❝That's the worst thing about love. It makes everything harder than it has to be.❞
Valentina Morgan moved to London expecting many things, but reconnecting with her former best friend had not been one of them. Said former best friend, Vikram Barn, w...
a/n: ok so. this is shit. like it's cringe and i know it but i have mock exams on rn so i can't think of a way to make it...not cringe. sorry in advance :/
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Val shouted as she charged into the flat, passing Cal who had opened the door to leap onto the birthday boy. Harry, used to her hugging tendencies, had his arms out already, catching her mid-air and spinning her around.
"You're early," he said after setting her down, raising his eyebrows.
"I wanted to get here before everyone else," she replied, shrugging. His party was due to start at 7pm, but she had pestered Flo into getting them there half an hour before that time.
Her friend, who had been chatting to Cal, walked over then, clapping a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Happy birthday," she said, smiling. "Sorry about her, she's been building up that energy all day waiting for this moment." Flo winced as Val dug her elbow into her side.
Harry just laughed, shaking his head. He was wearing one of the Sidemen Clothing t-shirts, light blue at the top slowly fading into white at the bottom, and casual black shorts. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm glad you lot could come. Especially you, Val," he added, "I know you're super busy around this time of the year."
"Wouldn't miss your birthday for the world," she said. "I didn't have anything planned for tonight, anyway." It was only slightly a lie - she was pretty swamped with work, and she had a piece due the day after the party, but she'd just woken up early and crammed all of it in before midday, and none of the other jobs were too urgent. She would never have allowed herself to miss Harry's birthday, especially since it was his first birthday since they met and became friends.
"Also," she continued, shoving her hands into the pockets of her sunflower-patterned black cardigan, "I know you said I didn't have to, but - "
"You got me something?" he finished, frowning. "You really didn't have to."
"But I wanted to," she said. "And it's nothing too big, I know you're rich enough to get anything you want anyway."
"True," Harry smirked, shifting his weight onto one leg and leaning against the counter. "Well, if you went through all that effort, who am I to deny your kindness?" He cocked his head to the side, waiting.
She withdrew her hands from her pockets, revealing a tiny box she had carefully covered in blue wrapping paper, complete with a silver ribbon on top. "It's okay if you don't like it," she said as she dropped it into his waiting hand. He turned it over, running his fingers along the edges of the box, before easing the ribbon off and beginning to peel away the paper. "I've always been a bit of a shit gift-giver, so really, just throw it away if you want, I don't mind - "
Her voice cut off as he got the wrapping paper off and snapped the black velvet-cased box open. Val's chest tightened as she tried to catch a glimpse of the look in Harry's eyes, hidden by the downwards tilt of his head. She felt fingers entwine with hers, Flo giving her hand a light squeeze, easing some of the anxiety.
