"This is your first date. I want you both to act like a couple, laugh at everything Harry says and you," The bald man pointed at the curly haired brunette who was busy typing away on his phone. "Make sure you hold Niall close to you, give him a little kisses here and there."

The taller man nodded, not paying much attention since he had done this all before while Niall just stared right ahead at the bald man, trying to think of some way to strangle him in his sleep without getting caught. It was stupid really, how nervous he was. Harry was his best mate but these past days have not been very friendly for either of the two. There was just this thick tension in the air and Niall was tired of always faking a smile even with his best mates. He just wanted this to be over and done with.

"Let's go," A cold voice pulled the blonde out of his miserable thoughts. He adjusted his black jacket and turned around to face Harry, nodding his head slightly. How was he supposed to smile and pretend to have fun with such a guy? This was never going to work out. The fans weren't stupid, they will caught on to this fake shit they were doing and Niall for one, was quite familiar with the hate that will be coming their way, more specifically his since everybody seemed to be too far up Harry's ass to send hate to him. Not that he was a bad guy or anything.

The two men walked over to Niall's black range rover, deciding that it was perfect for this date. Wherever the hell it was going to take place, that is. The blonde handed over the keys to his band mate before getting inside the passengers' seat. He was so tempted to just take the wheel and drive them back to the hotel but what the management says, goes.

"Where are we going?" The blonde asked once they had moved out of the driveway, it was strange how the two were so quiet. This was not like the other car rides they had shared when Harry would always be laughing or joking, or singing along to the songs playing on the radio and Niall would just tease him or run his hands through those long as fuck curls. Things were cold and tense now and they both didn't like that at all.

"Some place you'd actually like," He took a U-turn, driving on the opposite direction from where they were supposed to go. "Fuck the reservations. I never liked those expensive restaurants. They charge way too much for a small portion of meal."

"Is the Harry Styles complaining about money? I thought you had thirty three million pounds in your bank account?" Niall teased, nudging Harry a little as the taller man laughed.

"Well boyfriend, we're going to Nandos," The blonde's eyes widened as soon as the word left Harry's mouth. He gave out a loud squeal before bouncing on his seat a bit. It had been so fucking long since they had last gone to Nandos. He honestly missed the food but their schedule was just too tight and he didn't have the time to make any adjustments with OTRA ending and the hiatus taking place.

Harry parked the car carefully once they reached the familiar building. He quickly ran to the other side and opened Niall's door, smiling a bit at the cameras that were flashing. Of course the paps were tailing them. He shouldn't really be surprised.

They walked inside the brown building, Niall bouncing on his feet. He was such a little bundle of joy and Harry was almost tempted to steal a kiss or two, not for the cameras sake but simply because this was his best mate who just happened to look really adorable right now. He leaned over a little, placing his hands on the blonde's shoulder causing Niall to freeze. The blonde's eyes widened when Harry left a small kiss on his cheek, lips lingering for a second too long and Niall could feel all the blood rushing to his cheeks. He tried to calm down his hammering heart but ever since the incident in the hotel room, he just couldn't bring himself to relax around Harry.

"Let's go inside Ni," Harry grabbed the blonde's smaller hands in his much larger ones before leading them inside. The waitress quickly took them over to the seat near the window, perfect spot to be seen by the fans and the paps while still getting some privacy to enjoy your food.

"How can you be so casual about such things?" Niall asked, his hands shaking as he looked at the face of his best friend, the one who had been the closest to him. These things shouldn't bother him but it did. It hurt him a bit to know that Harry was doing it all for the camera and not because he wanted to. They were being forced to tolerate each other.

"Because you're not the first person I'm being forced to go out with. Listen I know this is new to you. You were always the most protected. Zayn made quite sure of that," The smaller man flinched at the bitterness in Harry's voice. "But he's gone now and there's nobody who is going to save your ass. Get used to this shit."

For a second Niall was tempted to throw his glass of water at Harry's face and just walk away from here but he faked another smile, looking outside the window at the girls and boys who had already gathered around, phones in hands while men with big cameras kept on clicking pictures.

"Hold my hand," Niall spoke out, pushing his hand forward on the table. Harry smirked a bit at the sudden change in the blonde's attitude but nonetheless placed his hands on the smaller man's, his larger ones covering Niall's entirely making the blonde blush as he looked at the difference between their sizes.

"You're tiny."

"Shut the fuck up before this tiny guy kicks you in the balls." And Harry just laughed while Niall sat there smiling. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad. Harry was his best mate after all, right?

/

UPDATE