Breathe *Narry AU FanFic

Chapter 10

When Niall offered Harry a trip to the pub this week, Harry could not decline. He knows that if he and Niall want to fully recover, he will have to actually start accepting Niall's offers to spend a night out together with friends.

    When they step out of the taxi they called for so they would not have to drive home after drinking, possibly putting themselves and others in danger, they feel the humidity from the rain settling uncomfortably on their shoulders. Their clothes begin to stick to their bodies and they honestly cannot wait until they are finally able to enter the cool, air-conditioned pub.

Niall said that Bressie normally reserves a seat for him, but he was late to informing him that Harry would finally be tagging along this time, so he will probably end up standing most of the night anyway. As chivalrous as Harry likes to be, Niall knows that it would be much better for Harry to sit down tonight, as his back will probably start agitating him after just an hour of standing. Hence, and much to Harry's dismay, he had to take an office-based job where he sits in front of the computer most of the day. Niall reminds himself to return the massage that Harry gave him ages ago, kneading away the knots that have formed over the years of stress. He's sure the whole ordeal that just commenced has only added more unneeded tension onto his shoulders.

"Niall, hey!" Laura calls out, but then she notices the taller figure standing awfully close to her friend. "Oh my God, please tell me that is the infamous Harry Styles I keep hearing about."

"Live and in the flesh." Harry replies, reaching to shake Laura's hand when they get close enough that they no longer have to yell across the room to hear each other. "Laura, right?"

"So you actually do talk about us, huh?" Laura directs her question to Niall. "Pleasure to finally meet you Mister Styles, you ready to get fucked up?"

Harry spares a glance at Niall, who has already fallen into an animated conversation with Conor about who-knows-what. "I guess so." He shrugs.

"Oh good. Would you be a dear and call over the bartender?" Laura motions to the woman on the other side of the bar who just finished mixing a drink that looks like an iced version of a Cosmopolitan. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting her attention."

Harry sends Laura a funny look, "And how would you know?"

"Because I've tried getting her to serve me for the last twenty minutes, ya know, going the whole nine yards with flutter my eyelashes and all that shit, and she won't even spare me a second glance! The nerve of some people." Laura laughs halfway through her statement.

"Oh! You're--" Harry starts, looking sideways at Niall to finish off his statement.

"Honestly, who knows what they are at this day in age? I'm somethin', Harry, that's all you, or her, for that matter, need to know."

"Fair enough." Harry replies and moves over near the bar, motioning to the female bartender to try and get her to come and take their orders. She nods at him and holds up a finger, telling him to wait a bit longer as she serves another customer.

Laura butts into Niall and Conor's conversation when she realizes they're talking about golf, finding the sport unentertaining and not wanting to hear them talk about it for much longer. "You didn't tell us Harry was taggin' along tonight, Niall. It's about fucking time."

Niall and Conor look over at Laura, and they all send sneaky glances over at Harry who has since began circling one of the lone coasters on the bar with his finger, seeming to study the company's design on the front of it.

"It was kind of a last minute thing. I asked him if he wanted to come and he said yes." Niall explains, and then looks around for a second, noticing that one of the main reasons Niall and Harry's fallout began was nowhere to be found. "Where's Brez?"