Chapter Text
Harry Styles glanced at the reflections of his bickering fraternity siblings Gemma and Niall in his vanity mirror. He sat on a stool placed in the center of the room lined with a rose-patterned fabric that matched the comforter on his bed, where his golden doodle, Bruiser, was comfortably resting.
“At least mine doesn’t frizz!” Niall pointed to his heavily gelled-up hair. “My hair will look the same all day as if I had just freshly redone my hair!”
“So what if it will never frizz,” Gemma said, unimpressed. “Your hair looks as unnatural as a Kardashian's face.”
“It’s also adding to Niall's over-inflated ego,” Harry whispered to Bruiser, who looked up sympathetically. Both Bruiser and Harry had heard Gemma and Niall's countless arguments before. Harry refused to get involved, for the sake of the feelings of both parties, and the fact that his mother, the trendiest hairstylist in Beverly Hills, had done Niall's hair. Anyhow, Harry had a more pressing concern.
“It’s not unnatural! It’s structurally sound!” Niall said stamping his foot. There wasn’t half an inch between Gemma and Niall, squared-off chest to chest.
Gemma’s lips, swollen from constant biting, were set in a smirk with her classic burgundy-stained lipstick making an appearance. Despite the fact that Gemma had extensive piercing on her face and ears, she prided herself on not letting anyone touch her hair. She had done her own haircuts for years and wasn’t going to let anyone change that, not even the chagrin of her mother could change that.
“Have you guys totally forgotten? Tonight could be the night!” Harry shouted to get Gemma and Niall's attention. “I need to look perfect. I want everything to go exactly right tonight!”
“Of course, I didn’t forget,” Gemma said, turning her back to Niall. “I even got a Cosmo tip for you. I read that you can totally put someone at ease by matching their body language. The article said that Jennifer did that with Brad and it made it a lot easier for him to pop the question since she was kind of nervous beforehand.”
“Harry is a gay man. I hardly doubt some Cosmo tip will be very helpful, Gemma,” Niall smirked when he chimed in. “Anyways, Nick has to propose to you tonight, Harry. Not only is it your third anniversary, but I checked your chart and masterful Saturn has begun a long transit through Taurus. It’s your time to make life-altering decisions.”
Harry appraised his appearance once again in the mirror and decided that he needed to readjust his curls a slight bit. His long, curly hair curled and framed his smiling face. His flawless complexion was set off by huge emerald green eyes that shone with kindness and compassion, and his slim figure perfectly fit into his tailored scarlet red suit.
“In fact, I’m way ahead of you, Harry,” Gemma said. “Look what I picked up today!” She held up a copy of In Style Weddings with a shot of J-Lo on the cover.
“Oh my God!” Niall shrieked. “Not that one. Don’t you know anything? J-Lo never should have done that cover! There’s an In Style Weddings curse. Like three of their cover brides, including Courtney Thorne-Smith, were divorced before the issue ever hit the stand!”
“That’s true,” Harry said, “but that was totally super sweet of you, Gemma.”
A voice over the fraternity house intercom suddenly interrupted them just as Gemma pulled out the latest issue of Brides magazine: “Nick is here, Harry.”
“Keep your fingers crossed!” Harry said to Gemma and Niall as he checked his reflection again, still unsure about the outfit he had chosen “Are you sure this is it?” he asked his friends for the millionth time.
“Maybe you should go with pink. It is your signature color,” Niall said. “Ow!” Gemma had given him a sharp elbow to the ribs.
Harry stood frozen, suddenly unsure of his voice. Would this be the suit he would want to tell her great-grandchildren about when he regaled them with stories about the night that Nick proposed? What if it looked dated and stupid by then?
“No, Harry, that’s it,” Gemma said. “I’m positive! Red is the color of confidence and it matches your aura.”
“Well, I don’t want to look like I expect anything.” Harry tucked her curly brown hair behind his ears, checking his golden H ring Nick had given him for his birthday was securely in place on his finger.
“He’ll ask. You know it’s coming, Harry,” Niall said sounding dismissing Harry's insecurity. “Anyway, Gemma’s right. Red is better.”
“Group hug!” Gemma announced, and suddenly Harry was sandwiched in between both Gemma and Niall's bodies.
Nick stood waiting in the foyer of the Sigma Alpha Iota house. His tall stature and handsome looks never failed to leave all of Harry’s fraternity siblings in stunned silence. As Harry approached him, Nick pulled him close to himself with one arm while smoothly holding a dozen long-stemmed pink roses in the other.
Harry snuggled up against him; his smile and dimples lighting up the room as his delight to be with Nick radiated from him. Harry was completely absorbed in the moment. “Niall, will you put these in a vase for me?" he absently asked his friend, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs with the rest of the Sigma Alpha Iota house, all trying to look casual while inspecting the couple with magnified intensity and definitely a bit of envy.
“I’ll do it,” Gemma said, stepping in front of Niall and making an obvious show for everyone standing on the stairs of tucking In Style Weddings under her arm before she reached for the flowers. “Nick, you look fantastic. Anything special planned for tonight?”
Nick looked slightly amused by Gemma’s comments and gave her a devastating smile.
“Every night with Harry is special,” he said. The entire Sigma Alpha Iota audience standing there may or may not have swooned. He gave Harry a smile and squeezed his hand. “C’mon, Harry. I don’t want to be late.”
As Nick guided him through the Sigma Alpha Iota front door, Harry looked back over his shoulder at Gemma and Niall, who were both giving him a big thumbs-up.