Chapter Text
The idea of moving to a new country was terrifying. The idea of moving to a new country and starting a masters degree and having to make friends with people on your course where you’re bound to be known as “the American guy” was even more terrifying. Luckily for him though, Alex loved socialising and making friends was something he was good at, even if he didn’t necessarily enjoy it all the time.
Ever since he was 11 he’d known he wanted to study in London at some point. Just something about the city and the people had drawn in him and when Alex set his mind on something then there was no persuading him otherwise. He’d been here for 3 weeks already to get settled in before his classes started and he’d been loving every minute. His first week of introductory classes had been amazing and he’d already made a few friends and been out for some drinks with them. He finally felt like he was thriving and that moving to London wasn’t the most insane thing he’d ever done.
Today Alex was not thriving. He’d somehow done the wrong reading for his law lecture and was completely unprepared, he’d planned to buy his lunch from the local deli just down the road from his uni accommodation but they’d been closed for ‘essential maintenance’ and to top it off it had rained on his way back home and his clothes were now drenched and his hair looked a mess. Typical British weather.
He didn’t bother saying hello to any of his flatmates when he got back and marched straight to the kitchen, made himself the world's largest mug of coffee and holed himself up in his bedroom under 3 blankets and a mountain of pillows. He pulled out his laptop, opened up YouTube and pressed play on one of his comfort videos from his favourite booktuber, HenrysLibrary.
Something about the way Henry spoke about books just connected with Alex. Plus he was so passionate and knowledgeable about seemingly everything which just made him even more captivating to watch. That and the fact that Henry was one of the most beautiful men Alex had ever seen. Blonde hair that was always styled to perfection, crisp linen shirts, a Hollywood smile and eyes that Alex wanted to dive right into.
Alex was in such a foul mood he’d forgotten what day it was and nearly spilled his coffee in excitement when he saw the notification light up on his screen telling him that Henry had just uploaded a new video.
Alex grinned, clicked on the notification and watched as the video started to play. It wasn’t anything too exciting, just Henry discussing what books he was going to be reading and studying at university this year. Alex smiled as he watched it, if he closed his eyes it was almost like Henry was talking to him personally. Like they were actually friends. Not that that was ever going to happen. Henry had nearly 5,000 subscribers. Alex was just another voice, lost in the crowd.
The video ended and as always Alex scrolled to the comments and quickly typed: “Loved this video! I read The Great Gatsby last year and loved it! Can’t wait to hear what you think.
Also your eyes looked so blue in this video :p you could go swimming in them”
Alex hit send and clicked back to continue the video he was watching before. The next half hour passed by relatively uneventfully until Alex got a notification on his phone.
HenrysLibrary has replied to your comment: I’ve read it too but it will be interesting to study it in more detail. Hahaa, thank you. I think my bedroom just has good lighting!
Alex couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face and he refreshed the page 3 times just to check it wasn’t a mistake.
He hadn’t fully realised just how isolated he would be being over a thousand miles away from home and his family. Watching Henry’s videos had become an even bigger source of comfort for him. June and him would sit and watch Henry’s videos together and Alex always thought Henry and June were similar. Too often Henry would be talking about a book he liked and June would chirp up with how much she’d loved it too.
He’d been watching Henry for almost a year and had done his fair share of commenting on his videos and posts and replying to his tweets and yet this was the first time Henry had responded. He had to tell June, obviously.
He pulled out his phone and sent her a text.
Alex
New henry video
You’ll like this one he talks about all your favorite books
Plus he looks gorgeous
Oh also he replied to one of my comments and i’m kind of freaking out
Juuuuune 🐛
I’m at WORK alex!!!! You forget about the time difference
I’ll watch it on my lunch break
Also what the fuck????? Are you still alive??
Alex
Time zones arent real
And barely
Cant believe THE Henry fox acknowledged that i exist
Juuuuune 🐛
You’ll be besties in no time
Gtg. i’ll message u later
-
It seems that was only the start, for some reason that Alex couldn’t even fathom Henry began to respond to his comments and reply to his tweets more frequently.
@HenrysLibrary: the only good thing about autumn is that i can finally wear my favourite knitted cardigans again
Reply from @therealagcd: don’t forget the pumpkin spice lattes!
From @HenrysLibrary: @therealagcd i think they’re kind of overrated. Earl grey tea all the way
-
@HenrysLibrary: just watched notting hill for the billionth time this year. Golden era of rom coms
Reply from @therealagcd: plus you can’t beat 90’s era hugh grant with his floppy hair and glasses
From @HenrysLibrary: @therealagcd: he made owning a bookshop look so dreamy. Definition of career goals!
-
@HenrysLibrary: fell asleep reading and was woken up by my hardcover copy of pride and prejudice landing on my face. Ouch
From @therealagcd: maybe your face absorbed the words and you’ll know it off by heart now
From @HenrysLibrary: @therealagcd i think i pretty much know it off by heart anyway i’ve read it that many times.
-
The weeks passed and Alex literally felt like he was on cloud 9 everytime he got a reply from Henry. He tried to remind himself this didn’t mean anything . Henry wasn’t his friend and he just saw Alex as another fan on Twitter. That was until one day at the end of September. He’d just come out of his law lecture, feeling drained and exhausted and his head was drowning in laws and policies. He pulled his phone out of his bag and nearly dropped it on the floor when he saw the notification:
Direct Message from: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Figured i would DM you rather than just tweet you, hope that's okay. I’ve seen a lot of your comments on my videos and seen you reply to my tweets and you seem pretty cool. Also it seems we have the same taste in books and movies and none of my friends want to discuss Byron and the impact his writing had on romance in the last 2 centuries
Sorry, was that too much? I get a little passionate about literature, can you tell?
I bet you won’t even reply to this and you probably think I’m weird for even messaging you in the first place so just ignore all this and pretend it never happened
From: Alex C-D @therealagcd Oh my god hi i love you
Hi :) you’re definitely not too passionate. My friends actually get annoyed at me sometimes because i get so animated when I’m talking about something i like
I’ve been watching your videos for nearly a year so i’m kind of freaking out right now that you’ve messaged me so i’m trying really hard to play it cool
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Oh wow that’s amazing! Thanks for watching, those early videos were terrible i’m surprised anyone even watched them
What things are you passionate about then? Who’s your favourite author?
From: Alex C-D @therealagcdYou looked hot thats why i watched themThose early videos were charming. I love your “top books of 2021” i rewatch that all the time
Maybe i shouldnt have admitted that oops. Now i look creepy
I’m passionate about law so it’s a good thing i’m studying that at university. And probably James Baldwin
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Definitely not creepy. Thats kind of sweet actually that you rewatch it so much
Oh wow law! Sounds absolutely terrifying. Are you gonna be some big, hotshot lawyer when you graduate then?
Alex was in disbelief. He’d somehow managed to walk back to his flat and was now sitting in his room, scrolling back through the messages. Was he really having a conversation with Henry? Was this actually happening?
From: Alex C-D @therealagcd
I find your voice very calming. Plus you just seem like a really nice person
It is terrifying, i don’t know why i decided to choose this for my degree but here i am for another bazillion years.
I wanna work as a lawyer to help immigrants and minority groups because they deserve the same help as everyone else. Wanna do something good in the world you know?
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
My friends say I’m nice so that must be true. And by friends i really mean friend. Singular. I’ve had the same best mate for nearly 10 years
Well colour me impressed Alex. i’m sure you’re gonna be the worlds best lawyer. Sending you ~positive law vibes~
From: Alex C-D @therealagcdMaybe we could be friendsI’ll be your friend
you can’t be that bad then if he’s stuck around for 10 years
Wait that sounded mean. I didn’t mean it like that.
i’m sure you’re lovely
Not lovely but like, nice. Cool. fun. Kind. hot. Sexy.
Oh and thanks for the vibes. Much appreciated
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
I’m gonna put that in my twitter bio. “Nice, cool, fun and kind - review by Alex c-d”
What does the C-D stand for by the way? Or are you an actual CD that’s become sentient and turned into a human with a twitter account?
Alex all but screamed into his pillow at that first message. They’d only been talking for an hour, how was it this easy already?
From: Alex C-D @therealagcd
I would be honoured
it stands for Claremont Diaz
My full name is Alexander gabriel claremont diaz because my parents hate me and thought one last name wasn’t enough so why not have 2 AND a middle name as well.
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Woah. now that is a mouthful
I think i win the long name competition though
Henry george edward james fox mountchristen windsor
From: Alex C-D @therealagcd
😲
Oh my god
That’s child abuse. You could report them for that
Why is it so long?
(lol. I’m 12 years old mentally sorry i had to laugh at that)
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Mountchristen is my mums name and fox is my dads. And there’s some weird tradition in my family of giving everyone a dozen middle names
Also i’m rolling my eyes and shaking my head at that joke. Get your mind out of the gutter claremont diaz!
They talked for hours. Well past midnight when Alex knew he should be asleep because he had a 9am lecture the next morning but something inside of him kept pulling him towards Henry and he couldn’t put his phone down. He eventually fell asleep somewhere around 1:30am mid-reply to Henry's message arguing about why Return of the Jedi was the best Star Wars movie.
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
I presume you fell asleep because it is 1:30am and i should probably be sleeping too
And maybe because it is 1:30am or maybe i’m just overthinking this but I don’t think i’ve ever found it so easy to talk to someone as it is talking to you Alex
It’s like i don’t have to put on a mask and i can just be myself and you’ll meet me on the same page (booktube joke, ha ha)
-
Alex spent the whole of the next day with a spring in his step. He’d read and reread the last message Henry had sent last night. This had to be a dream. It felt too good. He’d quickly replied back saying something along the same lines before rushing out of his flat to get to his 9am lecture. And if he’d spent the entire bus ride there reading over the message from Henry and trying to commit it to memory, who could blame him.
“What’s got you so smiley at this godforsaken time?”
Taylor said, sitting down next to Alex and folding her arms across the desk and resting her head on them. Taylor was in all of Alex’s classes and they’d bonded pretty quickly. She had moved to the UK from Canada 3 years ago so knew what it was like to stand out like a sore thumb because of your accent.
“Nothing, can I not be happy on this glorious Thursday morning?”
“No.”
Alex pulled out his phone, reading over the message one last time before shoving it into his bag.
“Oh my god, you hooked up with someone didn’t you?” She said, immediately sitting up and staring at Alex, jaw wide open. “What’s their name? I hope you used protection.”
Alex gasped, looking around and shoved Taylor in the arm. “Will you shut up? No, I didn't hook up with someone. I just…”
See, the thing was Alex hadn’t really told anyone about his slight obsession with Henry (apart from June and Nora but they didn’t really count.) He was always worried people would think he was weird and judge him for being so obsessed with someone who makes videos on YouTube.
Just as he was about to respond he was saved from his dilemma by their lecturer standing up and getting everyone’s attention before starting the lecture.
-
“So, who are they then?” Taylor asked as they filed out of the lecture hall 2 hours later.
“Who?”
“The person who’s got you smiling at your phone like an idiot?”
Alex ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He didn’t really have anything to lose and he figured that Taylor would be very chill about the whole thing. “They’re a booktuber. So he makes videos about books on YouTube. And, well, I’ve been watching him for months. And I’m like…a little bit obsessed with him? He’s called Henry, and he sent me a message last night on Twitter, completely out of the blue, and we stayed up until 1am just talking about all sorts of crap.”
“Oh wow. This is like the ultimate parasocial relationship. You’re winning.”
“No, it’s not…It’s not like that. We were just chatting. It’s nothing serious.”
Taylor raises her eyebrow and looks at him, “Alex, I can already tell how down bad you are for this boy you haven’t even met, don't lie to me.”
“Fine! He’s hot and he’s gorgeous and way out of my league but he’s basically famous and I don’t know why he wants to have anything to do with me in the first place.”
“Maybe because you’re hot?”
Alex glares at her and cocks his head to one side.
“I’m gay, not blind, Alex. You’re fit. If I was het I’d be totally into you.”
“Oh thanks. What a compliment.”
“Any time. Oh shoot,” She said, looking at the time on her phone. “I’m late for a meeting with the roller derby society. I’ll catch you later.” And with that she tapped Alex on the arm and sprinted off across campus.
Alex decided to use his time wisely before his next lecture and headed to the library to catch up on some reading. As soon as he sat down he pulled out his phone and saw a message from Henry.
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Hey, not to be super weird or anything but would it be okay if I followed you on instagram?
Officially taking this friendship to the next level
Feel free to say no of course.
I was going to say you can follow me as well then realised you already probably do
Okay that was all a lie i already found your instagram account and might have stalked you for a bit but wanted to check it was okay to follow you first in case i came off as creepy
Alex was stunned. He didn’t even have the brain power to respond to Henry’s message. Henry had been on his instagram account? He quickly opened up his account and scrolled through to see what pictures Henry would have seen. One of him and his family, one of him in front of The White House on holiday this year, one of him topless on a beach . Oh god. That was embarrassing.
From Alex C-D @therealagcd
Bit creepy there mate
(please read that in a british accent)
You can definitely follow me so long as you don’t laugh at any of my embarrassing pictures that i haven’t deleted
Less than 30 seconds later Alex got the notification telling him that Henry had followed him back.
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Awh now where's the fun in that?
That one of you shirtless on a beach is definitely hilarious. Was that posed or do you just look like that naturally?
Alex went bright red.
From: Alex CD @therealagcd
Hey! I like that picture, i look hot
Definitely got some looks from everyone at that beach
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Not surprised pouting like that. Bet you were struggling to keep the ladies away
Think you’re trying a bit too hard to look impressive
From: Alex CD @therealagcd
Men, women you name it
Perks of being bi i guess
looking that good just comes naturally to me i guess
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Oh you’re bi? That’s cool
I feel no shame in telling you and know you won’t be weird about it then if i tell you i’m gay
Alex was stunned into silence, which was a first for him. What was he supposed to say to that? Congratulations? Happy for you? Does this mean I can kiss you now and I know you won’t be weird about it? Ok, maybe not that last part.
From: Alex CD @therealagcd
Oh
Guess it would be very hypocritical of me to judge you
Thank you for telling me henry 😊
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
I’m not really out in my personal life. only my sister and best mate know
Pretty sure my mum knows but is waiting for me to make the big announcement
I trust you won’t spread this around the internet? I don’t want to make it a big deal
He’d had dreams about Henry (not that he’d ever admit that.) Spent hours poring over his videos and photos, marvelling at how one man could be so beautiful. And now here Henry was, telling Alex outright that he was gay. Meaning he liked guys. Meaning if Alex played his cards right maybe he could have a shot. No. That was stupid. As usual his mind was running away with him. He’d just started speaking to Henry, they barely knew each other and what made him think Henry would even be attracted to him in the first place? He took a moment, took a deep breath before typing out his response.
From: Alex CD @therealagcd
I promise i won’t go spreading it all over the internet <3
Although it makes sense now why you love pride and prejudice so much
That BBC adaptation with Colin Firth?
Pretty sure i had dreams about him for a week after i watched that for the first time
From: Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary
Thank you, i’d appreciate that. Not that i’d expect you to do that anyway.
Oh Alex, you’ve just unlocked something within me. I think i rewatched my DVD’s of that on repeat for about 3 months. My sister got so annoyed with me for watching it she hid them and wouldn’t tell me where they were for 2 weeks
Those images of him wearing that white shirt are ingrained into my brain
Unsurprisingly, Alex didn’t get much work done at the library. He did manage to read a couple of chapters of his books but when Henry was right there, messaging him non-stop, how was he supposed to concentrate on his work about intellectual property law?
-
It was a Tuesday a few weeks later. Alex had just got out of one of his lectures and it had been a particularly challenging one. Filled with so much law jargon that Alex was struggling to get his head around it all but he slowly started to feel it all melt away when he saw he’d gotten a message from Henry. They’d abandoned direct messaging on Twitter a week ago in favour of just texting instead.
Henry 💩
Hey. feel free to shut me down but, would you maybe want to video chat later? I kind of want to chat to you face to face. Also its weird i’ve not heard your voice yet and you’ve heard mine
Alex
Uh yes please. Feel like my head is about to explode after my lecture so i need your dulcet, british tones to soothe me to sleep
Henry 💩
Oh am i that boring now that i’ll just start talking and you’ll instantly fall asleep?
Alex
You know thats not what i meant
Dickhead
This is why you have the poop emoji next to your name in my phone
Henry 💩
And here i was thinking you had me saved as “Henry-poo <3 apple of my eye, sunshine of my heart *heart eyes emoji*”
Alex
I’m not even going to bother responding to that
See you at 8pm. dickhead
Alex had spent no less than 20 minutes making sure his hair looked just right. The right amount of messy but styled, dishevelled but effortless. This was just Henry, he told himself. They’d been messaging back and forth for weeks now. But the prospect of actually speaking to him face to face was admittedly, a little daunting for Alex.
His laptop began to ring out and Alex sat himself down in front of it and accepted the call.
“Oh thank god you’re real.” Henry said, voice coming through the speakers. “I was kind of worried you were actually a 50 year old man who’d been trolling me this whole time.”
Alex let out a nervous laugh. “Nope, sorry to disappoint. Just plain old me.”
“Well, that’s good enough for me.” Henry said with a grin. And there it was. That Hollywood movie star smile but this time, it was just for Alex’s eyes. Nobody else's.
He realised he hadn’t spoken in about 10 seconds and quickly coughed to cover it up. “I was expecting you to look uglier actually. And maybe all your photos and videos were just edited because you had a giant wart on your nose or something.”
You’d still be gorgeous even if you did. Alex thought to himself.
Henry laughed loudly. “Can you imagine? That would be some serious dedication. I like to think if I did have a huge wart on my nose I'd be proud of it.”
“You could start a campaign or something. You’d be the poster boy for people with facial warts everywhere.”
And from there they fell into conversation as if they’d been friends for years and not just a little over 3 weeks. Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so comfortable around another person.
“So have you lived in Austin all your life then?” Henry asked him. They’d moved from sitting up on their beds to both lying down, laptop screens in front of them. “I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to have such a strong Texan drawl.”
Alex nodded. “All my life. My mom would be so proud to hear you say that. She was worried I’d pick up the accent while I was over here.”
“What was it like there?” Henry asked, and he tilted his head to the side and rested his cheek on his hand as he looked at Alex.
A small string tugged at Alex’s heart and he smiled back. “It was awesome. I love the weather, the people and the food. There’s just so many opportunities there. I’ve seen how hard it is for immigrants there to get basic shit that I take for granted so I wanna go back after finishing my masters here and try and make a difference back in my home state.”
“Wow. That's impressive.”
Alex just shrugged and looked back at Henry. “Yeah, I guess. My mom was actually mayor of Austin for nearly 5 years and she did so much good there. I guess I'm just hoping I can live up to her legacy.”
“I’m sure you will,” Henry replied softly.
A silence fell between them. Both of them just looked at one another. Henry was fiddling anxiously with a pen in his hands and he giggled.
“What?”
“Nothing, it’s just…and forgive me if this is incredibly obtuse of me but, do you own a cowboy hat? I mean, being from Texas is that standard issue or something.”
Alex scoffed and glared at Henry. “How dare you. Do you realise how insensitive that is? That's like me asking if all British people are born holding a cup of tea.” he started before standing up off his bed and disappearing off screen. “My mom’s half of the family is judging you so harshly right now, Henry Fox. I thought you of all people wouldn’t be so stereotypical.” and then he appeared back in front of the camera, a large, brown cowboy hat perched on top of his head as he tried to hide the grin from his face.
“Fuck off. You cretin. I actually felt guilty then for like 10 seconds.”
Alex let out a loud laugh and ran his fingers round the brim of his hat. “My mom gave it to me for my 18th birthday. Apparently it belonged to my great-great-great grandfather or something. I think I wore it that entire summer.”
Henry laughed. “Can I take a screenshot of this, please? I feel like you should look ridiculous but you’re actually pulling it off which I hate.”
Alex nodded and posed, throwing up a double peace sign as Henry took the screenshot on his laptop.
“Excellent thank you.”
That was when Alex heard a bang from the front door of his flat. He glanced at the clock. “Shit, how’d it get so late?” It was past midnight and Alex’s flatmates had clearly just gotten back from a night out. “I should sleep. This was…this was fun.” The most fun he’d ever had was what he really wanted to say but that felt like too much. Too intense for someone he’d only been speaking to for a couple of weeks.
Henry smiled back at him. “Yes it was. We should do it again.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah. Well goodnight Henry.”
“Goodnight cowboy.” Henry responded, giggling before ending the call.
Alex closed his laptop and sighed, flopping down onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling. How had they talked for nearly 5 hours? Alex can’t remember the last time he spoke to anyone for an hour let alone 5. Henry had some sort of magic spell on him where time didn’t exist and it was just them in their own little bubble. He couldn’t remember ever feeling this happy.
His phone buzzed with a notification and he picked it up.
Twitter Notification
Henry Fox @HenrysLibrary: 4 and a half hour facetime calls are the best. Especially when they end like this [IMAGE]Alex opened the tweet. He’d tagged Alex in it and added the screenshot Henry had taken of Alex grinning at the camera wearing his cowboy hat. He instantly liked and retweeted it and replied with:
Alex C-D @therealagcd: wow. You’re so lucky to be friends with someone so cool and sophisticated.
He put his phone back down and smiled. This all felt like some weird fantasy Alex had made up in his head. How was this his actual life? Maybe he was dreaming and he was going to wake up and be back in Austin, frantically trying to get his applications submitted to study in London for his masters degree.
He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched himself before slowly opening them again. Nope. still here. Maybe Alex’s dreams had come true after all.
-
Henry 💩
We should meet up
Please
I’d love to be your personal tour guide and give you a tour of all the best spots in london
“Oh fuck.”
“What?”
“Henry…he wants to, he wants to meet up.”
“So? You’ve been flirting with him for nearly a month, what’s so scary about meeting up with him in person?”
Alex and Taylor had decided to study together after their lecture. They were currently holed up in a study room in the library with books and papers spread out on the desk in front of him.
“Yeah but, I don't think he’s realised I've been flirting with him. He probably just thought it was my American charm. I didn’t wanna make it too obvious.”
“Oh my god you’re both idiots. Men are idiots.”
“Look, I don't need your “this is why i’m a lesbian” speech right now. I need real, solid advice from a friend. What should I do?”
Taylor stares at him blankly. “Do you want to meet him?”
“Yes. no. maybe. Yes…I think.”
“Then go. Spend the day with him. If you get along as well in person as you do online you’ll be fine. Stop worrying.”
“Tay, this is a huge deal. I…what if I'm not good enough or don’t meet his expectations?”
“Then he’s a twat. Look, it’ll be fine. I promise.”
“What if he doesn’t show up? Maybe this was all some kind of sick joke. Befriend a subscriber then crush all their hopes and dreams.”
Taylor looked at him and blinked. “You’re catasrophising. From everything you’ve told me about him and seen online, which, can I add, is disgusting. You reply to each other constantly on Twitter. It's a little intense. He seems like a really decent guy.”
Alex smiles at that. “Yeah he is.”
“There you go then. Now reply to him so we can continue studying immigration law. Yawn.”
Alex
I’d love to meet up
I’m free next saturday, october 19th
Henry 💩
Perfect.
Shall we meet at waterloo at 11am?
Alex
Sounds great
See you then
Alex put his phone down and continued writing down some notes.
“Well? Don’t leave me in suspense Alex.”
“We’re meeting next saturday. In London.”
“If you don’t get at least one kiss I'm gonna be disappointed.”
-
“Alex, what if when we meet, we don’t get along as well in person?”
Alex shook his head and smiled. “Not gonna happen. I’m more worried about what happens if you finally realise how annoying I am and never speak to me again.”
Henry laughs at that. “That ship has already sailed.” he replies, a hint of a smirk tugging at his lips.
Alex pouted and folded his arms. They were both curled up in their beds, faces illuminated by their laptop screens. Alex had frantically messaged Henry earlier on after a terrible day of lectures asking if they could call. And now, nearly 4 hours later here they still were.
“I mean it. I can be kind of intense. I’d hate for you to feel forced to keep being my friend because you feel too guilty to just drop me.”
Henry smiles at him in a way that eases every anxious bone in Alex’s body. He’s never been smiled at like that before, not by someone who isn’t forced to love him unconditionally. He hasn’t quite worked out the intricate details of his relationship with Henry just yet. They talk like they’ve known each other for years and sometimes it feels like Henry is flirting with him on purpose but then in the next sentence he’ll tell Alex what a good friend he is and Alex feels so confused. Not confused enough to ask him outright but just enough that he’s spent many a sleepless night staring at the ceiling wondering what it all means.
“Alex I promise, if I didn’t want to speak to you or be your friend then I wouldn’t be here, video calling you at nearly 1 am. Speaking of, I need to go. I’m heading out for breakfast with my sister tomorrow and i can already hear her berating me for the bags under my eyes. I’ll message you in the morning, yeah?”
And there it was. A simple reminder to Alex that Henry was just as into this as he was. That this wasn’t one sided.
“Yeah, goodnight.”
“Goodnight Alex.”
The call ended and Alex wanted to scream into his pillow. He couldn’t do that without his flatmates thinking he was insane so he settled for the next best thing. Texting Nora.
Alex
Hypothetically if i were to have a crush on a guy how do you think i’d know if he had a crush on me
All hypothetical btw
Nora texted back almost immediately.
Nora
Hypothetically of course. I suppose if he complimented you, always wanted to hang out with you, made an effort to sit near you, couldn’t keep his eyes off you. That kind of thing
Alex
Cool. thanks
Nora
WHAT? THATS IT? I DONT GET ANY MORE INFORMATION?
Alex
No because you’ll make fun of me
Nora
Well yeah but i’d do that anyway. Who’s the guy?
Alex
You remember henry?
Alex’s phone starts ringing in his hand, Nora’s name popping up on the front of his screen.
“Nora what-”
“HENRY? As in, guy-you-watch-on-YouTube Henry?”
“Yes,” Alex responded reluctantly. This is exactly why he’d held off on telling Nora because he knew she’d try to lecture him and bombard him with facts.
“Oh my god. How’d you manage that? Did you find him on Grindr or something?”
“No, ew. You know I don't use Grindr.”
“You might have been desperate.”
“Not that desperate. No, he replied to one of my comments and then we just started talking and we’ve video called a few times and he wants to meet me. In person Nora.”
“Oh wow. I’m impressed Alex. And what? You think he likes you? Or doesn’t like you?”
Alex sighed down the phone and ran a hand over his face. “I don’t know. Sometimes I get the feeling he does but then I wonder if maybe he’s just being friendly. Maybe he’s like that with all of his friends.”
“What time is it exactly over there?”
“Uh, nearly 1am.”
“Mmhmm, and how long were you video calling for?”
“Uh, nearly 5 hours.”
“And what, you think he does that with all his friends?”
“I don’t know Nora, I don't know” Alex said, frustratingly down the phone.
“Look, if you want my advice which I presume you do because you messaged me, meet up with him and see what happens. To me, it sounds like he has the hots for you. But then again who wouldn’t, you’re hot.”
“Nora,” Alex scolded.
“Just telling the truth. Let me know how it goes, yeah?”
“Course. Speak to you later.”
Alex ends the call and collapses back down onto the bed, if anything he feels more confused than before.
-
October 19th came around too quickly in Alex’s opinion. He’d barely slept the night before due to anxiety and just a general feeling of unease that tomorrow was going to go horrendously wrong. Either Henry wouldn’t be there, or Henry would take one look at Alex and leave. Whichever way he looked at it, it was going to end badly.
He’d dressed in his favourite shirt and jeans and was now standing anxiously outside Waterloo station. He’d sent a text to Henry saying he was here and now all there was to do was wait.
“Alex?”
Alex spun around and his heart started to beat at what felt like a million miles an hour. He couldn't help the grin from spreading across his face. Henry was slightly taller than him and was wearing the most well tailored trousers Alex had ever seen and a soft green jumper.
“Hi,” Alex replied.
“It’s so good to finally meet you.” Henry said, wasting no time in scooping Alex up in his arms and hugging him tightly. He smelt like flowers and oranges and something else Alex couldn't quite place.
Alex squeezed him back. “Yeah…you too.”
“I thought we could go and grab a drink if you want?” Henry said when they’d separated from their hug. “There’s a Starbucks just round the corner.”
“Do they serve Earl Grey there?” Alex asked, raising his eyebrow as they started to walk down the street.
“Unfortunately not,” Henry said with a laugh. “But I love their hot chocolate.”
A few minutes later they were stepping through the doors of Starbucks and joining the queue.
“Why don’t you go and sit down and I can get the drinks.”
“Oh, I don't mind paying.”
“Don’t be stupid. My treat.” Henry said, flashing him a grin. “What do you want?”
“A caramel macchiato please.” Alex said. Who was he to argue with Henry?
“There’s a sofa over there by the window.” Henry said, pointing across to a well worn brown, leather sofa.
Alex nodded and gave Henry one last smile before turning and striding over to go and sit down.
He turned to look out of the window and exhaled. This was really happening? Henry had turned up and so far he hadn’t run away. He turned back to look over at Henry. If possible he was even more gorgeous in person. Blonde hair swept off his face, legs for days. Alex smiled just as Henry turned his head to look over at him, smiling back. Alex was completely and irrevocably screwed.
-
“Does it taste different over here to America?” Henry asked him after he’d taken a sip of his drink.
“Uh, not really. I think it’s sweeter back home because we put more sugar in everything.”
Henry nods. “Makes sense.”
A silence fell between them and perhaps the weirdest thing about it was how not weird it was. Still, Alex’s need to fill every silence with words took over.
“I read that book you recommended. White Teeth. ”
“Oh, did you like it? I know my whole thing is recommending books but I still get nervous that people won’t like anything I actually do recommend.”
“Are you kidding? I think I’ve read pretty much everything you’ve recommended on your channel and loved about 90% of them. You have good taste.”
“I’d like to think so,” Henry said softly before taking another sip of his drink.
Alex couldn’t help but feel there was something else Henry was trying to say.
-
“I still don’t know how you drink that garbage.” Henry said as they exited Starbucks over an hour later. “Why did you make me taste it, it tastes like somebody just poured sugar straight into my mouth.”
“Yeah, and? What’s wrong with that?” Alex countered.
“You’re ridiculous.”
They decided to walk down towards the River Thames. It was unusually sunny for autumn and it seemed to put a luminescent glow on everything. The leaves on the trees were turning brown and the sun was warm on their faces.
“We should take a picture,” Henry said. “In front of the river.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, yeah why not.”
“Primarily for me so I have a memory of this day but also to send to my sister who was absolutely convinced you were still some 50 year old man plotting to murder me.”
“You told your sister about me?”
“Yeah, she’d seen me replying to you on Twitter and demanded to know who this strange, American man was that I was talking to.” Henry said with a grin. “Then made me promise to send her a photo of you to prove that you were real.”
“Maybe I am still plotting to murder you but just under the guise of a 22 year old man who’s a huge fan of HenrysLibrary on YouTube.”
Henry shrugged as he lifted his phone up to take a selfie. “I guess I'd be okay with that.”
“You know, I haven’t been to the London Eye yet,” Alex said, pointing to it. It towered over the river just a little way in front of them.
“We absolutely have to go on that then. It’s a right of passage for any tourist.”
They made their way over and joined the queue of people waiting to get tickets.
Alex’s hands were getting fidgety so he shoved them into his coat pockets and tried to tell himself to get a grip. Him and Henry had been getting along fine so he had no idea why he was so nervous. Well, he had some idea. Talking online had been fine but person Alex found it much harder to hide his much-ness. To hide how forcefully he threw himself into everything.
He’d done his best to try and act calmer around Henry, in fear of scaring him off, but the more time he spent with Henry the more he realised how easy it was to just be himself around him.
“You know, I was thinking of making a video series where I visit some of my favourite bookshops in London. What do you think?” Henry said, pulling Alex from his thoughts.
“I think that sounds amazing. Then again, I think I'd watch anything you make anyway.” Alex replied.
Henry rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna give me some sort of god complex.”
“And I just think you need to have more confidence in your videos.” Alex said, giving Henry’s arm a poke.
Henry shook his head, his eyes trained on Alex. “Anyway, I was going to ask…would you like to help me make it? The video series I mean. You could come with me, help me film some parts.”
Alex looked at him in amazement. “What? You’re joking?”
“No…” Henry said, pausing and looking at Alex quizzically. “I want you to help.”
“Oh my god yes. 100% yes.”
“Good. That's settled then.”
In the time they’d been talking they’d somehow reached the front of the queue. Alex didn’t even have a chance to say he'd pay for the tickets before Henry was handing over his card and buying them.
“Hey, I can't let you buy everything!”
“Yes you can because I just did.”
“I’ll buy everything next time then. That’s if there is a-”
“Of course there’s going to be next time.”
They stepped into the pod and the wheel slowly started to move, taking them up to the top.
Alex’s eyes lit up as the London skyline slowly appeared into view. “It looks insane from up here, everything’s so small.”
“I’m used to it. That’s just how the world looks when you’re high up.”
Alex elbowed him. “Well, sorry we can’t all be giants like you. Your legs are, like, unfairly long. They make me feel inferior.”
“Good. You definitely need to be taken down a peg or two.”
Alex just giggled and turned back to look outside. London looked so much better from up here, everything seemed so insignificant.
“Henry, I…”
Henry turned to face him and Alex was momentarily stunned, the sun was reflecting off his face, leaving his hair looking even more golden and Alex felt his breath catch in his throat.
“Yeah?”
Alex responded by leaning in, pressing his lips softly to Henry’s and bringing his hand up to cup his jaw. Henry’s lips were so soft and Alex could feel his skin underneath his fingertips but…Henry wasn’t kissing him back.
Alex quickly pulled away, a blush rising up his cheeks as he looked down at his feet. “Fuck. I’m…I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I knew I’d been reading into this all wrong,” He muttered finally.
“Alex,” Henry said, soft and gentle as he reached down to hold Alex’s hand in his.
And then he was pulling Alex towards him and pressing his lips to Alex’s and cupping his jaw and Alex can feel his heart flipping and he swears to god that his brain is gonna short circuit because surely this isn’t happening?
He pulled away, his jaw dropping open as he looked up at Henry. “Oh,”
“You really thought this was just one sided? Alex, we've been talking every single day for nearly a month. I wanted to meet up with you sooner but I wasn’t sure how you felt. I haven’t been on a date in nearly 18 months for god’s sake!”
“I just…I wasn’t sure if it was just you being…you know,” Alex gestured to Henry vaguely.
“What?”
“British! With your fucking accent and your legs and your smile. God, Henry I have been going insane because I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Henry laughed in response. “This whole day the only thought that’s been in my head is ‘oh god, I really hope he likes me too’ because seeing you in person was even better than I hoped.”
“God you’re so soppy.” Alex said, trying to contain his laughter at just how ridiculous this whole thing was.
“I’m allowed to be, I write poetry.”
They stepped off the London Eye 30 minutes later, their hands linked as they walked back along the river.
“Would you like to come back to my place?” Henry asked cautiously. “I really don’t want this day to end.”
“Then it doesn’t have to.” Alex said, giving Henry’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s go back to yours and I can force you to watch Empire Strikes Back and explain to you in detail why it’s the best Star Wars movie.”
“I’ll happily watch it but I refuse to be swayed by my opinion that Return of the Jedi is the best one.”
-
They catch the tube to Henry’s flat. Alex spends the whole journey talking to Henry about the time he went to Washington with his sister and best friend Nora and they somehow got lost on the Metro and Alex ended up on the other side of the city but couldn’t call them because he had no signal.
“I got lost the first time I used the underground. Got on the tube but in the wrong direction and didn’t realise until I’d been sat there for 20 minutes. Took me ages to get back home.”
“That’s because you’re chaotic. Did you even check where you were going?”
Alex shrugged. “It said central line so I figured it must be the one I needed, why would there be more than 1?”
Henry shook his head and laughed. “Well, this one is our stop and I’d like to get off and not be stuck on this tube for the next hour of my life.”
Henry’s flat was small and cosy, situated above a small bakery. It had an open plan kitchen and living room with a huge window that looked out onto the street below.
“This is amazing, how do you afford this place?” Alex asked in awe, looking around the room. There was a piano tucked into a corner, plants dotted on every shelf and a bookshelf that was overflowing with books.
Henry laughed. “Dad died. Inherited some of his money and bought this place.”
Alex whipped his head round and his face dropped. “Shit. I’m sorry. That was super insensitive of me.”
“Alex, it’s fine. You didn’t know. It’s not exactly something I advertise.”
Alex smiled warmly back at Henry and walked over to the sofa, lying down on it and dropping his feet over the arm. “So, ready to watch Empire then?”
Henry shook his head and walked over to join Alex. he unceremoniously shoved Alex’s legs off the side of the sofa and sat down next to him. “Fine, seeing as you’re the guest I’ll let you have your way.”
“I knew I could win you over.”
Henry snorts. “Alright. No need to sound so cocky.”
“Puh-lease, I knew I had you won over like 10 minutes after we met. My American charm is irresistible.”
“Oh, is that what that was? I thought it was just you being annoying.”
Alex pouted and gave Henry's arm a shove. “I thought British people were supposed to be polite?”
“Oh they are. Just not to Americans.”
“You know, you’re a lot nicer in your YouTube videos.”
“Sometimes the truth hurts sweetheart.”
Alex does a really good job at staying calm and composed upon hearing that pet name come out of Henry’s mouth directed at him. He clears his throat and gestures to the TV. “Come on then, we should watch the movie before it gets too late.”
They start on opposite sides of the sofa, but as the movie played Alex slowly edged his way closer to Henry so his head was leaning up against his arm. Henry had wrapped a blanket over them about 20 minutes in and Alex couldn’t remember ever feeling this blissfully happy. One day spent with Henry and he felt like all his worries and anxieties about law school and being away from his family had just melted away.
“Alex…Alex, hey wake up.”
Alex stirred, his eyes slowly opening and he let out a yawn. The movie had been paused on the credits and he lifted his head up and saw Henry looking down at him.
“Fuck, I’m sorry. I guess I was more exhausted than I realised.”
“That’s okay. It’s nearly 8, I wasn’t sure if you needed to get back or…”
“Or?”
“Or if you wanted to stay.”
Alex raised an eyebrow suggestively and looked at Henry.
“Not like that. You cretin. I mean perfectly innocent bed sharing and sleeping. If you’d like to.”
“Can you just pinch me please?” Alex said, closing his eyes and holding out his arm.
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
Henry lifted his hand and pinched Alex on the bicep.
“Nope. Not dreaming. Just wanted to check because Henry Fox asking me to spend the night and sleep in his bed is definitely something I would come up with in my dreams.”
Henry rolled his eyes and shoved Alex playfully. “Like you can talk,”
“What?”
Henry stared at him blankly. “You’re hot, like objectively hot Alex. If I had to create my dream guy I’m pretty sure he’d look exactly like you.”
“Exactly like me?”
“Well, maybe with more facial hair. A bit taller,”
“Hey, you know I’m sensitive about my height!”
Henry laughed as he stood up, offering out his hand to help pull Alex up. “Come on, let’s go and make some toast because I’m starving and then let’s go to bed. I'm exhausted.”
“Toast in bed? You sure know how to wine and dine a man, Fox.”
“Oh sorry, we’ll be eating the toast at the table. If you think for one second I’m getting crumbs in my bed…”
“I knew you’d be one of those.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean? Someone who doesn’t want food in their bed because its unhygienic?”
“Yes, exactly that.”
After eating their toast (not in bed), they had both collapsed into Henry’s bed. Alex had borrowed some of Henry's pyjamas and they were lying, curled up on their sides looking at one another.
"I had the best time today." Alex said. They were both whispering, despite there being nobody else in the flat, it seemed if they were quiet enough they could keep this conversation just for themselves and not let the world hear.
"So did I." Henry replied, reaching a hand out to link with Alex across the bed. "Can I admit something?"
Alex nodded.
"I…I'd actually seen you commenting on my videos and tweeting at me for months before I replied to you. I didn’t stalk you or anything like that but whenever I saw your username pop up I’d smile because it was like seeing a friendly face in the crowd.”
Alex stared at him, speechless. How did Henry keep surprising him like this? “What made you finally respond to me then?”
Henry shrugged. “Not sure. But I’m glad I did.”
-
“Alex, I need you to come with me to the roller derby society halloween party tonight. Lydia bailed on me and there's no way I'm going alone. She was gonna be my crutch! My get out of jail card!”
“Can’t. Sorry.”
“Too busy boning henry?”
“Yeah actually. We’ve scheduled it in. 8 till 8:30 is foreplay then I pencilled in 8:30 to 11 hardcore kinky sex. Depending on the mood and how tired we are.”
Taylor rolled her eyes and helped herself to one of the biscuits Alex had open in front of him. “You joke but that wouldn’t surprise me. I bet you schedule in your wanks.”
“I do not.”
Taylor giggled and shoved Alex gently. “So, will you come? Please please please, I’ll pay you back,”
Alex put his pen down and turned to her. “I genuinely can’t. Henry’s university is having a halloween party and he invited me and I really need to go.”
“Need to?” she asked, raising her brow.
“Yeah, I wanna see him.” Alex said, feigning nonchalance.
“Ugh, fine. I guess I'll have to suck it up and go alone.”
“You’d leave me after 10 minutes anyway to make out with someone so what would be the point?”
Taylor growled at him and picked up a pen to jab into his arm. “That was one time, let it go!”
-
The halloween party was taking place in some bar in the students union building, Henry had texted Alex earlier to tell him to wait outside for him and so here he was. Waiting outside in the cold, October weather dressed like a discounted Dracula. He frantically kept checking the time and looking down at his messages. This was only his second time meeting Henry in as many weeks and his nerves hadn’t subsided. If anything, they felt worse because now Alex felt like he had something to prove.
“Alex, hey,” Henry said, hurrying down the street to greet him. He was wearing a soft brown jumper and some cream trousers and had drawn cat whiskers on his face and had a set of cat ears on his head.
“Oh my god you’re a cat! You look amazing.”
“And you’re…an evil lawyer?” Henry asked quizzically.
Okay so maybe Alex hadn’t put a whole lot of effort into his outfit, opting for a white shirt and black jeans and an old sheet he’d cut up to use as a cape. He’d gelled his hair back and had a set of fake fangs in his pocket.
“No, idiot. I’m Dracula,” he said, pulling out the fangs and popping them into his mouth. “See?” he said, words coming out a little mumbled.
Henry laughed and reached out to hold Alex’s arm. “Oh definitely. Very scary.”
“Scarier than yours. You just look adorable.” Alex said before blushing when he realised what he’d said. See the thing was, whilst they’d talked almost every day since meeting for the first time last week they hadn’t actually discussed the kiss or what it meant. In Alex's eyes they were dating now right? They’d kissed and Henry had confessed he liked Alex so surely that meant they were dating? But they hadn’t spoken about it and Alex felt like he was in a weird limbo where he didn’t quite know where he stood.
They slowly pushed their way into the venue, squeezing between sweaty bodies and towards the bar. The music was loud and Alex had already clocked at least 3 couples making out on the dance floor and another doing something that he was sure wasn’t allowed in a public place.
“Uh, two rum and cokes please,” Henry asked the bartender. Alex was pressed up next to him and he turned his head to look at him.
“Presumptuous there that I even like rum and coke.”
“Well, do you?”
“Yeah but that’s not the po-”
“Shut up then.” Henry said, a hint of a smirk playing across his lips.
They picked up their glasses and scanned around, trying to find somewhere to sit when-
“Henryyyyy!” came a loud, shrill voice.
Alex could see Henry roll his eyes before turning towards the source of the voice and plastering on a fake smile.
“Alfie, fancy seeing you here.”
“It’s a party and there’s half price alcohol. Of course I'm here.” Alfie said, giving Henry a pat on the arm. Alex noticed his hand lingering for a few seconds longer than it should and he felt a small burning fire of jealousy bubbling in his stomach.
“Who’s your friend?”
“Oh, this is Alex. Alex this is my- uh, this is Alfie.”
“Me and Hens go w aaaaaaaa y back.” Alfie responded, reaching out to give Alex’s arm a friendly pat. “So, how’d you 2 meet? Last I saw Henry, you had practically no social life at all.” he said with a loud laugh.
Henry swallowed. “Uh, we met through a mutual friend. We just got to chatting and we hit it off.”
“Oh cool, cool.” Alfie said, nodding along although Alex suspected he hadn’t taken in a word of it.
“Well anyway. Gotta dash. Nice meeting you Alex. And Henry, always a pleasure,” he said with a wink. “You still got my number yeah? Text me, we should catch up.”
Henry nodded stiffly as Alfie disappeared, swallowed up by the crowd.
“Oh my god. Alex I’m so sorry. He’s such a twat.”
“Henry, you don’t need to explain yourself. It’s fine.”
Henry sighed. “I dated him for like a year in my first year of uni. Then we broke up but we uh, we slept together a few times before I called it all off. He was a piece of shit, he didn’t care about me at all.”
Alex smiled. “I get it. Don’t worry.”
Henry quickly downed his drink and placed the glass on a nearby table. “Do you want to get out of here? I’ll be honest I’m starving and I’d really like to be in a place where Alfie isn’t right now.”
“You read my mind.” Alex said, a wide grin spreading across his face before downing his drink. “Let’s go,” and he grabbed Henry’s hand and pulled them back out of the club and into the fresh air outside. “We should get pizza. But like, the dirtiest, greasiest pizza we can find.”
Henry moaned. “That sounds like heaven right now.”
They began walking down the street, eyes peeled for a takeaway that did pizza until they stumbled upon one. The sign outside said “ Flames: pizza! Chips! kebab!” and the red glow from the neon lights around it were like a halo.
Alex dragged them inside and up to the counter and ordered them a large pepperoni to share. It arrived suspiciously quickly and they went to sit down on some of the red plastic chairs in the takeaway.
It was loaded with cheese and Alex could practically hear his arteries clogging at the sight of all the grease. “I think if I could, I’d have sex with this pizza. It’d be dirty and quick but I’d love every second of it.”
“Then what? Wake up the morning after with immediate regret and a mouth drier than sandpaper?”
“That’s the one!”
Alex picked up the first slice and took a huge bite, moaning as he did so. “Fucking. Delicious.”
Henry chuckled. “Is it really that good?” he asked, picking up his own slice and taking a bite.
“Good right?” Alex asked, “best pizza you’ve ever had?”
“Right now it is yeah.”
They eat and Alex can’t help but think about how insane it is that is something he gets to do. Eat pizza in a greasy takeaway sat opposite Henry. There’s a loud cheer from outside as a group of people walked past, all dressed in an array of ridiculous costumes, probably on their way to a party. They both look up and watch the crowd before Henry’s gaze meets Alex’s.
“I’m sorry about the party, we could have stayed if you wan-”
“I didn’t.” Alex said, shaking his head. “I’d much rather spend time with you. In fact, do you want to come back to mine? Now, my flat isn’t quite as boujee as yours but I have an absurdly comfortable duvet, snacks and half a bottle of red wine.”
“You had me at ‘comfortable duvet’,” Henry said with a chuckle.
They finished their pizzas and set off down the street in the direction of Alex’s flat. It was a short 15 minute walk but when they stepped through the doors they were both glad to be out of the cold and into some semi-warm student accommodation.
“Just make yourself comfortable and I’ll grab the wine and snacks.” Alex said, pushing open the door to his room. He stepped into the kitchen and paused, leaning against the counter. They’d slept in the same bed before so Alex wasn’t quite sure why his heart was beating out of his chest and why his hands had gone all sweaty. He quickly grabbed the wine and snacks and went back to his room.
Henry was sitting on his bed, taking off his shoes and looked up when Alex stepped through the door.
“Maltesers? Now we’re talking.” Henry said, his eyes flicking to the sharing bag of Maltesers in Alex’s hand.
“Oh, the snacks. Yeah, yeah they’re great,”
Something about the sight of Henry on Alex’s bed had done things to his brain and it was currently working at about half the speed it usually was.
“Alex, you look like you’re about to throw up. Are you alright?” Henry asked, standing up so he stood directly in front of him. God, why was he so tall? Surely this should be illegal to be that attractive and tall?
Alex couldn’t stop his eyes from looking up at Henry’s lips and he swallowed. Henry must have somehow read his mind because he reached out to pull the wine and Maltesers from Alex’s hands and put them on the desk.
“Do you want to sit down?” Henry asked, gently pulling at Alex’s arms to lead him over to the bed. “Why don’t I sit here,” Henry started, sitting on the bed and shuffling backwards so his back was leaning against the wall. “And you sit here,” he said, patting his lap.
Thankfully, Alex’s vocal chords had decided to work again and he nodded and said “Uh, yeah. Yeah.” as he pulled his shoes off and stepped towards the bed. He climbed on, knees straddling Henry’s thighs and he lowered himself down. Sitting like this, Alex's head was level with Henry's.
Henry’s arms came and wrapped around Alex’s waist, pulling him in closer.
“Alex,” Henry said softly, looking up into his eyes. “Will you kiss me please?”
Alex responded by leaning in and pressing his lips to Henry’s, his hands coming up to wrap around Henry’s neck. His fingers threaded through the hairs on the back of Henry’s neck and Henry let out a soft moan and pulled Alex in closer.
Alex felt like all of his senses were on fire. He could smell, taste, hear, see and feel everything and it was all Henry . It was intoxicating. Henry was whimpering under Alex’s touch and Alex had barely touched him.
The blood was rushing through Alex’s head and he wasn’t thinking when he pulled back and reattached his lips to Henry’s neck. He kissed softly across his jaw and leant in to suck lightly on his earlobe, pulling it into his mouth.
“Baby, please,” Henry whispered and Alex pulled back almost immediately to look straight at Henry.
“What was that?” Alex asked, eyebrow raised as he looked at Henry with a smirk.
Henry's cheeks went bright red as he looked back at Alex. “I…uh, it was..I, nothing.” he stuttered.
“Say it again. Please.” Alex demanded, squeezing Henry’s biceps.
Henry gulped and Alex watched his adam's apple bob up and down and tried really hard not to think about it too much.
“Come on, just say it, for me?” Alex asked, fluttering his eyelashes.
Henry’s arms wrapped tighter around Alex’s waist and he pulled him in. He fixed him with a stare, “If you don’t start kissing me again immediately, then I’m going to end up doing something stupid like committing a crime so get to it, baby. ”
Alex didn’t have the brain power to respond so he went straight back in, pressing soft kisses all over Henry’s neck. He moved down, kissing along the vein and down towards his shoulder. He tested the waters, sucking a little harder than he had been and he felt Henry’s reaction immediately. His hands gripped the clothes on Alex’s back and he heard him let out a quiet, low moan.
“Harder,” Henry muttered. “I want you to leave a mark.”
“Really?” Alex asked, lifting his head up so he could look at Henry. “Bit on the nose isn’t it?”
“What do you- Oh.” Henry said, suddenly remembering exactly what Alex had dressed up as.
Alex just chuckled but did as he was told and sucked a bruise into the skin, pulling away immediately to admire his work.
“God, I'm good.”
"Is now really the time to marvel at how competent you are?"
"Henry, there is always time to marvel at that. But I love it when you use big words." Alex said, surging forward to capture Henry's lips in another kiss. They heard fireworks in the distance, despite bonfire night still being a few days away. But even that wasn’t enough to interrupt them. It felt like they were in their own world, lost in each other. Wherever this was Alex wanted to live there forever. Buy a house, get a mortgage, do a weekly grocery shop, start a family and grow old with Henry in this place they call home.
Henry pulled his lips away from Alex's and rested their foreheads together. He pushed his hips up to meet Alex's and sighed.
"Alex, can we…"
"Yeah. You should know…I've uh-I've not done this before. Not with a guy anyway."
Henry rubbed his hand over Alex's arm and smiled. "We can just…use our hands." He said, and he moved his hand to rub slowly over Alex's cock through his jeans. "Is this okay?"
Alex shivered. “Yeah,”
Rather ungracefully, Alex lifted himself off of Henry’s lap to unzip his jeans and pull them down so he was just in his underwear. Henry had done the same and it was taking all of Alex’s very limited willpower not to gawk at the bulge in Henry’s underwear.
“Are you coming to sit back down or are you just going to stare at my cock?” Henry asked, patting his lap.
Pulled from his daze, Alex blinked and looked up at Henry before moving to straddle his thighs again. “Can I?” he asked, eyes flicking down to Henry’s crotch.
“Christ, yes Alex. I’ve been dying for you to do this for the past 20 minutes.”
He reached his hand down to the waistband of Henry’s underwear and pulled them down so they were resting on his thighs. Henry’s cock sprang up and Alex tentatively wrapped a hand around it. He hadn’t given much thought to how it would feel but it was nothing like holding his own dick. Henry was a little longer and thicker and Alex loved the feel of it in his hand. He began to stroke him slowly and Henry let out a breathy moan.
“Is this okay?”
“Fuck, yes. Yes of course it is.” Henry chuckled, making eye contact with Alex. “Can I touch you?”
“At the same time?”
“Yeah,” Henry said with a smirk. “It’ll be hot.”
Alex released Henry’s cock from his grip and, albeit very awkwardly, shoved his own underwear down his thighs. He heard Henry gulp and he looked up at him. “What?”
“N-nothing, it’s fine.” He said,
Alex paused and looked at him. "Henry?"
"It's nothing honestly. you're just, you're so hot." He said with a chuckle. "I don't think you realise."
"Sweetheart, you’re talking about yourself." Alex replied. He watched as a blush crept across Henry’s face and leant in to press a kiss to his lips. “Touch me, please Henry.”
Henry obeyed and wrapped his hand around Alex’s length.
Alex moaned. He’d only had, in total, 4 people touch his cock (including himself) and already he knew that he didn’t want anyone else to touch it again because how could they compare to whatever the fuck Henry was doing with his hand right now? He was stroking him slowly and twisting his hand in such a way Alex was surprised he’d lasted this long.
“Baby,” Henry said, his voice low and gravelly, sending shockwaves through Alex’s body. “Touch me. Please.”
Alex’s hand came up to wrap around Henry’s cock and they began stroking each other in sync. Hands moving at the same time and speed as they both grew closer. Alex leant in, pressing his lips messily to Henry’s as he slipped his tongue inside his mouth. This was the hottest thing Alex had ever done. He wasn’t sure how anything else they could do could possibly top this.
“I’m close,” Henry muttered against Alex’s lips.
Alex nodded in response. “Me too,”
And Henry didn’t stop. He kept stroking him and twisting his hand moving faster as his eyes bore deep into Alex’s and it was all Alex could do to keep his eyes open and stare at Henry back but there was no way he was going to miss Henry’s face.
Henry’s hand twisted and he ran his thumb over Alex’s tip, all at the same time and that was just enough to push Alex over the edge. He hurriedly pressed his lips to Henry’s as he stroked Alex through his orgasm and moments later Henry was doing the same, moaning into Alex’s mouth as he felt Henry spill over his hand.
They pulled their hands away and stayed there, foreheads pressed together, breathing each other's air.
“That was…the hottest thing I’ve ever done.” Alex admitted once his heart rate had slowed down enough so that he wasn’t rendered speechless.
Henry chuckled and pressed a quick kiss to Alex’s lips. “I concur.”
Alex spluttered and burst into laughter. “Excuse me what? How on earth are you able to use words like that? I think my brain has turned to mush, that was the most mind blowing orgasm I’ve ever had.”
“Are you sure your brain wasn’t mush before dear?”
Alex slapped him on the arm. “I resent that. In fact, I resent you.”
“Hey come on, I’m sorry.” Henry said, staring at Alex like he hung the stars in the sky. “Why don’t we go and clean up and I could stay over and maybe, if you’re lucky, you can have another…what did you just call it? A mind blowing orgasm-”
Alex pouted and let out a whimper. “Yeah,”
“Well, maybe you can have another one tomorrow.”
“You should know, I get very irritated when I don’t get something I want.”
“Oh that explains so much. You’re irritating all the ti-”
Henry didn’t have time to finish his sentence before Alex was picking up a pillow and hitting Henry in the face. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”
Henry just laughed and shoved Alex off his lap so he was lying down on the bed and he collapsed on top of him. “You’re so easy to wind up.” he said, punctuating the sentence with a kiss.
INSTAGRAM: HenrysLibrary just posted
[IMAGE 1] Henry mid bite of a pizza dressed as a cat, looking up at the camera like he’s been caught
[IMAGE 2] Alex, hand reaching forward to try and steal a slice of pizza from HenryCAPTION: happy halloween 🐱 also the pizza thief caught in action
Comment from NicholasG95 - you make such a cute cat! Adorable!
Comment from BeckyBooks321 - omg idk who that alex is but he’s hot. Is he single?
reply from BooksandFilms - omg i think ive seen henry replying to him on twitter!! I wonder if they’re dating 👀
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“So, to what do I owe the pleasure that you’ve decided to spend time with me?” Taylor asked from across the table. It was a friday mid-November, they’d both just submitted an essay and needed to unwind by getting mildly tipsy in a shitty bar.
“Oh shut up. I see you all the time.”
“In lectures, yeah. But now you never want to spend time with me because you’re too busy sucking face with Henry.”
Alex rolled his eyes and downed the last of his second drink. “I’ll always want to spend time with you. Stop being so dramatic. I actually think you’d get on really well with my friend Nora…” Alex mused.
“Yeah? Is she cute?”
“Objectively yes, but she’s also just as chaotic as you.”
“Alex, I will take that as a compliment.” She said, lifting her glass and downing her drink.
“So, Henry’s asked me to hang out with tomorrow. He wants to go and get some food together at this restaurant in town.”
“Sooooo, a date?”
“I don’t know! We haven’t really talked about it.”
“This is why I don’t date men. You’re all terrible at talking about anything!”
“I’m pretty sure we’re already dating. I mean, we’ve kissed and we've…done stuff and literally spend every waking hour talking to each other.”
“Maybe he’s gonna propose. Just how fancy is this restaurant?” Taylor asks, wiggling her eyebrows.
“I don’t know why I bother telling you anything.”
So it turned out the restaurant was very fancy. Alex is glad he decided to wear a shirt and his best shoes. It’s on the top floor of a skyscraper and Alex is pretty sure there's some sort of roof terrace.
“Henry, where the fuck are we?”
“It’s called Cloud31. I’ve been wanting to try it out for ages because apparently they do the most amazing food. It’s okay right?”
“Are you kidding me? Henry, this place looks incredible.”
A waiter led them to their table, a round one right next to the window with a view of the city, and handed them some menus.
“Not gonna lie Henry, I feel so out of place right now.”
Henry chuckled. “You look fine, more than fine actually.”
Alex leant forward on the table, “Are you flirting with me, Henry Fox?”
“Maybe,” Henry replied coolly as he picked up the menu and began browsing.
“Holy shit, £2000 for a bottle of champagne? Shall we splash out? I think I’ve got a spare £1000 I can put towards it.” Alex said with a laugh.
“I actually think the £3000 one sounds nicer.”
The order drinks - some moderately priced cocktails - and their food and Henry does such a good job of making Alex feel special. Despite feeling out of place Henry never once acts like they shouldn’t be here. Alex has found Henry has an innate talent for quieting the thoughts in Alex’s head and clearing the metaphorical storm. He feels calm and he doesn’t know how but Henry has already started to pick up on when Alex is heading into a spiral and is able to pull him out of it.
“Was that okay?” Henry asked as they left the restaurant a few hours later. “I know it was fancy but I just thought you deserved it.”
Alex reached for Henry’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “It was more than okay. Best date I’ve ever been on.”
Henry stopped walking. Alex’s arm pulled behind him when he realised. “H?”
“Will you be my boyfriend?” Henry asked. Plain and simple and as matter of fact as if he was asking Alex what the weather was.
Alex smiled and walked back over to him and reached for his other hand. “You need to catch up sweetheart. I’ve been referring to you as my boyfriend for weeks.”
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UPLOAD: HenrysLibrary - Visiting My Favourite Book Shops in London
Comment from HenryFan1203 - omg i loved this!! I need to visit here when i’m next in london. Also u and alex were so funny together! You should make more videos together
Comment from MathewLopez - i don’t know who that alex guy was but you and him were hilarious together! Such a good video
Comment from BookLover00 - uh anyone else notice how close henry and alex were standing 👀 also henry laughed at everything alex said omg
Reply from NickG94 - omg YES! Never seen henry laugh so much. Very interesting haha
Reply from BookLover00 - i always thought henry was gay queer tbh so it would make sense
Reply from HannahW114 - super weird to be speculating about his sexuality! Just leave him alone!