Friday night wasn't a late one, or a particularly drunk one, and I managed to swing by the office and pick up my flowers, mug and wine on the way back to the tube. The others tried to convince me to stay out, but I knew I had a date with Adam planned for Saturday and I didn't want to be hungover.

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling fairly perky, and spent the day cleaning my flat from top to bottom so I wouldn't have to do it on Sunday before I left.

As evening drew near I hung up my rubber gloves and went to get ready for my date, picking out a pair of black skinny jeans and the silk camisole I had worn to meet Harry's family in Holmes Chapel. I got on the tube and met Adam outside Salvatore's, a local Italian restaurant a couple of stops away.

As soon as we walked in there was a loud cheer, and I jumped and saw Callie, James, Calvin and a handful of my close friends sitting at a table together.

"Surprise!" Callie beamed. "You didn't think we'd let you go half way round the world without a send off, did you?!"

"Half way round the world?" I repeated, grinning as she jumped up and hugged me. "It's Cardiff, not Australia!"

I broke away from Callie, and Calvin enveloped me in a hug.

"Did you plan this?" I murmured in his ear but he chuckled.

"Nope, it was all Callie's doing," he replied, letting go of me and sitting back down. "I'm just here for the beer."

Adam pulled out a chair for me and I sat down, and he took the seat next to me.

"I take it you knew about this?" I asked him, with one eyebrow raised, and he gave me a sheepish smile.

"Yeah, sorry. Callie's had it planned since the moment you said you were going to Cardiff."

"It's fine," I smiled. "I'm touched that you all went to this much trouble."

As the waiter came over to take our drinks order and I said hello to everyone seated around the table, I breathed a sigh of relief that Nick Grimshaw wasn't there. Not that we were particularly close friends, but knowing my recent luck, coupled with sod's law, it wouldn't have surprised me if he had been.

Callie and I shared a bottle of Prosecco while we waited for our food to arrive, and just as the waitress appeared with some plates my phone pinged with a text.

"You look fantastic tonight," Adam said in my ear as I reached for it, and I smiled.

"Thanks," I said, shyly.

I looked down at my phone and saw a picture message from an unsaved number. The possibility of who it might be didn't occur to me at first, as I opened the picture, but my heart gave a jolt as I realised by the content who it was.

It was a slightly blurry photo of a sign, presumably made by a One Direction fan, being held up in a crowd. It read: NIALL HAS MORE TATTOOS THAN NAUGHTY BOY HAS FANS.

I giggled as I read it, and looked at the message underneath it.

From: Unknown: This was at our show last night. Does it have anything to do with you? ;) x

I smirked in spite of myself and before I knew what I was doing I had sent a reply.

To: Unknown: Nice! No it doesn't, but I'd be proud if it did x

Damn! What the hell was I thinking? He'd blatantly caught me off guard, when I had forgotten to be outraged.

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding and my face serious.

"Are you OK?" Adam asked, and I jumped guiltily and quickly locked my phone.

"Fine," I smiled, trying not to let my face give away that I was far from fine.

My phone pinged straight away and I fought to ignore it, only giving in when Adam looked away and laughed at something James said. I opened the message.

From: Unknown: How are things? x

I put my phone back on the table and took a sip of Prosecco, my hands shaking. I looked up and saw Callie watching me.

"I need to powder my nose," she said. "Come on Jess, come with me."

"Wh - I'm - "

"Hurry up!" she said, getting to her feet noisily, and I obeyed, standing up too and following her to the ladies' toilets. Once the door shut behind us she turned to me.

"Harry's texted you, hasn't he?"

"What?" I gaped, my heart giving a sickening lurch.

"It's written all over your face," she sighed, cocking her head to the side and giving me a sympathetic smile.

I turned away and leaned my hands on the sink, staring at my reflection. "I can't get over him," I admitted.

"Well I'm not surprised when he keeps texting you, and posting shıte online about plain white tees. He needs to leave you the fųck alone."

I was surprised at the forcefulness of her words, and looked up at her.

"What?" she shrugged. "I've never been a fan, you know that. He needs to stop messing with your head."

"I'm fine," I muttered, pulling my phone out and staring at Harry's last message.

Callie yanked my phone out of my hand. "Don't text him back," she urged.

"Why not? We're just friends," I protested, hearing fully how pathetic this sounded. "He's only asking how I am."

"It will lead to more, and then before you know it you'll be sobbing on your sofa again because he's banged another sunflower behind your back!"

"Sunflower?" I repeated, in confusion.

"Yeah - thin as a rake with a massive head," she replied, and we both snorted with laughter and leaned against the sink.

"Oh God," I gasped. "That's a good one."

"Seriously though," she said, after we had regained composure. "Don't put yourself through it again."

"OK," I nodded. "OK. I won't."

"Good," she smiled, and left the bathroom.

I stared at my reflection again for a moment, and pulled out my phone. Harry's message was still on my screen. I hesitated for a moment.

To: Unknown: Good, thanks. Just on a night out so can't really talk. Take care.

I mean, I didn't want to be rude. I resolved not to reply to any more texts after that.

As I sat back down next to Adam I heard my phone ping again, and managed to wait a whole five minutes before I looked at it.

I waited until everyone was engrossed in their conversations before I opened the message.

From: Unknown: OK, sorry. Talk soon xx

I stared at this for a few seconds and closed my phone. But not before I had saved the number in my contacts as Harry.

~~~~

We left the restaurant around ten o'clock and headed down the street to a bar playing live music. It was pretty crowded so we couldn't get seats, and instead stood in a huddle to the side of the stage. Calvin and Callie went to the bar to get a round of drinks while the band on stage were warming up. I found myself thinking of One Direction, and the excitement I'd felt in Cardiff during the opening sequence, right before they'd come on stage to Clouds.

"What kind of music do you like?" Adam asked in my ear over the sound of the bassist tuning up.

"Um, mostly current stuff," I replied, feeling a jolt of nerves at the conversation.

"Do you like watching live bands?"

I cleared my throat. "Depends who it is," I said vaguely. "I'm fairly easygoing when it comes to my musical taste."

"Just don't mention One Direction," Calvin joked, appearing at my side and handing me a cocktail. I glared at him and Adam laughed.

"Don't tell me you're a fan of them," he teased.

"What's wrong with One Direction?" I said, a little more snappily than I intended.

"Nothing, if you're twelve," he laughed, and Calvin chuckled and clinked his pint glass against Adam's.

"They have a diverse fan base," I said shortly. "They don't sell out stadiums around the world to just twelve year olds. They're talented, they co-write their songs and they're amazing live. They support charities, individually and together, and their fans are the most loyal in the world."

"They don't play any instruments though, do they?" Adam said, looking at me.

"Yes, actually, they do," I said, trying to control the jumble of emotions rising inside me.

"I thought they had session players?" he said, looking confused.

"They have their own band that tours with them, but that doesn't mean they can't play any instruments," I answered. "Niall plays the guitar for probably half of their songs when they're performing on stage."

Why was I defending them? Why was I so annoyed on their behalf that someone was insulting them and questioning their talent?

"Niall?" Adam teased. "You know their names?"

"Know their names?" Calvin echoed. "She's crazy about them. She knows every note and every word of every song..." he trailed off when he realised I was literally trembling in fury.

"Shut. Up," I said, through gritted teeth, and he swallowed hard and had the decency to look worried. Thankfully, Adam didn't notice.

"Wow," Adam was saying. "I would never have pegged you as a One Direction fan. Isn't one of them having a baby or something? I'm sure I heard something about it on the radio the other day."

"There are always rumours flying around about them," I said, carefully, still glaring at Calvin.

"I assumed they were gay," he mused.

"No," I snapped, watching the guitarist on stage adjusting his strap. "They're not gay."

"I'm only teasing," he grinned, nudging me gently, but I didn't smile. My heart was pounding and my stomach was churning. I stared at the band on the stage, and in their places I pictured Dan, Sandy and Josh.

No matter where I went, no matter what I did, I would never be free of One Direction, and subsequently Harry Styles. There would always be reminders, conversations, opinions, headlines, online presence. It made me feel sick. I didn't want to feel this way for the rest of my life, constantly trying to predict which way a conversation would go in order to try and avoid talking about the band and my connection with Harry.

"So," Calvin's voice interrupted my thoughts. "You're dating my sister."

The change in conversation threw me, and I whipped my head round to look at Calvin again. He was staring menacingly at Adam.

"Calvin," I warned. "Don't start."

"You know the drill, Jess," he replied, and Adam looked at us both nervously.

"Pack it in!" I hissed, so Adam couldn't hear. "This is only technically our second date! Stop puffing your chest out. You've already pissed me off tonight with your stupid One Direction comments. Don't make it worse."

"Sorry about that," Calvin replied, in a low voice. "I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously," I spat. "I will not discuss my relationship with Harry with anyone until I am ready, so do me a favour and stop being an arse."

I turned away from Calvin and folded my arms furiously as the band on stage began to play their first song. I felt Adam touch my arm lightly and I looked up at him.

"Sorry about before," he said. "I was only teasing you. I didn't mean anything by it."

"It's fine," I said, and he looked at me uncertainly. "Honestly," I insisted. "I just get really defensive when someone makes fun of something that's important to me."

"I didn't mean to make fun of it," he said.

"I know. I told you, it's fine."

He smiled softly at me. "So are you looking forward to Cardiff?"

"Yeah, I am," I nodded.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow before you go?" he asked.

"Just last minute packing," I replied.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get a coffee or something before you go?" he suggested.

"I don't think I'll have time," I said. "I want to get there in the afternoon so I can find my hotel and get settled in."

"Oh, OK," he said, awkwardly, and I realised how my rejection must have sounded.

"Maybe we could do something next weekend when I'm back home?" I said quickly, and he turned to me and smiled.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"OK, great," I said, and he hesitated, and then slipped an arm around my shoulders as we listened to the band on stage.

I saw Calvin watching us through narrowed eyes, and deliberately ignored him, turning my body slightly to fit against Adam. He wasn't as comfy as Harry, and our bodies didn't mould together as perfectly. Maybe it was something to do with the height difference.

After a minute he shifted slightly and I looked up to see him looking down at me, directly into my eyes. He smiled, and then slowly leaned down and kissed me.

"Bloody hell, you're brave aren't you?" I murmured when he pulled away. "My brother's standing right there."

"Yeah, I'm bracing myself for a punch in the face," he joked, screwing his face up, and I laughed.

I sneaked a look at Calvin, but he was now chatting up a leggy brunette and wasn't paying any attention to us.

"Looks like you got away with that one," I grinned.

"Do you think I'd get away with another one?" he grinned back.

"No harm in trying," I teased, and he winked at me. It didn't make my stomach flip.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who'll end up with a black eye."

"Well that's the risk you'll have to take," I shrugged, and he chuckled, his eyes twinkling, and leaned down and kissed me again.

It was nice. It was no Harry Styles kiss, but as kisses go, it was good.

I mentally shook myself again. I needed to stop comparing this poor guy to my lying, cheating ex. I wasn't being fair to him.

We stayed close together, occasionally kissing, throughout the rest of the band's set, and when they finally finished and the place began emptying slowly, Callie came over to us.

"This bar shuts at midnight," she said. "Do you want to go on anywhere else? I think James wants to stay out for a bit."

I shook my head. "I've got to drive to Cardiff tomorrow afternoon. I don't want to drink any more, and I don't want to be driving tired, either."

"Ah that's a shame," Adam said as Callie gave me a nod. "I was hoping we could make a night of it. Unless... you want to come to mine for a coffee?"

I knew exactly what he meant by this, and I was definitely not ready for anything like that; not when I was still hung up on Harry.

"Thanks, but I should really get home," I said, and he nodded and smiled.

"No worries," he said. "I thought you probably would. Can I make sure you get home safely?"

"You can walk me to the tube," I smiled.

We said goodbye to the others (Calvin was getting up close and personal with his latest conquest) and sauntered back to the tube station.

"I'm really enjoying getting to know you," Adam said, turning to me as we reached the bottom of the steps by the ticket barrier.

"Me too," I said. "I appreciate you taking things slow. I don't want to rush anything."

He nodded. "It's cool. I'm happy to play this however you want. I like you, and I'd really like to carry this on."

"Good," I smiled, and he leaned towards me again, kissing me and pulling me gently against him.

We stayed there for a couple of minutes until the last trains were announced over the tannoi, and then said our goodbyes and agreed to meet up again next Saturday after my first week in Cardiff.

I boarded my train, trying to feel excited at the thought of seeing Adam again, but I just couldn't muster up that same nervous anticipation I'd felt every time I was going to see Harry.

It was early days, I told myself. I'd had the whole One Direction thing going on with Harry, which Adam would never have been able to compete with anyway. I just needed to give it time. Adam was a really nice guy. He was good-looking, funny, charming, and he really liked me. I was an idiot if I threw all that away just because he wasn't Harry Styles.

I walked back from the station to my flat, and heard a couple of texts come through. I waited until I was safely inside before I opened them.

From: Adam: I had a really great time tonight. Looking forward to Saturday already xx

I smiled. This was exactly what I needed. Someone open and honest. Someone nice.

To: Adam: Me too. Thanks for a lovely evening x

I opened the next message, and my stomach flipped before I'd even read it, as soon as I saw who it was from.

From: Harry: You never answered my question about staying friends? :) x

-----*****-----

Thanks for getting this story ranked #404 in Fanfiction!!! It is your votes and comments that did it so thank you so so much! I know I say this all the time but I really do appreciate every single read/vote/comment. You guys are amazing xxx

Follow me for update info!