Golden Gloves (Larry Stylinson) {Co-written with @bradfords}

Chapter 14 (Part 2)

"Are you ready yet?" Harry knocked on the door.

"Just a minute!" I groaned. "You didn't tell me we were going on a date, so I didn't bring anything nice to wear."

He rattled the door knob impatiently and I heard a thump. "Babe, open the door."

"No!" I whined. "I don't have clothes, my hair won't cooperate, and I just...look awful!"

"Louis, I'm sure you look fine."

"No!" I sat down on the bed after throwing a pillow at the mirror.

"We don't have time for this, our reservation is at six."

I stomped to the door and yanked it open, glaring at him through my messy fringe.

He started laughing and I threw my hands up and scoffed. I turned my back on him , but he grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug, still laughing.

“I’m sorry, you’re just so cute when you’re pouting.” He let me go and I frowned. “Come on, I’m sure we can figure something out.”

He tugged me into the bathroom and had me sit on the counter, then went into his room and came back with a tub of hair gel. I eyed him warily as he got some of the stuff on his fingers and came towards my head with it.

He combed his fingers through my fringe, pushing it back and up. Unfortunately I was facing away from the mirror so I couldn’t see what it looked like, but I trusted that Harry wouldn’t make me look bad on purpose. Besides, he had great hair.

Everything about him was great. And then there’s me. The skinny boy with flat hair and no friends. Compared to Harry I was like a crumb and he was like the whole loaf of bread.

“Hey, why are you crying?” Harry dropped the brush and his hands cupped my face. “I told you I’d help you.”

I covered his hands with my own and sucked in a sharp breath. I hadn’t even realized I was crying. “No, it’s not that, it’s just...”

“What?” He asked hesitantly. “Was I hurting you?”

“No, I ehm, Well, you’re so amazing and I’m...not. I just can’t make sense of why you love me. There a a ton of people lining up to date you, so why would you choose me of all people? I’m nothing special.”

“You’re special to me.” He smiled softly.

“Why? There is nothing great about me. I’m not handsome, I’m not smart, I’m not really funny, I’m annoying, I don’t know a thing about boxing, I-”

The air was sucked out of me, literally. Harry had stopped my rambling with a kiss like in one of those cheesy romantic comedies. It tasted slightly salty from my tears, but any kiss with Harry was a good one. He moved his face back a few inches and looked into my eyes with his bright green ones.

“You’re right.” For a minute I felt my heart break, but then I saw a smile make it’s way onto Harry’s face and I knew he wasn’t finished. “You’re not handsome, you’re beautiful. You’re not smart, you’re intelligent. You’re not funny, you’re hilarious, and believe me, you are not annoying. I love having you around.” He kissed my cheek, then straightened his back. “We’re not going to like all the same things, but that’s okay.”

I swallowed thickly and pulled his hands into my lap, entwining our fingers.

“I know, I’m just being stupid. Ignore me. I don’t want to ruin our date.” I groaned, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

He ruffled his fingers through my hair one last time, then grabbed a shirt and a pair of his pants from the bed and threw them at me. Apparently he had gotten the pants and the hair gel at the same time.