You're the place my life begins. [l.s]

Part II

            Harry is wandering around the mall, looking for an anniversary gift, when he sees it. It’s small and simple and shiny and perfect. He stares at it through the glass for a little while, his eyes wide and his mouth forming a little o. Taking a quick mental trip back to that morning after Nick’s party, he asks himself thirty-seven times if he should enter the store. But when rationality wins over desire, he decides that no, he should not, not yet, it’s too soon, and resumes his walking.

            Half an hour later, he has not found a gift good enough for Louis, and he is somewhat frustrated. In addition to that, his feet are itching to walk back to the store where he has seen the tiny thing that caught his attention, but his brain won’t surrender. Tired, he sits on a bench in front of a Chinese souvenir store to take a breath.

            As he sits, his mind drifts back to the day he met Louis in the toilets. It is not the most romantic place to meet your other half, he is aware of that, but he would not change a single thing about it. He remembers catching Louis looking at him in the mirror, -admiring your curls, he would say later-, and turning away quickly, slightly embarrassed for being caught red-handed. Harry had smiled to himself then, unaware of how special that boy with the early-Beatles-ish fringe would become in a very near future.

            Then, he saw him again, and a hesitant Louis walked up to him, told him that he was going to make it big, and asked for a photo. He was not flirting, he was being genuine and with that small gesture, he became the first person to actually believe in him. Harry will never stop being grateful for that.

            And then, they were standing in front of the judges, and he could not help but take quick glances at the boy, who was shaking and nervous and so, so gorgeous. And then Simon announced their decision, and he does not remember how exactly it happened, but soon enough Louis was jumping on him, with his two pairs of limbs enfolding his body. It was the first time that they had touched, but it felt natural. Like the exact moment when two souls that have known each other for centuries meet in a physical state for the first time.

            And it’s wonderful, the fact that even after all these years, he still feels awestruck whenever he thinks about it. Because, it was simply meant to happen. They were meant to happen.  Nine years later, he still gets the silly butterflies inside his stomach whenever Louis looks at him. Almost a decade later, he still cannot go an hour without him because he will start missing him and whining like a little kid. And it is beautiful to feel that way, and he is happy. Kudos to lady Fate for being so good at her work.

            “Good morning, son.” All of a sudden, he is interrupted by an old Asian lady who is standing in front of him, with a wrinkly smile and a basket of cookies in her hands. He is not sure when she has gotten there or where she has come from. “Here, have one of these.” She pushes the basket toward him, and he reluctantly takes one of the cookies.

            Harry thanks the woman, and with another smile, she leaves. Still dumbfounded by the woman’s out-of-nowhere appearance, he realizes that it is a fortune cookie. Curious, he cracks it open and inside, there is a slip of paper with small letters on it. He has to squint his eyes in order to read the short sentence properly.

‘Fate walks hand in hand with Forever.’

            He gasps, because this is all so cliché it’s almost ridiculous. Perplexed, he looks up from the paper and at the woman, and she is smiling knowingly at him, and he wonders if she has read his mind. But he suddenly has no more doubts and he has never been surer about anything in his life,  so he gets on his feet and starts jogging to the store, the lovely old lady still looking at him with a fond smile from the door of her store.

            He reaches the store, and waits for his breathing to even before going in. When he stops panting, he takes a quick glance at the little shiny thing and with a smile, he enters the jewelry store. Almost blinded by all the sparkling pieces of jewelry, he walks toward one of the display cabinets, and politely greets the woman standing behind.

            “How can I help you?” She asks, with a practiced and bored smile hovering over his lips. She is tall and intimidating and were Harry not so eager right now, he would be running out of the place.

            “I want, um, a ring,” he says, his voice slow as ever. And it feels pleasant, a large amount of excitement suddenly filling his body, so when a grin appears in his face, he cannot help it. It gets to a point where he starts beaming, and has to curl his hands into fists to keep himself calm.

            “Do you have any style in mind?”

            “Yes, actually, I have a specific ring in mind.”  He motions for her to follow him to the cabinet that is in front of the glass wall and shows her the ring, proud of his selection. It is very simple, a silver infinite symbol circling itself around a single golden band. There is a diamond incrusted in the middle of the infinite symbol, and Harry cannot stop staring at it while the vendor is ringing him up.

            Smiling foolishly, he wonders what Louis’s reaction will be. Will he cry? Will he freak out? He is not sure, but he knows that in the end, even if it is not right away, he will definitely get a yes.

            “She will love it,” the woman says when she notices the absolute adoration in her customer’s face. He is confused for a moment, wondering who ‘she’ is, and then he looks quickly at the ring between the tips of his fingers, analyzes the situation and laughs. She looks at him funny as she hands back his credit card.

             “Yes, I am sure he will.” 

*

I don't think anyone will read this, but if you have, thank you :)