Harry couldn't decide if he was more excited Tuesday night or on Wednesday morning. Both of those times led up to getting to see Niall perform for the first time. His mind would go off during work to picture Niall on a stage with people surrounding him, and Harry would close his eyes to even try to hear what Niall sounded like when he sang.
Now, he was one meeting away from an actual experience of Niall outside of their phone calls and messing about in Niall's bed. Sure, Harry really enjoyed that but there was so much more to Niall than 'Lucky'. Niall was real.
The meeting itself was only supposed to be an hour long but it seemed to drag on longer than Harry hoped. With each minute passed Harry became more restless, wanting to push back his seat and walk out of the meeting that was keeping him back from his plans. Of course, that would be extremely unprofessional of him but he really didn't want to be late to see Niall and his world away from having phone sex with strangers.
Harry laughed in his thoughts, hoping that he didn't bark his laugh out for the entire meeting room to hear. That would have been embarrassing but not as embarrassing as being asked why he was so keen on leaving; so he could leave and go see a man he met over a sex hotline.
Right now Harry felt like he was acting a bit childish in how impatient he was becoming. He wouldn't be this way if his routine never changed.
"So, tomorrow the client will be on call with us and I hope you have been paying attention, Harry, because you'll be joining in to answer any questions they may have." Mr. Donner said causing Harry to look up immediately when he heard his name.
"Um, what time did you say that was again?" Harry asked as he picked up his pen and flipped through his work schedule planner to write whatever he's just missed down. He hoped that the action would cover up for him not paying attention.
Mr. Donner made a face towards Harry before clearing his throat. "It will be a late morning call right before lunch. It starts at 11:15 and should only last an hour."
As Harry wrote down the information from his boss he couldn't help but annoyingly thinking that this particular meeting was only supposed to last that long. It should have ended almost a half an hour ago.
"That will conclude tonight's meeting. I will see you all tomorrow morning." Mr. Donner raised his hand up before he, and the employees in attendance, began to collect their things.
Harry couldn't stand up from his seat fast enough but he was stopped when a co-worker walked up to him and began chatting.
"You all right, Harry? You weren't participating as much as you usually do."
He nodded. "I'm fine. Just have somewhere to be. I'll see you tomorrow." Harry said his farewell, not coming off as rude.
After he returned to his office to shutdown his computer and pack up, the sigh of relief Harry's held in was released. All he had to do now was leave the building and then find a taxi to take him to where Niall would be playing. His initial plan was to go back to his flat first and change his clothes and clean himself up a bit before going out but he's already lost plenty of time.
Since he wouldn't be returning home Harry made the decision to lock up his work bag in his office. He couldn't leave it in some taxi or pub. Whatever emails would be sent to his laptop or whatever work he could do before coming in the next morning would just have to wait until then.
Hearing the clicking sound as he locked his office door, Harry turned around with no plans to look back. He slipped his keys into the pocket of his pants, switching them out for his phone. Once he was in the taxi he would message Niall to apologise for running late and let him know that he was now on his way.
"You're in a hurry to get out of here. Have plans tonight?" Jacelyn asked from behind the desk she shared with a few others. Why couldn't she just chat with them instead?
"Yeah, I do and I'm already a bit late so I can't stay and talk to you." Harry told her with a small smile, and then quickly wondered why he did.
Now out of the building Harry joined the crowd close to the curb to flag himself down one of the numerous taxis that were trying to stop for them through all the traffic. After merging with everyone else, Harry began frantically searching for a taxi before anyone else could catch the drivers' attention.
The first two taxis Harry tried to get himself didn't work out too well because once the taxi parked next to the curb, people pushed their way through him without apologies and got in the taxis. He let out a frustrated sigh, ignoring them because he wasn't going to get into any arguments over taxis. Harry just wanted to be on his way to Niall.
When he finally climbed into the back of a taxi and told the driver the address to the pub, he sent Niall a message and hoped that he hadn't missed the start of the show yet. There was another act before Niall and Liam told him the other day that sets aren't always scheduled properly.
Harry
Had a late meeting. In a taxi now. Can't wait to see you!
A few minutes after he sent the message, Harry's phone began to ring and it was a call from Niall. He wasted no time in answering.
Before Harry could even begin to greet Niall, a voice began speaking to him. It wasn't even Niall's. "Hey, Harry. It's Liam. Niall has this thing where he wants me to hold onto his phone until he finishes his performances. I let him know you're on your way."
"Oh, okay. I was a bit confused when you started talking and not Niall." Harry said with a genuine chuckle even though he was a bit put down that he wasn't going to get to talk to Niall.
Liam returned the laugh, his broken up by the reception. "Niall has some odd habits when it comes to his performance rituals. You'll find them out soon enough. Anyway, just message his phone when you're closer. I'll be waiting for you outside so I can bring you to where Niall's being kept."
"Thanks. I'll be sure to." Harry answered as he took a glance out his side window, wondering what Liam was talking about when it came to Niall's pre-show rituals. he couldn't help but think that Niall was a bit ridiculous.
"Of course. That way I can also warn you about Louis before you meet him. Even when he's not with Niall he can be, um, something." Liam laughed again as he tried to describe his boyfriend to Harry.
Harry pulled the phone away from his ear when he heard a loud mix of shouts and then a crash. He couldn't help but make a face and hope that everything was okay where they were.
"Speaking of, now I have to go tend to whatever him and Niall have destroyed." Liam sighed before ending the call with Harry, after already saying a quick 'bye' to him.
Harry set his phone down on his leg, his other bouncing up and down as a smile spread across his face. He just couldn't wait to see Niall again and watch him perform.
Should he have brought Niall a small 'good luck' gift? He shook his head because Niall might think that Harry was strange or too serious about the two of them if bought Niall flowers or something. Harry didn't even know if Niall even liked flowers.
On the serious note, he didn't want to scare Niall or get hurt if he was more serious than Niall was. He remembered what he told his sister. They just started seeing each other and they were some sort of friends. They've only been on that one date. He only hoped what they were doing could lead to something much more serious.
He had to put those feelings aside so he could just be at the pub to support Niall as any friend would do. That's all Niall probably wanted from him anyway.
Harry paid the driver once he was dropped of near the pub. There were plenty of people either walking in or out of the pub so Harry hoped the crowd turnout for Niall's show would be good.
He was just about to message Liam, which he forgot to do before he arrived because he didn't time the drive out in his head, but hearing Liam shout out his name stopped him from doing so.
Harry nodded to him as Liam grinned and waved him over.
"Hey, mate!" Liam greeted him, placing an arm across his shoulder as he led Harry through some of the people who were by the entrance of the pub."They've got Niall in a back room. You're just in time to see him before he goes on stage."
He smiled at the mention of Niall and hoped it wasn't that obvious to Liam.
The pub was crowded, mainly because it was quite small and intimate. The stage was in the back corner, lit up by a few lights, and only had room for one person to be on it. There was already a performance going on by someone playing a keyboard. Harry paid attention for a few seconds before Liam brought him over to a door across from the bathrooms.
"Niall and Louis should be inside here." Liam told him with a smile before he knocked on the door a few times and opened it.
"You must be Harry!" A man with brown hair exclaimed, practically jumping up from his seat on the couch when Liam opened the door.
"This is my boyfriend, Louis." Liam told him as he looked around the room. "Where's Niall gone?"
Harry was wondering the same thing.
Louis shrugged. "I don't know. I thought he was with you. He left just after you did to meet up with Harry. Hello, by the way." Louis said, brushing past Liam to meet Harry.
"Hi." Harry said. He was nervous about meeting more of Niall's friends. He had no idea what any of them would think of him. All he wanted to do was have the right answers to any questions they had about him and liked the person that he was.
"You dress up nicely for a little pub gig." Louis said, motioning to Harry's business attire.
"I just came from work. Didn't have time to go back to mine and change." Harry said, combing one hand through his hair.
"Just messing with you, mate. I do that a lot. I'm sure Niall and Liam have both told you wonderful things about me. Liam doesn't shut up about me as much as he tries to shut me up."
"Louis." Liam practically whined at him.
"Ah, there's a little preview." Louis joked before wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder.
"Which would you rather do, go fetch a broom and dustpan to help me pick up the two lamps you and Niall broke or let Niall know Harry's here?" Liam asked Louis from his knelt down position as he carefully picked the larger pieces of glass and placed them into the small rubbish bin.
"Hm," Louis hummed, "I think I'm going to go with letting Niall know his groupie is here." Louis gave Harry a nudge in his side after sliding his arm from his shoulders. Then he walked over to Liam and gave him a swat on his arse, moving away swiftly as Liam tried to retaliate.
"Sorry about him. I'm sorry about him for the entire night because I will annoy the both of us if I keep apologising to you." Liam said after Louis left and brushed his hand onto his leg before he stood up. "Looks like I'll be the one going to fetch the broom. You might have to watch the two of them for me so they don't make a proper mess of this place."
Harry didn't know what to think of the comment about him being Niall's groupie. Has Niall had past groupies? He couldn't let himself worry about that sort of thing and ruin the night.
"It's all right. How long have you and Louis been together?"
"Nearly a year now." Liam said, Harry noticing him immediately relaxing. "We might not make sense to people because of all the banter but that's just one side of us. Louis' not always a clown either. He just gets excited about nights out like this."
Harry nodded. "Congrats to you two."
"Thanks. He's the one who pursued me, believe it or not.Louis likes to tell people he charmed me the moment we met but I actually wanted to get way from him. I'll let him tell you the story sometime because mine's a bit different."
"I look forward to hearing both versions." Harry said, unsure if he was ready to handle Louis just yet. There wasn't anything wrong with the other lad. Maybe Liam could understand his off feelings towards Louis until he became comfortable about the life he brings into a room.
Liam cleared his throat. "So, you've been enjoying your time with Niall?"
Before Harry could give Liam an answer, which he sort of didn't want to because he'd rather figure out his feelings for Niall with Niall, Louis came back into the room with Niall. He'd have to thank Louis for his interruption in the future because he wasn't ready to confess his feelings,
"Found this one in the loo muttering to himself. Embarrassing if you ask me." Louis said, patting Niall on the back before pointing over to one of the lamps that was knocked over earlier.
Niall sent Harry a shy wave. It wasn't the grand greeting he was dreaming of but if he was starting to get worked up about performing, then Harry understood that they could catch up later.
"He's never been nervous before but," Liam glanced over his shoulder to see if Louis was still trying to mess about with Niall to get him more relaxed for his set. "I think he's only nervous because he knows that you're here." Liam told him with a small smile and soft chuckle. "It's definitely out of his character. Usually, he's all laughs and nonsense because he has a few beers with his mates before. He stayed clear this time."
There was another knock on the door and all four of them became silent. Niall looked over to Liam and then Harry before Liam called out a "come in." The door opened and a man in a black polo and black pants ducked in.
"Niall's up next. They're setting up his gear now." He looked over to Niall. "You'll be ready in a minute and I'll let you know that my wife hated those lamps so she thanks you."
"Ha! What a woman!" Louis barked out.
Liam sent him boyfriend a scowl before answering the man. "Thanks, Max. Sorry again about the lamps. Niall will be out shortly."
"Good luck tonight. You brought in a pretty nice crowd for a Wednesday night." Max then closed the door behind him.
Liam walked over to Niall and rubbed his shoulders. "You'll smash it, mate. You always do."
Then Louis joined in, managing his way between Niall and Liam. He placed one arm across Niall's shoulders and his other along Liam's back, his hand reaching around to rest on his hip. "Don't fall off the stool like you did last time. You drunk twat."
"Thanks for the words of encouragement." Niall laughed as he gave Liam a hug and then Louis. Niall pulled away after patting Louis on his back. His gaze went towards Harry. "I'll see you out there?"
"Hopefully, I'll get a spot in the front." Harry walked over to Niall and gave him a hug next. He missed the warmth Niall gave to him.
Niall's arm wrapped around Harry, holding him longer than he did both Liam and Louis. "Well, I've got a show to play. I'll see you lads out there."
Niall walked out and Harry could hear Max's voice introduce Niall, calling him a regular and very welcomed act. The crowd that gathered cheered as Niall thanked Max.
"Let's get out there." Liam said, clapping his hands together before Louis tucked himself into Liam's side.
Harry nodded and followed them out. His eyes seemed to be locked on the way Louis had both of his arms wrapped around Liam's waist. Then Liam turned his head and kissed Louis' temple. This was what he wanted to be able to do with Niall if he had the chance; simple things such as that.
When they got to their place in front of the stage, Niall was so close to them. He was sitting on the stool, adjusting the microphone stand to be level with his his mouth and then he tuned his guitar before speaking into the microphone.
"How's everyone doing tonight?" He asked, a grin on his face. He didn't look nervous at all anymore.
The crowd cheered.
"Thank you for the warm welcome. Always a pleasure to come and play for ya. There's some familiar faces and some new ones tonight." His eyes scanned around the room until they locked with Harry's.
Harry noticed the sense of surprise in Niall's blue eyes when they found his. He sent Niall a smile, which he returned.
"A very good friend of mine's come around to see me. So, if I mess up we can all blame Harry!" He joked, laughing into the microphone and filling the room with his inviting laugh.
His fingers began strumming the guitar strings.
At the mention, Louis bumped his shoulder into Harry's.
"I'll start off with a classic. If ya don't know it, you're lying. And if you're already more drunk than I am, please sing along with me." He looked down at his foot that was resting against the bar between the legs of the stool, bouncing his knee and counting to himself before he began to play.
Harry watched as Niall's lips moved and his brow furrowed as he concentrated.
As soon as the first word left Niall's lips, Harry froze. He's already been pulled in by just hearing Niall talk but his singing voice gravitated him even more. There was something a bit rough in his voice but calming and endearing all at the same time. Whenever Niall hit a certain note, the crowd cheered and Harry couldn't bring himself to because he was so captivated by Niall.
His set included covers of classic rock songs and a few hits that could be heard on the radio these days. There was something for everyone but Niall made them all his own. Harry wasn't being biased because of his feelings towards Niall.
Niall looked like he was having the time of his life up on the stage. He had a natural talent for being an entertainer. When Harry eventually turned to look around at the crowd, he could tell that Niall's performance had the same affect on the crowd.
Niall's last song caused a chill to run through Harry's body. "In Your Atmosphere" By John Mayer, one of Harry's favourite songs and artists. He's never told that to Niall. His voice fit perfectly, at least to Harry it did. There was something about Niall's voice that soothed Harry, and also made him feel a bit turned on as soon as his voice filled the pub.
At one point during the chorus, Niall looked to Harry and stumbled on the lyrics.He quickly looked down and away from Harry as he tried his best to cover up what he had just done. Harry kept smiling at him, hoping his confidence wasn't struck too badly. Niall finished out strong, his words echoing in the silence of the pub.
Then a roar from the crowd shattered it. After the applause, shouts, and few whistles, the first piercing set of the coming from Louis and Liam, Niall shyly thanked the crowd for their time. the lights dimmed and music played from the speakers in the ceiling. It felt like the show was over and forgotten about in a matter of seconds.
Harry couldn't forget it. He never wanted to and he felt like Niall had to know that.
There were a few girls chatting with Niall and taking pictures with him as if he were someone famous.
"Thank you." Niall nodded as the girls stepped off of the stage and walked back over to their table.
Harry waved to them as he moved passed them to get up to Niall next. He felt a bit awkward just standing there and watching them. "Great show. I see you have fans already." He smiled.
"You know how girls are when it comes to fit blokes with accents. The singing just brings the entire sex appeal together." Niall joked, clearing his throat and letting out a breath. "Plan to stay and have a few beers with us? We usually get a free round and some food after my sets." Niall said to him as he removed the guitar strap from around his shoulders, passing it off to someone to put away.
"I really want to but I can't." Harry told him, trying his best not to frown because he would much rather stay and hang around with Niall and his friends than go back to his flat early so he could rest up for his job. "I've got a meeting tomorrow morning that I have to be prepared for. I sort of lost my thoughts during the meeting I was in before I left."
Niall nodded. "Ah, well, maybe some other time then, yeah?" Niall slipped his hands out of his pockets, walking a few steps over to Harry, bringing them off of the stage and giving them more room.
"Where are you off to? I just ordered us a round!" Louis shouted from the bar as he raised his empty glass up to show them. Next to Louis was Liam, who was grinning and shaking his head before he helped Louis bring his arm back down. Louis sent him a look before nodding his head.
"Unlike us, this one has a proper job." Niall explained to Louis as he nodded over to Harry.
"I have a proper job." Liam stated and Louis rolled his eyes at him.
"'Course you do, babe." Louis leaned over and kissed his cheek before turning back to Harry. "It was nice meeting you. This won't be the last time we see each other, I'm sure."
Harry extended out his arm to Louis to shake his hand. "Same here. I'm sorry I can't stay and celebrate with you lads."
"There will be plenty more nights of that. You better not be a stranger." Louis jokingly warned him before taking note of Harry's gesture and shaking his hand.
"He won't." Niall reassured before running his fingers down Harry's arm, glancing up to him with his blue eyes and then over to Liam.
"Um, why don't we let Niall and Harry have a moment, yeah?" Liam offered over to Louis, who quickly caught onto what was going on. "Have a good night, Harry." Liam said before he took Louis by his his hand and led him away.
Niall shook his head and let out a laugh. "Get along with Louis? I'm sure this isn't the first time tonight Liam pulled him away from ya."
Harry nodded. "Yeah, Liam's mentioned something about Louis. I'll get used to him in time."
"Well, I can tell ya that Louis is a fan of yours." Niall said before looking over his shoulder to see Louis shouting something to Liam. Niall laughed. Then he brought his attention back to Harry. "Thanks for coming out tonight. I hope I didn't sound like absolute crap." Niall began to move and Harry's body naturally followed him.
"No. You were amazing. Niall. I could have listened to you for longer. You're so incredible." Harry told him, sending him a smile as he let out a breath through his nose.
"Thanks. I really appreciate you coming out tonight, Harry. I know ya have to get back early to work but I wanted you to know that. Did ya have a favourite song?"
"The John Mayer song you played at the end. He's a legend to me." Harry said, still smiling.
"Yeah?" Niall nodded, sounding excited about Harry's answer. "Me too. I'd love to go one of his shows. Maybe we could go together when he's in London the next time?"
"That'd be sick. I'll have to look out for that." Harry wanted to say more but he was just so amazed by Niall that he couldn't find words.
Niall looked over his shoulder and then leaned into Harry as if he was telling him a secret. "We can't tell Liam and Louis though. They'd want to tag along and I'm not wasting a double date with those two on a John Mayer show."
Another date with Niall practically made Harry's legs buckle underneath him. That meant that Niall was still interested in him.
"It took a lot from me not to focus on ya during my entire set." Niall admitted to him, still leaning his body in close to Harry's. Then he glanced down. "Ya wanna come back for Friday's show? If ya do, don't make plans for Saturday. Yeah?" Niall asked him with a smile.
Harry didn't even notice that they walked out of the pub together, hands almost touching as their fingers bumped into one another's.
Without thinking Harry turned slightly towards Niall and leaned forward, placing one hand on the side of Niall's neck to bring his lips to his. He wanted to kiss Niall since he first saw him tonight. It didn't take long for Niall to kiss him back, his teeth taking a sneaky bite from his bottom lip before kissing his lips again.
Harry pulled away and licked at his lips before almost breathlessly telling Niall, "I wouldn't miss it."
Niall's face held a bright grin. Harry didn't know if Niall's cheeks were flushed red from the heat in the pub or the few drinks he's already had, but he really wanted to be the reason Niall looked flustered.
"Message me when ya get back to yours. If ya don't hear back from me, well, you've met Louis." Niall said, walking backwards and waved to Harry. He stumbled a bit after bumping into someone. He turned and apologised, looking back to Harry one last time before going back inside.
Harry's heart swelled in his chest. He didn't turn around to his cab until he lost sight of Niall completely. This genuine version of Niall, the real Niall, was definitely someone Harry was developing feelings towards. They've never been this strong before and tonight only made them even stronger.
He really didn't want to get into another cab, sit in it and then a train to take him back to his. He didn't want to end the night by himself because he'd much rather stay out all night and learn about Niall from Niall and his friends. Harry wanted a proper night out socialising and starring at Niall while all these incredible thoughts entered his mind about the boy he met by an insane accident.
At this point, 'Lucky' didn't exist to him at all. There was only Niall.
There was something on Harry's mind now, something new besides his growing relations with Niall and his world. Not surprisingly his thoughts were surrounded by his working life. He never came to the conclusion of being stuck sat in his office for long hours, sometimes even extra, as something so boring to him. Before he was all about putting his entire self into his work but now he'd rather be out doing something he enjoyed.
Perhaps, he didn't want to be dealing with office work and sales for products he had no interest in discussing. Was there ever a moment where he actually loved what he was doing, and could he honestly spend the rest of his working life doing this?
Of course, he just couldn't announce to his boss that he wanted to quit. There were so many things Harry had to put in consideration first, including a new plan for a career. Harry's found important parts of his life that no longer wanted to ignore, which were included into his reasons for wanting to continue to find parts of his life he wanted to live in the moment in. The family closeness was probably on top of his list.
Leaving this job also meant he was free of having to deal with a certain secretary. Though, he could conclude with a chuckle, it'd be amusing to have Niall come visit him at the office and tell Jacelyn that he was here to see Harry and give him a blow under his desk. He imagined Niall to be uncensored.
He could finally leave a place he made himself believe was his comfort zone, a tough habit to break. There was so much that Harry was missing and he finally wanted to find what it was. There was no doubt in Harry's mind that he also wanted Niall to help him along the way.
SURPRISE! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D All my mistakes will be fixed later on as I stayed up way too late to get this up and I'm exhausted!
As you know, this story is on a temporary hold until TWB and SWIR are both complete. They each have one or two more parts left before this story and others become my new main focuses. I have so many plans for this story so I hope someone wants to continue this journey with me after all this time! haha