Archive of Our Own ^beta

When Harry opens his locker, there's a box wrapped in blue tissue paper, wound messily in a skinny white ribbon, just sitting on top of his textbooks. A piece of paper taped to the top of the box reads

To Harry,

Happy Christmas! I noticed how you're always chewing on your pencils in class so I thought this might help!

-Your Secret Admir Santa xx

Harry rips the paper off the box and opens it. Nestled inside is a Superman pez dispenser, complete with candy refills, and several unsharpened Superman pencils.

Underneath it all is a tiny sticker in the shape of a bat and words pencilled in on the box itself, almost too light to see: Batmans better but I know you like Superman :(

Harry stares at the collection of stuff in the box. There's really only one person at the entire school he knows of who loves Batman enough to leave a message like that, because Liam Payne, track and field star and boxing champion and darling of the administration for being a strong upright young man who encourages his fellow students to abide by school rules, is notorious for his love of Batman.

But there's no way this is from Liam Payne because there's no way Liam Payne has been watching Harry closely enough to get him anything like this, and there’s especially no way that Liam Payne would ever reference Harry’s (admittedly true) oral fixation in a note.

Harry frowns at the box for a moment longer, then shakes himself and gets the textbooks he'll need out of his locker. He pauses, then takes one of the pencils, too. "Louis!" he hollers, heading towards Louis's locker, which is two classroom lengths down from his own.

"You rang, darling?" Louis asks. He's currently stuffing a change of clothes into his locker. His hair is damp, too; there must have been an emergency footy practise this morning.

"Who'd you give my combination to?" Harry asks, when he's close enough to talk quietly.

"Oh, for Secret Santa?" Louis says, and Harry nods. Louis grins. "Well, you see here, young Harold, I don't know."

Harry kicks his ankle. "Yes you do."

"I'm not going to tell you," Louis amends and then, adopting the I'm a wise elder who knows best tone he's started using lately because he's older but also an idiot, says, "All things shall be revealed in time."

Harry groans. "I'll figure it out without your help, then," he says, and wanders off to find Zayn.

+++

The thing is, Harry knows that he's a catch. He's charming and cute and loads of girls dissolve into giggles whenever he smiles at them, and the stuffier old teachers tend to smile back at him even when he gets a bad grade on something, so he knows he's likable. Plus he wins a pretty good proportion of his debates and Niall, his oldest friend, is the kind of guy who knows absolutely everyone. Plus Louis is the captain of the football team, so Harry gets a certain amount of sway being one of his best friends.

But Liam is the nicest and probably the most popular guy in school. He's got a lot of super athletic laddish friends – some (Louis) nicer than others (Andy) – but he also is best mates with Zayn, who is notorious for being able to pull just about any girl or guy he wants to even though he's technically a big dork whose only extracurriculars are the graphic novel club and the literary magazine. Liam’s in the school chorus, too, so he's got a lot of friends there as well, and he's so polite and sweet to absolutely everyone else he comes across, and, well.

Harry fancies him rather a lot. Liam fills out his shirts so very nicely, and he's got a lovely face with the most gorgeous soulful eyes and hilariously expressive eyebrows and a sensitive mouth and a good strong neck with a birthmark that Harry wants to run his teeth over again and again (Once, when Harry was high with Niall he may have spent a good twenty minutes ruminating about whether the birthmark would taste different from the rest of the skin). If anything is true about Harry, it's that he just really loves beautiful things. And Liam is beautiful.

Liam is also a great boyfriend, which Harry knows from observation and also hearsay, because Liam managed to date Danielle Peazer for two full years, starting when he was in his first year at the school and she was in her next-to-last, despite being younger and bumbling and not quite on her level, socially, when they first got together, and he also had a bit of a relationship with Tom from the swim team for a couple of months until their schedules thrust them apart. Tom kept telling Harry about how sweet and considerate Liam was when they were changing out for gym class, about how Liam was heartbreakingly earnest and how they both went into it for a bit of fun but Liam was still so serious about his fun and how Tom was worried he might start developing stronger feelings about the lad if he wasn’t careful and how they’re still good mates because he literally can’t not be good mates with Liam (Harry can identify with the feeling).

Sometimes Harry is a little bit alarmed by how very much he knows about Liam Payne, given that their main points of interaction are trying to get through their physics course together, which neither of them are very good at, and talking to him at parties when Liam is stood serving drinks so that no one notices that he's not actually having any himself (besides Harry, who is generally stood watching Liam serve drinks because the way Liam wraps his hand around the keg hose or the necks of the liquor bottles gets him overwhelmed). Louis likes to call it Harry's little stalking problem. Harry just likes to think that he's trying to understand how one boy can be so incomprehensibly good-hearted (Harry is nice, he knows that, but he's not so totally selfless and intrinsically kind and he just doesn't understand how Liam can be).

So like – Harry really wants to believe that Liam is behind the Batman note, because one fact that he's gathered about Liam over the years is that Liam is obsessed with Batman. But it's likely not, for a multitude of reasons.

Hence his decision to ask Zayn if there's anyone else in the school who has Batman as an obvious favourite.

+++

"I dunno what to tell you, mate," Zayn says, hardly looking up from where he's thumbing through songs on his ipod. "I don't exactly keep a list of everyone's favourite hero in my back pocket."

"You should," Harry says, a little petulantly, but he leaves it at that, pushing himself up off of the ground by the orchestra room door because the end-of-lunch bell's going to ring in a few minutes anyway; he might as well head toward his classroom. About to head off, he thinks of something and pauses. "You don't have classes in this wing, do you? Why are you eating lunch sat outside the orchestra room? You can't even hear any music right now."

Zayn pinks a little bit, which is interesting. "My Secret Santa gave me something with pork in it," he says steadily, not meeting Harry's eyes. "Thought I'd pass it on to Niall; he's a regular human garbage disposal."

Interesting. Harry shoots Zayn a wicked look promising no end to teasing at a later date, but he's got physics next and he wants to make sure that he's still got the seat next to Liam, so after a moment of supreme anguish at being torn between teasing Zayn and getting to see Liam for three more minutes in the day, he dashes off.

Liam is sat in his usual seat, one chair away from the window (so he can get the light but doesn't get distracted by looking outside; Harry's had this discussion with him before).

Since Harry has no compunctions about looking out the window during physics class, he takes that seat. "Liam," he says, amiably. He's spent a lot of time perfecting the nonchalant hello.

"Harry," says Liam. He grins. "How's it going, mate?"

"Great," Harry says, and then, feeling quite daring, adds, "My Secret Santa got me this excellent gift today."

Liam turns to Harry, face open and guileless. "Yeah? What's that?"

Liam's never acted in any of the school productions, so Harry's not certain how good of an actor he is. This is a problem; Harry'd thought he knew next to everything about the guy. "Some excellent Superman stuff," he says, taking the pencil he'd brought with him out of his backpack and smiling his most charming smile at Liam. "Have you got a pencil sharpener I could borrow?"

Liam makes a pained face. "For Superman?" he asks. "I don't know if I have a pencil sharpener for Superman."

"But what about for me?" Harry asks, batting his eyes, careful to adapt a joking tone because he'd probably die if Liam got the idea that he might be serious.

"Fine," Liam says, rolling his eyes and rummaging through his bag. "I suppose you can put that nasty thing in my sharpener just this once."

Harry raises his eyebrows, sniggering as he accepts the pencil sharpener. It's a hard battle to keep his own face from collapsing into fondness when Liam blushes, but someone's got to fight it.

+++

The next day, Harry gets a pair of socks with a Superman logo on the sides, an ornament, also with the Superman logo and, inexplicably, a little tube of superglue. This time the box is wrapped in green tissue paper and instead of a ribbon and tape, it's been sealed with little star stickers in blue and silver and red and gold and green.

The accompanying note says,

Harry,

I've heard that you like "insufferably hipster bands" (I won't tell you which friend of yours told me as I am intent on preserving my secret identity), so today your gift is inspired by the lyrics to one you friend mentioned that you like. The superglue is to prevent your arrest and to remind you of the moral of that lyric! Superman and Spiderman have got nothing on Batman.

Happy Christmas,
Your Secret Santaman xx

It takes Harry a few minutes to remember the lyric in question, but when he does, he feels a bit faint that someone's gone so far as to listen to one of the most obscure songs he enjoys.

He says nothing about the gift until Louis mentions an upcoming festival and does Harry want to get the tickets this time on their way back from lunch that day. "Yeah, sure," Harry agrees, because even though he pays for both of their music festival day passes at twice the rate that Louis does, it's mostly because he can actually afford to. Also, he's already bought them passes to the festival in question for Louis's Christmas present. Then he levels a stern look at Louis. "That is, if you don't think my music taste has gotten too 'insufferably hipster.'"

Louis gives him a wide-eyed look in response, which pretty much just confirms that he's the one who told Harry's Secret Santa about the song Harry sometimes sings along to when they're driving around in his car.

"I'll find out who it is soon enough, you know," Harry says, proud that his voice doesn't sound too pleading.

Louis raises his eyebrows at him. "Obviously," he says. "But for now I get to watch you suffer. Everybody wins!"

"Remind me again why you're one of my best mates," Harry says, and Louis attacks him by jumping up on his back and latching his hands through Harry's hair and oh yeah. That's why.

+++

Harry actually shows up to the graphic novel club meeting after school that day, since there's no Debate on Tuesdays, dragging Niall along with him, partly to keep him company and partly for the second set of ears.

Interestingly, Niall doesn't protest too much.

During the meeting, Harry makes a point of mentioning how Superman is better than Batman at least twice, elbowing Niall hard from where he's staring off into space somewhere in Zayn's general vicinity to remind him to peek around the room and see if anyone is reacting in a way that would indicate that they're Harry's Secret Santa.

As it turns out, Niall is totally useless at the task, seeing as he keeps staring in Zayn's direction, and –

Oh

Wait a minute –

"It's like that, is it?" Harry whispers at Niall, in the middle of someone talking about some comic book that Harry doesn't really know anything about because he's generally just more into the movies.

"What's like what?"

"You and Zayn," Harry says, because he's known Niall since they were three; he knows what crushes look like on the boy.

Niall looks at Harry sharply, the tips of his ears turning red. "Might've kissed him at a party last weekend," Niall mumbles, and wait, what.

Since he's obviously not getting anywhere with this meeting, Harry makes his excuses and ducks out, dragging Niall with him so that he can question him more thoroughly. Once they're out in the hall, he says, "Thought it was just a crush."

"I mean," Niall says. "It's a bit of that, too."

"You should have told me," Harry says, well aware that he sounds petulant as fuck and that his bottom lip is jutting out something horrible. His pout grows when Niall just laughs, a little breathlessly, and punches Niall’s arm before wrapping his arm around Niall’s neck.

"I didn't – I wasn't," says Niall, after he's stopped laughing. "I mean, I didn't want to make it out to be anything."

"It's obviously not nothing."

"I don't know what it is for him," Niall blurts.

And there it is.

As Harry hugs Niall, he spares a thought for what an opportunistic little shit he is, because yeah, he knows a lot about Liam but Liam doesn't know how much Harry knows about him. So maybe a good, effective way to get to know Liam better – on the terms of an actual normal person instead of on the terms of someone who is just creepily collecting information about the cutest boy in school – is to use Niall and Zayn's whatever to his advantage.

+++

Wednesday. Harry opens the red-wrapped box excitedly. Inside, nestled on a bed of cotton balls and candies, is a Superman belt buckle.

He looks around for a note and finally finds the press of pencil lead in the top lid of the box. Part of it is erased. What he can see reads Batman would look better on you but I'll hold true to your preferences. xx

Harry takes the tissue wrapping and pulls that stunt that people do in books and movies all the time, holding it flat against the erased part on the box and shading over the entire thing with one of his awesome new Superman pencils. When he's done, he reads: Not that you need to draw even more of my attention to that crotch of yours, but ;)

His stomach turns over and his heart probably does, too. For a brief moment, his thoughts flash to what he's getting for the girl he drew back when Niall had the bright idea to take all of his friends' names down and put them on slips of paper in his favourite snapback and do this whole Secret Santa thing – Jade is a sweet girl, and one that Harry has had many classes with in the past, but he's mostly getting her generic things that her girlfriend, Harry's friend Jesy, told him she'd like – candies, cute floral pins, lots of bowtie-themed headbands and handkerchiefs and the like.

It's nothing like the way Harry's Secret Santa, who does seem to have a bit of a one-track mind, is spoiling him.

+++

He brings it up with Liam during physics that afternoon, when Liam sees the belt buckle that Harry has already slipped on, even though it doesn't really go with his shirt, and made a face. "Superman, Harry? Really?"

"It's from my Secret Santa," Harry says, indignantly, adjusting the belt buckle a little bit so that it's more front-and-centre. He keeps an eye on Liam as he does, hoping –

But Liam just glances away once he notices what Harry's doing. Harry has to swallow his disappointment, shrugging it off as he puts his backpack down on the floor by his seat and sits down.

"So are you just getting Superman stuff, then?" Liam asks, as Harry leans over to get his notebooks and the pencils his Secret Santa'd gotten him on Monday out of his bag.

"Think so," Harry says, flipping through his book to find the page he'd left off on in the previous class.

Liam leans forward, arms on the table, hands folded loosely together. "It doesn’t get a bit repetitive?" he asks, twisting his head so that he's looking directly at Harry.

Harry considers the question seriously. "Not really," he decides. "I doubt I'd get anything like it from friends or family for Christmas this year?" He smiles. "I think my person is really spoiling me, if I’m honest."

Liam smiles back, politely. "How so?"

"I'm pretty sure they've already gone over budget," Harry says. "Considering everything I've already gotten by day three." He doodles a little spiral in the corner of his page and glances up at the clock. Class is due to start in another two minutes. "But enough about me, have you gotten anything good?"

"Nothing as fancy as what you've got, I'm afraid," Liam says, and then he frowns. "Sorry, that was uncharitable of me, I've loved everything I've gotten. But it's mostly been candy and ornaments so far."

Harry's heart flips over in his chest again at how sweet and thoughtful and considerate Liam is, even of the feelings of his Secret Santa. He ducks his head to hide his (probably tellingly) fond smile. Once he's gotten control over it, he says, "By the way, Liam, I've been meaning to ask – does Zayn have a thing for Niall?"

Liam stares at him, eyes wide. "Um," he says, starting to frown slightly.

So Harry hastens to add, "Niall's got a bit of a thing for Zayn, so I was just wondering. Apparently they snogged a bit last weekend."

It's at that moment, with Liam's eyebrows shooting up and lovely mouth opening to speak, that their teacher comes in and starts class, but since it's physics and it's basically a lost cause already, Harry just pushes his notebook between the two of them and writes, ps don’t tell them I asked obviously

Liam glances at the paper, then takes out a biro and drags the paper closer to him. Zayn hasnt mentioned but I wouldnt be suprised

Harry frowns at the paper. Liam's handwriting looks familiar, but he can't quite place it. why wouldn't you be surprised?

he keeps going off during lunch and every time were in history hes always watching Niall not the powerpoint

Their teacher clears her throat and stares directly at Harry and Liam, so Harry shoots her his most charming smile, eyes purposefully widened to portray the ultimate degrees of his innocence. Her face softens, slightly, and she only looks at them a moment longer before turning back to velocity equations, or whatever it is that they're learning now.

When she's fully turned back to the whiteboard, Harry writes you and I should do something about it maybe and pushes the paper an inch closer to Liam. Liam doesn’t drag it closer to respond, though, and when Harry looks over, Liam is staring forward at the board with such a look of guilt on his face that Harry just – well.

Liam is like this total strange beast who actually feels bad about being caught passing notes by a teacher and who thinks about being polite about his Secret Santa and who is always ready to engage in conversations with just about every student at the school, and Harry knows for a fact that there's a whole gaggle of girls half in love with Liam (he considers himself an honorary member of their number; they don't know about his own massive crush on Liam but he overhears them talking in debate and at Liam's track meets and boxing matches – because Harry, of course, goes to every single one too – and he fancies himself in the same boat as them by now) and Liam is perfectly nice to every single one, and how can a boy – or a girl, Harry supposes – be expected to just not fall hopelessly head over heels for the guy?

Harry's not entirely convinced that Liam isn't actually a really advanced robot from the future, designed to ensnare the hearts of millions and manipulate them into becoming a human army for all the robot overlords down the road, to be honest (That's another conversation he's had with Niall when they've been really high, giggling and shooting the shit in Harry's kitchen and trying to decide if their munchies outweighed their laziness at cooking food).

Regardless, though, Harry doesn't understand how Liam can be so red with embarrassment and so nice and so thoughtful and sweet and unattainable. As a general rule, Harry doesn't do unattainable. This is really inconvenient, actually, the way that his heart pounds harder and his palms get really grossly sweaty and the way that he keeps feeling this swooping, swelling sort of sensation in the pit of his stomach whenever Liam does something particularly inexplicable and cute. Harry would much rather pop a stiffy in the middle of a conversation with a really hot girl than feel these things about Liam Payne all the time, because at least he'd know what to do with a sudden erection and a hot girl.

He leans in close to Liam when their teacher's back is turned and whispers, low and slow, "Relax, Payne, it's okay."

Liam shudders and glances at Harry, who smiles encouragingly back, and that's basically it for their conversation until the end of class, when Liam agrees that he'll think about mentioning something to Zayn.

Harry is three steps away, en route to his English course, when he realises that Liam has said something.

"What?" he calls back.

Liam grins, gesturing between the two of them, at their – crotches? What? – and says, "We match! Except mine's better."

Harry stares after Liam as he winks and goes on his way, and yeah. He's well and truly fucked.

+++

Wrapped neatly in purple paper decorated with curled gold ribbon the next day is an iPhone case with the Superman logo on the back and a note that reads as follows:

Harry,

I hope these gifts aren't getting repetitive! I just couldn't help but notice the other week that your case was cracked and I suppose when it comes down to it if you go crazy then I'll still call you Superman. I must confess that I fancy you a bit and if you don't fancy me back that's okay because I really don't mind what happens now and then as long as you'll still be my friend at the end.

Your Secret Santa-Admirer xxx

Harry's heart thuds deep in his chest, because this is honestly one of the sweetest notes he's ever gotten but he just feels so badly for whoever his Secret Santa is, because all he can think of is how much he wants it to be Liam but he's so sure it isn't, not after every conversation he's had with the guy this week.

Niall comes up beside Harry, snacking on an apple. "What've you got there?" he asks, reaching out to look at the note.

Harry snatches it back. "It's from my Secret Santa."

"What does it say then?" Niall asks, grabbing for it again. This time, Harry lets him take it and watches as he reads it, eyebrows shooting higher and higher. Finally, he grins and looks at Harry and opens his mouth, doubtlessly to take the piss.

So Harry interrupts him, plucking the paper from his grasp and saying, "By the way, Niall, Liam reckons Zayn fancies you back. I think you should make a move."

He heads to class, leaving Niall spluttering in his wake.

+++

Harry groans, thumping his backpack onto the floor and sliding down the wall into a sit, then letting himself topple to his side, head in Louis's lap. "Louis," he groans, wrinkling his nose at the way that Louis smells. Sitting together after Louis's football practise and Harry's debate team meetings on Thursdays and waiting for Harry's big sister to come and take them out for a bite to eat on her way home from hockey practise at the posh girl's school she attends is routine, but usually Louis bothers to shower in the gym locker rooms before he heads out. "I'm having a crisis."

Louis's fingers automatically find their way into Harry's curls, tangling up in them as he scratches soothingly at Harry's scalp. "What's going on then, babe?"

"Reckon I'm in love with Liam Payne," Harry says, miserably.

Louis's stomach clenches in a way that Harry easily recognises as suppressed laughter, so he pokes Louis's ribs hard to get back at him. "I thought you already knew that," he says, finally, so Harry rolls over enough that he can glare up at Louis.

"Well, yes, but it's gotten worse," he says, and then: "Stop laughing, Lou, this is serious."

To his credit, Louis smooths his face over and looks solemnly down at Harry, clucking his tongue sympathetically. "Poor Harold, go on and tell Auntie Louis all about it."

Harry rolls his eyes spectacularly at Louis, to show him what he thinks of the title Louis just gave himself, then sighs heavily. "He's just so sweet and cute and I don't understand it because he felt guilty when we got caught passing notes in physics and he just cares about everyone so much and is so nice to everyone and he's just so good."

"Yeah, you've got it bad, mate," Louis says, grinning again. "Just kiss him and see what he says."

"I can't," Harry says, feeling a bit sick with his feelings.

"Hold on," Louis says. "I could have sworn that Harry Styles, notorious kiss addict, said he couldn't kiss someone. Harry, you've kissed half the people at this school."

"I know," says Harry, corners of his mouth turning down as he speaks. "I'm well aware. But it's just – Liam is so good, Lou, so incomprehensibly and intimidatingly good. I just can't kiss him like he's just anyone."

"Harry," Louis says. "You realise that the two of you are my best mates, right?"

"Yes," Harry says, slowly.

"And I therefore know him really, really well."

"I suppose."

"Then I hate to break it to you, mate, but you've put him on a bit of a pedestal."

Harry sits up so quickly that his head swims. "I have not," he says. "You know Liam, you know he's, like, innately good."

"Well, yes," Louis admits. "But he's not nearly as unapproachable as you seem to think."

"Louis," says Harry. "I really appreciate you, I seriously do, but you've been happily dating Leigh-Anne for months now; I think you've forgotten what it's like to be single and uncertain."

"Harry," Louis says, tone as serious as Harry's was. "You've not been uncertain a day in your life."

"I am now," Harry whines. "Loving Liam Payne is hard."

And of course his life pretty much ends right then and there, because he hears a gasp and looks up and sees Liam Payne's retreating back hurrying away and he just feels so awful that he actually starts to tear up.

Life is so unfair.

"Life is so unfair," he says to Louis, who absolutely definitely saw Liam, too, and Louis just looks at him sadly and tugs him in for a cuddle.

+++

The next day begins awfully, simply the worst in Harry's life. He's already exhausted when he gets to school, because he spent the night tossing and turning and thinking about how Liam now knows that he's creepily obsessed with him and totally in love with him, and if Liam does what he literally always does and acts nicely about it then Harry will probably die of mortification.

As soon as he walks into the school, he sees Zayn and Niall holding hands and leaning their heads in close together by the water fountains, whispering about something with these adorable secret smiles on their faces that Harry absolutely loathes. Good for them, he supposes, but it’s nothing he wants to see, so he just hurries on past them.

Louis is nowhere to be found and Liam, thankfully, isn't either, and when Harry gets to his locker there's no present waiting inside, and like – he's glad that he doesn't have to deal with letting his Secret Santa down easily yet, but he was also looking forward to finding out what his big present was, so he’s even more disappointed now.

He gives Jade the posh collection of vintage bowties he found at a secondhand shop a week ago in their French class and she thanks him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and not even that alleviates his utter distress at the fact that Liam knows about his crush.

He swears to never ever fall for someone like that ever again because it's entirely too unpleasant. Kissing girls and some guys at parties is all the feelings he'll need, probably, until he starts dating someone and develops any feelings appropriately for once.

Harry is just about to sneak off school grounds for lunch and go somewhere with lots of greasy comforting food and then probably skive off Physics and the rest of the day and possibly also the rest of the term, when Liam comes running up behind him.

"Hi Harry," Liam says, pausing two feet away.

"Hi," Harry says, frozen in his spot and feeling altogether too many feelings about just seeing Liam's face again. Liam's friendly face. Oh good lord, Liam is going to be nice about this whole thing. Just like Harry thought.

Harry is going to be violently ill all over the place.

"I was wondering – can we talk?"

"Yeah, what is it?" Harry asks, knowing full well what it is.

"Not here," Liam says. "Um, not in the hallway."

"Was going to get McDonald's or something," Harry says, slowly.

And Liam nods and says, "Okay, let's go," which is – surprising, honestly. So much so that Harry is shocked out of protesting.

The walk to the restaurant is silent, awkwardly so. Liam doesn't really say anything until they have their burgers and chips and are sat at a table that is only a little bit sticky.

"Harry," he says, unwrapping his burger and folding his hands together instead of picking it up and eating it, and oh god, Harry really shouldn't have gotten food, this is going to be a mess.

"Liam," he says, unsteadily.

"Harry," Liam repeats, and then he looks very sad, which is – no. No no no no no. "Harry, I’m not an overwhelmingly good person."

"What?" Harry asks. This is not how he expected Liam to start this conversation.

"I'm not," Liam says. "I just – I'm just a lad, really, I mess up as much as anyone and it's hard to be so nice to so many people but I feel badly if I'm not-"

"See," Harry says, dully. "That's what makes you so good; I don't know anyone else who feels badly if they're a bit mean about someone."

Liam smiles, very slightly. "Reckon I'm just a bit weird, actually."

"No," Harry says, staunchly. "No, you're an inspiration, really." And then Liam smiles wider and reaches across the table like he's going to take Harry's hands and Harry just – he really just can't take the rejection, so he quickly says, "Liam, please, just – let me down easy, okay?"

Liam jerks his hands back in surprise. "Let you down easy – what?"

"I know you overheard what I said yesterday and I know you came here to tell me that you don't feel the same way and that's okay, honest," Harry says, feeling a bit like he's going to get weepy again. "Just don't be nice about it, Liam, I don't know if I could take that."

"I'm not – I'm not going to let you down easy, Harry," Liam says, frowning. "I wasn't – I – can you seriously not know?"

"Not know what?"

Liam looks at Harry for a long moment, then reaches under the table for his backpack. He rummages around a little bit, then draws out a box wrapped in white tissue paper, with red ribbon and a green bow. Wordlessly, he passes it over.

Harry unwraps it with trembling fingers. Inside is a Superman shirt and a card that, at a glance, seems to consist of a picture of cakes with the number forty scrawled over the top and a stick figured man in a cape with a speech bubble saying 'NOT FOUR TENS’ while pointing at another, capeless, stick figure. Harry stares at it for a long moment, torn between the urge to laugh helplessly at the card and the urge to cry at the realisation that is dawning on him now, then looks back up at Liam.

"I really don't get your affection for him," Liam confesses, earnestly. "Batman is obviously superior in every way, but I know you like him a lot, and I – Harry, I like you a lot."

"You're my Secret Santa," Harry whispers, thinking of all the borderline flirty messages he got and all the thoughtful messages he got and all the sweet little gifts and the way that he can now place exactly why Liam's handwriting looked familiar when they were passing notes on Wednesday and – but – "You acted like you weren't."

"I couldn't let you know it was me right away," Liam says, as if it should be obvious. "I wanted to put off potential heartbreak for as long as possible."

"Liam, I – I don't know what to say," Harry says, tremulously.

"Say you'll give me a chance," Liam says, immediately. "Harry, I – I rather fancy you a lot and I know that running off the way I did yesterday was not on at all, but it was so much to take in, and – I'm not as good as you seem to think I am, and I’m not as charming or interesting as you are and I don't make friends as easily, but I – I just want a chance. Please."

"What are you going on about?" Harry asks, feeling all fizzy inside, like he's a bottle of Coke that's been shook up for too long and he's about to explode with feelings all over the place. "'Not charming or interesting,' seriously. And you're the one who's friendly with like, everyone at school!"

"I'm not," Liam protests, the corners of his mouth turning down at the edges, eyebrows peaked up in concern.

"Liam," Harry says, and he has to take a drink of his water because his mouth has gone dry. "You are the single most interesting person at our school. To me."

"You're having me on," Liam says, but he's starting to smile.

"Please just don't ask Niall how much I've learned about you because of how interesting I find you," Harry murmurs, scooting forward in his chair. "I mean, Liam." He looks straight at Liam. "How long?"

"Oh," Liam says. "An embarrassingly long amount of time, if I’m honest, but I didn't know what to do about it until Louis pointed out what being your Secret Santa could mean."

Harry makes a mental note to kill Louis till he's very dead for knowing so much and saying so little. "Me too," he says, scooting still closer. He looks at the table stopping him from moving even closer, and the food on it, and feels less than hungry now that everything is getting all sorted out. He's full on life, and love, and Liam. "Liam, are you hungry right now?"

Liam looks down at the table in surprise, almost as if he's forgotten they were at a restaurant. "Not really," he confesses, making a face. "I really only came because you suggested it."

Harry grins. "Do you want to head out? And maybe not back to school, I can think of more interesting things we could be doing that don't involve learning."

A flash of pain crosses Liam's face, but he nods. "Yeah," he says. "Yeah, I think I can give up on one afternoon of classes. What did you have in mind?"

"Well," Harry says. "For starters, I'd really like to snog you properly, but not – well. Not in the middle of McDonalds."

So they clear their trays and as they walk out of the restaurant, Liam slips his hand around Harry's wrist and lets it slide down until they're holding hands, fingers tangling and arms swinging as they walk.

Harry doesn't have the textbooks he'll need to finish homework for the weekend, but he can probably text someone about that. For now, he wants nothing more than this: to tug Liam along the snowy streets and duck into a park that they pass on their walk and wrap his arms around Liam's shoulders and have Liam plant his hands firmly around Harry's waist and lean in, pausing mere inches away from his face, the hot puff of his breath brushing against his lips, until Harry can't stand it anymore and he's forced to close the distance between them with the softest, sweetest kiss he can remember having.

+++

On Monday, Secret Santa's over with and there's no present waiting for him inside his locker.

When Harry turns around, though, Liam is stood right behind him with a smile on his face that only gets bigger when Harry launches himself into his arms, and that's probably the best present he could possibly get, anyway.