Chapter 7

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. This is mostly fiction...but some events are real. Bex and the plot are mine...One Direction is not. (Sadly)...

Enjoy....                                                             

  LITTLE THINGS

                                                    Chapter 7

March 31, 2015

“Rebekah...”

“Bex?”

“B...you need to wake up...”

“Rebekah,” the amazing voice says as something strokes my arm. “Can you wake up, love? We need to talk to you.”

“Hm?”

“Bex...I need you to wake up. I have to ask a favor,” I hear another voice say as someone shakes my shoulder.  The movement reminds me of my younger brother.  

I swat at his hand, “Go away, Nate! I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Who’s Nate?”

“BEX, wake up!”

That’s not Nate. That’s definitely Cal Aurand yelling.

I open my eyes. Cal and the man-boy, with the bun no less, are inches from my face staring at me.

“Jesus Christ...why are you so close!”  

Why the hell are they in my room? Can’t a girl get any privacy?

“You fell asleep in the living room. Not much privacy on the settee, is there?” Harry smirks. The dimple is in fine form this morning.

“It’s a good thing you’re hot or I would deck you,” I grumble as I sit up. A thin blanket falls into my lap.  My neck has a crick in it from sleeping and I rub at the pain.

“I forgot how grouchy you are in the morning,” Cal chuckles. “I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

“Uhm...who’s Nate?” Harry asks playing with the ring on his left hand.

“My brother, why? Did he call or something?” I ask wiping my chin to make sure I wasn’t drooling in my sleep.

“Green doesn’t become you, Haz...” Cal laughs from the small kitchen area.

“No, you said you didn’t want to talk to him,” he shrugs. “And I’m not fooking jealous, Cal. Shut up!” He yells into the room, his voice is deeper and raspier.

Cal returns and hands me the cup of coffee, “Two cream, three sugars, right?”

I take a sip and immediately wince, “Wow...that’s... um...really sweet. I haven’t drank coffee this sweet in years.  I take it black now,” I say taking another sip. “Like my men.”

Cal can’t hold back a loud cackle as Harry makes an odd choking sound.

“It’s a joke, Styles.”

“Jesus, Bex. He’s not used to your crude humor,” Cal admonishes me, while trying to not laugh.

“Yes, Dad,” I roll my eyes. “So...why were you both standing over me like you were ready to shove a mirror under my nose?”

“Harry wants to go to that Lala thing today,” Cal says as he sits down on the coffee table across from me.

“It’s Lalela...” I correct him. “And I’m aware of Mr. Styles’ excursion plans.” I fidget with the blanket avoiding Harry’s gaze.  My brain has finally caught up with my mouth. The realization that I called him hot has me even more uncomfortable than I already was.

“Well...I need to go to Cape Town Stadium. This little field trip would be a good thing to capture,” Cal says smiling at me.

“You could drop him on the way there...hand him a camera,” I mumble finishing the cup of coffee and placing the cup on the sofa table.

Why are the coffee cups so small?  It’s not espresso for god’s sake.

“I don’t know how long I’m going to be at the Stadium, Rebekah.”

Crap...He’s called me by my christian name. Cal doesn’t call me Rebekah often, but usually it’s when he’s very upset with me. Like that time I ruined a whole camera roll. Or when I dumped that folder into the garbage can on his Mac and proceeded to empty it. Or when I dropped that really, really expensive camera.

“You want me to go with him...”

“That would be the wisest choice.  Dale’s not really great with a camera,” Harry pipes in.  I raise my eyebrows at him as if to say, ‘Really?!?’ and shake my head.

“Please, B. I’ll owe you...anything you want,” Cal begs, even going as far as pulling out the puppy dog eyes.

“What time are you leaving?” I sigh.

“Yes! Thank you very much, Rebekah!” Harry says leaning over to hug me. Before he can get close enough, my body recoils into the couch cushions. The look on his face tells me he’s a bit hurt by my reaction.

“If you want me to go, I need to shower and eat something.  How much time do I have? What time is it anyway?” I ask throwing the blanket off me completely.  

“We’re leaving at 9:30. It’s 7:20 now.” His voice is stone cold. Harsh, even.  I really hate hurting people’s feelings. It makes me feel like shit. I stand and walk over to him giving him little space.

“Can we set what happened aside for right now? You wanting to visit Lalela is more important. We can discuss the other stuff later,” I ask quietly looking directly into his eyes.

We stand there in silence, deadlocked. Green to green.

“Okay?” I whisper.

“Yeah, we can talk about that,” Harry responds pointing to the couch, “and last night...later,” he searches my face one more time before walking away.

When he told me I’d know when he was angry...yeah, that was mildly upset.  Angry was going to be frightening.

“Damn it,” I whisper to myself and look up at the ceiling.

“What happened last night?” Cal asks. I forgot he was even in the room.

“Nothing...we got...caught up in the rain...” I sigh and head off to take a shower.

                                                             

                                                           ~</3~

A half hour later, I return to the living room. The table is occupied by the members of One Direction and tons of sheet music.

“Good Morning, Love! Did you sleep well?” Louis asks smiling at me. You’d never know he was plastered last night.

“Um...yeah,” I say looking to Harry. “I’ll just leave you four to this. I’ll come back around nine.”

“It’s alright, Rebekah,” he stands and motions for me to follow him. “Niall, can you clear a spot on the table?”

He proceeds to the kitchen and opens the fridge, “I wasn’t sure what you wanted so I asked for some fruit and yogurt. There’s some eggs and bacon in the oven staying warm.” He’s talking faster than normal.  

“You didn’t have to do that,” I tell him as I take the bowls of fruit and yogurt from his hands.  He turns quickly toward the oven.

“I know...I..um...I thought after the way things went earlier... it could be a peace offering. I’m sorry.” He says this all while hunting for something in one of the drawers.

I set the bowls on the counter, “Harry?”

“I’ll bring out the other stuff if you want to go sit down.”

“H...” My voice comes out softer than expected.

He turns toward me, a plate of food and utensils in his hands, “Yeah?”

I take everything from his hands and place them on the counter. Taking a deep breath, I step in and wrap my arms around him.

“I’m sorry.”  The minute the words come out of my mouth both of his arms are wrapped around my shoulders and his head lands softly against mine.

“I really appreciate you going with me today,” he murmurs quietly in my ear. “Thank You.”

I pull back from the hug and look at him, “You’re welcome.”

“So...Bex...have you heard Tommo’s nickname for you two? Heh...” Niall says as he steps into the small area.  “Oh...uh... sorry. Was I interruptin’ something?”  

“Yeah, we’ve heard it,” Harry laughs releasing me from his arms.

“Hex...” I smile and reach around Harry to get a spoon from the drawer. I pick up the plate and bowl of fruit and leave the room.

“What was that?” Niall says just loud enough to hear.

“Causing trouble up in hotel rooms,” Harry laughs as he makes his way toward the table.

“What?” Niall says looking between the two of us.

“So...what are we working on boys?” I say digging into the fruit.

“We want to change up the set list. We haven’t performed many songs off the new album.  Just trying to figure out what to take out and what to add,” Liam says sifting through the sheet music.

“You should add eighteen,” I comment between bites. “It’s good. It kinda has the same tone as that one song...what is it...little something.”  The four laugh at me. “What? What did I say?”

“It was written by the same person,” Harry says tossing a wad of paper at me.

“It was?” I deflect the object and it hits Niall in the forehead.

“Yeah...Ed Sheeran,” Niall says as he steals a piece of bacon off my plate.

“He wrote that? Wow...I had no idea.”

“You don’t get out much do you, Bex?” Louis adds as he pulls all the papers together.

“I do...but it's kind of hard to update my iTunes in the middle of a desert.”

“Fair ‘nuff,” he says nodding at me.

“Go about your business, gentleman. I’m going to take the rest of my breakfast out onto the balcony and phone a friend,” I say scooping up the plate.

“Are ya gonna eat that bacon?” the Irish one says reaching over my arm.

“Yes. I am. Touch it and I’ll break that playing hand,” I growl at him.

“Ooh...spunky this one,” he laughs.

I manage the door and set my plate in a nice sunny spot.  I pull out my phone and log in to talk to the girls.

Anyone home?

G: I’m on my way home...you alright?

Yep...fancy a chat?

G: sure, I’m walking. Let me put in my headphones. Then everyone can think I’m proper crazy. Xx

I wait a moment or two before Michael Douglas’ voice comes on, “This is the bearer of bad news...Grace is callling...”  Em and I had a good laugh when she told us she sweet talked him into recording it for her when she went out to NBC in New York. Seems he’s a sucker for British accents. I hear the boys yelling in the room. I smile as I close the door and hit accept.

“Hello, ya alright?” Gray says a little out of breath.

“Are you running or walking?”

“It’s bloody cold here.  We don’t all get to be in South Africa, Rebekah. What ya doin’?”

The door to the balcony opens and Louis comes out yelling cigarette in hand, “It’s my song...I’ll have it in if I like!”

“Is that Louis bloody Tomlinson?” Grace yells at me.

“Louis...I’m on the phone!”

“Oh, sorry, Love. Hello!” He says into my ear and runs back into the room.

“Why are you in his room, B?”

“Technically, he’s in my room. They’re discussing songs for the set-list,” I say spearing a few scrambled eggs. “Have you talked with Em today?”

“You don’t drop a bomb like that on a girl and then keep going with the conversation, love...why are they in your room? And put the camera on...so I know you’re not lying.”

I sigh, “You know I can’t hear you well with the camera on. Hold on, I’ll need to get my earbuds.”  I make my way back in the room and the four watch me. “Don’t mind me...just need my earbuds.”

I fish around in my backpack and finally find them.  Shoving them in my ears as I make my way back through the living area, the boys all yell, ‘Hello! We’re One Direction!’ And start laughing.  

“Cute...real cute,” I say before shutting the door. I flip on the camera and stick my tongue out at my friend.

“That’s a lovely view...have you put it to good use yet?” Gray jokes and wiggles her eyebrows at me.

“Oh my god...”

She laughs at me a moment or two too long, “So why on earth are the boys of 1D in your room? Oh...and please thank them for the hello.”

“They’re talking about the set-list,” I say between bites of bacon.

“In your hotel room...”

“Well...uh...yeah.  I mean...I’m guessing Harry told them they could meet here. It has a pretty big table.”

“Why in the bloody hell would Harry Styles offer up your hotel room, Bex?” She says before lighting the cigarette in her mouth.

It dawns on me I haven’t told Gray about the hotel room with Louis and Liam or that Cal traded with me.

“Uh...”

“You’re stalling, Love...” she smirks.

“CuzI’msharingthepresidentialsuitewithharry...”

“You wot?!?!?!” Her eyes are as big as saucers. The green one twitches a little.

“My god, Rebekah...I know it’s been a while, but you can’t jump into bed with a boybander!” She yells, but then looks around her. “What are you looking at? Bugger off!” She says shooing someone away.

“It’s not like that at all! There was a mix up with the rooms and Cal switched with me. I have my own room, Harry has his.”

“Christ! You do realize you’re living out every girls’ fantasy, right?  Does he walk around naked? I heard he’s got a habit of walking around naked...” She whispers into the phone.

“Are we going to discuss my sleeping arrangements or the messages I got from you two last night?” I say trying to change the subject.

“Oh...right!”

“So you’ll be heading home the beginning of June?”

“Yes...for the twins birthday. Ruby asked if I was bringing you two with me. What do you think? I can get the flight taken care of...” She answers quickly.  I can hear the traffic moving around in the background.  “Bloody Hell! I’m walkin' heeh!”

“You sounded like a true Bostoner there, Gray!  If I’m in town, I could probably go. You haven’t spoken to Emily though,” I say picking up my plate and heading back into the suite. The boys are still at the table, but they all are occupied with their phones.

“Not since Sunday, she’s had a few emergency cases and then back to Uncle Mick’s. Why?”

“She’s going back to Ireland the end of May for  Ann’s baby shower. Maybe she can just meet you there?” I enter my room and search for my hiking boots at the bottom of my suitcase.  A glance at the clock tells me I still have a bit of time before we’re supposed to leave for Lalela.

“Oh...I never got that message. Well, just as well...I’ll talk to her tomorrow. So...back to our prior discussion. Have you seen him in his birthday suit yet?” She laughs. I can hear the jingle of her keys.

“You’re insufferable. No, I have not. I can hear that you’re home. I’m on my way out in a bit. I’ll check in later, alright?” I ask carrying my boots into the living area and drop them by a chair.  

“Ah...that’s a shame!  Let me know when you do. Better yet, snap a little pic, yeah?” She sounds thoroughly disappointed. “Go and have fun with the young men...night, Love!”

I end the call with a snicker and slip my phone into the back pocket of my jean shorts. We’ve lost two members of the band.  Niall and Harry are now sitting on the balcony in some kind of stare down. As I get closer to the open sliding door, I can hear their conversation.

“All I’m sayin’ H...be careful.”

“I know, Niall. I know,” Harry responds before glancing up at the door. “Hey...”

Deciding it’s best to play oblivious to what I heard, I step out and lean on the balcony rail.

“We’ve still got a little time. Did you get your songs picked?”

“For the most part,” Niall says giving me a tight smile.

“Niall?  May I ask you a question?”

“Sure...”

“What is ‘Where are we going today’?”

He gives me a huge, nose scrunched smile, “You really know nothing about us, do you? Well...on the tour, Mark and I do these little videos where I ask him where we’re going today. Usually we have something funny planned out for it, a rhyme or he tries an accent.  The fans love it.”

“Where do you post these? On Twitter?”

“Usually to my Instagram account. The fans usually take it from there,” he laughs looking at Harry.  

“Do you do this stuff too?” I ask Harry.

“No. I have a rather low key, black and white Instagram account. I post pics occasionally of things I like,” he says playing with the bun on the back of his head.  He checks his phone quickly as he gets up. “Alright, bro. We need to get things together before we leave. I’ll check in with you later?”

Niall stands and the two do that man hug thing guys do, “Just think about what I said, yeah?”

“Sure...”

“Bex,” the blond nods at me before heading through the suite.

Harry and I are left in silence. A space we weren’t uncomfortable in before last night. The sun is hot on my skin even though the temperature is in the lower seventies. I pull the hair tie from my wrist and wind my hair up into a bun of my own.

“I’m just going to grab a different shirt and my camera. Meet you back in the suite?”

“Hmmm?” He looks toward me, his eyes unfocused.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah...we should probably get moving,” he motions toward the open sliding door. “I’ll meet you in a few.”

“Okay,” I step inside and go directly to my room. I grab a flannel from my suitcase and my small camera bag. I load a fresh memory card and my Hasselblad H4D into the bag along with an extra battery.

I place the bag on the entry table and wrap the shirt around my waist as I head for my boots.  As I’m tying the second one, Harry appears in black jeans and white t-shirt. He slips his ray bans on his head as he approaches the entry table.

“May I?” He asks pointing to my bag.

Normally, I don’t let anyone handle my equipment, but I nod for him to go ahead as I stand. He gingerly opens the bag and literally peeks inside like something is going to bite him.  I cross my arms and walk toward the table waiting to see what he is actually going to do.

“That’s an H4D,” he says wide eyed.

“Uh huh...” I smile.

“I have the three. Amazing cameras,” he says as he zips the bag closed.

“If you’re nice, I’ll let you try it,” I wink and slip the bag onto my shoulder.

                                                     ~</3~

The ride to the Lalela project is filled with conversation about cameras, lenses and mediums. We both agree that digital is the most convenient but a good, old-fashioned roll of 35mm film is favored.  I always loved spending time in my dark room. Harry agrees.  We both think there’s something about watching the photos develop right before your eyes. You point and shoot and more often than not, the picture turns out better than you’d hoped. He tells me that he always carries a camera with him and he’s had many a conversation with Cal about our profession. While Cal’s career has been very different than mine, I can appreciate what he does and vice-versa. The one thing we don’t discuss is my time as Cal’s apprentice and working with them. I wonder if he finally remembers me.

When we arrive at the nondescript building, Dale goes in first to speak with the volunteers. He returns a few minutes later and gives us a thumbs up before opening the car door.

We enter the building and find very few kids. They explain that the school term will be ending tomorrow so they will have their hands full for a few weeks. Suzelle, our companion for the day, explains the project and shows us some of the more recent art work.

The project provides arts driven education for at-risk youth.  It’s a year round program for kids in first through twelfth grade, giving them a safe environment after school and during breaks when they are in need the most. She tells us in 2012 the program started in North Uganda with the help of Hope North.  In 2013, in conjunction with the David Rattay Foundation, they branched out in KwaZulu Natal and brought the curriculum to the South Bronx of New York in 2014.    

They use the arts to spur on the children’s imaginations and teach them how to achieve their dreams and goals. It gives them hope for a better way of life and future.  Suzelle tells us that studies correlate that the arts help kids with educational success, social development and emotional growth.  It also gives them a sense of civic awareness and engages them.  The project believes through arts, kids “voices and dreams can be heard, seen and realized.”* courtesy of idealist.org

Harry talks to the volunteers and some of the older kids who aren’t attending school.  I try to stay in the background.  He discusses the challenges the kids in the area are facing.  A few of the kids know who he is and ask him questions about the band.  He graciously answers and then tries to steer the conversation back to what they think about the project. He laughs openly at their jokes, and I can see he’s affected when he hears about the not so pleasant side of their lives.  The staff insist we stay for lunch.  I choose a table away from him so I can watch him interact with the kids.  I continue to be careful of how I photograph him with kids, making sure to not show their faces.

A few hours after lunch, there’s an influx of kids.  You can hear them laughing and singing as they approach the building.  Several realize who he is within a few minutes of entering the building.  It’s an eclectic mix of little ones to teens. An hour after they arrive, I’ve put the camera away and start interacting with them.  A couple teen boys rope me into painting for a bit.  I work on some pottery with a few girls and they immediately start asking me questions.  How do I know Harry?  Am I dating him?  Do I know any of the other guys?  I can tell I disappoint them when I tell them I don’t really know them well.  I explain that I’m a photographer and that I’m currently working with the tour.  A young girl named Anele tells me she’s 18, loves photography and would gladly work on the tour.

“Well...I’ll certainly tell my friend that he should contact you when I leave,” I laugh with her.  “Although, I’m pretty sure you’re just looking to spend some more time with the guys.”

“That’s definitely a major factor,” she says looking at Harry adoringly. He must feel as if someone is watching him because he looks up from the mosaic piece he’s been watching one of the boys make and winks at her.  The poor girl turns redder than a tomato and buries her head in my shoulder.  All I can do is laugh.

“How does he know???” She sighs.

“Know what?” I ask her.

“He always knows when someone is looking at him or taking pictures.”

“I guess...” I begin looking over at him.  “Maybe he’s just aware of everything going on around him?”  

She shrugs her shoulders and goes back to painting the piece in front of her. I continue to talk to them about their pieces, what they want to be until a little girl comes over and stares at me.

“Hi, I’m Rebekah. What’s your name?” I ask turning toward her.  She smiles shyly and grabs my hand.  “You want me to go with you?”

She nods and tries to pull me from the chair.  I give in and let her guide me over to another table.  It’s filled with crayons and paper. She sits down and immediately picks up a brown crayon.  I watch her for a few minutes as she draws what looks like me.

“Is that me?”

She nods her head and very quietly says, “Pwetty.”

I smile, ”So are you!  Can you tell me your name and how old are you?”

She giggles as she starts to draw another person on the page, “Lewato, I’m six.”

“Lareto?" I ask, she nods quickly. "That’s a very pretty name. Who are you drawing there?” I say leaning in and pointing at the figure.

“Hawwy...” She says rolling her eyes at me. Apparently, I should have known.

“Do you listen to his music?” I ask as I reach up and pull a piece of cinnamon colored hair from her eyes. She runs her whole hand along the right side of her face and nods.  “What’s your very favorite song?”

“Wittle tings...” She says and then starts humming the tune.

“I like that one too.  Can I draw too?”

“Pease,” she says holding the brown crayon out to me.  

I grab a piece of paper and start to draw the only thing I can think of; a puppy dog’s face. Little by little, she talks to me as I draw and color the picture. She giggles loudly when I draw it’s eyes crossed.  I reach over to get a pink crayon for its tongue and casually look around the room.  

I find Harry watching the two of us.  He winks and then points to his wrist.  Nodding, I hold up two fingers, asking for a bit more time to finish the drawing. He gives me a sweet smile and turns back to Suzelle. He types something into his phone and pockets it.

“I’m going to color in his tongue and then I have to go, okay?”

“Otay,” she says and then crawls into my lap.  “You come back?”

My heart breaks a little when she hugs me and burrows into my neck. I drop the crayon and hug her back tightly. “I will come back,” I promise her and I have every intention of doing that. Even if I have to stay behind and meet the tour in Dubai.  I hear the click of a camera and look up.  

Harry has retrieved my bag and taken a photo of Lerato and I.  I tear up a bit as she squeezes me tighter.  His eyes get big and he shakes his head at me as if to say, ‘Don’t cry!”  He quickly shoves my camera back in the bag and sets it on the table.

“Who is that hugging my friend?” He teases softly as he makes his way around the table.  He kneels down and pokes her gently in her side.  “Hey...you can’t have her. She’s my friend.”

Lerato giggles and I can feel her turn her head a little to look at him.

“This is my new friend, Lerato. Can you say Hi to Harry?” I ask pulling away just a little bit.  She burrows deeper into my shoulder out of shyness.  “Come on. He doesn’t bite.”

She slowly lifts her head and smiles coyly at him. He lets out a laugh and smiles at her.

“Hi.”

“Hi. You Hawwy!”

“Yes, I’m Hawwy,” he says back. “I have to leave and I need to take my friend Rebekah with me, please?”  She looks up at me and shakes her head no.  He pouts.

I laugh at him, “If Harry signs your drawing, will you let him take me with him?  I promise I will be back.”  She thinks on it a minute and then nods her head.  He stands and reaches for the drawing. Just as he’s about to pull it towards him, she leans over and wraps her arms around his stomach.  He lets out an ‘oof!’ before lifting her up and hugging her tightly.  I quickly stand and reach for the camera bag. I’m able to get a few quick shots of the two of them.  He talks to her quietly as I load everything back up and reach for the drawing.  She won’t release him, so I hold the picture in place while he signs it.  

Once he’s done, he lifts it up and shows her while whispering something in her ear. They both look at me with mischief in their eyes.  Lerato reaches for me and I take her easily from his arms.  She hugs me one last time before pecking me softly on the cheek.

“Bye! I see you!” She says as she wiggles out of my arms and runs off to Suzelle.  

Harry says a quick goodbye to everyone and guides me out of the building. I burst into tears as Dale opens the door to the car.  Harry slides in after me and hugs me to his chest as the driver starts the car.

Author Note:  Welp...I hope you enjoyed it.  Feel free to leave me some love. Let me know you're reading... ~ Lady H  xo