Misadventure

23

Harry's POV

"Oh my god, you look adorable, H!" my sister cooed at me.

I frowned at her. Well, more like I frowned at my phone, which was propped up on my desk against a pile of textbooks, so I could FaceTime with her before I had to leave.

"I'm not supposed to be adorable," I complained. "I was going for, like... sophisticated?"

"You look very sophisticated. My apologies," Gemma laughed. I realized I was being a bit ridiculous, but I couldn't help it.

"Sorry, Gems. It's just, I want tonight to be perfect." I did another once-over in the full length mirror hanging from the door of the dorm room. I winced. My hair just would not cooperate it seemed. "It's not just any date. It's my first date ever, and it's with Louis. I've adored him since I met him. He's given me a chance, and I'm scared to mess it up."

"You stop that right now. You're not going to mess anything up, okay? I'm sure he's just as excited and nervous as you are," she said. "And I'm sorry, but you do look adorable. I've never seen a gold glitter bowtie before."

I beamed proudly, then straightened it. "Thanks. Made it myself."

I was dressed to the nines this evening. My black suit was rented from a place downtown London. I had on my gold glitter boots, and of course, my bowtie.

Yesterday, the ladies at the fabric shop had helped me figure out the right stuff to get, and I'd left feeling confident it wouldn't be too hard to sew. I was horribly mistaken. It took me three hours trying to follow along with YouTube tutorials before getting a good result. I'd pricked myself nearly a thousand times, but it was all worth it, as long as Louis thought I looked nice.

"Is there a reason you're wearing a fancy suit to drag poor Louis off into the wildness?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, having already explained this to her a thousand times. "It's not the wilderness, Gem. I just thought it would be a more special date than a plain old dinner or something. But I still wanted to dress nice."

"Sorry, I'm just teasing you. Don't panic, H. And don't tell me you're not, because I can see it on your face. Just try to relax. Enjoy yourself. I'm sure you'll have a great time."

I glanced at the corner of the screen, checking the time. "Only five more minutes." I became giddy and terrified all in one.

"You should probably go meet him at his door now then. If you're a little early, you'll seem like a gentleman," Gemma said.

I wasn't about to question her. She had more experience in the whole romance department, having already gotten engaged when I'd never even been on a date before. "Wish me luck?"

"Luck," she parroted back with a cheeky smile. "Have fun. I love you."

"I love you too."

"I want to hear all about it the second you return to civilization, understood?"

I rolled my eyes again, hanging up the phone, but not without stealing a glance at the time on the corner of the screen. Four minutes.

****

"Harry, what's wrong? Do you not like them?"

"I like them," I said, but my voice came out watery and strangled as I blinked away tears.

Louis' eyes were wide and concerned. He slowly took the bouquet of flowers out of my hands, flinging them behind us without bothering to look where they landed. "Do you want to talk about it?"