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25. What a Feeling

25. What a Feeling

Apparently, Harry's question in the car that night had completely pulled Scott out of whatever self-loathing shell he had shown up with. Harry admired how Scott seemed to literally loosen up. His posture, his facial features, his sense of humor.

Harry adored every minute of their dinner together.

They were well aware of the pictures that were being taken as they sat at their table in the restaurant. Harry's chest swelled, and he couldn't help but smile as Scott finished a story.

"What?" Scott asked, laughing.

"Nothing," Harry replied casually, putting his fork down for a moment. "Just thinking about how many of these photos have been posted on the internet so far."

Scott looked around, flashing a smile and a peace sign at a woman who was blatantly taking a photo of them on her phone. Even Drew laughed from his place against the wall, a few yards away.

It was like he was hit with a second wind of energy for this tour as he took the stage that night.

And if his eyes lingered on Scott for a bit too long as they sang Home that evening, nobody seemed to mind.

He knocked on Scott's door, about an hour after their vans arrived back at the hotel. He was freshly showered and ready for bed.

Just in case Scott wanted him to stay.

He really hoped that Scott would ask him to stay.

Sleepy, soft Scott answered the door, and the cuteness aggression returned.

But his phone was pressed to his ear, and he mouthed, "Sorry." He gestured for Harry to come in, and Harry complied. Worry filled his gut, the thought of who might be on the other end of the line was overwhelming.

Scott laughed, lovingly, as Harry sat himself at the edge of the bed, staring at what had only been his for a total of a few hours, so far.

He's yours. Calm down.

"I love you, too," Scott said softly into the receiver. "Can't wait to see you. Bye."

"Who am I killing?" Harry asked, trying to convey a joking tone.

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Her name is Lauren."

There was no way that he was fooling Harry. Harry was a good listener. He remembered every detail of their sweet little conversation about their families a few weeks ago. Lauren was one of Scott's sisters.

Harry smiled. "Are your sisters coming to a show?"

Scott smiled in reply, nodding as he took a seat next to Harry, his bare shoulder brushing against him.

"My whole family is going to be at the Dallas show. Lindsay is also going to come to the Baltimore show."

"Good fanclub," Harry said, brightly. Scott nodded with a small smile. "Would I be allowed to meet them?"

Scott laughed. "Well, funny you should ask. Because that phone call was entirely about you."

Harry's pulse quickened. Was Scott telling his whole family about them already? Harry loved that.

"Turns out that those pictures hit the internet just as quickly as we assumed," Scott continued. "Lauren called me to find out what the hell is going on."

"Was she... happy?" Harry asked.

Scott nodded. "Worried, at first." He ran his hand through his freshly washed hair. There was that nervous tic again. "She was afraid that I'm rushing into another relationship that, in her words, 'might actually kill me' this time." He put air quotes around the words with a smirk.