Blind Alley

Chapter 14.

"Where are we?" He asks as he looks around with a frown.

"Backstage of a talk show. I thought we'd speak out here but we better just go home instead..."

"No, why?" I'm taken back by his words.

"What do you mean "Why"? You fainted just a couple of minutes ago?"

"So? I'm awake now."

"But-"

"No buts. I want to do this. Period"

His stubbornness is very unlike him. He usually just agrees with the things i say and goes along with it. Guess he's getting braver by the second. Not much later we are introduced into the crowd. I take a deep breath and caress Harry's back to comfort him. His face expression is hard to read. I can't tell if he's nervous or ready. I grab a hold of his hand and he immediately turns to me in shock. I smile at him and he smiles back widely. The adorable dimples of his appear on his cheeks as he is surprised by my action. The small crowd applauds us as we finally walk up on the comfortable stage, hand in hand. The crowd is breathtaking. We have certainly been to many interviews before, but never have i ever felt this supported. People are standing up from their seats and wearing t-shirts about equal rights. I'm so touched that i almost forget to shake the interviewers hand. We sit down on the sofa as the crowd finally turns quiet.

"Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson from One Direction, it is an absolute honor to have you here"

He begins. I like him already, he seems nice.

"Pleasure to be here" I say. Harry's big smile has not left his face since we got on stage and seeing him this purely happy makes my stomach flutter. 

The first minutes of the interview is spent talking about other things. I guess he doesn't want to jump right into it, which is perfectly fine for me. I haven't really thought of what i should say anyway. Harry stands quite absent from mine and the interviewers discussion. Harry seems to try to interact with the crowd from his seat. He is waving at them and trying to have conversations with them by mouthing words. It is very distracting. I have completely lost track of what this Craig Ferguson is saying.

"Have you quite finished?" I suddenly whisper to Harry without thinking. He quickly realizes that he is being rude and turns all his attention to Craig. Harry is a very polite person by heart, so i know that it wasn't his intention, he was probably just trying to show his appreciation to our fans.

"So, last night you guys did something pretty amazing..." Craig finally says. Smiles grows on both of our faces as we nod along. "Tell us about it" He adds. Harry immediately turns to me and waits for me to speak as usual.

"Well, it was our last concert and Harry and i decided to tell the world about our..." I stop myself for a moment. It feels so unusual  to say this on national tv. For once in my life i don't have to worry about management blowing up on me after i've said something like this. Harry looks worried since i've stopped in the middle of a sentence. I quickly recover and continue with a big smile. "relationship."

I finally manage to say. The crowd turns loud again but are silenced within a second.

"So how long have you two been in a relationship then?" He asks.

"Since the x-factor days" Harry says proudly.

"Since then!? That sure is a long time!" 

We start discussing how it all started and how we've gotten through certain situations. It's all like this enormous weight that is now lifted from our shoulders. We talk a lot about our management and who knew all along and so on. Before we know it there is barely any time left on the interview, so Craig decides to end it with a simple question.

"Are you happy?"

He says, leaning closer to capture the truth in our eyes. I turn to Harry and he nods.

"Yes. Very happy."

He says. Craig turns to me and glance down at Harry's hand that is placed on his lap. I put my hand on his and squeeze it gently.

"I'm happy."

I say. And for once in my life, i really mean it.

HARRY'S POV:

I grab a hold of my coat as Louis and i walk backstage. I tell him to go wait on me by the car with the boys. I need some coffee to survive this day. More is to come. We are going to discuss everything with our management later and hope for the best. I go to the coffee machine and press the button. The warm liquid fills the small cup in my hand. I suddenly feel someone patting my shoulder. I take a sip of the warm coffee and turn around. My eyes widen at the sight.

"Hey what are you doing here!?"