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Chapter Text

The Email

Hi Nev and Max.

I saw you were doing an international season, and I really need your help.

My name is Louis and I’m currently living in Doncaster, England. I’m 20 years old and soon I’ll be moving to London for university, but I don’t want to leave until I have met my special someone . The only problem is : I don’t even know his name.

We’ve been talking for three years now over the phone, but I don’t know his name nor have I ever seen a picture of him. The only thing I know is that he is 18 years old and lives in Doncaster as well. D espite us living this close, I have never been able to convince him to meet me. He is convinced I wouldn’t want to speak to him if I knew who he was.

But I know that he is my soul mate. I tell him everything and he knows things about me I haven’t told anyone else. I even asked him to be my boyfriend, but he turned me down , saying it wouldn’t be fair to either of us. Best friend or boyfriend, I don’t care . I just need to meet him. He’s my everything!

Another thing is that I haven’t come out . No one but my family and him knows that I’m gay. Even though I’m nervous for everyone to know I’m willing to do this if it means I get to meet the person who’s helped me through the last three years of my life.    

I really hope you can help me ,

Louis

☀ ☀ ☀ ☀ ☀

The Skype Call

When Louis had sent the e-mail to the Catfish show, he had never expected to actually get an answer. But now here he was, sitting nervously in front of his laptop as he waited for the upcoming Skype call. He glanced at his reflection for the hundredth time, making sure his fringe was looking perfect and wiped his clammy hands on his sweatpants.

Why did he do this again?

He gulped and anxiously checked the clock on the wall beside him. Only 2 more minutes left. 120 seconds. Fuck.

The two minutes ticked by hellishly slow, the ticking from the clock almost mocking him. He glared at his reflection on the black screen. Why the fuck did he ever think this was a good idea? Not only was he going to make a fool out of himself on international television, he was also going to come out to everyone. Surely he could have found another way to meet Curly.

As soon as he thought of the boy though, his nerves seemed to disappear. Right, he was doing this for Curly. His Curly. He could do this. He had to.

The sound of Skype ringing made him jump, his knee jerked hitting the edge of the table with a painful bang, and he cursed loudly as he scrambled to answer the call.

   “Louis!” Nev cheered as his face appeared on the screen along with Max’s. “How’s it going?”

Max was holding his usual hand-held camera and Louis froze for a second, staring dumbly at the screen. Right, this was actual TV. Pull yourself together man!

He quickly shook it off with a nervous laugh, running a hand through his previously perfectly styled hair. “Hi! Yeah, I’m… I’m doing great. Good to see you,” he managed to get out, voice sounding embarrassingly high pitched and he quickly cleared his throat, his face burning.

The two hosts only smiled encouragingly though and Louis felt a little better. They were probably used to it by now. Hopefully they would edit it out if he did anything too dumb or embarrassing.

   “So, tell us about this boy,” Nev started interestedly. “He must be something if he can keep your attention without giving you any pictures.”

Louis smiled fondly as the thought of the younger boy. Now that was something he could do. “He is… he really is. He’s literally the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. Like, he doesn’t have a bad bone in his body y’know? And he’s so caring; I can talk to him about anything. He knows me better than anyone else.”

   “And you really don’t know anything else about him?” Max asked, sounding a bit like he couldn’t quite understand why Louis was even still talking to him. And Louis got that, it probably did look weird from the outside.

   “Well…” Louis started with a chuckle. “I do know he has curly hair. Since I didn’t know his name, I asked if there was anything I could know. So now I just call him Curly.”

   “You mentioned that you live quite close but that he doesn’t want to meet you because he thinks you won’t like him,” Nev continued. “Why do you think he thinks that? I mean, three years is a long time. By now he must have realized that you’re not exactly going anywhere.”

Sighing, Louis shrugged, suddenly feeling a bit sad. That conversation was one he’d had with Curly a lot of times. For some reason the curly-haired sweetheart was one hundred percent convinced that Louis would walk away the second he saw the boy. And even though Louis had spent countless hours trying to reassure him that it would never happen, that Louis loved who he was as a person and didn’t care what he looked like, Curly wouldn’t budge.

Which was why Louis had written to the show in the first place.

   “I’ve tried to tell him that as well,” Louis explained with another sigh. “But he has some… self-esteem issues you could say. He’s told me he doesn’t have that many friends and that people at his school doesn’t like him because he’s ‘different’, so he feels… a bit intimidated, I think? He says that we don’t come from the same crowd, and that someone like me would normally never talk to someone like him.”

   “Wait,” Max interrupted surprised. “So he knows who you are?”

   “He does, yeah,” Louis confirmed, then blushed a little and scratched his chin awkwardly. He didn’t really like talking about himself. “I ehm… I play football, or soccer as you call it, for a local club here in Doncaster. I wouldn’t say I’m famous, but most people in the area know who I am. He probably recognized my name when I told him.”

   “And how did you two start talking?” Nev then asked, leaning forward in his chair a bit like he was genuinely interested. “Do you just text, or do you like, talk on the phone as well?”

   “It’s a weird story actually,” Louis grinned, toying with his phone as he thought back. “I called up an old mate of mine I hadn’t spoken to in a while to invite him to a party, but he’d sold his phone without telling me and gotten a new number. So Curly was the one who picked up and… we just kept talking from there. I honestly don’t remember exactly how, but suddenly we were talking every day.”

   “And now it’s been three years,” Nev said with a large smile and Louis couldn’t help but beam back widely as he nodded. Three years of not knowing, and now… he could maybe finally meet his Curly.

   “Well, we’ll do our best to find him for you,” Nev assured him, Max nodding beside him although looking a bit skeptic. Out of the two, Max had always been the pessimistic one Louis remembered. “Our first adventure in Doncaster, that’s exciting. We’ll see you soon.”

Louis gave them a thumbs up and the screen went black again. He immediately sagged in his chair, taking a deep breath. So… that really just happened. They were actually coming to Doncaster to try and help him find Curly.

His phone buzzed and he smiled fondly as he saw it was from Curly. Speaking of the sun…

                   I just fell over a puppy! ☹ Don’t worry though, I’ve already apologized! And he was totally fine, really!!

The text was followed by a string of dog emojis. Laughing loudly, Louis shook his head. His Curly really was something. He was about to type in a response when he paused. Should he tell him what was about to happen? It would be quite unfair to completely blindside the younger boy, especially when it was something as big as this. If he didn’t want to meet Louis because he was scared, how could he want to do it on international TV?

Fuck. Had Louis done the right thing by doing this? What if it scared him away forever?

While freaking out, Louis’ fingers subconsciously typed out a text that explained what Louis had signed them up for, but as his thumb hovered over the send button he froze. Should he do it? It was only fair to tell Curly, but he risked the younger boy disappearing completely. Of course he risked the same by waiting and letting Nev call instead like he usually did on the show, but maybe… just maybe, Curly would listen to someone else.  

He quickly deleted the entire text and instead sent back: Better watch where you’re going with those Bambi legs of yours Curly ;)

Curly had told him that he was naturally clumsy and would often fall over his own feet. That just added to Louis’ list of ‘endearing things about my Curly’ that he may or may not have written down in an old journal.

He totally did.

No one but his mum and his two best friends knew about Curly. And they did find it odd that he was that fascinated with someone he knew nothing about. His mum was of course a bit apprehensive at first, but she said that as long Louis was happy, she was happy. His friends teased him every once in a while, but it had been so long now that it had just gotten so normal for them to find Louis glued to his phone that they couldn’t be bothered to comment anymore.

They of course knew about his sexuality, but they hadn’t cared.

What they didn’t understand, was that Louis knew Curly. Even if he didn’t know his name or what he looked like, he knew everything else. He knew how the curly-haired boy couldn’t wake up properly until he’d had his tea. He knew the younger boy loved to sing even though he would never actually sing in front of anyone. He knew how sweets were his biggest weakness and he knew the boy was most likely the kindest person to ever walk on the planet.

He knew his Curly, and he was beautiful. From the inside and out. Louis was sure of it.

☀ ☀ ☀ ☀ ☀

Day 1 : The Visit

Louis was running around in total panic. Nev and Max were scheduled to come in less than half an hour and the house still looked like a warzone. That’s what happens when you’ve got that many kids running around, and normally the clutter didn’t bother Louis as he was a pretty messy person himself, but he was about to let millions of people see his house. He wasn’t going to let his mum look like a slob. Much less himself.

He had managed to convince his mum to take his siblings out for the day so that he would have the house to himself when the TV crew arrived. That way they could focus on what they were actually here for, and not be distracted by anything. That and the fact that his mum wasn’t too keen on letting his siblings being shown on TV.

After having removed most of the toys in what he considered record time, he quickly ran upstairs to change his shirt. Again. Just what did you put on for something like this?

When he finally left his room, he had ended up changing his whole outfit. Black skinnies and a grey sweater was a safe choice. Nothing too flashy but nothing too casual either. He had also pulled himself together to fix his hair somewhat instead of just hiding it under a beanie.

First impressions were everything, and he didn’t want the world to think he didn’t care about his appearance.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Louis nearly fell down the stairs as he ran to open it.

He reached for the door handle but paused, taking a deep breath to calm his pounding heart before opening the door.

   “There he is!” Nev cheered happily, pulling Louis into a hug. “Nice to see you!”

   “Hi!” Louis greeted, putting on his best charming smile despite being overwhelmed by the many people. “Welcome. Come on in!”

What he had totally forgotten about the show was that there was a whole crew behind Nev and Max. He of course knew that they couldn’t film everything on their own and that there had to be some extra camera men and sound guys with them, but he hadn’t quite expected the entourage that showed up behind them.

Several men and women passed him as he let them into his house, and once again he wondered just what the hell he was doing.

One of them came over and, while equipping him with a small mic, asked Louis where they should do the interview and he showed them all into the living room where they all began to set up all the equipment.

   “Your house is really big,” Max commented sounding impressed, moving the camera in his hands around to show the viewers.

   “Yeah,” Louis said somewhat embarrassedly. “I’ve got six younger siblings, so we gotta have some space for us all.”

   “Wow,” Nev said surprised, now having spotted the many pictures of Louis’ family on the walls. “A crowded house. Are all of them girls?”

Louis shook his head and pointed to a picture of the youngest twins with a large smile. He loved talking about his siblings. Being a big brother to them all was the best thing in the world. “Nah, got one little brother, Ernie. The youngest of the lot along with twin sister Doris. They’re a handful but I love them.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed how the crew was arranging different cameras and microphones around the living room. The room looked a lot smaller with all the people in there, and he felt slightly claustrophobic with all the equipment.

   “Your mom must be pretty amazing to deal with that many kids.” Max ran the camera over the many pictures of Louis’ family before turning it to Louis.

   “Yeah, she really is,” Louis mumbled, looking at an old picture of him and his mum. “She’s the best person I know. She’s always been there for us when we needed her, even if money was a little tight and she had to work over. I stayed home for a year longer to make sure they were alright with money. Dan just got a promotion though, so she insisted I leave for uni.”

Why he suddenly felt the need to share that, he had no idea but he had seen a lot of episodes and they usually did a little bit on the family life of the hopeful before talking about the catfish. So hopefully he wouldn’t look too stupid.

   “We’re ready,” a guy behind Max suddenly said and they were all directed to the couch.

Suddenly nervous again, Louis fiddled with his fingers as he tried to ignore the big camera in Max’s hand that was pointed right at his face. Instead of the usual little camera, it was one of those big, bulky ones and it was really unnerving.

   “What does your mom think about all of this?” Nev then asked, going back to the subject of why they actually came there.

Louis shrugged. “At first she was apprehensive about everything, but that’s pretty normal I guess. I know it’s a weird situation, but she’s warmed up to it. Says that as long as I’m careful about what I tell this person, she won’t stop me. I guess she saw how happy he made me, and it’s pretty clear he doesn’t want anything from me, so she doesn’t mind.”

   “And she also knows about your sexuality,” Nev continued, Louis nodding in confirmation, starting to feel a little uncomfortable. He knew he was going to come out, but actually doing it was harder than he thought. “When this episode airs it’s basically going to be your… coming out. So this is a big deal for you. You’re willing to come out to find this person.”

   “If it means I get to meet Curly, I’ll do it,” he said, voice a bit squeaky. “It’s about time anyway and now is as good as any other time I guess.”

He had come to terms with his sexuality a long time ago and he wasn’t embarrassed by being gay, not at all. But he had seen how cruel some people could be and he wasn’t sure if it was something he wanted to have to deal with for the rest of his life. On the other hand it would be nice to finally have laid all of his cards on the table for people to see, no longer having to hide himself.

Both Nev and Max nodded, looking slightly impressed with Louis. Louis knew it wasn’t the first time they had someone come out on their show, but he imagined they felt both honored and a bit pressured. Louis was sacrificing a lot of his personal life to find his Curly and he could only imagine they would feel horrible if they didn’t manage to find anything.

   “This is obviously a bit of a rare case,” Max stated after a few seconds of silence. “We’ve got a person who you met on accident, but who knows who you are. Instead of giving you a fake name and face pictures, they haven’t given you anything. Do you have any idea what to expect if we find him?”

   “I don’t really care to be honest,” Louis said, and he meant it. He didn’t care what Curly looked like or what his name was. It wasn’t why he loved him. “Honestly I think it’s better he hasn’t given me anything y’know? That means he at least hasn’t lied about that. I know him for who he is on the inside, not a fake picture of someone that’s not him anyway. I love him for who he is, not what he looks like.”

Both of the hosts looked slightly stunned at this, and Louis realized he had just admitted out loud to loving Curly. Of course he knew he loved him, but he had never actually told anyone other than his mum, and Curly himself.

   “So… you’re in love with this person?” Nev asked a little carefully, not wanting to hurt Louis’ feelings.

What the hell. He was already coming out to everyone, might as well go all out.

   “Yeah, I am,” Louis answered honestly. “We just… we have this connection. I knew he was something special when he first picked up the phone. Like, we talk for hours and I tell him things I’ve never told anyone else. He just understands me better than anyone; I feel like I’ve known him my whole life. I’ve tried to ask him to be my boyfriend, but he keeps turning me down. He says it wouldn’t be fair to any of us since I don’t know who he is. It just shows he’s not trying to get anything from me.”

Both Nev and Max nodded seriously; seemingly stunned by Louis’ answer although Louis was sure they had heard it all before. Perhaps they just still couldn’t quite believe that two people could form that kind of connection without ever seeing the other person. Although Nev had been through the same thing, he’d had a picture of the person he thought he was talking to and a name, something to relate to, but Louis didn’t.

   “You said that he’d told you one of the reasons he didn’t want to meet was because people like you and him don’t normally mix,” Nev continued. “And you’re… kind of famous in the area?”

Louis laughed and nodded with a little shrug. A fair amount of people knew who he was, but he didn’t like to brag. He was just good at what he loved. “I guess you could say that, yeah.”

   “He is obviously… somewhat insecure about himself. Is that something he talks to you about?”

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Louis nodded. He didn’t really feel comfortable discussing Curly’s personal life on TV, but he really just wanted the younger boy to know just how amazing he really was. “I try and talk to him about it sometimes, but it’s not something he really wants to discuss a lot. But he’s told me that he doesn’t really have any friends at his school because people think he’s different, so he’s alone a lot. I try and tell him that I really don’t care about whatever it is that makes them think he’s different, because I know he’s gorgeous from the inside and out. I don’t need a picture to know that. But every time I try he just changes the subject, so I don’t push it.”  

   “So, you don’t have any pictures to show us, but could we see some of the messages you’ve sent to each other?” Max asked, moving over to sit beside Louis along with Nev as Louis nodded and fished out his phone from his pocket.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had deleted any messages from his and Curly’s conversation, so he just randomly scrolled up to find something that wasn’t too embarrassing. He couldn’t help but smile as he saw the conversation he had ended up at. His Curly could be cheeky if he wanted to.

                   Saw your game today, you were amazing Lou! Xx

                   … And you looked really good in your uniform :$

                  Thanks babe, those shorts really show off the goods ;) Was looking for you in the crowd but didn’t see any Curly hair. One day I’ll find you though, just you wait :P xx

                    I’m a master of disguise; you’ll never catch me alive! B-)

                    Awh, but I was hoping for a victory kiss from my favorite curly-haired babe ;) xx

                    …… :$

Nev and Max were both smiling amusedly as they read through the texts and Louis was sure his face was about to explode with fond. Every now and then Curly had a small burst of confidence and Louis loved the little streak of cheekiness in the younger boy. He pictured Curly as someone who easily blushed and he couldn’t wait to test out that theory.

   “Wow, you guys really talk a lot,” Nev said almost impressed as he scrolled through Louis’ phone. “I can see why you really want to meet this guy.”

Louis fiddled with his fingers a little, nodding. “Yeah, I really do. I’m moving to London in two months for uni and I just need to meet him before I get too busy to come back home for a while. I figured you guys were my best shot at this since I haven’t been able to convince him yet. I just… don’t want to leave him behind without him knowing just how much he really means to me.”

There was a sort of finality to his words and the interview broke up. They all got up, Nev and Max both giving him a hug before they all headed towards the door again.

   “We’ll do what we can to find him for you,” Nev promised, clapping Louis on the shoulder and Louis thanked him gratefully. He really hoped they could find out something. Anything.

As they left, a person, who Louis assumed was a producer, stayed behind to update Louis on what was going to happen next. Nev and Max were now going to go back to their hotel and go through their investigations as usual and then they would call him back with a time for the next day when they would come over again to do the reveal. They asked him if it was possible for them to get some shots of him playing football and if possible have some family or friends over for some questions.

They also informed him that he needed to send an e-mail to the guys with everything he knew about Curly – contact information, personal information etc.

He nodded, figuring he would just ask Liam and Niall to come over and play some ball with him. They were his closest friends and also knew more about Curly than most of his other friends, so they would be the best choice. Hopefully they were up for it. Otherwise he could maybe convince his mum to do it and let Lottie and Fizzy participate as well.

To make sure he didn’t forget Louis sat down to get the e-mail out of the way as soon as they were gone. He obviously didn’t have a lot of contact information on Curly other than the phone number, so he just sent that. He didn’t really know anything else about the younger boy that could help them, but he didn’t want to send an empty e-mail so he just added whatever came to mind that could be useful.

When sent, Louis sat on the couch looking around. The house was suddenly very quiet and felt unusually big now that it was only Louis in it. His family wasn’t going to come home until after dinner and there were still a couple of hours until then. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been home alone.

Deciding to just get it over with, Louis texted Niall and Liam to see if they wanted to come over the next day and help with the show. They knew he had written in to the show, but he hadn’t gotten around to actually telling them that he had been chosen. Hopefully they were up for it.

                      Ye mean they actually chose you? Sick mate, I’m in!

Louis smiled relieved at Niall’s reply and texted back a thank you. The blonde Irishman was always up for pretty much anything as long as it sounded fun. And Louis knew he would be a natural in front of the camera as he never got nervous. He just did things and had fun with it, one of the many reasons Louis loved the guy.

                      Sure Tommo, I’ll be there. Hope you’ll finally get to meet your man! ☺

He really did have the best friends in the world. They had put up with his lovesick self for three years now despite the two of them never getting to actually meet or talk to Curly; which they weren’t too happy about as they wanted to make sure he was good enough for Louis. Louis knew he couldn’t have been easy to deal with all the time. And yet they were willing to be on TV to help Louis out.

After having explained to the guys about what had gone down so far in the show, Louis turned on the TV to try and pass some time. He couldn’t focus on what was going on in the movie that was playing though; all he could think about was if Nev and Max had started their investigation yet.

Had they found something yet? Was it too impossible for them to find anything with only a phone number to go by? Louis really hoped they would come up with something, anything.

To ease his nerves, he called the only person who could properly get his mind off of everything. He would just have to make sure not to give himself away.

   “Hiii,” Curly greeted cheerfully as he picked up the phone, his low voice instantly soothing Louis’ nerves.

   “Hi sweetheart,” Louis mumbled softly, unable to hide the fond in his voice. This boy could turn him into a puddle of mush with just one word. “Good day?”

Curly started telling him about how he had come up with a new recipe for cookies with his mum because he had stayed home for the day as he was sick. He reassured Louis that he shouldn’t worry, it was only a bit of a headache and he was already feeling better.

Louis knew better though. He could hear the sadness in Curly’s voice as he said it and Louis was sure the real reason he had stayed at home was because some of his classmates had picked on him again. But he didn’t say anything. If Curly wanted to talk about it, he would have said something.

Sometimes he would call Louis up; crying into the phone because someone had made fun of him and it broke Louis’ heart. He couldn’t understand how anyone could hate someone like his Curly who had the biggest heart Louis had ever known. He was so sweet and kind and Louis wanted nothing more than to break the legs of anyone who ever made fun of the younger boy.

   “Louis?” Curly suddenly asked, sounding a little nervous. “Are you okay? You’re so quiet…”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Louis cleared his throat awkwardly. “Yeah yeah, ‘m good, just really tired. Mum made me babysit the little devils today and they had me running around all day. They’re sleeping now, thank God.” He hated lying, but he just couldn’t make himself say what was actually going on. He couldn’t risk his Curly running away.

   “Oh, do you wanna sleep then? We don’t have to talk, I’m really sorry if I’m being annoying,” Curly immediately rushed out, starting on a small ramble as he always did when he thought he was being an inconvenience to Louis.

   “Curly, babe, relax. I’m the one who called you, remember?” Louis chuckled, trying to calm the younger boy down. “’m never too tired to talk to my Curly.”

He could almost hear the younger boy blush on the other end and he couldn’t help but grin. He couldn’t wait to see that blush in real life.

   “So, tell me more about these cookies,” Louis continued, knowing it would cheer his Curly up. “’m sure my sisters and Ernie would love ‘em.”

   “As long as you’re not the one who makes them,” Curly snickered and Louis gasped in mock offense.

   “How dare you!” he huffed. “I’m not that bad and you know it! I burn something once and have to hear for it for the rest of me life. You offend me, Curly.”

The younger boy laughed loudly and Louis felt himself fond again. He loved his laugh – it was loud and slightly awkward, but it was perfect.

He wanted to tease him about not actually knowing how Louis cooked since he had never actually tried it in real life, but he knew that if he went down that road, Curly would start feeling guilty about not wanting to meet Louis and the conversation would end on a sad note. And it would be hard for Louis not to mention how they were, hopefully, going to meet soon.

They talked for another hour, Louis luckily able to keep away from the subject of meeting. And when they eventually hung up Louis was smiling like an idiot, as always.

He could actually be meeting his Curly the next day.

He couldn’t wait to finally hold him in his arms.        

☀ ☀ ☀ ☀ ☀

Day 2 : The Reveal

   “Tommo!” Niall cheered as Louis opened the door, the blonde pulling him in for a quick hug before moving further into the house to let Liam in as well.

Liam hugged him as well, smiling reassuringly at him before following Niall. He could probably sense Louis’ nerves.

Having been so excited and nervous about what Nev and Max may find, Louis had barely slept that night. He had tossed and turned in bed before finally giving up and just putting on a random movie to distract him from his whirling thoughts. There was nothing he could do but wait and he hated it. He wanted to meet his Curly now.

   “Ye look like shit, mate,” Niall commented as Louis joined them on the couch, confirming Louis’ thoughts about himself. Dark circles were surprisingly difficult to cover. “I hope for yer sake that they got some makeup for ye. That face could scare away yer man, damn.”

Chuckling humorlessly Louis punched Niall on the shoulder, the blonde winching at the impact. “Why thank you dickhead, that’s just what I needed to hear,” he drawled dryly. “Too bad they can’t do anything about your ugly mug.”      

   “You heard anything from them yet?” Liam asked, glaring a little at Niall before looking back at Louis with kind eyes.

Louis shook his head, cracking his knuckles nervously. “Of course not, they’re not gonna tell me anything before the reveal. They’re coming in about half an hour and want to do some scenes of us playing footie in the yard with Nev and Max first. I guess they’re gonna ask you guys some questions as well if you’re up for it.”

Both Niall and Liam nodded, and then did their best to distract Louis until the TV crew showed up and invaded the house again. It was probably weird for them seeing Louis so nervous. They had seen him do big drama shows and football games in school without ever being nervous and now there he was, almost a nervous wreck.

How could he not be though? By the end of the day he was going to find out whether or not he was going to meet his Curly in person. And if he ends up saying no to meeting Louis, there was a chance he was too mad and hurt that Louis had signed them up for a TV-show to ever talk to him again. It was a worst case scenario, but Louis was so afraid he was going to lose his Curly for good. He just couldn’t not have him in his life.

When there eventually was a knock on the door, Louis was almost numb and he just let everything happen around him. Nev and Max introduced themselves to Liam and Niall and they were all equipped with little mics before heading to the garden.

Outside Louis could finally relax a bit and he happily took up the challenge of beating Nev and Max in a football match. They played a three-on-three with Louis, Liam and Niall against Nev, Max and one of their sound guys.

Now, football was something Louis was good at and it helped him calm his nerves a great deal as he ran around the backyard, laughing loudly. Both Nev and Max were genuinely nice and funny guys and Louis really had fun. And he had a great time getting to kick their asses. They were all very competitive so the match probably ended up lasting longer than it was actually supposed to but eventually Louis couldn’t take it anymore. He just wanted to know what they had found.

They still needed the interview with Niall and Liam though. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too long.

After they had all sat down around the garden table, Louis brought out some refreshments for them all from the house and Nev turned to Liam and Niall.

   “How long have you guys known each other?”

   “Since we were in diapers,” Liam answered with a smile, looking at his two friends. “Tommo’s mum and mine were friends and got pregnant around the same time. We were pretty much raised together.

   “And I moved in with me family when I was around five,” Niall continued, ruffling Louis’ hair. “They let me play with ‘em in the sandbox and we’ve been as brothers since.”

   “So, what do you think about all of this?” Nev asked.

Both Liam and Niall glanced at Louis and then each other before Niall answered. “At first I thought he’d gone mad, absolutely crazy. I mean, how can ye be so invested in someone ye’ve never met? Like, he doesn’t even have a name to this person. But… I’ve honestly never seen ‘im happier than when he’s talking to this ‘Curly’, and he does seem like a great lad.”

Liam nodded along in agreement before taking over. “It’s obviously an odd situation, but the guy’s never asked anything of Louis. He’s not gaining anything from this when he actually could have been y’know? ‘Cause I’m sure that Louis would have done anything to help him if he had just asked.”

Not even feeling embarrassed about it, Louis nodded. He would have walked to the end of the earth and back for Curly, no questions asked.

   “What do you think about this Curly not wanting to meet Louis because he’s sure Louis wouldn’t like him. You believe that?” Max then asked and Louis couldn’t help but glare a little at him. This was a very sensitive subject to Curly and he didn’t like the way Max had questioned it, but he knew he was just doing his job.

   “I mean, it’s plausible,” Liam said carefully, knowing this was a touchy subject for Louis. “It’s not uncommon for some people to have low self-esteem.”

   “Especially if he’s having a tough time at school,” Niall added, Louis sending him a grateful look for standing up for Curly. “I know from our own school that people can be cruel. Having to go through that almost every day really messes with yer head I think. Louis’ someone he can talk to without having to worry about getting picked on, he’s probably just afraid of having that taken away.”

And that was the reason Louis loved Niall. He seemed like such a carefree person who didn’t really take anything seriously, but he was actually really intelligent. He knew more about what was going on around him than people would think.

Liam of course was just as great a friend. He was the sensible one, but he still knew how to have a laugh, the two of them having pulled many pranks together. While both him and Niall had supported Louis through all of this, Liam was very protective of Louis and was a bit more apprehensive about the whole thing.

He couldn’t have asked for better friends.

It seemed like that had been all they had wanted to ask the two about and they sent them on their way so that Louis could finally hear what they had found. Suddenly the nerves were back ten times stronger and Louis could barely sit still.

This was it.

Max switched out the bigger camera he had been using for the little handheld one and moved to sit on the other side of Louis so that he was sitting between the two hosts. Nev pulled out a computer from his bag and placed it on the table.

   “So yesterday, Max and I did some digging,” Nev started as he pulled up the tabs he needed. “We obviously didn’t have much to go on, but we searched on the phone number you gave us and this is what it came back with.”

He pointed at the screen and Louis followed his finger to see the name, his heart hammering in his chest. All breath left him. He didn’t recognize it.

   “The phone number you gave us is registered to an Anne Cox, does that name sound familiar to you?” Nev asked and Louis shook his head dejectedly, feeling heartbroken.

   “We tried searching for this Anne to see if she could be the mother or something. We did find a Facebook but it was private.” He pulled up the Facebook page they had found and Louis leaned in to look at the profile picture. It was a woman with a warm smile and long, brown hair. He didn’t recognize her though and there were no clues in the background to let them know if she had any kids.

   “She does have a twitter where she tweets regularly and posts some pictures of cats and nature stuff, but she seems to be a very private person about showing her family.”

Louis’ hope was slowly vanishing and he sagged in the chair.

   “However,” Nev then said, sounding a little more excited and Louis perked up. “She did mention her kids a couple of times; her daughter Gemma and her son Harry. Do those names mean anything to you?”

At first glance Louis didn’t recognize the names but something in the back of his mind was nagging at him. Something about them seemed familiar but he just couldn’t put a finger on it.

   “I’m not sure…” he muttered, trying to figure out what it was about those names. Then something clicked and his eyes widened. Could it be…?

   “There was a girl named Gemma at my school, I think she was a year above me. She was pretty popular I think, but her brother…”

Harry... He vaguely remembered an awkward, brown-haired boy being around his sister at school sometimes. They had never really crossed paths because Louis was a couple of years older, but he knew the boy hadn’t really had it easy.

Everything suddenly made sense.

   “Her brother was in the same school as us but he was teased a lot. I’m not really sure why to be honest… I don’t think I’ve ever actually spoken to him in school but…”

Nev and Max waited for him to continue but Louis was lost in thought. His heart ached for the younger boy. All of this time they had been this close. He could have walked right past his Curly without knowing but it must have hurt the younger boy so much to see Louis but be too afraid to speak to him in person.

He felt horrible.

   “Some of my friends weren’t the nicest people and I think they were after him too sometimes, so that’s probably why he thinks he can’t speak to me. He’s probably afraid I’m like them,” Louis put his face in his hands. “All this time I could have helped him. If I had just known… I could have made sure no one ever bothered him again.”  

   “Do you… remember what he’s like? What he looks like?” Max asked almost softly, probably not wanting to bombard Louis during his internal breakdown.

Louis shook his head and quickly wiped away a single tear that had escaped. “No, not really. I don’t think we’ve ever actually spoken in person. The different years don’t really communicate much. And I haven’t seen him in a couple of years, so I don’t know what he looks like now. I don’t care though… I just–” his voice broke. “I just want to meet him so that I can give him a hug and tell him everything’s gonna be okay. I’m still gonna be there no matter what.”  

   “There’s nothing really left to do other than call him and see if he’s willing to meet,” Nev said and started getting up to go call him but Louis stopped him.

   “Could you do it here? I want to be there in case he gets overwhelmed,” he nearly begged, afraid of how the younger boy was going to react to being called up on TV.

Nev looked over at his producers and they shrugged so he sat back down beside Louis and pulled out his phone, dialling the number Louis had given him. Louis’ heart was nearly beating out of his chest as Nev put it on speaker and the dial tone beeped loudly for a few seconds.

   “Hello?” came Curly’s… no, Harry’s voice from the other side.

   “Hi, is this…” Nev paused for a second and Louis realized that he usually asked for the fake name of the person he was calling, but he probably felt a little silly saying Curly. “…Curly?”

There was a long pause on the other end and Louis figured the younger boy had to be freaking out, having a stranger call and ask him about a name only Louis knew. “…Yes?”

   “I’m Nev, and I’m a friend of Louis.” Nev introduced himself as usual and Louis could hear Harry gasp on the other end as he most likely recognized the name. “I’m making a show called Catfish, and Louis reached out to me because he really cares about you and wants to finally meet you face to face.”

   “I – I’m not... I don’t…” Harry stammered nervously, obviously not knowing how to handle the situation he had just been thrown in, and Louis’ heart once again ached for the younger boy. He really hoped this wouldn’t scare him away for good.

   “You two have been talking for three years now and Louis obviously really wants to meet you. And I understand it’s probably really overwhelming for you to do this on TV, but… don’t you think it could be worth the risk?” Nev tried and Louis was pleased to hear that his voice was soft and not almost accusing at he had sometimes hear him when speaking to the catfish. “Louis is crazy about you, and I’m sure you already know that he’s a really sweet guy and this is an opportunity for you to finally meet him.”

Again there was a pause but this time you could hear Harry breathing shakily. “I’m… I’m not sure,” he eventually mumbled, voice small. “If he knew w-who I am then… I don’t want to lose him.”

Louis’ heart broke and before he could stop himself, he had spoken up, “Harry, sweetheart…”

Harry gasped loudly and there was some fumbling on the other side as if he had nearly dropped his phone. “L-Louis? W-what– I-I don’t…”

   “Baby, I know,” Louis said softly, moving closer to the phone as Nev nodded for him to continue. “And I know this probably wasn’t the best way to come about it, but I knew that if anyone could find you it would be them. I just want to be able to look at your beautiful face and tell you how much you mean to me.”  

To Louis’ horror it sounded like Harry had started sniffling and he wanted nothing more than to crawl through the phone to the other side and give the younger boy a hug. He hated that he was the reason for his distress.

   “E-even when y-you know?” the younger boy hiccupped.

   “Even more now that I know,” Louis spoke, voice gentle. “So please, come meet me?”

The silence that followed had Louis’ heart hammering. This was it. If Harry said no to this it was not likely that Louis would ever manage to convince him to meet on his own. He would have lost all of Harry’s trust.

   “…Okay.”

Louis’ heart leaped and he nearly cried. “Shit… thank you so much sweetheart, you won’t regret it. I promise. I can’t wait to finally hold you!”

Harry giggled a little nervously before Nev said something Louis didn’t quite catch in his ecstatic state. Nev then hung up and put his phone back in his pocket, smiling widely.

   “That was great Louis,” he grinned. “Looks like you didn’t really need our help anyway.”

Chuckling a little dazedly, Louis smiled back. “I’m not sure he would have said yes if you guys weren’t here. But it doesn’t matter; the important thing is that I’m finally meeting him!”

   “How are you feeling?” Max asked, the small camera in his hands almost in Louis’ face but Louis didn’t care.

   “I can’t quite believe it!” Louis breathed. “I’m so happy I finally get to see him! I just want to go right now!”

   “We’ll set up a meeting in a couple of hours,” one of the producers said behind the camera. “Then you can go change clothes and get ready if you want.”

Now that Louis thought about it, it was probably a good idea. He hadn’t changed since playing football earlier and he honestly smelled a little. That, and he wasn’t really dressed to meet the love of his life.

They decided to meet up in three hours, just after lunch, and Louis hurried up to his room to get ready. He showered, spent an hour choosing what to wear and another hour trying to get his hair just right.

In the end he chose his favorite red shirt that showed off his collarbones nicely along with a pair of black skinnies. As a second thought he also grabbed his black denim jacket, rolling up the sleeves to his elbow so that his tattoos were shown off. His hair was meticulously styled into a look that said ‘it may look like I just woke up and ran a hand through my hair but it actually took hours to get this messy look’.    

He knew he looked good.

Now he just wanted to go and meet his Curly.

☀ ☀ ☀ ☀ ☀

Day 2 : The Meeting

   “Wow, look at you,” Nev greeted once Louis opened the door for them the second time that day. Louis almost didn’t notice all the camera equipment anymore; he was just excited to finally go see his Curly. His Harry.

   “You look handsome,” Max said teasingly and Louis grinned at him.

   “You ready?” Nev then asked to which Louis nodded excitedly. He couldn’t wait!

They got into the car, Louis sitting in the front with Nev while Max got in the back, sitting in the middle seat. Louis was almost bouncing in his seat, unable to hide his excitement.

He had already told his family about what had happened earlier after the camera crew had left. His mother didn’t want his siblings on TV so they had stayed hidden while the house had been invaded. His mum had of course been apprehensive when Louis told her what they had found, but it turned out she kind of knew Anne Cox. The two of them had talked a bit here and there when they were younger, so she told Louis that if her kids were anything like her, they would be amazing. She even started to wonder about reaching out to her again now that their sons were going to hopefully be together.

Lottie and Fizzy had hugged him, and teased him of course, but they were happy he was finally going to see the boy he had been talking to for so long. They had seen how happy he was with him and they wanted the best for him.

His younger siblings didn’t really know what was going on, but they had also given him a big hug for good luck.

   “Final thoughts?” Nev asked as they headed towards a nearby park where the producers had set up the meeting with Harry.

   “I just want to see him now,” Louis breathed happily. “I’ve been waiting so long... I just really want to go and give him a hug.”

The rest of the short ride was in silence highly charged with Louis’ nerves. It was only a couple of minutes later that they finally arrived at the park and the producers told them that they had arranged the meeting by some picnic tables in a bit of a secluded corner of the park at Harry’s request.

Louis nearly ran all the way there, the camera crew fighting to keep up with him. When they finally got to the area there was no one there and Louis felt disappointed for a second until he realized that they normally had to wait for the person to show up.

The camera crew set up around the clearing so that they would be ready to film from any angle when Harry showed up. Louis tried sitting down but he ended up pacing around the table instead, Max’s little camera following him around.

Minutes went by and Louis got more and more restless. What if Harry wasn’t coming? Had something happened? Had he changed his mind? What if he just didn’t want to meet Louis anyway? Louis wouldn’t be able to bear it. He was so close now. He had to show up.

   “Louis…” Nev then suddenly said and Louis looked up, his erratic heartbeats being the only thing he could hear.

The first thing he saw was a pair of gold boots and he couldn’t help but smile. His eyes then moved up, following a pair of very long, delicious legs clad in the skinniest white jeans he had ever seen. By the time his eyes had reached Harry’s waist and noticed the boy was wearing a pink polka dot shirt with a couple of tattoos littered over his arms, Louis was outright gawking. Damn he was fit.

When he finally reached Harry’s face, it felt like the wind had been knocked out of Louis. Long, chocolaty curls fell over his shoulders framing his face accentuated by a perfectly cut jawline. Green doe eyes peeked up at Louis shyly from under his long lashes, his cheeks pink from embarrassment.

He was the most beautiful person Louis had ever seen. It was his Curly.

Without even saying anything, Louis stalked towards the younger boy determinedly and Harry actually looked scared for a second, eyes flickering to the side as if he was considering fleeing. Louis then did what he had wanted to do since he had started talking to Harry; he pulled the younger boy in for a bone crushing hug, sighing happily into the crook of his neck. He was surprised to realize that he was the shorter of the two by a couple of inches.

Harry stood there shocked for a couple of seconds but then he slowly reached up and grabbed onto Louis’ jacket, holding on for dear life.

   “It’s you,” Louis laughed happily into the younger boy’s curls, squeezing him tightly. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

   “Is that… is that okay?” Harry asked carefully, hands trembling.

Pulling back to look the younger boy in the eyes, Louis smiled widely. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”

A beautiful blush spread over Harry’s cheeks and he giggled nervously, eyes locking on his boots. Louis nearly choked when realizing the boy had dimples. Fucking dimples! How could someone so hot be so fucking cute?!

Behind them Louis was vaguely aware of Nev and Max grinning at each other while looking at the pair, but he couldn’t care less that the whole crew was staring. He was finally with his Curly; nothing was going to distract him.    

They stood there for a few moments, Louis just looking over Harry, taking everything in. The small dust of freckles over his nose, a couple of red spots on his forehead, his cute dimples, his beautiful, green eyes and god, his red, very kissable lips. Louis had always known that his Curly would be beautiful, but this… he was blown away.

   “You’re gorgeous,” he mumbled softly, reaching up to tug a curl behind the younger boy’s ear, smiling when realizing he had a French braid over the other ear. To Louis’ delight, Harry’s face heated up, the boy stuttering a little as he mumbled a shy thank you.

Nev then decided to break the moment with a small cough, smiling apologetically when both of the boys turned to him expectantly. Louis had now grabbed onto Harry’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly as he noticed Harry had realized just how many cameras there were.

His whole body was buzzing with energy as he watched Nev and Max introduce themselves to Harry and he almost felt proud of the younger boy. He had actually showed up knowing there were going to be cameras, knowing it was going to be shown on TV, despite having been afraid to meet Louis face to face for three years.

   “You’re Harry then?” Nev asked and Harry nodded.

   “Harry Styles,” he confirmed, glancing up at Louis. “My mum’s gotten married again, so she’s got a different surname.”

He had probably been informed how they found him by the producers. Louis then realized he had actually never thought about how much were going on behind the scenes when making this show. Just how much that wasn’t actually shown or told. But of course they would have told Harry everything, it wouldn’t be fair otherwise. He probably also had to sign a lot of papers like Louis did.

They all sat by one of the picnic tables, Louis and Harry on one side and Nev on the other. Max stood a little away with a bigger camera, getting a closer angle to the interview than any of the other cameramen. Louis kissed Harry’s hand that was still joined in his before placing them on the table in front of them, turning to look at Max’s camera with a wide smile on his face.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Harry had actually painted his nails, the rose pink color matching his shirt nicely. That was probably a part of what he had meant by him being different along with the braided hair. Louis didn’t mind though, not at all. If that was what Harry liked, then that was what he should do. Everyone else could fuck off with their shitty attitude.  

   “So, this was a bit of a first for us,” Nev started, looking between the two with a smile. “Because you didn’t give Louis any fake pictures or names or anything like that.”

Harry shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. “I don’t really like lying…” he answered, voice unsure. “I didn’t think it would be fair to Louis if I sent him a fake picture and I would be uncomfortable with being called a name that’s not… me y’know?”

   “So everything you have told him over the years about you is… true?” Nev asked, host-mode back on.

   “Yes of course!” Harry rushed out; looking at Louis almost beggingly as if he was afraid Louis thought he was a liar. “I never lied to you, I promise!”

Louis squeezed Harry’s hand and smiled at him softly. “I know that, baby. Don’t worry. I believe you.”

He had never had any reason to believe that anything of what Harry had told him about himself was a lie. Harry had never tried to get anything out of their relationship, so there had been no reason for him to lie.

   “The reason that you were uhm, hesitant to meet Louis was because you were nervous that he wouldn’t, uh… like who you were, because you feel that you’re different. What is it that makes you feel so different?” Nev then asked carefully, and Louis squeezed Harry’s hand again to let him know he was there for him.

   “Yeah I…” Harry cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m gay… which isn’t really something that’s very popular at our school with some people. They call me names and stuff sometimes, but they can’t change who I am, y’know? I came to terms with who I am a long time ago, but it still hurts. No one likes being made fun off. And it doesn’t help that I… look like this. I’ve always known I was gay but… I also like uhm, I like feeling pretty sometimes, I guess.”

Obviously uncomfortable, Harry started picking on his jeans, not making eye contact with anyone but Louis could still see a shine to his eyes. His heart ached. This beautiful boy shouldn’t ever have to be sad.

   “It’s a little difficult to explain, but… I mean, I like being a boy. I just want to wear pink sometimes and paint my nails and braid my hair… obviously I know it’s not exactly normal and that–”

Louis shook his head sadly, kissing Harry’s shoulder as he cut him off. “Please don’t say that babe, you’re perfectly normal. There’s nothing wrong with what you like. People are just narrow-minded.”

Glancing up at him, Harry smiled gratefully, a blush spreading over his cheeks again.

   “It is obviously a big thing for you then, being on this show,” Nev stated and Louis could have sworn he sounded almost proud. “Both of you letting everyone know a big part of your lives. Louis, how do you feel knowing that everyone will know that you’re gay after this?”

Harry looked at Louis with wide eyes as if he had just now realized that Louis wasn’t actually out to anyone but him and Louis’ own family. “Louis!” he squeaked. “A-are you sure about this?”

Nodding determinedly, Louis brought Harry’s hand up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it. “It’s about time now anyway. And if it meant getting to meet you, I’d do anything.”    

He didn’t seem totally satisfied with Louis’ answer and seemed to want to protest but Louis stopped him with a boop on the nose and a reassuring smile. This was his decision and he had been prepared to do anything to meet his Curly. It was obviously a big thing, especially because a fair amount of people knew who he was, but he didn’t care. He had his family’s support and he knew his friends wouldn’t turn their backs on him. That and Harry was all he needed.

   “Was there ever a time when you considered just stopping Louis on the street and telling him everything?” Nev asked.

   “Yeah all the time,” Harry answered sounding apologetic as he glanced at Louis. “Every time I saw him at school I wanted to go up and tell him, but he was with his friends most of the time and they scare me a lot so… I knew of course that he would never be cruel to me, but I just… I was just afraid he would stop being my friend if he knew who I was. It was really hard watching him from a distance, knowing that we were so close, but I just couldn’t do it. I even tried to stop talking to him a couple of times because it bothered me so much, but I never could… I would miss him too much.”

Louis felt so bad. He knew it wasn’t his fault, but his Curly had suffered. He must have been so lonely. Louis couldn’t even imagine how it must have been to watch Louis joke around with all his friends, the same people who had made fun of you for years. Harry must have been so disappointed in him that he was hanging out with such people.

He squeezed Harry’s hand again. It was going to change. Now he was going to surround himself with people who would accept him for who he was – who would accept Harry. Liam and Niall were people he knew he could trust and he was sure they would love Harry as well once they got to know him.

   “And you also turned Louis down when he asked you to be his boyfriend,” Nev then said with a small smirk. “Why?”

Red colored Harry’s cheeks and his eyes flickered to Louis, who grinned down at the younger boy. He had been right when thinking Curly would be someone who blushed a lot. He loved it.

   “I… I just didn’t think it would be fair to him,” Harry squeaked. “I didn’t want to trap him in a relationship with someone he was maybe never going to see.”

   “Well, now there’s no excuse,” Louis winked cheekily and Harry’s breath caught in his throat. “But first I’m going to wine and dine you like a proper gentleman.”

Once all this was over, Louis was going to make sure Harry got the date of his life. He didn’t have the exact details planned out yet, but he was going to make it big that much was certain. His Curly deserved everything and Louis was going to make sure he got it. And hopefully, this time Harry wouldn’t turn him down.  

Harry bit his lip to keep back a smile and Louis couldn’t help the fond that took over his face. This boy was so endearing it hurt and Louis couldn’t believe he was actually sitting there in front of him after three long years.

   “I’d like that…” Harry whispered shyly with a pretty smile. “The date that is.”

   “Then I think we’ll just send you on your way,” Nev said happily, getting up from the table. “Let’s not keep you guys any longer.”

   “Have fun, don’t do anything we wouldn’t do,” Max added with a grin, the camera following Louis’ movements as he got up from the table, gently pulling the younger boy up with him.

Nev and Max both left but the camera crew stayed behind to film their date. Louis didn’t mind though, he just hoped Harry would be able to ignore them as well.

Now, he just had to quickly come up with an idea for the date. He had totally forgotten that they usually let the couple loose after the reveal if the catfish and the hopeful are a good match, so he hadn’t thought of what they were going to do.

A quick look around the park gave him an idea. It was a bit childish and cliché, but he hoped Harry would like it. He grinned at the younger boy and started tugging him along towards the playground.

   “Just so you know love, this is a date but it won’t count as our first date!” he told the younger boy with a grin. “I want our first date to be something much bigger than this, you don’t deserve anything less. So, it’s a date but let’s pretend it’s not our first, yeah?”

Harry laughed as he stumbled alongside Louis, his dimples more prominent now that he was full on beaming. He nodded at Louis with a wide smile. Louis couldn’t wait to take him on a proper date.

They reached the playground and Harry glanced at Louis, looking a little confused until Louis walked over to one of the swings and gestured towards it, bowing at Harry. “Your curliness,” he said in an overly formal tone.

With a curtsey and a giggle, Harry sat on the swing, his long legs dragging across the dirt beneath him so that he had to pull his feet up under him. Louis gently started pushing him to get the swing going, laughing when Harry shook out his hair with a big smile. He looked so carefree in that moment and Louis wanted to take a picture he could keep forever.

He pushed Harry on the swing for a while, revelling in the happy laughter coming from the younger boy. When his arms tired he sat on the swing beside Harry. They looked at each other for a while, just smiling stupidly as they took each other in. He still could not quite believe that he was actually sitting there in front of his Curly.

This was the simplest yet the best date he had ever been on.

   “I’m really happy you came here,” he mumbled softly, reaching out to brush his fingers over Harry’s cheek. “I know it must have been way out of your comfort zone to do this.”

   “I was really scared when I saw the cameras,” Harry admitted with a little shrug. “But then I saw you and… I just… I really wanted to meet you.”

Louis’ heart soared and he got up, placing himself in front of Harry who was still sitting on the swing. He leaned down towards the younger boy who was now blushing furiously. “You’re amazing.”

Harry started backing up a little, stuttering nervously as Louis got closer with a cheeky grin. When they were nose to nose Louis’ grin softened to a gentle smile and he nuzzled their noses together. Harry let out a little squeak that had Louis smiling like a fool. This boy was going to be the death of him.

   “I love you.”

Both of their eyes widened when Louis realized what he had said. It wasn’t like it was the first time they had said it to each other, but it was the first time they had said it while being face to face. It wasn’t how he had imagined saying it for the first time, but now he was going to make it count.

He took Harry’s hands in his own, pressing their noses together again in an Eskimo kiss. “I know we’ve technically only met, but I’ve known you for three years now and… well, I love you. So much. I know I’ve already asked you this once without getting the answer I hoped for, but I’m gonna try this one more time. Harry Styles, will you be my boyfriend?”

There were tears in Harry’s eyes and he sniffled before nodding with a shy smile. “I’d love to,” he whispered. “And… I love you too.”

It felt like Louis was flying, every part of him was tingling with happiness. This was better than he could have ever imagined. His Curly was finally actually his. Now, the only thing that could make the day even better…

   “I’m going to kiss you now,” he mumbled leaning in close to the younger boy, who blushed but gave a small nod of consent.

Their eyes fluttered closed at the same time, Louis squeezing Harry’s hand before finally closing the space between them. But knowing they were still on camera, Louis only let it linger for a few glorious seconds before pulling back to nuzzle their noses together. Harry giggled embarrassedly and Louis couldn’t help a smug smile seeing Harry was looking at his lips.

He would save the real kissing for when they were alone.

After another gentle peck, as Louis couldn’t help himself, he pulled Harry with him over to sit in the grass under one of the big chestnut trees. They cuddled up together in the shade, just enjoying each other’s presence and the fact that they were actually able to touch. He wasn’t about to let go again for a very long time.

Louis was officially in heaven.      

☀ ☀ ☀ ☀ ☀

Day 3 : The Date

The next morning Louis spent a long time getting ready, knowing the crew was going to show up any minute to take him on his second first date with Harry. Louis chose another pair of black skinnies with a black, slightly sheer, t-shirt, knowing he looked amazing in all black. He styled his hair more into a quiff and nodded at himself in the mirror.

After the amazing date with Harry yesterday, which still had Louis buzzing with happiness, Louis had come home with a giant grin on his face much to his mother’s delight. She had demanded that he tell her everything and he hadn’t spared the details. He couldn’t have held back even if he wanted to because as soon as he got talking about Harry, it just came like a waterfall.

He promised his mum that she would get to meet him as soon as possible, which mostly meant as soon as Harry was comfortable with it. Louis just knew his mum was going to love the boy.

Right on time there was a knock on the door and Louis ran to open it, the excitement of seeing Harry again running through him.

   “Heeey,” Nev cheered with a wide, cheeky grin that Louis couldn’t help but return as he hugged him in greeting. “Soooo, how did it go?”

   “It was amazing!” Louis answered honestly, happily. “Possibly the best day of my life.”

   “Did anything happen?” Max then asked with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows and Louis laughed.

   “I don’t kiss and tell,” he grinned secretively. They really hadn’t done anything other than the occasionally cheeky kiss, but they didn’t need to know that. The viewers would see most of it anyway. “But I can tell you that I’m now the proud boyfriend of one Harry Edward Styles.”  

Both of the hosts lit up at that and Louis saw that they were genuinely happy for him. He guessed that since they saw a happy ending so rarely, it was even more amazing when it actually happened. They really were nice guys and Louis found that he was actually going to miss hanging out with them a little.

   “Congratulations!” Nev beamed, patting Louis on the shoulder. “So, what is the plan today?”

   “Well, I had my mum help me pack a picnic for us all and I figured we could just go back to the park. There’s not really much to do around here and I know Harry wouldn’t want to be anywhere too public just yet.” Louis said, nodding towards two big baskets of packed lunches him and his mum and siblings had spent a good deal of the night before and that morning making for the whole crew.

   “Let’s get going then!” Nev helped him carry one of the baskets and they all piled into the cars and headed back towards the park again where one of the producers said Harry would meet them like yesterday.

Even if he had just seen him a couple of hours earlier, Louis couldn’t wait to see his boyfriend again. Boyfriend… he still couldn’t believe he actually got to say that now.

He knew that the catfish success story count was currently zero, but he was determined to bring that up to one. Him and Harry were a done deal, he was sure of it. A big factor of course was the fact that Louis was soon moving to London, thus creating the distance that destroyed most of the other catfish couples, but Louis just couldn’t see it not working.

He would do anything to make it work.

Harry was already standing by the playground as they arrived and Louis immediately dropped everything he was holding on the ground and sprinted over to pull the younger boy in for a hug and a quick kiss.

Today he was wearing a pair of black skinnies like Louis, only Harry’s was full of holes, and his shirt was blue with white stars on it. The gold boots had been traded for a very worn brown pair. His hair was hanging loose, flowing like a waterfall over his shoulders and Louis just wanted to run his fingers through it forever.

   “Mornin’ babe,” he greeted with a smile and Harry blushed, smiling back shyly.

   “Good morning,” he mumbled, blinking up at Louis through his lashes. He then glanced over Louis’ shoulder at everyone and waved at them a little awkwardly as a greeting.

   “I packed us a picnic but I thought we could play some footie or something first?” Louis asked softly and grabbed Harry’s hands, intertwining their fingers. “Whatever you’re comfortable with, love.”

At the mention of football Harry looked a little scared and Louis remembered Harry telling him about how he had a horrible coordination and that he sucked at pretty much every sport out there.

   “Okay, so maybe not footie,” he quickly reassured the younger boy who immediately sagged with relief. “I think we’ve got a frisbee somewhere as well if you’d be more comfortable with that?”

   “Yes please,” Harry grinned, looking a bit more eager.

As they walked back over to where Nev and Max were still standing, Louis looked over at Harry and then nearly choked on his tongue, feet stumbling over themselves. Harry was concentrating fully on putting his hair into the perfect bun and didn’t notice Louis nearly falling on his ass. Louis couldn’t help it though, with the hair out of the way Harry’s sharp features became just that more prominent and Louis had to wipe away some drool from his chin, quickly looking away before he did something stupid like lick his jaw.

Jesus this kid was going to end up killing him. One day he was probably going to be so distracted by him that Louis would end up walking out in front of a car or something. At least he would die happy.

Both Nev and Max however had seen his little stunt and they were grinning knowingly when Harry and Louis reached them. Louis ignored them.

By some stroke of luck the weather was actually pretty amazing with the sun shining and a comfortable warm breeze. It was perfect for a day in the park. Louis mentally thanked whoever was watching over him for making it the perfect date weather.

They decided to divide them all into two teams and just play for fun for a while until it was lunchtime, but almost as soon as one of the producers blew a whistle, shit got real and they all wanted to win.

Even Harry got really into it and Louis loved seeing him being so happy and having fun. The whole crew seemed to like him as well and even though he dropped the frisbee more often than not, everyone made sure to include him in the game. And if Louis was beside him more than what would be normal in what was now a serious game, no one had to know. He just wanted to look out for his boy.

When they all finally tired out after a couple of rounds, they spread out the blankets Louis’ mum had packed and sat down to eat. The crew took turns eating while most of the cameramen fixed their cameras onto tripods from an angle where they could film what they needed.

Harry and Louis of course shared a blanket and Louis had made sure to pack a special lunch for his special boy. He remembered how Harry had told him that he liked to eat healthy, so Louis had spent a lot of time that morning cutting fresh fruit into little heart and star shapes along with a nice chicken salad his mum loved to make sometimes.

Himself and the crew members had gotten a standard sandwich – with a couple to choose from so that there was something for every taste – some pies and tarts and some salad. Pretty standard picnic stuff.

He grinned when Harry gasped as he opened the lunch and looked up at Louis, eyes wide. He had heard Louis explaining to the crew what foods there were to choose from so he knew that his was different.  

   “You like it?” Louis asked, nudging Harry’s shoulder with his.

   “I love it,” Harry beamed, leaning in to peck Louis on the cheek before bringing a piece of watermelon up to his lips. He hummed happily as he ate it and quickly dug into the fruit salad. Louis laughed but turned away slightly to try and hide his blush. The kiss had taken him by surprise and he could feel his cheeks heating up.

They joked around with Nev and Max as they ate, the interviews apparently being put on hold for the moment. It was nice though, not having to take what he said so seriously. This would probably just be used as little cut scenes in between the actual action to show what goes on behind the cameras.  

At some point Louis and Harry had gravitated towards each other and somehow ended up with Harry being almost in Louis’ lap, feeding each other little pieces of fruit and vegetables. It probably looked sickeningly cute but Louis didn’t care. He had never been the most physical in his previous relationships, cuddles and stuff not really being his thing, but with Harry he just couldn’t get enough.

   “Love you,” he hummed contently, nuzzling his nose into Harry’s curls. They smelled like coconut and something distinctly Harry. Louis could see himself getting addicted.

Harry smiled beautifully up at him, eyes shining with happiness. “Love you,” he mumbled back and Louis still felt those butterflies every time he heard the younger boy say it. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been that happy.

Not giving a fuck about the cameras, he leaned in, giving Harry time to pull back, and gently pressed their lips together. Harry sighed happily into Louis’ mouth and put all of his weight on the older boy as he kissed back.

Louis easily supported the weight of the younger boy, pulling him in by the waist, and the two kissed lazily for a while, completely oblivious to the many cameras pointing at them. They were the only two people in the world.

Despite it being only the second day they had spent together, there was no awkwardness in their relationship at all. Everything just seemed so natural for them, so right. Like everything had just fallen into place from the moment they met. Louis had never felt that kind of ease with anybody else before and it just confirmed to him that Harry was the one.

Eventually though the show had to go on and Louis watched as Nev took Harry over to sit away a little so Louis couldn’t hear what they were talking about. He was a little nervous but he knew Harry could handle himself. He couldn’t help wanting to be protective though.

   “How’re you feeling?” Max asked him as he joined Louis on his blanket, the small camera in his hands pointed at Louis’ face.

   “I’m just really happy,” Louis answered honestly, not being able to keep the smile off his face. “It’s better than I had ever imagined. He’s just such an amazing person and I still can’t quite believe he’s actually here, right in front of me.”

   “What are you guys going to do when you move?”

Sighing, Louis’ mood fell a little. That was something he didn’t want to think about just yet. He would do anything to make it work with Harry, but Harry needed to want to make it work also. “I’ll be really busy once I start uni, but I’m going to do everything I can to make time for him. I don’t want to lose him to something as silly as distance. If he wants to do this with me, I’ll be with him for as long as he’ll have me.”

They were quiet for a while, just watching Harry and Nev talk. Louis couldn’t hear anything of what was being said, but Harry looked quite serious so Louis figured Nev had asked him some personal questions about his side to the story. How he had felt about the whole thing as he had known who Louis was the whole time.

Whatever was going on at school or wherever Harry had been having trouble was going to stop, Louis was going to make sure of it. No one was to bother his Curly ever again. Even if it meant he had to come back down from London to kick some ass every now and then, he would gladly ditch class.

Harry was everything to him and he wasn’t going to let anyone mess with him.

After what felt like ages filled with small talk about his family, Harry and Nev finally came back and Louis got up midsentence to pull Harry into a hug.

   “I hope it wasn’t too bad,” he mumbled into the younger boy’s ear, feeling guilty that Harry had to go through that because of him. If he hadn’t written in to the show, Harry wouldn’t have had to spill his personal information on TV.

   “It was fine,” Harry reassured him. “Was nice to actually get to talk to someone about it other than my mum. And Nev knows a lot about this stuff so he made me feel a little better about the situation. They’ve seen a lot, and it’s nice knowing I’m not the only one out there like me y’know?”

   “There’s no one out there like you,” Louis grinned pulling back to boop Harry on the nose. “You’re one of a kind Curly, and you’re all mine.”

They grinned at each other stupidly until Nev ruined the moment by clearing his throat, smirking at the two boys when they jumped apart.

Nev and Max still had a couple of hours left in England so they decided to do another round of frisbee before desert. Everyone was a bit tired after having eaten so much but while it wasn’t as competitive as the first game it was still really fun and Louis once again spent more time watching Harry have fun than actually playing himself.

He knew that most of the footage of him would just be him staring at Harry with fondness radiating off of him, making him look like a sappy fool, but he couldn’t care less. Harry made him happy and he wanted to show everyone.

When it was inevitably time for Max and Nev and the crew to leave, Louis did feel a little sad. These people had brought him and Harry together and he would be forever grateful to them.

   “I really can’t thank you guys enough,” Louis said as he hugged Nev and Max goodbye. “You helped me find my Curly and made me the happiest I’ve been in a long time.”

   “It was our pleasure,” Nev smiled, clapping Louis on the back. “It’s nice seeing a happy ending for a change.”

   “I’m sorry that I ever doubted you,” Max grinned almost sincerely and Louis laughed. He’d had the feeling that Max was skeptic from the very beginning and he was also known to be the more cynical one compared to Nev, but he was a really cool guy. And Louis figured they needed someone like him on the team to keep everyone level headed.

Harry and Louis stood hand in hand as they watched the crew leave in their cars, waving until they couldn’t see them anymore. When they were finally gone, Louis turned to Harry and wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

   “It’s just you and me now, baby,” he grinned suggestively. “We can do whatever we want now.”

   “Louis!” Harry gasped embarrassedly, swatting at Louis’ arm with a nervous giggle. “Don’t say stuff like that.”          

Laughing loudly, Louis pulled the younger boy in for a passionate kiss, Harry melting into his arms immediately.

And as they stood there wrapped up in each other, Louis just knew that… yeah, they were going to be just fine.

☀ ☀ ☀ ☀ ☀

The Skype Call: Four Months Later

Louis glanced at his reflection to check if he looked presentable. His hair was a little messy and he had bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep that came with uni even if it was only months in, but he deemed himself presentable enough. Everyone had seen him at his most vulnerable anyway, so seeing him a little mussed up wouldn’t kill anyone.

The move to London had gone smoothly and he was lucky enough to get an apartment with Liam and Niall, who had also decided to move to London with him. The three of them of course had to get used to suddenly living together in a relatively small space, but they worked it out.

Him and Harry were still going as strong as ever. They had even met each other’s families, who turned out fit perfectly together. Louis still couldn’t believe how easy it had been for their families to accept each other and just become one big family.

As expected both Liam and Niall loved Harry as well and were happy to have him over whenever possible. Louis suspected it was mostly because Harry both cooked and cleaned whenever he came by like a proper housewife, but Harry enjoyed doing it so he didn’t say anything. He may or may not secretly enjoy it as well because he wasn’t the neatest person around and having a loving boyfriend that cleaned up your room whenever he came over was a godsend.

He really hadn’t thought he could love the younger boy any more, but with every day he only felt himself falling harder. He couldn’t imagine his life without the bright-eyed, dimply boy with the beautiful curls.

His thoughts were broken by the sound of his laptop ringing and he pulled up Skype, smiling widely when Nev and Max’s faces appeared on screen, Max holding his usual little handheld camera.

   “Louis my man, heeey,” Nev greeted in his usual cheerful voice. “How’re you?”

   “I’m doing good, yeah. School’s just starting up so I’m already stressed, but everything’s pretty great. How’re you?” Louis answered, actually happy to see those two again.

   “We’re great! Sooo, how are things with you and Harry?” Nev asked leaning forward towards the screen with a large smile.

Louis’ grin widened but he shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “I don’t really know… why don’t we ask him that?”

And from behind the screen Harry suddenly popped up beside Louis from where he had been hiding beside the desk Louis was sitting at. They laughed loudly as both Nev and Max jumped back in surprise. He was like Louis a little mussed up around the edges but to Louis he was still as beautiful as the first time he had seen him.

Harry was visiting for the weekend with a perfect timing to join the Skype call and Louis thought it would be fun to mess a little with the hosts. The look of surprise on their faces was hilarious and he was happy he managed to surprise them.

   “Wow, what are you two doing together?” Max asked shocked but with a big smile on his face.

   “I’m visiting for a couple of days,” Harry explained happily as he got comfortable in Louis’ lap, Louis’ arm winding around his waist to steady him.

Harry had been visiting as often as possible or Louis would go back home to also see his family. It was usually on the weekends, so the weekdays were often slow and almost torturous and it had only been a couple of months. Once Harry was out of school though, things were hopefully going to change as he was looking into moving to London as well. If that were to happen, Louis and him were talking about finding their own flat together.

   “How’s everything going with you two?” Nev asked again.

   “Everything’s great,” Louis answered, playfully nipping at Harry’s jaw. “We see each other as often as possible but it was still really difficult having to leave him just after finally having found him.”

Nodding in agreement, Harry took one of Louis’ hands and started playing with his fingers. Something he had taken to do whenever he was nervous and Louis was around. “I wasn’t sure how it was gonna go at first, but he’s been really great at finding the time to see me. I miss him when we’re apart of course, but we get to see each other more often than other long distances couples I think so I’m really grateful.”

Feeling his heart swell Louis couldn’t help but pull the younger boy into a quick kiss, humming happily when their lips met. He was vaguely aware of Nev and Max cooing at them and he had to squeeze Harry’s hip so he wouldn’t raise his middle finger at the screen.

   “So, what does the future look like for you guys at the moment?”

   “Well, I’ve obviously got a few more years to spend here in London, but Harry’s been talking about moving down here with me once he’s done with school as well,” Louis grinned, squeezing the boy in his lap lovingly. He still couldn’t believe Harry would be willing to move to London with him when he had originally planned to stay near his family.

   “I’ve been thinking about a couple of different universities and I haven’t really decided yet. But I’m probably going to go with the one that’s closest to Louis,” Harry said with a smile at Louis. “There are some great schools around London.”

   “You guys are a done deal then?” Max grinned. Harry and Louis looked at each other and smiled before turning to the hosts with large smiles.

   “Yeah, I’d say I found my one true match,” Louis nodded, laughing when Harry hid his burning red face in Louis’ neck.

   “He’s everything I wanted in a boyfriend,” Harry admitted as he peeked out from where he was hiding his face. “We’re a perfect match.”

Both Nev and Max’s faces were nearly breaking in half with how wide they were both smiling and Louis knew they were genuinely happy to see them going strong. Sometimes what they thought was going to be a success story would end up fizzling out within weeks and it must be nice to get their work confirmed by a couple who actually ended up together.

   “It’s really nice to see you two happy together,” Max said, confirming Louis’ thoughts.

   “We’ll let you two lovebirds go then. Hopefully we’ll catch up soon,” Nev started, reaching out to end the call. “Bye guys.”

   “Byyee,” Harry and Louis called happily almost in sync, waving at the screen until it went black.

Louis closed the lid and turned to the younger boy still in his arms with a suggestive smirk. “So… you, me, bed – what do you say?”

Being intimate was still relatively new in their relationship, so, much to Louis’ delight, Harry’s face turned red almost immediately and he squeaked as he nearly fell down from where he was sitting on Louis’ lap. “Louis!”

Ignoring his half-hearted protests, Louis laughed and threw the younger boy onto the bed, joining him seconds later. As soon as their lips met Harry melted into his touch and Louis couldn’t help but smile into the kiss.

God he was in love with this boy.