That morning at work was different than usual. Harry always found himself planning his week out as somethign to keep him secluded from the rest of the world, giving himself extra work that he could easily save for the next day. That morning he wasn't planning out how to keep himself in. He was planning out how to much closer he would be to Thursday.
Thursday was going the day he was going to see Niall again.
Every time he thought about that fact he couldn't help but smile. Harry hadn't been the type of person to just break into a smile just from his own personal thoughts. He was looking forward to Thursday and he hadn't looked forward to a regular Thursday night in a very long time.
Harry had yet to change the contact for Niall to his real name yet. He still felt this connection to the 'Lucky' persona. Calling Niall by his real name was something new that he was going to have to get used to. It should be fairly simple since even thinking his name brought out this sense of happiness.
He still felt odd about it but it was a good kind of odd. He still couldn't believe that he was actually getting close with some random who he accidentally met over a sex hot line. That same boy was giving Harry a chance to know him and he found himself enjoying the fact that he wanted to open up to Niall.
There was also so much more that Harry could learn about Niall, other than his nighttime job, his actual name, and that he plays guitar. That was probbaly two things he knew that none of his other callers did. He didn't want to take that part for granted about Niall. That had to be a big sign of his trust in Harry, who he barely knew.
Niall said he'd be calling him this week and Harry's mind was often more focused on that than his actual work, which never would have been if 'Lucky' didn't exist in his life.
Unlike past promises, Niall didn't disappear from Harry. They sent messages back and forth after Niall played his little show that cut their first meeting short. He apologised to Harry for that again and Harry joked about thinking aout forgiving him. Harry chuckled out loud at that when he was just sitting in his flat by himself. He did forgive Niall because it wasn't too big of a deal. Niall still had his life of his own that he had just for himself.
Lucky
what time's good to call ya?
As Harry typed an email out to a customer, he glanced over to his personal cell phone on his desk when he heard it vibrate loudly against his wooden desk. He actually stopped typing, and also thinking about what he was supposed to be typing, and picked up his phone up to answer.
Harry.
I'm at work right now. Lunch break's not for another hour
Lucky
s'fine. Forgot ya were workin!
Harry shook his head as he typed out another reply, his work continuing to seem less important than it's ever have been before.
Harry.
Yeah, not so exciting working during the day.
Lucky
can't argue about night jobs haha!
Harry.
What about your gigs?
Lucky
definitely not. Love doin that!
Lucky
i'll letcha go. Don't wanna be distractin the workin man
Harry.
You're barely being one
That was easily a lie. He didn't even want to stop messaging back and forth with Niall but he knew he probably should since his emails actually had deadlines of when they needed to be sent out. Harry has never missed a deadline before.
He went back to what he was supposed to be doing after that, Niall only replying to his last message by telling Harry to get back to work already. He couldn't help but chuckle at that, hearing Niall's voice mocking him when he read over the reply before obeying it.
After sending out three emails to both customers and potential ones, Harry opened up his planner journal to see what else he wanted to finish just before his scheduled lunch hour, which he had planned to actually use every day of his work week.
He had to sit through a call meeting between his boss, a few other employees on their team, and a big client of the company's. His boss would be doing the main conducting but Harry was allowed to voice his thoughts since he was one of the salesmen for the products.
Mr. Donner had been impressed by the difference in Harry. Harry let his boss believe that it was their conversation in his office that made Harry reevaluate his scheduling for work. He couldn't really tell him that what, or who, was the reason for the changes. Who would ever say that to their boss? It wasn't sppropraite talk for the workplace anyway.
So, there was only one person that was inappropriate to him daily that he decided he could tell. He couldn't help but also hope that talking about it would get Jacelyn to back down on him. Plus, there would always be the look of shock on her face once she realises that Harry was starting to get a social life again.
It wasn't until he was walking out from his office to go to the lift that he had no choice but to walk past Jacelyn at the front desk. She wasn't a stranger to stopping Harry to chat him up. Her persistent definitely wasn't something he liked about her.
"Using another lunch break, Mr. Styles?" She asked him. This week her nails were painted a dark purple. He didn't know why he took notice of that.
"Looks like it." He commented with a nod.
"Care to make it a lunch date? I was just about to time out for mine." Jacelyn smiled at him with a slight chuckle like it was a coincidence. It wasn't one at all.
Harry raised his hand to scratch at the back of his neck, not nervous about rejecting another one of the secretary's offers but actually being nervous about telling her he had a date. It didn't feel right that she would be the first one he would ever be telling. He thought it would come up in his next phone conversation with his mum or sister.
"Um, I actually already have plans with someone for my lunch break." He told her.
"Oh? Who? Sorry, but I never see you leave your office much and whnever I ask you out you're always too busy." She shrugged her shoulders but Harry couldn't help but notice that spark in her eyes at the surprise of hearing that he had found someone new instead of finally taking her out.
"It's not anyone from work. Plus, I've told you how many times already that I'm not interested?" He asked her, not wanting to drag this out much further. He didn't want to be stuck here when Niall called him up or in the lift, which didn't even have phone service. He wanted to be in private when he talked with Niall.
"Yeah," she nodded in agreement. "It can't be anyone from work. They're mainly older married men. How do you even know you're not interested in me? I might be quite the thrill out of the office setting."
He didn't want to know what kind of thrill she was. He wasn't attracted to her. It wasn't that she was unattractive because there were probably a lot of people who did. Different people were attracted to different things. For instance, Harry was attracted to many things about Niall: his voice, his blue eyes and pale complexion, and how kind and lively he seemed to have been when they met.
"So, I guess asking what you're doing is out of the question then? I was hoping the new you wouldn't mind going out." She gave him a quick pout.
Harry nodded at her. "Sorry, my lunch date is actually going to be someone I hope to be spending a lot of my time with. I need to get going or else I'll have to cut into my lunch." He gave her a very small wave before heading off towards the lift.
After leaving the building and taking a brisk walk over to a nearby sit-out eatery, Harry sat down at one of the small tables, ordering a midday tea. He pulled his phone out from the pocket of his trousers and played around on it while he was waiting for Niall.
Once his hot line name took over his screen, Harry found himself smiling instantly and he was also, probably, flushing red over his cheeks. He hoped his waitress hadn't notice that when she was serving him his tea.
"Hey, right on time." Harry chuckled at his light joke as he greeted Niall after answering, letting the phone ring more than just once. Harry didn't want to seem too eager all the time for Niall.
"Timing me, were ya?" He heard Niall's crackling laugh through the speaker of his phone. "I hope I don't end up late on Thursday then."
"I promise I won't time you." Harry told him as he lazily stirred his spoon around in his tea, not really paying attention to it. "For all I know I'll probably be the one who's late."
"We'll have to see. Anyway, I'm definitely not working Thursday so I won't have to leave in the middle or anything like that again. Sorry, that happened the first time."
"Niall," he began, stopping when he heard the firm way he had said his name. He couldn't help but to lick at his lips afterwards before gaining his thoughts back on what he was going to say to him. "You've apologised already and I told you that it was fine. You had a great gig. That's the end of it."
He still really wished he could have seen Niall that night. It probably would have been a really great night for him as well. Maybe one night he finally would.
"Okay, okay. I'll try my best not to apologise to ya anymore. How long do I have with you before ya go back?" He asked him.
"I've barely been gone long so I'd say about 20 minutes." Harry set his spoon down and picked up his cup to drink from it, swallowing louder than he meant to. He made a face, hoping Niall and any other people heard that.
"Just enough. So, I was thinking we'd meet up at this pub. It's not the club scene but we can have actual conversations there. Crazy, yeah?" Niall laughed. "Is the evening all right? We could have a meal there too."
Harry nodded, still smiling to himself. "Sounds simple enough. I like it." He took another sip from his tea before taking one of the small sandwiches to bite into.
"Yeah, I'm a simple lad. So, don't expect me to come in fancy clothes." He joked and Harry wondered if he did that a lot.
"Don't worry, I won't."
"You either. Don't come dressed like you're going to work again. I can tell you're the business type from the moment I walked into you."
Harry let out a small sigh, ready to defend his fashion statements but then decided that Niall was probably right.
Without letting his sister in on what he was doing that night, he'd probably ring her up so she could help him figure out what to wear. She would more than love that.
"I'll figure something out." Harry commented.
"I look forward to whatever you're able to come up with. I'll let ya finish your lunch and I'll hear from ya later?" Niall asked him, his voice sounding hopeful.
He didn't want to hang up on Niall. Hearing his voice in such a normal setting without any pressure from either of them was something else new that Harry grew to like. It even beat getting to message with him but it didn't quite beat that Harry knew his real name. That was a big indicator of trust that he wanted to keep between the two of them.
"Yeah, when I get home from work I'll send you a message or something." Harry promised before the two exchanged 'goodbyes'.
He finished his quick lunch, paid for it, and then took a less fast-paced walk back to the building where he worked. On his way over to the lift he met up with one of the employees who worked in product distribution and talked about what had happened in the meeting just before lunch, adding in a reminder to Harry that he had a few more email to get out to clients by tomorrow morning. Harry hoped that he could type them all out, read them over, and send them correctly and fast enough because he wouldn't be working any unpaid overtime and he wasn't going to be working once he got home either.
The rest of his day at work included those emails, which was interrupted by two long phone calls that weren't even staying on topic. Sometimes people just couldn't figure out when to stop talking. Maybe they should have been handed over to Jacelyn.
Harry noticed that she didn't tell him that she would see him tomorrow when he left for the day. All she did was give him a quick nod and it didn't upset him one bit. He didn't care and he was a little relieved.
To make his day better, Harry got his usual taxi driver and he chatted with him a bit as he drove him to the station. The man was happy that Harry seemed to be in good spirits.
On the ride home, Harry didn't have a single dream about 'Lucky'. He stayed awake the entire time thinking about Niall and trying to think of what he was going to message him once he got back to his flat.
When he was finally in his flat he dropped all of his things by his door and hung up is coat on his hook, taking his phone from one of the pockets to send Niall a message he didn't have too think hard to plan out.
Harry.
Just got in.
He set his phone down onto his counter and walked over to his fridge to see what he could make up for a quick meal. Since he took his mum and sister out that past weekend, he didn't have any of his family's leftovers sitting there waiting for him.
As he microwaved some frozen chicken and mash meal, he heard his phone vibrate on the counter. He looked at the time on the microwave to see if he had enough time to answer whoever it was.
Lucky
Thought this might be around the time haha
It took Harry a few moments to figure out where Niall was coming from with that. He shook his head and then replied, pressing send and going back over to the microwave that was now beeping.
Harry.
Is it weird that I'm used to calling you after a long day of work instead of messaging you?
He set his hot meal on top of his stove and went back to his phone to quickly ask Niall if he was even free to talk. He didn't want to end being the one who was being the distraction, even though he wouldn't mind keeping 'Lucky' away from his callers all night. He didn't want to sound as greedy as his thoughts seemed to be.
Harry.
Wait. Are you working right now?
Lucky
It is a bit. I'm used to waitin around for your call. & I'm not just yet. Got some time for my #1 caller. haha
Harry couldn't help but let out an embarrassed groan at that. He didn't know how many times Niall was going to make that joke with him. Sure, Harry would let him at first because he did properly earn the title from how many times he has called the hot line but he has stopped for some time now since they've bumped into each other.
Lucky
what do ya even do anyway?
Harry.
Don't want to save the questions for our date? Sounds like one you might.
Lucky
true but somehow u know both of my jobs. Only fair if I know what yours is.
Harry.
Ok. I'm a salesman for computer software. Boring right?
Lucky
yes.
Lucky
kidding mate! It wasn't what I was expecting is all.
Harry raised his brow at that curiously. Did Niall have any visual expectations from him before they met? He couldn't help but wonder what Niall thought he was like.
Harry.
What were you expecting?
Lucky
i don't know. Lawyer maybe?
Harry.
Sounds a bit cliche to me. A lonely lawyer.
Lucky
right! You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to do the lawyer role play. It's more boring than your job.
Harry's face fell into a frown, his brow dropping from that happy curiosity he just had, hoping to try and weasel the answer to that question out of Niall. Even though he knew exactly what Niall's job as 'Lucky' was all about, something upset him a bit when Niall mention about all the other times. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to make himself ill thinking about all the numbers in his head on their date.
He typed out a quick reply, showing Niall that he wasn't caught off guard by his comment.
Harry.
You get a shy salesman instead.
Lucky
yeah. You're something new and exciting though. I always look forward to my shy caller.
Lucky
speaking of. No need to be shy on our date. Well, maybe a little haha
Harry.
I probably will be no matter how hard I try :(
Lucky.
i'm sure I'll make ya relax. I'm an expert at that.
Yeah, he really was and he was also becoming an expert on making Harry feel like he was able to connect to the world again. It was crazy how all of these things were happening following that twisted accident. He didn't want to think of it as that anymore because accidents sounded tragic. This was a blessing in disguise. Niall was the blessing and 'Lucky' was just his disguise.
Those last two lines are my new favourites in this story :)
Yay for short filler chapters? I tried to get to even 3K words and I couldn't. That's a little peeve of mine because I like to at least have 4K words a chapter.
Sorry, I didn't want to just jump right into the date. Plus, I had to think of what to even have their date be. My future job definitely should not be a date planner hahaha :)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter regardless! Oh, and I can't believe LNC is close to 200,000 reads! This will be my second story that has all three statuses in bold red.