Temptation (Larry Stylinson) ✅

19. Pizza

"Oh my god, what is that?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow as Liam set the pizza box on the table and opened it up. Inside, instead of a normal, thin crust pizza, was a 4-inch thick circle that looked more like an actual pie than a pizza pie.

"Welcome to Chicago, lad!" Zayn said with a grin, slapping a hand on Harry's back.

"Have you never had deep dish before?" Louis asked, smirking at Harry as he passed plates around the table.

"I-- no. I haven't. I don't even know what deep dish is... but I guess it's this," Harry replied with a nervous laugh.

"It's Chicago style pizza. Thick crust, deep dish. You'll like it, trust me," Liam said, taking a seat next to Zayn. Harry took a seat next to Zayn as well, and Louis filled the empty seat between Liam and Harry. It almost felt like a double date -- only Harry and Louis weren't dating. At least not yet.

But much to his own discomfort, Louis' mind was taking him there, to an alternative universe where he didn't have commitment issues and was happily dating Harry, enjoying pizza nights and movie outings and cuddles. It was something so foreign to him -- so silly even. Yet for whatever reason, it felt exactly right with Harry.

After sitting down, the boys began to each take a slice, a rather messy process given the sheer thickness of the pie, not to mention the dripping, gooey cheese. Once everyone was served, they all stared at Harry, waiting for him to try his first ever deep dish, a rite of passage for U of Chicago students -- especially foreign exchange students like Harry, who had likely never tried it before.

Harry struggled with the slice, unsure how to hold it. He ultimately decided to squeeze it together like a burrito, and started to eat the cheesy part first.

"No!" Zayn cried. "You have to eat the crush first. It's a ritual."

Harry looked up, realizing no one else had touched their pizza yet. "Are you wankers all staring at me?" he pouted, furrowing his brows. "Stop. Go on, eat."

The boys started to eat theirs, crust first as Zayn had instructed, but not without glancing in Harry's direction. Harry stared at the crust, unsure how he was going to eat this without making a mess. If he was hanging out with Niall -- or even Liam or Zayn -- he wouldn't care at all about getting sauce all over his face. But with Louis there, it was hard not to feel self-conscious. After all, he had already cried all over the lad. He didn't want to embarrass himself further.

Sighing, Harry took a big bite of the crust, quickly chewing it and washing it down with water.

"What do you think?" Louis asked, nudging his shoulder playfully. Harry resisted the urge to blush and cleared his throat. "It's good. Doughy!" he said with a smile. Hopefully, there was no crust in his teeth.

"Alright, go on, try the cheesy part now," Liam said, continuing to devour his slice, which was already halfway gone.

Harry nodded and tugged at his collar, feeling a bit pressured by how demanding they were being about the way he ate this god forsaken monster pizza. It was quite a bit odd, if you asked him...

Louis munched on his own slice, watching Harry carefully as he worked his way onto the cheese. It was quite a hilarious sight to see. The cheese was sliding off the pizza, and Harry was attempting to put it back on. When that didn't work, he slid it into his mouth, which resulted in a huge string of cheese stretching from his pizza to his mouth.

Red faced, Harry struggled to eat the cheese strand, but it was taking too long, so he ripped it off, nearly dismantling his pizza in the process. Louis was trying not to react because he knew it would make Harry's dimply cheeks turn red and get him all worked up again, but it was just so funny. He couldn't help but burst out giggling.