Work Text:
“Excuse me? Hi! My name is Perrie, I’m a film student and today I'm working on a project. Do you have a few minutes to be part of it?” A pretty blonde girl asks Harry as he's walking in the general direction of his next class.
She's holding a camera in one hand and she looks excited. He's a nice person so he shrugs and stops walking, “What do you need my help with?” He asks as he puts his headphones in his bag and steps toward the side of the walkway where Perrie is standing.
Harry listens as she explains the course she's taking and how they've been assigned to create a video showcasing any emotion they choose. She explains the concept of the video and he agrees after only a moments thought, which is probably good for her because if he thinks too hard about it he might back out.
Only a few minutes later Harry is standing facing Perrie as she tests the light and then tells him they’re going to begin filming. “So tell me a little bit about what you're doing today?” The girl behind the camera asks as she hits record.
“Today, Im.. calling the person I fancy and telling him my feelings.” He responds with a hint of nervousness to his smile and his teeth biting at his lower lip as he waits for her to prompt him on what to say. The feeling of butterflies is bubbling in his chest as she smiles at him.
“Ooh how exciting! Tell me a little bit about the person you're crushing on.” Harry hears her say with a bright smile on her lips as she adjusts the camera in her hands and zooms in a bit on his face.
He glances down and raises his ring-clad hand to his mouth, covering it with a fist as he clears his throat before he looks up into the camera with a shy smile on his lips.
“I’m going to be calling my best friend, Louis.” He announces carefully, blushing a bit as he takes a deep breath before he continues, “He's actually my roommate, we’ve known each other for years. He's just… he’s the best person I've ever known - sorry mum.” he says with a little laugh.
Perrie is looking at him as if she knows he wants to continue so he does. “Louis is just a great person to just, like, sit and admire what he's like. He's loud and he cares so deeply about so many things. He's just unapologetically himself.” He can hear the fondness in his own voice, but he truly can’t help it. “And.. yeah. I'm going to call him now and tell him how I feel.”
Harry raises his brow at Perrie, hoping he answered what she wanted him to and she nods as she tells him to go on. “Good luck!” she chirps from behind the camera.
He pulls his phone from his pocket and he notices his fingers are trembling a little bit as he opens the lock screen and sees the picture that he has on display. A smile fills his lips again and he shows the camera the drunk selfie Louis had taken of them on New Years. “That's him.” He laughs before he selects Louis’ contact and the phone begins to ring.
The butterflies are in full force, feeling like they're settling in his heart as he puts the phone on speaker so that Perrie and the camera can hear the other side of the conversation as well. “Make sure you ask him on a date,” she says quietly behind the camera, and briefly Harry wonders if she can tell how nervous he is.
“Hello?” Louis’ sleepy voice comes from the other end of the line after the fourth ring, and Harry licks his lips as he tries to calm down a bit
“Hey, it's me. Were you sleeping?” He asks, his smile causing creases to come to the edges of his eyes as he listens to Louis move around in what sounds like his bed.
“Erm. Yeah, but it's alright. I should get up anyway, I've got class in a bit.” Louis laughs quietly and then hums before he continues, “Why are you calling me?”
“Oh. Well then consider this your wake up call.” He laughs quietly before he pauses for a moment and pushes his hand through his long hair, obviously stalling. “Right. Well, I had something I wanted to say to you.” He admits, glancing nervously at the camera and briefly he wonders why he's doing this.
He takes a moment to take another breath and in that time Louis speaks again, “Harry you're talking slower than normal. Everything alright?” He asks, his voice teasing but also soft with a bit of concern, and Harry suddenly remembers why he agreed to make this call.
“Right, yeah everything is alright. I just. I want to ask you on a date.” He says, he knows he is having trouble finding the words he needs and his cheeks burning as blood fills them and paints them a pretty shade of pink as he waits for a response with bated breath.
The silence drags on for a beat too long and suddenly panic begins to fill him. “April Fools, right?” Louis says from the other end only a moment later, his voice a bit distant and Harry is confused for a moment, not sure what Louis means until he remembers the date.
“Erm. No?” He responds, avoiding looking toward the camera at this point as he tries to find words. “I hate April Fools you know that. You put salt in my tea this morning and I nearly cried.” He reminds Louis with a nervous little laugh.
Louis doesn't say anything but there's a rustle from the other end of the line again like he is sitting up this time, and Harry can all but see him with slightly messy hair and a crease from where he rests his cheek on his pillow, and suddenly he just needs to say what he's been feeling for so long.
“I'm really serious Louis. I know it might be weird that I'm saying this over the phone… or maybe it's weird that I'm saying it at all. But I erm. You make me really happy and I love spending days with you and watching you succeed in all you do.” He says and he knows he's rambling a bit, but suddenly he can't stop talking.
“You’re my best friend. But you're also like the most sincere person I've ever had the pleasure to meet. You make me laugh like a proper dumbass and you are so passionate about everything you do. I just want to say that you're my sunshine, and I want to take you on a proper date.” He announces, looking into the camera with a suddenly bold smile on his face.
Perrie is grinning back at him and he feels the adrenaline rushing through his veins as he waits for a reply.
“You..” Louis says carefully, and Harry is almost certain he sounds a bit choked up. “You're seriously serious?”
Harry laughs nervously and he nods, then remembers Louis can't actually see him. “I'm seriously serious. No April Fools or anything.” He confirms, “I’ll ask you again tomorrow if you want just to prove it?” He suggests and chews at his lip again.
“No, no it's alright.” Louis says quickly through a laugh and Harry can all but feel his heart stop for a moment before the other boy continues, “I’d love to go on a date with you, you utter sap.”
Harry lets out a surprised laugh, the noise almost a honk and he quickly slaps a hand over his mouth as Perrie giggles behind the camera and focuses it on the excited smile covering his face.
“Okay, cool.” He says lamely a moment later, his dimples on full display as he talks to Louis. His best friend, who actually said yes to a date. He really can’t believe it. “I’ll see you after class?” He asks quietly, his voice soft as he speaks.
Louis’ smile is evident in his voice as he hums in agreement. “I’ll see you after class, Harry. Thanks for calling me.” He says, his tone just as gentle and fond as Harry’s as they say their goodbyes.
When the call ends, Perrie is still smiling wide at him as she adjusts the lens, “So - tell me how you're feeling right now. What are you thinking?”
“I think that everyone should do that. Everyone should tell the people they love how they feel.” He replies, his eyes shining as he fiddles with the rings on his right hand. “I think that the feeling of at least saying what you've wanted to say for so long is such an amazing experience, and I feel like I could honestly fly or maybe have a heart attack right now.” He laughs and then adds, “Also you picked an awful day to be doing this project- April first?”
Perrie laughs at that and shrugs, “I think it worked out lovely. Thank you for being part of my video!” she says as she shuts off the camera and gives him a quick hug. She gives him the name of her YouTube channel and lets him know the video will be uploaded there sometime soon.
~~
A month passes and between school and beginning to actually date Louis, Harry nearly forgets about the reason he called Louis that day in the first place.
One afternoon he’s studying for his midterms when he finds a note with a familiar scribble on it. That evening, when Louis is home and they’ve stuffed themselves on pizza and are pleasantly tipsy on beer, Harry pulls up the video and cuddles into Louis’ side a bit. “You need to see this.” He hums and presses a kiss to the other boy’s temple before he hits play.
They watch the video together. Cut in with Harry’s confession and phone call are six other similar stories, it's beautiful and it makes Harry smile so hard his cheeks are aching.
Louis turns to him as the video ends and he shakes his head with a soft look in his eyes. Harry can tell he’s searching for words, but instead of trying to fill the silence, he just leans forward and kisses him softly.
“I love you.” Louis breathes as they part, their foreheads pressed together and their mouths only inches away from one another’s.
It’s the first time either of them has said those three words and Harry can't help the laugh that wants to bubble out. “Are you seriously serious?” He asks with a joyous shine in his eyes.
Louis prods his ribs with his fingers and laughs, “I'm one hundred percent seriously serious.” He confirms and leans in to kiss him again.
Harry takes a moment to kiss back, his arms holding his boyfriend close and he thanks the Gods above who led him to Perrie on that day. When they pull apart, Harry's heart feels fuller than ever before.
“I love you too.” He promises softly.