Undercover | H.S.

9.

Harry tells me we have to be ready at 8. It's just past four and I'm wondering why he's insisting we start getting ready now. He leads me down a hallway into a large room that is actually the closet of the house. Harry explains to me that their stylist picks out their clothes and sends them to wherever they are and they just grab from the clean pile and go most days. As he says it I feel a little deflated, thinking back to all of the times my fandom friends and I had obsessed over the boys wearing each other's clothing. We had placed hidden meaning on it, especially when it came to Harry and Louis. To know that the shared clothing held no significance for them hurts.

"We have to do a little more for things like tonight" he says to me.

"What exactly is tonight? Like, what kind of party?"

"The label is launching some new singer, they want us to go so there will be hype. It's pretty common that we get dragged into shit like this. We all hate it but, it's part of the job."

"I'm sure it's not so bad" I offer but he only looks down in return.

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to wear any of your clothes though" I say sarcastically. He chuckles and the smile I love returns to his face,

"The stuff our stylist sent for you is in that change room their" he says indicating a small door I hadn't noticed before, "Ezra should be around here somewhere."

He disappears around a corner of the L-shaped room  and returns a minute later with a short blonde trailing behind him. "Hi! You must be Ellie! Harry hasn't shut up about you for days!"

"That's what everyone keeps telling me!" I reply.

"I'm Ezra, I do the boys hair and makeup and tonight yours as well. First things first. Come with me."

She takes my hand and leads me back to the section of the room that can't be seen from the door way.

"I'll be right out here El!" Harry calls.

Ezra disappears back down the hall where we'd come from and returns with a rack full of colorful, beaded and sparkly outfits.

"See anything you like?"

"Can I say all of it?" I say with a laugh.

"We gotta find you something amazing. There will be pictures, lots of them." She continues a little softer a moment later, "just so you know, we haven't seen Harry this excited about someone in a really long time."

"I thought he just got out a relationship a few weeks ago?"

"He was never dating that model. Or anyone else they've said he's been with the past four years. Any claimed 'girlfriend' was something concocted by their management."

"They can do that?" I question thinking back to all the times the fandom had thought this exact thing was occurring. We had suspected, but in my heart I just couldn't bring myself to believe that Harry was being forced to fake his love life. It was heartbreaking really and I finally was starting to understand the sadness that sometimes crept into his green eyes.

"Unfortunately, while the band is under contract they can pretty much make him do whatever they'd like."

I frowned as I thought about all that could imply. How much of everything I knew about Harry was really true? I'm pulled from my train of thought as Ezra and I begin digging through the rack of clothing I have to pick from. We choose three outfits that may work and Ezra helps me get undressed to try them on.

"Harry?" Ezra calls waiting for a reply.

"I'm still here."

"I'm gonna send her out in the top three. Help us choose."