Song: 'There She Goes' - The La's

-*-

With the help of Harry and Gemma, I move into my new home over the weekend.  Even before a box has crossed the threshold of number 50, I manage to annoy my new neighbours.  Street parking is available on both sides of the road but being the weekend, there is hardly a space to be found. I somehow manage to squeeze my Mini into a small gap but Harry has no such luck. Being a relatively quiet street, he puts his hazards on and double parks the Range Rover outside the Victorian semi. 

No sooner is the first box out the boot, there is already a queue of cars forming trying to get past.  He waves apologies and smiles to indicate he will only be a minute but both cars start beeping their horns, profusely.  He gets all flustered because he does not like to annoy anyone so to let them through, he drives around the block a few times.  Eventually he finds a space but I cannot help getting a dig in about the ease of small cars in London.  He rolls his eyes sarcastically but admits I am right!

After lugging my belongings up the steep staircase and thoroughly cleaning my room from top to bottom, I make the bed and unpack my clothes, toiletries, laptop and a few essentials.  I decide to leave the rest of my boxes stacked in the corner to unpack another day.  Gemma goes downstairs to make coffee and to chat to her friend, and my new housemate Anita, whilst Harry makes himself at home by lounging on my bed.  He spends a good fifteen minutes looking through my childhood photo albums.  Despite throwing a few cushions at his head, he is not deterred in his chortling at my chubby legs in my ballet outfit when I was four or my Mum's disaster fringe cut along with missing front tooth school photo when I was seven.

Early evening the three of us grab a fried chicken waffles, fries and house slaw dinner at Bird in Camden.  Despite a long lens, Harry spots a pap sat in his car near the restaurant. He must be an opportunist because we did not make a reservation; it is a spur of the moment dinner.  Needless to say, his shutter goes into overdrive before he drives away.  We then enjoy an uninterrupted meal and toast my new abode before dropping Gemma home on the way back to my new Highgate residence.

This time finding a space is no problem and we sit in Harry's car.  The tension in the air feels like one of those first date drop off moments when you hesitate about whether to invite your date inside. Harry breaks the silence by saying that whilst he respects my reasons for doing this, I really do not have to. I can stay with him at anytime or better still, move in with him. I hug him and tell him how I love how he loves me. His response is to kiss me passionately then remind me he does and is just on the opposite side of the Heath if I need him.

Typically protective, he does not drive away until I have closed the front door. I check in with my three new housemates over a cup of herbal tea then after bidding them goodnight, I close the door to my room and sink into the unfamiliar bed.

The street lamp outside my window shines brightly through the thin cotton curtains and bathes my room in dim light.  Rain lashes against the sash window and the wind whistles as leaves tumble along the street.  The bed feels big and cold and I pull the covers tighter around me as I settle down for my first night in my new home.

I think back to what Harry said in the car.  This whole scenario does feel strange because I own my own home in Holmes Chapel, and in London Harry only lives a stones throw away but I am renting a room in a shared house with three other professional people I am yet to really know. I remind myself why I decided to do this and not move in with Harry; I have to push myself out my comfort shell and make new friends, get out into life and have new experiences. This is especially true as he is about to embark on a punishing new album promo schedule for Four that runs until Christmas, then from February embark on a tour for nine months. My new job only awards me five weeks holiday so I am going to have to make best use of it.  The separation is going to be tough on us both and I do not want to give him any reason to worry. 

My phone interrupts my thoughts. Harry. He is in bed on his side of the Heath, I am in bed on my side of the Heath and we ridiculously flirty chat for twenty minutes before reluctantly bidding each other goodnight in a game of you hang up first, no you hang up first, not until you hang up. I end up hanging up first because he is never going to give in! He calls me back almost immediately to tell me he loves me before hanging up! 

Smiling contentedly, I drop off to sleep quickly but wake a few times in the night. Unfamiliar surroundings and a pain in my stomach from eating too much slaw at Bird are the culprits to blame.

-*-

Week two at work and a nice surprise greets me as Harry turns up outside the house on Monday and continues to drive me to work every morning then head onto the studio, the gym or to meetings. In true chauffeur style he has even donned his Papou hat and tipped the peak on arrival at the office, making me laugh through our goodbye kisses.

In the evenings, I catch the tube or bus home. The journey allows me a quiet moment to catch up on my social media, read the paper or stare out the window and watch the world go by.

I am settling into working life as expectations and faces gradually become familiar. My team is housed on the fourth floor of the swanky offices, with my desk occupying a great location by floor to ceiling glass windows that overlook the busy street below. By the buzz in the air I can tell that this role is full on but that makes for no two days being the same.

The assistant vacating my job is still with the company and has been on hand to bring me up to speed on the team that is Marketing & Brands. Hearing all about her promotion has given me hope that if I work hard, in time I can also progress up the career ladder.

During my lunch breaks, I explore the area to get my bearings. The offices are in exclusive Mayfair surrounded by high-end designer stores and expensive hotels. It is also close to Oxford Street for more realistic shopping and Hyde Park for a run if I am feeling energetic. Being week two, I thought my tiredness would lift a little but it has continued so I have no inclination for running just now.

The first day nerves that brought on a stomachache have eased but not gone completely. One evening when Dad calls from Spain for a catch up, he says that is totally understandable with anything new. He then proceeds to remind me of all my firsts in my life and all the tummy aches that usually accompanied them!

Harry has also very lovingly made me a different lunch each day. Towards the end of the week, the pouring rain scuppers my find a bench to munch lunch and get some fresh air walks so I bite the bullet, muster up some courage and check out the in-house trendy lunch bolthole.

The R&R Zone offers an array of free health drinks from Green Tea to boost juices full of wheatgrass, acai and flaxseeds, a selection of healthy snacks and salad lunches through to cheese toasties and chips, and beanbags, a music zone and TV pods to enjoy it all on.  I chuckle to myself on the inside thinking Harry would be in his absolute element. 

I plonk myself down on a beanbag and smile warmly at a few who catch my eye. I am conscious that people appear to be staring at me and I feel my face glow like a beacon.  Seeing me sitting all alone, the receptionist who greeted me for my interview and on my first day asks if she can join me. Honest and forthright, she admits that the staring is because I am talk of the office. It seems the pap pictures from dinner on Sunday made an article in The Mirror and word soon spread that Harry's girlfriend now works at the company.

Reassurance to ignore followed by thirty minutes of flowing chatter later, not only is Alice the same age as me but she lives in Chalk Farm, close to my new place. She is bubbly, outgoing and a great tonic, enthusiastically suggesting we must go out for drinks soon but asking outright if Harry can sign a picture of himself for her little sister!  I like her and she makes me laugh.

London life settles into a familiar pattern. Weeknights I mostly sleep at my house but I see Harry at the gym or we talk on the phone. Life is content and I am happy; we are happy together and that flows and ebbs perfectly.

At the weekend, we travel to Birmingham to see Harry's good friend, Ed Sheeran, in concert. Harry enjoys catching up with Ed before the excellent show then we go for late dinner and onto a club afterwards. I stupidly wear boots that are far too high and have to ditch them when a pain in my back becomes irritatingly unbearable. The night away in the hotel is beautiful and Harry and I enjoy an amazing night, coming back together after a break from each other this week.

Momentum of the Four promo continues to build. More tour dates for the On The Road Again Tour the following year are announced including Europe, US and Canada off the back of the already announced Australia, Asia, UAE and South Africa dates.  The promo photo shoot is ingenious with the band wearing sport shirts of the teams who play at the venues where they will be performing.  Harry refuses to wear any shirt for the US leg of the tour other than Packers, instead opting to hold the rest much to the amusement of everyone on set. 

The band's 'Who We Are' autobiography is launched with a signing event in London. I meet Harry there after work to go onto dinner at Lemonia in Primrose Hill. I stand in the shadows and watch the line file in to get their books signed and meet the band.  It is lovely to watch him interact with fans.  He just has a way about him that is so kind and caring. I love that people get to experience a little bit of what I am blessed to enjoy every day.

I am really finding my stride at work but the workload is increasing by the day and when I am not seeing Harry I tend to work late. The concentration required is more knackering than I imagined it would be.  A couple of nights I get in so late and am so tired I do not even eat in favour of falling straight into bed. I am not sleeping well, perhaps because of the new bed but the pain in my back from wearing those high boots has progressed to my side. One of my housemates suggests it could be sitting down all day in my new job and to check I have the chair in the right position. I make a mental note not to make a habit of missing my exercise sessions in favour of working late.

With the Steal My Girl video released in the UK, Harry shoots his part in the video for the next single release, Night Changes, at the Natural History Museum in London.  I love the architecture of the Museum entrance with its curved, patterned stone in blue hues, especially striking lit up at night and during this Festive period when there is outdoor ice-skating.  It is a perfect location for the premise of the video; a romantic date that goes disastrously wrong.  I don a pair of skates and watch from the side.  It is amazing to see him fooling around and smiling whilst his friend and director, Ben Winston, tries to keep him under control. Pizzas and hot chocolates warm us up on the cold autumn evening.

Also that week, we are both invited to attend the launch of A String of Naked Lightbulbs. It is a party to celebrate 50 years of Annabel's, the elegant private members club in Berkeley Square.  Sadly, I do not feel well enough to go and am gutted, as is Harry disappointed but I insist he attends which he does with Grimmy. He gets to sit next to Kate Moss so certainly does not complain when he tells me all about it the following day.

Harry returns home to Cheshire for a few days.  Much to the excitement of the students, he visits his old school for a meeting with the Head about setting up some form of fund to assist with its arts programs. Despite the world finding out where he is, he does manage to get some rest and to spend some quality time with Anne by taking a few peaceful walks. I drive up with Gemma to join the family for the weekend. We spend the two days relaxing a lot, eating too much and laughing hysterically which is just what we both need.

Back in London, the first week of November Harry and the band spend three long days locked into rehearsal studios practicing the songs they are going to promo off of Four. With everyone more rested, the rehearsals go much better than the disastrous ones a few weeks ago straight after the tour finished. On the second night I am just dropping off to sleep when my phone vibrates.

You awake? I'm outside. Busy day. Tired. Just need to be with you. H.x

I climb out of bed and peer out the curtain. He is leaning up against his car glancing up at my window. I hold my hand up and he does the same then I am down the stairs so fast and dragging him back up to my room. He is tired and simply strips and falls into bed.  I wrap around him and we sleep soundly for the rest of the night.

The album release is now two weeks away. At the end of this week the first of five downloadable singles is to be released. Ready to Run is available to anyone who pre-ordered the album and excitement is rapidly building on social media.

Once again, Harry becomes locked away in two days of promo interviews with the rest of the band in a secret location. They are interviewed by every media outlet from UK and overseas from Radio 1 to Sugarscape, Loose Women to Yahoo, and everyone in between.  His texts are short and fast typed as they are littered with errors, our conversations snatched when he manages to get a breather in between interrogations. 

He causes a stir with some of his responses.  One in particular sends fans and media to combust.  When responding to Liam, who answered that 'female' is an important trait in a partner, Harry replied 'not that important.'  The impact of that statement reverberated around the world with the analysing of what he meant.  He knew exactly what he was saying and took the fallout with a pinch of salt.  

This is the start of the promo madness. I know the routine.  This is where we detach.  All of our expectations, wants and needs evaporate as he goes to work. He ceases to be my Harry, instead wearing his One Direction Harry hat. He is still the same beautiful guy but he is in work mode, entertainment mode and charming mode. Sharing him is easy though because it is not forever and he wears work so well; it feeds his need to achieve. Watching him succeed from behind the curtain is just where I am happy to be because although he may be out of sight, he is never out of my mind or heart.