Dreaming Of You // If I'm Still Dreaming

Harry’s POV

“Well, gentlemen–––Niall tells us, formality personified. Let’s have a last drink in my room. The stalker department has been very quiet this evening, so I don’t want to push my luck any further,” he explains and taps his hands on the table, about to stand up.

“But I just made it…” Liam complains, baffled.

“Yeah, your bad–––Niall retorts, sounding a bit annoyed. You said you’d be here by nine and it’s almost eleven.”

“I’m sorry I have a family to look after…”

“Oh, come on, Shooter. You have two nannies and a housekeeper–––Louis steps in, and it’s hard for us to contain the laughter. Were you banging your pregnant wife?” His voice is filled with sarcasm. Everyone knows Liam's not getting any.

“She was feeling ill and I felt bad for leaving,” he mumbles, probably upset he put himself in a position of having to explain his situation to a table full of males ready to judge him. Poor Rachel though. She doesn’t have the best luck with pregnancies. Triplets first, and now nausea for six months straight.

“I’m only getting married once, Liam; yet your wife has been there already–––Niall scolds him. Sort out your priorities, mate. If you are late tomorrow we’ll start the wedding without you and I don't want to hear a single complaint.” Why does this suddenly sound like preschool all over again? What a silly question. Some things will never change. “Shall we?” He addresses us all, gesturing to leave.

Zayn bends over and pinches Liam on the cheek, as the rest of us stand up and chat with each other while exchanging manly pats on the back. For some strange reason, times like these make men behave excessively masculine. Like, where are those Cuban cigars? We start walking towards the lobby to catch the lift. Ben, James, and another of Niall’s married friends walk a bit behind. I guess contrary to Liam they got a free pass for the night. Niall is going to be the third of us to tie the knot, and God only knows which one between Louis and me will be the following. Considering the current situation, the fourth 1D wedding will take a long time to happen, if ever.

“Are we going to have strippers upstairs or something, like in that Tom Hanks’ movie?” Liam rubs his palms together. The guilt for leaving his convalescent wife seems to be over.

“Sex-deprived Payne has been watching too much telly,” Louis observes, and there’s no way to contain the laughter anymore.

“The answer’s no, Liam–––Niall speaks, even more annoyed than before. Tomorrow is a big day, so no adventures tonight. You should have thought of it yourself for the actual bachelor party instead of organising a Scotch whisky tasting.” The chit-chat in the background abruptly stops. Everyone glances around in awe. He did… After the most boring bachelor party ever, isolated in the middle of Edinburgh's countryside, with Louis puking inside of a closet by the end of the night, Niall finally said it. Liam turns red.

“I didn’t want to upset Rachel…”

“Rachel wasn’t there, Liam!” Niall claims, and everyone bursts into laughter one more time.

“She can read my mind…” Liam whinges. As if we didn’t know already he’s completely whipped.

“Just admit she checks your phone, mate,” Zayn intervenes, chuckling. We side-eye him in unison. “They all do!” He exclaims. We shake our heads ‘no’ at him. Zayn scrunches his face, looking rather sceptical. What have his women done to him? His levels of mystery have risen to unknown heights since he’s been spending time in New York after the divorce. I wonder why he carries that old book around almost all the time.

We get out of the lift and walk down to Niall’s room. Mine’s a little far ahead. Deo has another one at the end of the corridor, as Niall wanted his second groomsman around too, just in case. I get that this is a one-time thing and he’s worried something could go down considering all the stuff he went through with the wedding planner, but we are barely twelve hours away from the ceremony. What could possibly go wrong?

“‘I’ve fell in love with the little demon’–––Liam chants and throws some crazy shapes, pointing at me. Sing it!” I roll my eyes hard. Did he get some pill, or sexual frustration is taking its toll? “‘Little demon, little demon,’” he continues by himself, as not even the elder squad knows what he’s on about. “What a bunch of bores.”

“The door’s open…” Niall states as he makes it to his room, and we all stop dead in our tracks. He steps inside and I rush towards him. “My suit's gone!” I hear him scream before I arrive. When I get there I find Niall standing in the middle of the room, absolutely defeated. Nothing else seems to be out of place, so what the fuck happened here?

“What does the suit consist of?” Liam asks, and I can’t help but squint at him.

“Morning coat, waistcoat, trousers, detachable-collar dress shirt and tie…–––Niall enumerates quite automatically, counting with his fingers. Does it matter?–––he finally reacts. It’s gone!” Liam gestures defensively. “Erica’s dad’s cufflinks she gave me some years ago were inside the coat’s pocket…” Oh, fucking no. “I was going to wear them tomorrow…” His hands run through his face.

“This is fucked up…” A suit might be replaceable, but those cufflinks are not. We should have put them in the safe with the rings. Erica is going to castrate him.

Some giggles coming from the corridor at our back catch the general attention. Ben goes to check out, but curiosity takes the best of us and we push him outside. A long-haired girl holding a bag and two more jump into the farthest lift. The fuck… Without thinking twice I run towards the second lift and the boys follow me. Those fucks stole the suit. Niall commands the rest to climb upstairs before joining us, as we can’t wait to see if they’re going up or down.

“What are you doing with my phone?” He asks Zayn. Perfect timing to remember he handed it to avoid the temptation of texting Erica, who’s having some sort of bash at her mother’s house.

“Nothing–––Zayn mutters, turning away. Just checking up on Erica.”

“Why aren’t you using your own phone?” Niall shouts, and we all freeze in our spot. He jumps over Zayn, and after wrestling for a moment he manages to immobilise his arm. “‘Can’t wait to lick you from head to toe’?–––he reads, amazed. Are you fucking kidding me, mate? You’ve been sexting my bride?” Zayn stumbles back, letting go of the phone.

“Don’t you have anything better to sext a chick, mate?” Louis asks him nonchalantly.

“Erica’s not a chick!–––Niall almost yells to his face. She’s the future mother of my kids. Show some respect!”

“Harry, you are the groomsman,” Liam says to my ear as I watch hell unleash. As if we needed more drama. “Please, take control of the situation.” People say I have charisma, but mediating in conflicts is a whole different thing.

“OK, Niall, I know you are nervous, but give me that phone,” I say ripping the device off his hand to prevent further damage. I put a hand on his shoulder, as Jeanne did with the pregnant woman that day in Paris. I remember as if it was yesterday. Physical contact reduces stress. I didn’t know shit until I met her. “We have some other issues to focus on right now. Zayn, be a good boy–––I tell him, turning towards him for a short second. Don’t worry, Niall–––I pat his shoulder. We’ll do everything in our hand to get those cufflinks back. I promise.” Zayn nods his head, and everyone agrees. The lift dings. There’s no backing up.

As the doors open I catch a glimpse of the girl with the bag in front of me. I sprint behind her, my heart rate picking up. Are they even aware we are following them? Why are they doing this? They look like in their twenties. I notice Liam by my side. He throws an arm forward and grabs the shorter girl by the shoulder. Her hair gets entangled so she lets out a little scream, making the other two stop dead. The boys encircle them, as Niall gestures to a security guard everything’s OK. We don’t need extra attention right now. The girls don’t even look at us. They limit themselves to keep giggling under their breath. Without saying a word we take them to a corner of the lobby, away from indiscreet glances.

“These girls are fans–––Liam states as we stand a bit afar. We have to be careful or otherwise it could cause a meltdown.” Good ol’ Payne always trying to prevent the Apocalypse.

“We have to play cool,” Niall whispers, and I don’t know how he manages to contain himself. He does have the most outstanding disposition. “If they find out they have something more important than a suit it’ll escalate. They’re Directioners.” Point made.

“Yeah, sometimes when they said they worshipped the ground we walked in it was in the literal sense and they actually kissed it–––Louis ironises. True story.” I won’t even call bullshit. Stranger things have happened. I know that for a fact.

“Let me have this…” I say and button up the jacket of my all-black attire, as I walk towards them. The girls see me and begin to squirm, the three of them either playing with their hair or pushing it behind their ears. One could say they’re sisters, but they’re probably not. “What do you want in exchange for the suit?” I cut straight to the chase in a husky tone. They glance at one another and start murmuring in a deliberative attitude. The boys stand behind me.

“We want you to give a French kiss to each one of us,” the taller, and apparently the leader, tells me. She looks cool as if she were asking for fire. Nothing weird in requesting kisses from strangers. God forbid something reasonable like an autograph or a selfie. Zayn lets out a snort, while the rest of the boys shift uncomfortably.

“A French kiss…–––He says to my ear. How appropriate.”

“Uncalled for,” I grunt at him, turning over my shoulder. As if I needed a Jeanne’s reminder in these circumstances. I glance at Niall’s pleading eyes, and I know what I have to do. I’ll take one for the team. Liam points towards a corridor at our side. “OK–––I tell the girls, smiling to keep this under control. I’ll do it for my man here,” I explain, and they bounce in their spot. Liam gestures for them to follow us. This area must be the genitor’s. “Who will come first?” I promised Niall I’d do anything in my hand, and I’m keeping my word. The taller one with the bag pushes the middle one towards me. She looks mortified, but it was their idea, not mine. We could have shared a nice cup of hot chocolate. “Hello–––I slur. What’s your name, love?”

“Paige…” I hear Zayn’s laughter nearby and momentarily turn to glare at him, hands on my back.

“Nice to meet you, Paige.” I keep it civil. “Tell me if any of this makes you uncomfortable.” It won't be me who'd retaliate, but quite the opposite. I'm giving them the deference they didn’t give me. Maybe they’ll learn.

“It won’t…”

“I know.” I shoot her a loop-sided grin. Nice one, Harry, reinforcing all the stereotypes about yourself. But what else can I do? I am one cheeky bastard. I lean in and kiss her, but she’s shy so I don’t push it too much.

Once she pulls away I smile not to make her feel rejected and she smiles back before running towards her friends. After a celebratory shriek the shorter one comes next and it’s almost the same script. Just one to go. The leader… She glances at me in defiance and transfers the custody of bag to the middle one while holding my gaze. When she stands in front of me she throws her arms around my neck. Not wasting your time, are you?

She lets go of me and I have to struggle not to wipe my mouth. Not because she’s unattractive, because she’s not, but because she’s the problematic one that dragged her gullible friends into this mess. When she returns to her friends she flashes me a gaze I don’t like. The girls start deliberating again. We just need them to give us the bag so this nightmare can be over.

“OK, we’ll give you back the suit–––she says after a moment and Niall exhales loudly–––but before we want Larry to kiss…” Some people will never learn.

“What?” Louis blurts out of himself, stepping forward. Niall begins to shift nervously, as he glances around in despair. “Are you nuts?–––he tells off, gesturing with his finger on his temple for a full dramatic effect. It’s 2019. 2019…” There’s annoyance in his voice, but also impotence. He stares at them for a second that seems to last forever. “I’m calling off this wedding…” Louis finally groans and walks away, flicking his hand.

“Please, Tommo, no…–––Niall stutters. Come back…” It was a known fact this was meant to happen if things were down to Louis. He doesn’t take this kind of bullshit from anyone, not now, not ever. We watch him crossing the hotel’s entrance in the distance. Who knows if he’ll show up tomorrow at the wedding, if there’s still a wedding to attend to.

“Is Zarry OK?” Zayn candidly asks the leader and I scrunch my face at him. The three girls shrug. Before I even have time to react Zayn’s lips crash into mine.

“The tongue wasn't necessary!” I complain, covering my mouth as he lets go. Does he believe Hollywood kisses are for real?

“I wasn’t risking it, mate,” he tells me. I guess he promised Niall too.

“‘Cos he’s brave to core, Zayn is the hero next door,’” Liam chants, patting him on the back. The leader hands over me the suit, in a demonstration of last-minute fair play. I’m sorry, love. You’ll have to wait a literal eternity for that Larry kiss. I discreetly tap the bag, looking for the box of the cufflinks.

“Where does that come from?” Niall asks him, beaming now that the girls have left us alone. The bad vibes from earlier seem to have completely dissipated.

“Fireman Sam–––Liam replies. If you were a dad you’d know.” I shake my head. What an insensitive ass.

“Do you need to shove it to my face, Liam?” Niall grumbles, coming to face him.

I can’t help but giggle. Another nonsensical quarrel between them is almost welcomed after this madness. The wedding is saved.

–.–.–

Notes

This story was demanding a comic relief. And I was missing ot5 and a chapter not focused on Jeanne. We had a glimpse of the most boring bachelor party, who the boys now are and their dynamics, a hint to my dear KAOT Zayn's fic My Light you should definitely read if you haven't, and an idea of what's coming for the next chapter. Everyone will be there, so ANYTHING can happen.

I loved all your comments in the last update. I promise they help me to stay focused and write faster. You make it worthy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And more soon! Love you all <3