Note To Self (Harry Styles AU)

Chapter Sixty Three.

Post-prom activities ceased to exist because every business closed by ten o'clock in an tiny town, and by midnight the girls were home in bed and Liam and Harry were on the couch in Harry's living room. Dad had provided each with a celebratory beer, something Liam hated the taste of but drank anyway, and bellies were stuffed with chips and anything else they could forage for in the cabinets. Reruns of Fresh Prince ran on the television for hours, even long after dad had left them in pursuit of bed.

Harry had curled himself up against the arm rest and chewed on a piece of mint gum that had lost its flavor all too soon, turning rubbery and pungent tasting between his teeth. A commercial break willed him the power to get up and throw it away, but he stole a new piece from the pack on the counter.

Liam looked up at him when he reentered the living room, tired face leaned against his palm. He wasn't expecting Harry to speak when he settled back in his still-warm spot. "Can I have my wallet back?"

His voice startled Liam out of his nearly sleeping state, awakening him fully in a fraction of a second. "Oh yeah." He'd changed into a pair of Harry's pants, but had absentmindedly slipped the wallet into his pocket once again. Fumbling in the loose fabric to grab it, it was tossed onto Harry's lap.

His thumb ran along the edge of the leather of the item he'd missed so badly just a few hours earlier, and he chewed on his lip. He inhaled sharply, getting ready to speak, but he stopped before the words came. He was nervous for his confession, but also dying to tell his friend. Lips pinched together, and then he forced himself to speak. "I needed this."

"Sorry, I'm so used to carrying mine that I forgot it was yours," Liam apologized.

The wallet was gently tossed in the air, landing back in Liam's possession. He grasped it off his lap, and looked to Harry with confusion in his eyes to be met with assured ones. "Open it and look in the coin slot, then tell me why I needed it."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Liam followed Harry's orders, flipping the folded piece of leather open to look inside. Harry's face in his driver's license stared back at him as his fingers fumbled through, and the zipper used for the safe keeping of coins was pulled open. There were no coins.  Just the condom Harry had, not so coincidentally, stashed away inside early in the night. It fell to his lap and he looked to his friend, "Dude, I'm sorry."

Harry's teeth chewed on the inside of his cheek, and he confessed. His voice was low, keeping his words just loud enough for Liam's ears and nobody else's. "I did it."

"You did?" Liam's eyes scanned his face for some sort of... anything. Any emotion at all would've sufficed, but Harry's nerves for what Liam might say kept his face blank. "Like, did it, did it?" Harry's index finger was held over his lips, urging Liam to speak more quietly. He was very aware of his parents just up the stairs, and the last thing he wanted was for one of them to overhear. Liam's voice dropped just as quiet as Harry's. "You lost your virginity?"

Harry nodded, and the fact that Liam didn't seem disappointed in him provided enough comfort to smile. "Not entirely on purpose, but certainly not on accident either."

Liam eyeballed him with confusion. "What does that mean?"

"Like, I wanted it to happen so I kind of planned it, but I also didn't expect it to happen the way it did." Harry wasn't looking Liam in the eye anymore, focusing his attention to the seam of a decorative pillow. "At least expected a bed, not a car."

Liam snorted, "You had sex in your dad's car."

Harry cracked a full grin, trying not to be amused by it. "I did."