Читать книгу Harry Styles & Niall Horan: The Biography - Choose Your Favourite Member of One Direction - Sarah Oliver - Страница 24

Harry and the rest of One Direction loved the beanbag room in the X Factor house, which had an L-shaped couch, huge beanbags to sit on, a big TV, a table tennis table and a Wii. Harry also liked the music room, which had a jukebox and a piano for when they wanted to rehearse together or just chill out to some music.

During the week, when they were rehearsing, Harry would wear casual, comfortable clothing that still looked good but didn’t restrict him. Because his mum wasn’t there to help him, he had to wash and iron his own clothes in the house, as well as having to cook. Harry loved the OnePiece Norwegian jumpsuits they were given: his was white and it was like wearing a big babygro. He would zip the hood up and run around and no one could work out who he was, apart from the other members of One Direction because they had one too (Liam’s was blue, Zayn’s was green, Louis had grey and Niall’s featured an American Stars and Stripes design).

One day, Harry was knocked over by overexcited fans on his way to the studio. He and the others had just got out of a car and were heading for the studio door when it happened. The fans didn’t mean to do it; they were just really excited to see him. As soon as Harry fell, Liam shouted over to check that his bandmate was okay; he wanted to help him to his feet but he couldn’t because there were so many fans crowded around him. Harry managed to stand up and made it to the studio, still smiling away as if nothing had happened. It was at moments like these that he must have thought how his life had changed – he was in school one minute and the next, he was being followed by hundreds of girls, all wanting his autograph!

On his first night in the house, Harry joined in a singsong with the other contestants. Matt Cardle played guitar and they all relaxed and got to know each other a bit better. Although they would be competing against each other once the live shows started, they were determined to be friends. As the weeks went by it would prove tougher, as Harry would have to say goodbye to some good friends, but at least he’d still have Niall, Zayn, Liam and Louis.

At their first ever press conference, Harry admitted to GMTV: ‘The house is always pretty loud. You have your messy people and your tidy people, but it’s really good living with all the boys. I miss my mum a little bit, though.’

Having to share a bedroom helped the boys to bond, but it was difficult trying to fit in all their stuff. Louis told the backstage cameras: ‘Living in the contestants’ house, it’s good to be in a group ’cos if we ever have any problems, or on the flip side, if we’re up for a laugh, then I’ve got four other lads to turn to, so it’s great.

‘We all stay in the same room: it’s pretty much what you’d expect from five teenage lads – it’s an absolute tip most of the time!’

The boys and girls had separate bathrooms in the house, which meant that the girls kept theirs clean but the boys’ had boxer shorts, clothes and empty drink cartons scattered about.

Harry and his fellow bandmates loved their newfound independence and had loads of fun. Liam summed up what living in the house was like to the Shropshire Star. ‘It’s different,’ he said. ‘If you don’t get to see it and experience it first-hand, you wouldn’t understand what it’s like. It’s so much fun. There is never a dull moment, and it is always loud in the house. That’s usually probably coming from our band! Everyone has such a great time and it is surprising how well everybody gets on because at the end of the day, it is a competition, but everybody gets on great.’

As the weeks went on and acts started to leave the competition some bedrooms became available, so Liam and Zayn decided to move into their own room, leaving Harry, Niall and Louis in the original one. It made sense, because they were so cramped; they had accumulated more and more stuff as the weeks went by. Harry had even been given free clothes to wear by a Covent Garden store hoping for some exposure.