Rebound | ZARRY

You Did It First [ 1/7 ]

"It's not even a fancy, intimate place anyways. Token type of games, a ton of televisions up near the bar, and food you can eat with your hands. I don't think it'll be awkward. Besides, I'm trying to maintain a friendship." Harry replies the second his favorite partner for advice, aka friend, Shawn convinces him to back out of the invitation he received via text to go to dinner with Louis and meet a childhood best mate.

"Why would you want to friends as exes?"

"Didn't end awful. I left it up to him as well and he said it was fine. Duh, that's why he's inviting me to dinner. And you're going, too! See there will be four people. I'm sure we'll spend more time together and so will Louis and whoever his friend is." Harry's rant is going absurd, saying so many unnecessary things, he could of kept it short and said, something about a balanced dinner but for some reason it was as if he was trying to convince himself more than Shawn, that this night will turn out fine.

Harry decides to take a deep breath and settle with something similar to Shawn's outfit. The two decide that if they'll need an escape route, at least the can spot each other in similar flannels. Harry with a maroon and slightly peachy one, meanwhile Shawn's got an olive green and navy blue one, both different style patterns, yet they match just perfectly fine.

At the dim lit dinner place, slash lounging arcade, yet with a bar way off with sports channels playing, Harry doesn't take too long to spot Louis with just one glance, though it's just a false alarm. His heart just reacted too early, too cautiously. Harry always gets these surges of electricity in his heart when he hears Louis name, or even thinks he sees him. His heart just aches with a burning passion, and not in the good way. It's more as if he's missed a step of the stairs, about to come crashing down with nobody to catch him.

Instead, Shawn insists that they'll just walk around for a bit to see if Louis claimed a booth. As if on queue when Shawn and Harry are walking closer towards the do in section, there's a buzz in Harry's back pocket.

Louis: we're across the bar!
Louis: look left and there should be basketball hoop games, a few feet away you can't miss us!

Harry grins at the thought of Louis messages being so lively, the explanation marks imply that they're going strong with a good friendship and have no resent towards one another. They're fine, Harry thinks, they're perfectly fine.

"This place is so dark, ugh. Lou is somewhere near a bar and basketball game." Harry announces just before putting his phone away to avoid his fingers from pressing on his keypad because he doesn't want to seem too desperate.

"Why are you hating the lighting. I am thankful because this way nobody has to see how tight these black jeans fucking are. Why couldn't I wear a loose black shirt and blue jeans?" Shawn responds, only getting an in depth lecture by Harry stating how tight tank tops and black jeans make a better impression, and because Harry wanted to try these old jeans he use to fit into during the beginning of he and Louis' relationship back in school when they were eighteen. He didn't feel too confident in them earlier and begged Shawn to wear one of Harry's tight black jeans, ones with six or seven rips on the thighs but skin barely visible.

Now this time, the panging reoccurs and its all during the right moment. Louis is kneeling on the red shiny leather booth, waving two hands in the air like a survivor in a deserted island. Harry flashes a dimple-filled grin, nervously yet genuine. Clumsily walking over to booth seventeen with only Louis in sight and a blur everywhere else, his smile falters when not one, but two figures block Louis, becoming a peripheral in his vision.

Two people, as in one person that Louis mentioned, and then someone else here too. Totally making this four people dinner not balanced anymore and he feels as if he'll be the odd one out. Maybe it's not too late to turn around and say there was an emergency phone call?