"We have to be professional?" Jonesy asks as the doors of the elevator close. "Harry and Goldie can't keep havin' phone sex then? Cause that's not cool, man."

Harry turns to Jonesy with extreme confusion. "What?"

"Dude, last night. You jerked off on the phone with Goldie and you yelled about loving her and shit. I knew you guys would get back together."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Jonesy mutters incoherently under his breath as the other members of the band stand back and watch the unveiling of the not-so-secret secret. Jonesy acts in a moment of panic, leans forward, and yanks Harry's trousers down to the floor.

"WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK, JONESY?" Harry yells, scrambling to pull his pants back up.

The rest of the Orphans cover their mouths in an attempt to stifle their laughter and shock.

"Prank war? I don't know, man. Just trying to lighten the mood." Jonesy comments.

The memories from the night before come flooding back. The sounds of her beautiful moaning. The insatiable need to be inside of her. The longing to touch every inch of her glowing skin. It did happen. The moments that he thought were private dreams were shared with his bandmates and there was no taking back the experience.

"We can't forget this. Don't forget this happened, okay? Please," he whispered into the phone.

"I promise. I won't."

"Stop," Harry says. "Just... fucking stop. This can't happen. And we can't talk about this. We all want Golds to do this story, right?" The band nods their heads in agreement. "We can't act like this and draw attention to it. We can't... I mean... Fuck... I can't figure out what I'm trying to say. I just mean don't talk about this shit again in front of Daniel, okay? You heard him in there. Keep it professional. She'll be taken off the project if he figures this out. Please."

"Harry's right, guys," Grimmy adds. The chime of the elevator signals that they've hit the bottom floor. "Enough. We all want Goldie back with the band. If that tool catches a whiff of this, we'll ruin it for her."

They start to step out into the lobby when Harry stops in his tracks. Brief seconds flash ahead of him. The memory of her breathless voice. His flushed face. The craving.

"But... you guys heard there isn't a time cap on the project, right?" Harry asks. "That wasn't my imagination?"

"I can already see the wheels turning in your head, H," Matt replies.

"So I think we all know what we need to do," Harry says, looking at his team. They all nod in agreement once again as they step through the lobby, go outside and hail their cab.

"Call the label, Grimmy. We're plotting."

Harry smacks his hands and rubs them together. A mastermind at work.

* * *

"Again, all expenditures approved by me," Daniel reiterates as he and Goldie head back to her desk. "And I know you have a history there with the one guy but that can't happen here."

"Harry?"

"Yes. Him. None of that. Your writing is impeccable. But the main reason we're giving you this is because of your history with the band, as I've said. But don't get too far down in the weeds and make sure you don't get caught up in that drama again. This is a puff piece. We're doing this story because readers want it."

"I know, Daniel," she says, sitting down in her cubicle. She watches as he once again plops his khaki'd bottom on her desk and talks to her like a toddler.

"We can't have any personal issues messing with the integrity of the story," he adds. "Just make sure that doesn't happen."

Ziggy jumps up from behind her desk and barks uncontrollably at Daniel. He bites Daniel's pant leg and tugs.

"I TOLD YOU!" Daniel yelps. "Enough with this dog. You can't bring him here anymore. I allowed it for the meeting because you're basically family with The Orphans but this is unacceptable."

Daniel struggles to leave the vicinity. Ziggy jumps back into her lap and snuggles in.

"I know, handsome," she says, stroking her dogs ears. "I miss him too."

* * *

"How do you feel about the new album?" Michelle holds the tape recorder up to Niall's and Jonesy's faces. She smirks at their bewilderment. Their inability to get completely comfortable in this setting. The oak walls and sound-proofed studio fit their aesthetic but this isn't them. They fidget and pan the room in discomfort as Daniel looks over her shoulder, mouthing each question she asks.

"It's been a lot of fun so far watching the whole process," Niall replies.

"And they give free snacks so that's pretty cool," Jonesy adds.

"I know you love your snacks," Michelle says through giggles. Daniel nudges her with his arm. Don't connect too much. Don't bring up history. Don't bring in past feelings. That's what the nudge means. "Do you have a favorite song?"

Harry watches through the glass of the recording studio. She tries to focus and continue her interview but he can tell the prodding of her editor is throwing off her creative process. He wants to bust through the transparent window and grab Daniel's throat.

"LET HER WRITE. LET HER BE HERSELF," he'd yell as he wrapped his white knuckles around his adam's apple.

Her uncomfortable smile kills him. Each cell in his body shrivels and he looks to Grimmy for reassurance.

"Are you working on it?" Harry steps aways from the mic and asks Grimmy from the other side of the glass. Grimmy nods and gives Harry a thumbs up. Their plan was in action. They just needed to buy a little more time.

"Just the start, H. Don't worry. In due time."

Harry grins. Michelle catches a glimpse of his smile and can't help but smile back. Niall and Jonsey's response about the album is muted. Harry's intoxicating like that. He has a way of demanding a room with silence. His hidden kindness captures the attention of all those around him. This was a learned behavior. A new Harry.

He wasn't like this when she first met him. At the start, he was egotistical and smug. He put walls up and only let few in. But he hugs the atmosphere now. He embraces the energy around him. Coddles the helpless and loves the confused. His cheeks are warm and slightly wrinkled with happiness.

She imagines her lips brushing across his warm face. His kissing hers. He looks as though he's up to something. What it is, she doesn't know, but there's something brewing behind his mossy green irises. That was part of his charm though. The unknown. The constant guessing.

And his dark, endless pupils were like a never ending ocean. There was a mix of coral and seaweed that enveloped his gaze. She wishes she could dive into his gaze. Hold her breath and float. A lost starfish.

She smiles from ear to ear. The sides of her face wiggle with excitement. A feeling she hasn't felt for quite some time. She picks up her hand and waves to him. And he waves back. They're completely silent. The backtrack of the song they're recording plays on, but he loses himself in her stare. That dimple, right there, was something he dreamed of drowning in. He could smell cotton candy and happiness just looking at her.

Why did I ever let her walk out of the door? How could I tell her to leave?

Her blue eyes sparkled in even the dimmest of lights and he found himself strumming on his guitar aimlessly, playing a new song, inspired by just her smile and the delicate movement of her fingers in her wave.

Then the moment ends. The song plays on, harsh and piercing. Niall and Jonesy continue talking, their volume seemingly louder. And it breaks her heart. This is their new reality. Distant, past friends, always with a piece of glass between their sad souls. Eternally wishing to be closer but unable to connect with the other. The sad moon and sun, revolving around the wants and desires of others. Appeasing those that have no warrant judgment over their relationship... or lack thereof now. Her body felt cold and so distant from his. He felt rigid and frail. A weak hit would shatter him.

"Golds? Hello?" Niall waves his hand in front of her face.

"Sorry," she shakes her head and looks up at her interviewees. "You guys don't like it here, huh?"

"I mean... it's fine... but it's not ideal I guess," Jonesy adds.

"That's the most insightful thing I've ever heard from you, Jones." She laughs. She leans in towards her best friends and whispers — "I feel like you guys gotta get out of here."

"How's it going, guys?" Daniel plops himself beside Niall and Jonesy and disingenuously wraps his arm around their shoulders.

Niall and Jonesy nod.

"We'll work it out," Niall replies.