In Front Of A Camera

• chapter nine •

TW// Eating disorders and Domestic abuse

Louis couldn't help the way his heart skipped a beat when his phone buzzed and the screen lit up, showing he had a text message.

From Harry.

His whole face lit up when he read it, Fashion Week was a huge deal and he was thrilled that Harry got to be a part of it.

Louis: Harry that's incredible! Congratulations! I'm going to be a photographer there, maybe we'll see eachother :) I'm so proud of you, that's really amazing.

Harry, like Louis, also couldn't help the butterflies he felt when he read Louis' text.

•

"So um, I have some news." Harry said as he set a plate of breakfast in front of Liam, who inspected it, before giving a nod of approval and digging in.

"Oh? And what's that?" He asked, his mouth full of food as he scrolled through his phone.

Harry sat down at the table across from him, half an apple and a tablespoon of peanut butter on his own plate. He smiled nervously, "I got invited to Fashion Week!"

"Fashion Week?" Liam asked, not looking up. "What's that?"

"Only like.. the biggest event in fashion of the year! And I get to model! You should come," Harry said, taking a small bite of his apple.

"Oh, Harry." Liam rubbed a hand down his face and finally looked up. "What on earth makes you think I would want to come spend a week watching a bunch of fashion twinks?"

"I.. well I thought since I'm gonna be there you might," Harry mumbled quietly, looking down at his plate.

"I see you every fucking day Harry, I don't have to go to some sort of fashion event to see you. You know I don't like those weird outfits you wear sometimes, and I don't wanna be in a sea of people dressed like that." He muttered, taking a bite of his eggs with an irritated look on his face, "You're so damn stupid sometimes. You know I don't like that stuff. No need to ask."

"Right..sorry." Harry said quietly, holding back the tears that he felt coming to his eyes. "Y'know what? I'm actually not that hungry anymore, I'm gonna go take a shower."

"What about the dishes?" Liam raised an eyebrow at him.

Harry gulped, "Oh yeah... I forgot. I'll get those done first."

Liam nodded and went back to scrolling through his phone.

Harry couldn't stop thinking about the contrast between Liam and Louis' reactions to the news.

Shouldn't his boyfriend be more excited than a friend?

•

The weeks leading up to Fashion Week went by in a blur. Harry had been doing a lot of fittings and going to plenty of meetings to make sure everything was set and in order for him.

And now, the day was finally here.

It felt surreal as the Uber pulled up to the hotel. "I can't believe this is happening," he said quietly to Mitch and his girlfriend Sarah, who were accompanying him.

"Exciting, isn't it?" Mitch responded as they got out of the car and headed inside.

•

"It should be under Rowland," Mitch said, holding Sarah's hand and waiting while the receptionist pulled up their information.

"Perfect, you'll be in room 301, third floor," she said, handing them their key cards.

"And my room would be under Styles," Harry said watching as the receptionist's smile morphed to a frown.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked, he was a bit tired and just wanted to get to his room so he could rest before the big week started.

"Um.. well we don't have a reservation under that name," she replied, "and we're completely booked."

"Fuck." Harry groaned, "You're kidding right?"

"I wish I was sir," she apologized. "I'm sorry."

"Well sorry doesn't fucking fix it now does it?" Harry raised his voice a little.

Mitch sighed, Harry had been polite and decent recently, so he figured another tantrum would be coming. He just wished it wasn't happening during Fashion Week.

"You can stay with us in our room," Mitch offered and Harry shook his head.

He was starving, tired, and just overall cranky.

"Lord, that's the last thing I wanna do." Harry muttered, his ears turning red as his anger was rising.

But, it was then, that he heard a familiar voice.

"You can stay in my room with me if you'd rather?"

Harry had never turned his head so fast in his life, he was lucky it didn't cause whiplash.

"Louis?"

Louis was standing at the opposite side of the desk, checking in with the other receptionist.

"Last I checked it's me, yeah." Louis laughed a bit. He could see Harry was in one of his moods and he was trying to ease the tension.

"I... are you sure?" Harry asked.

"Yeah of course! I have a single king room, if that doesn't bother you too much."

Harry's stomach flipped and his cheeks turned pink. "Oh, not at all. That'll be fine."

Mitch and Sarah shared a knowing glance as they watched the two interact. It was so blatantly obvious that they had feelings for one another.

"Do you think they're gonna get together?" Sarah asked as they all headed to their rooms.

"I think that if they ever accepted their feelings for each other they would. I just don't think they know how they feel."

"Touché."

•

"How is it that you're literally always conveniently around when I need you?" Harry asked, setting his suitcase down and plopping himself onto the top of the bed.

Must be written in the stars. Louis wanted to say.  "I dunno, but it's definitely ironic," is what came out instead.

Harry nodded, and stared up at the ceiling silently before speaking again. "You've honestly been exactly what I needed so many times recently."

"Oh?" Louis' heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah.. like the rides, the hugs, helping me when I fell..." Harry said quietly. "Liam... he means well, he does, but the way you've responded in these situations is something I'm not even sure he's capable of. I want him to be, I want him to be like you-" Harry immediately froze, he hadn't meant to say that out loud. That's not how he actually felt.. was it?

"Harry..." Louis said quietly, putting a hand on his arm gently.

Harry turned to look at him, and the sincerity in his eyes completely destroyed all his doubts. This. This was what he wanted.

And that, was the first time he ever kissed Louis Tomlinson.

Hey guys! Stella here:) hope you enjoyed the chapter!! More to come soon! Please leave any feedback you may have, thanks for reading 💛