How It's Going To Be [h.s.]

Chapter 27

Harry sat on a chair slowly sipping water out of a paper cup while the rest of the boys and I stood around him. I placed a hand on his shoulder and could feel sweat through his shirt. His fever was running high. We could still hear the screams of the fans at the charity event beyond the stage area.

"We're going to that restaurant downtown we went to last time we were in Berlin," Liam announced.

"Just us boys," Niall added. Then he turned to me, "And you, of course."

"I feel really ill, lads," Harry said quietly. "I think I'm just going to go back to the hotel and get some sleep."

"Come on, Harry! It'll be fun." Niall seemed disappointed.

"Sorry," he shook his head.

"Suit yourself, mate. You go back to the hotel and we'll take your girl out and show her a good time without you." Louis had a devious smile.

"I'll go with Harry," I said quickly.

"No," Harry waved his hand dismissively. "You go with the boys. You haven't eaten and you don't remember seeing Berlin. You'll have fun."

"I don't know." I was nervous about hanging out with the boys without Harry. I felt comfortable enough with them, but I didn't want to be without Harry if things got awkward.

"Come on, love. We are your friends, too. You can go back and sit in the dark hotel room while Harry sleeps, or you can come have fun with us."

I looked at Harry and he gave me a nod as if encouraging me to go out with the boys. "Okay," I whispered.

Louis draped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a cheeky smile. "Don't you worry, Kate. We'll look after you."

____________

The restaurant we arrived at was filled with Berlin's elite. Men and women wearing expensive clothing couldn't help but gawk at the boys as they entered with bodyguards and cameras following their every move. We were able to get a table near the back away from windows. I sat beside Louis with Niall and Liam sitting opposite us.

It was unusual for the boys to go to dinner without a few crewmembers tagging along. On the drive over, Louis explained that he had organized the dinner. Henry was angry it wasn't properly planned out. Louis mentioned that Henry liked to tip off the media whenever the boys went out. "I understand that you work on the business end of One Direction and not the creative end, but it's like they don't understand us at all sometimes. We're trying to be normal, not a spectacle. But I know you're not like that. You're one of the good ones," Louis had said to me in the car.

I looked over the menu and raised my eyebrows at the prices listed beside entrées. The excess money was one aspect of this new life I had yet to adjust to. Louis saw me reading carefully over the menu and offered a few suggestions.

"Get whatever you like, love. I'm paying tonight." Liam didn't seem enthused about picking up the bill. The other boys laughed.

"We have an ongoing bet," Niall began. "If anyone trips on stage, forgets the lyrics, or has his voice crack, he has to pay for dinner."

"There's other stuff too," Liam added. "If one of us gets hit by something a fan throws on stage, he has to pay too. That's why we always look mad when we get hit. Or if one of us laughs during a performance. Harry's usually guilty of that one."

"I always wondered about that!" I laughed. "So why are you responsible tonight? What did you do?"

"Laughed," Liam grumbled. "Couldn't help it though! One of the little girls up front was mouthing every word along with us and it was so cute!"