[Bit of Zarry tension in this chapter. Don't think it's very good, but whatever.x]
"Got a bit freaky last night, aye?"
Niall looked up from his laptop, and over his shoulder. There stood Harry, that cheeky grin on his face that he never seemed to wipe off his face. On any other day, Niall would have loved seeing that smile - now, however, he was a tad bit confused.
"What?" he asked, eyes wide open.
Harry smirked at him, "Post-sex hair, Nialler, and it's pretty damn obvious. You gotta learn how to tame that."
"You're not funny," Niall murmured, reaching up and hand to push his hair back. Harry swatted his hands away and began to do it himself - softly moving the blond locks in the way he saw fit. "Thanks, though."
Harry beamed with pride, "No problem, mate. Wouldn't want the seniors thinking you've got somethin' freaky going on."
Niall's face flushed red in embarassment, and Harry laughed. He finished fixing Niall's hair, gave the back of his head a playful swat, and took a seat across the table from the boy, who was currently back to working on whatever it was that he was doing.
Harry leaned forward, balancing himself on his elbows. "By the way, what are you doing here? Class doesn't start for another couple hours. Regular uni students would be asleep right now."
"Could say the same for you," Niall looked up briefly, to find Harry staring at him. The brunette gave him a cheeky grin and winked. Niall rolled his eyes, thinking nothing was out of the ordinary because Harry was always like this. "Don't you think it's a bit too early in the morning to be flirting with me?"
"A bit full of yourself, eh?" Harry teased, still smirking. Niall rolled his eyes because he was anything but. Harry just didn't know that - no one but Zayn knew that. "Anyways, it's never to early to admire your love."
"Ease up, hotshot."
Harry frowned a bit, but Niall smiled to keep the mood steady and suddenly, everything was okay. Harry leaned back in his chair, and continued to watch as Niall's fingers roamed over his keyboard speedily. He really was fast.
"So, you never did answer my question," Harry inquired, and Niall's eyebrows furrowed. "What are you doing?"
"Typing," Niall answered dumbly, not looking up. Harry grinned - maybe Niall was a tease, too. "Thought that should be about obvious, considering that's all I've been doing."
"That's not really what I meant," Harry shrugged, and reached across the table to grab the cup of coffee sitting next to Niall's computer. He took a sip, paying no mind to the odd look that Niall gave him, and smiled once he realized that it was the same iced coffee he had given him yesterday. "I take it you liked it."
"I'd reckon so," Niall shrugged, and let Harry drink it all he wanted. "Wouldn't have gotten it otherwise."
Harry looked around the shop in content, staring at all the decorations that hung on the walls. He blew little bubbles in the drink through the straw like it was his own. Niall would look at him every now and then, not seeming to care or at least not inquiring about what Harry was doing. The brunette liked this about him - he seemed to carefree and easy going about everything. Harry was like that, too.
For a while, Harry didn't say anything. He just continued to look at Niall, whose eyes would crinkle or widen as he continued to work. His mouth hung open slightly, revealing a pale pink tongue and bright teeth. His eyelashes would rest on his cheekbones when his eyelids would flutter halfway closed, and Harry would be lying if he said that the sight wasn't completely attractive in every way humanly possible. It was only now that he took into full appreciation of just how beautiful Niall was. He knew it before, sure, but never quite to this extent.
Harry put the cup down, slid it a bit closer to Niall, and crossed his arms over his chest. Now or never, right?
"I think you're pretty."
The confidence in Harry's words, the serious tone that Niall wasn't used to hearing, made him look up. He arched an eyebrow, and the look on his face was enough to say exactly what he was thinking; Dude. What the hell?
Normally when Harry was trying to flirt with Niall, that look was the one that would make him back off because he could tell that Niall was uncomfortable, and he would laugh and make believe like he was kidding. When, really, he never was. This time, however, it didn't go like that. Niall would never take him seriously, would never consider going out with him, if Harry always acted like this whole thing was a joke. It wasn't.
"Uh," Niall murmured, a frown upon his face. His soft, beautiful face...Harry shivered. "Harry?"
"What?" Harry shrugged his pointy shoulders. "I only speak the truth, babes. And the truth is, you're really fuckin' pretty."
Niall shivered. He shouldn't feel so awkward about this, really. It was just a compliment, after all. "Right. Well. Thanks."
Harry leaned forward, eyebrow arched up at Niall. He grinned, "Well, if you appreciate my compliment so much, maybe you would like to hear more of them...over dinner, maybe? Perhaps a movie of sorts? Hell, we could just go back and chill at my place. What do you say, Ni?"
"Harry," Niall sighed, reaching across the table to place a gentle hand on top of Harry's. The brunette took this as a good sigh, and smiled brightly at Niall. The blonde squirmed, and immediately pulled his hand back to himself. "You...you're really nice, and a good mate and all, but...I just - I have a boyfriend, you know? And you know that."
Harry frowned, "What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Come on, Ni - just one date? Please?"
"I'm not like that, Harry," Niall rose from his seat, and shut his laptop. He slid it into his backpack, and offered Harry a soft, sad smile. "I'm sorry if I did anything to lead you on, or whatever. We...we're just friends, though, alright? Sorry, Harry."
Harry stood up as well, and grabbed at Niall's arm before he could leave. "Niall, come on...you're being so overly mellow. Don't you know that college is all about experimenting? Sometimes, you just gotta go for it."
"Quit, Harry," Niall hissed, and shook his mate's hand off of his arm. "I said no, and I mean it. I love Zayn, alright?"
Niall leaves the shop, and Harry is back to square one.
~-~-~
When the time to go to class hits, Harry doesn't go.
He's heard that massage students work either early in the day, or later at night, and decides that now would be the perfect time to see just what it is about this Zayn kid that Niall likes so much. He decides he'll tell his professor that he was ill when he goes back to class, and heads across the hall to Niall and Zayn's dorm.
He presses his face close to the door, and hears the low murmur of the television inside. He figures that they don't really seem like the type to leave stuff on while they're at class, and he knows that where Niall is because they have Journalism together. Zayn must be there, then.
He knocks.
"Coming!" a voice, accented and smoothly flowing calls out, and Harry moves back from the door a little bit, as not to startle him - or get hit in the face when it opens, whichever. A rather tall lad, with perfectly styled hair and olive-tinted skin opens the door. Harry's seen Zayn before, of course, but he's never really had a proper conversation with him. "Oh...hi. Harry, right?"
"Yeah," Harry gave a short nod. Even though he wanted to know more about this kid, doesn't mean he has to be friendly. He gestured to the hair dryer in his hand - figuring that it would be the perfect excuse to talk to him, considering he had forgotten to give it back to Niall. "Uh, Niall borrowed this to me a while back, and I guess I kind of forgot about it until now, so...if you could, like, give this back to him, that'd be cool."
He gave the object to Zayn, who gave a slight nod in return. "Yeah, he, um, told me about that. So...thanks."
"Yeah. No problem."
Harry stood in front of Zayn, who was awkwardly lingering in the doorframe, and looked him over. The boy, shorter yet probably older, wasn't really much of a looker in Harry's opinion. He wore a black and purple jersey, probably his own, and black skinny jeans. He had an abundance of tattoos covering his arms - not as many as Harry, by the looks of it, but they were certainly bigger. In his left ear was a single diamond stud.
His face was sculpted ever so perfectly, but Harry didn't really have the appreciation for the boy's looks - no matter how defined his jaw and cheekbones were. He was pretty lanky considering his age - taller than Niall, of course, but not skinnier considering the blonde was pretty much a twig. Harry found himself frowning.
"Uh," Zayn's voice broke his trance. "Thanks, er, again."
He seemed distant and a bit shy, much unlike Harry's upright demeanor. He wondered, certainly not for the first time, what the hell Niall saw in him.
"Yep," Harry bobbed his head, and took a few steps back - closer to his own room. "Stay out of trouble, kid."
He winked to keep the mood steady, a trick of his that seemed to get everybody. He turned around, and retreated back to his own room.
Zayn rolled his eyes, and shut the door behind him as he entered his own dorm. "Cocky bastard."