I rolled over with a groan, still half asleep as my dream about being late to school turned into me walking the streets of London and stopping to watch and listen as two men sat playing guitars together. I placed my hand into my pocket for change and the music they were playing just became louder and louder until I felt startled enough to wake up, completely confused.
Hey, doesn't your phone sound just like that?
Wake up so you can turn off that fucking noise.
I remained in bed, letting my phone continue to ring because I wanted to get a good stretch in before I had to move from my comfortable curled position. After I raised my arms above my head, I let out a groan and sat up to reach over to my end table to find my stupid phone that I wish I had put on silent.
Before I looked for the name of the tosser who decided to wake me up, I checked to see the time. It was another reason to groan as it wasn't even half seven yet. I pressed the 'answer' button to make the strumming guitars stops and put my phone to my ear.
"You better have a good reason for calling me so early. You do know it's Saturday and everyone who is smart is still asleep right now?" I said, trying my best to sound that I was annoyed and not eager to hear about our plans for our date.
I closed my eyes and rested my head back down on my pillow once I heard Harry chuckling at me. He sounded quite awake and I had no idea how he could possibly not be sleeping right now. He did more work than I did and I still felt like I could sleep for hours.
"I'm guessing you were one to sleep in when we had to practise or have a match on weekend mornings?" He asked me with a teasing interest.
I blinked my eyes open before I answered him. "Of course, I did, and I still made it on time unlike some of the other boys. So don't sound like I'm a lazy arse because I take every minute of sleep I can possibly get." I argued in my defense, probably too much so.
Yeah, you sound like a whining bitch.
Harry's not gonna date a whining bitch. It's not an attractive quality.
"Okay, okay. I'll take note not to call you when you're trying to hibernate." He gave another short laugh, still not spilling as to why he was calling. He's wasting my precious time I wanted to use for sleep. I was up rather late last night since there was a really good match on, and then I wanted to watch the highlights as well. Maybe he had called to discuss it. Well, he could have waited.
"Sorry, I'm just used to being up early."
Yeah, apparently you are.
"It's fine." I finally gave up and turned onto my side. "So, what do I owe this pleasure of an early wake up call?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if you wanted to go around to the park with me and then get a bite to eat after. It's a slightly less crap day out and I feel like getting some extra work in before I get to play in the one of the matches this weekend." He explained to me. I knew just how excited Harry was to be getting back out there, slowly but surely he would be gracing the field again.
Was that all that he had planned for our date? I wish I had more notice; one that I was glad didn't come earlier in the morning though. Of course, I was going to agree to join him. I quite enjoyed helping Harry out, especially when he was having one of his determined days. Then we could have a simple lunch to start off on our awkward world of dating. I was just fine with that.
It was how a first date should be: without pressure and stress.
It should be that way between you blokes anyway.
You did already snog.
"Niall, you still there or did you fall asleep?" Harry's voice picked up.
"No," I shook my head. "Sorry, I'm still here. I was just thinking," I started off coyly, "if I actually want to see you after this disturbance."
"I know where you live and I'm sure Maura would let me in. Then I'd join you for sleep. Do you happen to snore? I don't know if I'd be able to stand any loud snoring." He countered back.
Oh, he's good at this.
Quick, think of something witty!
You're full of that and I'm tired. You do it.
First, I had to get over two things; the first much easier than the second one. It did feel strange to hear Harry so confidentially address my mum by her first name, which she would be pleased that Harry had remembered to do. It's still weird to hear. The second thing was probably going to make me stay awake for good now, picture Harry and I wasting an entire day in my bed together just wrapped up in each other's arms and stealing quiet kisses because my mum would probably pull one of her infamous unwanted appearances off.
"My mum's asleep and don't think she'll wake to your beckon and call like I have. And second, how would I know if I snored if I'm not awake to hear it?"
I don't think you'll be going back to sleep like you wanted to.
"Yeah, you're such a peach to talk to in the morning." He drawled out. "I guess I'll have to let you know sometime. Now, could you just answer me? You always leave me hanging."
Because I'm thinking about sharing a bed with you, which is all your fault.
"What time were you thinking?" I asked him, pulling the phone away from my face and yawning into my fist so Harry couldn't hear it, at least I hoped he didn't hear it.
"Will you be alive at nine o'clock?"
I wiped my hand down my face, another yawn coming from my lips. "I can do nine o'clock. When you get here you can come right up to the door if you want to."
Because since this is our first date, I'd like to not have to do all the effort.
Yet, he was the one who asked you and had to think of what to do.
He can be a gentleman.
Total girl. That's what you are.
Hey, we get at least another hour of sleep. That's an hour where I don't have to hear from you.
"I'll see you then, Niall. Sweet dreams because you''re probably going to clock out as soon as you hang up on me." He joked.
"So, you really don't want me to have sweet dreams then? That kinds of hurts, Harry." I joked back with him. There was something about Harry when he was acting all caring that I couldn't get enough of. he cared about me and that was enough to turn me into this--I don't even know how to describe myself right now.
No, not a total girl.
"But I am correct, aren't I?" Harry pressed.
"Goodbye, Harry." I told him, slightly embarrassed because he was in fact so right about me.
"Good morning, Niall." He teased before I hung up on him first.
Yeah, because that will sure show him.
Lights out.
________________________
I woke up again around 8:22 AM, which didn't give me that much time to get ready for Harry to come around to mine and pick me up. So, I had to rush around my room to get ready. I guess I might as well add that I was slightly nervous about going out on my first ever date. I wish I could just treat it as "I'm hanging out with one of my guy friends and then we're just gonna grab some food". But I knew that it wasn't that at all.
Should I bring a change of clothes? Who does that on a first date? Nobody I've ever known. In my defense, I didn't know that many people and if I did I probably wouldn't care so much about their dating habits.
If Harry wanted to go around to the park first then maybe he'd drop me back off at my house and talk to my mum as I got changed, or he'd come upstairs with me and watch me change. That'd be a nice change of pace since I was usually the one watching him change. I probably shouldn't mention that on a first date either.
I felt, dare I say, not admit, that I kind of felt like a girl. I began to care about everything about the way I looked because I wanted to impress a boy, one that I was quite shirt that I already was through with impressing because we're somewhat passed that. It started off with what I was going to wear. I mean, I didn't trash my room and throw clothes all around until I found something that made my butt look good. I did just feel like I needed to wear something that showed Harry how much I wanted this time with him and that I took it seriously. Then, after I decided on just black jeans and a dark blue jumper, I needed to figure out if I should style my hair up or leave it fluffy and flat. If we ended up kissing a lot on this date, would he run his fingers though my hair? Would he feel disgusted if he touched my hair and it was too much hair product? Would he think I looked like I had just woken up?
Well, you did just wake up.
Could there be a chance that Harry was as nervous as I was? I don't know how many first dates that lad has been on himself so I have no idea what this one would compare to in his eyes.
I couldn't let that get to me. This wasn't a competition. I like Harry and Harry likes me. That's all that needs to matter here.
After I made a few extra checks of what I looked liked, brushed my teeth and figured out the best time to pop some minty gum into my mouth, I went downstairs with just about three minutes to spare. I didn't eat breakfast because, not because there wasn't time, but because I was starting to get a nervous stomach as time came closer to go out with Harry.
I had found my mum in the front room, drinking her morning beverage, probably tea because she didn't need to wake herself up for work, and she was also reading the morning's news. She had the window open to let the sun light up the room, making it less gloomy.
When she heard me coming down the stairs she looked up from her reading and over to me. "Oh, I wasn't expecting to see you awake. I thought I had to come upstairs in about two hours and make you wake up." She took a sip from her mug before she set it down on the plate beside her. "Do you have to get to the school this morning?"
I shook my head, leaning over so I could peer out the window to see if Harry's car was out there yet. Then I rocked back on my heels before bringing my attention back to her. "I'm actually just going to hang out with Harry and then go out to lunch with him." I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my jeans and shrugged my shoulders like it wasn't such a big deal.
"Well, you look nice." She commented.
I sent her a smile, feeling only a little relieved. My eyes glanced back out the window and I suddenly didn't have any of that relief anymore. Harry had arrived and he was out waiting for me, leaning against his car, wearing a long-sleeved shirt and his black match shorts.
Then I looked down at what I was wearing and felt that I had overdressed for the park. I guess I had forgotten that Harry had told me that we were going there because he wanted to get some extra footie in to make sure that he was ready for next weekend. I also shouldn't have told him that he could come to the door only if he wanted to.
I really needed to relax.
"Harry's here so I guess I'll see you later." I told my mum before I slipped on my pair of dirty sneakers. I was going to wear my cleaner ones but it was probably for the best if I didn't in case the grass was damp from the overnight chill.
"Have a good time!" My mum shouted to me as I walked out.
Once the door closed behind me Harry looked up from his phone and waved over to me, sending me a big smile. As I walked closer to where he was he stopped leaning on his car and walked up to me, his fingers pointing over to my chosen outfit.
"You do know where we're going right?" He joked and then he shook his head. "You look good though." He smiled again and pressed a kiss to my cheek before he whispered into my ear. "I saw you watching for me outside your window." He chuckled and I gave him a gentle shove away from me.
"And you were just gonna stand there until I came around for you?" I asked him as we walked back over to his car.
"I was barely out of my car for five minutes." He explained to me and put his hands up in a mocking defense. "Are you ready to go?"
I let it slide because, honestly, I was just happy to be finally be doing this with Harry. Again, I'm tired and I wish I could have some more sleep but being with Harry made up for it. or this could be a new lesson for him that his future boyfriend could be quite moody when he is disturbed from his sleep.
Harry's hand rubbed up and down at my lower back before he reached over to my door and opened it for me. "After you." he said politely, a smile to match.
At least that's a start.
"Thank you." I gave him a short nod before I placed my hand on top of his that held the door open for me. I couldn't help but let my fingers briefly fit in between his. He lifted one of his fingers up to place it over mine, stroking my knuckle before I decided to finally get in the car, the touch lingering sensitively on my skin as if his fingertips had glided against my cheek.
The drive to the park wasn't too long. I mostly just played with the radio as Harry talked about the upcoming weekend and that on Thursday he could get the official okay from his physical therapist that he could play some. It wasn't going to be a full match and it would probably be for only a few minutes at most just to see how Harry was. Harry wished that he would be just fine and that he could push himself more to prove that he was making his comeback. His ambition was burning high and it was a sight I missed seeing.
But it was also supposed to be our date, right, not just about Harry and his successes?
After getting out of the car, and pulling Harry's bag out of the car, we walked through the park, passing by a few runners who enjoyed Saturday mornings exercising. I was not one of those people. Then we came across a larger open area, including two older looking goal nets.
Harry set down his bag and exhaled a deep breath as he was satisfied with his surroundings. Then he turned over to look at me, who was coming to join him as I carried the ball out over to him. I placed it down in front of him and walked backwards away.
He juggled the ball with his feet before he passed it over to me. I wasn't really paying attention and I never expected his to kick me the ball so it rolled right passed me. Once I did notice I looked up from my feet to Harry, who was smiling at me even as he jogged over to me. Then he passed me to retrieve the ball that I had missed.
"Come on," he patted me on my shoulder. "I was serious, you know."
"About what?" I asked.
"You playing along with me." He encouraged. He bent down and picked the ball up from the grass before he began to twirl it along his fingertips. "So, when you were trying out for the team, who did you want to be? Offense? Defense?" He fired at me excitedly.
What? Huh?
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. At the time I just wanted to try out. I didn't care where the coach put me as long as I could play. Then I would learn whatever he thought was my place." I scratched the back of my neck at the uncertainty of my answer and that it wasn't convincing enough to be real, though it was the truth. "I just wanted to be apart of something that seemed like it could be great."
"Maybe coach noticed that about you or something; that you didn't really know where you'd fit on the team." He kicked the ball off into the direction of the nearest goal. "Or how about goal keeper?"
I thought about what Harry said as he kicked the ball, nodding my head to myself as I wondered if things would have been different if I had my playing position in mind, if I had just one place that I was willing to fight for among st the other boys. Maybe I was simplifying myself too much and that wasn't the type of person he wanted to coach.
"No, not goal keeper." I spoke up, clearing my mind of the heavier type of thoughts. "Have you seen how I've been with flying objects coming towards me?"
"Good point, though if I were on defense I could still try and protect you." He sent me a smirk and then laughed. "But you didn't know things were purposefully being thrown at you and those were to hurt you. In the match, people don't try to hit you. They want to get it past you." He explained to me before he began playing the ball with his feet again.
I rolled my eyes. "I know how it works. Now, how do you expect me to play you when I'm not in the appropriate attire?" I asked him as I motioned to my outfit.
"Well, that's your loss because I told you what we were doing today."
Am I on a first date or a play date here?
"So, let's have a match." He stated, grinning at me like he's already won or something.
I let out a quiet groan as Harry was already kicking the ball around on the field. Making sure he wasn't looking, I practised being able to bend my legs in the jeans that I was wearing. I needed movement if I stood even a slight chance against him. He may be the recovering star but his body still remembered just the right moves to keep him at his ranking.
The little match between us, which Harry ended up being the victorious one, of course, was quite embarrassing on my part at first because I just didn't know how I was supposed to be acting towards Harry. Was I his competitor or was I just that guy who was still helping him out?
Anyway, his control over the ball was sure something but I could tell that he was still struggling when he was leading with his injured leg. When he was first was able to even run on it, he had tripped over himself a few times. I would suddenly feel worried and rush over to help him and depending on his mood he would sometimes let me help him up and make sure that he was okay. Other times he'd ignore my offered hands and get up and brush himself off on his own time.
This time when he fell I had gone down with him, or to the side of him because he had tried to get the ball out of my possession and he ended up tangling his foot with mine and I fell over without gracefully being able to catch myself.
"Niall! Shit, I'm sorry!" Harry said once he figured out what he had done. He came back over to me and knelt beside me. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine." I managed out even though I was clearly lying to him as pain ran through my back. I closed my eyes for a moment as I laid out on the grass until I waited for it to subside some. I opened my eyes when I felt Harry's fingers run through my hair.
"I guess I got to into it, huh?" He told me softly.
"Nah, I just don't think I'm cut out for it." I let out a cough as I began to sit up. Harry's hand went down to my back and he rubbed it softly as he aided me to sit up.
"There, you go. You're going to be okay."
I looked over to him once I was done coughing and I felt the familiarity in the other times that Harry was at my side to help me out. This was turning out to be some date. It didn't even feel like one. "I'm fine. It's not your fault. It's what happens in real matches so you shouldn't be so concerned."
"I'm concerned because I know you've been hurt a lot in the past and I care about you. I don't know the strangers I knock over during actual matches and I don't care about them like I do with you." He pointed out at me before he stood up and offered me his hand. "Now, let's go and get you some food, yeah? All you have to do is sit for that." He sent me a wink.
I took his hands and smiled, hoping that lunch together would turn this day around for me.
________________________
After the match we went out to lunch at some small cafe that Harry knew of. I didn't order much due to my continuing nervous stomach and because I knew that I'd be paying for it big time if I ate too much on a pretty empty stomach. I didn't want to get ill on my first date. Harry had asked me if I was doing okay and offered to just rive me back to mine. I shook my head and told him that I was fine. I was not going to ruin our first, very relaxed, date.
I did end up picking off a few of Harry's chips off of his plate, which he jokingly didn't allow me to do at first since I always did the same thing to him whenever I bought a lunch deal from the school's dining hall.
"You did quite well for yourself out there." Harry commented as he placed another chip into his mouth. "I'm sorry against that I knocked you down. Are you sure you're okay?" He gave me a look as he placed his hand on my knee under the table.
"I'm sure. I might be a little sore but it's not anything I'm not used to." I covered his hand with mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze after I had collected his hand in my own.
He let out a sigh. "Don't remind me." He grumbled as he continued on eating.
I ignored the comment, not meaning to bother him over it. "The pain's fading already, Harry. It's going to be fine." I tired holding back my chuckles at how worried he was over me about it. Did I forget to mention that he was being very polite and helpful to me like he had broken my back? He walked me back to his car and carried everything back himself, after my protesting, of course. Then once we got to the cafe, he opened the door for me and not only did he pull out my chair, he helped me sit down in it. I didn't want Harry feeling guilty over a little fall but I did like the gestures.
I still saw a small frown on his face and I couldn't help but playfully pout at him. I quickly glanced at the few other people who were in there with us and gave Harry's cheek a quick peck to get him to at least smile again. I felt my heart swell at the fact that I didn't have to hide how I could act around Harry and that he also showed his affections towards me publicly. I finally felt like things were done being hectic for me and for us. I didn't know about Harry personally but at least he appeared to be quite rounded with everything's that happened.
We finished lunch and then Harry drove me back to mine. I asked him if he wanted to come inside with me but he shook his head and said no, sighing as he did so. I couldn't help but to stare over him to try and figure out what was the matter. Then I looked down in my lap and watched as my fingers wrestled.
Did he not enjoy how our date turned out? Was it because I didn't wear the right clothes and then fell when all he wanted to do was have a fun match with me? Maybe it was because when we went out to lunch I didn't order anything to eat and I made him feel like he had wasted all his time on me for nothing?
I wasn't too big of a fan of it either. Could he tell?
"Not all first dates are these perfect things, Harry." I told him, still looking down. I shrugged my shoulders. "Sometimes things just don't work out how we planned or how we really wanted them to. I understand that I might not have been the most impressive person to take out but the truth is I've never been out on a date in my life so if you expected more from me then I'm really sorry I didn't meet them for you--" I left out the part about how he could have probably tried harder himself to at least remind me that we were on a date today but when I looked over to see Harry his eyes were focused on me, staring deeply at me, causing me to freeze up and lose out on my big ramble of how I wasn't all he hoped I would be and such.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him, my teeth chewing at my bottom lip after I left my tongue swipe across it a few times.
"Come here," Harry told me and when I moved closer to him, his hand grabbed the back of my neck and he pulled me to him for a long kiss. I smiled briefly before I let myself get lost with Harry. His hand moved over to my cheek as our lips slipped over each others as I slightly turned my head so I could get a better angle at his mouth. A moan rumbled from my throat and I felt as it buzzed off of his lips and reconnected with mine.
When he pulled away, he nuzzled his nose against mine, our breaths mixing together as we both breathed audibly. I closed my eyes and couldn't help but wiggle my nose, opening my eyes again once I heard Harry's soft chuckle. His forehead was resting against mine and I was met with his green eyes directly in line with my own.
"I hope you didn't think this was our first date." He said against my mouth, kissing me, leaving my lips slightly parted as I took in what he was saying, "because I can do so much better than that." Harry placed his lips over mine one last time in a quick, yet sensual kiss. I could hear the sound of Harry's lips sucking mine as he pulled away. "I'll see you tonight and what you're wearing now is just fine."