𝒾𝒻 𝒾 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒻𝓁𝓎 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒 (𝓁.𝓈.)

seven

Even though Niall specifically invited me to sit with him, I still get the overwhelming feeling of interrupting something. He and his date, Shawn, are giggling together and touching each other's thighs and giggling some more. They both have infectious laughs. But I don't feel like laughing.

I tell myself I don't care if I win a Brit or not, but I'm lying. Of course I care. Awards mean recognition, and recognition means I don't go down a depression spiral. 

On the other hand, if I do win, I'll have to give a speech, and I definitely don't think I'm ready for that. What would I even say?

I zone out, taking out the small orange I'd brought to snack on. I peel it slowly, taking one of the pieces and popping it into my mouth. The juice explodes against my tongue, and the taste is heavenly; the perfect mix of sweet and sour.

I suddenly get the feeling someone's watching me. I raise my head as I'm peeling the orange further, looking around to find the source of my hunch.

And it's—you guessed it—Louis. His blue eyes bore into mine, and I just barely stop my jaw from falling slack when his tongue darts out to wet his lips. He shouldn't be allowed to look this good. It's not fair.

I keep eye contact until the man next to Louis—the lighter skinned friend from earlier—taps his arm and points to someone in the crowd, taking Louis' attention off of me. His friend glances at me briefly with an expression I can't read, and I look away. Somehow I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much, but I can't imagine why. 

My attention focuses back on the award show's stage just in time for them to announce the category I'm nominated in. I hold my breath as the announcer opens the white envelope with agonizingly slow precision. She unfolds the paper carefully, reading it with a passive expression.

I can feel my heart beating relentlessly in my chest. Niall reaches over to squeeze my shoulder reassuringly. It doesn't help much, but at least he's trying. I almost turn around to see if Louis' looking at me again, but I think that'll make things worse.

"And the winner is..." the announcer purposefully drags out the suspense, and it feels like all the air is sucked out of the room. I can't breathe normally, and I try to remind myself that it's just one award. It's just—

"Harry Styles!"

Wait, what? That's my name.

"That's...that's my name," I repeat out loud. I glance at Niall to make sure I'm not dreaming, but he's grinning at me, and motions for me to stand up. He stands with me and we do our handshake, ending it with a hug.

"Go get 'em, Haz," he says, and I laugh, leaving his embrace to walk towards the stage. The applause is deafening as I jog up the steps and give the announcer a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, accepting the award. 

Then comes the hardest part: giving the speech. I reach the microphone and clear my throat awkwardly, feeling like I'm a teenager again, in my school play. I look out over the sea of famous faces and force myself to focus on people I know. These people end up being Niall, who's grinning like the Cheshire Cat, and Taylor, who's smiling encouragingly from her seat next to a nondescript blond British guy. Her boyfriend, I assume.

"Um. Hi," I start, already beginning to lose the burst of adrenaline I got hearing my name being called. I take a deep breath and decide to just tell the truth.

"Well, I honestly didn't have anything planned to say," I tell everyone, offering them a sheepish smile. "I didn't think I was going to win this. But...here we are. So first, thank you to a few really special people. My mum, without whom I literally would not be on this Earth. To my best friend, Niall, without whom I wouldn't be here at this award show. He's the one who's always been there for me, ever since I started in the music business, and I'll always be eternally grateful to him. So, thank you, Niall. And finally, to everyone else. To everyone I've met who's made a difference in my life, even a small one. To my fans. Without you I wouldn't be anything."

I grin cheekily. "Treat people with kindness, everyone!" I end my grand speech, and the applause returns, even louder than it was before, if that's even possible. I look out over everyone one last time, and again, I catch those blue eyes. Louis' lips are curled up slightly in a small, soft smile. I don't know what it means, but it makes my heart flutter, and I'm running on adrenaline and praise and I couldn't care less. So I toss him a wink before walking off the stage.

Was that a notoriously bad idea? Probably. Will it be in the news tomorrow? Also probably. But mostly...will Louis notice me because of it? At the third probably, a shiver runs down my spine, the exhilarating feeling of winning the award beginning to wear off as I'm hit with the implications of my actions. What if he thinks I'm some creepy perv? 

It was just a wink, Harry, I remind myself. And there are tons of people here. There's no way to prove you were winking at him.

Except I'm almost positive, given the look on his face as I turned around, that he noticed. Okay, he definitely noticed. Now I guess it's up to him.

I hope I'm ready for whatever happens next.

A/N: Okay, I know, I know, I'll make them meet soon. I promise! (In fact, I think it might happen in the next chapter. Hopefully.)

I hope you enjoyed this one! Thoughts on Harry winning the award? In case you were wondering, this is why I posted the "Yes or No" poll, thank you to @TailorMade_Rose for responding! I was going to wait for more answers but I got bored and wanted to write this now, so here you go.

Love you all, thank you so much for reading <3.

Always TPWK!

-K