Extricate // l.s

8

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I wasn't going to lie, I was nervous as fuck.

Sure, when I was in high school, I stood up to teachers all of the time. I once even told the principal off for giving my boyfriend and I the side eye as we made out in the hallway. I mean, maybe it was directed more towards the boy I dated because he was an absolute ass, but still. I took it as if he was homophobic. Sis went off.

Ignore that. I may or may not keep up with stan twitter. Cringe.

As Harry and I walked into the hotel him and his team were staying at, beads of sweat began to build up on my hairline. My hands got clammy so I wiped them on my jeans to help. What the fuck was I going to do if his manager told me that he was going to call the cops? What would I do? Knock him out before he did?

Harry's hand intertwining with mine tore me away from my thoughts immediately. I couldn't help but smile as I looked at our hands.

"It's going to be okay." Harry assured, trying to calm me down. He squeezed my hand once and I did the same with his.

When we stepped out of the elevator and got closer to the room, hands still intertwined, we walked with a purpose. No, we weren't exactly boyfriends, but I was still sticking up to the management with him about his sexuality. I would do anything for this boy. If he needed a kidney or a lung, I would happily hand it over to him on a silver platter.

We finally got to the door and Harry took this moment to look at me. He had this look in his eyes that made me feel a bit shy. He was a celebrity. He partied with people that were way more good looking than me. People that were way cooler than me. Why was he hanging out with me?

"You ready?"

I honestly didn't know the answer to that question. I was about to piss myself from the nerves, but I would never humiliate myself like that in front of a famous rockstar. I would be in all the tabloids the next day and I would never hear the end of it from my sisters.

I took a deep breath and looked up at him, giving him a nervous smile. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Harry returned my smile and turned his head back to the door. He took his room key out of his wallet and swiped it. As soon as I heard that click, I was so close to shitting bricks. I inhaled deeply before following Harry into the room.

There he was. The homophobic bitch himself was sitting right on that hotel bed, leaning against those plush pillows, staring at our joined hands with his mouth agape. If I could've snapped a picture, I would have. Priceless.

"H-Harry," he stuttered out. "What the hell are you doing?"

I swallowed thickly and looked at Harry, who had his free hand clenched into a fist. What was his plan?

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm doing. Something I should have done a long time ago." Harry said, his voice strong. He took a couple steps towards the bed, taking me with him.

Jeff sat up straighter, setting his laptop aside. We got his attention now. "What are you saying?"

"Three months ago, what did I say to you?" Harry started out, his jaw clenched tightly.

Jeff didn't hesitate. "You told me you were gay."

"Bisexual." Harry corrected. "But yes, that's what I said. I opened up to you because I trusted you. I told you that day that I leaned more towards boys, but what do you continue to do? Set me up with girls and tell me you're trying to 'fix me'. Well you know what, Jeff? If you don't start treating me like a fucking human, I'm done."

He looked at Harry stunned, eyebrows raised and jaw hung open. His eyes then fell on me. "So is this your little boyfriend?"

I swallowed thickly, not knowing what to say. I was always so confident usually, but now I felt like I was going to faint any second. I felt as if I was back in high school speech class.

Harry beat me to it. "Yes. Yes, he is."

I looked up at him with the same expression Jeff did. I wasn't against it or anything, but what the fuck? Wow.

Jeff sighed, running a hand through his short dark hair. "Listen, Harry. I care about you, I really do. If you two believe that I'm homophobic, I'm not. I don't set you up with these girls, the management does. I'm going to tell them about this little interaction, I hope you know. I really hope you thought this little plan through before you acted it out."

I was shocked Harry hadn't tackled the man before that. He was furious, anyone with eyes could see that. His face was red, his knuckles of his free hand white, and jaw more prominent than ever. It was hot, if I was being honest.

"Fuck you, Jeff. You don't care about me. You're homophobic. You're part of the management so yes, you set me up with these girls. I shot down all of your little lies right there. Also, to answer your question, yes, we thought all of this out. Go ahead and tell your friends. If money is more important than my happiness, that's good to know. I'll leave it all and leave you with no money if that's the case. This has been fun, but my boyfriend and I must be going."

With that, Harry squeezed my hand a little tighter and we walked back out the door, leaving his asshole of a manager. I had said I was going to help Harry but I didn't say a single word back there. I was such a coward.

When we were in the hallway, I released Harry's hand and looked down in guilt. I could have helped but instead I just stood there, scared.

Harry noticed this and immediately turned to me. "Hey, what's wrong? Everything went great back there."

I shrugged my shoulder, still looking down. I memorized the patterns in the carpet, counting the tiny swirls. "I could've said something. I said I was going to save you but I didn't. I stood there like a coward. I'm sorry."

Harry tilted my chin up with his finger so our eyes could meet. "Listen, you held me together in there, Louis. Without you there, I would've lost it. Literally. Just knowing you were there with me kept me from falling apart. Thank you."

I smiled a bit. "So, about that boyfriend part..."

He sighed and gently took hold of both my hands in his. "Would you like to be?"

My eyes widened in shock. "What?"

He let go of my hands and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, his cheeks tinted pink. "I mean, I know it's crazy. We barely know each other but whenever I'm with you, I feel like I can tell you anything. God, this is beginning to sound like a Nicholas Sparks movie." He laughed lightly.

I was still speechless. Never in a million years would I ever have thought I would get asked out by the most beautiful boy in the world. The fact that he was a world famous rockstar was a bonus.

"Yes, I'll be your boyfriend, you idiot." I laughed with him, surging forward and wrapping my arms around his neck to hug him.

He hugged me back, both of his strong arms wrapping around my waist tightly. It all felt right. We fit together like a puzzle. I felt him smile into my neck which made me smile even more. The day couldn't get any better.

"Louis? Is that you?"

Fuck.

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