#also im craving enchiladas rn

[arcticmaggie]

Movie Night

Y/N (not so) secretly hates scary movies and Harry (not so) secretly loves Y/N.

Word Count: 4.2k

Warnings: None

Author’s Note: okay so this is a cute angsty but also fluffy one shot!! idk i was debating whether or not to post this one but whatever might as well make other ppl clench their heart over soft Harry. ALSO he’s like an american in this oof like i didn’t know how school works over in the uk so like aha america wooh. okay enjoy! pls feedback is amazing! IF THERE’S ERRORS I’M SORRY

“It’s my turn to pick! You made me suffer through Dear John last week.”

“How dare you disrespect Amanda Seyfried like that.”

It's a Friday night and Y/N finds herself back at Harry’s flat with a half empty pizza box on her lap and a grumpy expression on her face. Harry loves to tease her about her fondness over cheesy dramatic romances that carry elements that she will never come across in her own love life. She hates it. Especially because whenever they watch these movies, he never actually pays attention to it, choosing to play with her hair or hands instead. Which she actually wouldn't mind if it weren't for the fact that it was so distracting that she misses about half of the movie as well.

So she's grumpy and upset that Harry is sat beside her chewing on a pizza slice while searching through Netflix with disregard to how mean he was being (not really, she's just dramatic) as he keeps his free hand at her thigh, rubbing it softly and absentmindedly.

“It's not like my turn counted. You didn't even watch the movie,” she quips in, a frown still sketched on her face as she sees him completely skip over the romantic comedy genre.  

He replies with a full mouth, “then consider us even. Since you’ll be too scared to pay attention to this either.”

Her frown of upset turns into a frown of confusion as she wonders what he means. But she sees him click down once more and begins to scroll through the horror genre, ominous thumbnails flashing up, making her heart begin to thump a bit heavier than usual.

She hates scary movies. She hates being scared in general. Harry knows it as well because she's found herself, more often than not, calling him in the middle of the night to comfort her because there was a noise in the kitchen and she could have sworn she saw a shadow pass by her closed bedroom door.

She whips her head towards him and sees the slyest smirk settled on his lips and she wants to smack it right off. She won't let him win this round. She needs to show her dominance in this friendship (who is she kidding, she'll do and listen to anything he says).

“I don't know what you're talking about, I love scary movies.” A snort leaves Harry’s mouth at that. She gives a weak push against his shoulder at his response.

“So you’ll love me if I put on The Conjuring tonight?” he asks, both eyebrows raised as he readies his thumb on the play button. His smug face makes Y/N want to attack him and refuse to watch a film of terror, but she won't give in yet.

A wide and obviously exaggerated smile spreads on her lips and she nods curtly, “Yup.”

She really doesn't know why she went along and did this though because Harry presses down on the remote control and the movie begins to play and Y/N knows she's fucked for the rest of the week.

And she proves herself correct as the movie reaches the third act and she finds herself wrapped around Harry’s figure. She had thought she saw a hand reach for her at her end of the couch so she pushed the pizza box off her and onto the ground, quickly scooted on top of his lap, and tucked her legs inside the blanket wrapped around them. Her head isn't turned towards Harry but she just knows he's smirking in amusement behind her from her sudden, but not surprising, actions. So with the arm that’s wrapped around his back, she lifts her hand and flicks the back of his neck.

“Ouch! What the heck, Y/N?”

“Oh hush, you already know why I hate you right now.” Y/N quips back as her eyebrows furrow with irritation, only multiplying more when a jumpscare occurs on screen and her heart skips a massive beat. She can't endure it anymore, so she turns her head and tucks her face into his neck, Harry quickly reacting and extending his neck out a bit so she can get more space.

She grumbles against his skin, “Why are you so keen on scary movies? Do you not realize it's only going to make me bother you even more with calls in the middle of the night?”

He lets out a small exhale through his nose as he softly laughs at her grumpiness. “You never bother me,” he lets out quietly, provoking a warm blush to rise in his cheeks, thanking the heavens that the lights are turned off so that it's not noticeable.

He likes to think he isn't so obvious about his feelings towards her. Even though everyone in their friend group always comments about how exhausting it is to see how absolutely infatuated he is with her yet he doesn't do anything about it. But Y/N is pretty good at missing signals and this ditziness of hers gives him more passes than he's deserved.

Like how he's constantly using his free time from his job to text her, call her, or hang out with her. Or like how he always says yes to her when she asks for a ride to her campus for her afternoon lectures because her car’s A/C doesn't work but his does, even if it means being late coming back from lunch to work. Or like how he never approves of any of the guys she mentions she's found cute or has ever asked her out. Or how whenever she sleeps over (or vise versa), he rolls over in bed and pulls her into his arms, rubbing his nose against her cheek with a dopey grin until she wakes up with a wrinkled nose from the sensation, rasping out, “Good morning, my sweet girl.”

Or like in this present occasion, how he always chooses a horror movie to watch after he feels like she hasn't been affectionate enough with him in the past two weeks. Because he knows that she always ends up in his lap, quivering under his gentle hands combing through her hair, comforting her and protecting her from the scary monster on the telly.

He feels a tiny bit guilty using her fear as a method of affection but her shampoo always leaves such a sweet mango scent in her hair and he can't help but inhale and forget all about it. And it's not like she ever complains about being in his arms. Which makes him giddy thinking about it but he pushes his hopes down. She seems comfortable enough being just friends, he doesn't think she's ever going to want more (this thought leaves a small sting in his chest and he tightens his arms around her a bit more).

They stay like this for the rest of the movie, his hand running small circles on her back and her hand running her fingers through his curls. As the TV turns almost completely black as the end credits roll, the room gets darker and Y/N shivers a bit.

Harry wants to coo at her.

“It's just a movie, Y/N. You're safe here with me. Nothing will ever get past my hold on you.” She doesn't respond right away, breathing softly against his neck as she tries to calm herself down.

It doesn't really work though because although she does start to forget about what she saw on the TV beforehand, she starts thinking about what he just said. You're safe here with me, he told her, nothing will ever get past my hold on you. That seemed like a recurring event in their movie nights. He always chooses a movie that will insinuate contact. Like how the previous time he chose a movie, he chose My Sister’s Keeper, Y/N burying herself into his chest with sobs escaping her mouth throughout it all.

She gets an idea why he does so, but this idea brings her cheeks to a flaming color and she internally shakes her head in denial. It's been too long that she keeps this hope inside of Harry possibly feeling what she wants him to feel for her. Since her freshman year of college when she came crying to him about how she was too dumb to be enrolled and that she should just drop out and get a job instead of wasting money on something she won't accomplish. And he pulled her into his chest and let her ugly sob against him for what seemed like hours, letting her muster out all that she possibly could before he began to whisper soft declarations of the pride he holds in seeing her challenge herself, not giving in to what everyone has told her she is, raising a middle finger to those who doubted her willpower.

Ever since then, she's found a new place in her heart for him that no boy has ever proven to be a worthy contestant for, even though she's tried so hard to find someone to do so. Because while Harry’s always been a blunt and straightforward kind of guy, he's never confirmed that her hopes were true and she'd rather not go through the embarrassment of waiting for him to come around only to find him fall for another girl in the end. So she's tried moving on, but even Harry can clearly see with every guy she meets, none of them are of real interest to Y/N, because not a single one of them is Harry.

They can't compare to the way he makes her feel. The way he embraces her when she's sad. The way he makes himself the little spoon when it's him who's brooding. The way she stays up alone sometimes, contemplating what would happen if she called him and told him how she felt. And then crying with his contact popped up on her phone screen because she spent 10 minutes staring at it but lacked the courage to risk their friendship and press the call button. The way that he always tries to make her happy but she knows this is the one thing that he will never comply to.

So her idea of why Harry chooses these movies is dismissed from her brain.

But still… she is curious as to why.

So she musters up a few seconds of courage to clear her throat timidly and raise her lips away from his skin to talk clearly, whispering out, “Why do you always choose movies that end up with us touching each other?”

And, oh god, she squeezes her eyes shut tight and buries her head right back into the crook of his neck because that was not how she wanted to word her question. She can feel Harry go a bit frigid and she scolds herself on the inside.

“What… do you mean?” he asks into the open space of the living room, the tone of his voice letting Y/N know he was just as flustered with her query as she was.

She thinks about how to reword herself and not accidentally embarrass herself even further, quipping up again, “Like… with every movie you pick, you always end up having me in your arms. And it's often enough for you to know what movies will make me do this, and you pick them anyways… So why?”

Harry gulps quietly as he goes into panic. Suddenly, the fear of her not enjoying this physical contact they always hold invades his mind and he tries very hard to seem cool and collected as he asks back, “Do you want me to stop?”

She's quick to react, eyes widening and head retracting back to hold eye contact with him, one hand reaching over to rest at his jaw. “I don't mind at all! I--I like it. It's, um, it's nice and comforting. I just kind of want to know what goes through your head when you do so.”

She can see how stunned he is now, truly, and she almost wobbles her bottom lips in awe at how absolutely adorable he looks with this facial expression. But she can also tell that he's feeling a bit embarrassed, and although it does make her heart skip a beat from the insinuation of why he’s possibly feeling embarrassed, she really doesn't want him to be uncomfortable with her questioning. So she tucks her head back into him, not as close as last time, but enough to lay her head on his shoulder, and moves her hand away from his face, leaving it against his clothed chest, giving him time to think.

He stays silent after this, just for a little while. He's blushing up a storm and his heart is now pounding very heavily and he's sure that she can feel it (she can, and it makes hers start pounding as well). He doesn't know how to respond without revealing his true feelings. Because really, there's no other explanation other then oh yanno, Y/N, it's because I’ve been madly and deeply in love with you since senior year of high school when you ditched your movie date with Evan Davis, the star player of the football team, to attend our movie session because, as you said, no boy was going to keep you from me and my mom’s hot pockets.

So it takes him a while to come to the conclusion that fuck, he really doesn't have any other option but to say what he's been feeling for 3 years now. A long overdue confession, which he can blame on the both of them. Him because he's so scared of rejection and a broken friendship, but also her because seriously, how has she not seen the signs?

He hasn't even been laid since the day he realized he's in love with her! Y/N knows it, and she knows how many girls throw themselves at him whenever they decide to stroll through her campus on nice sunny days, so she must also know there's a reason on his behalf of why the only girl he's ever gotten close to is her.

God, this is going to end in heartbreak, he tells himself because here he is, about to confess his feelings to the girl of his dreams who has been constantly showing interest to every other boy but himself. It's a recipe for disaster.

But he still musters up the courage, he mentally pushes himself off the cliff and blurts out all in one breath, “I’mkindasortareallyinlovewithyouandhavingyouinmyarmscompensatesforwhatIcan’teverhavesothat’swhyIalwaystrytomakeyoufallintomyholdI’msorry.”

And Y/N catches it. She catches it all because his mouth is almost touching her ear and her Psych professor also talks in a super human speed so she's adapted to quick explanations. But she doesn't say anything. She's too in shock to react in any way possible but to exhale through her nose against his bare skin like as if she was holding her breath this entire time.

He's in love with her. He actually reciprocates her feelings. Oh my god, she repeats over and over in her head. Tightening the grip she has on his shirt, she tries to formulate a response. But Harry is quicker.

With the softest and quietest voice he has ever mustered, he lets out, “I’m sorry.”

Y/N tries to stop him but there's no words coming out of her mouth. After a few more seconds of silence, Harry continues.

“I’m--I’m so sorry. I--” he's struggling so hard to not get choked up on his words. She's in his arms, frozen from the confession, and he can't stop the ache in his heart already forming a permanent residence. He's at least grateful that she's still facing away from him so he's not feeling much humiliation as tears fill up in his eyes.

“I shouldn't have fallen in love. You’re just so beautiful and---and brave and tough to break and kind and gentle and so precious. I mean how… how could I have not have fallen for you, yanno? And I’m just---” his voice cracks at the word just and he stops himself to recollect his thoughts and swallow down the sob that's threatening to spill.

He inhales and exhales shakily as he squeezes his eyes shut to stop his crying because at this point, a few tears have actually escaped. “I’m sorry I ruined this for us. I was selfish and now you won't even say anything and it hurts but I understand. I’m sorry,” he finishes off with the sorry whispered into the dark room.

He's, yet again, met with silence. It only hurts him more. He figures he should take Y/N home, hoping she'll at least silently comply and let him drive her back, so she can process this new information and he can curl up in his bed sheets and release all this hurt that's physically piling up and aching in his chest.

So he slightly moves his body in his seat to signify that he wants to get up, and he expects Y/N to slip off of his lap to let him. But instead, he’s greeted with her face retracting from his neck and now boring her teary eyes into his as she's inches away from him, letting her weight sink him down to keep him in place.

His eyes widen in surprise, which only accentuate the glossiness of his own crying eyes.

It breaks Y/N’s heart.

She tried so hard to stop him in his heart warming and heart wrenching explanation but she physically couldn't use her vocal chords. So she sat there in silence, tearing up from the words he spoke. He thinks I don't love him back is all that runs through her brain throughout the entirety of his speech and the silence afterwards. And she hates it.

And she hates that he accepted her silence as rejection because him trying to move away from here clearly shows he doesn't believe in her loving him back and can't bare it. So she quickly responded to his shuffling with pulling away from his shoulder, visually showing him all her emotions, her heart breaking as she see his.

The hand that was fisting his shirt is released as she brings it up to cup his cheek, Harry automatically leaning into it. The way his eyes are glossed over and his eyebrows are pulled down in confusion and discontent, yet still he gives in to her comforting touch, makes her begin to tear up once more. And this time, a meek whimper comes out of her lips.

This relief in finally making a noise makes her begin to actually cry.

It scares Harry a bit with the burst in sobs, especially since she squeezes her eyes shut and drops her head forward to lean her forehead against his. The close proximity to her face makes him tense up, but because of how awful it was to see her crying up close over him. He feels like he did a disservice to her, not letting her live out a perfect friendship without him going and ruining it. And that's what makes him close his eyes and cry as well, leaving them both as crying messes clinging onto each other in the moonlit living room.

Y/N tries so hard to recollect herself because she realizes after a minute of crying with Harry, she still hasn't said a single word. She imagines that's why he's crying as well; he thinks she's crying over hurting his feelings.

So she tries to sniff in all of her snot (she doesn't doubt she looks completely disgusting right now), and lets her mouth fall agape. She doesn't know how to relay all her emotions and feelings out right away, so she starts off with gasping out, “I’m sorry.”

But once these two words leave her mouth, she can't seem to stop uttering them. Traces of I’m sorry’s are left as she leans her head back, letting the free hand, that isn't already cupping his check, run through the front of his hair soothingly.

She's able to calm her cries into soft hiccups and sees Harry do the same as well, except he doesn't seem too keen on opening his eyes and facing reality just yet.

Y/N hates it so much.

So she whispers out, “Look at me, Harry.”

He slowly flutters his eyes open, first looking down into their laps before slowly trailing his eyes up to bore into hers, sadness leaking out of his facial expression.

She stays silent as she examines his soft face, already feeling her chin wobble in exasperation to burst into tears again. But she holds herself back because for the first time in a while, it's Y/N whose taking care of Harry. Sweet sweet Harry who she's been so in love with for so many years. And who apparently has been in love with her as well, after all this time.

She runs her hand through his hair once more before breaking into a soft smile at his angelic state of heartbreak. Only Harry would be able to look so beautiful after crying his heart out.

“I’m really sorry, Harry,” she begins, holding up her front and shakes her head when he opens his mouth to begin talking as well.

“No, sh, let me speak,” she continues, “I am so so sorry for not noticing. For being too stupid to not clearly pick up the signs about your feelings for me. Because, Jesus, Harry, I always had an inkling that it was the truth but I was too stubborn to fully believe in it. To believe that you would--you would love me--like that.”

Y/N can feel herself lose her composure with every word she utters, examining her own naive and ignorant past self who refused to see the signs and possibly stalled a wonderful relationship.

A tear slips out from her right eye and Harry is quick to reach up and wipe it away. Y/N melts and quickly places her hand over his to keep his touch there before he could pull away. This time it's Y/N leaning into his touch and she feels her heart clench. She doesn't know how to continue without fully breaking down again so she turns her head to press her lips against his palm, giving herself time to think.

But the feeling of his skin against her lips is too much, too real of a moment, too much of a reality check that this night could have been avoided if she just admitted her feelings for him right from the start. If she wouldn't have wimped out and just made it clear that it was him that she wanted, him and no one else. She could have been in his arms kissing more than just his palm for over 3 years now, if she just upped and blurted it out.

So she doesn't wait any longer. She gives his palm one last peck before moving her head back into its original position and clearly iterates, “I’m so in love with you Harry. Since freshman year of college, I’ve wanted to be your girlfriend. I've wanted to know how your lips would feel like against mine for so long, and I’m sorry for not getting the courage to find out for myself. I’m sorry I waited this long to do this.”

And she leans in and kisses him.

Fireworks don't go off outside, an indie pop song doesn't begin to play in the background, no applause or cheers are heard from an audience. But Harry lets out a small noise of surprise before quickly responding with both his hands wrapping around her waist, pulling her in to get as much of her close to him like as if this were a dream and if he were to let go, he'd wake up and never experience it again. And that makes all the fireworks go off in Y/N’s stomach while the main chorus of Sweet Disposition plays in her head, her inner self screaming with joy.

They run out of air to breath, their crying session making them too exhausted to explode into fiery and passionate kisses. But even as they pull away to catch their breath, they're both gasping in relief, feeling a big grin to break out onto their faces right after, reiterating the word finally to themselves.

Y/N drops her head back down to touch foreheads, closing her eyes in peace and harmony. She's never felt so exhausted yet so ecstatic at the same time like this before. She finally has him. 5 years of friendship and they've finally reached their happy ending in their friends to lovers trope. If there were an actual person reading their love story, Y/N thinks, they must be so exasperated and worn out from their idiotic naivety.

Really, it was stupid to Y/N. It took them this long to finally be happy. She shakes her head at herself a bit and feels Harry open his mouth to break the silence.

“So me crying was all it took for you to finally come around?” Harry lets out, evoking a small giggle from Y/N’s mouth as she playfully rolls her eyes. Guess he realized it just as well.

“You know I’m a sucker for romantic dramas.”