~sidemen oneshots~

Who is it?

//Wroetobehz//

TW: miscommunication, anxiety + overthinking caused by it

Hurt/comfort w a lil relationship fluff at the end :)

Context I guess: I took the line from Simon in this vid and ran with it, none of what is described to happen after in this one shot actually happens! This is fiction :) Harry struggles with identifying a joke as a joke, rather, taking it seriously causing some distress.

Word count: 1308

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Harry's POV:

"There is someone who everyone doesn't like... and if you don't know who it is, it's you." Everyone laughs at Simons remark, myself included but only because of the reactions of the others. Truth be told I didn't know who was the least liked in the sidemen. I didn't think there was anyone who was least liked, but-

Does that mean it's me?

The anxious part of my brain successfully takes over. I look at Ethan who's sat next to me and give him a confused look as someone else begins reading the next assumption.
I mouth the word, 'really?'
He doesn't pick up on what I was wondering and gives me a confused smile instead.
I note in my head to ask him about it as soon as filming finishes though I could feel myself retreating further into an anxious mess as the video went on, constantly wondering if I was disliked by everyone that much that they all had a mutual agreement. It was starting to make me feel nauseous, simultaneously creating a headache from worry.

I didn't even notice anyone was speaking to me as I picked at my shoe, a nervous habit I've developed over the years, until behz pokes my arm harshly causing me to jump a little at the sudden contact.
"Woah, you alright bog?" He asks gently.
"What? Yeah, yeah of course, whatsup?" I respond, trying desperately to keep the distress out of my voice. This obviously failed miserably as Ethan looks at me with concern.
"Nah hold up, what's going on with you?" He asks, voice more genuine as he knows this can be cut out of the final edit.
"Nothin, I-" I look around at the others who all have their gaze fixated on me in what seems to be a cross of confusion and worry, their looks pierce through my skin and feed my insecurity.
My voice gets a little quieter, "I'll talk to you about it later but right now I'm fine, promise," I lie, reaching out and squeezing his hand in reassurance, my lips pressed together in a smile.
He looks at me for another few seconds, seeming as if he's trying to decipher whether to argue further or leave it be, thankfully he nods and we get back to the video.

My mind hasn't stopped over-analyzing what Simon said since he said it. Trying to rationalize it in my brain has been miserable and I've been itching to get out of this studio to ask Ethan about it.
When the cameras stop rolling we pack up and go our separate ways, Ethan and I taking an Uber back together. My knee doesn't stop bouncing the whole way back.

We eventually arrive at the apartment and all of the emotions I felt myself hide away throughout the day finally make it to the surface. I turn to Ethan before he can fully kick off his shoes, asking urgently, "who is it?"
He looks up at me, confused by the sudden outburst.
"What? Haz why do you look upset what's-" I cut him off, "who was Simon talking about?" I push again, slightly terrified of the answer being me but needing to know more than anything.
"Wha-? Oh! Oh I know what you're on about now," he has a smile as he recalls the seemingly funny memory but said smile quickly turns into a frown as he grasps what I asked.

"What do you mean who is it?" He ponders.
"Simon said there was someone everyone didn't like and if you didn't know who it was it was you, and I didn't know who it was so I've been thinking about it since he said it and the only person I can come up with is me-" he cuts my worked-up rambling short, "Haz, love, come sit down okay? You're starting to freak me out," he takes my now shaking hand and leads me to the couch.

We sit down and I follow his instructions to take a few deep breaths and calm myself down.

"Now, what's going on love?" his voice is gentle.
I waste no time, "am I the one everyone hates?" The silence is deafening and for a second I find myself wondering if I've lost a relationship the same day my friendships seem to have come crumbling down.
His mouth gapes before he takes a deep breath.
"Lovely, Harry, bog sweetheart no, no one hates you my love," Ethans hand comes up to my face, cradling my cheek gently, his words are sad and make me feel confused.
"But I'm the only one who makes sense, everyone else is-" he doesn't let me continue, "I'm not letting you finish that thought. C'mere."

He picks up his phone whilst lifting an arm to allow me to cuddle into his side, I watch him as he goes into his contacts. Fear strikes my chest as he clicks on Simons FaceTime.
The older man picks up after a few rings,
"Hello?"
"Heya mate, I'm just here with Harry and I was wondering if you had just a minute to talk about something," Ethan says, rubbing my back comfortingly.
Simon stops whatever tasks he was doing to look at the screen, he sits down in his chair and props the phone against his pc.
"Whatsup?" He asks, concern obvious in his features.

"Remember earlier on, when you said there was someone everyone disliked?" Ethan asks, Simon nods his head, "yeah?"
"Did you mean that?" Ethans words were phrased in a tone that weighed heavily of 'this isn't for me, but someone else needs to hear you say it.'
"Wha-? Of course not," Simon splutters, utterly shocked from the question.
I feel my shoulders sag in relief.
"Why? What's happened?" Simon urges.
"Haz didn't realize it was a joke and no one explained it after so he thought it was about him."
I don't mind Ethan explaining what happened as he's gotten it spot on without me even having to tell him.
Simons faces crumples, "oh Haz," he says sadly, "I'm so sorry, I should've clarified afterwards that it was a joke," his genuine apology reassures the doubt creeping into my mind.
"It's alright mate, don't worry about it," I smile gently.
"Nah but it is worth worrying about Haz, I promise to try more in the future," the thoughtful words once again fill my chest with appreciation and I nod.
"Thanks for letting me know," he adds.
He and Ethan exchange pleasantries and the call ends.

"How do you do that?" I ask in the silence, looking up at the older man. Ethan squeezes me closer, "I know you bog."
My heart melts a little.

The anxiety-induced headache that had formed earlier on in the day slowly melted away as he ran his fingers through my hair. I lean into the touch, feeling very thankful for my boyfriend.

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a/n

hi! fun fact, i didn't pick up on the fact simon was joking when i watched this vid at first! honestly i'm not too sure still if he was because sometimes i'm not great at picking up on stuff like that but for the sake of this oneshot he was :))

plz let me know if I'm missing a tw and I'll add it!!

hope you enjoyed!

requests are open, please send them in if you have any!

have a great day <3