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Niall was having a bad day.
A very bad day.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Niall was having the worst day of his life. For a guy that’s had his teeth reconstructed from the ground up and his knee practically replaced, that’s saying a lot.
His terrible day started with burnt toast and runny eggs. His alarm had woken him up late and that was all they had left at the food table when he finally managed to get down there. His runny eggs didn’t settle well with his stomach and he had to sit on a toilet for the next hour hoping that his insides would stay on the inside.
When that ordeal was over, he arrived to sound check late. His in-ear monitor wasn’t calibrated correctly and he spent the first hour of the concert singing horribly out of tune and the second half with his mic just turned off.
After the concert, he crawled into his bunk on the tour bus and never wanted to come out. When he finally emerged to join the others for something to eat, his face was pink and splotchy, but it certainly wasn’t from crying.
It absolutely wasn’t from crying for over an hour in his bunk alone.
And he absolutely, positively, didn’t have a headache from all of the not crying in his bunk.
He sat down at the small communal table that was used as a kitchen table, a playing card table, a meeting spot, and occasionally, a bed.
Niall laid his head down on the table, using it for the latter.
Harry slid his arms around his friend and tried to give him a hug, but it felt more like he was smothering poor Niall. Niall let out a soft squeak. “I can’t breathe.”
Harry released Niall from the hug and ran his fingers through Niall’s blonde hair. Harry twisted his fingers trying to give Niall’s hair little temporary curls, but Niall’s hair stubbornly resisted Harry’s styling. Harry saw that Niall’s shoulders were shaking and even though he was unable to see his friend’s face, he was pretty sure he was crying.
Harry tried to approach the situation as delicately as possible, but he was Harry after all. “Guys, Niall’s crying. Come do something.”
Niall didn’t look up, but he heard two pairs of footsteps rushing over.
He tried to suck the tears back into his eyes, but that’s impossible, so instead he looked up at three concerned faces through tear filled eyes.
Liam was the first to speak. “Niall. What’s wrong?”
Niall took a deep breath. He was positive that ‘I had a bad day so I’m crying’ was the worst excuse ever for crying, but he was too sad and exhausted to lie.
He sniffed. “I had a bad day. It’s like, everything went wrong and I just - .” More embarrassing tears clouded his vision, so he laid his head back on the table, burying his face in his arms.
Liam nodded compassionately. “We’ve all been there, mate. The important thing is that you put it behind you and carry on into tomorrow.”
Niall’s voice was muffled as he stayed face down on the table. “I don’t want to carry on. It’s not just a bad day. I’ve been having bad days for weeks now and they keep getting worse. I just want to lay here and disappear.”
Louis sat down on the other side of Niall. “You can’t let this get you down. Why don’t you play a song on your guitar? That always cheers you up.”
Niall looked up at Louis with a fresh set of tears. “My guitar broke the other day when I fell out of my bunk and put my foot through it.” Just talking about it sent a tingle to his bandaged foot.
Louis nodded slowly. “Um… what about writing a song? I know that after a hard day, writing it out helps.”
Niall sniffed. “My laptop isn’t working. Harry spilled tea on it yesterday.”
Harry smiled. “I can fix that. You can use mine.”
Niall smiled for the first time in a long time. The thought of a distraction from the string of bad days that he was having brought a smile to his face and happiness into his heart. That happiness ended almost immediately as the runny eggs from his disastrous morning gurgled uncomfortably in his stomach.
Not only did he have to ask the bus driver to pull over (because he really couldn’t use the tour bus bathroom for that), but his embarrassment was coupled with misery when it started to rain as he was taking care of business outside.
When he was positive the eggs were more than done torturing him, he let the rain wash over him. The tour bus didn’t have a shower, so this was the closest thing. The pouring rain wasn’t refreshing and cleansing like a nice warm shower, mainly because he was fully clothed and it was freezing. It was as if the metaphoric dark cloud that had been hanging over him took shape and rained down on him.
The rain was freezing, but he stayed there as long as he could before tempting someone to come looking for him.
He collected himself and stepped onto the bus. His friends were in the back playing video games so thankfully the only one who had to see his saturated, shivering self was the bus driver.
Niall gave the bus driver a nod and the bus driver gave a nod of silent acknowledgement back.
Niall’s wet shoes squeaked as he walked to his bunk. He reached for his suitcase over his bunk and pulled out some dry clothes. He slipped into them and was about to climb into his bunk, but something caught his attention.
Harry’s laptop was sitting on the table. It was open and a screensaver of an animated banana doing a thrusting like dance played across the screen. Oddly enough, that’s not what caught his attention. What caught his attention was the light streaming from the screen in the relatively dark bus.
The light drew him in. It was almost like an unspoken promise to offer some light to ward against the dark cloud that continued to hang over him.
Niall walked over to the laptop and sat at the table. There was a post-it next to the laptop in Harry’s handwriting. Niall recognized the series of numbers and letters as a code to unlock the computer, but Harry’s barely legible handwriting caused Niall to fail a few times before gaining access.
The computer sprang to life and Niall opened up a blank page in the writing software.
He sighed as he started to write.
Bad days blind sunny rays, but carry on ‘cuz….
Niall paused as he looked at the unfinished phrase. He sighed to himself as he deleted it. “Nah. That’s too impersonal.”
He tried again.
My bad days always blind sunny rays, but I carry on…
He deleted that just as quickly.
He mumbled to himself. “I can’t even do this right.”
He closed the program and went to close the lid of the laptop, but something on the screen made him stop.
He had closed the writing program, but the internet was still up and what Harry was last looking at was written on the screen.
Niall squinted to read the words in front of him.
Niall’s fingers gently stroked against the string of his guitar as the Irish boy played a private concert for Harry. Harry’s lips curled into a smile, revealing his heart along with his dimples. Harry’s voice was low and raspy, hitting the bass strings of Niall’s soul. “I love the way you play.”
Niall gasped as he shut the laptop with a resounding snap. He whispered to no one in particular. “That was fanfiction.”
He cracked the laptop open again slowly, but the only thing greeting him was the sign in screen.
He leaned back in his seat. This wasn’t the first time he had seen fanfiction. When One Direction was first formed, he was a normal, curious teenage male and he wanted to see everything the press or fans wrote about him and his band mates. This curiosity had turned into reading multiple story summaries about Harry and Louis having various secret, and a few not so secret, romantic ‘entanglements’.
Niall had passed over the stories and never thought too much more about it. He figured that he wasn’t included, aside from a cameo as a minor character, so he wasn’t too interested.
This story was different.
This story was very different.
Niall slowly entered the computer password and the story sprung back to the screen.
He blinked a few times, trying to focus his eyes again. He wasn’t a curious, teenage boy like he was those years ago. He was a man… and he was sitting in front of a screen… reading a fanfiction.
His scrolled down and discovered a few of the people that liked the story had male names. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Ok, I’m not the only one.”
He used this brotherhood of fanfiction readers to convince him to scroll back up and continue reading.
Harry’s voice was low and raspy, hitting the bass strings of Niall’s soul. “I love the way you play.”
“I love the way you play too,” the blonde hummed as his blue eyes danced across his muse.
“Play some more,” Harry pleaded. “I never want it to end.”
Niall shook his head and clicked his tongue offering a tutting sound. “Nothing lasts forever. The sun sets every day Harry.”
“Not always,” Harry argued. “Not when my sun is you.”
Harry leaned forward. His lips trembled with nervous energy. He had never shared his feelings with Niall, choosing to keep his love locked away. He tossed aside all of his fears and put his hand gently on Niall’s cheek. The only barrier between them now was the physical barrier of Niall’s guitar.
Harry’s heart stopped when Niall pulled away, but his love was refreshed when he realized Niall had only moved away so that he could swing his guitar over his shoulder and onto his back.
Harry leaned forward once again, physically closer into Niall’s world, and kissed the older boy gently, but with purpose. The warmth radiated from Niall’s lips and Harry smiled against his musician.
“Not when my sun is you.”
Harry’s voice was replaced by Liam’s. “What’cha looking at?”
The screen was facing Niall, not Liam, but Niall slammed the laptop shut all the same.
Liam’s expression shifted from confusion to a sly smirk. “I see. Well that could definitely brighten a sour day, mate.”
Niall’s voice cracked. “I’m not watching porn with the sound off.”
Liam’s eyes squinted into two happy little moons as he laughed. “I’m not judging, Ni. Just don’t let Louis catch you. He’ll never stop teasing you about it.”
Niall whined. “I wasn’t doing that, honest. I was doing something else.”
Liam smiled. “Tell you what. Why don’t you come join us for a game of FIFA in the back?”
Niall nodded as he opened the laptop again. “Yeah. Ok. I’ll be right there. Just let me close out of this program.”
Liam turned to leave, but Niall called out after him. “Um Li? Can you maybe not tell Harry I used his laptop? I just um, don’t want - .”
Liam laughed. “Say no more. You’re secret’s safe with me.”
* * * *
Niall lay in his bunk starting at the ceiling. His hands were behind his head and he was stretched out, with his feet crossed at the ankles. This had always been his go-to relaxed position, but he was anything, but relaxed.
The words of the fanfiction kept rolling through his head. Niall’s a professional singer, so it wasn’t unusual that he could memorize words quickly, he does it for a living. He had only read a paragraph anyway.
It’s not like the words were burned in his memory and reciting them gave him chills every time.
It’s not like that at all.
Niall turned on his side and closed his eyes, but all he could see was Harry watching him play guitar and trying to kiss him. He opened his eyes and rolled onto his back. He put a hand over his forehead and sighed to himself. I gotta stop thinking about this. The last thing I want to do is dream about it. Ugh, why can’t I get this out of my head? Ok… maybe I should just read it one more time.
Niall reached for his phone and felt himself blushing already. He had remembered the story’s title and the site it came from, so reading it again on his phone was a temptation he was finding harder and harder to resist.
He opened up the site and let his thumbs twiddle over his screen. He summed up enough courage and typed in the title slowly.
Unexpected Love Is Lovely
He laughed as he typed. “That title sounds just like Harry wrote it.”
The story appeared on his screen as well as the author’s name; Hazziebear.
Those black letters against the glowing white background were enough to hypnotize Niall into reading the story again. This time he started from the beginning of the story and practically held his breath until the end.
He let his eyes settle on the last line.
…Not when my sun is you.
When he finally glanced a little further down, he saw that there was a section with the author’s notes. His eyes doubled in size when he saw that updates were planned weekly on Tuesdays.
He quickly scrolled up to the top of the page and squealed when he saw the words Chapter One.
He quickly slapped his hand over his mouth, and hoped no one had heard him. He slowly leaned out of his bunk and peeked his head out. Everyone seemed to still be sleeping.
Niall ducked back inside his bunk and pulled the curtain closed. He was never so happy that is was a Monday in his life.
He closed his eyes and the long night felt like less than a minute before Harry was shaking him awake.
Niall put his pillow over his head. “Le’me alone.”
Harry laughed. “It’s time to get up Ni. I’m here to make sure you get out on the right side of the bed. Well, actually there’s only one side to get out of the bunk from so I guess that’s the right side. There are bunks on both sides of the bus, though. Does that mean half of us are getting out on the wrong side of the bed?”
Louis moaned. “It’s too early for all of this, Haz. Just drag Niall out of bed so we can have breakfast.”
Niall perked up at the word breakfast. He enjoyed sleeping, but he enjoyed a good meal even better. He climbed out of bed and sat at the table.
Liam was still serving up breakfast so Niall took a quick check to see if the story was updated. He didn’t know what time zone Hazziebear lived in, so maybe the update was posted already.
He let out a disappointed sigh when only chapter one greeted him. He smiled a little at his impatience. It’s not like he could have read the story even if it was updated. A Narry love story isn’t something to read around your band mates.
Liam plucked the phone from Niall’s hands. “No updating Twitter during breakfast.”
Niall had a mild heart attack when Liam snatched his phone, but his heart started to slow down when Liam tossed it aside rather than inspect what was on the screen.
Niall looked down at his plate and smiled at the two pieces of toast, a sausage link, a strip of bacon, and a pile of fried potatoes. Liam walked over with a pan of fried tomatoes and slid one on Niall’s plate.
Louis laughed. “You made a proper Irish fry up for Nialler. The only thing missing is the fried egg.”
Liam put the pan in the small sink and sat down. “I made this to help Niall feel a little better. I had a feeling that after yesterday that he doesn’t want to see eggs for a while. Am I right, Ni?”
Niall took a break from shoving potatoes into his mouth to nod and give a full mouthed, “Yeah. Thanks Payno.”
Niall looked around and saw that Harry was missing. He looked at Louis, but Louis answered before he could ask. “Harry’s on his laptop. He said he had to give his mum a quick call on Skype.”
Niall couldn’t help but wonder if Harry was checking for the update as well. Niall’s cheeks tinted red just at the thought of Harry reading that story. It was pretty safe to say that Harry knew it existed, since it was open on his laptop, but Niall wasn’t sure if he was brave enough to have a bro bonding moment over it.
Niall continued to eat his ‘feel better’ breakfast and eventually Harry emerged.
Harry sat next to Niall. The breeze that was caused by Niall’s new neighbor and his intoxicating cologne caused Niall’s heart to skip a beat.
Harry’s voice was low and raspy. “Hey Niall.”
Niall returned Harry’s greeting with a smile and tried to ignore his heart skipping another beat. He patted his fist against his chest and cleared his throat.
He argued against his body’s reaction. Nope. That definitely wasn’t from Harry. It must have been from the potatoes.
He continued to convince himself that the breath that got stuck in his throat when Harry’s hand brushed his leg was from potato induced indigestion as well.
He blamed the shiver that he felt when Harry laughed, on his cold glass of milk.
Louis’ voice brought Niall back to reality. “You’re really quiet Niall. Are you sure everything’s alright?”
Niall gave the broadest smile that he could manage. “It’s all tops, mate.” He looked around and it was just him and Louis at the table. Niall’s break from reality must have made him miss Liam and Harry’s departure.
Louis tried to sneak a piece of Niall’s bacon off of his plate. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, yeah?”
Niall pointed his fork at Louis’ hand and Louis moved his bacon stealing hand away. Niall spoke cautiously, slowly bringing up the topic. “There’s a lot of stories written about us.”
Louis frowned. “Is that what this is about? Did you read something bad about yourself online? I’ve warned Harry about googling himself. That never ends well my friend. The tabloids are ruthless.”
Niall bit his lip. “No, it’s not that. I was thinking about the um, other stories. The ones that the fans make up.”
Louis raised an eyebrow. “You mean fanfiction?”
Niall nodded. “Yeah. Have you ever, like, seen any?”
It was Louis’ turn to blush. “There’s some pretty hardcore stuff out there. Apparently the majority of fans believe that I’m skilled at things that I’m not really skilled at.”
Niall was losing his nerve to carry on the conversation, so he tried to redirect it with a joke. “What do they think that you’re skilled at? Singing?”
Louis laughed as he stood and put his plate in the sink. “Very funny, but no. Let’s just say I’m not as flexible as advertised. I’ve never been much of a pretzel.”
Niall cringed as he tried to get that mental picture out of his head.
He wasn’t about to waste one crumb of his breakfast so he ate the rest alone. He had just started licking his plate when his eyes wandered over to his phone on the floor.
He quickly tossed his dirty dishes in the sink and scooped up his phone. When the phone flashed back to life, the story was waiting there for him.
Niall’s thumb hovered over the refresh page button. His heart was practically beating out of his chest with anticipation. He had no idea why he was so emotionally connected to this story, but he’d think about that later. At the moment, all he could think about was chapter two.
He took a deep breath and pressed the circular arrow. The page took a moment to reload and there it was. The ‘next page’ arrow. Chapter two was up.
Niall literally ran to his bunk and pulled the curtain closed. He opened up chapter two and settled back to start reading.
Harry peeked his head into the bunk. “Niall?”
Niall’s eyes shifted to Harry and he tried not to look suspicious. It was bad enough that Liam thinks he snuck a peek at porn on Harry’s laptop. The last thing Niall wanted was Harry thinking that he was in his bunk doing the same thing with his phone.
Silence must not have been the answer Harry was looking for because Harry asked the question again. “Niall?”
Niall blinked. “Harry?”
Harry smiled that dimpled smile and Niall totally didn’t just forget how to breathe.
Harry shook his head messing up his untamed curls and then ran his hand through them to smooth them back out of his face.
Niall closed his eyes. Oh God. Do I have a crush on Harry?
Harry leaned his chin on the mattress of the bunk. “What are you doing?”
That seemed to be a popular question to ask when he was trying to read.
Niall shrugged. “Just checking my mail and stuff.”
Harry let out a dissatisfied hum. “When you’re done, do you want to hang out? Maybe you could play your guitar for me.”
Niall almost swallowed his own tongue. “Wh- what?”
Harry’s green eyes looked at the mattress as he picked at a string on the sheet. “You were writing songs on my laptop yesterday, right?”
Niall tried to slow his heart down. Harry wasn’t referencing the story, he was just asking about the thing Niall was supposed to be doing instead of reading a Niall/Harry love story.
Niall shook his head and lied. “I didn’t open your laptop yesterday. I kind of just zoned out for a while.”
Harry’s eyes shot back to Niall so quickly that it almost scared Niall. Harry’s eyes filled with relief as a blush spread over this face. “You didn’t use my laptop? Oh, ok. That’s cool.”
Niall didn’t have a second to decipher Harry’s strange behavior before Harry practically ran away, so he just chalked it up to Harry being weird and shifted his eyes back to the magnificent manuscript.
Niall hung on every word of the new installment. The love story continued, but this time the Niall character was having a bad day and the Harry character was trying to cheer him up. Everything seemed to go wrong for the Niall character and eventually he was left crying in the rain.
Niall’s heart pounded with slow realization as he read the end of the chapter.
Niall drew his knees to his chest as he let the rain mix with his tears. Neither stopped as the shivering boy started to sob. The sum of all of his sorrows weighed down on him at that very moment and the weight was more than he could bear. He rocked back and forth, but he couldn’t shake the sadness that ran deeper than even he realized.
He wanted to be alone, to shed his tears in a private space. The storm continued to batter down with unrelenting rain, but Niall noticed that he wasn’t getting wet. He looked up and standing over him with an umbrella was Harry.
Harry knelt down with the umbrella shielding both of them from the storm. The two of them looked into each other’s eyes, saying more than words could say. Blue eyes swimming with tears locked onto green eyes that were blinking back tears as well.
Harry’s thumb swept across Niall’s cheek wiping away a tear. Harry’s other hand was gripping the umbrella handle tightly. He didn’t know what to say or what to do, but he didn’t want to his love to suffer a moment longer.
“I know that you wanted to be alone, but I couldn’t leave you here,” Harry whispered. “So please don’t cry. I want to help you feel stronger.”
Harry’s knuckles were turning white from tightly gripping the metal handle, but Niall slowly placed his hand on top of Harry’s trembling hand.
“Harry, I felt like such a failure today. I felt like…” Niall’s words were lost to the roaring symphony of rain that played around them in loud splashes.
Harry put his hand under Niall’s chin. “You could never be a failure.”
Harry gently kissed Niall’s lips. He released Niall’s lips to look into the beautiful boy’s eyes.
“Never.” Harry said, his voice as powerful as the rain.
He placed his hand against Niall’s chest and his voice was as gentle as the heart beating underneath his hand.
“Forever.”
Niall sat motionless looking at what he had just read. The Harry character had urged the Niall character not to cry, but the real Niall couldn’t stop the tears from falling from his eyes.
Niall was becoming acutely aware that no one else but Harry could be the author of the story. He shook his head trying to make sense out of it. Harry was the one writing the words that were pulling on all of Niall’s heart strings, but what did it all mean? A few minutes ago Harry had looked relieved when he found out that Niall hadn’t used his laptop. Was he happy that Niall didn’t have a chance to accidentally read the story?
Niall wiped away his tears with his sleeve and sighed softly.
“Does Harry have feelings for me or is it all just fiction?”
* * * *
Harry sat on the couch staring at the television. He wasn’t even sure if it was on or not because he was completely lost in his own thoughts.
A part of Harry was sad that Niall hadn’t seen the story. He couldn’t have been more obvious when he left it on his computer for Niall to find. Still, another part of Harry was happy that Niall didn’t read it. Harry had spent so long trying to wrestle with his secret feelings and he didn’t really want Niall to ask questions that Harry didn’t have the answers for.
Does Harry like writing? Yes.
Does Harry like Niall? Not sure.
Harry ran his hands through his hair and sighed.
Liam flopped down on the couch next to him. “Lost in your thought’s Haz?”
Harry shook his head. “No. Just lost.”
Liam pointed the remote at the screen and flipped through the channels. “Tell Daddy Liam what’s wrong”
Harry laughed. “That’s kind of creepy. It’s a relationship thing so I kind of don’t want to talk to a dad.”
Liam smiled. “Fair enough.”
Harry took another long sigh. “So there’s this thing that I’m not sure about. It’s like I kind of know, but not really.”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to need a little bit more information if I’m going to give advice.”
Harry nodded. “Right. So um, what does it feel like to really like someone?”
Liam smirked. “Is someone catching feelings after one of their random hook ups?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Can you be serious please?”
Liam forced his face into a neutral position. “Sorry.” He took a minute to think it over and put his arm on Harry’s shoulder. “Ok, here’s the deal. In my experience, a crush feels like butterflies in your stomach, but love feels like a swift kick to the balls. Love takes your breath away while simultaneously making you want to hurl.”
Harry winced. “And makes you sound less like a man?”
Liam shrugged. “Depends on how hard love hits you.”
Niall's voice entered the room. “Hey lads.”
Harry’s eyes darted over to Niall. His mind started to narrate the scene.
There he stands. The human shape of my heart. The white t-shirt hanging loosely on his small frame and his gray sweats sitting low on his hips. I hang on every detail of the perfection standing before me.
The low position of his trousers reveals a slight glimpse of his boxers and causes his trouser legs to drape down to the floor, past his ankles. As my eyes travel downward, I notice his plaid socks, blanketed by the cuffs. From head to toe, Niall is amazing. From the sparkle of his baby blue eyes to the feel of his - .
“Balls.” Niall laughed. “You were talking about getting hit down there?”
Liam smiled. “Yeah, something like that.”
Harry was grateful that Liam left it there. Their conversation was kind of private and Harry was glad that Liam had picked up on that.
Niall jumped on the couch and curled up against Harry. “You’re really warm.”
Harry smiled.
Niall’s words make my heart flutter. They travel to my stomach, dancing like a – like a –
Harry quickly typed ‘what is a group of butterflies called?’ into his phone.
He smiled and continued his thought.
They travel to my stomach, dancing like a kaleidoscope of butterflies. As Niall leans in further to arrange himself closer, the dance of the butterflies becomes too fast and frantic and my whole chest feels like it’s about to burst.
Niall sighs my name softly against my arm. The butterflies escape with a wild flurry and it leaves my whole body sore. It’s like I’ve been kicked in the –.
Oh.
* * * *
Niall had spent a few minutes snuggling against Harry before Louis joined them. Liam had settled on a movie about giant chickens fighting giant sharks. At first Niall wanted to protest the horrible movie choice, but after hearing Harry’s musical laugh whenever a cheesy special effect turned out to be less than special, Niall was convinced it was the perfect movie.
Niall was enchanted by the sound of Harry’s laugh and the feel as it rumbled through his chest and against Niall’s cheek. The only thing that topped this feeling was when Niall would raise his head slightly off of Harry’s chest to take a peek at his face. Harry’s lopsided smile and squinted eyes made the laugh that was painted on his face, impossible to resist. The laugh was highly contagious and Niall caught it every time.
The movie got more outrageous and the four were practically hysterical. They were laughing so hard that they didn’t even notice that the bus had stopped.
The bus driver called back to the laughing lads. “Boys. I gotta stop to fill up the tank. You can walk around and stretch your legs for a bit. We’re about four hours away from the hotel. And that’s if we don’t hit traffic.”
Louis stretched his arms. “I could do for a bit of walking.”
Liam eyed the convenience store. “A snack sounds good as well.”
Louis took Liam’s hand and dragged him out of the bus.
Harry wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s just you and me Irish.”
Niall blushed at the nickname as he let Harry lead him by the wrist out of the bus.
Niall eyed the scenic surroundings. This particular service station rest stop looked like a small park. There was a set of stairs that led to a beautiful lake. Niall knew that Harry’s love for photography wouldn’t be able to resist going for a walk to the lake.
Niall pointed to the lake. “I’ll race you down there.”
Harry put his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight. “Um, can I just run to the toilet really quick? That movie was kind of long and I really need a wee.”
Niall laughed. “Of course. You don’t need my permission for that. Come to the lake when you’re done.”
Harry nodded and ran toward the Men’s room. Niall wasn’t sure if Harry was running because he waited a bit too long or if Harry just wanted to spend as little time as possible apart from Niall.
Niall shook his head. I’m being stupid. He doesn’t like me like that. It’s just a story.
Niall walked down the stairs with his phone in his hands. He somehow opened up the story and he somehow started reading it again.
He finished the newest chapter quickly because he had read it before and it just flowed at this point. He glanced behind him to see if Harry was there, but he was all alone. Liam and Louis must not have been interested in the nature walk.
Niall opened up the comments section and smiled at how many people were cheering for Narry to continue their epic love story. Niall nodded in agreement, but then noticed that he didn’t have to be a member of the site to comment. He just needed to fill in an email so that there was a place to direct his response.
Niall took another glance to see if Harry was there, but there was no sign of him. Niall selfishly hoped that Harry was caught on a long line so that there would be enough time to leave a comment.
He entered his email and changed his name from Anonymous to Curious. He sat on a wooden bench as he typed quickly.
I think Harry and Niall are the perfect couple! You’re writing is amazing, but I have a question.
Niall hit send and leaned back on the bench. Being a fan of fanfiction was becoming exhausting. He pointed at one of the ducks that was eyeing him from the lake. “You better not tell Harry about this.”
The duck continued to look at Niall oddly.
Niall reached in his pocket for a bag of crackers to toss to his confused onlooker, but he felt his phone vibrate in his hand.
Niall saw the envelope symbol flashing on the screen and opened it quickly. It was a message from Hazziebear.
Niall held his breath as he read the message.
Totally agree. I don’t care what anyone says. Narry is my OTP. I’m not surprised that you have a question. Your name is curious.
Niall’s hands were shaking as he typed back.
I’m just surprised how easy it was for them to tell each other they were in love. I would think that in real life it would be harder.
Niall stared at his phone, feeling like a teenage girl waiting for her boyfriend to call back. Time rolled forward at an achingly slow pace, but eventually his phone chirped back with the new message song.
Niall opened it up.
I think the real Harry would be scared to death to tell Niall he was in love with him, but that’s why we have fanfiction. Anything is possible here.
Niall didn’t write back. Even if he wanted to reply, his head was spinning too much to see straight. He put the phone back in his pocket and leaned his palms on his thighs and leaned forward. He closed his eyes and tried to make sense of what was real and what was fake.
He came to the conclusion that Harry was either in love with him, or the best writer on the internet.
His thoughts were interrupted by a hand on his back and a low, raspy voice of concern. “Ni, are you ok. You look like you’re about to throw up.”
Niall nodded. “I feel kind of sick.”
Harry shifted to Niall’s other side, so that he was sitting next to him on the bench. “Put your head between your legs and take deep breaths.”
Niall did as told and moaned. “Is that what you tell all the girls?”
Harry laughed, but it didn’t sound genuine to Niall. It was the kind of laugh that just moves a conversation along.
Niall felt more waves of nausea wash over him and he moaned again. “Maybe I’m seasick from looking at all the moving water in the lake.”
This time Harry’s laugh sounded carefree and genuine. “I don’t think that’s how it works. But I’ll definitely help you through this. I’m here for you.”
Harry rubbed Niall’s back as the queasiness eased up. Niall slowly sat up and put his head on Harry’s shoulder and sighed. “This really is a nice view of the lake. I wonder how much longer we can stay here.”
Harry didn’t answer. He just stared straight ahead at the lake. After a moment Niall could have sworn he heard Harry whisper. “Forever.”
* * * *
Niall was very strategic about how he spent the rest of the week. He made sure to say things to Harry that had a hit of flirtation mixed with poetry. Niall found something thrilling about Harry possibly putting the words he said into the story.
Niall had also kept up a correspondence with Hazziebear. Niall stuck with the name Curious because curiosity is what led him to all of this. Hazziebear was friendly and open about the motivations and feelings of his characters, but Niall only asked about his Harry character.
When Tuesday finally arrived again Niall was refreshing the page on a constant basis. They had an early sound check, but if he had some alone time with his phone, then he figured so did Harry.
Niall hit the refresh button for the millionth time and the new chapter appeared. Niall squealed and didn’t care if anyone heard.
Everyone in the surrounding area was preoccupied with checking audio levels and microphones, but no one seemed to need Niall. He took this to his advantage. He couldn’t sneak away too far because he might be needed, so he ducked behind a large amplifier to hide.
He huddled in his safe spot and started to read.
Niall and Harry were sitting on the tour bus watching a movie. The two held each other and watched the love story as their own love story continued for another day.
The bus driver called for a stop and everyone exited the bus. Liam and Louis went off to do the things that friends do while Niall and Harry went off to do the things that lovers do.
Niall pulled Harry off of the bus as the blonde angel pulled at every heart string that Harry had. The two were perfect for each other in every way, and they were prepared to tell each other every day.
Niall spotted a lake and could not pass up the opportunity to sit quietly with his love. He pulled Harry’s arm to lead the two lovers to the lake, but Harry felt something pulling inside of him. The pain was sharp, but swift so he was able to hide it from Niall.
Harry used an excuse. “Can I run to the toilet, Love?” Harry asked with a blush painting his face. “The movie seemed endless and I need to go rather badly.”
Niall laughed. “Of course, but come back soon.” He cooed. “I miss you already.”
Harry’s journey was halfway to relief before he doubled over in pain. His stomach felt like it had been caught in a vice. He cried out in pain, but kept his voice low as not to alert Niall. He put his hand over his mouth to mute his cries, but his hand was met with the warm wetness of blood.
This was not the first nosebleed that Harry had experienced, but they were becoming more frequent. The pain in his stomach was not new as well.
He took a few minutes to push through the agony as the thoughts of Niall eased the pain that no medicine he had tried was able to.
Thoughts of Niall sitting alone brought Harry to his feet. He wiped the blood from his nose and put on the bravest face that he could.
He breathed through the pain as he walked. He expected to see the beaming face of Niall, but instead, his love was sitting on a bench in pain as well.
Harry raced to Niall’s side and pushed away his own needs, fully focusing on Niall.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked. His voice was filled with a dozen emotions.
“I’m feeling sick to my stomach. I’m not sure why. I felt fine before.”
Harry rubbed Niall’s back trying to keep calm. He knew how deeply Niall loved him and try as he may, he could not hide the truth from his soulmate. Harry was unable to verbally tell Niall that he was sick, but Niall felt it. If Harry was ill Niall’s body just instinctually knew.
Harry sat on the bench as close as he could to Niall, but he never felt further apart. He didn’t want to lie, but he had promised Niall forever and he couldn’t bear to admit that the promise was shattering quickly.
The tears fell from Harry’s eyes as he rubbed Niall’s back, but just like the truth, he kept the tears hidden from Niall as well.
He closed his eyes terrified of the uncertainty of the future, but for right now he wished this moment could last forever.
Niall couldn’t breathe. He ran from behind the speaker and had to find Harry. He had to see him. Part of his brain knew that the story was pretend and that Harry, the real Harry, was perfectly alright, but Niall had fallen too far in love with Harry to be logical or sane. Real or fake, he just read about Harry having an illness that might kill him. He had to see Harry.
He had to see him right now!
Niall raced through the obstacle course of wires, tripping numerous times until he reached Harry.
Harry’s gorgeous green eyes met Niall’s bawling blue eyes.
Harry’s eyes grew with concern. “Niall, are you crying?”
Niall was beyond tears at this point. He wrapped his arms around Harry, throwing himself at the poor boy.
Harry tentatively brought his arms inward to hug Niall, but it was a tense hug.
Harry whispered into Niall’s ear. “We should go somewhere private, yeah?”
Niall broke away from the hug and was borderline hyperventilating. “Harry I love you!”
Harry turned bright red and whispered. “Ni. We’re not alone.”
Niall shook his head. “I don’t care. You’re dying and I want the world to know. I love you Harry.”
Harry gasped. “Oh God. You… you read the story.”
Niall tried to speak, but he collapsed into a sobbing mess.
Harry knelt down trying to whisper, but everyone around was listening. “Shhh. It’s ok. I’m alright. I’m not dying. It was just the character. You can’t write a good love story without a terminal illness. It wasn’t really going to be terminal. It was going to have a ‘love healed him’ kind of vibe.”
Niall looked up. His puffy pink eyes almost broke Harry’s heart. “S-so y-you’re not d-dying?”
Harry shook his head. “Nope.”
Niall bit his lip. “And you don’t love me? You don’t want to kiss me and linger softly? Your heart doesn’t beat with the timbre of our love? I’m not the heat between your legs?”
Harry turned redder than any human being ever had. “Um Ni. Everyone can hear you.”
Niall sobbed. “I don’t care. I thought it was real. I thought that you were going to die and I would be too afraid to tell you how I felt. I should have told you that I saw the fanfiction that you wrote. I should have told you that I waited for updates with every part of my soul. I should have told you that my heart was beating out of my chest every time that Harry and Niall touched. I should have told you that it made me feel something inside of me that I couldn’t explain.”
Niall buried his head into his hands.
Harry put a hand under Niall’s chin so that Niall was looking into his eyes. Harry give a shy smile. “I should have told you that I’m falling in love with you Niall.”
Liam looked at Louis. “Did that just happen? What’s going on?”
Louis shrugged. “Apparently Harry wrote a fanfiction, Niall liked it, and now they’re in love.”
Liam bit his lip. “There’s press here. This is complicated.”
Louis watched Harry draw Niall in close and kiss him passionately. “Huh. Seems easy enough to them.”
Harry ran his fingers through Niall’s hair as he looked into Niall’s eyes. Those big, blue crystal balls, that Harry was positive that he could see his future in.
Harry smiled at Niall in his arms. “Unexpected love really is lovely.” He kissed the biggest fan of his fiction slowly, but tenderly. Their unwritten love story had just begun… and the kiss?
Well that was the very first page.