Harry was there the very next night, rambunctious as usual. Liam had told Louis he showed up each night but he was hoping he wouldn't since he now he had to get it over with and say sorry. With what he barely knew of the man, he wasn't sure he would let him off the hook so easily. He looked a lot nicer that day in a better suit of a blinding neon pink shade. He really did love attention.
"Hey, Mr Styles...?"
"What's up, stranger?"
"Wanted to apologise for yesterday. We kind of got off on the wrong foot, there." Harry stared at him until Louis felt a bit like squirming but he kept his blank gaze, folding his arms in preparation for what was to come.
"You were judging me, weren't-cha?"
"Only for like a second which was still completely uncalled for and I shouldn't have, sir. Honestly, you and I are different people; party animal, antisocial guy. Bottom line, it's really none of my business-"
"Sir?" His face crumpled like there was a bad taste in his mouth. "Please don't be so formal, I've hated that since I was a kid. I'm not some big shot you have to fake manners with or anything, you can trust me on that."
His expensive clothes and jewellery begged to differ but Louis didn't care enough to bring it up. He was just glad he had said his peace and if that didn't work out, it wasn't for lack of trying. He noticed Harry was still speaking to him and tried to focus on deciphering the slurred words leaving his lips with the beat slamming his eardrums every second. "I mean, sir? Way too far. That's almost like calling Simon Mr Cowell... Doesn't fit. Mostly because he definitely doesn't deserve that amount of respect either way-"
Now there was one thing they could agree on. "Tell that to Liam. Treats that piece of utter fucking shit like a god."
Harry laughed. It was loud and incredibly cute but Louis had always been a sucker for seeing people happy. It wasn't something he got to experience often so he couldn't help a bittersweet smile, pushing every emotion down as Harry composed himself. He must have really hated Simon to laugh so much, not that he could blame him.
Lou had a hunch as to why Liam acted that way and Cowell was a part of it. Just like billions across the world, he craved validation and maybe, just maybe, also had some daddy issues needing resolution? He treated Simon with awe, respecting him to a fault and that blinded him to how much of a dick he was even at the times it was blatantly obvious. Louis could distinctly remember how Liam would complain about work at times but not blame Simon who had put all that excessive workload on him in the first place.
"You've got a mouth. You're not quite as chatty when you're talking to anyone else... Does that make little ol' me special?" He batted his eyes at Louis who replayed Harry's words once more, forgetting about the random analysis in a second. Again, how could one man's face be so aesthetically pleasing?
Hazz smiled quirkily when he got no response and a dimple appeared on his cheek that made the bartender blink for a moment. With a quick pep talk about how he was meant to be helping Liam instead of eyeballing this rando, Louis went back to work and made his roommate take Harry's orders instead whenever he got called on.
Harry was grumbling to Zayn a week later as he walked to the club. Once again, Zayn nodded, adding sympathetic grunts here and there while Harry pratted on and on about Louis. His blunt was finished by the time they got there and he had run out of patience, running a hand through his hair.
"Harry, I love you and it's great you've found some new hot guy to gush over and all, just fabulous, but I can't listen to this shit forever. No offence." Narrowed eyes were the reply he received and he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look... if he's still not speaking to you, just go up to him and confront him about it directly. You're tiring me out so go tire him out instead until something happens."
"Well I've been trying, I have-"
"No. I don't just mean trying, I mean tell him directly that you miss his delicious voice and you would love to be acknowledged as you bother the hell out of him during shifts, again. Okay? Stop being a little bitch about it, gosh!"
Harry placed a hand on his chest with an overdramatic gasp but Zayn was no longer paying attention, upset about finishing his own little distraction so quickly. Still, it would hopefully help calm his senses for a bit until Harry was ready to go. Clubs were not his scene. And if not, he could just watch Liam at the counter and let his discomfort melt away with one glimpse of his usual warmth as he talked to customers. It was funny how he could give Harry advice like that when he was too afraid to speak even a word to that overly attractive man.
Now that he thought about it, Liam and Louis acted like opposites but seemed a bit too comfortable around each other to have just met. It kind of bothered him that Louis was a completely different man when he talked to Liam, becoming a lot more expressive and vocal. Luckily, he had Harry unknowingly gathering any intel on recent developments and he just had to hope they were only friends and would stay that way.
Behind the bar, Liam was digging at his best friend and asked him why he wasn't taking to Harry, anymore. He had felt there was something there when Louis first started talking to his regular but then of course, his best friend was planning to shut it down. He wished he would just open himself up for once but Louis was tired of explaining his reasons to Liam so he wasn't talking, anymore. How many times did he have to repeat that he had zero interest in speaking with the boy before he was believed, both by Liam and by himself?
"Uh oh... Well, heads up, Lou cos Harry is stubborn as fuck just so you know. He won't give up on you, just like I didn't and then maybe you'll even get another friend at the end of this! Isn't that exciting?" Louis rose his head, noticing that Liam was steadily inching away as Harry advanced towards the bar.
"Mhmm. Totally. I'm dying of excitement, literally dying." Harry took a seat, staring at Louis and the man sighed slowly in response. A customer came by and he planned to speak to her first but Liam beat him to it, winking at his pissed off best friend.
"Styles... Hey." He stared at the floor and the chronic drinker smiled, the cute dimples popping up again.
"Hi. Gonna tell me what's going on between us? I can feel a... Tension, these days. If you wanted to suck my dick or something, you could've asked." Louis choked on air, clearing his throat.
"Wait a sec- I'm sorry, what?" Harry winked and he couldn't keep his expression neutral anymore, covering his face with his hands as he chuckled to himself. Harry had never heard him laugh and he found himself very, very aroused by the depth of it. "God, man, never in a billion years."
"Ouch. You are great at hurting my feelings, mister blue eyes. Just great."
Louis didn't know how but he found himself wanting to apologise to this stranger for the second time. Apologies weren't his thing! It was one thing to offend people who deserved it but then there was Harry who could get hurt by something he said without even trying and he didn't want that. God, Harry was really something. And he knew for a fact that the sarcasm was just a cover up, proved when he managed to look up and saw he was staring at the table with a smile that looked forced.
"No, no, it's not like that. You're attractive, Styles. That's just a fact but I'm ace so... It's not really my thing."
"Oh. So... Never? I-I mean, just out of curiosity, I don't mean us or anything..." Louis chuckled as Harry nervously cleared his throat, looking out of his element which was rather unusual for him.
"If I care about you then yeah, I'd be willing. You aren't quite there yet, of course." Harry frowned and Louis sighed, patting his head. "Okay. Correction. Somehow, I'm having a full-on conversation with you right now and for no other reason other than entertainment and interest so I guess that should be considered. You might've reached... Like... handjob level, maybe?"
Zayn's plan had worked and he hadn't even needed to be direct about it, score! Louis had no idea why he was so excited but he had no reason not to play along, gritting his teeth when he noticed how bright Harry's eyes got. Even in the dark, the green sparkled clear as day and his poetic mind really didn't need to find another reason he was annoyingly attractive. "Woah, really?!"
"Uh... Yeah, sure, why not?"
"OMG... Zayn! Zayn!! Quit sketching, Louis says we're close enough that he'd totally jerk me off!" Louis could only face-palm. A good number of people certainly heard that yell.
"That's nice, Hazz, good for you..." He didn't believe a word, it was clear in his tone but it didn't matter to Harry because Louis was talking to him. Harry turned back, expecting Louis to be at least a little flustered but there wasn't even a hint of a blush. There wasn't a smirk, either. He was just watching him and Harry found that he was the one blushing instead. Embarrassed by his body's reaction, he shot off the seat, stumbling back.
"Err... Okay, I'll just... U-umm..." There was slight amusement in Louis' eyes as he watched Harry squirm. There was also some curiousity, one the boy only caught because he was close enough and from staring hard enough at the quiet bartender. Harry's entire body slowly but surely set aflame from the eye contact, feeling small and flustered under his gaze. He wanted to run out of the door, and so, he did.
Zayn sighed long and hard, glancing at Louis. He shrugged and Zayn mirrored the action, already halfway out of the door when he glanced back to see where Liam was. Louis watched him searching the bar, a theory formulating in his head. He planned to keep an eye on Zayn. Perhaps his best friend's attraction wasn't so one-sided after all. Liam came up from the storage room and the slightest smile appeared on Zayn's face, the first Louis had ever seen on the usually pissed-off-at-Harry stoner, right before he disappeared through the door.
"Harry left? So soon...?"
"Yup. Didn't have a single drop of alcohol, either. His damned fault for bringing up a sex topic when he can't take his own heat."
"Oh. Shit. Simon's gonna throw a fit..."
"And why is that? Cowell can and should go fuck himself."
"Why do you hate him so much?"
"You work your ass off here nearly every day and he pays you fucking peanuts. In a big place like this? Your salary definitely isn't what you deserve, man."
"I don't do it for the salary, anyway! It's nice watching people be free and happy. Or helping people who feel down with advice when they're whining on the counter. Or protecting someone from an asshole. It's always something new, here, I wouldn't give it up for anything. You really ought to give him a chance."
"Not for all the money in the world. He uses you, you know. This treatment is shit and you fucking deserve better. I mean, not only do you tend the bar but you help him make orders, you help clean up the toilets after people have pissed and shitted and thrown up all over the damned stalls and floors-" some patron yelled a curse word with their face crumpled in pure disgust, walking away from their bar stool and Louis glared at the idiot's head, about to yell something back over the music when Liam put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Liam, mate..."
"Louis, just drop it. You know I hate when we talk about this." Louis looked him over and sighed, patting his cheek in hopes it would cheer him up a little. It wasn't fun to talk about these things but he really wished Liam would think about it instead of pushing it all away for the sake of normalcy. He got a defeated sigh back. "I'm going to have to tell him, you know. About Harry."
"I don't care how they know each other. Styles should be able to drink as much or as little as he likes so go right ahead." Liam walked towards Simon's office, sparing Louis a sad glance. A shrug was given in return. Minutes later, he came out looking even sadder than before. Simon managed to have that power over too many people, simply put. "He says you're on toilet duty for the week... I'm sorry."
"Oh? I'm not mad at you, idiot. You did what you had to do but him, on the other hand? He couldn't call me up or come over here and tell me that himself? Had to go the coward route, eh?"
"Louis. I asked to be the one to tell you. I was worried it might get heated, that you would get yourself fired or that he'd say something..."
"Something what? Please tell me you're going with dickish cos that's the only word to describe-"
"Louis! Look, Simon is good for me. It's a part of training. He's a little harsh at times but he does it to help me." Louis scoffed. His friend was beyond delusional and he didn't even realise it. "As a business admin major, it's a necessary thing. I need the guidance-"
"You don't even want to do business admin. You don't, Li. You're literally doing the damn course because you didn't want your parents to know that you didn't know what to do with your life."
"Who told you that-"
"You. Drunk. Last New Year's after one of those frat boy parties, stinking of cheap fucking beer. I care about you, man. Stop letting yourself be controlled by the expectations on your head. See your own worth, for once."
"You're one to talk. It's not like you've said anything to Simon."
"I would've spoken up and happily gotten fired days ago but I come by and deal with this shit because I don't like that you go through it alone. I don't know what goes through your mind, man but I know how to read people and you, Liam... You have deep insecurities in you driven by that shitty voice in your head we all have. Do you honestly think if you were fully yourself, anyone in your life who truly loved you would care about you any less?"
He gave no reply and Louis wondered if he was thinking about it. But seconds later, Liam muttered something about helping him out with his punishment after closing, then went back to serving customers and Louis groaned, joining him up at the counter without another word. How much money could Harry possibly be paying Simon to cause such drama just because he went home sober for the first time since Louis had met him? Who the hell was Harry Styles?
Also done. Huzzah mf✨
Welp, it's not perfect but it's smth and I'm throwing it out there, bruh. Hope it didn't suck too bad ig ✌🏾