Chapter Text
27 October 2:35 am
“As we make our final decent into New York we ask everyone to please put there seats up and tray tables in the upright position, the friendly cabin crew will be coming around to pick up an rubbish you may have accumulated on the flight. When we land in New York it’s slightly cloudy with a high of 66 degrees out. So make sure that you grab your jacket for it’s a bit chilly. Thank you all for flying with us and we hope that you have a fantastic flight with us,” Arthur the flight attendant said over the intercom as Harry adjusted himself in his seat.
It had been 8 hours and 6 minutes of pure nerves. He had woken up that morning to a pounding on the flat door and a letter that had been slid under the door. He knew that it was Niall who had delivered the letter for when he picked him up for the flight he looked as tired as Harry felt. He didn’t have a time to think, he just tossed clothes into the suitcase and made sure that he had what he needed, his wallet, his passport and camera. He was to nervous to eat, even when he got through customs and to his gate. He had managed to keep down a cuppa when they came around with drink orders. His mind had been all over the place, he wanted to hit Louis in the arm and tell him that he should never pull this shite again, but then at the same time he wanted to wrap the amazing man up in his arms, kiss the hell out of him and never let him go. He also wanted to yell at Gemma who had kept this from her - this was the woman who couldn’t keep what gift they got for their mum to herself when she was younger but when it comes to her brother she can keep anything and everything from him. But first he wanted to give her a hug and tell her how much that he missed her and he hated her and loved her.
He was also nervous about going to the show. While he and Louis had been dating for a few months, he had never been able to attend events, or go to a show with Louis. Not that he didn’t want to but with his work schedule as well as some were just for Louis and they hadn’t been at that stage of their relationship. But now, well now he was going to be thrown into the deep end with bands, Louis being a TM and his boyfriend, these crazy men that are in The Griswolds, the four guys in Young Rising Sons and many other names he knew but had no faces to put them with.
He could do this.
This was going to be his life now, teacher by day and going to events with Louis at night, award shows, flying to see him in New York. A life he thought were for those in movies, books and not a boy born in Cheshire who was a teacher. But it was now.
Get yourself together Harry it’s fine you are just going to see Louis. In New York. Nothing crazy. You didnwake up today and think you were going to watch Parks and Recreation on Netflix in your pants and t-shirt. He said trying to calm himself down and filing terribly.
Harry leaned his head against the headrest as the music from his iPod filled his ears and he tried to relax. Closing his eyes he let the the calm voice of Florence Welsh settle his nerves. Opening his eyes he could see the skyline of the city he had never been to and always wanted to on the horizon. Unlocking his iPod he scrolled through his music and settled on Frank Sinatra. As the powerful voice of old blue eyes sang ‘New York, New York’ Harry felt his lips curling up into a grin and the nerves were gone.
He just wanted to get off the plane, stretch his legs, use the loo and see his sister. He was glad that he didn’t have go to baggage claim, just grab his suitcase from the overhead and slip his rucksack on his back, make it through customs and then see Gemma.
As New York drew closers the more Harry wanted to call Louis, message him but he was told not to and as much as he hated when he did this, he always played by the rules. He also knew now that when he was asking him those stupid random questions it was to distract him from this. The big surprise for no reason but he wanted Harry to be with him.
The plane's wheels hit the runway and Harry's hand gripped his arm rests as he squeezed his eyes closed. As they came to a stop everyone in the plane clapped as the flight attendant came back on to welcome them to New York City. Harry took his mobile off airplane mode and saw a few messages from Zayn and his mum and then one from Gemma. Replying he told her that he had just landed and would be where she was as soon as he could.
“And before we get off we have a special message for one passenger on this plane today,” Arthur, the flight attendant said as Harry removed his earbuds and listened to what she had to say. “Harry Styles, Louis wanted to tell you that he is glad you made it to New York safely and he looks forward to seeing your froggy face in a few hours and to make sure you pick up some black and white cookies on the way to the venue,” Arthur said as the entire plane laughed. “Whatever that means, I think someone is excited for their boyfriend to arrive so as a special request we are going to have Harry leave first, he is here to be escorted to a venue where he is a VIP for a concert event and his boyfriend who hasn’t seen him in two months is waiting for his ‘froggy face’.”
Harry felt his entire face turning red as Arthur smiled at him and gave him a wink. “And if you are wondering he does have a sort of froggy face, and since the poor man looks uncomfortable why don’t we add to that and clap for him once we get the okay for him to leave.”
Harry was going to kill Louis when he saw him. Kiss him and then kill him for all of this.
As soon as the plane was finished taxing and they were all clear the door was opened and Harry stood up, everyone on the flight began to clap for him as he smiled, his face heating up with embarrassment as he waved and fumbled to get his rucksack on his back and get his suitcase down. He hated this kind of attention and he feared he was going to wee himself if he didn’t get off the flight and to a loo. He thanked the flight attendant as he wheeled the suitcase out of the plane and up the walkway to the airport.
He was grateful for his long legs, as he made it through customs and towards where Gemma said that she was waiting for him. His rucksack felt heavy on his back as he walked and he wasn’t sure if he was going to cry or smile when he saw his sister. As he walked with the sea of passengers towards where everyone was waiting he could see his sister standing there, she was in her normal skinny jeans, a black jumper, black boots and a jean jacket with her hair down and sign that read ‘Welcome to New York Harold!’ with a sign of her and Harry in matching jumpers last Christmas.
“I hate you,” Harry laughed as he pulled his sister into a hug and she wrapped her arms around her brother. “Louis had this whole announcement made on the flight and I will kill him when I see him. After we snog, then I will kill him,” he laughed as Gemma gave her baby brother a kiss and they headed to her car.
“That I didn’t know he was doing that, but Harry that is really romantic that he did,” Gemma said and Harry knew. He was a romantic that everyone could see, Louis was a behind the scenes romantic, he would sneak the romance up on Harry and he wouldn’t see it coming. He always had something up his sleeve, a surprise for him be it New York, or tickets to see his favorite musical for the seventh time, or a fort made for them to watch the Tony Awards on a laptop hooked up to a telly. “Well, we are off to the hotel, you can change, I have some food for you in the car and cookies that Louis texted me about,” Gemma laughed shaking her head as she linked her arm with her brothers. “So, did you like his surprise?”
“How long did you know?” Harry asked as they walked into the parking garage.
Gemma pressed her lips together as she thought about that question, “ummm two weeks when he contacted me with the idea and needed to make sure all the pawns would work out and they did,” she explained as she dug into her purse and popped the boot of her car. She set her sign in the car as Harry put his his rucksack and suitcase in the boot. “Don’t give me that look Harry - it was a secret, and contrary to popular belief I can keep them. Plus when he called me he was so excited about it, he sounded like a kid on Christmas and I didn’t want to take that from him,” she told him as they both got into the car. Gemma started her car as she put on her seat belt and it made the click she turned to Harry who raised a brow, his sister had her serious face on now. “He sounded so in love with you and it made me happy that you were being treated how you should,” she smiled at him before reaching into the back seat and handing him a bag of food. “Eat, we are on a tight schedule.”
Harry laughed, opening up the bag he was happy to see a classic Gemma lunch for him with a banana, jelly bellies, a nutella sandwich and some crisps with a bottle of water. Harry sat in the car eating as his body ached from the flight and now sitting in a car, his mind was racing like a bullet train but his body was screaming at him to just close his eyes, lay his head against the window and sleep. He knew that if he did any of those things he would never wake up and all he wanted at this moment in time was to run and jump into Louis’s arms, or have Louis jump into his. Either way he wanted to hold him and kiss him and smell him, and look at his face and never let it go for a long, long time.
“So once we get to the hotel we have to leave at 3:45 the latest, Angela is going to meet us at the hotel so that will save time but that will get us to the venue around 4:15 which is when we need to be there,” Gemma explained to Harry as he licked the Nutella off his fingers and put the plastic bag that once contained his sandwich back into the brown bag and pulled out the banana.
“Angela is the one you work with and has a crazy ex?” Harry asked as he peeled the banana and broke off a piece and popped it into his mouth.
Gemma nodded her head as she began to slow down as they reached Manhattan.
“Do you know what hotel we are staying at?” He asked his mouth full of banana as he chewed. Gemma rolled her eyes at Harrold but replies anyway.
“Yes,” she replied as an evil smile spread across her lips and Harry rolled his eyes. He knew that she wasn’t going to tell him as much as he bugged her about it. Huffing a bit he finished off his banana as they pulled up to The Plaza Hotel. Harry’s jaw dropped a bit as Gemma smiled and put her car into park. “My brother is checking in, Harry Styles,” she said as the valet’s face lit up and he opened the door for Harry.
“Good afternoon Mr. Styles, your room is ready for you,” the valet said as Gemma handed them the keys after she popped the boot of the car and the porters headed over and grabbed his two bags. “How was your trip today?”
“Good,” Harry said a bit confused but he was going to go with it, knowing that this was all of Louis’s doing. “We have someone who is meeting us, Angela around 3:45,” he said as he and Gemma were being lead into the hotel with smiling faces from the hotel staff.
The first valet smiled and nodded his head as he pulled out a notepad and wrote that down. “We will have the car pulled around at 3:40 for you Mr. Styles and will ring up to the room when Angela has arrived.”
“Thank you,” Harry told him before he walked into the lobby of the hotel and he wanted to keep his cool, sure he had stayed at nice hotels but the Plaza was something from a dream. Taking a deep breath in his boots clicked over the marble floors as they walked up to the concierge desk.
“Mr. Styles and Ms. Gemma Styles,” the other valet said as the woman behind the desk smiled up at Harry.
“Welcome Mr. Styles, and Ms. Gemma,” she said as she opened up a drawer and pulled out a hotel key and a card that had Louis’s handwriting on it. “Mr. Tomlinson has checked in, and everything is ready for you up in the room, we are here all night long so if you or Mr. Tomlinson need anything just press zero and we will be more than pleased to help,” she said to him as she handed over the key. “The elevators are around the corner and Jaylnn will help you with your bags,” she explained as the other valet stood there holding Harry’s rucksack and suitcase. Harry wasn’t sure how to process this all but he followed the valet over to the lifts, as the doors slid open they entered and Jaylnn walked in and pressed 16 and they headed up.
Harry looked at the crisp white envelope, turning it over he was about to open it when Gemma slapped his hand. “My letter,” he said to her.
“When you get in the room,” she told him as Harry huffed. He hated this stupid game that Louis was playing.
When the lift came to a stop, the red light showed 16 and there was soft ding as the doors slid open. Harry headed on out with Gemma and Jaylnn following but soon he walked in front of Harry to lead him to his room. “Have you been to New York before Mr. Styles?” he asked them as they walked through the carpeted halls.
“Yes, last spring when my sister moved out here, I helped her move into her flat,” he said but that trip was so different from this one he wasn’t sure if he could even compare them. “This was a surprise trip by my boyfriend - he is here for a tour and it’s the last night and he flew me out to see the show,” he explained. “He isn’t famous - he is the producer and tour manager of the group.”
‘That is still very exciting,” Jaylnn told his as they stopped at the hotel door. “I can bring your bags in for you if you would like,” he offered.
Harry shook his head as he pulled out his billfold Jalynn held up his hand and shook his head. “Mr. Tomlinson has taken care of the tips this weekend Mr. Styles,” he told him truthfully as he set his bags down, thanking him again he headed back down the hallway as Harry grabbed the keycard and opened up the door. and his mouth dropped. “Bloody hell,” he uttered as he dropped his suitcase and rucksack and walked over to the window that looked out onto Central Park. Louis had out done himself, there they were in this grand suite, they walked into a rather larger sitting area that looked like something out of Downton Abbey. There was a desk that looked out the window that looked over Central Park, on the desk was a basket that Harry knew Louis had put in there for him. Walking over to the desk his hand rested on the all access pass as his eyes began to look inside the basket, there was tea, biscuits, popcorn, some of Harry’s favorite candies along with a bottle of lube, handcuffs and other things that he didn’t want nor need Gemma to see. Walking back over to his bags Harry picked them up and headed over into the bedroom. He knew that Louis had been there, his suitcase was laying on the ground and none of this clothes had been put away, but he had done his best to keep it clean.
“Can I read this now?” he asked Gemma from the bedroom.
“Yes,” she called back as Harry took a seat on the edge of the bed, toeing off his black boots as he tore open the white white envelope. Pulling out a card that had a bunch of bananas on them Harry felt a chuckle escape his mouth as his hands opened it up, and his eyes looked at the fairly nice handwritten card by Lou.
BannaBoy,
Welcome!!! I know by now you want to kill me for the airplane, you are also feeling odd with having people cater to you, but you slightly enjoy it at the same time. I can’t wait to see you in about an hour now! Go and shower, your body will be happy that you did, change into the most rock star outfit you have - which is basically your entire wardrobe when you aren’t being a teacher. I love you Hazza and I can’t wait to have this mini vacation. Oh also in the bottom of the basket is some stuff for tonight so you better decide what you want to use first (;
Love
SassMaster 28
Harry felt his lips curve up into a smile as he set the car on the bed next to him and his entire body seemed to itch to text Louis. No, he had to be good, he was going to play this game of Louis’s and he was going to indulge him as much as he hated it for he never knew that was coming next for Louis was unpredictable when it comes to his surprises. Fighting the urge to lay down on the bed Harry stood up, setting his boots next to the dresser in the room as he walked over to the doorway and looked at his sister who was on her mobile, “I’m going to shower and get dressed for the show,” he told her. “If you want to order anything or what not you can, I’m sure Lou has it all covered,” he told her as he turned to grab his things to shower when he stopped and turned back around at his sister. He was going to try and crack her, “I also know you know more than you are letting on with all that is going on.”
“I honestly don’t, I was just texted instructions on what to do next so you can stop trying to break me,” she told him sticking out her tongue at Harry as he threw his hands up in the air while Gemma laughed at him. “Do you want anything to eat?”
“No,” Harry said as he could hear his stomach growling yet again, he was too nervous to keep down food and his bladder was already the size of a small puppy so he would pass in the tea.
Grabbing his suitcase from the ground Harry sat it on the stand that Louis had set up for him, unzipping it he grabbed the bag of toiletries, tossing that onto the bed he grabbed his casual skinny jeans, a black t-shirt and then his gold boots thinking that would be decent to wear to a show. Setting that option on his bed he then grabbed the salmon color button up shirt with four thin zigzagged black lines that went across the top. Maybe he would dress it up a bit for seeing Louis again. Closing his eyes he knew that he could fall asleep standing up, but he was on a schedule, opening his eyes back up he headed into the bathroom.
Locking the door he turned the shower on letting water heat up as he got his shampoo, conditioner and leave in treatment for his hair. Harry slowly slipped out of his skinny jeans, oversized grey jumper, folding them up and setting them on the counter as he took the hair tie out and letting his long, and dirty hair fall down onto his bare back. Making his way back to the shower, Harry stuck his under the water to make sure that it was warm enough he stepped in and let the warm water fall on his dirty hair, tired body, and cold body.
Louis was right, the warm water felt amazing on his body and he could feel the muscles relaxing as he stood there in the shower, his hair weighed down by the water. Harry closed his eyes and pictured seeing Louis again, sure he had built up this grand idea what would happen when he saw him again, but who wouldn’t? As much as he pictured crazy ideas, or the textbook sappy reunion he would be happy with a hug, kiss and him taking him by his hand and taking him out by the side of the stage and watching as the girls performed, Louis’s arms wrapped around his waist as Harry leaned into him and they hummed along.
Grabbing his shampoo he lathered his hair up and watched as the suds fell around his feet, his hair feeling less vile from the flight. He repeated with the conditioner, running his hands through his wet curls to get it all through his hair before rinsing it and then washing his entire body. Shutting the water off he grabbed a towel, bending over her wrapped the towel around the top of his head and then took the other one and wrapped it around his waist. Harry made a mental note to say they would need more towel (Louis had left some stuff in that basic that would lead him to believe shower sex would be on the list of things they would be doing while in New York). Taking his hand he cleared off a space on the mirror to see his face, rolling his eyes he saw the small breakout that happened just a few days ago, no matter how old he got he was still the 16 year old boy who had horrible breakouts.
“You are seeing Lou, not the bloody Queen no need to be nervous,” Harry reminded himself as he brushed his teeth, getting rid of the taste of airplane tea and morning breath, he took the towel out of his hair, taking his brush he combed knots out of his curls and applied the leave in conditioner to help them look more curly than the flat rag that normally sat atop his head.
“I’m coming out with a towel on,” Harry called out to his sister as he scooped up his clothes and headed into the bedroom with the door still open. “How much time do I have?”
“10 minutes,” Gemma said as she covered her eyes and spoke to her brother. “Also had a nice little shirt made for you to wear tonight to give Louis a good chuckle,” she said as Harry set his dirty clothes on the bed and saw the black shirt with white letters that read ‘I’m here for the Tour Manager’ on it.
Harry walked over and shut the bedroom door before dropping his towel and slipping on his black skinny jeans, his legs still a bit wet, so he had to jump to get them up his legs, he then slipped the shirt over his wet hair, rolling his sleeves he looked in the mirror and was happy with the fit, and he knew Louis would get a laugh about the shirt, as would all the girls when they saw him in it. Sitting on the edge of the bed Harry slipped on his black socks before he reached behind him and grabbed his gold boots and slipped them onto his feet.
“Do I need a jacket?”
“No,” Gemma called out to him and he grabbed his jean jacket anyway and slipped it on over to the top before he put his mobile into his back pocket along with his billfold. Tossing the towels back into the bathroom, he folded up his clothes and put them in the suitcase before leaving the bedroom as Gemma was waiting by the hotel door. Holding her hand out Harry grabbed his laminet as they left the room and headed back down to the car. “So you ready for a fun night?”
“Yes, are you driving back I don’t want you drinking if you will be driving,” Harry explained to Gemma as they got into the lift and headed down to the lobby.
“I will have a few and if I need to uber home then I shall, you don’t need to act like a big brother Harry, I got this okay?” She asked him as Harry wrapped his arm around his sister shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
“I know, but I want to make sure that you are okay,” he said.
“I am,” she said poking him in his side as his entire body flinched causing Gemma to burst out laughing, covering her face as a man in a suit and a sullen face entered with a woman in a black dress and pearls who smelled too strongly of perfume walked onto the lift, both of them giving them a look before turning away from them. Harry turned his head as he could feel a laugh bubbling up inside of him as Gemma hummed to try and calm herself down. As soon as the door opened the couple walked out with Harry and Gemma following them as Jaylnn smiled them as they headed towards the front door.
“Ms. Angela is here and the car is ready Mr. Styles.”
“Harry please,” he said to him as another valet he hadn’t seen before opened the door for them and they headed to Gemma’s car where Angela stood. Gemma gave her friend a hug and made a quick introduction before they got into the car and headed to the Brooklyn Bowl. “How long till we get there?”
“Some is an eager beaver,” Gemma said as she put the car into drive and headed towards Brooklyn, Harry flicked Gemma in the arm as she slapped him on the backside of his head.
“Okay, I love you Gemma, and I'm sure I will love you to Harold but I would love to live more so stop,” Angela said looking up from her mobile from the backseat. “So hands to yourself, let your sister drive and we are 21 minutes from the venue,” she explained as Harry crossed his arms over his chest and turned to look out the window.
“Thanks for the shirt.”
“Thank you for dating a music producer who has connections for me to see shows and get tickets to music festivals without having to wait on my laptop till they go on sale.”
“Seems like a fair trade,” laughed Angela as Harry shrugged. “So Harry how did you and Louis meet? Gemma said it was a weird story.”
“His mates made a profile for him on a dating site because they were all drunk, I messaged him he said he didn’t want a relationship but we kept talking and then he said he liked me and I said I liked him and we have been dating since then.”
There was a long pause from Angela as she leaned forward and looked at Harry, her brown eyes narrowing at him as he looked back at her, his eyebrow arched as his lips pressed together. “The fact that this isn’t a lie, and not some really shitty plot of a Hallmark film makes me somewhat happy about life,” she admitted. “Well kudos to both of you, I will thank him for the wonderful hook up with the pass when I see him - or if I see him - from the way Gemma says you two will be sucking face until you get back to London.”
Harry opened his mouth to speak but Gemma was right. Closing his mouth he smiled and shrugged as he turned back to look out the window. His heart began to race as they drew closer to the venue. He was in the hands of his sister, he had no idea what to expect when they got there, if there was going to be another bloody note, or if he was going to just smile at him be doing work, or if he was even going to see him before the show began. Pressing his forehead against the window, his eyes felt heavy but his heart grew light as the came to the venue. Gemma pulled around the back where the tour bus was and then he saw the famous sprinter van that Louis hated with every fiber in his being. Parking in a reserved spot Gemma put the car in park, turned it off and got out. Harry wanted to but his feet felt like lead but he wanted to run through the door.
“Chop, chop your lover waits for you,” Gemma joked as Harry got out of the car, shut the door and followed his sister since she knew where she was going apparently. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket they flashed their passes and headed into the back of the venue.
Harry could hear the people out by the stage, there was small conversation and the house music was playing as everyone was still heading into the venue and the girls weren’t to be on stage for a while now, there was a smell of stale beer, sweat, mixed in with cheap perfume. Harry’s eyes looked around as he wanted to see Louis is passing but his eyes first landed on Logan who came from a side hallway of the venue.
“Harold!” Logan yelled as she pulled Harry into a hug. “Louis told us today you were coming and I wanted to punch him. We had been bothering him asking him if you were going to see you and he would just make a stupid face and walk away, or he would flick us off and put his headphones in, if we were in the van.”
Harry laughed as he waved to Mary who made a face and blew him a kiss. “I guess Gemma and her friend went to the bar….” Harry said as he saw she had gone. “Where is Lou?”
“Oh, he is in the greenroom,” Logan said. “We all have our own things we do before the show and he sits in the greenroom and writes in his journal but yeah so head down the hall third door on the right,” Logan said as Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek and made his way down the hallway, his gold boots clicking on the floor as he walked as fast as humanly possible.
The door was slightly open as Harry walked towards the door, he heard Louis talking but he wasn't sure if he was on his mobile or not. Drawing closer his ears perked up as he heard what Louis was talking about, his chest growing tight and he wasn't sure if he should enter. Pushing the door open he walked through the door as he waits till Louis finished talking, his entire body froze as he stood in the doorway as he listened to the words coming out of Louis’s mouth and what was in his hand.
---
27 October 1:00 am
“The letter had been delivered,” Niall hissed through the phone as his teeth chattered from the cold. “Now I am going to get coffee before coming back to get Harry in little over an hour,” he explained as he unlocked the door to his Range Rover and got in. “You know if I didn’t love you then I wouldn’t be this stupid to always do this.”
“I told you, I will buy you Nandos for a month,” Louis told him as he laid in the hotel bed and looked up at the ceiling, he was to nervous to sleep, to anxious about what the next 24 hours held in store for him. His heart might give out from anxiety before the 24 hours were up so he might not even be able to do what he had planned.
“Two,” Niall corrected him shutting the door and started the car turning the heat all the way to warm his cold body. “You know what you are doing is very romantic, I explained to to Jacq what you were doing”- Niall tried to say when Louis let out a loud moan. “Oh shut it, she isn’t going to wake up, call Harry and spoil it. She is asleep and will be when I get back as well.”
“Whatever,” Louis said rolling his eyes, sitting up in the bed he stretched out his back as he listened to Niall mumble about something on the other end of the phone. “You think he will figure it out?”
“No,” admitted Niall as he put his car into gear and pulled out into the deserted streets of London. “He is smart, but I’m sure this has taken him by such a shock he won’t realize all that is going on, so you are in the clear. Now I’m going to hang up, get food and coffee and taxi Niall will be headed back to get your boo and help transport him to you.”
Louis shook his head as he got up from the bed and began to walk around his single hotel room. He had to be up in six hours for meetings about potential bands to sign and then he had a conference call with 5 Seconds of Summer before he had to get to the venue. “Thanks Niall,” Louis told him as he stood, taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “I mean it Niall, thank you.”
There was a pause on the other end Louis knew Niall was smiling. “You are my mate, like a brother to me Louis and I’m always here for you now go and get some sleep, don’t want to fuck up this meeting with 5SOS.”
“Har, har, har,” Louis told him shaking his head. “Let me know when he gets to the airport.”
“I shall,” Niall said to him. “Now sleep. Bye,” he sang out as he hung up the phone and Louis stood there in the middle of the hotel room. He had his bag packed, he had to wake up and go and check into the Plaza tomorrow and get everything squared away and then head to the Sony offices.
“I should shower now, and then I can get to sleep,” Louis told himself as he tossed his mobile on the bed as his bare feet moved across the dark carpeted floor of the hotel room and to the tile floor of the loo. Walking over to the shower he turned the water on and let it warm up, he wasn’t sure if he was going to sleep after this, but he needed a good shower and shave. More so for Harry and not his meetings, he didn’t have the proper clothes for meetings so he had to make due with the jeans and t-shirts he (or Harry since he hated to pack) had packed for him to wear. Louis slipped off his jogging pants and pulled the dirty t-shirt over his head and kicked them into a pile on the floor as he stepped into the shower.
The water ran over his body, he ran his hands through his wet hair and let out a sigh. He wasn’t sure Harry was going to be clueless on what was going on, sure he everything planned, things to throw him off but deep down he knew he probably knew what was going on. Pressing his head against the tile wall he had the shower head aimed at his back - the muscles in his back were stiff from the sprinter van and the semi shitty hotel mattress he had been sleeping on the past few nights. “Pull yourself together Tomlinson,” Louis mumbled to himself as he looked down at his feet. “It will all go as planned, Gemma will play her part and then you will see him. The day will go by fast and you won’t have to worry.”
Standing up Louis quickly washed his hair and the rest of his body, running his hands over his face he needed to get the stubble off his face, he wanted a clean face for when he snogged the living life out of Harry. As the water began to run cold he turned off the shower and grabbed a towel wrapping it around his body and grabbing a smaller one as he dried off his hair walking out of the shower and back out into the bedroom.
“Okay pants, and bed, I will shave in the morning,” Louis told himself walking over to his duffel and pulling out a pair of black pants and dug through and found a semi dirty shirt and slipped it on his sem dry body. Picking up the towel from the floor he tossed it back into the bathroom and grabbed his old clothes to shove them into his bag before crawling into bed. His body was tired, it ached for the bed, sheets, duvet and pillow. But Louis’s mind - that was a whole other story. His mind racing with every possible scenarios of what could happen when he was reunited with Harry again, some were good while others were disasters. It was Harry, just Harry. The tall man who sang along while cooking dinner, wore big oversized jumpers, skinny jeans and weird colourful socks, the man who baked cookies for his students and would always make enough for Louis and Niall, the man who would stay up and help Louis with presentations, or the man who would just sit with him, his nose in a book while Louis was doing work. Harry was unlike anyone he had ever met, his heart was two times bigger than the average human heart, his capacity to love even when Louis was being a twat was greater than his families even, his outlook on life was positive where he saw the world full of love and color when most people saw black and white.
“You got it bad Tomlinson,” Louis told himself as he fell onto the bed his back first. He did, but he didn’t want to change the feeling he had. The constant butterflies in his stomach when he saw him, the way he felt when they kissed, or made love, or the simple way that he looked at Harry and there was his whole world. “Sleep,” he told himself closing his eyes as he knew his alarm would be going off at 6 for him to get ready, four short hours and he had to be a functioning human being. He had done it for the past few months so what would be new now?
Counting sheep, you see that in movies maybe that works….. Louis thought to himself as he began to picture sheep and count. One, two, three, four, five, six months I’ve been dating Harry, seven, eight hours and Harry lands in New York City, nine, ten, I feel like a ten year old seeing his crush again, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen hours of sex is what I would love to have with him, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen this isn’t fooking working he said to himself as he rolled over onto his side and looked at the tan wall that he knew was there in the dark. Okay, now what. Louis thought to himself as he tried to find something to focus on that wasn’t Harry, or him in New York, or anything that was going to happen in the next 24 hours.
Flat, think of the flat. Make a list of what needs to be done before we move in. Okay good, paint. Grey walls in the bedroom make it simple. Harry likes clean and simple as do I. We will need to figure out whose bed is going to be in our bedroom, well he has a full and I have a king so mine and we can put his in the guest room. Yes that is sorted then. We need better kitchen stuff, I have next to nothing and Harry’s are old or he borrows from his neighbor. So we make a trip to the store, that will be fun, shopping for our first flat together. Very domestic, like we are. Maybe we can paint the spare room purple. Or a wall purple if he likes that idea, or red. Oooo, no I like red better… maybe we could just have wallpaper with his face and plaster it all over the walls. No Louis, that is something from a creepy ass horror film….
As Louis kept thinking about what needed to be done his body slowly drifted into a light sleep.
---
10:05 am
“So we listened to your work and it’s fucking sick,” Ashton said as he sat on the couch next to Luke and Mikey while Calum sat in a chair. The Skype meeting with the boys in the band had gone fantastic and Louis was very excited that they would want to work with him, and his label. “Dylan sent us an email and he had nothing but brilliant things to say about you.”
“He was to kind, he helped me finish a song I had been stuck on so he is pretty brilliant if I do say so myself," Louis paused as he leaned forward and smiled at the four very unique and talented men in the other side of the screen and he wanted to write for them- needed to write with them. "I know that you guys have a sound that is far different that August Winds but it will be something I would like to tackle with you. When I write I write impact lives, and I know that is what you lads what to do with music so I truly think that we will make a good team," he cleared his throat as he saw his phone screen light up with Gemma texting him. "If you want I can write something and send you a sample and if you like it we can work together and if you find it complete shite, which you could, we can chalk Dylan talking me up to being drunk from way too much Jack,” Louis laughed sitting back in his desk chair. “And I know look like a bloody fanboy wearing his band's shirt - it was the only thing clean.”
“We understand that,” Michele laughed as he pushed his purple hair to the side of his face. “No, mate we love your stuff and we want to work with you now. We just need to set up a time, we have a summer tour and we will be in London area we can have a few days off and get together and write if you can do that?”
“Yeah, we can do it at my flat and I can get studio time for us to run a few dry runs and see how it will sound and try out a few options if we need to,” Louis told them. “I will have contracts drawn up to make it official and if you need to we can meet up in New York, or even Australia,” he suggested, “I’ve never been there.”
“We will invite you and show you the native ways,” Luke said as Louis was a bit worried and they laughed as he was sure his face looked scared. “No worries mate, we won’t send you off into the desert and it be like a scene from the Inbetweeners Film.”
“Cheers for that,” Louis added as he tapped his hand on the table, his body was itching to for a smoke but he had to be good, he wanted to be good and not give into temptation “Well I will let you lads get back to your life, and thank you again for meeting with me. I will email your management team the contract and will send you lads a message and if you have any ideas running around your head just send me a text and we can even brainstorm over skype. Hell, I wrote notes for this meeting on the back a receipt from Chipotle.”
“Our kinds of songwriter,” Calum laughed as Louis turned his head and saw Peyton at the door with a smile on her face and files in her hand. She had grown up since Louis had last seen her and it was nice to see her auditing, when he clearly wasn't. “I’m sure you are busy and if you and your boyfriend are ever in Australia let us know, we are enjoying our break before we go back on tour and start working on our fourth album.”
“Well I am honoured to be a part of it lads have a brilliant day,” Louis told them as he smiled and he ended the skype call as the glass door opened up and Peyton walked in, her blonde curls bouncing as she took a seat at the table and set the stack of files down for Louis. “Hello to you too,” he said noticing she was in a dress, heeled boots and had makeup on. "Someone is fancy today."
“I had meetings," she clarified leaning towards Louis as she pointed a finger at him with a serious face, "you should have told me you were coming and not hear Dan go 'Louis is here in e conference room I'm making a coffee run want anything' like it was if he said 'there are cats falling from the sky I'm going to get coffee want some," Peyton explained to Louis as he shrugged and gave her a smug childish face that he used to get away with something.
"It was a last minute thing," Louis admitted to her as she rolled her eyes and rolled her chair over and gave Louis a hug. "Hugging really P? We Skype more than I do my family."
"But you are here in person you cock," she said squeezing her arms around his neck. "I owe that shirty internship for this weird ass friendship that we have."
Patting her hands Peyton let go and rolled her chair back over to the side of the table where the small stack of files laid along with other papers that hopefully had nothing to do with Louis for he had to leave in a few minutes
"Okay what are those?”
“Bands, not all are for you, I have about five they are based in England, Dublin, one in Paris and then a few in other towns in England area,” she explained to him as she grabbed the top files and handed them over to Louis. “Can I help you?” she asked as he grabbed her hand and looked down at the massive ring on it. “Yes, Max asked, I said yes, he took a desk job to show that he was serious which I know is hard a hell for him,” she explained as Louis’s brows rose and he couldn’t help but smile.
“I’m happy for you, and he will have a rough few months getting use to not being on the road, it comes with the territory but he will get use to it,” Louis assured her as he opened up and looked in the files. “I have emailed you a few things that have come my way, but I would like to set up tour with a band, I will email you the details and as much as I would love to stay and chat but I have to get to the Brooklyn Bowl, and my boyfriend is landing in a few hours. I surprised him with a trip and I’m sure that you have a lot of questions now,” Louis said as he shut his laptop and began to pack up.
Peyton sat there, her mouth opened as she looked at Louis confused. As much as Louis would love to torture her with details about Harry had had to pack up his belongings and get over to Brooklyn.
“We met last year at Halloween and we started dating back in April,” Louis told her sliding the files into his rucksack as he un-plugged his laptop and wrapped up the cords.
“Like dating dating?”
“Yes, we live together, we say I love you, have lots of really good sex, met each other's families,” Louis told her putting his mac into the case and sliding that into his rucksack. "I have until I get on the lift to answer your questions," he said standing up and finishing packing up his bag.
“Name?” Peyton asked him standing up as Louis grabbed his jacket and rucksack as they headed out of the conference room towards the lifts.
“Harry.”
“Age?”
“27.”
“Job?”
“Teacher, year 3.”
"Does he have tattoos?”
“Yes,” Louis said as they walked towards the lift. “Any more?”
“Why?”
Louis pressed the down arrow as he waited for the lift, opening up his mouth he shut it and thought about how to answer it. “He makes me feel like I’m 18, he loves me for who I am and he sees the world in a way that no one else does and it’s beautiful. He makes me feel as if I can conquer the world and he will be there with me to help. I love him Peyton, and while I was a cold hearted bastard who was against relationships, Harry tore down those walls and here I am, a man who is madly in love, flew his boyfriend to New York as a surprise and has to go do a soundcheck.”
As the lift reached the floor, the doors opened up and Louis stepped in. “Come to the Brooklyn Bowl tonight, bring Max and you can meet Harry, will that make you happy?”
“Yes! I will be there!”
“I will put you on the guest list P,” Louis told her with a mile as the doors closed and the lfit headed down to the lobby. As he stood in the lift, he watched as he headed down and he knew that Harry would be landing in a few hours and then he had to stop himself from messaging him. As the doors opened Louis walked through the lobby and out to the car that he had ordered for him to bring him to the venue. “Brooklyn Bowl,” Louis said as the driver headed on his way, lipping his mobile out of the pocket and sent a message to the girls.
I am on my way to the venue now, when you get in grab your things you need for the greenroom from Grease Lightening. We will be up first for sound check and there is a pizza place nearby we can get a beer and pizza before the show - LT
Also Harry will be here tonight so no pressure but you have to kick ass (:- LT
Closing out of that message Louis pulled up the one with Gemma, he wanted to make sure things were still running smoothly on her end.
We all good to go- Louis
Hey stranger, and yes, I am leaving now to go and pick him up and head over to The Plaza and then to the Brooklyn Bowl - Gemma
Thanks again Gemma - Louis
See you soon Lou - Gemma
Setting his phone on his leg he began to tap to the song that was going round and round around in his head. Crossing over from Manhattan to Brooklyn. His nerves were kicking in now, he could feel his palms sweating and his heart was racing faster than it did when he watched the girls perform live or the first time.
You got this, Louis told himself as the taxi pulled over to the venue. Louis handed him the money as he got out and grabbed his rucksack and headed into the venue. He flashed his pass as he walked in and smiled as the girls were starting to set up and he had made it there in time.
“Sorry I’m late,” Louis told them as they stopped and all looked at him. “What?” He wasn't sure if they were made he was late or that he had disappeared so early that morning. "What......."
“You can’t just tell us ‘oh hey btw Harry is coming,’ like really Lou?” Mary asked him as he smiled at her showing his teeth in a cheesy smile on his face. “Well we get to each buy him a drink, and talk to him since you never told us.”
“No.”
“Uh, yes,” she told him as he set his rucksack down and helped them get the stage set up. "You can't had him forever, if he is dating you we need to approve and we'll get to know him since we are a family- your words not mine."
"Damn me," Louis laughs shaking his head as they got the Amos and everything set up and hooked up on stage.
“Mar is right Lou,” Rylee told him as she plugged in her guitar and set it on the stand. “You have been keeping him tucked away but then you go all out and fly him to New York. What are you up to?”
“I miss him,” Louis told them and he feared they would catch on to what he was doing. “I miss sex," he said which wasn't a lie, he did but he needed a good cover for the other reason he brought Harry out to New York.
“Called it,” Roslynn laughed as Louis rolled his eyes and Logan handed her 20 dollars. "A friendly bet, after you had to stop and wank off at a mortar service station we have been keeping a bet when and why you would bring him out- besides the fact you love him like Niall loves Nandos and I love Chipotle."
Louis wanted to hit them all, they had turned into his sisters and the conversation had gone from professional to this, his sex life “Okay, let’s run through the cover song and we can sing one of Logan’s picks,” Louis told them as he jumped off the stage as the man behind the soundboard gave the girls a thumbs up as they got their instruments tuned and then began to play “Faithfully’ but Journey they always sang in the middle of the set. As they played Louis listened to make sure that the sound was good, his arms crossed over his chest as Rylee sang out into the microphone. Louis made a few notes and handed them to the soundboard guy for the drums, bass and Mary’s microphone. The changes were quickly made and the girls sounded like a 10. They ran through Little Mix's song ‘Black Magic’.
Hey I have Harry - Gemma
We made it to the hotel - Gemma
Okay we are headed to you now. I know that you are working but I wanted to make sure that you have an update on what is going on - Gemma
Where should we go when we arrive - Gemma
Hey, I just got to the greenroom and checked my mobile. Come around the back and you can park at the sprinter van and then just come on in the back. You have the passes so you will be fine, no one will question you. - Louis
See you soon Mr. Tomlinson - Gemma
Exhaling Louis gave the girls a thumbs up as they finished and headed back to the greenroom where they were going to get some tea and figure out dinner. Louis grabbed his rucksack and followed them as the girls checked their mobiles and talked about what they wanted for dinner.
“So dinner?” Roslynn
“We were going to head to the dinner down the street and hang out until we have to be back at 4:15 ish….. we have to be on stage at 6,” Logan said as Louis set his bag and jacket on a chair and nodded his head. “You want to join?”
“I’m going to stay here, I have a few things I need to email out, and we'll have a few other things to do around the venue,” Louis lied to them as they all grabbed their purses and headed out.
“Okay weird,” Rylee said as they waved and headed on out of the venue and Louis stood there in the greenroom. Opening up his rucksack he dug to the bottom and pulled out a black box. Sitting it on the table where there was snacks, beer, tea, water and a mirror. Standing up straight, he adjusted his grey baseball shirt he got from Dylan, he didn’t look nice and fancy but that is who he was. The skinny jeans, the weight he gained while on tour and the scuffed up white high top chucks he had put on his feet.
“You got this Tomlinson, it’s just another day. It’s a concert, the girls will smash it, you will be fine, Harry will be so happy to see you, and he will smile and you will embrace, kiss, we will have a great time together tonight, tomorrow frolick around the city and be happy,” he said as he looked down at the box. Biting his bottom lip he reached down and picked it up, opening it up he looked at the simple silver band that was engraved inside with the simple words, ‘always in my heart’.
“Harry, I know that it’s only been a year since we met but I feel that in that year - no that is shite,” Louis said shaking his head as he took the ring out of the box and held it in his hand.
“I love you. I have loved you since you messaged me last Halloween even though I didn’t know that I loved you at that point in my life. You took the time to get to know me, to see how my mind works, you listen when I talk, you let me vent, cry, and just sit there in silence when I need to. You always know what to say when I need it most, and you know when to act. You have embraced my crazy job, hours and life but it’s not just my life I want anymore. I want my life to be our life. I want to wake up and see your face, I want to be home and have you tell me about teacher nights and I want you to be my sexy arm candy to events, but more importantly I want to spend Christmas wrapped up in blankets together by a fire, I want to raise children with you, I want to grow old with you and I will love you forever and always Harry, with all of that said I would love for you to do me the honour of being my husband, taking my last name and living in wedding bliss for the rest of our lives,” Louis said as the words rolled off his tongue and he seemed pleased with that speech.
“Louis,” came a voice as Louis looked up and turned and saw Harry. He was still holding the ring as Harry stood there, looking like Harry, tall, lanky and in a silly shirt that read ‘I’m Here For The Tour Manager’.
Louis smiled, his body automatically kneeling down on his knee he held up the ring, "hi," he managed to say.