seasons of love | Narry Storan AU

chapter 24.

2015

Niall Horan only wakes up when he feels the sun's rays coming from the window and hitting his face with a familiar yet ironic violence. He yawns, trying to move his body out of the bed, until he realizes there's something stopping him from getting up.

Someone, in fact.

Harry is peacefully sleeping on Niall's body, his right cheek resting right above Niall's chest and Harry's head moving along with Niall's deep breath.

For some reason, the young Horan decides to enjoy the view for a couple more seconds. He has no intentions on leaving the bed after doing this realization in the back of his mind. In a moment of affection, Niall moves his arms up to rest on Harry's back, caressing that region for some minutes until he falls asleep again.

It's Saturday morning, meaning they don't have to do anything for the next couple of hours unless another particular plans have been made for the day. Niall is free until lunch, but he's not so sure about Harry's cronogram, which makes him wake up again and, this time, touching Harry's face so he can open his eyes, too.

"Morning..." Harold finally wakes up, but realizes where he fell asleep and gets up from the bed in a quick move. "Niall."

"I bet you lost your fear of the dark after this."

"Idiot", he says, but he starts laughing right after. "You could have told me about this and I would've let you go back to your bed."

"Nah, it's okay", Niall shrugs, getting up from the bunk bed, too. "Do you have plans for today?"

"I was thinking of going to the nearest Starbucks and try to write my song for Mr. Mendes's class there. Nothing else, I guess."

"Do you even have plans for the holidays, Harold? Because it looks like you always have some free time to wander around the building and find some girls to..."

"Don't finish that sentence. I'm trying to leave my womanizer days behind."

"You're trying what?" It's Niall's turn to laugh, now. "Wow. Wow, wow, wow, what a moment in history, huh?"

"Don't mock me, please", Harry rolls his eyes and sighs, walking to the bathroom while still talking to his roommate. "The fact that I fell asleep on your chest was already enough for you to make fun of me for the rest of my tenure here, right?" He yells from the sink.

"I won't make fun of you for that, if it's what you're thinking!" Niall screams back, taking a look on his cellphone for a minute while waiting for Harry to get out of the bathroom.

An interesting notification blows up on the phone screen. 

Professor Shawn Mendes sent an e-mail to you. 

It is enough for Niall to get nervous in a sudden, feeling his hands shaking a bit and his eyes winking more than the necessary amount of times. Without thinking twice, he opens the notification and focusing on the content of the message.

"What's up, Mr. Horan? How are you doing?

I found one of your musical covers on YouTube these days. I think it's from the last year. You had a different hair back then, right? Just came to say that I liked what I saw and I would like to discuss your compositions any day of this next week. Out of the college, if you can. 

I know it seems like I'm asking you out, but as a teacher, I'm not allowed to do this. But, since I will no longer be your professor after our class ends in December, I thought I should give it a shot. Anyway, answer back this e-mail if you're interested in it.

Professor Shawn."

"What the hell..." Niall whispers to himself, right before Harry comes back from the bathroom.

"Mate, I'll use the shower now and... what is this?"

"This what?" He turns the phone down on his bed.

"This look. The look on your face. Seems like you saw a ghost or something like that."

"Just... Mr. Mendes liked an old video of mine on YouTube. Weird." Niall says, hiding half of the truth for everybody's sake.

Of course he's going to say no for a date with Shawn. It's wrong in every possible way.

"Weird, in fact", Harold agrees, taking a clean towel from the wardrobe. "It's okay if you brush your teeth while I'm taking a bath or..."

"I'd rather wait. Don't wanna see you naked so soon in this life, Styles."

"Oh, right when I thought we were becoming intimate", Harry jokes, making his newfound friend roll his eyes. "But it's okay. I get it."

"You get what?"

"You're gonna wait to see me naked when it's the right time."

"Harold, we're not in a relationship for you to say this."

"But you wish we were."

"No, you wish", Niall blurts out, completely forgetting about the fact that Harry, indeed, would love that deep in his heart. He, then, tries to make it up for the mistake. "Never mind. Just go with it."

"Niall?" The Styles lad screams from the shower.

"Huh?"

"Would you like to go to Starbucks with me?"

"Are you calling me for a date, Harold?"

"Too early for that, you sucker", Harry continues to scream, so Niall reaches the bathroom door to hear him more. "We didn't even have our first night of sex for a formal date."

"You only take people out on dates after fucking them?"

"Don't you?"

"Jesus, no! This is wrong in so many ways."

"No, it's not. It prevents me from getting to know people who are bad in bed."

"I hate when something you say ends up making sense, Harry."

"I know!" A minute of silence follows this part of the conversation. Once Niall decides to go back to the bunk bed, however, his roommate calls him again. "Niall?"

"Huh?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Yeah, I guess I'll go with you. I'm hungry, anyway."

"Good choice, Nialler. Good choice."