"Harry, Harry!" The paparazzi calls out. Lights flash, nearly blinding me. I cower behind Harry, who seems to be too used to the attention.

I make sure to keep my distance. We don't want the media to get it twisted. I am just his personal assistant.

We finally get into the car and the noises stop. "Are you okay?" Is the first thing Harry asks.

I nod, overwhelmed by the attention.

"I don't know how they found the hotel. I'm going to have to up security." He grunts, frustratedly.

I look down at my notifications.

Unknown: The contract looks pretty good. There are a couple of things I'd want to explain to you.

Unknown: This is Louis by the way.

I text back, thanking him. We can set up a meeting time later.

"Harry," I ask. He looks up from the window. "Why don't you stay at your mom's place?"

"I'd rather not."

"Why though?" I pry.

He sighs, knowing I won't give up. "Well, once you leave your house for good, you can only stand your family for so long. They begin to irritate you. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I rather not see them 24/7."

I nod, not understanding the feeling. I have a couple friends who felt the same way when coming back home from college for break. I guess it's similar.

"Okay, well don't you have your own place?"

"Yes, but it would be a lot harder to see you. I'm not going to abandon you in the middle of a new country."

That makes sense. Besides, I can't be living with him. It'll look too suspicious.

"Is this about the money?" He asks. "Because I want you to stop worrying about that."

I sigh, knowing I can't.

The rest of the ride is silent. Harry is back to having a driver, which makes it hard to have privacy. You can't really trust anyone.

He's on his phone the whole time. I look out the window, trying to figure out where everything is directionally. We pass a couple of foreign stores, like Nandos.

I begin to daydream. If Harry and I were to be together, would be live here? I don't know how I feel about that. I still have so much life to live, things to see. I want to go to college. Harry has so much more to do with his career. It wouldn't be fair to either of us.

The car halts to a stop and the driver gets out. He goes around and opens my door. I thank him, and Harry slides out after me.

I can't tell where we are. It seems like an office building, but there's no sign to indicate it.

"I'm recording a show today," he explains. It doesn't seem like a set from outside, but the inside is a completely different look. There's a stage and a whole section for the audience. We walk down a long hallway. Someone passes me a lanyard with a pass on it. I put it around my head.

A nice lady leads us to a back room and explains something to Harry. Everything seems to be moving so fast.

He's gestures me to sit while he reads through a bunch of papers.

"I'm going to casually mention that I have a new assistant." He informs me. I nod, knowing it'll be a good idea. The faster the word gets out, the less speculation.

"Harry, they're ready for you," a young man calls out. He tells them he's coming, gives me a kiss on the forehead, and leaves.

There's a TV in the room that shows everything that's being recorded. There's no audience so I'm assuming it's not going to be a live showing.

The host introduces Harry and they begin talking. I listen absentmindedly.

"So Harry, rumor has it you were in Florida for a good amount of time. What's that about?" The host asks.

Harry gives a charming laugh. "Yeah, I was. Actually, I was scouting out some fresh talent. I was on the lookout for a new personal assistant. I found one and she's one of the hardest working people I know."

I blush, knowing he's talking about me. I also know that I've basically done nothing, so he's just telling white lies.

He looks directly into the camera and points his finger. "I know you're going to blow that out of proportion, especially after the soulmate thing. Just know she's my assistant." It's as if he's addressing the fans, telling them to not harass me.

The host cracks a joke, but I zone out. My mind wanders to this trip. The contract specifically states we're doing this for one month, unless it gets extended or I violate the terms. That feels like so long, but so short. Can I really get to know the real Harry in a month? See his lifestyle? Know his secrets?

I feel like I've exposed myself to him a lot more than he's done for me. I need to start prying more.

I hear faint applause and see he's leaving the stage. I begin to pace, overthinking my decision. I've been here for two days and I'm already a wreck. Why did I come? I'm not made for this lifestyle. I can't hide in public.

Harry walks into the room and his smile fades when he sees my state. "Hey, what's wrong?"

I stop pacing momentarily. He engulfs me in a hug before I can say or do anything. He pulls back and wipes the tears I didn't even know I had.

I hate anxiety and overthinking every little thing. Why can't I just enjoy the moment? If only life were that simple.

He pulls me into another hug and waits until I calm down.

Harry's P.O.V

I feel incredibly selfish. I brought Ellie here, and it's really taking a toll on her. I don't understand, she was fine until today. Maybe it was the paps? Maybe I shouldn't have told everybody that she's my PA. She hasn't even signed the damn contract yet.

And then there's the fact I forced her to meet my bandmates. That may have been too much. She's already attached to Louis and I can't tell if that's a good thing. Luckily he's fully committed, so I know he won't try anything funny with her.

She eventually calms down. We leave as quickly as we came. I decide it would be better to drop her off at the hotel.

"Harry, you don't have to walk me up. I'm fine," she argues. She's right, she's a grown woman. I just want to make sure she makes it up okay.

I let her go and my driver drives off. I watch to make sure she makes it inside safely.

We pull up to an office building. My whole day is packed with meetings. I was hoping that Ellie's company would make it bearable. Now I'm miserable, anxious, and alone.

Ellie's P.O.V

I decide to finally tell Audrey where I am. I dial her number and it rings. She picks up right away.

"Where the fuck are you? I was so worried?" She yells.

Tears prick at my eyes again. "I think I made a mistake," I whisper.

"Babe, what happened?" Her voice is laced with sympathy. "Is it Harry?"

I explain my thoughts and anxieties. I explain how fucking nervous I am.

"Ellie," she sighs, "you'll be fine. From what I can see, Harry loves you a lot. He would never put you in a position where you'd be hurt. You know he'd drop everything for you. He doesn't have much of a choice anyway."

I nod, realizing she can't see me. I ignore the use of the L-word.

"Now, you be brave okay? Enjoy for me and go to some killer celebrity parties. And for damn sake, please update me once in a while okay?"

I thank her for calming me down and hang up. I text Harry.

Me: I'm ok :)

He doesn't respond, I'm assuming he's busy. He mentioned a bunch of meetings today. Part of me is glad I get to skip on those. Meetings don't sound exciting.

I decide to run a bath. Nothing else with sooth my nerves at this point. Besides, when will I ever get to use this luxurious bathtub again?

The bathroom begins to steam at the hot temperature. I dip my wrist in, making sure I won't get burned when it's full. I adjust the knobs, trying to reach the perfect level.

While it fills up, I casually scroll on my phone. Still no messages from Harry, and I ignore the pit in my stomach. What if he's mad at me? What if he's having regrets?

No Ellie, stop assuming the worst. Just enjoy this warm bath.

When the tub is almost full, I run a bar of soap under the water. A small layer of bubbles form, along with a content smile on my face.