(Louis’ POV)
It’s finally the day of our interview on Alan Carr, and I’m secretly freaking out. What was management thinking? This was The Chatty Man, and he was known for being…er, scandalous. Blunt. Crazy. Pushy. And now we’re backstage and oh god, what if he asks something ridiculous? What if I mess up? Get embarrassed? This is our first interview as a couple, this has to go perfectly.
I start to pace, fear creeping up inside me. What if I made a mistake? What if I embarrassed myself? Or Hazza? Or both of us? What if there were jokes made of me, just like usually Harry? What if? What if whatifwhatifwhatifwhatif?
A familiar hand sneaks into my back pocket, and I grin against my will. Harry pulls me against him, and I bury into his chest and feeling comfort washes over me softly.
“Nervous?” Haz mumbles into my hair.
“Mhm.” I whimper, arms moving to snake around his shoulder and pull him closer.
“It’ll be fine, you know.” He assures me, sliding his other hand in my other back pocket, squeezing and pulling us closer.
“But what if it isn’t?” I worry into his neck, kissing the soft skin there.
“But what if it is?” He counters and I pull away to raise an eyebrow.
“Harry.” I say, shooting him my best glare.
“No, Lou. It’s going to be fantastic. We can go on and hold hands and be everything we want to be, and now in front of everyone. And let’s look at the track record here, if anyone is gonna get embarrassed, it’ll be me. They might as well rename this The Take The Piss Out Of Harry show.” Haz chuckles.
I can’t stop the smirk that finds its way onto my lips.
“Very true. Hey, you can drink this time!” I grin, and he nods.
“Yep! And this time I’ve been on an amazing tour, and I’m even closer with my best friends, and now…I have the best boyfriend in the entire world. I love you so much, LouLou.” Harry finishes, our faces drifting closer subconsciously.
“I love you too, cheeseball.” I laugh.
And then his lips are on mine, soft and warm, reassurance that I need.
“Guys, we’re on in one minute! Save that for later, we need to go line up.” Niall says, bounding past us and vanishing again.
“Fuck.” I mutter, but Harry leans down and captures my lips in a kiss again.
“It’ll be amazing. Just let it happen, yeah?” Harry coaches as we find our way to the stairs, grinning at the boys who give us reassuring nods.
“Yeah.” I breathe.
And then we’re being called on. “Ladies and gents, they’re all that’s been talked about lately, please welcome, One Direction!”
Harry intertwines our fingers as we follow behind the others, smiling proudly. As we trot down the steps and the audience sees us swinging our hands they cheer louder and if this is what acceptance feels like, I fucking love it.
“Welcome!” Alan greets, hugging each of us as we sit down, Harry and I closest to him, then Liam, Niall and Zayn on the end.
“Hello!” Niall and Liam greet happily. Alan beams at us.
“So, boys! A lot has changed since you were last here! You’ve had a tour all over the world, number one songs and albums, and Harry can now drink!” Alan teases and Harry barks out a laugh and mutters an ‘I told you’ under his breath.
“Indeed he can, all grown up he is.” I tease, nudging his shoulder playfully, but he winks at me.
“Ah, and this right here, is why you’ve been in the news so much recently.” Alan says, gesturing to us. I feel myself start to panic, but Harry squeezes my fingers and I relax. “You two are a couple, yes?”
“Yes.” I giggle, glancing to see Niall grin hugely. Fanboy.
“Well then, let’s get all the juicy details, yeah? How long has this been going on?” He asks, and I gesture (with our intertwined fingers which is awkward as hell) for Haz to answer that.
“Mmm, about three months now? Feels like forever.” Harry answers and the crowd ‘aww’s.
“Sap.” Zayn teases.
“Now, I must say, you guys are very cute together. There were many moments that the fans thought something might have been going on. Were there feelings before you got together? And for how long, eh boys?” Alan asks and winks suggestively, prompting me to chuckle.
“Erm, yeah there were feelings for…quite a long time. Maybe even before I realized it. I’m assuming you’re the same, babe?” I ask Harry, turning to meet his bright green eyes.
“Yeah.” He agrees, nodding.
“Oh, you called him babe! Fangirls all over the world are dying!” Alan jokes and I blush, sinking a little in my seat.
“Then they should talk to Niall, he’s the biggest fanboy out there.” Liam adds and everyone laughs as the Irish boy protests.
“What? I’m allowed to want them together, they’re adorable!” He coos and I reach over to flick his knee.
“Well, on that topic, I do have to ask about that interview. Liam, you outed the boys on national television like it was nothing.” Alan explains and I smile fondly at Liam while Harry rubs circles in my palm.
“Oi, we helped!” Zayn adds, and Niall laughs with a nod.
“Sounds like you’re proud of yourselves?” Alan asks mischievously.
“We are. They wanted to come out so badly and we hated seeing them upset. On the car ride home from management they cried, and I couldn’t stand it. Seeing them so miserable…yeah, just couldn’t do it. So I put an end to all this ‘hiding’ crap.” Liam explains, elbowing me with a smile.
“Exactly. See, here’s the thing. People always tell us that we’re a new breed of boy band, that we’re different than the rest. So, like, why should we have to play by their rules? No, I say that we set our own rules, and do as we wish. There’s a difference to be made in the world, and helping with that is an important thing.” Zayn adds, nodding, and okay so I bite back some tears, whatever.
“Oh, ever the philosopher, Zayn.” I tease.
“Now, are you guys alright if we ask the happy couple some questions? Feel free to answer as well.” Alan questions with a grin.
“Yeah, yeah, let them have their moment of fame.” Niall teases and I roll my eyes yet again.
“Alrighty! We want all the details. Who kissed who? Who admitted their feelings? Who said ‘I love you’ first?” He asks quickly, pouring us all some champagne (finally, Harry’s not a loner) and grinning.
I sigh, licking my lips. “Erm, we both kind of kissed each other. I mean, we’d kissed before when we’d been drinking or acting stupid, but that wasn’t the same. And Harry admitted his feelings first.”
Harry grins, letting go of my hand to wrap an arm around my shoulder, pulling me close and oh, this is what it feels like to be at home somewhere, even in public.
“Brave boy!” Alan compliments.
“Mhm, he said ‘I love you’ first as well.” I explain further seeing a few audience members ‘awww’.
“Yeah, but Louis said he was in love with me first, so he needs some credit.” Harry chuckles and I blush, leaning further into his warm embrace.
“Well, well. Even Stevens I suppose.” Alan laughs. “Now, who found out first, hmm? Any of you walk in on them during sexy times?”
And oh god, I flush red, this was such a bad idea. Harry curls into my side and hides his face there, laughing as I fondly run a hand through his hair.
“I found out first. And I did walk in on them, yeah. Not doing anything, er, you know. Just snogging.” Liam explains and I thank him for being so amazing.
“We found out a bit later when we caught them kissing in a dressing room. Crying too, so we assume they were being all sappy.” Zayn teases and I mock glare at him, reaching up to intertwine my fingers with Harry.
“Well, to be honest, I had known about Harry’s feelings before hand, and Zayn had known about Lou’s, so we were playing matchmaker for a stupidly long time, not knowing they were already together. Liam was an arse and didn’t say anything.” Niall explains, giving someone in the audience a thumbs up.
“Shut up, you.” Liam laughs.
“Well, back to Larry Stylinson, as they say. Who wears the pants in the relationship?” Alan asks and god, now I’m really red. Stupid idiotic asshole.
“Well if you mean literally, then me, because Harry walks around naked all the time.” I laugh, trying to remain witty Tommo, despite hearing Alan mutter ‘Not that you mind, I’m sure’ under his breath.
“But if you mean it how I think you do, then…I dunno. I’m not sure either of us does.” I finish, glancing up to Harry who smiles lovingly at me.
“Well then, who’s the ‘girl’ in the relationship? I’m not meaning to sound rude or stereotypical of course. I mean more like, who puts their arms up, you know?” Alan asks and oh, I’ve never seen him stutter. Ha.
“That would be Louis.” Harry answers. “But it works, cause I’m taller, and I’m kind of the type that takes care of someone, right? I like taking care of him, so.”
I grin up at him and lean in to kiss him on the cheek fondly, eliciting cheers from the audience.
“That true, Louis? Do you like being taken care of?” Alan asks, grinning.
“Yeah, I suppose. Only if it’s Harry, though.” I answer, biting my lip. Okay, this isn’t so bad, maybe we’ll be fine.
“So what’s changed? You went from best friends to boyfriends, things must have morphed as you did so, I assume?” Alan asks, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Actually, we’re very much the same. Nothing really changed. I always think this; we’re best friends first, boyfriends second, you know?” Harry says, smiling at me. “We still tease each other, and make stupid jokes. We just have another level to our relationship now.”
“Yeah, there’s still pranks that go on and all that, when he’s not trying to sweep me off my feet.” I laugh, winking at the audience.
“Oh? Well do tell! Harry, what pranks had Louis played on you? And Louis, what’s the most romantic thing Harry has done so far?” Alan questions, and I pull back from Harry to look at him.
“Uhm, the most romantic thing he’s done….” I trail off, thinking. “Oh, probably when we told our families. Afterwards we were waiting for a car outside and it was raining, and I was telling some story to my sisters and he just came up behind me, grabbed me and kissed me out of nowhere. And then he told me that he remembered that back at the X Factor house, we’d been up till two in the morning talking about bucket lists and I said I wanted a kiss in the rain and he remembered.”
I grin at Harry, who’s blushing now, but has a small smirk on his face. The audience collectively ‘awwww’s and Niall coos as well, eyes bright.
“Well, well, Harry Styles are you not a romantic little devil!” Alan Carr teases, and everyone laughs.
“I’ll never live that down, will I?” He mutters, hiding his face in his hands.
I reach over and move them out of the way to grin at him. “Relax, it was sweet and I loved it, alright?”
“Yeah, whatever.” Harry mumbles, but he’s smiling again so it’s worth it.
“And the pranks?” Alan prompts.
“Oh, Harry, show off your new sharpie tramp stamp, courtesy of Louis!” Niall giggles and if I could strangle him, I would.
I shoot him a glare and shake my head, but Harry looks rather mischievous and oh god no he is not….
“Right, well apparently Louis likes to draw on us in our sleep, cause he’s mean like that, and this is what I ended up with.” Harry says, standing up to turn around and lift his shirt. The ‘Property of LouLou’ is still there, just faded to a dull grey.
The audience laughs and I blush beet red, but chuckle all the same. We really don’t have boundaries, do we?
“Should I assume that means something? If you know what I mean.” Alan winks, making it incredibly obvious just what he is talking about.
I go even redder, hiding my face in Harry’s chest out of instinct. This is so not happening on television, ugh.
“We’re so not discussing that, but nice try Alan.” Harry saves, and I sigh with relief.
“Alright then boys. We have a commercial break and when we come back, we have an activity centered around your relationship, okay?” Alan suggests and we grin and nod.
The people behind the cameras announce we’re off air, commercials rolling. Harry grins and ruffles my hair. “See? It’s going perfect!” He raves and I giggle, nodding. “You win.”
The next few minutes are filled with touch ups, hairspray, instructions and mindless chatter as commercials play on the screen near the cameras. Harry never lets go of me and I never move an inch from him. Why would I want to?
Then we get a warning that the show will be back on in 20 seconds, and Harry takes in a deep breath. Is he nervous? I rub a hand on his knee to calm him and I feel him relax. I could get used to having such an effect on him, I really could.
"Oi! Harry and Louis, stop being so all over each other this time." Sasha from management instructs.
I look at Haz and he shakes his head, so we snuggle even closer on the couch and stick out our tongues at her. Appropriate? No. Fun? Yes. So shut up.
"And you’re back on in 5…4…3…" Some camera man says, and we put on big grins again.
"Hello and welcome back to The Chatty Man with the amazing One Direction! Now, we promised we’d play a game, yes? The boys will have to answer questions about this perfect relationship," Alan gestures to Harry and I, and we chuckle. "with one word, alright?"
The audience claps and we nod, smiling widely. This could be interesting.
"Okay boys, you ready?" Alan asks and Niall mutters something I don’t catch.
"First one, describe this relationship in one word." Alan instructs and I smirk.
"Fun." I answer immediately.
"Typical, Louis." Harry laughs. "I’d say…balanced."
I roll my eyes, elbowing him.
"Cute." Niall says, followed by Liam saying "Handsy." Zayn laughs out "Erm, probably needy."
Alan laughs with the audience and I remind myself to slap him once this is done.
"Okay, next one. Describe Louis’ feelings for Harry, and vice versa, in one word." Alan says and my heart jumps with nerves. I can’t narrow that down! Ugh.
Harry raises and eyebrow and studies my smiling face. “Love.” I say simply, and Harry flushes.
"Infatuated." Zayn grins and ugh I will so murder him.
"Obsessed." Liam teases and this time I do slap him, on the arm with the back of my hand, and stick out my tongue as the audience laughs.
"Dependent." Niall giggles and okay, so maybe that’s true.
All eyes fall on Harry and he sighs, assumedly deciding upon what fits us most. “Need.” He says and I smirk, understanding.
"What do you mean, Harry?" Alan asks and I bite my lip.
"I need him. More than anything." Harry clarifies and the audience once again ‘aww’s.
Harry’s green eyes brighten adorably and he tightens his hold on me obviously as I fight off a grin.
"Aren’t you cute? Now I’ll give you a topic about them and still answer with one word, kay?" Alan says and we nod. "Kissing."
"Nonstop." Liam says and I giggle.
"Yeah, nonstop." Zayn says, and Niall seconds it by saying "All the time."
"You guys suck." Harry teases. "I say…fun."
"Now who’s typical?" I laugh, flicking him in the chest. "I’d say…comfort."
I get a few raised eyebrows but I stick with what I chose, as it’s true.
"Comfort?" Alan asks, and I seriously thinks he has it out for me.
"Uh, yeah. I was nervous before the show and Harry calmed me down." I answer and blush.
"Well, well, snogging backstage, how risk-ay!" Alan laughs, playing it up. Dick. "Next topic is: boyfriends."
"Proud." We all answer at once in a jumble and then look at each other. We burst out laughing, because it’s so true, and so us.
"Proud it is. Three more to go, okay? Next is: dates."
"We’ve only been on one!" Harry complains, but Alan just raises an insistent eyebrow. "Fine, um, adorable. Louis is adorable on dates."
I go red and he gestures to me as if to say ‘see what I mean?’ and oh he’s gonna get it.
"Romantic." I answer. "He gave me a red rose."
"Well we can’t really say, because we weren’t there. Although, I suppose all of our dinners are dates to them, they’re off in their own world." Liam chuckles, and Harry just rolls his eyes with a huff.
"Two to go. Bedroom." Alan giggles and I flush yet again. This is becoming a problem.
"None of your damn business." I answer before Harry can. "Next."
"Okay, okay. Last one! Why did this relationship start?"
"Jealousy." Harry smirks. "On my part."
"A crush. My part." I say as if I’m proud of it, and I suppose I am.
"Built up tension." Liam says.
"Two idiots who are both way too oblivious." Zayn laughs and nudges Niall.
"Matter of time. We all knew it would happen, just didn’t know when." The Irish boy answers.
"Ah. So there you have it! These boys must have great fun, and we wish you luck with your relationship as well as the press and your headline tour! That’s very exciting! When’s that?" Alan is saying, and Liam answers.
But Harry is staring into my eyes, his gorgeous green orbs sparkling with some emotion I can’t catch, and I’m just stuck there, staring back, smile playing on my lips. My gaze flickers down to his and then back up, and ugh can’t this thing be over yet? I just want to kiss him, come on!
"Bye!" The boys chorus and apparently we’re off air, because the cameras turn away.
And we move at the same time, lips colliding quickly amidst the movement around us, a constant. Comfort. Need. Love. Fun. Perfection.