I'm here with some friends." He pointed around the table at a few people I recognized as his friends, and Liam. He stood up to hug me, as did Liam. "What are you doing here? Michael still hasn't figured out how to get home?"

I shook my head, "No. He lost his passport so I was stuck back with him for a week. Luke, Calum and Ashton got back earlier today. This is my last free night for a while so Josh let me off the 5SOS leash for the night."

Harry nodded and took his bottom lip between his two teeth. I almost melted at the action as he leaned into me, "Well let me know when I can have a dance later." He stepped away from me and winked, looking me once over again. I gave a small wave to both him and Liam and made my way to the girls table.

"Did Harry Styles seriously just wink at you?!"

"She's sleeping with-"

"God, please don't start rumors." I elbowed Jenn, shutting her up. "I could lose my job. Jenn seems to think I'm sleeping with one of the guys from the band I help manage, but if anyone knew, it would be her."

Everyone around the table nodded and moved on from the subject, sipping on their drinks. "Jenn, you cannot blab about Michael to anyone. At all. Okay?"

She nodded and gave me a thumbs up. "Promise." We pinky promised and burst out into a fit of giggles, feeling the few drinks from dinner and the fresh ones we had in our hands. A new drink was placed in front of me by the waiter, "Oh- she didn't order-" Jenn started, but the waiter interrupted her.

"It was sent from the table over there." He pointed and I followed his finger to Harry's table. I raised my glass to him and took a sip before placing it back down on the glass table. I all but cringed at how strong the drink was, but kept alternating between the two.

---

I felt a tap on my shoulder as I placed my fourth drink down on the table and laughed at one of Jenn's friends jokes.

"Mind if I steal you for a few minutes?" Harry asked me, and I looked at Jenn who gave me the okay to leave the table. I handed my jacket to her and she placed it in her lap for safekeeping. It was supposed to be girls night, but I think she understood. I really wasn't worried about Michael either, I had broken up their hotel parties before and I'm sure that he had girls lined up waiting to talk to him. One... or three dances with Harry Styles wouldn't hurt, would it? They were friends...

"Where are you staying tonight?" Harry whispered into my ear as we danced to our fourth song. Our bodies were molded together, heat bouncing off of one another.

"The hotel."

"No shit. Which one?" He pushed my hair aside and gently took my earlobe into his mouth. "The same one as the rest of the guys?"

I nodded, his hands were wandering down my body from my waist to my hips and I was unable to form a full sentence.

"Can we sneak in there?"

I turned around to face him, biting my lip, Michael suddenly popping into my mind. "I'm sure we can, I know they've been using the back door to get in and out of there today. I can just make a call and tell Josh I'm on my way back and to ask if we can use that entrance."

"You do that." He placed a kiss on my cheek and we continued to dance a little while longer. I made my way back up to the table to grab my purse and I remembered I had Jenn with me. Fuck.

"Hey, where's Jenn?" I asked, picking up my abandoned jacket and bag.

"Oh, she left about 10 minutes ago with some guy she had seen. She said she would come by tomorrow to get her stuff from your room?" The blonde friend told me, clearly ready to leave the club since people were starting to filter out.

"Ah. Perfect. I had a fun time, it was nice meeting you all!" I waved bye to everyone and met Harry back at the table with Liam.

"I'll be at the hotel later, Liam. Just wanted to make sure she got back safe." He said his goodbyes and placed his hand on the small of my back to lead me down the stairs and out the secret exit of the club.

I decided now would be a good time to send a text to Josh, but Harry thought otherwise. As soon as the door to the SUV was closed, Harry pulled me into him and started kissing my neck.

"Harry, give me like a minute, I need to warn Josh." Really, I needed to make sure the party was still going on so I didn't have to deal with Michael. What was happening was shitty of me, but I knew how drunk Michael was (obviously) and I knew he'd probably be getting it in with an 18 year old fan right now.

When I pulled my phone out I had countless texts from Michael, wondering where I was, how we were doing, what we were doing, and who was there. I decided to ignore them for the minute while Harry mindlessly played with my hair, pushing it away from my sweaty neck.

"It's been a minute, love." He brought his hand under my chin and turned me to face him. I took in his gorgeous facial features, from his strong eyebrows, to his bright green eyes, his thick eyelashes, his rosy cheeks, and his jaw that could cut a diamond.

"Still haven't texted Josh." I muttered out, placing a kiss on Harry's lips. His hand snaked around the back of my neck and pulled my face closer to his. It felt like we were inseparable. "Harry, give me another minute." I pulled away and started typing a text to Josh, but Michael's name popped up.

"Why is he calling you? Why- Oh my God." Harry's face went pale and he burst out into laughter. "I can't believe you-" I placed a finger on his mouth and answered the phone call.

"Hey, where are you?" Michael asked before anything else. He was clearly drunk, and I was hoping he was calling just to make sure the coast was clear so he could hook up with a girl.

"On the way back."

"This party sucks." He giggled, "I wish you were here." Harry could obviously hear him and he started laughing quietly, and I pushed my finger against his lips even harder. He took this as an opportunity to take my finger into his mouth and suck on it. I quickly removed my finger and looked out the window.

"Yeah, same. I think I just want to get some sleep tonight, I decided to come back early." I said, verifying myself. I needed to get off the phone so Josh could clear the entrance for me. "I'm really tired and really drunk, and I'll just text you in the morning for you to come see me, yeah?"

"That sounds good. Ashton's pulled a girl tonight, Luke, Calum and I are all bunking together for the night. So I may be able to sneak away."

"Michael, really I just want to sleep by myself. I'm too drunk. And I'm on my period." I heard Harry gasp beside me and I lightly slapped his arm.

"Well then, I'll see you in the morning. Night, baby."

"'Night, Mikey." I hung up the phone and quickly sent Josh a text about the entrance, while at the same time warning Harry, "That's bullshit, I'm not bleeding."

He placed his hand on my upper thigh and started kissing me again, "I'm not really sure that would stop me at this point."

Our entrance into the hotel went unnoticed, it was actually underground so absolutely no one saw us. There was a hallway that led to an elevator that would put us exactly on the floor of the hotel so we didn't have to go through the lobby, the secrecy of this place was amazing. The elevator dinged and I pulled on Harry's hand and dragged him out of the small elevator, only to come face to face with none other than Michael.