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It’s not that Tyler isn’t lovely. Really, he is. He’s tall and his hair is neatly coiffed, and he smells like department store perfume and he’s everything nice boys are supposed to want to take home to their parents.
The problem is that he’s mind-numbingly dull and--even worse--completely uninterested in Harry. Even when he picked up Harry, who was dressed up in his tightest pulling pants and his button down open to his belly button, he’d barely mumbled a compliment or even a hello. Harry probably should’ve taken the hint and begged off sick before they’d gotten to the arena, but he didn’t want to offend the guy. His mother had raised him better.
Harry sighs, head propped up in his hand. The bleachers are cold underneath him and he has no idea what the players on the court below are even doing. The game’s just started, but Tyler is already engrossed in it, eyes tracking the players’ movements carefully. Harry would ask a question about what the hoops are for, or the curved lines on the floor, or why their shorts are so long they cover their knees, but he’s sure Tyler would just mildly ask how British people even function in America, like he had on the car ride over when he’d tried to make a joke about driving on the wrong side of the road.
“Sorry, sorry, mate, coming through,” a high-pitched, accented voice comes from his left. He snaps his head around, excited at any prospect of a fellow Brit. There’s two boys pushing their way through the bleachers towards them. The short one is doing the pushing, loudly shouting half-felt apologies as he goes. The puppy-faced one behind him is carrying a giant bag of popcorn and a soda, an overly pleased grin on his face.
They bustle their way through until they’re right next to Harry and Tyler. The short one sits right next to Harry, still nattering away at his friend. He’s wearing joggers and a hoodie, and Harry feels absurdly overdressed next to him in his fancy boots and button down.
Harry’s just turned his head away when he hears a loud “Hi!” in his ear. It’s the short boy, smiling up at him and...oh. He’s got nice fringe falling down on his forehead and eyes that look like waterfalls and he reminds Harry of a fairy. He’s just very pretty despite the fact that he looks like he just came from a skate park.
“Hi,” Harry smiles back. Maybe the night won’t be so awful after all.
“I’m Louis. This is my mate Liam.” Liam smiles and waves at him. He looks proper, a bit too dressed up for a basketball game, like Harry.
“‘m Harry. This is, uh, my date, Tyler.” He gestures at Tyler, who’s pointedly still staring at the game. “Um, Tyler?”
The man turns his head slightly, “Yeah?”
“This is Louis and Liam.” He waves at the duo.
Tyler mumbles a semblance of a hello at them and turns his head completely back to the game. Harry can feel his face drop a little, but he tries to smile at Louis. Louis’ brow is furrowed in Tyler’s direction, and he mouths to Harry “Silent type, huh?”
“Er, I guess,” Harry shrugs, careful not to bump his shoulder into Tyler.
Louis focuses back on Harry. It’s almost dizzying, the blue eyes staring so earnestly into his. “Where are you from, then?”
“Cheshire, Holmes Chapel. You?”
“Ah, posh boy.” He winks, it gives Harry a funny feeling in his stomach. “Donny boy, myself. Liam’s from around here, though.”
“Are you here for uni, then?”
“Yeah, yeah. You?”
Harry smiles, “Yeah, NYU.”
The crowd around them suddenly roars. Harry leans back a bit, not realizing how close they’d been leaning in to hear each other. Louis’ still only looking at him, despite the people yelling around them. Tyler is on his feet yelling obscenities. “What happened?” Harry asks him.
“What?” Tyler almost yells at him. “You’re so quiet, can’t you speak up?”
Harry feels his cheeks heating up. “I just asked what happened.”
“They fouled one of our players.”
“What does that mean?”
Tyler gives him a cold look. “Don’t you go to college here? How can you not know the basic rules of basketball?”
Harry gulps, “I--”
“Nevermind. It’s when players make contact with another player, basically,” he huffs. “You’re not allowed to do that.”
“I -- Thank you,” Harry stumbles over his words. Tyler turns back to game, huffing loudly.
Louis’ face is thunderous when Harry glances up at him. He looks a bit like a perturbed hedgehog. He grumbles under his breath, “Well, that was quite rude.”
If that’s not terribly endearing, Harry’s not sure what is. He can feel himself fonding over Louis as they fall into a conversation, with his little quips and comments throughout the game and his lovely eyes and tiny hands and the way he laughs at Harry like he’s actually telling funny jokes. He’s just so small and perfect and he gets eye crinkles when he smiles. Harry loves eye crinkles.
A loud horn and the bustling of people around them startles Harry. Tyler’s trying to shuffle past him, “Do you want popcorn or anything?”.
Harry frowns at him, “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
Liam leaves too, and Louis fixes Harry with a curious look. “Why in the world are you on a date with that prick? No offense or anything, but he a right dickhead.”
“My mate, Niall, thought we’d be a good match. I’m not sure how he could have possibly thought that. Remind me to never let myself get set up on a blind date ever again,” Harry sighs.
Louis launches into a story about the “worst date I’ve ever been on, I swear, Harry, it was the most awful night of my life”. His eyes are shining and Harry’s not sure of the last time he laughed this hard. He’s still talking when Tyler comes back grumbling slightly under his breath and avoiding Harry’s eyes. Louis glares daggers at him, like the guy’s personally questioning his honor.
“Oh, is that a Kiss Cam?” Liam asks as he sits back down, pointing at the big screen.
“That’s like one of those classic American things. I’ve kind of always wanted to see one,” Louis says.
Harry coos at the old couple on the screen now. Harry and Louis are both laughing at the various couples they show and both the awkward and sweet kisses they share. He’s mid-laugh when he freezes, shocked at what they’re showing now. It’s focused on him and Tyler. More specifically, him now staring at Tyler and Tyler completely ignoring him. He’s not even glancing over at him or turning his head even slightly. Harry feels his cheeks heat up again, looking helplessly over at Louis.
Louis, who’s still smiling at him like a ball of sunshine, quirking an eyebrow and narrowing his eyes. Without thinking, Harry leans in and kisses him. Louis tastes like starshine and mint chewing gum, and he kisses Harry back just as eagerly. His lips are soft against his and Harry might be a little in love. He pulls back after what feels like forever, leaning his forehead against Louis’. His smile feels like it’s going to split his face open, and when he finally leans back to look at Louis, he’s smiling just as wide, eye crinkles and all.
Liam looks a little shocked behind him, leaning over with wide eyes. He’s looking behind Harry at Tyler, who’s finally looking at Harry.
He has a stony expression and his eyebrows are furrowed with displeasure. He crosses his arms stiffly over his chest and glares at Harry. “We’re on a date. You can’t kiss other people when you’re on a date with me. Who does that?”
Harry stutters out a semblance of a response, but then Louis’ leaning forward. “I don’t mean to be rude, but, well, you’re kind of a prick.”
Tyler’s jaws drops open at him. He looks like he’s about to spit a response back when Louis turns to Harry and grins widely at him. “Wanna get out of here?”
Harry laughs, “That was so cheesy. Of course I do.”
Louis stands and offers a hand to him, “Well, come along then, love. Things to do, places to see.”
He lets Louis pull him up and he can’t keep the grin off his face. He takes Harry’s hand again and starts pulling him gently down the bleachers. Harry waves back at Liam and Tyler. Tyler looks like he’s swallowed a lemon whole but Liam quickly gives him a soft smile and a thumbs up. “Bye, Tyler! Hopefully I’ll see you soon, Liam.” He laughs again and lets himself get pulled along by Louis.
Louis, turns around and smiles at him, “Alright, love?”
Maybe it’s too soon to tell, but Harry has a strange feeling he just met his soulmate. He beams back, “I certainly am now.”