Harry spent around half an hour chatting with Louis' tattoo artist, looking at pictures of eagles and discussing style, angle, depth and tone, and where on his arm it would go. He pulled me over to sit next to him, and asked my opinion on the different images and drawings. "Obviously I'll have it designed especially for me," he explained, "but I'm gathering ideas of how I want it to look." I had no personal experience with tattoos, other than staring at Harry's, so all I could do was tell him what I liked the look of, and what I didn't. He seemed open to my thoughts and took on board everything I said, and arranged to speak with the artist again in a few weeks when his schedule was less hectic.

By this point I was starving, and once they had finished talking we devoured a tray of snacks from room service, packed our bags up and were escorted out of the hotel to the cars, and off to the airport again. As we walked up the steps of the jet, I heard Louis moan behind me, "Fucķ's sake, it's the one with the squeaky seat."

I turned to look at him and saw Liam give him a playful shove between his shoulder blades. "You're always complaining, you, Tommo."

"Well fuckıng hell, I hate this plane," Louis grumbled, and as we stepped inside the door he and Harry wrestled to get to the very back, presumably away from the squeaky seat. Harry won his place and grinned triumphantly as he sat down in a huge leather chair at the end of the aisle, and Louis huffed and sat down across from him, leaving me to take the place next to Harry.

"No funny business," Louis warned pointing first at me and then at Harry.

"Nah, there are no beds on this one," Harry teased.

"Harry!" I squeaked, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks.

"It's a bit late to be acting demure, Jess," Louis retorted, and I stuck my tongue out at him, causing him to chuckle wickedly.

"You'd be surprised how discreet you can be under a blanket, anyway," Harry murmured in my ear so Louis couldn't hear.

I smacked his leg playfully and he cackled mischievously and squeezed my knee.

"I'm not joking," he added after a moment.

"Oh I know that," I sighed. "I've never met anyone so insatiable in my life."

"Can you blame me?" he whispered. "You're the most beautiful and amazing person I've ever met in my whole life. I can't get close enough to you."

My stomach flipped at his words, and I looked up to see him smiling shyly at me.

"Ugh, you two are so soppy it's disgusting," Louis muttered.

"Danielle not falling for your charms?" Harry teased, and I snapped my head up to look at Louis who was smiling sheepishly.

"It's all in hand," he replied, coyly.

"What's this?" I asked, feeling a smile break on my face as I registered Louis' expression. "Who's Danielle?"

"Louis' latest crush," Harry grinned. "Danielle Campbell. An American actress."

"Really?" I said, wiggling my eyebrows at Louis, whose mouth was twisted into an embarrassed smile.

"Yeah yeah, alright, don't take the piss."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Louis," I grinned, and for once he seemed almost lost for words as he chuckled and looked away out of the window of the jet.

~~~

The next couple of days were hectic. The band had appearances on the Ellen Degeneres show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, and I was allowed to accompany them to both. I hung out with Lou Teasdale and Lottie Tomlinson and drank champagne backstage while the boys were rehearsing, and sat in the audience to watch the interviews and performances. There was a hairy moment when they played Never Have I Ever with Ellen, and Harry was forced to admit to hooking up with a fan. His eyes darted to mine in the crowd for the briefest second after he lifted his paddle to 'I Have' and my stomach somersaulted as the audience screamed and cheered, all without the slightest clue I was sitting among then. I wasn't sure if Harry had hooked up with fans before - I could only assume he probably had, but the secret smile on his face as he looked down at his lap told me he was thinking of me and only me at that moment.

The boys then had a couple of days off, during which time Harry took me out for dinner and champagne at a beautiful Italian restaurant in Malibu that was tucked away out of sight with no paparazzi lurking anywhere, and we spent time together talking, laughing and growing ever closer.

I was looking forward to attending the AMAs with Harry, albeit not on his arm, but part of me was dreading it as it signified my week in LA coming almost to an end; I was due to fly home thirty six hours after. Harry had informed me that his ex-girlfriend-turned-close-friend Kendall Jenner would be there, and he seemed excited at the idea of us meeting.

"I talked a lot about you to her over the summer while we were in the US," he explained as we were getting ready on the night. "She's dying to meet you."

(This idea terrified me, as Kendall was so famous and beautiful, and I couldn't help feeling a little star-struck and tongue tied at the mere thought of meeting her. I had become partly immune to being around celebrities since the start of my relationship with Harry, but I had never met anyone quite this famous before and was worried about saying something stupid and making a prat of myself, in the way that only I could. I was only human, after all. Not to mention awkwardly clumsy.)

I had chosen a midnight blue floor length dress with a thigh split and a high, jewelled neckline, and heels. Lou styled my hair into perfect tousled waves, Lottie gave me a flawless make-up finish with peach lipgloss and dramatic mascara, and I finished off the look with chunky earrings that made my earlobes feel as though they were practically touching the floor. Harry had opted for a bold floral print suit, and when I turned around to look at him, it wasn't just my earlobes that were on the floor; my jaw was too.

"Wow," we both said, staring at each other.

"You look...," I began.

"Breathtaking," he finished, his eyes raking up and down my body.

"Incredible," I agreed, studying every inch of him, from his unruly curls to his pointy black shoes.

"Do you think it's a bit much?" he asked, turning away to look at his reflection again and unnecessarily straightening his collar, his eyebrows creased in a slight frown.

"Not at all," I assured him, walking over to him and meeting his gaze in the mirror. He shifted slightly, turning his body towards mine, and smiled. I slipped my arm through his and beamed at him.

"You look damn good on my arm, Jessie Braddy," he murmured. "You are way out of my league."

"Don't be ridiculous," I said softly. "You're amazing."

He paused for a moment, staring at our reflections, and then said in a rush, "Walk the red carpet with me tonight. On my arm. As my girlfriend."

My heart almost stopped and I turned to look up at his face. "Harry," I began, with no clue what my next words were going to be.

He looked down at me, turning his body to face me fully, and took my hands in his. "I'm serious," he said, looking earnestly into my eyes. "What's stopping us? I love you, you love me. I want everyone to know. I want to show you off, and what better time to do it than at one of the biggest awards shows in the world?"

"Karen would have a fit!" I squeaked. "I don't know if I'm ready to face her wrath. It's a huge step, Harry. We haven't talked about this in a while - let's think about it properly when we have time to discuss it."

He stared at me for a couple of seconds, and then sighed. "You're right. Sorry. I was getting carried away." He brought my hands up to his lips and kissed them gently.

"Please don't think I don't want to," I said, quietly. "I just want to do it right. I don't want anything to mess it up."

"I know," he replied, huskily, and pulled me into his arms. "I don't know what's come over me lately. I never used to be this reckless. You bring out my impulsive side."

"I'm not going to give up on us, Harry," I whispered, lifting my head and looking into his eyes. "I promise. We've come too far to throw this away now. You don't have to worry about losing me."

He licked his lips and pressed them together as I said this, and I stretched up and kissed him softly.

"Have I told you how amazing you are?" he whispered, tightening his grip around my waist.

"Maybe once or twice," I smiled, feeling suddenly shy under his scrutinising gaze. "But feel free to tell me again."

"You're amazing," he said immediately, leaning down to brush his lips against mine in a way that made me want to rip off his floral suit there and then.

I reached up to cup the back of his neck with my hand as we kissed, and as he not-so-subtley pushed his hips forward to meet mine I felt a definite hardness that hadn't been there minutes before.

"Harry," I chided softly.

"Mmm?" he murmured, not taking his mouth from mine.

"What's that?" I asked, nudging his erection with my groin.

He smiled against my lips. "That's for you."

A car horn sounded and we broke apart guiltily and chuckled.

"We'd better go," he said, reluctantly. "I don't think the others will appreciate being kept waiting while I bend you over the back of that chair."

"I'm sure Louis would love to hear about it," I argued. "I think he secretly gets off on what we get up to."

Harry threw his head back and laughed delightedly, and I couldn't help giggling at his mirth.

"I think maybe you're right," he said eventually, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'm going to tell him you said that."

"Feel free," I grinned. "I'm happy to tell him myself."

We laughed all the way out to the cars, and Harry kissed me goodbye as he was travelling in a car with the band to walk the red carpet, and I would be travelling with Lou, Lottie and some of the crew.

"You look amazing," Lou beamed as I slid onto the seat next to her. "Don't be nervous. It's going to be fun."

We arrived at the venue and were taken round the back and inside the building, while Harry and the rest of the band walked the red carpet. There were huge screens up inside showing different interviewers and different celebrities arriving.

"There's Niall!" Lou exclaimed, pointing up at one of the screens. I watched as the camera panned out to show a girl with long dark hair holding a microphone out to Niall, obviously interviewing the band (there was no sound on the screen.) As we made our way to our seats I saw the boys on different screens speaking to different people, and caught a glimpse of Harry rolling his eyes behind Gigi Hadid's back as she shook his hand and then warmly embraced the rest of the boys.

"What was that about?" I asked Lou, and she rolled her eyes too.

"Gigi's close with Taylor Swift," she explained, wrinkling her nose. "I'm guessing she snubbed Harry out of loyalty to Taylor."

"Seriously?" I squealed, a bit too loud. "It's been over a year since they last hooked up! Isn't it about time Taylor moved on? She's with someone else too!"

Lottie erupted into mischievous laughter that was all too reminiscent of Louis, and Lou gave an appreciative chuckle. "You said it, salt. You said it."

We found our seats and Lou introduced me to various people in the industry, and I watched in awe as I caught glimpses of Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande and Chris Martin all taking their seats. I had never been around so many big names before, and I was so nervous about making a good impression and not letting Harry down, I barely said a word.

The boys had changed out of their suits by the time they came to join us, and Harry gave me a surreptitious wink, causing the familiar stomach flip, and then posed for photos with the others before shifting along the row to sit next to me.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Hi," I whispered back, unable to contain my smile as he slipped his hand into mine and settled in his seat to watch the start of the show.

Each time One Direction were nominated for an award Harry moved back along the row so that when the cameras were focussed on them I wouldn't be in shot, and each time they won an award I struggled to contain my excitement. I wanted nothing more than to be able to throw my arms around Harry and congratulate him, but this wasn't about me or us; this was about his success with his bandmates, and I settled for an excited hand-squeeze each time he returned to his seat next to me.

The highlight of the show for me was when they performed Perfect; my heart pounded all the way through the song. Even though I was a bit far from the stage to make proper eye contact with Harry, knowing he was thinking of me as he sang the words was enough to send me straight to cloud nine for the duration of the evening.

"You were phenomenal," I whispered as he eventually sat down again after the performance was over, unable to hide my smile.

"Thanks," he smiled back. I caught his eye and couldn't fail to notice the pride in his expression at my words. "It means even more when you say it," he added, and I squeezed his knee gently.

He slipped his hand into mine again and leaned slightly into me to maintain the closeness.

When the show finally came to a close we made our way to the afterparty and my stomach began fluttering again with nerves, that no amount of champagne could calm. Harry steered me through the crowd with one hand on my waist, collected two flutes of Dom Perignon from a server holding a silver platter and then began introducing me to everyone we met, from Jennifer Lopez to a member of the production crew whom Harry recognised as one of the lighting assistants from their Take Me Home tour two years earlier.

I was just starting to relax slightly when I heard a squeal behind us, and I turned to see Kendall Jenner throwing her arms around Harry, and Harry grinning broadly as he embraced her and lifted her slightly off the ground.

"Hi," he said warmly.

"Where have you been?" she demanded. "I've been looking all over for you! Don't you ever answer your phone?!"

She pulled away from him and turned to me, beaming.

"You must be Jess!" she said, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek. "Harry has told me so much about you. I'm Kendall."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled, hoping desperately that it wasn't obvious how hard my hands were trembling. I wanted more than anything to make Harry proud, and show him I could fit into his world just as well as he had fitted into mine.

"I love your dress," she said. "It's stunning! Did you enjoy the show?"

"Thanks," I said, unable to help myself from beaming. "I loved it. I've never been to anything like this before. It was amazing."

"I thought Perfect was awesome," she said, looking at Harry and then at me. "Congratulations on getting a song written about you! The loser never wrote one about me."

A hysterical laugh escaped before I could stop it, at the exaggerated look of disdain on Kendall's face as she surveyed Harry with her nose slightly wrinkled, and he grinned indulgently back.

"Yes I did," he replied. "It's called I Want."

My eyes widened as I looked from Harry to Kendall, taking in the twinkle in his eye as he twisted his mouth into a playful smirk. Kendall stared back at him through narrowed eyes, a begrudging smile on her lips.

"I Want," she repeated. "Are you yanking my chain? What even is that song? Is he joking?" she asked, turning to me.

I started to chuckle as Harry's smirk remained in place.

"Go and listen to it and see," he said, devilishly. "It's on our first album."

"You didn't even know me when you made your first album!" she protested indignantly, smacking him on the arm as he leaned back and laughed hysterically. "You didn't even write stuff then!"

"Yes I did!" he argued, his mouth falling open in mock outrage.

"You're such an ass," she huffed goodnaturedly. "Good luck, Jess. I don't know how you put up with him. He thinks he's hilarious."

"She keeps me on my toes," Harry replied, looking at me and smiling, his whole face lit up.

"Good," Kendall said firmly. "That is exactly what you need. Don't take any crap, Jess. Make sure he knows who's boss."

"I will," I laughed.

"I think Kylie's looking for you," Harry said, pointing towards a group of people a few feet away who were talking and laughing, and I could see Kylie Jenner standing holding a drink and craning her neck looking around the room.

"Is she kidding? It's not like I'm hard to spot in these heels, towering over everyone like a giraffe," Kendall muttered, and then excused herself briefly and slipped through the crowd as we laughed.

"She's stunning," I said before I could help myself, staring after her with my mouth practically hanging open.

"You're more stunning," Harry whispered in my ear, and as I turned to him his lips landed on mine softly and his arm tightened around my waist.

"Put her down," moaned a voice to our left, and we broke apart to see Louis and Niall approaching, holding champagne flutes; Niall grinning, Louis pulling a face at our public display of affection.

"I don't want him to put me down," I pouted.

"Looks like it's not just Harold who's whipped," Louis remarked, and I grinned at him.

"You having a good time, Jess?" Niall asked, taking a sip of champagne.

"Fantastic," I nodded excitedly.

"You banged Selena yet?" Louis asked, turning to Niall.

"Fuckinģ one-track mind," Niall chastised, with no conviction, shaking his head in disappointment at Louis.

"With good reason," Louis retorted.

"We're going for dinner tomorrow night," Niall admitted, and Louis guffawed loudly and made a crude gesture with his hand.

"Dirty little bastard," Niall chuckled.

"So tell me more about this Danielle Campbell," I said to Louis, and it was Niall's turn to make rude faces while Louis grinned tolerantly and Harry turned away towards Kendall as she approached us again. Louis began to tell me about Danielle but after a minute my attention was diverted to Harry and Kendall talking in low voices with worried looks on their faces, and my stomach flipped nervously as they glanced over at me.

"I just thought I'd better warn you," Kendall was saying.

"What's going on?" I asked, as Louis turned around to look at Harry too.

Harry looked uncomfortable and flipped his hair back with his hand and looked down at the floor.

"You can't protect her if you don't tell her," Kendall urged.

"Tell me what?" I asked, feeling sick all of a sudden.

Harry sighed and stepped over to me so he was standing at my side and took my arm gently.

"Kendall's just seen Sara Sampaio," he said uncomfortably, and my stomach lurched at the mention of her name and the memory of the hurt associated with it. Although I was over all of that, I still didn't want her in my face. "She's here tonight with some people from Victoria's Secret," Harry continued, his eyes searching my face. "Which means that it's also likely that... that Nadine is here too."