7Title: True Love Conquers All (Fuck You, Management!)
Fandom: One Direction
Rating: M for language and slash.
Pairing: Harry/OC, Liam/?
Words: 6,980
Summary: Harry was happy. He was about to go on a vacation to see his family at Christmas and he would finally find his dream girl and tell her how he feels. Then management tried to get in the way.
Authors note: Hi there! This is a oneshot for my friend 1Dstyle/IzzyEatsCarrots, for her birthday. Thank you for everything and I am so glad that I've gotten the opportunity to talk to you. Hope you have/had a good day and HAPPY BIRTHDAY IZZY! xD
Tell her that I want her, tell her that I need her, tell her that she's more than a one night stand.
Tell her that I love her more than anyone else. If you don't, I'll tell her myself.
"They want me to WHAT?" Harry yelled, jumping up from the bench he was sat on and glaring at his four band mates who were stood in an awkward semi-circle in front of him. Liam gave the rest of the boys a look as if to say "I told you he'd react like this."
"Calm down, Haz, please." Louis pleaded in a calm and soothing voice, placing his hand on his best friend's tense shoulder. The curly haired boy attempted to shake him off but Louis held firm, waiting until Harry realised he was being silly. That moment came quickly and Harry sighed, brilliant green meeting silvery-blue as he apologised by look alone. Louis just shook his head and smiled, understanding what Harry meant straight away.
"Don't blame us, Harry, we're just the messengers." Liam sighed, both looking and feeling extremely uncomfortable. He shifted, playing with the ties on his bright green hoody, and the other two lads fidgeted similarly. Louis, however, remained calm; his hand still resting on Harry's shoulders, which were slowly losing their tension.
"Sorry." Harry muttered sheepishly and the rest of the boys just nodded at him in response. "What happened?"
"Well, we were talking to management after you left to talk to your mum," Niall began, his rough Irish voice now taking on Louis' soothing tone. Harry rolled his eyes; the only reason their management had let him out of the room during the final meeting before they left for Christmas was because it was his Mum. If it had been anyone else then Harry would have ignored it and phoned them back, but he would never miss an opportunity to talk to his Mum, even if he had to lie to her and tell her he wasn't in a meeting so that she wouldn't fuss. Harry collapsed back down onto the bench, pulling Lou down with him, and the rest of the boys relaxed slightly but stayed standing. "Well, they asked what we were doing for our holiday; Lou answered for you and told them that you were going to "declare your undying love for someone" and then Shelley went ballistic." His blonde eyebrows creased in a frown and Louis draped his arm over Harry's shoulders.
"Why?" Harry questioned, slightly irritated and confused as to why their publicist would have such a strong reaction.
"I don't know." Zayn supplied when Niall found himself unsure of what to say. "She just went on this big rant about you destroying your image and upsetting the fans. We tried to tell her that she was being unfair but she told us to shut up because "you're only kids and you don't understand." Bitch…" Zayn mimicked Shelley's shrilling tone perfectly, eliciting a smile from all of the boys, including Harry.
"Then I told her she was being unreasonable and she needed to stop… she didn't like that." Louis grinned mischievously and squeezed Harry's shoulders lightly.
"So they want me to stay away from girls at all costs and remain "the single one" so that I don't ruin my fucking image?" Harry seethed, his anger growing again by every second. He jumped up from the bench and Louis did the same, placing his hand on the angry lad's shoulder. "I'm not a fucking toy! I'm a teenager! Why can't I go home and finally have a fucking girlfriend? I've found somebody who likes me, not Harry fucking Styles from One fucking Direction, and they want to take that away from me?" Harry's voice was rising in pitch and volume, more passion seeping into his voice as he realised how truly angry he was. Zayn and Liam shared a look as if to say "here we go again" and Niall just looked down right scared. Louis tried to calm Harry down but they all knew it was no use; it was no secret that Harry was under more pressure from management- and the public- than the other boys were, and after just over three years in the limelight he was beginning to crack. You see, Harry desperately wanted to please the fans as they meant an awful lot to him, but he was getting sick of having to compromise his happiness; anytime he tried to have a relationship with someone they would get scared away by the fans, and Harry was getting annoyed.
"I take it you told him then." Shelley said formally, appearing from around the corner. Harry instantly stepped towards her, flanked by Louis. The rest of the boys stayed where they were, keeping an eye on the situation.
"Yeah; because you were too afraid to tell me because you knew how I'd react." Harry said tightly, trying to keep his anger reined in.
"No, it's because I thought you would take it better if the boys told you. I was wrong." Shelley shrugged as if it meant nothing to her and Harry saw red; he stepped forward slightly without even thinking and Louis grabbed his wrist, restraining him.
"Well you were wrong." Harry glared at her but she didn't even falter.
"You don't understand, Harry. You saw how the fans reacted last year when you shacked up with that blonde bimbo; the fans went mental. Don't damage the band because you're being selfish." She said unfeelingly. Harry was frozen on the spot, too angry to say anything. Who does she think she is? I don't care if it's her job; she's not ruining this for me!
"Hey now, that's a little unfair, Shelley." Liam said pleadingly, moving to Harry's left.
"Like I said; you don't understand. You're too young. You don't understand what it takes to be in this industry. If it takes a little sacrifice then so be it." Shelley shrugged again and Zayn glared at her. He was getting increasingly angry with her, not just for Harry, but in a selfish way too because he wondered if this applied to the rest of the boys as well. He also thought she was being ridiculous and if she didn't stop he was going to have to say something.
"I love the fans. I love the boys. I love my job. I love my pay check. But I am not going to sacrifice the girl I love just because you think that it'll ruin my image! The fans will understand when they see that I really love this girl! Either that or we'll keep it quiet for a bit. I don't want to do that but I will if I have to." Harry sighed, reciting the speech that he had hoped he would never have to say.
"Harry, if you don't do what we say then we can drop you like a stone." Shelley said in a monotone voice and the boys gasped quietly at the lengths Shelley was going to. "I'm sure there are plenty of other guys who want to be famous and will listen to what their management tell them."
"No, Shelley. You're gonna throw him out over this?" Louis cried incredulously. "Fine; Harry goes, I go too."
"Same." Zayn stepped forward and stood next to Liam. "You're being ridiculous about this."
"I'm sorry Shelley, but you are. We're a band; you can't threaten Harry without threatening all of us." Niall's voice hardened in anger. "Harry goes, I go."
"Shelley, please. Just let Harry do what he wants. Don't you think you're being a little over the top? We can help with damage control if it goes badly; please just give him a chance!" Liam held out his hands pleadingly but Shelley's expression didn't change. "Fine; he goes, I go. Why are you making us say this?"
"I'm not making you. You're the ones being ridiculous." She huffed, clearly agitated by the whole situation.
"Come on guys, let's go back in and speak to Simon. Something isn't right about this." Liam frowned at the boys and they nodded before heading back towards the building. Louis slipped his hand into Harry's, nothing more than a friendly gesture that had happened many times before, and tugged him back inside the building. They made their way up to Simon's office in silence. It was an uncomfortable silence, the first time they'd been uncomfortable in each other's presence for a long time; their anger and confusion was mixing with the air, hanging there like a bad smell. When they reached the office that they had just vacated, Liam summoned all his bravery and knocked on the door. A body guard answered it, saw the boys, and closed the door again. Moments later it opened and they were beckoned inside by the head of their security, Paul. He gestured for them to take a seat on the armchairs in front of Simon's desk, and then the man himself looked up from the paperwork he was studying.
"Hello again, boys. What can I do for you?" He asked, his smile serving as a calming gesture for the boys. Harry decided to speak up for himself rather than let Liam do the talking, which is what usually happened.
"Look, I don't want to be rude, and I promise I'm telling the truth. Shelley has just said that if I get a girlfriend when I go home then she's going to have me "dropped like a stone" and you'll replace me." Harry forced his voice to stay calm and steady and Louis squeezed his hand gently before pulling away. Simon raised his eyebrows and regarded the boys thoughtfully. The silence grew unbearably tense and uncomfortable until Liam decided to break it.
"It's true, Simon." He said quietly, sitting up straighter in the chair. Zayn was perched on the arm of the same chair, as there were only four, and wrapped his arm around Liam's shoulder reassuringly.
"And you think that I've told her to say that?" Simon said eventually, his eyebrows still raised.
"No." Niall said calmly, trying to diffuse the tension. "We just want to know what your opinion is."
"Well, did she explain why she doesn't want you to have a girlfriend?" Simon said this as if they were discussing what they were having for dinner, not Harry's love life.
"She said I would ruin my image." Harry's emerald eyes were ablaze with barely-contained anger as he grew increasingly irritated with the whole situation. He didn't understand why everybody was making such a big deal out of this, which was making him even angrier than the fact that they were interfering in the first place. Simon could see this and more; he could see how Harry's anger was fuelling the rest of the boys' anger too, especially Zayn's and Louis'.
"Harry, look, let's be realistic here; she's got a point." He began carefully, holding up his hand to quieten the boys' protests. "You saw how the fans reacted when you dated that girl last year, and she ended up only wanting you for your fame and money. Do you want to go through that again?"
"Yeah but this girl is not like that! And Louis has Eleanor, and Liam had Danielle for two and a half years; why can't I have that?" Harry sulked, well aware that he was beginning to sound like a petulant child. Liam bristled at the mention of his ex-girlfriend; they had split up six months before, in the June of 2013. Things just weren't the same anymore and, although Liam and Danielle loved each other, they just weren't in love any more, and that made all the difference. They split amicably and were still friends, but that's not why Liam was suddenly uncomfortable; it was some of the reasons why he wasn't in love with her anymore that scared him, like how he had already fallen for-
"Simon, this isn't fair!" Harry yelled, breaking Liam out of his self-absorbed trance.
"You've got to choose, Harry; risk everything on this one girl or focus on the boyband. It's up to you." Liam could see Simon's fists clenching under the desk and realised that if they weren't careful, somebody was going to say something they'd regret.
"So you're asking me to choose between the girl I love and my four best friends, all on the basis that the fans might react badly? What are they gonna do; boycott our music because I've found happiness? Well if they will then screw 'em; we don't need fans like that anyway!" Harry tried to keep control of his voice but Liam could see the fire burning in his eyes.
"What do you boys think of all this then?" Simon asked, completely ignoring Harry's last outburst. The boys all shifted uncomfortably; Liam, Zayn and Niall didn't know what to say and Louis didn't want to say anything because he knew he'd get himself in trouble.
"Well, I don't know it I speak for the rest of the boys here but I think it's a little unfair." Louis spoke tentatively, trying to be respectful but at the same time he wanted to get across his feelings.
"Okay, fair enough. What about the rest of you?"
"I think Shelley over-reacted a bit, but I kind of understand where she's coming from." Niall tried to stay diplomatic but he knew that if it came down to it, he would side with Harry.
"We agree with Niall and Louis." Liam said, turning to Zayn for support.
"Yeah, we do understand where Shelley's coming from but we think she's being a little over-the-top about it. At the end of the day, the one that is most affected by this is Harry and we think it should be his choice, if you see what we mean?" Zayn made his voice sound reproachful when in actual fact he just wanted to stand up and shout "fuck you, management!" Liam sensed this and reached up to the arm that was wrapped around his shoulders and squeezed Zayn's hand. Louis reached over and patted Harry's shoulder reassuringly and Simon realised that no matter what he said; if he argued with Harry he would end up arguing with all of them. He decided to try a different approach.
"Look, Harry, don't get me wrong; I'm happy for you, alright? I'm glad you've found someone. But when you're famous, you have to think about the consequences of your actions before you do them. If you go public and the fans don't like her than you're going to have a lot of hate on your hands. Can you handle that? Can she handle that?" Simon was trying to be realistic but at the same time, he wanted to convey the fact that he didn't want Harry to make this decision. But this wasn't just about the rest of the boys; it was about their fame, fans, reputations and money too. Not to mention Simon's own reputation. Money makes people selfish.
"Then we will make a point of publicly supporting Harry." Louis said, smiling at Harry who was a little dumfounded by the boys' absolute faith in him and his judgement. "I'm sure she's a really nice girl, and once the fans see that all of us like her then they should be fine, shouldn't they? And if she isn't nice then we will also make a point of supporting Harry if something happens. Just give him a chance, please, Simon?"
This conversation went round and round in circles; Simon would present a situation, one of the boys- usually Louis- would knock it down and then Simon would present another. Two hours later the boys were fed up and angry and Harry was ready to explode, but eventually Harry was told that he could do whatever he wanted but the fallout was on him. Right at that moment, he didn't care…
*Two days later*
"Oh it's so good to have you home, baby!" Anne cried when she opened her front door on a cold Christmas Eve to see her son stood there, bags in hand and a giant smile across his face. He dropped them instantly and pulled his mum into a tight hug.
"I missed you, Mum." He whispered softly. He could feel her smile as she leaned her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"I missed you too, baby. But you're home now." They squeezed each other once more before Anne stepped out of her son's embraced and affectionately ruffled his mad curls. Harry laughed loudly and gently batted his mother's hand away. If an outsider was seeing this they'd think that Harry had been away for a lot longer than six months, but somebody who knew the mother and son would know that Harry was a mummy's boy through and through and was incredibly close to his mother. They would also know that Anne never expected Harry to move away from home so soon, let alone be travelling around the world at the age of nineteen ("I'm almost twenty!" was Harry's usual argument when Anne said this), and she was missing him a lot more than she thought she would.
"Harry!" Gemma cried from inside the house. Anne stepped out of the way as her daughter ran down the stairs and threw herself at Harry. Gemma pulled her younger brother into a hug and squealed with happiness; last time Harry had come home she had still been away at University, but now that she had graduated and was working she had time off at Christmas to see her family, including her little brother.
"Harry, how you doing mate?" Robin, Harry and Gemma's step-dad, called from inside the house.
"I'm alright thanks, Robin. You?" Harry grinned, squeezing his older- yet smaller- sister tightly and then stepping out of her embrace.
"Brilliant, thanks. How was your journey?" Robin made his way past where the family had congregated on the doorstep and grabbed Harry's bags from the floor.
"It was okay, yeah." Harry grinned. He had spent the whole journey practically counting the minutes until he could see his family again whilst simultaneously celebrating every mile that got him further away from his bossy and interfering management. The boys had bid him farewell before each parting ways to their own home towns…
"See you later, guys! I'll ring you all tomorrow, yeah? And Happy Birthday again, Lou. Have fun with your family." Niall smiled and hugged each of his best friends before grabbing his bags and bounding over to the taxi that was waiting a few meters away to take him to the airport. The rest of the boys waved fondly as Niall jumped into the taxi and it pulled away. Then they turned to face each other with familiar smiles on their faces; as much as they loved each other dearly they couldn't wait to see their family. Liam and Zayn were each getting separate taxis to their respective hometowns and the other two boys were driving. The boys waited a while, just talking about their Christmas plans, and then Liam and Zayn's taxis arrived simultaneously.
"Well, I guess this is us." Liam said tiredly, wrapping three of his four best friends in a warm group hug. "Gonna miss you guys."
"We'll miss you too, Li." Harry smiled, clapping Liam on the shoulder. "I'll miss all of you. Now go, before we start getting all mushy, okay?" All of the boys laughed and let go of each other before Liam and Zayn picked up their bags and left quickly; they didn't want to elongate the goodbyes. Louis and Harry watched as Liam and Zayn embraced and the pair raised their eyebrows when they noticed that the embrace was lasting slightly longer than usual. When Liam and Zayn finally let go of each other and departed, Louis and Harry turned to face each other.
"Well, we'd better go." Harry sighed, pulling the older boy into a tight hug. They stayed like that for a while and then Louis pulled back and looked at the curly haired lad thoughtfully.
"If you don't get the girl, I'm going to hurt you next time I see you." Louis said, keeping a straight face.
"Yeah I know, but management-"
"Fuck management!" Louis shouted loudly. He then dropped his voice and smiled at Harry. "Fuck 'em. You go home and you tell her you love her otherwise there will be consequences when you get back. Understand?"
"Yes, Lou." Harry shook his head and then hugged Louis one more time before grabbing his bags and heading for his car, his best friend's words still spinning in his mind…
"Were you listening, baby?" Anne raised her eyebrows at her son. Harry shook off the memory and smiled.
"No I zoned out, sorry Mum." He kissed her on the cheek and then followed his step-dad into the house.
"I said; are there any friends you want to see today?" Anne asked again, her smile not faltering one bit. Harry smiled fondly; even though he had only just gotten back, his mum was offering for him to go and see his friends before spending time with the family.
"Yeah, but they can wait." He wrapped his arm around his mum's shoulders and steered her towards the kitchen. "So, tell me about your new job then."
"Where are you going, Haz?" Gemma asked brightly, ruffling her younger brother's mop of curly hair as he tried to get out of the front door. He had stayed with his family for a few hours but now he was heading out to meet somebody. To meet her.
"Just going to see a friend, Gem." He knocked her hand away and smiled at her.
"Well Mum says to be back by 10 be-"
"What? Why?" Harry interrupted. "That only gives me two hours!"
"Yeah but it's Christmas tomorrow, Harry." Gemma frowned and Harry nodded disgruntledly; he'd forgotten. "Whatever, Harry. Just be back by midnight, okay?"
"Oooh, definitely getting a fairytale feel about this…" Harry winked and then ducked out of the door before his sister could say anything else. He had decided to take Lou's advice and "get the girl"; he was meeting her at the local park at eight o'clock and was running slightly late. He wound his way through the dark streets, his nerves bubbling in his stomach and warming him like a roaring fire. He kept his hood up; not many people would be out at that time in the December ice but Harry was cautious anyway. What he was about to do was supposed to be a private thing and he didn't want anybody to get in the way. He hated having to hide in his own hometown; he hated it with a passion. But that didn't mean he didn't appreciate the fans because that wasn't the case; he loved each and every one of them. He just wished he was able to live his life in his hometown for a while without being interrupted…
"Harry?" Harry's head shot up when he heard her voice. There she was; her blonde waves tucked neatly underneath a black beret, her hands shoved in her pockets in an attempt to keep them warm, and her breath visible in the cold night air. But that wasn't what drew him to her. It was her soft, friendly voice and her inquisitive brown eyes that held endless warmth, no matter how cold the rest of her was.
"Izzy." Her name was like a sigh; a breath of warm air that passed over Harry's cold lips. He walked towards her and held out his arms and she fell into them with a sigh.
"I missed you, Har." She whispered softly and Harry chuckled at the familiar nickname. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. They stayed like that for a while, comfortable to just stand in each other's familiar embrace, until Izzy broke the silence.
"I thought… I thought you wouldn't want to… to see me again." She stuttered, keeping her face buried in his chest.
"Why wouldn't I want to see you, Iz? You're one of my closest friends… aren't you?" He took her cold hands in his, rubbing them together and trying to warm them up, and she stull refused to look up. He stepped away from her and she kept her eyes locked on the floor.
"I thought… after the party… you know." Izzy wasn't usually this shy but right now she was afraid; afraid to lose Harry. He could see this and he sighed loudly, remembering why she was so insecure. They had known each other since Harry started secondary school, with Izzy being in the year above, and she was one of the ones that organised Harry's goodbye party (a tradition that happened every time that Harry left, meaning that he usually spent the whole journey complaining about his hangover.). They got very drunk and ended up waking up next to each other in Harry's bed the next morning. It wasn't a one night stand, as such; it was more their friendship reaching the next level… The process was just sped up a little bit by alcohol… By the time that Harry had registered what had happened, Izzy was dressed and gone. They'd never talked about it and had hardly spoken at all whilst Harry was away. "I was really surprised when you asked to meet up…"
"Iz, we may have been drunk but that didn't mean that it was just a meaningless one night stand. It meant everything to me." He gently grabbed her chin and tilted her face up to his so that he could capture her eyes with his. "You mean everything to me.
"What?" She breathed, her eyes widening with shock and wonder.
"Look, I don't care how cheesy this sounds but; it's you, Iz. It's always been you. I didn't realise until that party and then it was too late because I had to leave… again." He placed both hands on her cold cheeks and leaned towards her slightly. "I know that I'm away a lot and you'll be in the public eye but I think we can handle it and-"
"I don't care." Izzy whispered, her eyes flicking down to his lips and then back up to his emerald eyes. "None of that matters, Harry. Can't you see that?"
"Yes." He grinned. "It's just me and you, Iz. So-"
"Harry." She interrupted again, shaking her head fondly. Her eyes were like pools of melted chocolate, tempting Harry and reeling him in. "Just kiss me?"
"Okay." There were no other words necessary; Harry closed the distance between their lips, pressing a sweet kiss on her cold lips. He pulled back and rested his head on her forehead, his hands still clasping her cheeks.
"Is that all you got?" She whispered teasingly and Harry smirked at her; their familiar banter was back and everything fell into place. He grabbed her hips and pulled her against him and she let out a shaky gasp at the sudden closeness. He smirked at her again and then pressed his lips to hers. She wound her arms around his neck and reached up on her tiptoes in an attempt to get closer to him. Harry smiled against her lips and slid his hands down to her bum. She gasped again and he seized the opportunity; he slipped his tongue between her lips, deepening the kiss. This time she smiled into the kiss and pressed herself into him so close that not even a single breath of air could come between them. Their kisses slowly lost intensity and became sweeter and slower, until finally Harry pressed one last kiss to Izzy's flushed lips. He leaned their foreheads together and ran one hand through the tips of her hair, leaving the other hand on her bum.
"I think…" He began; unsure whether now was an appropriate time to utter those words that he had wanted to say since he woke up next to Izzy all those months ago. Her soft brown eyes locked with his sharp green ones and their warmth gave him all the encouragement he needed. "I think I'm in love you, Iz. I think I've been in love with you for quite a while now."
"I think I'm in love with you too, Har." She whispered lightly, reaching up and pressing her red lips to his. Then she leaned her head on his chest again and he wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping a tight grip on the girl that he'd probably been in love with for years without realising. He knew that he'd remember this moment for the rest of his life because it was the moment that his everything started making sense again.
"Shall I walk you home?" He whispered into her ear after they'd been stood in comfortable silence for what seemed like an eternity.
"No." She whispered back. "I don't want you to go." To prove her point she tightened her grip on the taller boy and buried her head in his chest. Harry chuckled lightly and slipped his cold hands under her coat, resting them on her clothed hips.
"I don't want to go either. Well, I don't want to leave you." He rested his chin on her head and sighed. "Want to come back to mine for a drink? I'll make you a hot chocolate with the little marshmallows that you like and then I'll drive you home after?"
"Yeah, I'd like that." She pulled away from him and entwined her hand with his. "I'd like that a lot."
"So did you speak to her?" Louis answered the phone without even saying hello, instead getting straight to the point.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Boo." Harry shook his head even though the older boy couldn't see him. "Yes I did."
"Aaaaaand…?" Louis asked. Harry was sat in his room, stealing a few moments away from his family so that he could speak to the boys. Louis was the first boy that Harry had rung and the older boy was far more interested in his best friend's love life than anything else.
"It went rather well, I'll have you know." Harry grinned.
"You're grinning, aren't you? You're grinning so wide I can hear you grinning. So she's your girlfriend then?"
"Well, I told her that I was in love with her and she said that she was in love with me too, so I guess so."
"Aw, I'm so happy for you! Did she like the present?" Louis had gone with Harry to pick out the present and loved it too.
"Yeah, she loved it." Harry grinned again, remembering the look on Izzy's face when she'd opened the packaging to find a small Me To You teddy bear that was holding a heart. The heart had "Merry Christmas" written across it and the bear was wearing a brown scarf which matched the colour of Izzy's eyes. Izzy had been delighted and had practically thrown herself at the younger lad.
"Good! I hate to put a damper on things but… when are you gonna tell everyone?" Even over the phone, Harry could hear the concern in his best friend's voice, and was imagining the concern that would settle in the older lad's icy blue eyes.
"The interview with Alan Carr on that show he's doing on New Year's Eve. You know that he's bound to ask about our love lives, even if it's only a ten minute interview after we perform. And if he doesn't then I'll just have to make an announcement. Iz and I were talking about it this morning; she was up for me just putting it on Twitter but I thought it would be better for me to do it on TV. Did you see the picture I put on Twitter of her?"
"What, the one of her with the teddy bear? Yeah, I did. You didn't tell me how gorgeous she was!"
"Yes I bloody did!"
"Okay, I thought you were exaggerating. Shoot me." Harry rolled his eyes even though Lou couldn't see and then sighed.
"I gotta go, Boo, sorry. I haven't even rung the rest of the boys yet and Mum said I could only have half an hour-"
"No, Robin said you could only have half an hour and your Mum was willing to give you whatever you wanted." Harry couldn't see Louis but he knew that the older lad was rolling his eyes and smirking.
"Goodbye, Louis." Harry grinned.
"Bye, Haz. Have a great day. Don't spend too much of it texting your girlfriend!" Louis chuckled and Harry just hung up on him, shaking his head fondly. One down, three to go.
"That's what makes you beautiful!" Harry sang, drumming his hands to the beat. The audience erupted into cheers and applause but there was only one person he was looking for; he met her chocolate eyes and she put her thumbs up in reassurance.
"Well done." Izzy mouthed from the front row and Harry grinned brightly.
"One Direction, everybody!" Alan smiled and the audience erupted into cheers and screams once more. Alan led the boys over to a giant purple sofa and then sat in the chair in front of them. The boys sat comfortably on the couch; first Niall, then Liam, Zayn, Louis and then finally Harry.
"So how were your Christmas', boys?" Alan asked. The sentence served as an icebreaker but it wasn't necessary; this was the boys' fifth interview with Alan; they were all friends with him now and completely comfortable in his presence.
"We all had a great time with our families, and then we all spent the day together today; exchanging presents and stuff." Louis replied, turning to the audience and waving when somebody shouted 'I love you Louis!'
"They're all here tonight, aren't they?"
"Well, most of them are; all of our parents are here plus Harry's sister Gemma, Niall's brother Greg and Liam's sisters, Ruth and Nicola." Zayn answered. "They're here to watch the interview but more so to party with celebrities, I think!" Zayn grinned out into the audience and everybody laughed.
"So none of you brought somebody to kiss when the clock strikes twelve?" Alan winked cheekily and Harry sighed. This is it…
"About that." Liam gulped, clearly nervous, and everybody in the room looked at him with shock and suspicion. "I kinda have something to tell you guys…" Harry raised his eyebrows in confusion; Liam hasn't said anything before. What's he been hiding?
"Actually, we have something to tell you." Zayn smiled, clasping Liam's hand in his. Whoa; what? The entire room gasped collectively and Zayn carried on, his eyes locked with Liam's. "Liam and I are together." Silence descended on the room; even Alan didn't know what to say. Then the silence was broken by…
"I knew it!" Niall yelled loudly, earning a tentative laugh from the audience. "I have been waiting for this forever. I knew it was either going to be you two or Louis and Harry. No offense guys but you weren't exactly subtle about it, were ya?" Niall's comments did the trick; the whole room burst into laughter and the awkward silence was broken.
"You're not kidding, are you?" Alan asked, but it was more of a sweet statement than an honest question.
"No." Liam answered anyway. He reached forwards and lightly pressed his lips to Zayn's, earning an "awww!" and a round of applause from the audience.
"Awww, isn't that nice?" Alan smiled, fuelling the audience's enthusiasm. Harry looked out to where One Direction's parents were sat and noticed that there was no shock on Liam's and Zayn's parents' faces, only pride and love; they obviously knew beforehand, unlike the rest of the band. But Harry wasn't annoyed, as such; it was a different situation to his relationship with Izzy and he understood why they didn't tell him. "You two make such a cute couple. They do, don't they?" The audience responded with even more enthusiasm and the boys spotted Liam's and Zayn's parents up on their feet with tears and pride in their eyes. Harry reached over and patted Zayn's shoulder, as he was closest.
"I'm happy for you guys." He smiled sincerely and the other two lads said similar things.
"Oh, so you guys didn't know?" Alan asked, slightly surprised. Liam shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"We understand." Louis said before anybody could say anything. "They obviously needed to sort themselves out first and I'm glad that they've had the courage to tell us now. And why not just tell everyone at the same time?" Louis laughed and the whole room laughed with him. Harry saw Zayn look down at Liam and smile brightly and he couldn't help smiling too; Liam deserved to be happy after what happened with Danielle and Harry was glad that that happiness was with Zayn because it meant that two of his best friends were happy.
"So, anybody else have any bombshells to drop before we let you go?" Alan grinned, genuinely not expecting anything else.
"Yes." Harry took a deep breath and sneaked a glance over to where his beautiful girlfriend was sat. The look in her eyes was all the reassurance he needed and he turned back to Alan.
"Let me guess; you and Louis are together?" Alan laughed, earning a laugh from the audience too.
"Nope, sorry guys." Harry grinned and shook his head. "Actually, I just wanted to say that I have a girlfriend who I am very happy with." There was another silence, but this time it was broken quickly.
"Now, would this be the girl that you tweeted a picture of on Christmas Eve? Izzy, is it?" Alan asked.
"Yeah, that's her. That's actually just after we had gotten together, but we've been best friends for ages. Just took a little courage and a kick up the bum to make me see what was right underneath my nose the whole time." Harry shrugged and there was another "awww" from the audience. Harry looked over at Izzy and grinned at her.
"She's here isn't she? Is that why you keep looking over there?" Alan asked cheekily. Harry nodded and then watched as a camera zoomed in on her. She waved good-naturedly at it and it left her alone. "Wow, she's gorgeous!"
"She certainly is." Harry blushed slightly. "She's so warm and funny and kind and… I really love her, and I hope that everybody can see that. I don't want her getting any hate because of it. We love each other, we're happy, and I don't want her getting hurt. I know that the majority of fans are people who are perfectly nice but I don't want Izzy to have to be subjected to hate because it's unfair; she's done nothing wrong." Harry kept his eyes locked on Izzy's throughout his whole speech, and when he finished there was a moment of silence before the room erupted into applause. All of the boys, Alan included, clapped for Harry and told him how wonderful that was but that's not what he cared about right then; it was Izzy's reaction that he wanted to see. There she was; she was on her feet, much like the rest of the audience, and there were tears in her eyes. She smiled at him gratefully and mouthed "I love you."
"I love you too." He whispered, but it was enough; she read his lips and smiled.
"That was perfect." Izzy smiled, wrapping her arms around Harry's neck. "You didn't have to say all of those nice things."
"Yes I did." Harry replied. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "I meant every word. I love you Izzy."
"I love you too, Harry." She blushed slightly. The countdown began and Harry grabbed their glasses of champagne from the table next to them and then pulled Izzy back onto the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the room.
"3, 2, 1…" The crowd chanted and then the clock struck twelve on the first of January, 2014. Harry leaned down and pressed his lips to Izzy's.
"Happy new year, baby." He smiled.
"Happy new year." She replied. "Here's to a year of… us."
"And many more to come." He blushed slightly, lightly touching their glasses together. As he took a sip of his champagne and watched her do the same, and then looked over to where Liam and Zayn were slow dancing, wrapped in each other's embrace, he only had one thought; true love conquers all.
Well, maybe another thought too; fuck you, management!
Well, there you go! I hope you liked it, Izzy, and I hope everybody else liked it too! Please review and tell me what you think! Sorry for any grammatical mistakes; I finished this at like 2.30am so I could get it on the site in time, so I'll go through it tomorrow and change any mistakes. Hope you liked it though!xx
DICLAIMER: I OWN NO CHARACTERS OR MEMBERS OF 1D (unfortunately.) NOR DO I OWN ANY SONGS ETC. THAT WERE MENTIONED.
Lyrics: One Night by Ed Sheeran