Hey! I know I've been gone a while, but I was working out some plot stuff for the future chapters. Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: This is a work of FICTION not meant to imply anything about anyone or any organization mentioned in the work.
Harry
Harry loved the New York City Ballet. He fit in surprisingly well, and he was dancing better than ever. That might also come from the fact he's been training like a maniac lately, but that's not important. New York was really starting to feel like home. Harry didn't get homesick for London like he used to, and his new friends were a large part of the reason why. The group he got sucked into was like a family. And now that Harry was part of the group, he got invited to the annual Friendsgiving they threw.
Most of the dancers couldn't go home for Thanksgiving, because the opening of Nutcracker was the next day, so the soloists hosted a dinner on Thanksgiving for the dancers and crew stuck in town. That included Harry this year, and he wouldn't be seeing his mom or sister until Christmas, since they can't make the trip up from Ohio because of Gemma's pregnancy. It hurt that Harry wouldn't see the baby's birth, but that's the life of a dancer, he supposed.
Harry got to the studio at six, per usual, and did his entire workout routine. He was getting a twinge in his knee, but he could ignore it. This happens all the time, it probably isn't a big deal. When he came upstairs to get ready for class, there was a noticeable excitement. It made sense, as today the company was beginning dress rehearsals. It was a huge deal, and the show was really coming together. Zayn was finally done with the costumes, even though he would be making alterations for the entire run of the show. Liam loosened up, thank god, and he plays Mother Ginger like he was born for it. Niall turns out to be made for Drosselmeyer, his dramatics bringing a new dynamic to the character. El, no matter how nervous she was, was crushing Marzipan. Like crushing it. The pliates she was doing with Harry had been paying off, as her turns were reaching new levels. Gigi looked gorgeous, but something was off. Her Dewdrop Fairy was lacking her usual energy, and as soon as she finished a run through, she looked like she might pass out. Maybe it's a cold or something.
Harry's favorite dancer to watch in rehearsal was Louis. He just had this presence, like as soon as he stepped into the studio you better watch him. The Candy Cane role isn't a huge one, but watching Louis, he made you believe he was the main character. His energy was insane, and he was wonderful with the kids he performed with. Watching him with them was a lot like watching Louis with his younger sisters. When Harry had shown up to the Tomlinson household to make cupcakes a few weeks ago, he didn't expect the blonde herd of children he was faced with. But watching Louis interact with them, the soft light in his eyes even when he acted annoyed was truly something to behold. Harry never had a younger sibling, and he always admired those who did.
Harry continued to walk through Lincoln Center, passing by exhausted corps de ballet members, the bags under their eyes complimented by the slow, sluggish way their legs moved. The corps de ballet was by far the most overworked members of the company during Nutcracker. While the soloists and principals got nights off, about three a week, the corps had to perform at every show. So, they were already exhausted, and it wasn't even opening night.
Opening the door to the studio, Harry was greeted with the sight he was gifted with every morning. Gigi, looking like she rolled out of her grave, El being weirdly peppy, and Louis being his usual self. At the moment, the sunlight from the floor to ceiling windows was shining through the strands of his hair, making his caramel-colored locks look more blonde. He was deep in conversation with Eleanor, who was blushing while she pulled on a black legwarmer for her knee that was acting up. Louis had a sly expression on his face, and Harry would think he was flirting with her if he didn't know for a fact Louis was straight as a kid's teeth before braces.
"Hey everyone!" Harry greeted the trio, walking up to them, green juice in hand. It tasted like utter shit but Gigi told him it would help his performance, so he had to give it a try.
"Hey, Haz." Louis said, looking up at the taller boy from the ground. His eyes seemed extra bright today, the blue complimented beautifully by his emerald green sweatshirt. Harry needed help. And he should probably call his boyfriend. "El was just telling us about her date with a certain brunette boy." Louis raised his eyebrows at Eleanor, and she just flipped him off. She was smiling, though.
"Did you two finally go out?" Harry asked, excited at the prospect of those two finally getting their shit together. "Where did you go?"
"He took me to a Japanese steakhouse, which I love by the way." She smiled. "But it might not have been a date. I didn't clarify." El looked down at her lap, fidgeting with her acrylic nails.
"You've got to be kidding me." Gigi piped up from where she was laying on the floor, face down. She pushed her torso up, stretching her back in a cobra pose. "He literally kissed you goodnight. I saw it!"
"You did WHAT?" Eleanor yelled, her eyebrows disappearing behind her bangs. Harry and Louis watched with their jaws on the floor.
"I saw you! Out the peephole. I heard noises outside and wanted to make sure Louis wasn't coming over again to-"
"Okay, well let's focus on the kiss thing." Louis said suddenly, cutting Gigi off. "I feel like we glossed over that too quickly." Louis' eyes were wide, his mouth pinched at the sides. His cheeks had a cute pink flush to them, and Harry really wanted to know why.
"Well, it was a good kiss." El said.
"So why in god's name would you think it might not be a date, dumbass?" Gigi questioned, raising her right eyebrow like she did when she was smug.
"He hasn't mentioned anything about like, being boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Listen, El." Harry responded, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sure he's just nervous. It took Adam like three weeks and like a billion dates to be my official boyfriend anyway."
"Well, Liam needs to get it together." Louis said, tension in his shoulders coming out through his voice. "Some people may think it's fine to jerk others around, but Liam isn't doing it to you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, eyes zeroing in on Louis irritated expression. Louis turned to look at Harry and winced a bit.
"Nothing. Just let me talk to Liam." Louis muttered, standing up to take his place as the barre as the doors opened, with Cowell behind them. Looking at Louis stretching his hamstrings, Harry could only think well at least Liam and El have their shit together.
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Harry worked on his Friendsgiving dish all day. Eight hours. Turns out making cranberry brie bombs was more complicated than he assumed. So, Harry had barely any time to get his hair looking acceptable and put on a good outfit before he left. He decided on a blue silk button up with white polka dots, black skinny jeans, and he just kept his hair down in his natural curls. Hopefully, that would do. Harry rushed out his apartment, pulling on his Chelsea boots, and grabbing the brie bombs, careful to make sure nothing happened to them. All set, Harry went to pick up Adam.
Yes, Adam was coming. This was the first gathering that Adam was coming to with Harry's friends, and Harry was a bit of a train wreck just thinking about it. So when Adam and Harry arrived at the yellow door with the scratch that Louis put there one night when he was drunk, Harry kind of wanted to throw up. Or move to Ibiza. But then Adam knocked, and both of those options were out the window. The door swung open revealing Louis, looking cheerful, his cheeks warm with life, and the crinkles by his eyes present only when he really smiles. That all went away when he looked to Harry's left and saw Adam.
"Long time no see, Lou!" Adam greeted, while Louis smoothed a neutral expression onto his face. Harry felt something drop in his gut.
"It's been a while." Louis said, a plastic, thin smile on his face. It looked wrong.
"Where can I put this?" Harry butted in, looking for a way to ease the newfound tension as he gestured to his container of cranberry brie bombs. Louis shifted his gaze to Harry, and he visibly relaxed a bit.
"Follow me, we've set up the food family style in the dining room." Louis said, taking a breath and gesturing behind him before he turned and walked into the apartment. Adam followed, and Harry shook his head to try to make the anxiety go away, then walked into Louis' home. Harry had never seen the dining room before, even though he'd been over a few times. The dining room was painted a pale shade of green, and warm laughter echoed around the room. It seemed Harry and Adam were the last to get here, as the whole gang was sitting around the long wooden table. Food was spread all over the surface, a turkey in the center. Harry was curious as to who cooked that since both Louis and Niall were hopeless in the kitchen.
"Harry and Adam are here guys." Louis called out, gesturing to the couple standing a few feet apart. The room turned to look at him, welcoming smiles on his friend's faces. Louis quickly sat down next to Zayn, who was next to Gigi. There were two empty seats across from him, which Adam and Harry took after hanging their coats on the back of their chairs. Harry thought he saw Louis looking at his chest, but to be honest he could be hallucinating.
Unfortunately, Harry wasn't hallucinating how Louis looked. It was unfair. He was wearing a soft grey sweater, which hung low enough to show off Louis' collarbones. His hair was up off his face, and the shadows the candles were casting over his face made his cheekbones look sharper than usual. The sharpness was contradicted by Louis' bright eyes and small hands that were currently wrapped around a fork while he ate his green beans Eleanor made. Harry needed to stop staring at Louis' hands.
"So Adam, I know you and El are friends, but we don't know too much about ya." Niall said, breaking the silence created by the members of the dinner absolutely stuffing their faces. "What do you do for work?"
"I'm an art curator." Adam replied, putting on his people pleaser smile. "Pick which art is pretentious enough for the galleries in the city."
"Seems interesting." Ed said. "I mean, we all work at the ballet together so we don't hear about any other jobs often." He let out a chuckle, and everyone around the table let out a little laugh.
"I mean, I'm not a ballet expert or anything, but you guys were amazing when I went to see Eleanor in Jewels last year." Adam smiled, and El blushed a bit. Liam narrowed his eyes.
"Have you ever seen Harry dance?" Gigi asked from her place beside Zayn. The two of them were a matching set these days, if you wanted one you had to bring the other.
"I haven't, actually. Planning on coming to opening night tomorrow though."
"Wait, you didn't tell me that!" Harry exclaimed, a smile overtaking his face.
"Wanted to surprise you." Adam shrugged. Harry grabbed his hand under the table, while Louis reached for his glass of wine.
"I guess we'll see you tomorrow then." Louis said, making eye contact with Adam for the first time since he came in.
"I guess you will." Adam replied. Louis took a gulp of wine.
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Dinner had gone surprisingly well after that. Harry was pleasantly tipsy, jokes just a bit funnier. Adam had charmed the whole table, Louis excluded, but something was up with him. The whole meal, Louis was either being louder than normal, or unusually quiet. The whole thing was a bit unnerving. Ignoring that though, it was a nice meal. The food was great and everyone loved his brie bombs. Zayn even asked for the recipe. That being said, all the wine made Harry have to piss.
Harry walked down the hall after extricating himself from Niall's legs thrown over Harry's own. Louis was doing some clean up in the kitchen, and Adam had gone to get more wine. Harry was just about to the bathroom when he heard voices, clearly arguing. Harry tried to be a good person, but he had always been nosy. It's his biggest fault. That and his horrible alcohol tolerance.
"I'm just saying, you better not do to him what you did to John." A voice whispered, but it sounded incredibly angry. It sounded like Louis.
"Oh please, I didn't do anything to John." The other voice said, a bit of a mocking tone to the voice. Harry was positive it was Adam. But why were Adam and Louis arguing?
"I vividly remember you trying to cheat on John with me. But if that's nothing to you, then you have some serious mental issues." Louis' voice spat out, and Harry could imagine what his face looked like even from behind the wall he was using to hide. Blue eyes fiery, brows furrowed. A lot like his face looked the night they kissed. And wait, WHAT? Adam was going to cheat on his ex with Louis? Louis would never. Adam would never.
"I just offered you some fun between friends. John didn't have to know."
"Adam, I'm only telling you this once." Louis' voice began. "If you hurt Harry, or even think about cheating on him, I will personally see to it that an entire group of ballet dancers beat your ass."
"Whatever, Lou." Adam said, no trace of a waver in his voice. "But if you ever want to put that ass to use, call me." A sound rang out like someone got slapped. Harry could guess what happened. He felt sick suddenly, like his body was outgrowing his skin. He was struggling to breathe, and he still had to fucking piss. Harry rushed down the hall, opening the bathroom door without knocking. At worst, he expected maybe a dick to be out. He didn't expect to see Gigi sitting against the bathtub, tear tracks staining her face.