#footballer Louis shaking his head poor Louis

[sunshineandlyrics]

Oh No They Did Not

It's this all over again

Louis meeting tennis professionals Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev at their Mexico City hotel, 20 March 2023 x

[horansqueen]

New Angel - Chapter 18

story masterlist [x]

chapter 1  ☆ chapter 2  ☆ chapter 3  ☆ chapter 4  ☆ chapter 5  ☆ chapter 6  ☆ chapter 7  ☆ chapter 8 ☆ chapter 9 ☆ chapter 10 ☆ chapter 11 ☆ chapter 12 ☆ chapter 13 ☆ chapter 14 ☆ chapter 15 ☆ chapter 16 ☆ chapter 17

NOTES

☆ written from Niall’s pov ☆ i don’t proofread, I never do, I hate it. ☆ AU comedy/fluff/smut/romance ☆ 2.5k ☆ i accept requests and ideas for this story, so message me in my inbox! ☆ if you want to be notified when this story is updated (or be taken off the update list) CLICK HERE

NIALL

"I can't believe you brought me here." Millie sighed, shaking her head slightly but grabbing a ball anyway. "I can't play, you know it!"

"You mentioned not being good at golf, and at football, but you never said anything about bowling." I argued, trying not to smile too much.

"I mentioned sports in general!" she let out a bit louder. "I suck at all of them."

This time, I couldn't help my lips from curling big. It was finally friday and also the fifth day Millie and I were spending together. It was insane how fast time seemed to pass when we were together but I liked it. I also liked the fact that she was ready to follow me in my stupid ideas, and I was happy to follow her in her crazy ones. I had had many friendships in my life but nothing ever felt like this one. I was trying new things, learning things too, and even discovering things about myself that I don't think I would have found out without Millie's help. I knew it wouldn't always be entertaining the way this week had been but it could definitely be enriching forever.

"You can do it! I believe in you!" I let out, half-joking.

She raised her nose up and grimaced before shaking her head. "Don't be money on me, you'll quickly become poor."

I chuckled and she turned around, grabbing the ball and throwing it in the alley. It rolled around and quickly reached the gutter, making me press my lips together as I tried not to laugh. Okay, maybe she really sucked at it.

"Okay, this is confirmed." Millie let out as she walked up to me. "Bowling is still a sport. I suck at it."

I laughed and finally got up, waking up to her and grabbing a ball too. I was not the best at bowling but I was not so bad either, and I grabbed her arm on my way, bringing her with me. I handed her the ball and she frowned for half a second before grabbing it and I turned her around, placing her hands on the ball. She allowed me to move her fingers, staring at what I was doing and licking her lips. It made me smile more and I kept my hand over hers.

"Okay fist off, you need to relax a bit. You're way too tensed. You need to stay relaxed when you give the swing." I explained slowly, waiting a few seconds. "God, Mill, relax!"

She sighed but I finally felt her relax against me as  I pressed my body slightly more against hers.

"Now you need to line up and not just throw the ball and hope it'll find the right way."

Millie's shoulders fell and she turned to me, frowning at me. It made me chuckle again and she raised her eyebrows.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"No," I argued. "I think you expect to be bad at it so you put zero effort in it."

This time, her traits softened and she licked her lips again without answering my comment. "Okay, and what else?"

"Your swing needs to be relaxed, but when you finally throw the ball, you need to some power. Aim for the middle. Oh, and twist your wrist on the left. Not too much, just enough, okay?"

"This is too much information at the same time."

"Come on, Mill. You can do it."

I took a few steps back but kept my eyes on her as she breathed in and out before finally throwing the ball. Instead to get in the gutter, it rolled in the alley and hit two pins that feel down. Millie turned around swiftly, her brown hair moving around her body, and threw her arms in the air, letting her head fall back slightly.

"Yes! I'm the bowling queen!"

I crossed my arms on my chest and started laughing at her reaction. Some people turned around to look at us and I rolled my eyes, a smile still spread on my lips.

"Yea yea, I'm still gonna win."

We kept playing for a while and even if I won all the games, she was getting better and better and for some reason, it made me proud of her. We walked back to my car and as I was driving home, I saw her took her shoes off and bring her feet on the seat, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"Maybe someday, we can go try playing golf together." she explained, making me raise my eyebrows in surprised before I glanced at her. "If you're ready to teach me, of course."

"Yea! Yea of course!"

She sent me a bigger smile and leaned her cheek on her knees, still looking at me. "Cool, you're a good teacher, and I actually had fun."

"That was the goal."

As soon as we walked back in the apartment, she walked to the kitchen and I rushed to my room, grabbing a pack of cards and joining her as she put two beers on the table along with a bottle of vodka. We sat in front of each other and I started dealing the cards.

It was a ritual we had with Louis on every friday night but even if we hadn't talked about it together, neither of us had expected Louis to be there. He was barely at the apartment anyway these days and the fact that Millie still had feelings for him made me think it was actually better that way. We both knew he was spending all his time at his girlfriend's but we didn't mention it. In fact, we hadn't talked about Louis, Grace or Summer at all on that day either and I was fine with it. We could spend time filling the lists and all of that during the weekend... or never.

Millie pushed her empty beer away and filled our shot glasses with vodka. We swallowed it at the same time and I saw her eyes water.

"Don't drink too much." I pointed out, my lips curling on the right. "We're having a party tomorrow night, and also you won't be able to see your cards."

Millie laughed louder than expected and she shrugged a shoulder. "I probably won't get drunk tomorrow, to make sure everyone's safe."

"That's very mature of you." I replied with a small smile. "Now show me what you got."

Her eyes met mine and her lips curled into a cheeky smile. "Are you ready to lose?"

Just as I was about to answer, we heard the front door open and we both jumped slightly, not expecting it. Louis frowned when he entered the kitchen and after a few seconds, his face changed. Maybe I should have felt guilty for doing something with Millie that he was normally a part of, but I didn't.

"Shit, it's friday already?" he asked, placing his hands on the table and leaning closer. "Why didn't you guys remind me?"

"We just thought you were busy." Millie mentioned, shrugging a shoulder and looking at the cards in her hands.

"Maybe I could invite El?" he asked, ignoring her innuendo. "She could play with us."

"No, she can not." my best friend quickly replied before I could say anything.

"Fuck off Millie, why are you acting like that?"

I kicked my friend under the table and cleared my throat to catch Louis' attention but his eyes never left Millie who wouldn't even blink.

"What Millie means is that it's a thing we had only the three of us, you know?" I tried to explain calmly. "It's our thing, and adding someone would just not work."

It took over a minute for Louis to finally move his body back, his hands sliding on the table before they fell on each side of him. I could feel anger emanating of him and I didn't really understand what made him so mad. After all, he was the one who was never here, he was the one who literally dropped us for his girlfriend, and he was the one who broke Millie's heart. If anything, we should be the angry ones.

"Well apparently, you guys don't need me anymore."

I was expecting him to storm off but it's Millie who got up quickly, her chair making an annoying noise as it rubbed against the floor.

"You're the one who doesn't need us anymore, Louis!" she pointed out, making my heart jump in my chest. "So you know what? You fuck off!"

Quickly, Millie threw her cards on the table and grabbed the bottle of vodka, rushing out of the kitchen. i jumped again when she closed the door of her room roughly and slowly got up, shaking my head and leaning myself with my hands on the table.

"Did you really propose to bring your girlfriend here? Are you stupid of what?"

i was talking low but I knew he totally heard how pissed I was with the tone of my voice.

"Shut up, Niall!" Louis quickly replied, his voice louder than mine. He searched for something in his pocket and shook it between his fingers. I frowned slightly until I realized it was Millie's list and my lips parted.

"You didn't have the right to read this." I pointed out, my heart skipping a beat.

"Oh yea? Well Millie forgot it in the living room!"

It was definitely an accident and somehow, I thought it could have just slipped out of her pocket when we were watching tv. She probably didn't know it was there and even if she did, she probably thought Louis wouldn't come back for a while and that it was safe. I knew it was wrong of me to blame him for checking a random paper but I was mad anyway.

"That is none of your business!" I let out, trying to snatch the paper out of his hand.

He pulled away just in time and I breathed in, trying to remain calm. "This is my fucking business! My name is all over it!" he argued.

"That doesn't make it your business!"

I was getting even angrier and at the same time, I just wanted to leave and join Millie. It was her I should be with instead to be arguing with Louis, which was most likely useless anyway.

"Oh but it's your business, right? Because you think I was not good enough for her! You think she deserves better than me!"

In a rough movement, Louis threw the list on the table and I quickly grabbed it tight as I remembered what I had written on it.

"She does! She fucking does, okay!" I almost yelled. "You didn't treat her the way she deserves! She deserves better!"

"And who's better, Horan? Uh? Who's better for her? You?"

The way he said the last word was like a slap in the face and without thinking, I moved my upper body back, still staring at him. I didn't want to pick sides at first but now I had done it without even thinking about it. I looked at my best friend and felt my heart drop in my chest. We were both fighting for no good reason and I hated it. I licked my lips and breathed in deeply before sighing.

"Look, I'm not gonna fight with you, okay?" I let out in a softer tone. "You and Millie... you went through something, and she needs time. Which works because you're busy too. I just want to be there for her, okay? Don't take it so personal."

"How can I not?" Louis pointed out, still a bit mad. "This is my name! This is me you're talking about!"

I sighed again and shook my head. "Just.. go find your girlfriend, okay? I'll see you at the party tomorrow."

Louis' eyes moved up and down on me and finally sighed too. "Yea, it's better I leave for now."

Without an other word, he walked to his room probably to grab a few things and I waited until I heard the front door close again. I walked to my room to get changed and turned all the lights off before walking to until Millie's door, knocking gently on it.

"Mill, can I come in?"

It took a few seconds and I heard the door unlock before it opened. Millie stood in front of me, staring in my eyes, and I noticed she got changed too. We stared at each other for a while and I raised my eyebrows, making her sigh but move away to let me in.

We ended up laying in her bed, under the covers, facing each other, and I kept silent for a while. Her eyes seemed to shine with the lights coming from her window and I realized she had been tearing up, maybe she even shed a few tears.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm.. I'm at that point where my heart aches because I love him but I know he's not meant for me. I know I was not happy with him. I know that what we had was not what a love relationship should be. And... realizing that hurts, too."

I let my eyes room on her face and it made me think about Grace. Perhaps I was exactly at that same place when it came to my ex girlfriend and although it did hurt, I was slowly getting used to it. Maybe I should give Summer a chance, after all? It was not good to stick or hang on to something like the relationship I had with Grace, or the one Millie had with Louis. We should both seek something better and I knew it. Happiness was possible, it just needed a bigger effort.

"That's a first step in the right direction." I explained in a whisper. "You're doing great, I'm super proud of you."

Millie's lips curled in a grateful smile and she pressed her lips together.

"Thank you. I'm proud of you too."" she murmured back. "You're gonna sleep here with me?"

"If you want me to." I proposed with a shrug as she nodded quickly. "Then I will."

She reached for the lamp near her bed and turned the light off before laying back down in bed. I started thinking about Summer and how I never really gave her a chance. I didn't love her but I really liked her. She was a pretty and sweet girl and I had no idea why I was rejecting her over and over again. I knew I needed time to make a choice but the more I was thinking about it, the more I knew my choice wouldn't be Grace.

"Niall?"

"Mm?"

"You're never gonna leave, right?" she breathed out, taking me out of my thoughts.

"Where do you want me to go?"

"You know what I mean." she whispered again, making my eyes flutter open. I kept blinking a few times until I could see her shadow in the dark. "I lost Louis, I don't want to lose you, too."

I reached for her hand on the mattress and squeezed her fingers as tight as I could. "I'm never gonna leave, I promise. I'll always be there for you."

[cockasinthebird]

“I pray you, do not fall in love with me, for I am falser than vows made in wine.” -William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 3 Scene 5

Brown and blue both stare up at the many a love declarations on the underside of the bleachers of Hawkins High. Football practice has begun, along with their ever so faithful cheerleaders, and while Robin was here just for how short those skirts went, Steve was here for both those legs, and the sweaty muscles of the blonde haired quarter back; how he shone like diamonds underneath the ruthless summer sky.

Robin hands him the roach, and he has possibly never felt more at peace than now, in the shade with the occasional breeze. But of course, he thought so every time the two of them decided to get high and lie in the grass.

“Tommy + Carol 4 Ever,” Steve reads out loud. “Fucking asshole.”

“Aw, does poor Steve still feel abandoned?” Robin pouts falsely and puts both hands behind her head.

“Shithead was my best friend for most of our lives, and now he's off somewhere licking Billy Hargrove's boot.” He frowns whilst pressing the final embers of their joint into the grass.

“You're just jealous,” she laughs mockingly at him and turns her head to peek out through the seats.

And Steve leans up on his elbows to look past her and in the same direction, to where he sees Billy Hargrove tearing off his helmet with a victorious smile, mullet done up in a low bun, bangs clinging wetly to his forehead.

“Fuck no,” he lies.

“Come on, Dingus.” Robin knocks their shoes together. “You know you can't lie to me.”

“I can try,” he huffs a laugh and looks at how she mimics him genuinely.

“You think I got it any better?” her laugh turns to a scoff and points up. “Tammy Thompson loves John Johnson.” And there's a deep silence for a few short seconds as she keeps her finger in the direction of that etching. “Who the fuck names their child John Johnson?”

Steve cannot contain his chortle, and she is right behind with her usual snort; the one that only comes forth when they're this high.

“It would be like-” Steve takes a deep inhale. “If you were named Robin Robinson!”

“Or you Steve Stevenson!”

“Is that a real name?!”

“Y-yes?” Robin fights against the grin that wants to spread all too wide, and looks at him. “Robert Louis Stevenson!”

“Who?” Steve keeps breathing slowly to try and calm down from something that isn't actually that funny, but when you got bloodshot eyes like these, everything is.

“The famous writer? He wrote Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.”

Steve leans up on his elbows again to stare down at her with the most bewildered look this illiterate teen can manage. “Mr Hyde as in... our chemistry teacher?”

“Oh...” Robin's blue blue eyes grow as wide as they can. “My God... Steve... No wonder you're failing literally every class.”

And his expression falls from confused to somewhat offended, but it is the inevitable truth. “It's fine,” he says with nary a worry, “I will get a job at my father's office as... I dunno, coffee guy? Mailman?”

“You really think he'd put you in charge of something as important as their postal service?”

Rather than come up with a sensible reply to that remark, he simply grabs a fistful of grass and throws it at her.

He smiles, she laughs, and the both of them settle down once more with only the loud cheers from the girls in uniform to fill the comfortable silence they find themselves in again, as they continue reading everything that's been carved and written into the far too old wood.

Steve's name can be found numerous times, both in forms of compliments-

“I wish Steve Harrington would notice me.”

“Mrs Harrington is my dream job.”

“Steve Harrington the Keg King.”

All surrounded by hearts.

On one step it reads, “Steve 'The Hair' Harrington” in suspiciously familiar handwriting.

He used to bring girls down here, too, and would have them watch as he reached high above them and wrote his name + theirs.

Steve + Laurie. Crossed out. Steve + Amy. Crossed out. Steve + Becky. Crossed out.

He never got to bring Nancy here. Brought Robin here originally for the same reason as the rest, but she was quick to tell him the truth as he stood too close.

At least they remained friends.

“Is your name up there somewhere?” he asks her, having never actually found it.

“I'm a band dweeb, what do you think?” she sighs but acts like it doesn't bother her.

“Do you want it to be?”

“Nope,” she lies and pops the p.

And of course he doesn't believe her, but he considers himself too nice to press her on any of it.

Silence drags on for what feels like eternity crammed into one minute, and he's got something on his mind, but has absolutely no clue how to work it into conversation all casual like, because it's kinda a big deal, but he doesn't want to seem a fool for thinking so.

So he tries to just flat out say it, “Robin?”

“Steve.”

“You're... smart, right?” He feels himself failing at just saying what he's thinking.

“Smarter than you, although that's not saying much,” she chuckles out and looks to him, but he seems... nervous, and she stops. “What's up, dingus?”

“I... I got a note in my locker today, and I don't really know what it means,” Steve speaks hesitantly and rips small pieces off of a blade of grass.

Robin's brows quirks up. “Oh? And you want me to decipher it for you?”

He sits up far too fast, and even though his body remains still, the world spins for longer than what is possible. “Would you?” There is such a brightness to his tone.

“Sure, what does it say?” She gets up as well and crosses her legs.

Steve fishes out a paper that has become impossibly crumbled up in his front pocket, to a point where the letters written in beautiful cursive is almost unintelligible.

“I love you more than words can wield the matter; dearer than eyesight, space and liberty.”

And while she turns the paper around and re-reads those words, Steve stares unblinkingly so at her.

“So?” he finally asks, bursting with anticipation.

“So, it's a love letter.” She hands it back, and he looks at the paper with such admiration, as if he had forgotten he was worthy of such, just to be reminded of it now. “It's Shakespeare, King Lear. It means that she loves you more than words can describe.”

At that he looks up, beaming with elation as he asks for reassurance, “Seriously?”

“Yup.” She is clearly far less excited, but there's optimism to her tone, to know that he might find what they're both longing for, whether out loud or in secret.

“Someone wrote me a love note...” His smile wide with shocked disbelief.

“Congratulations.” She rolls her eyes although with raised lips, and lies down again.

-

The very next day, shortly after lunch has begun, he finds another in his locker and runs to where Robin would be eating her lunch alone in the unattended library.

Steve slams down the paper in front of her, and she pauses just before biting into her boring ham sandwich.

“Well well well lover boy,” she mocks lightly and places her food back down on the tray. “I assume you're in need of my service once again?”

The chair next to her screeches across the floor as he sits down with a hard bump. “Yes, and it's the same handwriting as last, so that means it's the same girl, right?”

“Hey now, I haven't agreed to anything yet!” She slaps her hand down on top of the paper, and smirks. “I will help you with this, again, if you buy me pizza after school.”

“Yeah, deal, whatever, just-” He gestures wildly to the neatly folded paper. “Tell me what it means!”

Robin shakes her head and slumps back into her seat; slipping down a bit with her legs splayed out all comfortable and taking up far too much space.

“Love is blind, and lovers cannot see, the pretty follies that themselves commit.”

She nods for a moment in thought, fully ignoring the way Steve's eyes could drill holes in her skull.

“I think it's from The Merchant of Venice. It means... something like, how love makes you act different?”

And since she seems satisfied with that, nods more and lets out a little “Yeah,” so is he.

“Okay, so, someone that acts differently around me?”

Robin taps her temple with a blackened nail and continues nodding like it's all he understands. Still, to ensure he gets her point, says, “You got it.”

Now it is his turn to slump into his chair, but far more confused. “How... how am I supposed to know that they act differently around me? Isn't that how I'll always have seen them, then?”

She raises her brows at that and sits up a bit more straight. “How astute!”

As if he knows what that means.

-

Through the weekend he waits on his bed, each note in hand and smiling so wide his cheeks grow sore.

Two love letters in two days? They are meant for him, right? This girl didn't accidentally put it in the wrong locker, right?

Steve catches himself briefly hoping she's beautiful, but pushes that aside by the fact that she's so poetically inclined, so sweet and shy that her looks hardly matters, for her choice of words warms his heart and makes it beat in a way that he has oh so missed.

Another thought is what if it's Robin, but he shakes his head violently at that stupid little thing, because no, she's his best friend and that's all they'll ever be, and he truly is happy with that. But everyone gets wrong and bad ideas from time to time, so he won't fault himself for her name popping up, as he mentally goes through a list of all the girls he knows. Or thinks he knows.

And though he tries to distract himself with TV and swimming in his pool and letting Robin paint his toenails, Monday always feels so far away.

-

It is the first thing he does when he shows up at school; pushes his way through his peers to fling open his locker, and sure enough a little note slips out.

He skims it for just a second before he rushes off to stand by Robin's locker for when she eventually moves to it and shoves him aside.

“Another?” she asks with her head in her locker as she rummages for gum.

“I knew she was gonna leave me another! I could feel it in my body the entire weekend!” his tone pitched high with excitement.

“Ew, gross, I don't need to know that!” she jokes and yanks it from his grasp.

“Come what sorrow can, it cannot countervail the exchange of joy, that one short minute gives me in her sight.”

And Steve folds it, lovingly so, before placing it inside his wallet, and thankfully he doesn't have to wait long for a more modern translation of it.

“Something something about how her pain and misery goes away in your presence; in the presence of a loved one. Romeo and Juliet, which is not a happy love story!” she says ardently and points a stern finger at him for emphasis.

“Okay, but does that mean we have classes together at least then?” Steve shrugs and runs a hand through his shiny hair.

“Probably? Or maybe some extra curricular activity,” Robin's tone careless and she starts down the hall, with Steve right behind.

“But the only other extra whatever I take is basket.”

“So maybe your admirer is a guy.”

He shakes his head with conviction. “Nah, I doubt that completely, I mean you've seen the handwriting! And what guy is into Shakespeare?”

“Anything is possible Steve, don't be so close minded.”

-

For once he is early to first-period history class, and he sits on the desk Robin usually occupies, to which she responds with throwing her bag into his lap, accompanied by a cocked brow and strong stare.

Steve doesn't say a thing, simply lifts up a fourth note, and she snags with from his fingers with an exasperated sigh.

“I would not wish any companion in the world but you.”

She groans out loud now and pushes him off of her table. “Come on dingus, this one is easy! You cannot be this stupid.”

“Just tell me what it is!” he says as he shuffles into the seat in front of hers.

“She only wants you, no one else, Jesus.”

“Oh,” he breathes out, his wide grin that of pure joy, and although this is a tiring thing to be bothered with every day now, she does appreciate his happiness to some extend.

-

Wednesday morning Robin is already by Steve's locker, arms crossed and a friendly smile painted across her face.

“Let's see what your stalker has come up with this time,” she says and leans away so that he can twist the lock in the right order.

And today it is a far shorter note.

“Love hath made thee a tame snake.”

She doesn't bother waiting before saying, “Love will humble and soften even the most hardened individual.” And there's a glint in her eyes, so short and easily missed, revealing that she might have an idea as to which hardened individual this could be. Not that she hadn't thought about him before already.

For she had seen his copy of As You Like It by Shakespeare fall from his bag in English Literature, but it is not her place to out anyone.

“That's a weird one, right?” His brows furrowed as he awaits affirmation. “Hardened individual? What does that even mean?”

“Steve, I-” She rubs her eyes hard and nods. “Yeah, it is a weird one. But it probably means someone who's acting tough, but in truth softens around you.”

He folds it back up and slips it into his wallet together with the other four.

“Tomorrow, then,” Robin says and pats his shoulder a few times before heading to class.

Steve stays still for a moment, looking at how the five notes stretches the leather of his wallet. His thumb runs over their ripped edges, all seemingly from the same piece of paper, thinking about the dainty fingers that must hold the ballpoint pen to write him such loving words.

Cheeks flushed, smile tender, eyes soft, he wanders towards class as well.

-

Months ago when he and Robin became best friends, she took a very slight interest in him and his education, because he very clearly needs help with school, and she's suspicious of the fact that he might be dyslexic, but when asked about it he gets mad.

So instead she demands food and favors from him whenever he starts screwing up in school again, starts falling behind, or shows up late to class. And of course he has slept through his alarm for the first time in weeks on this Thursday, the one day of two where they have first-period together, and now he'll have to pay for dinner at the diner, but he has a good excuse!

Sat up all night with several books written by none other than William Shakespeare that he had checked out at the library.

He's hungry and tired and in a goddamn hurry to get to class ASAP; the hallways empty and silent save for the occasional teacher yelling at an unruly student, but even that he can hardly hear over the beating of his heart, which is just great, because now he'll spend all day with floppy hair and reeking of sweat.

He just has to make a quick stop by his locker to see if there's a new note, the only thing that truly matters and overshadows the importance of getting passing grades or upholding his deal with Robin.

Around the next corner and... and...

And it never dawned on him at any point, even with Robin's constant droning of “Guys can read Shakespeare, too!” that his secret admirer might not be a girl at all. Maybe he was just so stuck in the expected reality of the world, the one he's so used to, before Robin helped him see the light, to help him realize that there's other options than gay or straight.

No he never even bothered thinking that way, till he sees Billy Hargrove slip something into his locker.

[allwaswell16]

I need Drunk Harry getting taking of after seeing Met gala pictures 😭 Any recommendations? ILY

Hi! Hope you enjoy!

Met Gala Fics

🍸 The Boy With The Pearl Earring ( @chloehl10 , E, 14k)

“I just… I loved it tonight. Being myself, wearing all this in front of the cameras. I know there’ll be people who hate it but I don’t care. I was me, Lou. I was Harry Styles for the first real time.”

“And you fucking smashed it, baby,” Louis grinned back, his hands around the small of Harry’s back now as he pressed in firmly, yanking them together as Harry stumbled, falling against Louis’ body.

~~~~~~

Harry heads home after the Met Gala to get ready for the After Party, but there's a surprise waiting for him...

🍸to be a king beside you somehow ( @nauticalleeds, G, 4k)

Alessandro is smoothing out the velvet across his shoulders, admiring his creation. “Perfect,” he mutters, turning Harry toward the mirror. Upon looking up, Harry gazes at his own reflection in wonder. Is that me?

If he were to tell sixteen-year old Harry his current life, he figures that sixteen-year old Harry would’ve never believed it.You’re going to host the Met Gala in 2019 in a flashy purple suit and come out with the love of your life in front of the entire planet. Probably not. Sixteen-year old Harry would’ve gotten his mum to throw him out of the house. Sixteen-year old Harry didn’t even wear purple. Except for an ugly pair of trainers he had owned. Fashion mistake.

Or, Harry and Louis come out at the 2019 Met Gala. It’s not supposed to be easy. Somehow, it is.

🍸 Finally Their Time ( @lightwoodsmagic, NR, 4k)

“I can’t believe you’re wearing this and it’s not just at home. We’re going to the Met Gala, Harry, and you’re wearing your wedding ring.”Harry’s smile grew as his index finger and thumb twisted to play with the matching band on Louis’ left hand. “So are you.”“Well, it’s kind of a matching set. Wouldn’t want to make you look foolish,” Louis teased. “Are you ready to see me now? ‘M dying to see you, if I’m honest.”Harry took one last deep breath and squeezed Louis’ hands, dropping then as he took a step back. “Yeah, Lou. I’m ready.”

(Or, Harry and Louis attend the Met Gala together, and suddenly the whole world knows)

🍸On the edge of the next nine years ( @forreveries , NR, 2k)

“It just hit me,” Harry continued, putting down his phone so he could wring the nerves out of his fingers, shake them too, “This is actually happening.”“Nine years in the making.”“Nine years. Shit,” Harry repeated, as though it was the first time he was hearing this. As though they hadn’t been talking about this moment for the past year, hadn’t been planning it for just that long too, “What if-”“Love,” Louis cut him off. There was no room for what ifs anymore. They’d been told their whole careers to be scared of those words, that if something went wrong - came out - it’d be the end of them.And they’d had nine entire years to learn that those what ifs weren’t worth it.

In which Harry and Louis come out at the Met Gala.

Drunk Harry

🍸 If Tomorrow Never Comes (We Had Last Night) ( @all-these-larrythings & @hi-larrie-ous, M, 14k)

Louis accepts the call without bothering to look at the caller ID. Only Zayn would be a big enough asshole to call him at two in the morning. This fucking better be important.“This fucking better be important,” Louis greets.

On the other end of the line comes a soft giggle. “Li, you don’t usually curse. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I like it.”

Yeah, that’s not Zayn. Louis sighs, his anger melting into resignation when he realizes that it’s some poor bastard probably drunk dialing his ex or something. “Sorry, mate. Think you’ve got the wrong number.”

Based on this Tumblr prompt: “Accidentally called your number while drunk asking for a ride and you actually came au”

🍸 Kiss Me on the Mouth and Set Me Free ( @maggieisalarrie, M, 12k)

Louis has his head thrown back in a laugh, his wet fringe hanging in front of his eyes, and a beautiful flush to his cheeks. From this angle, the sun hits his face just right to where the beams of light are shining in between the spaces of each individual clump of watered down eyelashes. His chest is showing through the soaked material of his white jersey and it seems that his biceps are attempting to break free from the sleeves that are clinging to his skin.

And Harry can do nothing except take it all in. He doesn’t even think he’s breathing at this point. He is literally stuck in place, admiring the true beauty of Louis Tomlinson, while being surrounded by fit footballers and generally attractive people. He doesn’t think he’s ever been in love before, but if Louis let him, he’s pretty damn sure he could change that in the matter of a few nanoseconds.

🍸 Absolute Beginners ( @taggiecb , T, 5k)

Louis would like to think that Niall can’t surprise him anymore. He never knows what his friend will come up with sometimes. But when he calls Louis in the middle of the night and asks him to come and hit on his friend, Louis can’t help but let curiosity get the best of him.

🍸 Zero to Sixty in Three Point Five ( @realitybetterthanfiction, NR, 2k)

Harry bumbles himself out of a bind…and into a boyfriend. It’s Niall’s fault, of course. As it always is.

🍸Going To Set Himself On Fire ( @kingsofeverything , E, 2k)

Harry has a little too much to drink at his office holiday party and Louis takes care of him when he gets home. And then Harry takes care of Louis. Sort of.

[starfoxrry]

soooo no one tagged me to do this but i’m gonna do it anygays bc :O

1. Big White Lie (263k) by acrayonsmile (ao3)

You’re not running on three hours of sleep.

You don’t have a headache.

You’re not an omega.

You’re Louis Tomlinson: Beta.

Louis has been pretending to be something he’s not for as long as he can remember. Will the pack find out before it’s too late to fix him?

2. Cold Little Heart (194k) by @seduced-by-curls

Louis is a soft omega with an abusive past and an alpha child A few months after getting a divorce, Louis meets Harry, an ex-military alpha wolf that offers him something -odd.

In exchange for teaching him how to cook, Harry will babysit his son, Abraham Louis really could use the help.

3. Now In A Minute (150k) by @avocadolouie

13 feels like yesterday for many people, but for Louis it actually was.

More than anything in the world, Louis Tomlinson dreams of growing up. Simply skipping over all of the awkward, embarrassing years of teenage existence and getting on with life. Real life.

So when thirteen-year-old Louis wakes up in the body of his thirty-year-old self, he expected everything in his adult life to be picture perfect. And maybe it is. He has it all…or so it seems.

Except his favorite person and lifelong best mate, Harry Styles, is totally missing from the equation and Louis doesn’t understand why. He has a lot of catching up to do and as adult life turns out to be more than what he bargained for, Louis can’t help wondering why a life that seemed so perfect, feels so empty.

Or the 13 going on 30 au that should have been done years ago.

4. Apples Always Fall (As I Do For You) (54k) by @rainbowsandgucci​

Louis is staying at his Aunt’s farm in a small town in Minnesota for four months. To deal with the boredom that sets in a week into his stay, he starts working at the local apple orchard, owned by twenty six year old Harry Styles.

Louis quickly finds himself falling in love with the orchard, and he finds a family in Harry’s friends Niall, Liam, and Zayn.

He also starts to fall in love with Harry.

Falling in love with him turns out to be the easy part.

5. Only You Can Be My Alpha (194k) by @wubwubnparmaham

The one where Louis is banished from his tribe, and lands himself in Harry’s instead. The alluring Pack Alpha makes Louis question his nature and he doesn’t know how he feels about that. But you can’t fight destiny.

6. Where You Lay (86k) by @ham-palpert

When Louis’s upcoming heat threatens his success at his new dream job, he asks the best (and only) person he can think of to help him through it: his best mates’ best mate, Harry Styles. Harry reluctantly accepts, and together the two navigate a strange friends with benefits relationship that quickly turns complicated.

7. Tangled Up In You (45k) @missandrogyny​

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn't want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?”

8. Have You Coming Back Again (31k) by @crazyupsetter 

It’s five o’clock in the morning. Louis has a lecture at half eight. He could be using this time to study or to do his readings or to go to the gym, but - well. He doesn’t have any exams coming up, he’s not going to his seminar today anyway and he hates the gym.

Instead he’s using this time to fuck with Harry Styles’ poor little brain.

Louis jogs across the street and jabs the key into the car door. It opens easily, not that he was expecting anything else. He copied the key for a reason, after all.

He’s got Harry’s schedule memorized, more because the guy keeps following him around than anything, so he doesn’t bother looking around before climbing behind the wheel and setting his bag on the passenger seat. It’s a Monday, which means that Harry doesn’t even get out of bed before noon unless he’s planning on harassing Louis.

9. All The Right Moves (32k) by @cherrystreet​

This is the third game in a row that Harry has been distracted by the noisy boy in the stands, five rows back.

There’s really no reason that he should feel compelled to stare into the audience as frequently as he is, but he can’t help it. This boy is a nuisance. And he’s loud. Even from basketball court with nine other players running by him, shoes squeaking on the shiny hardwood floor, and thousands of cheering college students, Harry can hear this boy nearly shrieking, his laugh more like a cackle than anything.

It’s seriously obnoxious.

10. Worth Dying For (44k) by @crazyupsetter 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Louis says, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. In the center of the table, a set of three glossy photos stares up at him, mocking him.

“A security detail is non-negotiable, Louis, you know this,” his mum reminds him, tapping the middle photo with two fingers.

Louis doesn’t look back down at the pictures, gesturing towards them wildly, over-dramatically. “This is not a security detail!” he protests. “This is a lanky college student. In what world do you hire someone like this kid to protect me?”

11. Another Day Gettin' Into Trouble (25k) by @crazyupsetter

Harry’s drunk when the idea occurs to him. He’s also a pop star, so sometimes his drunk ideas turn into actual things instead of just ideas. The clone-a-willy kit is one of them.

In Harry’s defense, when he first thinks about it his intention is just to buy the kit and give it to Louis to make his own dildo with, because that’s what he wants anyway, right? To have a penis filling him up?

Then he realizes that it would be weird if Louis made a copy of his own dick to fuck himself with. It’d be super weird. Louis fucking himself? That’s a weird idea. Harry’s pretty sure Louis wouldn’t like that.

Clearly the only solution here is to use his own dick for the mold.

12. A Sea Without Water, A Compass Without Direction (84k) by sincerely_inge (AO3)

”Tell me, Louis,” Captain Styles said, leaning forward a little. ”D’you think I’m an idiot?”

”I—what?” Louis asked, surprised by the blunt question. He had expected something different, something along the lines of how he learned music, or how he ended up as a prisoner on the other ship.

”Do you think I’m an idiot?” The captain repeated, putting emphasis on each word as though Louis couldn’t understand him otherwise.

”Of course not,” Louis said, shaking his head. He’d be a fool for thinking such a thing, and an even bigger fool for saying it out loud. ”Captain.”

Captain Styles nodded slowly, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands in his lap. ”Then why did you lie to me?”

”L-Lie?”

”Out on the deck. You lied to me,” he said. He held up his hand, three fingers up. ”Three lies total. I hate liars.”

13. I Know How To Whisk (But Teach Me Anyway) (32k) by @2tiedships2​

Louis scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. “I don’t understand. Unmated alphas don’t just go into a rut out of nowhere. Unless…”

Louis grabbed onto Niall’s arm in desperation. “Am I a homewrecker? Does Harry have a mate? Oh my God, was he not flirting? Did the change in his scent not have anything to do with my smell yesterday? Did I just make that up!?”

Louis let go of Niall and dropped his face in his hands. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

“You’re an idiot,” Niall stated. Louis looked up to find Niall rolling his eyes. He snapped his laptop closed and moved to stand up. “I need to get some work done. Why don’t you stay here and think back to ABO dynamics 101.”

With that Niall hopped off the couch and headed to his room. He stopped and turned to Louis before he made it to the hall and said, “Oh, and Lou. You may want to reconsider your outlook on soulmates.”

Louis yelled after him. “Soulmates aren’t a thing, Niall!”

Or the one in which banana bread just might make Louis change his mind about soulmates.

14. The Compulsion to Find Love (140k) by @toomanylarrytears​

The most prestigious English third-level institution, Candling University, accepts omega students for the first time and Louis Tomlinson applies with bright eyes and brighter ambitions. There he encounters personal obstacles, traditional mindsets and a beautiful boy who inverts every prejudice Louis has ever known.

15. Let Me Feel Your Heartbeat (34k) by @angelichl​

Harry is 98% sure Louis hates him. So he feels like his bewilderment is justified when the omega offers to help him through his rut.

16. For Reasons Wretched And Divine (94k) by indiaalphawhiskey (AO3)

Ten years ago, Harry Styles was just a nerdy kid with one friend and a debilitating crush on the captain of his school’s football team. He thought the stars were smiling down on him the day he and Louis Tomlinson were paired for their end-of-term Literature project. But because Harry’s life is decidedly not a fairytale, the budding friendship quickly leads to the least happy ending of all time.

Now, Harry Styles is a household name. Barely twenty-seven with two Grammy nominations to his name, the singer-songwriter is poised to take the music industry by storm with his highly anticipated third album. So, what happens when the best producer in the business is also the only person Harry’s vowed never to speak to again?

An AU in two parts. Two boys, two stories, and hopefully, two chances at love.

17. Friendly Neighborhood Spideypool (18k) by @shitucute

“Don’t fuck with me, I’m not in the mood.” Louis’ got the urge to punch him in the face, but he knows deep down that if anything it’ll just add fuel to Harry’s innuendo fire.

“You know I only fuck you, not with you. There’s a difference. It’s slight but still there.” He’s joking, but it’s sincere in a way that only Deadpool could make it. It gives Louis a strange mix of emotions, his body doesn’t know whether to fill with butterflies or to knee Deadpool in the balls again for insinuating them fucking.

or, Harry is Deadpool and Louis is Spider-Man and they’ve got way too much history

18. Strawberries & Cigarettes (74k) by @dimpled-halo

Harry looks up and immediately freezes. Next to Ms. Archie stands the boy from just the other day. The boy with the leather jacket and chipped black nails, that might or might not be sketched in the very book Harry has just placed on the table in front of him. The leather jacket is missing today, probably because they aren’t allowed as part of their required uniform attire, but Harry can still see the fading black nail polish on his nails, and eyeliner around his eyes. Harry’s mouth goes a little dry. This boy is so intriguing to him.

“Ye-yes, Ms. Archie?” Harry tries to play it cool, but he’s almost positive that his cheeks are burning red, and he’s relieved neither of them can tell how fast his heart is beating in his chest.

The boy seems to also recognize Harry, because his lips curve into a knowing smirk.

“Harry is at the top of his class. He’s your best bet at getting familiar with things around here.” She explains.

Louis nods, his smirk still very prominent on his face. “Thank you Ms. Archie. I’ll be sure to take advantage of young Harold here.”

Summary: Two stories, eleven years, and the two boys that never stopped loving each other.

19. Mark my word (we gon’ be alright) (35k) by harioandlouigi

“He’s always known that there would come a time when Harry would bond with some beautiful, quiet omega, and they would have lots of curly-haired pups and live happily ever after.

Knowing it and living it are two very different things, though. Watching the object of your affection desperately search for a mate and completely disregard you as an option is all sorts of painful, but it is what it is, and Louis is just going to have to learn to live with that.”

Or, an A/B/O AU featuring an oblivious Harry as the pack leader, a pining Louis as his second-in-command, and an entourage of friends and family who are a little too good at keeping their mouths shut.

20. Let’s Fall in Love in a Place You Want to Stay (134k) by @harryventura

A George of the Jungle / Tarzan AU where Louis is a model who meets Wild Man Harry in the Congo. He was raised by apes and barely speaks a word of English and turns Louis’ life upside down

21. Why Cant It Be Like That (63k) by @taggiecb

Louis Tomlinson, head of his local hospital’s charity fund, suddenly finds himself in the heart of the Royal family when his mother marries the third son of the reigning monarch. Such an upset in lifestyle brings a lot of changes for Louis, one of them being the need for a stylist.

Enter Harry Styles, a cutting edge fashion stylist who loves his job and prides himself on his passion. The first time he sees Louis Tomlinson on the cover of a tabloid he wants to dress him, style him, make him as beautiful as Harry knows he could be. When he’s hired to do just that, he knows this will be a perfect partnership. That is, until he actually meets the man.

A fashion AU with a royal twist, where Louis doesn’t need a stylist, Harry’s thrilled to have a real life Barbie doll, and they’re both very wrong about each other.

22. blind from this sweet, sweet craving (31k) by @missandrogyny

"So, I guess we'll go?" Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. "I mean, I wouldn't mind. We could make it an adventure."

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He's fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry's gaze–he probably knows that Harry's mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he's not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he's also Harry's best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he'd still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He's got Harry's back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they'll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. "We're going," he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

23. led by your beating heart (29k) by @missandrogyny​

Nick leans over. "Oh," he says, his voice smug. "Who is that?"

Harry just blinks at his phone. "Um," he manages to stammer out.

"Who's that, Harry?" Nick asks again, but this time he raises his eyebrows and smirks. Harry knows Nick is just teasing, and that he's not really looking for new Harry Styles gossip, but, um. He might have found something. Accidentally.

Harry opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is another 'um'. He really needs to work on translating his thoughts into words. But then it probably wouldn't be any helpful right now, would it? His mind is as blank as a newly erased etch-a-sketch.

"Oh," Nick says again, this time gleefully, seemingly having picked up on Harry's distress. "Looks like we've got a story here! Are you going to call or delete her number?"

Her number. So Nick thinks it's a girl. Well, Harry can't blame him: 'Lou' is kind of an androgynous nickname. His stylist's name is Lou.

But this Lou, well, Louis, he's kind of, really, really not a girl. He's really pretty though, which, is something.

(Or: AU where Harry's in One Direction, Louis isn't, and they reconnect over a game of 'Call or Delete'.)

24. Queen Of Arizella (197k - wip) by @seduced-by-curls

Stealing from Royalty is punishable by death.

Louis starts over, doing his best to keep his hands at his sides but he is hungry and he tries stealing from the wrong Royal.

Harry is King of Arizella, he needs a Queen and who better than an omega on the run from death? Louis will learn to become the perfect Queen -the perfect fake Queen, but only for a few months.

A fake lover, a fake Queen, but a real bond.

i tag: @bottomlouis @iconichalo @tinytommoson @oioilarrie @chaoticsue @babyy-honey and anyone who wants to do it just say i tag u 

[missandrogyny]

13 + larry please

This wasn’t meant to be a date, but we’ve had such a good time and now it’s 2 a.m. and I should really go home…

“Wait, okay, I have a good one,” Harry says, laughing. He’s curled up on Louis’ living room couch like he owns it, the throw on the couch wrapped around his shoulders like a pashmina. “Would you rather have pig ears on your head or a pig’s tail on your butt?”

Louis quirks an eyebrow at him. “That’s not a good one,” he says.

“Is too,” Harry says, sticking his tongue out. “Whatever you pick tells me something about your character.”

“And what is that something, pray tell?”

Harry shakes his head, his eyes gleaming. “Won’t tell you until you pick one,” he says.

Louis sighs, acting put upon, when really, amusement is running through his veins, bubbling to the surface. “Fine,” he replies. “If I really had to pick one...a pig’s tail on my butt.”

Harry furrows his brow. “Why?”

“So that more people will stare at my ass.”

There’s a second where Harry blinks at him, and then he’s throwing his head back and laughing, a loud, full-bodied sound. “Okay,” he says, when he eventually calms down, grinning so wide that Louis worries his face will split into two, “that’s a good answer.”

“So...?” Louis asks.

“So, what?”

“So, what does that say about my character?”

“Oh.” Harry worries on his bottom lip for a moment, and Louis zeroes into the movement, wonders vaguely what it would be like if he were the one to bite down on it. “Um, just that you have a nice...perspective on life?”

“...You were bullshitting me, weren’t you.”

“Yep,” Harry answers smugly, popping the ‘p’ sound. “And you fell for it, hook line and sinker!” He holds up a piece of paper, littered with numbers and equations. “You think I can do it for my math test on Thursday?”

Louis laughs. “Harry, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you can’t bullshit math.”

“Ugh,” Harry groans, throwing the piece of paper away. It flutters slowly onto the ground, and lays there for about three seconds before Harry is snatching it up, setting aside neatly with his other worksheets. “I hate this dumb subject. How the fuck are you so good at it?”

Louis shrugs. “It’s just logic.”

“Logic, more like magic,” Harry mutters, before raising his arms and stretching. The bottom of his shirt rides up, exposing a sliver of his defined stomach that Louis tries not to stare at. 

He can’t. After all, Harry’s the gorgeous, popular football player on campus and Louis’ just...Louis. They’re from two different worlds, two different social circles. In fact, their paths would never have intersected if it weren’t for Harry needing help in math.

“Shit,” Harry swears suddenly, and Louis looks up to find him on his phone. “I didn’t realize it was already so late.”

He turns the screen to Louis, long enough for Louis to see 2:06 emblazoned on the upper part of the screen, before pushing his phone into his absurdly tight jeans and jumping up from the couch. “I gotta get going,” he says. “`ve still gotta get up at six for practice.”

Louis feels his eyes widen. “Shit,” he says, jumping up from the couch and shepherding Harry to the door. “You should’ve said something! I shouldn’t have kept you this late.”

Harry snorts, which turns into a full blown laugh when Louis tries to push him out the door. “Don’t worry,” he says, digging his heels so Louis can’t push him out any further. He’s still grinning when he turns around, placing a hand on the door frame so Louis can’t shut the door without injuring the star quarterback and having the whole school turn against him. “`ve done it before.”

Louis frowns and crosses his arms. “That’s not healthy,” he scolds. And when they’d gotten close enough that he’s allowed to scold Harry about his sleeping habits? He’ll never know.

“I know,” Harry says, “but I wouldn’t have traded this for sleep.”

And Louis knows he can’t be flirting--Harry is the most popular boy on campus, after all, and there’s no way he’d flirt with someone like Louis--but right now, it sort of feels like he is. Harry’s grin is something cocky, and he’s leaning forward enough that they’re (sort of) sharing air. If Louis took one step forward, he could, quite literally, brush his nose against Harry’s.

It’s quite a tempting thought.

“You’ll regret saying that in,” Louis makes a show of checking his phone for time, “four hours.”

“Hm,” Harry says. “See, I don’t think I will.”

And there’s something about the way he says it that makes Louis’ stomach clench, that sends Louis’ poor little heart into hysterics. He wants, all of a sudden, to pull Harry back into his dorm, sit him down on the couch and listen to the cadence of his voice, figure out what makes him tick, but--

But Harry’s Harry, and there’s no way he would be flirting with someone like Louis. Louis’ probably just so tired that he’s putting much more meaning into their interaction.

Yeah, that’s it.

“So, I had fun tonight,” Harry start, breaking Louis’ train of thought. He seems to hesitate, his expression shuttering into something unsure, before clearing up again. “Let’s do it again sometime”

“Uh, sure.”

“Actually, there’s,” Harry stops himself, shakes his head. “I have a game Friday, and I was hoping you’d come see me?” His green eyes are open, honest. Vulnerable. “We can do something after, if you...if you like.”

And Louis’ brain short-circuits, his heart goes into overdrive. He also loses control of his mouth.

“Uh, yeah,” he says. “Sure, I’ll come.”

Harry’s face lights up. “Great,” he says happily. “I’ll text you to remind you.”

And then he’s spinning on his heel, walking away, and Louis can only stare wide-eyed at his retreating back, wondering what the fuck he’s gotten himself into.

As soon as Harry disappears down the hall, Louis shuts the door, presses his back against it, and slides down onto the floor. He groans, then buries his face in his arms.

Because fuck. Harry Styles might’ve just asked him out on a date.

[twopoppies]

Any fics where you thought the pacing was spot on ? Or character development?

OK, this is actually a really hard request! So, I’m going to give you some that I think fit the bill. But note that there a few on this list that have great pacing but you might find the characterization, while very good, may not be the typical H/L characterizations you’re used to. But they’re too good not to rec! Hope that makes sense! Ok...thank you to my GCs for helping me brainstorm a bit!

Great Characterization and Pacing!

So here we are. by @sweariwouldnt (NR, 3.5K)

Louis isn't sure if they're keeping on or giving up.

One day to believe in you by Mediaville

A mysterious force compels Louis to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Even when it's really inconvenient.

Harry blinks and has the nerve to look surprised. "You think about me when you get off?"

"Yes," Louis says. He wonders how hard he'd need to punch himself in the face to knock himself out.

"Often?"

"Yes, Christ, Harry," Louis groans. "Probably eight times a week for going on six years now. On average, you know. More when we were touring, less when I've been visiting family. Anything else you'd like to know?"

So Much Left to Say by myownspark / @myownsparknow (M, 8K)

Reason #32: Cheer Someone Up.

Harry remembers Louis stalking along the Cougar’s sideline as the final seconds of the game ticked away. He was apart from everyone, with his arms crossed and his head down, sort of fragile looking even in his pads and helmet. Harry’s fingers actually itched to hold his hand, just as they do now.He holds the phone up to take a selfie and smiles into the camera, trying to ask Louis a question with his eyes. (Are you really okay? Tell me the truth. I bet you’re sitting on your bed, playing Madden, sulking. If you want to see me, I’ll come. I know you better than anyone. You’re sad. I’d like to come.)He pushes send.

(Harry and Louis play for rival high school football teams, and when they play against each other in the Homecoming game, someone has to lose.)

love to make him moan by say_thanks (E, 8K)

they fuck like they're sex starved, when they're really, really not.

Alien Roadtrip! by @helloamhere (M, 16K)

For the first time in his life, Louis doesn’t know where he’s going. Harry doesn’t mind.

OR: roadtrip with desert feelings, too much snack food, and empty motels. Harry is definitely absolutely not an alien. That would be ridiculous.

With love comes strange currencies by Mediaville (E, 16.5K)

One day One Direction will be over and Louis won't be around Harry every waking moment. He'll be able to finally get some space, let their bond dissipate as it's bound to do, if they don't mess up again. He can move to Costa Rica and forget that Harry Styles popped his first knot inside him. Until then, he's going to have to deal with this.

or, They're Accidentally Mated and Dealing With It Rather Badly.

Don’t Let the Tide Come and Take Me by kiwikero / @icanhazzalou (M, 29K)

The aquarium in the lobby has been there as long as Louis can remember, and so has the merman inside. That is, until the day Louis loses his job and decides to set the creature free.

They set off on a road trip to the sea, learning to communicate more and more each day. Their destination is LA, but the closer they get and the more Louis gets to know the merman, the more he dreads having to say goodbye.

Or, the one where Louis decides to set a merman free and ends up finding his own freedom along the way.

Be My Little Good Luck Charm by 100percentsassy (E, 35K)

In which Harry is a promising amateur golfer making his debut at the PGA Championship, and Louis is a Sky Sports anchor who would really rather be commentating on footie.

The other boys are around too: caddy!Niall provides victory pints, Liam is Louis's Very Serious co-anchor, and poor Zayn just gets his face drawn on.

Yellow by 13ways / @13ways-of-looking (E, 85K)

The city of Gotham turns blood red with a new, mysterious criminal element, a beautiful woman named the Blind Cupid.

She threatens to tear the fabric of the city apart, aided by her deadly protégé, the Cat.

Can Batman stop them?

Will he resist the bewitching allures of the Cat?

A Batman/ Catwoman AU

(Take Me Home) Country Roads by Awriterwrites / @a-writerwrites (E, 86K)

“Sir, I can help you. Just let me — “ He tried moving closer but the eldest child blocked his way. He backed off, putting his hands out in a passive gesture. “I’m a physician. I can help,” he tried again.

The man shook his head vehemently, passing the cup back to his grandchild. “Tol’ ya. Don’t need ya.” All of the fire had gone out of his voice, leaving behind a frail, sick old man with barely any breath to talk.

“I have medicines...I could make you comfortable…” Louis’ voice was still small, but pleading.

“Mountain Mama cares for wha’s ailin’ me. Don’t need no fancy city doctors.”

Louis blinked at the man, still shaking from the coughing spell. Mountain — well, fuck. That backwoods, uneducated scam artist…

“Of course he is,” Louis said curtly.*****OR a Northern Exposure AU featuring Louis as the big city doctor, Harry as a natural healer, Niall as a secretive barkeep, Liam and Zayn head over heels for each other but they don't know it and a lot of hurt, comfort and moonshine in between.

Like an Endless Summer by objectlesson / @horsegirlharry

“You just wanna go fawn over Styles as soon as possible,” Zayn grumbles.

“I do not. Plus, he probably got ugly this year. Eighteen is an awkward time...I bet he’s got acne and one of those terrible fuckboy haircuts all the hipsters are getting these days, with the shaved sides? Just watch, the first year we’re gonna get any time together is gonna be the first year I don’t have a stupid crush on him.”

---

Or, Louis is a riding instructor at a summer camp, and Harry is a fellow counselor who he’s been successfully managing his crush on for the last two summers. That is, until Harry shows up this year leveled up and lethal, and all Louis’s formerly perfected veneer of nonchalance melts like a popsicle in the sun.

Your Name Is Tattooed On My Heart by Mcpofife (E, 87K)

Louis is ready to find the love of his life, but first he has to stop falling for the punk rocker next door.

Through Erie Chaos by MediaWhore / @mediawhorefics (G, 102K)

For as long as anyone can remember, Old Hillsbridge Manor has always been believed to be haunted. Everyone in the village agrees and keeps a respectful, fearful, distance. New in town after a bad breakup and an internship that led to disappointment rather than a permanent job, Harry Styles figures taking pictures of the decrepit building could be a great new creative project. Or at least a much-needed distraction while he searches for a job and crashes at his parents’ new house. No one warned him about the apparitions though; about the music, the laughter, the people who flicker and vanish when you call after them, the echoes of a past that should be long gone… Harry has never believed in spirits but even he can admit that there’s something weird going on. What starts as mere curiosity evolves into a full-blown investigation and soon enough, Harry finds himself making friends with an aristocrat from the 1920s and struggling with finding the best way to tell him that he’s dead.

The Ghost Hunter AU where Niall lives to prove ghosts are real, Zayn is a skeptical librarian and Harry gets caught up in a century-old mystery and catches feeling in the process.

my heart is breathing for this moment in time by usedtothebeach (E, 160K)

When Louis first saw Harry at the 2010 X Factor Auditions, he thought he was watching a peculiarly special stranger. But Harry has known Louis ever since he was five years old.

Because Louis has a rare genetic disorder that causes him to Time Travel to important moments in his past and in his future - and to Harry, always to Harry. When they're put into a band together, it seems like everything Harry has been waiting and wishing for has finally come true. Except for the small fact that Louis doesn't know that Harry is in love with him- that Harry's always been in love with him. Fate, it would seem, is just getting started.

A story about growing up and growing together, and the impossible love that makes it all worthwhile.

I feel certain that I’ve forgotten some that I love...but I hope this is a good start!

[femslashy]

when you see this post a snippet of your wip

The park is gorgeous, and he decides he’s going to bring Beau here sometime this week while the weather is still nice. Maybe they can have a picnic. She’d like that, he thinks. He gets so caught up in planning the menu for their hypothetical picnic that he misses Gemma calling his name.

“What about here?” she asks, and Harry shakes his head.

“Light’s not right,” he informs her.

“Well, make it work, because this is the spot I’ve chosen. You told me I could pick anywhere, and I choose here.”

“Gemma—” he starts, and then gives up when he sees the stubborn look on her face. “Fine. Here it is.”

She gives him a smug smile, and then squints at something behind him. “Hey, isn’t that Louis?”

Harry’s head snaps up so quickly that he nearly gives himself whiplash, but instead of Louis, he’s only greeted by his sister’s giant shit-eating grin.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t. You love me, little brother. And you love Louis.” She says it so matter-of-factly, like it’s really that simple. Like Louis doesn’t visibly recoil at the mere mention of Harry’s name.

“I don’t,” he says. “I don’t love Louis.”

“Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”

“Methinks you should— Holy shit, it really is Louis.”

“What? Where?”

Harry points to the far field, where he’s just spotted Louis kicking around a football with some other lads.

“Whoa, it really is him.”

“I told you!” Harry freezes then, because it really is Louis. Bloody hell, is he supposed to do something? Should he wave? No, he’s too far away for that. Plus, he’d risk Louis possibly ignoring him, and that is not something he wants to happen when his sister is here to witness it. (Preferably, it would never happen, but having Gemma here would only make it that much worse.)

Better not, then.

“Go say hello, arsehole.”

“What? No! I can’t go over there, Gems, are you mad?”

“Why not? You had no problem trying to get his attention last time.”

“And you know exactly how well that went, don’t you?”

“Well, at least this time you aren’t ruining the poor lad’s life.”

“I did not ruin his life, oh my God. I saw a cute boy, I sang to the cute boy. It used to be my thing! How was I supposed to know he wouldn’t like it?”

“Because no one likes that shit, H. You only got away with it then because you were famous.”

Harry frowns. “That’s not true.”

“Of course it is. The world lets you get away with a lot when you’re famous; you know this better than anyone.”

“Apparently not,” he mutters to himself, so caught up in his pout that he doesn’t notice Gemma waving in Louis’ direction.

“Hi!” she shouts. “Hey, Louis!”

Louis looks up then, and Harry wasn’t expecting a smile, but he wasn’t quite expecting a scowl either.

“You are the worst,” he growls.

“I think you meant to say the best, and “thank you, Gemma,” as well as— What the fuck are you doing?”

Harry finishes gathering his camera equipment. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m running away.”

“Don’t do that.”

“I’m going to.” He’s running out of time; Louis’ walking in their direction, Gemma’s tugging on his shirtsleeve excitedly, and Harry does what he does best.

He runs.

[creativeashproductions]

The Surname // Grayson Dolan

Summary: Keeping your birth surname a secret to create a name for yourself it leads to meet a certain twin. Overtime you fall in love and it comes out who exactly your related to and it doesn’t change a thing. Well except that your brother doesn’t know about this new love.

Sneak Peak: “Absolutely one hundred percent about to shit my pants scared.”

Characters: Grayson Dolan x Reader, Ethan Dolan, One Direction and Zayn Malik

Words: 2233

Disclaimer: I do not own any gifs that may appear in this. I do however take ownership of the fake tweets and instagrams posts that may appear. Also the people portrayed in this are based on the people in real life but I don’t know them personally so how they act and talk have differ.

Warnings: Swearing, and complete and utter fluff.

Author: Caitsy

A/N: I used to be a huge fan of One Direction and this popped in my head. I may not be obsessive over them but I wanted to write this. Enjoy and request more fics from us please. Also Anamchara means soul friend in Ireland.

Master List

Prompt List

ASK US A QUESTION LIST

Moving to LA was something you wouldn’t have thought where you were a kid but that was before your brother auditioned for the X Factor. It was an emotional rollercoaster as he shoved into a group and began an international hit. Six years younger than him you didn’t completely understand the fame.

You were eleven when he was given an amazing for yeses from the judges when your were sadly at school. You truly didn’t know how it was going to change your lives and when he called to let your know he was placed in a group you were further confused. They didn’t win The X Factor but Simon Cowell gave them a record deal.

As a member of the Payne family you did get approached by people about your brother which led to you being homeschooled. You began to use YouTube when you were thirteen before you truly gained popularity to the point that you couldn’t stay in England. You moved to LA while dropping the name last name Payne for your maternal grandmother’s maiden name.

“I have to know how did you get into YouTube?” Tamara asked on the TRL stage.

“It was an outlet when I was homeschooled. I was always seriously shy growing up and it helped with huge changes.”

“Well I have some YouTubers that would love to meet you.” Tamara said as twins walked on stage, “These are the Dolan Twins.”


“Hey.” Ethan said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too.” You smiled back at them. Your attention turned back to Tamara who had that familiar expression wanting to know about your childhood, “I’m surprised my past hasn’t come up yet. It does make sense since I never talked about my family.”

“Are you opening up?” Tamara asked surprised.

“My birth name is Y/N Payne. I go by my grandmother’s maiden name to carve a name for myself.”


“Given the millions of followers I think you were successful.”

“I was eleven when my life changed. Liam Payne is my older brother and I’m the secret sibling he kept from the media due to my age even if some people did find out he was my brother but it didn’t get far.”

You could hear whispers of disbelief in the crowd given that there wasn’t a lot of information about you out there. You could understand it also.

“Did you ever meet the One Direction members?”



“Yeah. I’m pretty close to Niall the most. They’re pretty protective of me and Zayn’s always checking up on me. I’m sure I’ll be getting a call from them all later tonight.”

“Will they ever come back together?”



“My lips are sealed.” You joked before thanking them for bringing you onto set. Your eyes connected with the more quiet twin. He blushed moving his gaze somewhere else.

You spoke with Ethan a few times amid shocked expressions from him and his brother since you let them know your family. They complimented your thick accent before inviting you for some food.


“I can’t believe we’re talking to a One Direction family member.” Grayson admitted, “You got more cool.”

“Thank you.” You chuckled looking down to see your phone’s notifications going off.

You scanned the comments under his post seeing that Harry, Louis, Niall and Zayn commented on it before Twitter blew up by each member mentioning you. You were regretting the decision because you could be more open with your friends and family.

INSERT THE TWEETS

“Craziness is very much going to begin.” You mumbled looking up at the twins.

“Are you aware your followers have increased a shit ton?” Grayson asked showing you his phone to reveal the massive change in followers. You choked before checking all your social media to see the new change.

“My life just changed again.” You sighed leaning back with each boy in your eye. Grayson had your attention more than Ethan though. There was something about him.

“You aren’t fans of the boys are you?” You questioned.

“They have some good material.” Grayson shrugged. He was trying to not offend you. You chuckled agreeing with them.

“To be honest I never really bought any of their music. It was weird listening to my brother singing about love, sex and heartbreak.”

“Does Liam know that?” Grayson questioned, “Wait no! I have a better question! Did you ever have a crush on the other four?”



“Not really to be honest. When I first saw them I thought they were cute but nothing beyond that.” You shrugged, “They’re my big brothers and even if they aren’t together as much as before they’ll always be close.”

“Do you know any other celebrities?”



“No.” You shrugged, “I kept out of the limelight. The only other person that knew about me was Simon. He agreed to keep me away from it all. He’s a cool guy, pretty much like an uncle.”


“That’s really cool.” Ethan acknowledge digging into the food on his plate, “Do they know Nicki Minaj?”

“I don’t know.” You shrugged earning a disappointed sigh from him. You were amused he had a celebrity crush on her, “Who knows Ethan maybe when your legal she’ll date you.”

“She’s seventeen years older than me. There’s no way that would happen.” Ethan denied. You raised on eyebrow up before pushing your phone across the table.

“That’s my nephew Bear. His parents, my brother and Cheryl have a ten year age difference, and they love each other to bits.” You smugly said as they looked at the image, “I miss him.”

“Did Liam move back to England?”


“Yeah. He moved to Sussex to live with Cheryl and Bear. He comes to LA a lot for his job but I don’t see him often.”

Overtime you kept in contact with the twins enough you hung out as much as possible with them even staying in your New York house when they were there. Liam and you co-owned the home and since it was the first place you lived together you couldn’t get rid of it. You rented it out sometimes but not often.

As time went on you did develop a relationship with Grayson that you both decided to keep out of the public. Not even your brother knew yet but when the year and a half came along you decided to do something crazy. You moved into a nicely sized house with Grayson that included a guest house in the backyard where Ethan moved into.

“I don’t know about this.” Grayson mumbled nervously as the car pulled down to a large house.

“We spent Christmas Eve with your parents. It’s time we spent Christmas Day with my family.” You chuckled, “Are you terrified?”



“Absolutely one hundred percent about to shit my pants scared.” Grayson quickly agreed, “I’m meeting your parents who don’t know about me!”

“They know you idiot.” You snorted shaking your head as your driver, Liam’s request, placed your bags on the sidewalk, “And Liam.”

“What?”



“Liam’s here. He’s the only that doesn’t know you.” You stated as you walked up to the door. It was decorated with the wreath you made in primary school.

The door was flung open revealing your older brother with a large grin on his place before you picked you up and hugged you tight. You relaxed into your brothers arms relishing in the same cologne he had used since the beginning of his career.

“I missed you.” Liam sighed leaning back with a laugh. His laugh ceased when he looked at the boy standing in the entryway, “Who is this?”



“This is Grayson. My boyfriend.” You admitted as Liam ushered you both in to the family room. You made a beeline for Cheryl holding Bear, “Look at my little nephew! You’re so cute.”

“Hey.” Cheryl grinned hugging you, “Good to know you don’t have an American accent.”

“Where’s Grayson?” Your mom mom Karen asked stealing Bear from you. Right at the end Grayson awkwardly shuffled into the room with a whole bunch of anxiety shooting through his veins.

“Is this the boy?” Cheryl whispered to Ruth with a grin. Ruth nodded back while Liam glared at the poor boy.

“We should play a game of football.” Dad suggested getting up from the chair, “Grayson would you like to join?”



“Uh sure.”

“It’s the equivalent to soccer in your country.” You whispered to Grayson with a wink before he got more courage to head out.

“I’ll be right out.” Liam called to the retreating forms of your father, Grayson and Ruth’s husband Thomas, “Y/N, how long have you been dating Grayson?”



“A year and a half. We moved in together.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Liam inquired crouching in front of you in the chair, “I’m just a little upset I didn’t know.”



“You’ve been so stressed about your solo career and the time away from Bear that I thought it would be best not to say something until I knew it would last.” You admitted playing with your hands. Liam grabbed them squeezing them.

“He obviously makes you very happy.” Liam whispered, “Just know that nothing is more important than my family. You can always come to me about things. If you love him then I’ll get to know him.”



“I love you Liam.”

“Love you too dork.” Liam chuckled standing up to head out the door, “Just know that I’ll gladly spend time in jail if he hurts you.”

Over time the other One Direction members, including Zayn, found out about the relationship when it hit the news. They didn’t have time to meet him in person before the invitations were sent out and media blew up when all five men were spotted at the event.

You were chatting with your childhood best friend when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned to see Niall grinning at you.

“Congratulations Anamchara on your marriage.” Niall grinned as people mingled around the room. You grinned hearing the familiar nickname Niall had called you since you first hung out, “Where’s your husband?”



“Over there.” You chuckled pointing to Grayson conversing with Ethan.

“Er…which one?” Niall asked confused.

“The one on the left is Grayson.” Liam said stepping into the conversation, “Nice lad. Are you still upset with me for buying you that house?”



“Yes!” You exclaimed at your brother, “Why do I need a house in England?!”



“Grayson and you can use it when you visit and it’s big enough that if his family wants to come to England they have a place to stay.”

“We got married in England, isn’t that enough for you?” You whined halfheartedly as Cheryl stepped over with Bear stumbling over his feet.

“Hey Babe.” Grayson mumbled hugging you from behind, “Ethan’s demanding a dance from you in his own extra way.”

“Of course he is.” You chuckled as Ethan drew closer with a grin.

“Anamchara best not keep him waiting.” Niall chuckled as Ethan dragged you onto the dance floor for not even a minute before Harry cut in.

“Hey Gary, mind if I cut in?” Harry asked already gripping your hand.

“I’m Ethan!” Ethan groaned throwing his head back, “And my brother’s name is Grayson.”

“Sorry.” Harry lightly blushed, “I’m not good with names.”

Ethan mumbled something as he wandered off to join his parents and your parents talking to each other.

“Who knew it would be my wedding that brought the band together at the same time?” You joked.

“Zayn isn’t here.” Harry chuckled swaying to the music.

“He is.” You smiled as the former One Direction member walked in to the room with his sunglasses on and a sharp all black suit. He made a beeline to you with little heavy breathing.

“Shit. I’m sorry I’m late.” Zayn huffed leaning forward, “The fucking plane was delayed in Los Angeles then I couldn’t off so by the time I was here you were already on your way to the reception.”

“It’s okay.”



“Where’s the crazy guy?” Zayn joked shoving his glasses into his pocket. His eyes landed on Grayson’s approaching form.

“Crazy?” You asked confused.

“He’s crazy for marrying you.” Zayn teased before stepping towards Grayson, “Zayn Malik, honorary brother.”



“Grayson Dolan, husband.” Gray laughed slipping his arm around you waist as he got close with the people he hadn’t met before in the three years you had been dating.

There was alcohol at your wedding even if you were in England you made it clear that every young looking person be carded. Grayson was adamant that if anyone from the US was there that if they weren’t twenty one they weren’t allowed alcohol. You agreed with little resistance to your husband when he brought it up.

You were happy now especially with everyone you loved at your wedding. You knew shit would hit the fan when it was released you got married to Grayson. Your fans didn’t know when the wedding was going to take place because it was private and it would hit further when it got out that Zayn wasn’t there for the ceremony.

“Guess you have to change your social media usernames again.” Liam smiled standing next to you and Grayson.

“All I seem to do is change my surname.” You joked leaning against Grayson.

Fame sucked but without it you wouldn’t have four protective honorary brothers or a husband you loved an incredible amount.

Forever Tag List

@cityofsobbingfangirls @tas898 @barbidollash @trustnobodyshootfirst @winchesterfanfiction @deanwinchesterisamazing @oh-my-hecky-padalecki @padackles2010 @msimpala67 @deangirl5509 @heyitssilverwolf @therealme13posts @petlaufeyson @professionally-crazed @winterhurricane @tearsandbloodofmyenemies @blackwidow-romanoff @crazybarnes @marvelofcourse @takemetothefictionalworld @destiel67bellarke @ohmy-sammy @fightinthepain @vivabucky @waituntilthedustsettles @daydreaming1393 @cumonbucky @inhumans-of-shield @basicwhiskeyprincesss @soulfull-ofevans @spookass @glitterintheairblog @girl-with-wild-dreams @frickin-bats @darkestgrungeuniverse @shamvictoria11 @buckyappreciationsociety @sammysgirl1997 @fly-f0rever @archer-whovian-violinist @jenn0755 @anamarieswift2194 @unicornofdanger @ifyoudie @jealousbitxh @stormin-thru-glitter @sparklyaura @stilescstilinski @curlyxtomato @katshrev @its-sanaa-k @theoismydad @im-a-light-child @tmriddler @flirtswithdanger @divide-supermarketflowers @arkhamasylumpatient-blog1 @introverted-fandom-human @jennylj16 @potterandbucky @harleenq4life @runs-with-sciss0rs @superhero-lover101 @ridingmoxley

[deactivated4179291]

Star Crossed - Part 3 (H.S AU)

As the time passes, Niall tells me all about why they moved to the U.S. It turns out that the four of them were in a band together, but after several years, they decided to go their own route with their music. They also wanted to be hidden from the glare of the public eye, so they packed up their things, and here they all are. The basement is currently being renovated into a studio so that they can record here, in the privacy of their own home. The way Niall sees it, the U.S was their escape. Though they aren’t all working together anymore they still enjoy each other’s company, and it was easier for everyone to have one place to do their own thing. The thought of freedom was short lived for them when it was declared that at least one of them had to complete the Crossing, and Niall, being the generous little Irishman he was, volunteered.

I’ve actually learned quite a decent amount about them. Harry and Niall are the same age, but Harry is younger, and the oldest yet most child-like in spirit is Louis. I decided that second part myself when I saw Louis creep up behind Liam and push him in the pool. Liam wasn’t too happy, to put it lightly. Everyone else thought it was pretty funny, though. Poor Liam. I hadn’t seen much of Harry after our awkward first encounter. He went inside a while ago and seemed to just disappear. Louis and I were talking about soccer, or as he called it “football,” when I told him the embarrassing story of my short soccer career. I played for two years starting when I was four, and I was so bad at it that my parents just decided it’d be best that I find other hobbies. He seemed to get a kick out of the story which made me feel more comfortable talking to him and the other “lads.” Eventually, amongst the buzzing of surrounding conversation and the distant sound of the music playing, I lost Niall.

I wanted to talk to him about the house...I don’t think my mother realized how expensive the house probably was when she agreed to the option - as a parent to help pay for it. I made my way back inside, and eventually wound up back near the living room and kitchen where I first entered said expensive mansion. I quickly spotted Niall and Harry sitting side by side on the middle couch. Harry’s eyes widened when he saw me as if he was a child that was about to trouble for something. His attention then flicked to his right, where Niall seemed to be losing his shit, laughing about something. I take a couple steps forward the couch and cross my arms in front of them. I can feel the amused smile creep onto my face.

“He’s drunk isn’t he?”

“Plastered,” Harry nods vigorously, laughing – clearly had a tad bit to drink, himself, but he’s not intoxicated. Niall just keeps giggling and tries to pull Harry closer to him, whilst Harry struggles to shake him off of it.

“Ah, so you corrupted him,” I point jokingly.

“Whad’ya mean?” he asks innocently, his dimples popping up.

“Niall told me everything, including the fact that he’s the innocent one.” Niall giggles at my statement.

“Pfft, Innocent my arse,” he scoffs.

"Whys he's losing his shit so bad anyway?"

"I wanted to know how drunk he was so I told a knock-knock joke. Now I've got my answer - very – ‘nd it wasn’t even my best one." He rolls his eyes, jokingly.

“Should I be concerned? Does he do this a lot?” I wonder.

“Well,” he shakes his head, “ not usually, but if he does then this is what you get to live with now too.” I laugh watching Harry’s face go from amused to slightly frustrated whilst Niall continues to attempt to hug him. When he finally gets his arms around Harry, Harry just sits there, blinking, no expression on his face.

“Unamused?” I quirk, sniggering. He smiles at that, shaking his head. His facial expression causes two dimples to appear on his face. Fuck...those are really cute.

“Alright, let’s get this little fucker to bed,” Harry rises and grabs Niall by the arm. They’re quite the entertaining duo if I do say so myself. Harry drapes Niall's left arm across his broad shoulders.

“Since you’re moving in, why don’t you come take a look upstairs?” He asks, dragging Niall past me, towards the steps to the second floor. It doesn’t sound like an innuendo, he says it very genuinely, which is why I follow him up the steps.

Once Niall was tucked in and passed out soundly asleep in his room Harry gave me what he called the “grand tour.” He acted as if he was offering a sales pitch with every new room we went to. He even showed me the empty bedrooms and told me I could “take my pick,” in his lovely deep voice with his accent. I felt a sense of guilt. The house had six bedrooms, and I didn’t think I could afford to even rent an inch of one.

Once he showed me the rest of the house, which consisted of a few other living areas – and I even got to see the studio renovation downstairs, we ended up at the bar, which I hadn’t noticed until now even though it was in the living room near the kitchen. Harry placed himself behind the bar, while I sat on the stool opposite him. He leaned forward, smiling and resting his hands on the countertop.

“So..What can I get for you?” Shit…I haven’t ever really had alcohol. Like I said, in high school, I didn’t get out much, so I never amounted to underage drinking at that time. Now that I was 18, though, I could legally drink..but I opted for a water instead.

“Ohh, don’t drink alcohol do we?” he teases, smirking at me.

“I mean, I haven’t before, no...”

“Hmm,” he hums. “Well there’s a first time for everything right?” he raises one hand, smiling cheekily. I let out a little laugh. That seems to be a common theme tonight – me laughing. I don’t get the opportunity to laugh much nowadays, it feels.

"I'm sorry if I seemed awkward when we met..my moms told me I'm pretty shy...and clearly social awkward." I break the silence.

He chuckles. He then reaches underneath the bar, opening one of the cabinets I presume.

“I’ was fine, love,"  he groans pulling a red wine bottle out from under the bar, "Honestly I feel bad that you're surrounded by all these people that you don't know since you feel anxious about it. Now, if you promise not to tell the lads where 've been hiding my good wine bottles, I know somewhere we can go away from all these..loud..people." He grimaces because of all the noise... I'm left with a decision. Be smart, and say no because I don't know this strange boy, OR be me and say yes because I'm turning into Robin - trying to see the good in everyone. There really does seem to be good in Harry.

"My lips are sealed." I pretend to zip my lips and give him the invisible key. He laughs again.

" a'right," he winks and cocks his head to the side pointing in the direction he wants me to go, as I follow him.

Seeing him wink made heat rise to my cheeks. If his intention is to get me drunk, he doesn’t need the alcohol, I am already intoxicated by him. His unwavering kindness and compassion make me feel like I can finally trust someone.

Then he leads me to a random spot in the backyard, passing all the scattered bodies until we were standing on the outside of the garage. He just looks at me and smiles, waiting for me to say something.

“This is your special spot?...behind the garage?” The only other noise to be heard is the light hum of the speakers on the complete opposite side of the house.

“Oi, who said anything about being behind the garage?” His eyes flick up to the roof, then back to me. Wait a second..the roof.

“The roof?!” I whisper-shout, my eyes widening as I am not the best with heights.

“What, you afraid of heights or somethin’?” He laughs a bit, before realizing I really am scared of heights. His eyes widen, and his face growth sympathetic.

“Shit,” he mumbles, “ ‘m sorry love, I didn’t know.” He shakes his head.

“Listen, I’ll boost you up, okay? ‘s not that high up I promise.” I gulp silently, before sheepishly nodding. He places the wine bottle on the concrete then leans forward, and knits his fingers together, signifying he wants me to step on his hands. I kick off my boots – I am not about to do this in heels. I get close and place my right foot in his hands,  grabbing his shoulders for balance and he pulls me up. I grab leverage to get onto the roof the second both of my feet are off the ground.

Once I am up, I sit on the flat part of the roof, grabbing the wine bottle from him and watch as Harry effortlessly jumps up, and hauls himself up. He plops down next to me, then sends me a smirk.

“Not all of us are fucking 8 feet tall, okay?” I sass. His eyes screw shut, and his face wrinkles as he laughs.

“how tall ‘re you anyway?” he asks me, his normal dimpled smile returning to his beautiful face.

“5’2” He hums in response.

“For the record ‘m not actually 8 feet tall, I am only 5’11. ‘ve just been jumping up here a lot longer than you have.”

“That’s true,” I nod.

I sit on the flat rooftop, my legs outstretched but bent at the knees, with my arms wrapped around them lightly. I can’t help but look up and stare at the stars. They seem to be shining brighter than I have ever seen them. I hear a pop noise, and immediately know that Harry has opened the wine bottle. He smiles and offers it to me, raising an eyebrow. I think back quickly to the files stored in my brain from what Niall told me, and think of Harry’s last name.

“Alright, fine, Styles,” I roll my eyes, “I’ll take my first ever sip of alcohol if you share with me that knock knock joke that left Niall in hysterics.” A cheeky smile tugs at his lips at my words.

“Knock knock”

“Who's there, Harry?”

“Little old lady”

“Little old lady who?” He smirks and giggles, and then I realize where this is going. “oh my gosh” I mutter, shaking my head.

“I didn’t know you could yodel!” He sniggers.

“Ya I definitely need a drink after that.”

“Fair ‘nough” he shrugs.

I press the rim of the bottle to my lips and tilt it backward, sending the wine into my mouth. It’s bitter, but also has a kind of unique flavor to it. My face I lick my lips to rid any leftover wine on my lips and hand the bottle back to Harry. Determining that I’m not the biggest fan of it, my face scrunches slightly. I hear Harry’s beautiful laugh pierce the silence once again.

“ ‘s not for everyone,” he shrugs, drinking from the bottle himself. He gulps down the substance relentlessly. Quite frankly, I’m impressed by his ability to do it so effortlessly. He then places the bottle between the two of us, so that it’s to my right. As he’s reaching over to put it down, he gently grabs my hand, causing me to turn my head back in his direction, with slight surprise. He stares at the sign on my wrist, and traces it with his finger, furrowing his eyebrows again.

"So which one is this?" he looks back into my eyes.

"Uh, Taurus. My birthdays may 20th...what's yours?"

He looks kind of distant as if something is bothering his thoughts, but reluctantly rolls up his right jacket sleeve enough for me to see his sign and a slew of other ink on his wrist. I had only vaguely noticed all of his tattoos when I first encountered him. Seeing them so up close was an entirely different story.

“Aquarius,” I say. Pursing his lips, he nods. He grabs the bottle with his left and starts to down more of the crimson liquid.

Aquarius..as in air…as in not earth.

“Well,” he sighs, “we better get down from ‘ere before I get too drunk” I nod, but as soon as I look down from the top of the roof, fear overtakes me. 

[littlemissmeggie]

line of play

my little story written for @ferryboatpeak for the spring 2017 @zarriallweek exchange! 

the prompt was high school au in which golf team members harry and niall are messing around and accidentally launch a golf ball through the window of the art classroom, imperiling a project of zayn's. it’s just aimless fluff but i hope you enjoy it! 💕

Harry watched as his best friend bent down to push a tee into the grassy hill.

“Ni,” he said as the blonde placed a nice new golf ball on the tee, “what’s even the line of play?”

“No line of play, Haz,” said Niall, moving to pull a wood from his golf ball. “Just putting.”

“Then why are you taking out your driver?”

“Got to start off the tee somehow, mate,” he said, shrugging and walking back to the tee.

“It’s just- Maybe we should just go to the range?” said Harry, a suggestion that he knew was useless.

“Nah, Haz,” said Niall, shaking his head and lining his club up with the white ball. “Don’t want to pay the range fee.”

“Niall, I’ll pay your fee. I don’t think it’s a good idea to putt here.”

“What are you worried about, Harry?” asked Niall, lifting his club up a few inches and swinging forward, repeating the motion a few times. “We’re on the golf team. It’s not like we can’t have our golf kits at school.”

“That’s not the problem, Niall. You’re just going to”—Niall pulled his club back into a full backswing and brought it forward, connecting with the ball and sending it sailing right through the glass window of the art room with a loud shattering sound—“Fuck! That’s what I was worried about!”

He ran down the hill toward the school building and heard Niall’s footfalls behind him.

“Maybe nobody’s- Maybe no one’s in there,” panted Niall, catching up to Harry at the bottom of the hill.

They slowed down, walking the rest of the way to the side of the building and crouching below the window.

“Can you see if- Look and see if anyone’s in there,” whispered Niall, poking Harry and pointing to the shattered glass.

“Why do I have to look?” hissed Harry. “I didn’t break the—”

“Exactly!”

Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, coming face to face with a pretty raven-haired lad who was covered in paint and looking out the broken window.

“Shit,” said Harry.

“What?” asked Niall, standing up and turning to look at the window. “Shit.”

“Sorry, Zack—”

“Zayn,” corrected Niall.

“—Zayn,” said Harry. “Just, um, are you all right?” he asked, trying to sound casual and nonchalant.

Zayn’s eyes widened. “No,” he began. “I mean, uh”—he blushed and looked away—“I’m fine, I guess. Yeah. I mean, yeah.”

“Are… you sure?” asked Harry hesitantly.

“Yeah,” said Zayn again, blush staining his cheeks. “I mean, the window’s broken and, like, there’s paint all over the floor but, yeah, I’m fine. And, you know, and my painting’s fine. Mostly. So I’m- I’m all right.”

“Mostly?” asked Niall curiously.

“Oh, um,” stuttered Zayn. “Yeah, um. I mean, there’s some paint, like, splattered on it. That’s you know, not- not intentional.”

“Oh, shit,” said Niall. “I’m sorry, mate. Will you be able to fix it?”

“Yeah. Just, um, I’ll just cover it up.”

“Okay. Well, sorry again, mate. Hope your painting—”

“Horan!” came a voice from behind Zayn. “Styles!”

“Fuck!” said Niall quietly, watching as the art teacher, Miss Carr, walked to the window and stopped beside Zayn.

“I’m guessing,” she said, taking in the shattered glass before turning to look around the room at the paint covering the floor, “that this window didn’t break itself. And I don’t think Zayn made this mess.”

“It was mad, Miss Carr!” exclaimed Niall. “Just saw a bird come flying right at the window—”

“Don’t know how it didn’t die, poor thing,” added Harry.

“Just crashed right into the glass and flew off again.”

“Just like The Birds!” said Harry.

“Right,” said Miss Carr, looking slightly amused. “Boys, you know you’re not supposed to be putting near the school buildings.”

“Miss Carr—”

“No, Mr. Horan. Come in and clean up this mess and we’ll talk about your detentions.”

“Detentions?”

“Yes, Mr. Styles. Now come in please.”

“I told you we should have gone to the range,” grumbled Harry, turning with Niall to make their way into the building.

“What do you think she’s gonna make us do?” asked Niall, a bit of a whine in his tone, as if he didn’t deserve some sort of punishment for breaking a window and messing up the art room.

“I don’t know, but this is all your fault,” said Harry, pushing open the door and stepping into the art department hallway.

“Whatever,” groaned Niall.

They entered the art room and found Miss Carr at her desk typing an email; Zayn stood by an easel in the opposite corner of the room, away from the shattered window and spilled paint and broken charcoals and pastels.

After a few minutes, Miss Carr turned from her computer to look at the two boys. “Okay, since you’ve not got proper golf practice today,” she said with a raise of her eyebrows, “you’re going to clean up the mess you made.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” said Harry, nodding and sounding apologetic.

“Okay, Miss Carr,” agreed Niall.

“As for you detentions,” she continued and both Niall and Harry groaned, “you’re going to be responsible for keeping the art room clean for the next three weeks. Come here every day after last period. Except the days you have golf team practice,” she added quickly, cutting off the protests before they could start. “Zayn will show you what needs to be done.”

Both boys begrudgingly agreed and went off to find the appropriate cleaning supplies, sweeping up the broken charcoals and pastels and picking up scattered pencils and pens and mopping up spilled paint and inks.

As they worked, Niall kept an eye on Zayn where he stood by his easel. There really could be worse punishments, he thought, than spending a bit of time in the art room because Zayn was quite pleasant to look at and he’d maybe had an admiring-from-afar type of thing for the lad for a few months now.

Across the room, Zayn felt blushy and warm because this was the longest he’d ever been in the same room as Harry except when they’d had Maths together in Year 10. Harry was, as far as Zayn was concerned, the loveliest boy in their whole school but everyone knew he was dating Niall; the two had been best friends since primary school so it hadn’t really surprised anyone when they showed up to the Christmas dance together, with coordinating suits and everything, in Year 11.

The mess finally cleaned about an hour later, Miss Carr released the two boys with a reminder to return the next day after their last class let out.

“Ugh,” sighed Harry as they left the room and walked down the hall. “Three weeks of that!”

“It’s not that bad,” said Niall, shrugging. “Could be worse.”

“Could be worse?” asked Harry, sounding a little exasperated. “Are you- Ohh,” he said, stopping and turning to look at the blonde. “You fancy Zayn,” he said matter-of-factly, though something in his voice betrayed what was maybe a hint of hurt.

“No,” said Niall, though he knew his best friend could see right through him, knew him better than he knew himself most of the time. “I don’t fancy- I don’t fancy Zayn, Haz.”

“Yeah, okay,” said Harry sarcastically. “Right. Let’s get your golf kit and get out of here. I just- I just really want to go home.”

Niall studied Harry out of the corner of his eye while they walked out of the building and back up the hill toward Niall’s clubs. He looked irritated, chewing at his bottom lip like he did when something was bothering him but he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Haz, what’s wrong?” asked Niall finally, slinging his kit over his shoulder and following the taller lad down the hill and toward the car park.

“Nothing’s wrong, Ni,” said Harry, leading Niall to his car. “Just want to get home. That’s it.”

“Mmm,” hummed Niall with a quick eye roll, unimpressed with Harry’s answer. They climbed into Harry’s car and the brunette started the engine. It was quiet for a few minutes as Harry made his way out of the lot and down the street.

“Do you have a crush on Zayn?” Niall asked, looking at his friend curiously.

“No, I don’t,” said Harry, short and so annoyed. “Why does it have to be about having a crush on Zayn?”

“You brought it up,” pointed out Niall.

“Whatever.”

Niall knew better than to continue the argument, knowing he wouldn’t get any more out of Harry, and leant forward to turn up the volume of the stereo.

*******

A half hour later, Harry walked into his bedroom. He’d dropped Niall off at his house down the street and had declined the offer to hang out and play FIFA, saying he had an essay he had to finish but really just wanting to be away from Niall.

Harry was hurt, though he knew he couldn’t tell Niall that—he definitely couldn’t tell Niall why he was hurt—because Harry had been in love with Niall probably since forever; he couldn’t really remember a time he’d not been in love with his best friend. They’d been best friends since they were both crawling around in nappies so really, he reasoned, it was only natural that he would fall in love with the boy.

Niall hadn’t realised he was gay until two years earlier and Harry had been the first person he’d told. Harry had been happy for his friend, remembering how nervous he’d been when he’d first come out to his family and Niall but also how liberating it had felt, but he’d also been happy because maybe that meant there was a chance that Niall would feel the same way that Harry did. Maybe Niall would realise he was in love with Harry.

Instead, Niall had developed a crush on a boy on the football team named Louis Tomlinson, though it never progressed any further than crush status because Louis Tomlinson was straight and had a girlfriend.

Niall hadn’t had any more crushes after that—at least none that he’d mentioned to Harry—and Harry was fine with that because he didn’t like feeling jealous and inadequate.

He flopped down onto his bed and sighed. This detention was going to be the worst because Niall would just swoon over Zayn every day and Harry would have to stand around and watch it happen.

“Hey, Z,” said Niall, walking into the art room, Harry following behind.

“Hi, Niall,” said Zayn pleasantly. “Hi, Harry.”

“Hey, mate,” said Harry, heading toward the large sink to start cleaning paintbrushes.

“What’s up today, Z?” asked Niall. Harry rolled his eyes as he filled up an empty coffee tin with hot water and soap and started soaking a handful of brushes. They were into their third and final week of detention and they knew the routine by now but Niall liked to use every opportunity to talk to Zayn.

“Just the usual stuff. Paintbrushes,” said Zayn, looking around the room. “Jesy was carving some weird linoleum stamps today—not sure what they were supposed to be, exactly—so there’s linoleum shavings all over the floor. And ink rollers.”

Harry tuned it out, rinsing the soapy water off the watercolour brushes and setting them aside to dry before moving onto the oil paint-covered brushes.

Brushes cleaned, Harry turned and found Niall sweeping the floor free of linoleum and wood shavings.

“Right, what’s left?” he asked and Zayn looked up from his easel.

“I don’t- I think that’s it,” said Zayn. “Oh, the ink rollers.”

Harry moved across the room, stopping at the largest table used for ink work and picked up a few rollers covered with blue and purple and pink ink.

As he walked back to the sink, ink rollers in hand, he heard Niall say from somewhere near the paint shelves, “Hey Zayn, um, so I was wondering. So would you like to go see a movie Friday? Or something. Like, just, you know, just hang out or something.”

Harry focused on scrubbing every last bit of ink off the roller, jaw tight and teeth gritted, and tried to ignore his best friend and the hot pain in his chest and the tightness in his throat.

“What?” asked Zayn, looking at Niall, confusion on his face. “Like, with you and Harry?”

“No,” said Niall, his turn to look a bit confused. “Like, just me. Like, I don’t know, like a date. Maybe. If that would be something you’d—”

“A date?” asked Zayn, even more confused now.

“Or, I mean,” said Niall, blushing bright pink. “Never mind. Stupid. It’s fine.”

“Niall, I’m just confused because, like,” said Zayn, brows furrowed, “you’re asking me out on a date and—”

“And what?” asked Niall hesitantly, looking like he was regretting saying anything to begin with.

“And your boyfriend’s right there.”

Harry stopped rinsing the ink rollers because what?

His thought was voiced a second later when Niall said, so confused, “What?”

“Harry’s your boyfriend,” said Zayn, sounding like he was telling a coma patient about their life before the coma.

“Harry’s not my boyfriend.”

“Yeah, the ink rollers are clean so I’m leaving,” said Harry, a bit more harshly than he’d intended. He turned off the tap and dried his hands, turning quickly to leave the room without another word.

“Harry’s not your boyfriend?” asked Zayn and Niall shook his head. “You know everyone in the whole school thinks he is?”

*******

Harry lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He knew Niall liked Zayn but did he have to ask the boy out in front of him? Not that Niall had really tried to hide the fact that he had a crush on Zayn from Harry after the first few days but that didn’t mean he wanted to hear his best friend—the boy he was in love with—stutter his way through asking someone else out on a date.

“Do you like me?” Niall’s voice crashed through his thoughts, interrupting the silence of his bedroom.

Harry sat up and looked to the doorway where the blonde stood.

“Oh, yes. Hello, Niall,” said Harry, sarcasm dripping from his words. “Barge right in. What the fuck.”

“Your mum said you were up here,” said Niall, as if that explained why he’d barged into Harry’s room unannounced. “And you were ignoring my texts.”

Harry reached for his phone on the nightstand, still on silent from school, and found nine texts from Niall.

“Do you like me?” the blonde asked again and Harry looked up from his phone.

“Of course I do, idiot,” said Harry, the unspoken duh obvious in his tone. “Been my best mate forever.”

“No, like”—Niall sighed—“do you like me?”

Harry stared at Niall, not sure what to say.

“Because Zayn said you do.”

Harry kept staring with his mouth open a bit, the wheels in his head spinning like mad but finding no purchase.

“Go on a date with me,” said Niall.

Harry finally found his voice. “Couldn’t get the guy you wanted so you’re settling for me,” he said, an edge of hurt and maybe resignation in his words.

“Go on a date with me, you twat,” said Niall again, voice soft. “I think I know a way it can all work out.”

*******

“We’re going on a date with Zayn?” asked Harry slowly. “Is this some weird way to, like, keep me from feeling left out?”

“No, Haz, it’s—”

“Because I’m pretty sure I’ll just feel, like, you know, like the third wheel,” said Harry. “Thanks but I think I’ll—”

“But you won’t be the third wheel!” exclaimed Niall. “We’ll all just be together. Like three people on a date.”

Harry looked skeptical.

“Just… please try it, Haz?”

“Niall, you don’t even like me like that,” said Harry. “And neither does Zayn. So it’s just pointless.”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about that when we’ve got Zayn,” said Niall. “Now let’s go. Zayn’s waiting for us.”

“No, Niall,” said Harry, reaching out to hand his friend his car keys. “Just take my car and go out on your date.”

“Harry.”

“Niall, there’s no point in me going on a date with two guys who like each other but neither of them like me.”

“I do like you, you giant prat!” said Niall loudly, exasperated. “I like your stupid clothes and your stupid curly hair and your big, dumb frog mouth and your stupid obsession with bananas!” He stepped forward and slipped his hand into one of Harry’s. “Please,” he said, looking up to Harry with his beautiful blue eyes and Harry knew he couldn’t say no. “I like you. And I like Zayn. And I think this could work. So please just—”

“What could- You think what could work?”

“Please just go on this date, Haz. If you don’t like it, we won’t do it again,” said Niall, near-begging. “But please. Just try.”

Harry squeezed Niall’s hand and nodded.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up to Zayn’s house, parking on the street in front of the house and walking together to the front door.

Zayn greeted them with a little blushing smile and his usual pleasant, “Hi, Harry. Hi, Niall.”

“Hey, mate,” said Harry, still feeling rather skeptical.

“Hi, Z!” said Niall happily. “Now we have to talk to Harry because he’s being all mopey. ‘Nobody fancies me, it’s pointless, let me wallow in my self-pity.’”

“Do you- Would you like to come in?” asked Zayn, feeling that maybe this was a conversation best had in the privacy of home rather than in a booth at Nando’s or in Harry’s car. “It’s just Waliyha and Safaa home now and they’re in their room watching telly.”

“Yeah, good idea,” said Niall, stepping over the threshold and into Zayn’s house. “C’mon, Haz.”

Harry took a deep breath and followed Niall into the house and past Zayn.

“Right,” said Zayn, blush deepening as he said his next words. “Do you want to, um, go to my room?”

“Sure,” said Niall, nodding agreeably.

Harry hesitated for a moment before saying, “Yeah. Okay.”

They followed him up the stairs and into a small bedroom, organised chaos, with paintings hanging on the walls and sitting on the floor propped against the wall and a collage of photographs above the headboard.

“Sorry, just the, uh, just the bed and the desk chair. If you want to sit,” he said quietly.

“Probably should sit,” said Niall, plopping down onto the bed. “Haz,” he added, patting the spot beside him, really leaving no room for argument.

Harry sat beside his best friend and Zayn took the chair at his desk.

“So Harry thinks neither of us fancy him,” said Niall, getting straight to the point. “I already told him that I do. Have for as long as I can remember. Like, Haz, how do you think I realised I was gay?”

“Because of Tomlinson, obviously,” said Harry, so certain.

“Nah, Haz. That was because I was trying to get over you because I didn’t think you liked me,” Niall told him. “Like that, you know.”

Harry looked dumbfounded—felt dumbfounded—but he didn’t need to worry about what to say about that revelation because Niall kept talking.

“Now Zayn, will you tell Harry what you told me the other day? Please.”

“Yeah, um, okay,” said Zayn, still blushing and looking a little embarrassed now. “I’ve sort of- I’ve fancied you since, like, Year 9. Don’t think you even knew I existed, to be honest. You were obviously in love with Niall. Don’t think you saw anything else, really.”

Harry nodded. “Suppose it’s sort of always been Niall.”

“Reckon I’m sort of the odd one out here,” said Zayn. “Niall likes both of us and I like both of you. But you’re mad about Niall.”

Harry sat quietly because he couldn’t tell Zayn that he liked him too because it wasn’t really true; he liked the boy well enough but in the “We could probably be good mates” kind of way.

“If you two like each other, I don’t really understand why I’m here,” confessed Harry. “I mean, what’s the point of this three-of-us thing?”

“You and Niall, like, fit,” said Zayn. “Opposites attract or whatever and you just sort of compliment each other. You complete each other. Just can’t really imagine one of you without the other.”

“We’ve not been best friends since we were toddling round in nappies for no reason, Haz,” said Niall. “Kind of always known we were soulmates, even before I realised I had… other feelings for you.”

“How does Zayn fit into all that, then?” asked Harry, still feeling very confused.

“Don’t know if you’ve noticed,” said Zayn, sounding a little self-deprecating, “but I’ve not got many friends. I always feel sort of awkward and uncomfortable but whenever you and Niall are around, I just feel happy. Since you’ve been round the art room the last few weeks, I just feel kind of peaceful. It’s like you fill in that bit of me that’s usually anxious with positivity and it’s just- I feel whole.”

Harry looked at the boy, slightly awed, because he’d never heard anyone other than Niall be so candid and open.

“So, like, what do we do? I don’t know if I’m right, what you’re thinking or whatever.” Harry paused, not sure what he was even saying. “How does something like this work?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Niall, shrugging, “but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

“Maybe we could just start, like, as friends,” said Zayn with a crooked little smile. “Just let whatever happens kind of… go.”

“You sound like Niall,” said Harry.

“Harry likes plans,” explained Niall.

“That’s probably- probably the best idea,” agreed Harry. “Just let it happen.”

“First time he’s ever said that, I reckon,” laughed Niall.

*******

“I can’t believe that Love Actually is your favourite movie too, Zayn,” said Niall from where he lay spread out at the foot of Zayn’s bed.

“It’s a bloody wonderful movie,” stated Zayn, sounding slightly offended. “Should be everyone’s favourite.”

“Exactly,” said Harry, leaning back against the headboard of Zayn’s bed next to the raven-haired lad, a slice of pizza from the open box in his hand. “Now keep quiet so I don’t have to kick you too many times.”

Zayn laughed.

[raoulbathletics-blog]

Rubbermaid Weights, Goku, and a 7 year-4 year Degree

I have always loved fitness; well I have always loved lifting weights.  Fitness involves much more than lifting weights like running. I’ll be honest, I can not stand running, it sucks.  I have a “rep the weights faster” as a cardiovascular ideology. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on runners or endurance athletes.  I actually envy y'all (I’m from the south, I say y'all, don't expect it to change).  With that being said, yes I do admire your capacity for long duration cardio endurance but I also believe a “Man” shouldn’t weigh less than 185 pounds or be beardless. Thats another blog later on. 

As long as I remember I was into pumping iron. When I was a kid I idolized figures such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, The Rock, The Incredible Hulk, and Goku.  Yes, I know the last two or cartoon characters, but a lot can be learned from Goku’s dedication and commitment to training and nutrition.  If you didn't get hyped AF and start beating the shit out of your bedroom walls when Kakarot went Super Saiyan you aren’t even human.  I’m a nerd, so what, I can bench press a Fiat.  Anyways back to my childhood and lifting weights.  To this day I can still remember my first weight set.  It was this tiny little bench with a “barbell” that was the diameter of a broomstick and the weights were these plastic case container like things that were filled with concrete or sand. Pretty much what I had was a weight set made by Rubbermaid. There was even a cap you could unscrew on each one where you could let a little sand out or add some. I loved that damn weight set, I thought it was awesome, but hey I was 9 years old and I was about to be like Arnold (growing up all my friends wanted to “Be like Mike”, I wanted to be the Terminator).  Something about lifting weights and growing muscle has always intrigued me.  I believe my Dad had a part in my fascination with working out.  My dad has always been built, maybe not as aesthetic or as big as my celebrity and cartoon idols but compared to my friend’s fathers and anyone that I personally known my dad was, still is, swole.  My dad was the one to show me what a bench press, bicep curl, and lat pull down were.  Let’s just say he paved the way for me. Now my father showed me the in and outs of the weight room, but my perception of pure brute strength came from my mother and the rest of the Boughtons.  Those Boughtons let me tell ya.  Have you heard of the term “Construction Strong”? Well if you looked up that term in the dictionary, there would be a picture of the Boughton Family.  Now I have never seen my uncle touch a dumbbell but he could pick up an 80 pound sack of concrete in each hand and scale a ladder at the same time, the crazy thing is my mom would be right behind him with another sack a concrete.  You’d think we were a family of vikings, if it weren't  for most of us being vertically challenged and that one tan skinned kid aka me.  The Boughtons are just a solid group of individuals with a tenacity for work, not desk jockeying work, but physical manual labor in the elements of nature type of work. To this day, my 72 year old grandmother still mows 1 acre of grass with a push mower.  The damn thing isn't even self propelled. That’s what I call Functional Fitness; yeah cool “Fran” time bro but can you mix concrete with a shovel and wheel barrow, frame a house or build an award winning Mardi Gras float in less than a week.  I think not. Again being able to lift weights and not call a “professional” to change your light bulb is another blog topic for a later date. I owe a lot to my family and my upbringing for my love of working out. The patriarch of the Boughtons, my grandfather, is who I received my first protein shake.  Now I’m not talking about the delicious whey protein shake you and I are accustomed to today. I’m talking old school; glass of whole milk, 4 raw eggs, and a tsp of vanilla extract-protein shake (needless to say this was my first and last “old school” protein shake). 

I was 15 when Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast (if you are not familiar with this area, the location I am talking about is “The Landmass” between New Orleans and Alabama). Everything was destroyed and we didn't have school for months, so there wasn't anything to do besides to either work out and/or make a little pocket change gutting houses and cleaning debris. Let me tell you, tearing down soaking wet, moldy drywall got old quick. There was a few of us that really got into working out at this time; one of which really got into it, stuck with it and he now has his IFBB Pro Card.  Ready for this, the dude is a VEGAN... Which is not totally unheard of these days.  To compete in the world of bodybuilding it’s 90 percent diet, I don’t care what you say, it is.  So when your food intake is all veggies and you are committed to pumping iron, yeah you are going to be shredded.  

So we all hit the weights pretty hard from sophomore to senior year of high school.  You know you're doing something right when your classmates all claim that you're on roids.  “Nah’ bruh, blame it on genetics, two a days at the gym, copious amounts of grilled chicken breast and the occasional case of Keystone Light. (what, I was carb loading).  I played football in high school a couple of times but I kept getting injured in the weight room due to poor programming and improper coaching on weightlifting technique from my “all knowledgeable coaches”.  I got stronger outside of the football weight room by going to other gyms and doing research on my own.  This is one of the reasons I later finally chose a career path that I’m in now.  

Then came college. I know you’ve heard of “Gaining that Freshman 50″. Well I took it up a notch and gained a whopping 70 pounds after high school.  I was what you called a career student.  I took advantage of everything college had to offer, except the academic part. I didn't hit the books hard until my 3rd freshman year and finally chose a major and stuck with it.  Prior to this I hopped around from engineering, only because my friend was doing it (the same one that is a vegan body builder but I quickly realized that my math capacity was limited to counting by 45′s) to pre law (but at this time I turned 21 and there was no need to use my fake ID anymore), to finally figuring why don't I do something relevant to what I love, Working out.  At this point I was 4 years into a relationship with my now wife and most of her family are educators and coaches.  I stated earlier how often got hurt often in the high school weight room and I wasn’t the only one.  I also had only like 2 influential teachers  in my high school career, (thank you Sheila and Monty G).  So I decided to go into coaching with an emphasis on strength and conditioning with a minor and history.  For people that don't know, if you plan to coach a high school team you'll have to teach a class too.  So I chose another topic that I really like, History, (there’s no way in hell I’m teaching math unless its only kilo to pound conversions or counting plates on a barbell).  I felt like I needed to be in the classroom and in the weight room to positively motivate and inspire kids.  After a 7 year stint in college and over $40k in student loans, I finally received that 4 year degree everyone rant and raves about. Another blog for another time. 

With that being said, I fuel planes to pay the bills.  Remember how I said my now In Laws are teachers. Well they also tell me stories of the job.  It’s not the kids that have deterred me from the job, it’s the parents.  I honestly don’t wont to deal with y'all all knowing, ignorant, neglectful, pig headed, selfish A-Holes.  Now I know not all of you parents are like this but there’s a select few that I really don't have the time or patience for.  I give props and thanks to all teachers out there.  You are a group of people that are underpaid and under appreciated for what y'all do and put up with.  

After 4 years and counting in the aviation industry, mortgage doesn't pay itself,  I finally had the opportunity to  live the American Dream.  I am now an entrepreneur that owns his own business, Rah’s Gym in Bay St. Louis, Ms.  I could have easily pursued my dream in an easier way and be a personal trainer at someone else’s gym.  Do you see the problem with that last sentence?  I’ll break it down for you. In order to truly succeed the route should never be easy.  I think there’s a difference between being a personal trainer and strength coach. Lastly, being at “someone’s else’s gym” didn’t sit well with me.  Especially since there weren’t any “gym’s” near me.  Yes, there were health clubs, and fitness centers, and judgement free zones with pizza parties, but there were no gyms.  So with the determination to finally get my Freshman 70 off, oh yeah it’s still there, and an increased limit on my card I opened my own gym.  A real gym.  I have no air conditioning, no smith machines, and a bunch of free weights.  When people ask where my cardio section is, I simply point to the one elliptical and to the road on side of the gym and say “There’s no better cardio than feet to pavement.”  

Rah’s Gym has been open for 8 month’s now and business is good for being the niche, non commercial, mainstream gym that it is.  I’ve learned a lot so far; not just about running a business but about the field that I love.  You know there’s so much more to working out besides heavy singles and curls for the girls.  I know right, who would have thought.  I house all types of athletes at the gym; Functional Fitters, aka crossfitters that don't like to be sued, Body Builders, Power lifters, Mixed Martial Artists, and even Triathletes. 

It’s an exciting time to be in the fitness industry.  People are finally giving a shit about their health and quality of life, and I want to be a part of it. I plan on losing my Freshman 70, are you. 

Lift heavy, run efficiently, and rest often.