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Chapter Text

*Louis POV*

(September. Tuesday)

The first week of high school is quite possibly the worst.

You barely know where you're going from the past years, you have to walk in circles until you find your classroom, and you're usually late to class.

Also, teachers never seem to follow the "take it easy on students the first week of school" rule past 6th grade, but whatever.

Just don't give us a break. That's fine.

But I suppose that's to be expected. Life doesn't just pause for you.

You need to keep moving.

Algebra.

To be completely honest, I've always been bad at maths. Especially when the teacher expects you to remember your factors of 12 and your squares up to 15.

There are desks arranged in the classroom in a way that 4 desks are facing each other in a sort of cluster, and chairs are arranged so that you have to sit next to someone.

Forced social interaction. Lovely.

The teacher - which the name on the outside of the classroom read "Mary Tupper" - had a whiteboard with a diagram of the classroom on it, displaying names of where the students were supposed to sit.

While looking for my name, I recognize "Liam Payne," the name of my friend since 7th grade. A smile of comfort grew on my face as I realized that I wouldn't have to suffer alone.

I saw my name in a group, as well as names of people I didn't recognize. "Niall Horan," "Ed Sheeran," and "Luke Hemmings"

According to the chairs, I sat next to Niall and across from Luke. Great.

Miss Tupper introduced herself to the class, told us about her 5 cats (which seemed a bit excessive, but I wasn't going to judge her), and told us to talk about ourselves.

"I want you each to say your name, your nickname if you have one, one hobby you like, and your favourite class," she explained.

I listened to her call names while my classmates grumbled their answers. Then she called my name.

"Louis Tomlinson?"

"My name is Louis, a hobby that I like is singing, and my favourite class is drama."

I noticed Ed and Luke nod a little at singing, and Niall chuckle to himself at drama.

I didn't listen to any of their introductions.

The next class I had was art. My teacher's name was "Lizzie German." I noticed that she had short, wavy, rainbow-highlighted hair. I guessed that it was naturally blond, but she had it dyed so that there was a rainbow of coloured streaks going through the light sunny yellow. She had circle glasses, freckles, and looked naturally pretty. Her jeans were cuffed, her button up shirt was tucked, and she was wearing Vans.

She was definitely not straight.

She also had assigned seats, but the art room had long tables, so you sat a good distance away from the person next to you, and across from someone. I could deal with that.

I looked for my assigned seat, and saw no familiar names on the seating chart. That was fine though, because I like art class, so it doesn't matter if anyone I know is there.

As I set my things down, the person sitting across from me plopped down in his seat as well. He looked down at me and smiled, reaching out his hand.

"I'm Harry Styles."

"Louis Tomlinson," I took his hand hesitantly and shook it lightly.

"You don't seem to like handshakes," Harry noted somewhat quietly. There was a look of curiosity in his emerald eyes.

"First days just make me nervous, I guess," I replied honestly. Why was I telling him this?

For the first day of art class, we had to draw something that expressed ourselves. I decided to draw a stage, because I love acting.

Curiousity got the best of me, and I glanced at Harry's drawing. He was drawing cupcakes. Red cake, green wrappers and blue icing. They looked real.

"Those are amazing," I said before I could stop myself. I cringed, mentally slapping myself in the face.

Harry looked up with a smirk. "Thanks."

For some reason, I felt my face get a bit warmer than usual, my hands suddenly a bit sweaty. I rubbed them against my jeans and went back to my drawing.

I had drama after art, and we got to do improv scenes for our first class. It was a lot of fun, although nobody I knew was their either. Well, except for the Niall kid who sat next to me in algebra, but he hardly counted as someone I knew. It was okay though. Drama was my favourite class.

After drama, I had the dreaded physical education. Everyone in the class was lined up in the gym, the guys lined up in front of the boy's locker room on one side of the gym, and the girls lined up in front of the girl's locker room on the other side of the gym.

I saw Liam at the door to the locker room, and I was about to wave when I ran right into the person in front of me.

"Ow! Sorry!" I panicked, looking up quickly, hoping I didn't upset the person in front of me.

It was Harry.

"It's all right. Hey, aren't you Louis? From my art class?" He asked, scanning my face.

"I- er- yes," I squeaked nervously. Why was I nervous?

"You alright?" I could see the concern in Harry's face, and I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I was mentally insane.

"Uh, y-yeah, I just um, tripped. S-Sorry," I stammered quickly.

I used to have a stutter back in elementary school, and I had speech therapy in middle school. It still came back when I was really nervous or anxious, or when I talked too fast.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Harry smiled, and I noticed that he had dimples.

I wanted to poke them.

For gym class, we just went over what sports we would cover, and then were left alone to talk amongst ourselves.

I quickly walked over to Liam, when I got pulled back by my shirt.

"Hey, what the he-" I semi-yelled before recognizing the person behind me.

I didn't want to yell fully to get people's attention on me.

"Woah, relax, I just wanted to get to know you," Harry stepped back, a smile in his eyes, making them shine like wet grass glittering in the sun.

"O-Oh. You do?" I asked. Usually people who heard me stutter wanted to stay as far away as possible.

"Yeah, you seem interesting. I've seen you around the hallways a few times, and we had a few classes together. Plus it doesn't hurt that you're super cute," Harry shrugged casually.

I felt my face heat up at the compliment, and I looked down at the floor so Harry - this guy I've never talked to - wouldn't see me blush.

Compliments always fluster me.

I felt a hand on my face, and Harry was lifting my head up.

"Never look down in moments of shame. Look up so that people know your strong enough to handle your weakest moments," Harry said.

I arched an eyebrow. "Did you quote someone or make that up yourself?"

Harry chuckled, the sound low and beautiful. "I guess you'll never know."

I pouted, crossing my arms. "That's hardly fair."

Harry was about to respond, when a bell rang, telling us we only had 5 minutes of class left. This was our last class, so everyone was moving towards the door in anticipation to leave.

It was the first day and everyone already wanted to get out of the damn building.

"We should keep in touch," Harry said, handing me his phone.

I saw the "create contact" screen open, and took his phone with shaky hands. I typed in my number, and put "Louis" as my contact name. Then I opened the camera, and took a picture of my face to use as my contact picture.

"You should do the same thing on my phone, so I recognize your number," I said giving his phone back to him while pulling out mine.

I watched him take it and tap on the screen, lifting up the phone at face level for a second. Then he handed it back to me.

"I'll text you first," he said, winking. Then he walked towards the gymnasium doors right as the dismissal bell rang.

***

(Author, aka me, hi, I exist)

I've written 1,000 words and I'm getting a hand cramp from holding my phone

So I'm leaving the chapter here for now

Also, hi! Author from the future here! I decided to change their ages, so let me explain the situation. I originally made it so that Harry and Louis were both in first year of high school, so that they could meet each other, but that made them 14 (I'm making them the same age). I decided to change it so now they're in third year, and they're 16.

They had a few classes together, but they sat on opposite sides of the room. Plus, Louis in this fic isn't very social, and doesn't really notice people around him. So Harry has noticed Louis, but Louis hasn't noticed Harry until now.

--

Author from the future future here, the one who decided to put this on a03

This fic was originally written on Wattpad, so it might be formatted differently (I really hope not). I kinda just hit copy/paste and hoped for the best. I'm pretty sure I put these lengthy notes at the end of each chapter, but I'll do my best to edit them down. So sorry for any confusion :)

Chapter Text

(Author's note)

At the time of writing this, I've had banana pancakes for dinner, and it's about 2 hours from posting my first chapter, and I'm ready to get back to writing

I already forget everything that happened

***

*Louis POV in case you needed a reminder*

I can't drive yet, and my mom works late shifts at a hospital, so I ride the bus home

I live in a pretty active neighbourhood, there are plenty of people who do activities in their yards and around the area. Liam lives a few doors down, and someone new moved in just across the street.

My mom insists I go over and introduce myself, but social interaction isn't my forte, so I change the subject any time she mentions it.

I sit down at my usual seat 2 rows from the back, and Liam hops in next to me.

"Hey man, I can't believe we have two whole classes together! Most people don't even get one," Liam says as he pulls me into a tight hug.

"Uh, Liam, I can't breathe," I reply, hugging him back as best as I can despite Liam squeezing me with some kind of death grip.

"Sorry bud, I just missed you," Liam pulled back from me, his eyes unreadable as always as he looks into mine.

"We hang out all the time, Lima," I reply.

"Yeah, but it's not enough!" As soon as he says that, I hear my phone go off.

I turned the sound on so that I'd hear it if someone texted me on the bus.

I'm not waiting for Harry to text me, I just... What if my mom texted with some kind of emergency? Better safe than sorry.

"Who's that?" Liam questions. "No offense, but I thought I was your only friend."

I glare at him, smacking his arm. "I have a life outside of you, Lima."

As I grab my phone from my pocket, Liam snatches it out of my hand.

"Hey! Give that back, it could be important!" I yell at him.

As I reach to get it back, he holds it above my head where I can't reach. I slouch in the seat grumpily, crossing my arms.

Liam doesn't acknowledge my anger, and looks at my phone. Even with unreadable eyes, I can tell he's confused.

*Flashback*

"Liam, why are your eyes unreadable?" I ask in wonder.

"What?" Liam looks utterly confused as he looks up from his English textbook.

"I have a special skill. I can tell what people are feeling by looking in their eyes. But yours are unreadable," I pout, crossing my arms.

"I don't know how to help you with that," Liam chuckles a bit at my sulky expression, and his laughter makes me smile despite myself.

"I guess I'll just have to improve my skill then!" I declare loudly, tackling him to the ground of his carpeted floor.

*End of flashback*

"Who's H? And why do they have a heart next to their name?" Liam questions, glancing down at me.

"H? Harry!?" I ask excitedly, forcing my phone out of his hands.

"Harry? Is he in one of your classes?" Liam asks softly, drawing circles on my shoulder with his finger.

"Yup. One of yours, too. Art and gym," I reply, checking my messages.

H <3: Hey Louis. I told you I'd text first ;) Don't keep me waiting too long for a response - H

I feel my face heat up a bit, then realize that Liam was probably reading the text too.

"He seems very forward with his feelings," Liam notices.

"What do you mean 'feelings'? We just met, we're practically strangers!" I say.

"Mhm. I'm sure that'll last, tomato face," Liam teases.

The heat on my face gets worse, and I know that if I wasn't blushing before, I definitely am now.

"Whatever. You don't know anything."

***

It's been 10 minutes.

10 minutes of me trying to come up with a response to Harry's text.

I changed his contact name to Harry, of course, because I don't want anyone thinking I love him or something. I don't. We just met.

Louis: Hey Harry, glad you kept your promise

I think over whether or not this is a good response, and realize that Harry probably hates me because I take too long to respond to simple texts. The thought of Harry hating me makes me press send without another thought.

Harry responds right away.

Harry: Does it really take you 10 minutes to send a text? Or do you secretly hate me?

Louis: I don't hate you! I just didn't know how to respond. Trust me, you didn't want me to text the first 5 attempts

Harry: You made 5 attempts to respond? At least tell me one of them

Louis : Fine, but this is really embarrassing. One of them was "I could never keep you waiting"

Harry: I'll hold you to that, then. You better not keep me waiting again ;)

Louis: I won't. Promise 😊

Harry: Good boy. You want to come over to my place? We could work on our drawings for art class together

Louis: Sure, I'd love to. Send me your address

Harry: (insert address here)

Louis: Oh, you only live 10 minutes away. I'll see you soon :)

Harry: I can't wait ;)

I sigh happily, glad that Harry isn't mad at me. Then I realized that Harry invited me to his house. My heart races, my mind spinning. We barely know each other. Why is he inviting me to his house? He did say it was just to work on the art project together.

I realize that overthinking this will make me late, so I quickly grab my backpack with my keys and art project inside, and make my way out of my house.

***

I stand in front of Harry's house, 2 minutes early.

I practically ran here, all the overthinking was overwhelming, so I jogged it off. And now I'm early. But it's better than being late.

I debate standing outside Harry's door for 2 minutes waiting, but then I realize that would look insane to the neighbours. I knock on the door.

"Louis!" Harry greets a few seconds later, wrapping me in a hug.

"Uh, hi," I reply softly, not knowing what to do because Harry is hugging me and I barely know him and do I hug back or just keep standing here awkwardly?

Harry pulls back quickly though, as if he realized something, then says, "Sorry."

"Why?" I ask, hoping I didn't offend him somehow.

"I was baking, and I just realized I still have my apron on. You probably have flour all over you now," Harry's emerald eyes look apologetic and sincere. They're easy to read. I like that.

"You bake?" I question curiously.

"Yeah, I work in a bakery. It's a lot of fun," Harry smiles, showing off his beautiful dimples.

"So, uh, can I come in, or are we going to stand on your porch all day?" I ask awkwardly.

"Oh yeah. Follow me!" Harry exclaims, grabbing my hand and pulling me into his house, closing the door behind me.

I blush a little at the contact, before realising that Harry's house smells amazing. Like...

"Cupcakes?" I ask out loud.

"Yeah," Harry responds, letting go of my hand. He takes off his apron, hanging it on a hook in his wall, before gesturing to some cupcakes sitting on a rack on a counter.

I take a look around his kitchen, which is weirdly the first room in his house. There's two door ways on opposite sides of the room, one leading to what looks like a seating area, and one with a closed door. The kitchen has suspended lights, bright light shining against the soft yellowy orange of the kitchen walls. There's light lavender flowers painted delicately in a pattern on the wall, not too dramatic of a contrast with the background. There's low cupboards and high cupboards, with enough space on them to climb onto so you can reach the tallest shelves on the high cupboards. They are an syrupy brown, going nicely with both the lilac and the yellow orange. I appreciate how all the colours of the room blend together. There's an oven with a stove, and two sinks. The counter is a white marble slate with a syrup brown wood underneath it, with doors for storage. It's a perfectly homely kitchen, some paintings on the walls, a window above the stove, and even some flowers on the low cupboards. And of course four chairs surrounding the counter.

I then look at the cupcakes, recognizing them for some strange reason. Red cake with green wrappers and blue icing.

"Wait a minute... Are these the cupcakes you drew for art class?" I ask in amazement. Did Harry make these for me?

"Yeah, you seemed to really like the drawing of them, so I decided to bake them for you," Harry answered simply. "They're raspberry cupcakes with blueberry frosting. Green wrappers for my eyes, blue frosting for yours. Red cake for lo- nothing."

Harry stopped in the middle of explaining what the red stood for, which confused me. "Why'd you stop?"

"It's nothing," Harry looked down at the cupcake, and I swore I saw his face turn a light shade of pink.

"Keep your head up, love," I say, lifting his face with my hands. I hope he doesn't mind me calling him 'love'. I call everyone that. It should be normal in England, right?

Harry's emerald eyes had some emotion that I couldn't make out in them. Was it love or admiration? And why would he feel either of those for me?

"Here, try one. It's a new recipe and I want to know if it tastes good," Harry hands me a cupcake, and I take it hesitantly.

I'm scared to taste it, because the last time I had cupcakes, Liam made them, and they were burnt and raw at the same time. I'm still convinced he fried them on a pan instead of baking them.

I took a bite of the frosting and cupcakes together, tasting the raspberry and blueberry in a combination that I never thought would taste this amazing. The cake was light and the frosting was fluffy. It was so delicious, I let out a moan. I never moan when I eat, because that's embarrassing, but I couldn't help myself.

I swallow the bite that I ate, before exclaiming, "This is delicious!" I eat the rest of it slowly, savoring the flavour.

Harry smiled, his dimples showing. "I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? I love it!" I think back to what Harry said before. 'Red is for lo- nothing'. It almost sounded like he was about to say 'love'.

Before I can think about it too much, Harry suddenly taps my nose, rubbing frosting on it.

"Hey! Where'd you even get that from?" I complain.

"I had extra. You should see the look on your face," Harry laughs, the sound loud and echoing against the walls.

I pout, crossing my arms and huffing. "Not funny. Do you have something to wipe this off?"

"I have something better," Harry says, suddenly stepping closer to me.

I take a step back, but hit the door behind me. Harry steps towards me again, wrapping one of his arms around my back. His hand cups my face, and he leans in close to me. His pupils are dilated.

"May I?" Harry asks.

"W-What?" I respond confused.

"You have icing on your nose. I want to get it off," Harry says softly, his emerald eyes traveling to my nose.

"O-Okay," I almost whisper.

I hold my breath as Harry leans in, licking the icing off my nose. I let out my breath slowly, as Harry lets go of me.

"Right! Let's work on our projects then," he exclaimed cheerfully.

His sudden happiness makes me laugh, and I cover my mouth like I usually do while laughing.

"Don't cover up your smile, Lou. It's beautiful."

"L-Lou?" The nickname startles me. When did he come up with that?

"Yeah, do you like that nickname? It's cute, like you," Harry shrugs, grabbing my hand and leading me into another room.

It's the room that had the seating area in it. There's 2 couches around a coffee table, and a T.V on the wall. I don't have time to look at the entire room, as Harry leads me through it and onto a staircase. I follow him up the stairs, and he leads me into what I guess is his room.

The walls are dark blue, a colour that's supposed to help you sleep at night. There are paintings of baked goods all over his walls, and there's a window right above his bed. Which seems like a terrible idea because, hello, the sun waking you up? Harry has a floor lamp, a desk, and a bed, all chaotically organized from the looks of them, and there are fairy lights glowing overhead. There's some clothes on the floor, but not many. Only a hoodie and a pair of socks. The real mess is Harry's unmade bed, as well as all the papers on and surrounding his desk.

"Sorry for the mess. I draw rough versions of finished drawings, as well as paintings," Harry explains.

I nod in understanding, and drop my backpack to the ground.

"Let's get started then," I smile

***

(Author)

HEYYY IT'S ME

In case you were wondering, I use he/him pronouns

I didn't want this chapter to be too long, so sorry if the ending seems abrupt

Why did this take 2 hours to write

It's 2,000 words, so I guess I write 1,000 words an hour or something

It's currently 9:28 pm, but I really wanna keep writing

Tomorrow's Saturday, so I could do it

Sorry if Harry was like, too into Louis

It's kinda wild how he fell for him so quickly, but it'll make things :gold-glitter: spicy :gold-glitter:

Idk if you can actually put emojis in stories, so I'm just assuming you can't ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Chapter Text

*Louis POV*

Harry clears the papers off his desk by showing them all in a drawer. There's a large swivel chair, big enough to barely fit two people on it. If one person is sitting on the other's lap.

Harry sits down, patting his legs. "Come join me, Lou."

I hesitantly carry my backpack over, setting it next to the desk as I sit on his lap.

"Get out your project," Harry says as he grabs his paper out of thin air.

I unzip my backpack and open my giant folder the art teacher gave every student to keep their stuff in. I grab my stage drawing, and put it on the desk.

Harry opens one of the desk drawers, and there's tons of art supplies to chose from. Coloured pencils, markers, watercolour, and even chalk. Plus lots of erasers, white out, and at least 20 pens.

"Wow," I breathe, amazed by the collection.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Harry asks, moving his arm around me as he puts his drawing on the desk.

We're in a somewhat awkward position. The desk is a little round, like a rectangle with a circle attached on the right end. On the left end without the circle is all the art supplies. Since Harry and I are both right handed, I have to hand him supplies as he needs them, so that he can draw on the circle part of the desk, and I can draw on the other part, without us bumping arms.

It's a bit strange at first, sitting in complete silence, but then Harry starts asking me about myself. Whenever I answer a question, I ask the same thing back to him, and we go back and forth. Sharing stories and information to fill in the silence.

"How old are you? When's your birthday?" Harry asks, shading the frosting on his cupcakes.

"16. December 24th," I answer, starting to lightly outlining where I want the stage lights to go. "You?"

"16. February 1st," he responds.

We focus on our drawings for a few moments, then launch back into conversation.

"Do you get two sets of presents? One for your birthday and one for Christmas?" Harry asks.

"I do, but my mom says she'd give me two presents on Christmas anyway if I didn't have my birthday so close," I explain.

Harry doesn't respond, he just goes back to his drawing as I do the same. We learn a lot about each other,as we have short conversations between drawing.

***

"And, done!" I exclaim, raising up my paper in front of my face. I drew a stage from my mind, two sets of carpeted stairs leading up to the wooden flooring. A red curtain that took me forever to shade in the background, hanging lights casting glows across the fabric. It was hard to do without a reference picture, but I'm proud of it.

"I finished mine a little bit before you, but I liked watching you draw," Harry admits, glancing down at his finished cupcakes. They still look real, as if you could reach out, grab and eat one. My stomach growls.

"What time is it?" I ask, glancing at my phone screen. "4:30."

I get up from Harry's lap, stretching out my arms, legs, and fingers. I got to his house at 2:30, which means we've been drawing for 2 hours. It was definitely worth it, though. The drawings look great.

"Do you want something to eat?" Harry offers, stretching as well.

I almost decline, but then I remember that Harry is probably a good cook, considering the fact that he bakes well.

"Sure. Anything is fine with me. Just no avocados," I say.

"Okay then. I'll make chocolate banana lollipops. Sound good?" Harry asks.

"Sure," I answer.

"Great," Harry smiles, showing off his dimples. I'm starting to really like Harry's smile.

***

The lollipops didn't take long to make, and they tasted delicious. Then Harry offered to walk me home.

"Are you sure you want to? It's a 10 minute walk, but you'll have to walk it twice," I say, not wanting him to tire himself out.

"Of course I want to. We're friends now, so we need to start doing friend-like things," Harry explains.

I sigh, and reluctantly agree to let Harry walk me home. We walk in silence for a while, until Harry grabs my hand, interlocking his fingers with mine. Now that we're friends, I don't mind it. It's nice being able to be comfortable with each other. Then we have small conversations until I reach my house. I check the time.

"It's only 5, my mom won't be home until 8. If you want, you can stay over for a while. I can cook you dinner?" I offer, trying not to seen too obvious. Yes, I want to spend time with him, but who wouldn't want to spend time with their friend?

"You can cook?" Harry asks, an amazed twinkle in his lush, grassy eyes. His eyes seem to get more green every time I look in them.

"I cook myself dinner all the time," I respond while unlocking my door. Harry lets go of my hand so I can get my keys.

We walk into the main hallway, and I can see Harry taking everything in. There's a set of stairs almost directly ahead, dividing the house in half. On the right is the family room, on the left is the kitchen. I take his hand again, and guide him to the left. I start preparing our dinner, sweet potato and white bean burgers. Harry looks around my kitchen.

"Why isn't your mom coming home until 8?" He asks curiously.

"She's a nurse. She works at a hospital," I answer easily, putting the ingredients together.

Once the burgers are finished cooking, I put them on burger buns, which I then put on two separate plates. I give one to Harry, and grab his other hand to make him follow me. I lead him to the right side of the house, into the family room. There's a couch facing a coffee table and a T.V. I realize that mine and Harry's family room areas look very similar.

"Let's watch a movie," Harry suggests, and I notice that he's hesitant to sit down.

"Make yourself comfortable," I respond, going to the cabinet that we have that holds our small selection of movies. I pick up Ratatouille, since we can both cook. Well, I cook, Harry bakes.

I turn around to face Harry, and see that he's shirtless, his back against the end of the couch, legs stretched across it, covering the entire thing. We took our shoes off at the front earlier, so only his socks are touching the fabric.

"W-Why aren't you w-wearing a shirt?" I ask, feeling my face heat up.

"You said to make myself comfortable, and I'm most comfortable without a shirt on," Harry smirks in response, patting his leg. "Come on."

"Y-You want me to l-lay on you?" I question. I know we're friends now, but this is a little forward.

"I'm close like this with all my friends. We cuddle, hold hands, everything," Harry explains as if it's the most natural thing in the world. I think that sounds more like dating than friendship, but I don't want to argue with him.

I put the movie in the T.V, and lay down on Harry. My head rests on his chest, and I lay on my side against him. He wraps an arm over my waist, hugging me to him slightly. It's comfortable. I like it.

We watch the movie, Harry's steady breathing and quiet heart beat a nice melody to what's happening on the screen. Harry' chest is smooth and soft, his skin warm and gentle. It makes me want to fall asleep.

***

(Wednesday)

I wake up to the sound of my alarm, a loud ringing coming from my phone. I open my eyes to see myself on my couch, a blanket over me and a pillow under my head. I'm confused for a moment before I remember what happened last night. But wasn't Harry here?

I get up and turn off the alarm on my phone, which is laying near the outlet next to the T.V. I wonder if it got charged last night.

"I was wondering when you would wake up," Harry says, entering the room carrying two plates. They both have 3 amazing looking pancakes on them.

"What happened?" I ask groggily.

"Well, after you fell asleep on my chest, I gently got up and put the blanket on the back of your couch on top of you. Then I raised your head and put a pillow underneath it. Then I slept on the floor," Harry answers simply.

"Wait. You slept on the floor!?" I yell in amazement. If we were friends, he could just sleep on the couch with me.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal. I made you breakfast," he smiles, showing off his dimples.

"Harry, you could've caught a cold! I wouldn't have cared if you slept on the couch with me."

"Well, it's good to know that after it already happened," he joked.

Since it was 6:10, my mom was already at the hospital. I wonder if she noticed Harry sleeping on the floor.

"Oh yeah, I saw this note in the kitchen," Harry suddenly says, nodding his head in that direction.

"Gimme one of those," I say, grabbing one of the plates of pancakes. We walk to the kitchen together, and Harry sits down, starting to eat his.

I see a piece of paper taped to my fridge.

'Louis, I see you had a friend over. I don't mind, just warn me next time. I almost thought he was a burglar. This weekend, you'll tell me all about him. Love, mom'

I sigh, taking down the note and throwing it in the trash. My mom works too hard.

***

Apparently Harry rides the same bus as me, and I've never noticed.

We leave together, after I changed and let Harry borrow some of my clothes. They fit, although he was a little taller than me. I let him brush his teeth with one of the extra toothbrushes we had. Don't ask why we have extra.

Harry sits in his seat, two from the front, and I go to sit next to Liam.

"Harry usually gets on after you. Did you two sleep together or something?" Liam somehow guesses exactly what happened. He's really good at that. It's scary.

"M-Maybe," I reply, embarrassed.

"Lovers already. How cute," Liam pokes my shoulder.

"We're not lovers, Lima. We're just close friends."

"Whatever boats your float, Lewis."

***

Algebra again.

It's only the second day of school, and we're already jumping into graphs and stuff that I don't understand.

"I have note sheets for you to fill out while I go over some vocabulary," Miss Tupper passes out packets that have 3 pages stapled together. This class sucks.

When we finish the part of the notes we filled out, we have to do a practice worksheet where we name and graph coordinates on a plane. Or something.

"Hey, can you help me out with number two?" Niall, the guy who sits next to me, asks quietly.

"I would, but I'm still stuck on number one," I reply honestly. None of this makes sense to me.

Niall sighed, and I hoped I didn't disappoint him. This was going to be a bad day.

***

(Author)

Yes I wanted to rush this ending

It's legit 11 pm and I just wanted this chapter to be over to be honest

I'm just kidding, I'm probably gonna erase this in the morning and continue the chapter or something

Whatever happens, happens

OH ALSO SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER SUCKS

As I said before, 11 pm, brain no work, words no function

I legit forget everything I learned in algebra, so I have no idea if this is accurate

Also, I'm in freshman year of high school, except pandemic, so I have no idea what high school is actually like

(Update from the future: I have mixed feelings about high school)

I just hope this is semi-accurate (it's not)

Okay I'll shut up now

Chapter Text

(Still Wednesday)

*Louis POV*

After filling out 4 of the 10 problems we had on our algebra worksheet, the 5 minute bell rang. I need to get better at this. I don't want to fail a class.

I pull out my phone as I wait for class to be over.

(1 new message)

Harry: Hey Lou, I'm sorry you got all concerned about me sleeping on your floor. Next time, we can sleep together. Cuddles and everything ;)

Louis: Does that mean you want to hang out again? Maybe some time soon?

Harry: If you don't have a lot of work, we should go to that new café that opened up in town

Louis : I'd love to. You can come over to my place after the bus drops us off. I want you to change into clothes that are actually yours

Harry: I can't wait ;)

My heart flutters a little, but I ignore it. I'm just excited, that's all.

***

Miss German makes us take a walk around the room, looking at everyone's drawings. I personally think Harry's is the best, but I might be biased now that we're friends.

"Okay everyone. Our next project will be clay mugs. I want you to design a coffee mug that is designed after an animal. But you can't chose the same animal as someone else. I have some papers in a hat here, each with an animal written on it. The animal you get is the one you will have to base your design on. However, you can trade animals with someone else. Understand?"

The class collectively nodded, and Miss German called students up to pick out animals.

"Louis Tomlinson."

I walk over to the hat, and grab the first paper I see. I go back to my seat, and look at what it says. 'Peacock'. Of course I get a complicated bird. I like a challenge though, so I decide to keep it.

After everyone got their papers, a few people stood up and walked around, trying to trade with someone else. I see Harry stand up and go to some kid who looks like he was born to be an artist. They trade papers, and Harry sits back down.

"What did you get?" I can't help asking.

"I got 'pig,' but I didn't have any ideas, so I traded with my buddy Zayn. He had 'cat,' which should be a lot easier," Harry responds. "What about you? What did you get?"

"I got 'peacock'. I want to challenge myself though, so I'm keeping it."

Harry lets out a low whistle, and I look at his eyes. He's impressed. "Good luck with that."

Then we have the rest of the class to sketch out design ideas.

***

We're doing improv scenes in drama again.

"I have the scenario, and I will of course partner you up as I did last time," Miss Melissa explains.

Last time, I got paired up with some girl I didn't know, and our scenario was 'snobby customer ordering food'. I got to be a sassy waiter, so it was fun.

"Scenario one. Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan. You two are a couple that had a big fight and are breaking up."

Miss Melissa made up scenarios and picked them from a hat at random, choosing two students at random as well. Which makes for awkward situations like these, where two males could get chosen for a love scene. It doesn't bother me that I have to pretend to break up with a boy, since I'm bisexual, but I know it could bother Niall, who is probably straight.

"Niall, we need to talk," I say firmly, launching into the scene.

"I have nothing to say to you," Niall is acting just as well as I am, so that gives me hope that he isn't uncomfortable.

"Oh, so you don't want to talk about the fact that I saw you stalking the Instagram page of some lame-faced pig?" I accuse loudly.

"You always do this! You get mad at me for the smallest things. I'm friends with other people, you know! You can't have me give you my constant attention," Niall defends.

"If you don't want to spend more time with me, then I don't even want to see you again," I turn away from him, crossing my arms.

"Are you seriously breaking up with me over something this stupid?" Niall yells.

"If you cared about my feelings, you wouldn't think it was stupid. We're over," I turn back to him, forcing my eyes to look hurt.

Miss Melissa smiles, clapping her hands.

"Excellent acting boys. Next!"

***

At the end of everyone's scenes, we have 10 minutes left in class. Miss Melissa lets us talk to each other. Niall comes up to me.

"Hey, you're a pretty good actor," he compliments.

"You're not half bad yourself," I return.

"When you were fake breaking up with me, you made it look like it really hurt you. How'd you do that?"

"I put myself in the character's shoes. I'm not me, I'm a boy who had his heart broken. Plus, I can make my eyes show any emotion. It's a skill," I think I'm showing off a little, but I'm proud of my abilities.

Niall nods in understanding, and we have small conversations until class ends.

***

"Okay guys and girls, we're starting off the year with street hockey," Coach Reed announces to the class. "And if anyone here isn't a guy or girl, talk it up with the school counselor, and we can arrange for you to change in a private locker room."

I see a few kids glance up at the second part of the Coach's announcement.

"I'm splitting you up into 4 teams that will rotate competing against each other. Girls on the left side of the gym, guys on the right, others stay in the middle with me."

I move to the right side of the gym, following Liam who I was sitting with earlier. There's only a handful of kids who stay in the middle, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Our town is progressive. Everyone supports gay and trans rights, and there's rainbow everywhere all year. Barely anyone is closeted, because you know you're safe. But it's high school, so you still watch your back.

"I'll pick team captains now. Louis, Darin, Jessica, and Sky. There will be 8 kids to a team. Louis, pick someone."

I smile and call out, "Liam"

Me and the 3 other captains take turns picking people out. At the end of it, I'm in a team with Liam, Harry, Zayn, Ed, Gigi, Ash, and Alex. I only know Liam and Harry, but Harry knows Zayn, and from there everyone on the team picked someone they knew.

***

"I'm open," the girl Gigi yells to Harry, who's running down the court with the puck in his control. We're playing with ice hockey pucks, and weird looking sticks. I've stayed in the corner, mostly making sure the puck doesn't go out of the court.

I'm not really a sports person.

Harry swings his stick so that the puck rushes across the ground to Gigi, who snacks it hard right into the goal. We played 4 rounds, and we won 3-1.

The other 2 teams are outside, playing in the slight September chill.

"Lewis, I hate to tell you how to do your job, but you should really be more active in the team. Y'know, since you're captain and all," Liam scolds me at the sidelines while everyone is getting water.

"Fine, I'll try to participate more with the next team," I reluctantly agree, because there's no use arguing with Liam. He's good at persuading people.

One of the teams outdoors comes inside, and the team we were playing against goes out. We set up, Zayn taking the Goalie position. Alex and Ash stand near the goal, being the very back defense. Liam stands in the very center of the court, Harry to his right and me to his right. Gigi and Ed are behind us.

Liam and the kid across from him fight for the puck, and Liam passes it to me. I panic, trying my best to stop it and start moving across the court. I go to the left a little, moving towards the goal while having a few fights with the other team's defense. Then a leg sticks out before I can stop my momentum.

I fall to the ground, dropping my stick and reaching my hands out to break my fall. My hands and knees hit the floor hard, and my momentum causes me to roll onto my side. Coach blows his whistle.

"That was a foul play, Andrews!" He calls to the person who tripped me. I stay on the ground, Palma and knees stinging. I see red scrapes on my hands, and look down to see that both my knees are bleeding.

"Can you get up, son?" Coach asks me, coming over and reaching out an arm.

"Uh, maybe?" I question my ability, hand shaking as I grab his for support. I stand up, legs wobbly, and I fall a bit. Coach keeps me steady with a firm arm around my waist.

"Someone take Tomlinson to the nurse," Coach calls to my team.

"I'll do it," Liam says, coming towards me. I see Harry give him a weird look. His eyes are jealous.

Liam picks me up bridal style, and I rest my head against his chest.

***

*Liam POV*

I carry Louis to the nurse, which is up two flights of stairs and down a long hallway. Louis draws circles on my chest with his finger.

*Flashback*

"I want to draw random scribbles, but I don't want to waste a sketchbook page on that!" Louis complains to me in my room.

We're doing our own hobbies. Louis brought his sketchbook over, and I'm writing lyrics for a song. Louis acts out my lyrics as if they're a character, and it's really amazing how talented he is. He brings everything to life.

"You can draw on me with a pen or your finger," I offer, trying to come up with a rhyme to 'mountain'.

Louis grabs a pen, and draws scribbles on my left arm as I write with my right hand. It's relaxing to feel the pen go over my arm, and it helps me think.

"We need to draw on each other more often," I say, knowing Louis will agree.

"Definitely. I love giving you fake tattoos," Louis replies, and I look down to see that he's drawn a bunch of random objects on my arm.

"Lewis, these are all things related to acting." There's costume pieces, lights, and even a wood texture that Louis drew on me.

"What can I say? I love acting."

*End of flashback*

The nurse isn't in the room when I enter, so I set Louis one of the beds and write his name on the sign in sheet. Then I look at the note next to the phone.

"If the nurse isn't here, call the office and someone will come assist you."

I see the number for the office written below, and I put the numbers into the phone.

"Hi, I'm Liam Payne, and I brought Louis Tomlinson into the nurse. They weren't here when we arrived, but my friend has bad scrapes that need to be treated quickly."

"Someone will be with you right away."

I hear a click on the other end, and I hang up the phone. Then I sit in one of the chairs that's against the wall in the room.

***

*Louis POV*

A few minutes after Liam's call to the office, a man who I don't recognize comes into the room, and sees me sitting on the bed.

"Louis Tomlinson?"

"That's me."

He comes over to me, and looks at my palms and knees. He grabs goes over to a cabinet, and pulls out a bottle and a box of bandaids. The bottle says Polysporin.

"This Polysporin will help heal the scrapes, but I'll need to wipe the blood off your knees before I apply it there."

The man tends to my scrapes, and I stare at the wall.

***

"Can you walk okay, or do I need to carry you again?" Liam asks after the man left to go back to the office.

"Well, there's bandaids on my knees, so I feel like that won't help my walking capabilities," I roll my eyes.

"I guess I'll carry you then."

There's only 10 minutes left in class, which means the buses are all already at the front of the school. Liam carries me out of the building, and onto the bus. I pull out my phone once he puts me on the seat.

(1 new message)

Harry: Are you alright? Do you still want to go out later?

Louis: I'm okay, just a little scrape. Maybe you should come over to my place instead of us going out. I can't really walk.

Harry: Okay, I'll text you when I'm leaving my house.

Louis: Don't keep me waiting too long :)

"Wow, he really cares about you," Liam is looking over my shoulder, reading the conversation I had with Harry.

"Hey, what happened to privacy?" I shut my phone off, crossing my arms.

"Sorry Lewis, your life is just so interesting," Liam shrugs.

We talk about random things on the bus ride home. Then the bus drops Liam off. And then me. As I walk past Harry, I see him look up at me. I wave at him, and get off the bus. I'm looking forward to him coming over.

***

(Author)

I just realized I never make them eat lunch

Oops

Maybe I'll add lunch, maybe I won't

The world may never know

I think I'm gonna skip ahead in time a bit, because idk I just want things to speed up

I literally have like 2 plans for this story and I have absolutely no idea where it's going

We shall see

I should probably figure out what I want to happen

Nah

I'm just gonna flow with the go

Teehee

(Note from the future: I want whatever past me was on)

Chapter Text

(Still Wednesday)

*Harry's POV*

I want to bake something at Louis' house, so that we can have one of those cute couple baking scenes like they have in movies.

Keeping this in mind, I change into faded light blue jeans, and a coffee brown cardigan. The cardigan is soft, perfect for cuddling. Then I send a text.

Harry: I'm leaving now. See you in 10

Lou: See you :)

I put on my boots, and leave my house.

***

"Harry," Louis smiles, his blue eyes shining like diamonds.

"Lou," I smile back.

I see Louis' face turn a slight shade of pink before he grabs my hand and leads me into his house.

"So what do you want to do?" He asks, standing in his hallway that divides his house in half.

I fight the urge to say 'you,' and instead ask, "Do you want to bake with me?"

"Sure," Louis smiles, his diamond eyes glittering. I could look into his eyes all day.

"Let's do something simple. I have a great chocolate chip cookie recipe memorized," I say, glancing at his cupboards.

"Just tell me the ingredients, and I'll get them for you."

I list off the ingredients, and watch as Louis gets them. He gets most of them from is pantry, but stops when I list off the last 2 ingredients. Flour and eggs.

"I have eggs in my fridge, but the flour is on the top shelf, and I don't know where the step stool is," Louis turns towards me, pouting a little.

"You can climb on my shoulders to reach," I offer.

Louis shrugs, and moves behind me. He's just wearing a simple white shirt, and red skinny jeans. His arms go over my shoulders. He lifts one leg up on one of my sides, and I hold it up with my hand. Then he does the same with the other. I can feel his thighs against my hips, and I try desperately not to think about how close his head is to mine. I could turn around and kiss him if I wanted to.

I walk forward, into the pantry, and spot the bag of flour. I turn a little, so Louis is facing it. He grabs the flour with his hand, the other hugging my chest tightly. My heart beat gets a little bit faster, and I take steady breaths to calm myself down.

I walk back over to the kitchen counter, and Louis places the bag of flour down. I drop his legs one at a time, sides tingling. His arms leave my shoulders. Everywhere he touched suddenly felt warm, as if he was the sun, heating my body.

***

*Louis POV*

"Well baking master, what's the first step?" I ask after getting the eggs from the fridge.

Harry moves over to the bowl I set out, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"We have to whisk together the sugar, salt, and butter," Harry answers. He sounds like a professional.

"I don't have an electric whisk, so we'll have to do it by hand," I say, getting out the hand whisk we have.

Harry measure the sugar, and salt, melting the butter in the microwave. While he whisks them together, we get to know each other some more, since there were still a few things we didn't know about each other.

"So, why do you stutter?" Harry asks.

"I developed a stutter in elementary school. I had speech therapy in middle school, but it still comes back when I'm nervous or talk too fast," I explain.

"So you're nervous around me then?" He assumes.

"N-No, not at all," my stutter gives me away.

It's not that Harry makes me nervous, it's just that he's somehow super comfortable with me. And yeah, we're friends now, but he was always open with me from the start. It takes me a bit longer to get that comfortable with someone. So I decide to tell him that.

"It just takes me a while to get comfortable with someone, that's all. You're really forward."

Harry chuckles. "All right, whisking done. Next step."

Harry cracks the eggs over the bowl, and drips in some vanilla extract. Then he grabs an egg and cracks it on my head.

"Oops."

"Harry!" I yell, frowning at him. "You're lucky there's no eggs left, or I'd destroy you, curly. I'm going upstairs to wash this off."

I stomp out of the kitchen as dramatically as possible, and make my way upstairs

I open the closet in the hallway, pulling out a towel. I walk into my bathroom, turning on the sink, waiting for the water to heat up. When it does, I soak the towel, running it over my head, trying to get the egg out.

I groan, realising that the only way to get it out is if I take a shower. But Harry's still downstairs...

I shake my head, closing the bathroom door. I take off my clothes, stepping into the shower. I twist the lever in the wall, turning on the warm water. I let my hands card through my hair, the raining water doing a much better job of getting the egg out.

"Louis?" I barely hear Harry call my name over the shower, and I realize that I never locked the door.

Harry opens the door, and I freeze with my hands at my head, not knowing what to do.

***

*Harry's POV*

"Louis?" I call his name from the hallway, hearing a small noise that sounds like rain. I wanted to check to make sure he wasn't mad at me.

I open the door that the rain sound is coming from, and freeze the moment I step one foot in the room.

Louis is standing their, hands in his hair, completely naked under his shower, which is pouring water. His eyes are wide, staring at me in surprise.

We both stand there, frozen for a second, trying to comprehend what's happening. That's when I realize that I walked in on Louis naked. Wearing no clothes. My eyes drop a little...

Louis instantly drops his hands, covering as much of his body as he can. "G-Get out."

"Sorry," I rush, turning my head and closing the door. I drop to the floor, taking deep breaths.

I just saw Louis Tomlinson naked.

***

*Louis POV*

Holy shit.

Harry just saw me in the shower.

I push that thought to the back of my head, getting the rest of the egg out of my hair. Then I get dressed as fast as I can.

Harry saw me in the shower. Naked. His eyes dropped down... Where was he looking?

My mind and heart race, trying to comprehend what this meant. That was the most embarrassing thing that ever happened in my life. I resist the urge to cry.

I shakily open the door, and see that Harry isn't there. He must have gonna back to the kitchen. My legs are shaking as I walk downstairs, going into the kitchen and bracing myself for the worst.

Except no amount of mental preparation helped when I entered the room.

"Hey," Harry greeted me, standing in front of the counter. Wearing nothing.

"Y-You're not w-wearing clothes," I squeak out, feeling the heat rise in my face. Harry's face is pink as well.

"Uh, yeah. I thought it might make us even," the look in his eyes is apologetic, and I don't dare look anywhere but his face. But you can't block your peripheral vision...

"God, Harry, put your clothes on!" I yell, closing my eyes and turning around. I did not need to walk in on my friend naked today.

***

We finished baking the cupcakes in silence, both of us too embarrassed to talk about anything. Harry took half, leaving me the other half to eat, and left quickly.

I went up to my room, closing and locking the door. This was the most embarrassing day of my life.

Then I get a text.

Harry: Hey Lou, I hope you're not too embarrassed. I just thought that you wouldn't be comfortable around me again if it was just me walking in on you, so I let you walk in on me as well. I hope you understand, and I hope this doesn't ruin our friendship

Louis : I get it, I guess. Just please never do that again

Harry: Did you at least enjoy the view ;)

Louis : You are unbelievable, Styles

I smile, glad that our awkward moment didn't ruin our friendship. I charge my phone, and go to sleep.

***

(Author)

Hiii

I honestly didn't know how to end this chapter, but I didn't want to keep writing, cuz that was enough drama for one day

The amount of second hand embarrassment I got while writing this was unreal

I hope you can keep reading after that omg I'm so sorry

Chapter Text

(Thursday)

*Louis POV*

I think back to the last few days, and realize that Harry and I became friends super quickly. It just kinda happened. I wonder if Harry is as comfortable with me as I am with him.

As I think over my entire existence, I don't really watch where I'm going. So, of course, I run right into a locker. And fall to the floor, landing on my bum. I hear laughter behind me, the sound making my face heat up.

"Are you alright?" The familiar soothing calmness of Harry's voice immediately puts me at ease, and I can tell he's trying to contain his laughter.

"I'm fine. Nothing broken," I respond easily, and look up to see that Harry has a hand reached out.

I grab his hand with mine, and he pulls me up off the floor. He does it too quickly, though, and my body gets pressed close to his. Our chests are touching, and our faces are only inches apart. We look into each others eyes for a moment, and as close as we are, I can see flakes of gold in the shimmering emerald of Harry's eyes. Harry quickly turns his head and takes a step back.

"You should be more careful. Only get lost in thought like that in class when you should be paying attention," he jokes, but I can tell that he feels awkward.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks," I give him a small smile, and go back to walking to my dreaded algebra class.

***

"I seriously don't get any of this," I complain, rubbing my temples with my hands.

"Well I don't think massaging your brain will make you think any better," Liam replies sarcastically.

We're in the library, doing algebra problems during lunch. I grabbed Liam after his second class, and took him directly here. We ate before we did our work.

"You seriously suck at explaining things," I say.

Liam has always been good at maths, but he was never able to help me with homework. Since he understands everything, he just automatically knows how to solve the problems. Meanwhile I'm still trying to figure out why Bob dropped his dog from a 5 foot tall building.

"What's the acceleration of gravity again?" I try desperately to remember it off the top of my head, but I've never been good with memorising equations.

"Here," Liam slides his worksheet over, pointing to the top corner.

"Okay, now what do I do with it?"

Liam groans, clearly struggling to help me and focus on his work at the same time.

"Never mind, I'll figure it out myself," I mumble.

I never finished the homework we had yesterday, since I was too embarrassed after Harry's visit to think clearly. So I ended up turning in the 10 question worksheet, only having 4 of the questions filled out. Now we were moving on, and I still couldn't understand anything.

"I think the letters are moving," I stare at the page, the dark words fuzzy against the blinding white page.

"Are you wearing your contacts?" Liam asks absentmindedly, scribbling something down on his page.

"Yeah, they probably just need moisture or something. I'm gonna go put in re-wetting drops." The 5 minute bell rings just as I finish talking. "You can go ahead and leave. Don't wait up for me."

Liam and I both grab our things, Liam heading one way out of the library to go to his next class, me going the other way to the bathrooms.

***

I take my eye drops out of my backpack in the bathroom stall. I don't want anyone walking in on me putting drops in my eyes, because that would probably look weird, so I went into a stall instead. I pull out a little hand-held mirror too, one that I packed specifically in case something like this happened.

I put the drops in my eyes, missing a few times, causing my cheeks to get a little wet. I leave the stall, trying to hurry so that I'm not late to my next class. The door to the bathroom opens.

"Hey Lou," I look up to see Harry walking in. I wave, and go over to the sinks to wash my hands.

"Are you crying?" Harry rushes over to me, and lifts my chin up with his right hand.

"What? No, I was just putting drops in my eyes," I answer quickly.

"Oh, well good then. I wouldn't want my Louis to be sad," Harry smirks at me, winking and going into one of the stalls.

I feel my face heat up, and go back to washing my hands.

Harry said 'my Louis'. What does that mean?

***

"Louis, Niall, and Jess. A parent walks in on two kids cuddling, and interrogates them. Action!" Miss Melissa instructs.

I volunteer to be the parent, and Niall and Jess pull two chairs next to each other, sitting down and wrapping their arms around each other.

I take a few steps and stop, crossing my arms. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Dad!" Jess jumps up, standing next to the chairs with a surprised look on her face that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Jess, who is this?" I sound as angry as possible, giving Niall my best death stare.

"Um, my name is Niall, sir. Jess and I were just," Niall pauses, looking scared, "doing homework?"

I squint at him, then turn my head to Jess. "Just doing homework? On the couch? Hugging each other?"

"Dad! Why are you so over protective!?" Jess yells, throwing her arms into the air. She's an amazing actor. She just needs a little more expression.

"Overprotective? I'm just trying to make sure my daughter doesn't get hurt by some lowlife!" I respond angrily, looking back at Niall. "Speaking of which, it's about time you leave."

"Dad! Let him stay, please. We just want to study together!" Jess pleads with me.

"I'm not letting you two get together any more after what I walked in on," I say firmly.

"Jess, it's okay. We can study at school later. It was nice to meet you sir, I'll get going now," Niall rushes, walking past me. End of scene.

***

"Dude, I'm seriously jealous of your skill," Niall comes up to me after drama class again.

"Thanks, but it's about the only thing I'm good at. You should see my algebra worksheet," I smile.

"Crap! I completely forgot about our homework," Niall groans.

"I was doing it with my buddy Liam earlier, but he sucks at explaining it. He already understands everything," I complain openly.

"I need someone like that. Someone who already knows what they're doing, so that I can just follow along," Niall looks at me. "Would you mind introducing me to him?"

"Sure, give me your number, and I'll have him call you."

We exchange numbers, leaving when the class is dismissed.

***

"There's someone who wants to talk to you," I tell Liam as soon as I plop next to him on the bus.

"That sounds ominous," Liam replies.

"Oh don't worry, I just told him I'd introduce you so that you could help him with his homework," I explain.

"And when did I ever offer my help?" Liam asks like he's serious, but I know that he's actually soft. It only takes a few seconds to convince Liam to help anyone with anything.

"You have to help the poor kid. Apparently he's as bad at maths as I am. Except according to him, your weird teaching style might actually help him."

"Finally, a student that can understand simple concepts," Liam smiles at me.

"Hey! I can understand concepts perfectly well," I know it's not really true, but I cross my arms and give my best pout anyways.

"Invite him to a study session at my place. Youre free, right?"

"Yeah yeah," I pull out my phone, and text Niall.

Louis: Liam agreed to help you. He wants to have a study session at his place. You up for it?

Niall: I'm up for it. Where's he live?

***

"I'm stuck on number four," I sigh, resting my head in my arms.

"Still? It's a fifteen problem worksheet, Lewis. That's a bit concerning," Liam points out.

"I'm sorry I'm not a math prodigy like you are," I grumble in response, voice muffled by my arms.

"It's not that bad. With Liam's help, I'm already on question ten," Niall's happiness is clear in his voice. I can tell he's not bragging, he's genuinely happy that he can understand everything.

"Yeah Lewis, maybe your brain is broken. If Niall can understand my teaching, so can you," Liam jokes.

"If you guys are just going to bully me, then I'm going home," I lift my head up, turning towards my backpack.

"Good luck doing the rest of the worksheet by yourself," Liam responds.

I sigh, and reluctantly get back to work.

***

Niall and I left after Niall finished his worksheet. I only got up to problem 6. I told the lads that I would be fine finishing the rest on my own, but I know that's not true at all.

I am definitely failing this class.

I walk home from Liam's, which isn't far, since he's only 2 doors down. Still, it's nice to get fresh air and exercise.

I walk at a steady pace, not too fast, so that I don't tire myself out. I look at the vibrant leaves on the trees around me, all the greens turning into the colours of fall. Vibrant yellows, warm oranges, fire-like reds, deep okay browns. There's a slight breeze, a small chill in the warm autumn air. It feels amazing. There's birds chirping all around, and I listen to their various melodies, trying to tell what kind of birds they are from their mixed calls. The hard pavement below my feet causes the slightest sound as I walk over it, a quiet pitter patter that you would only hear if you listened for it.

Before I know it, I'm at my house. I don't want to go in yet, because I know that once I do, I'll have to do my algebra work. So, I continue walking through my neighbourhood, deciding to walk the entire length of it.

***

(Friday)

My teacher is returning the first homework she gave us. I got 2 out of 10 correct. Which isn't surprising, because I only answered 4 questions.

I know it will be worse for the one we just handed in, though. I only managed to fill out 10 of the 15 problems, and half of them I gave up on.

It's the first week of school, and I'm already failing.

When I walk into art class, I'm feeling bummed out. Doing something creative usually helps, so I immediately work on my design for my animal mug.

'Peacock' is hard to work with, but I have an idea. I'm going to make the handle the head, and the mug the body. I've decided to make a basic mug first, then surround it with individual small slabs of clay, to represent feathers. The side opposite of the handle with have a few feathers that rise above the mug, to give the signature peacock look. I smile at my design, happy that I could come up with something.

"Someone's in a good mood," the low, soothing voice is easily recognizable. I look up and smile at Harry.

"Art class is a good distraction," I reply, glancing at his sketches.

"It depends what you need a distraction from," Harry says.

"Algebra. I don't understand any of my homework, so being creative is helping to get my mind off of it."

Harry laughs, and my heart starts beating faster. What's wrong with me?

"Try not to keep your mind off of it for too long. You don't want to fail the class."

I sigh, knowing that Harry is right. I can't avoid algebra forever, as much as I want to.

"Can you come over to my place after school? I really don't want to do maths by myself," I give Harry my best puppy dog eyes, making sure to look extra adorable to convince him.

I see Harry blush as he replies, "Yeah, sure."

"Thanks!" I smile wide for him, happy to get some company.

***

(Author)

Uh hi

I internalise Louis' struggle with algebra

I literally forget everything I learned ahaaa

So uh yeah I'm on 2,000 words, so I decided to finish this chapter up

Please don't forget to vote and comment it would mean the literal world to me

(Or in a03 world, leave Kudos and comments)

Chapter Text

(Author)

This montage is literally my home screen on my phone

It's not a manip, these are actual pictures of them together and ugh

THEY ARE SO IN LOVE I SWEAR

Anygays

Onto the story ;)

(P.S. I wrote this on my period. Y'all better appreciate the effort)

***

(Still Friday)

*Louis' POV*

Harry and I get off the bus together at my house.

I unlock my door, and lead Harry into my family room area. The walls are a cozy amber orange. There's a tawney brown cabinet that has an empty space in the middle, with two doors on either side of it. The empty space is filled with a terracotta pot that holds fake white roses. I painted the pot with a horrible sunset design when I was 6. On top of the cabinet sits a small television, nothing too fancy. In the middle of the room, there's a simple, four legged tawney brown table. Behind it is a fluffy azure blue sofa, with white pillows accenting it. The general colour scheme of the room is like some kind of beach resort. The floors are made of birch wood, and there's a few windows on the side wall, accented with a vibrant watermelon pink. There's a few other things in the room, because it's lived in, but it would take too long to describe them all (aka the author got bored of describing one room).

"Do you want to work in here or upstairs?" I ask Harry, even though I already took him to this side of my house. I almost slap my self in the face at the dumb question. Almost.

"In here is fine," Harry answers, going over to sit on the sofa. (Also the authors choice, since he JUST described the entire room in excruciating detail).

"All right, let's get to work then," I smile at Harry, getting my papers out of my backpack.

We sit apart from each other at first, each of us working on our own separate things. After some time, Harry finishes whatever he was working on, and I'm struggling with question 3 of my 20 question algebra homework. Our teacher keeps making the homework longer and harder.

I groan, causing Harry to look over at me.

"Do you need some help?" He asks.

"Are you any good at teaching?" I respond somewhat sarcastically, half thinking that there's no hope in trying to teach me maths.

That would be like trying to teach a rock how to dance.

"I might be."

Harry starts explaining the problem, going over what all the information means, and how to solve it. And the way he explains algebra makes perfect sense to me. He helps me on the entire worksheet, and I'm done within 15 minutes.

"Wow, you're so good at this!" I exclaim. "I'm a bit jealous."

Harry shrugs. "There's some math in baking. Nothing extreme, mostly just measurements, but I've always found math somewhat easy."

"Easy!? Without your help, this would have taken me hours! Actually, I definitely would have given up and just turned it in without finishing it."

Harry laughs, loud and high pitched. Harry's laugh is so amazing because it's nothing you would expect from him. His voice is low, and he's a quiet person who doesn't make much noise. Yet his laugh is high and loud, like he wants the entire world to hear it, and make them laugh as well. I could listen to Harry laugh all day.

"So, what now?" I ask, glancing at the clock. Somehow, it's only 3 pm.

"I actually have a shift at work," Harry says.

I look down at my lap, and fidget with my fingers. I don't want to admit it, but I don't want Harry to leave. I really enjoy spending time with him like this. Every time we're apart, I can't help but think of what he could be doing.

Harry must see the disappointed look on my face, because he quickly offers, "You could come with me if you want."

I raise my head quickly to look at him. "Really? Your boss wouldn't mind?"

"Not at all. Plus, it would be way more fun with you there," Harry smiles, showing off his dimples.

"Well, if it's really okay, then I'd be glad to," I smile back.

***

The bakery Harry works at is more like a cafe. You can order things off a menu, get samples of everything, and see all your options. It's a nice place, really. With a cozy Forrest cottage vibe that screams "hey! Come eat here! We have pillows!"

Harry is one of the bakers, and he's in charge of baking deserts that are in high demand. I'm not allowed in the kitchen area, so I awkwardly sit out at one of the tables.

Eventually though, Harry comes out from the employee area, and sits in the chair across from me.

"I'm officially a waiter now, so you'll be able to see me more," Harry smiles.

"You're a waiter and a baker?" I question. That seems like a lot of work.

"Yeah. The baking job pays well, but I like getting extra money from tips," Harry shrugs.

As I'm thinking of a response, a familiar looking person enters the cafe. I swear I've seen him before.

"Zayn!" Harry smiles, gets up, and embrasses Zayn in a hug. I knew I recognized him.

"Nice to see you too, lad," Zayn says.

Watching Harry and Zayn hug so openly makes me happy. I've only ever really hung out with Liam, and we do hug a lot, but it's endearing to watch people openly enjoy each other's company.

Zayn looks over at me and waves, so I give him a friendly smile.

I stand up as Harry pulls away from Zayn, and go to shake his hand.

"I'm Louis."

"Zayn."

***

Zayn is easy to get along with. He has a personality that makes you feel like you can tell him anything. He's quite lovely to get along with.

Eventually, Harry's shift ends, so he goes back to the employee area to change out of his work uniform.

"So, did you have to beg Harry let you see him work?" Zayn asks casually.

"Um, no? He invited me," I respond, confused.

Zayn lets out a whistle. "He must proper like you, then. It took me a full week of begging for me to be able to watch him work."

"We get along," I shrug, but I can tell that my face is probably a light shade of pink. I didn't know that Harry was shy about letting people watch him work. But the way he easily invited me didn't seem shy at all.

"It would be strange if you didn't get along, since you can't seem to take your eyes off him."

I stare at Zayn, stunned. Do I really look at Harry that much?

"I was just joking, but the look on your face makes it seem like I'm right," Zayn smiles, almost as if he's figured something out.

"I-I, um. I mean, obviously I'm going to l-look at him when he's w-working. He invited me, s-so it would be rude not to p-pay attention to him. Don't go m-making conspiracies."

Zayn raises and eyebrow, and his eyes are suspicious, but he doesn't say anything else.

***

(Author)

Ugh I have such bad writer's block it's unreal

It's so hard to channel the boys and write things they'd actually say

Idk if I've already complained about that, but I'm complaining again, so

I tried to do more describing and imagery in this chapter, but it was so hard and exhausting I probably won't do that ever again

Idk I might try. WHY IS WRITING SO DIFFICULT

Chapter Text

(Saturday)

*Louis POV*

I wake up, tired from a night full of over thinking.

Zayn saying that I couldn't keep my eyes off Harry was something that kept playing in my head over and over. It's like my brain wants to torture me with uncertainty and confusion.

I force my brain to shut up, and walk down into my kitchen.

"Morning boobear," my mum calls as soon as I walk in.

"Morning," I mumble in response, yawning.

"Still tired?"

I nod even though my mum is facing the stove instead of me, and sit at the counter.

"I have pancakes and coffee."

"Thanks mum," I prefer tea, but the coffee might help me wake up, so I take it gratefully, immediately drinking some of it.

"So, who's that boy that was laying on our floor?"

I almost choke on my coffee, coughing a little.

"U-Um, just a friend. We were watching a movie, and I fell asleep. He didn't want to make me uncomfortable, so he slept on the floor."

"He sounds like a gentleman. Do you like him?"

This time, I actually spit out my coffee, getting it on the counter.

"Mum! H-He's just a f-friend, okay?"

My mum gives me a knowing look, and says, "if you say so."

I spend some time telling her how we met in art class, and how we're already pretty close despite not knowing each other that long. I leave some things out, like my confused feelings, and the egg shower incident.

"It seems like you two have had quite the time together. I'm glad you're finally opening up again."

I nod, and we eat our breakfast with light conversations.

***Trigger warning: slight physical violence***

*Flashback*

"Oi! Louis Faglinson!"

I flinch, trying desperately to get to my next class.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

I feel a hand grab my shoulder, and I instantly flinch. I get shoved against a locker, my back hitting the metal harshly. It hurts.

"Look pal, I don't like the way you looked at me today, so you're gonna have to pay for it."

I close my eyes, as if hoping that will make me disappear.

It doesn't.

I feel a sharp pain in my stomach, but before I can curl in on myself, rough hands are grabbing my wrists and holding them above my head, so I can't secure myself.

Pain everywhere. In my shin, in my face, tearing hot pain in my arms followed by the feeling of liquid dripping down my arms.

Then I finally feel my wrists get freed.

"That'll teach you, freak."

Nothing different happened today. All I did was wear the rainbow bracelet I wear every day. A small sense of pride. But some people want to suck all the colour out of your life.

Some people take colour as a sign to hurt you.

*End of flashback*

***Trigger warning over***

(Author from the future here, I pinky promise high school isn't that intense)

I walk up to my room, and check my phone.

(2 new messages)

Harry: Hey, it's Saturday, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out at my place?

Harry: My mom is on a business meeting so we'll have the house to ourselves ;)

My heart flutters a little, and I can feel myself blush. What does that winky face mean?

Louis: Sure. I'll be there in 10

I say bye to my mum, making an excuse about wanting to go to the library, and head off to Harry's.

***

"Lou!" Harry pulls me into a hug as soon as he opens the door.

"Hi," I respond semi-awkwardly, hugging Harry back gently.

Harry is gripping me a little tightly, his right hand spreading across my shoulder blade, his left wrapping around my waist. I settle for wrapping both my arms around the middle of his stomach.

Harry's hands on my body feel warm and comfortable, and I nuzzle the side of my face into his shoulder. He smells like lavender and apples. His chin is resting on my shoulder, and I just want to stay in his arms all day.

We eventually release each other, and I can feel a blush heat up my face. Harry smiles at me.

"Come in," he grabs my hand, pulling me into his house.

Harry leads me up to his room, and sits on his bed. He rests his back against the headboard, sprawling his legs in front of him. He pats the spot next to him, beckoning me over.

"What do you want to do?" He asks while I sit next to him on the bed.

"What about truth or dare?" I shrug. It's a simple game that you can do any time.

"Okay, I'll start us of. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to," Harry glances around his room, "take your socks off and touch your toe to your elbow."

It's a strange dare, and I struggle a bit with the flexibility of touching my toe to my elbow (the author tried, and it's not as easy as it sounds).

"Wait, are we playing safe, or anything goes?" I ask quickly.

"Anything goes," Harry smirks.

"Alright, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to run down the street naked," I smile mischievously.

Harry looks surprised, but he doesn't back down. He grabs my hand, and leads me to his front door.

"So do I strip now or outside?"

"Have some decency! The neighbours don't want to watch you take your clothes off. And you only have to run to my place and back," I decide to take it easy on him.

Harry shrugs, and starts taking all his clothes off. When he gets to his boxers, he winks at me, before taking those off, too.

"Okay, I can do this," I hear Harry whisper to himself, as he opens his door.

I watch him run out, stepping out of the house myself, closing the door behind me.

As Harry comes back, I open the door for him, and he seems to run faster to get inside.

When we're both in the house again, Harry has his hands on his knees, panting.

"I think that took a solid 5 minutes. Impressive," I say.

"Yeah -pant- maybe that's because -pant- I didn't want to -pant- get arrested for -pant- public indecency."

"Speaking of public indecency, are you going to put your clothes back on?"

"I need to -pant- breathe first."

I shrug, turning away from Harry so that I'm not staring at him. Eventually, he starts breathing at a normal rate again, and puts all his clothes back on except for his shirt.

"I'm still sweating from that run, so the shirt stays off," Harry explains before I ask. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

This time, Harry smiles mischievously, and it takes effort to not gulp nervously.

"I dare you to take all your clothes off until your next dare or truth. And you have to keep them off until after you do the dare, or answer the truth."

I feel myself blush, but I'm not one to back down from dares.

"Can we at least go back up to your room? I feel exposed with all these windows."

Harry laughs, and we go back to his room. Harry sits back on his bed, and glances at me expectantly.

I sigh, and take off all my clothes, throwing them in a pile on his floor.

"Tr-Truth or d-dare?"

"Truth."

"W-Why did you dare me to take my clothes off?" I can't help but ask, my curiousity getting the best of me.

I look up and see Harry's face turn red. "Well, you dared me to strip, so I just thought I'd get payback."

I roll my eyes. "Sure. Now hurry up so I can put my clothes back on."

"Truth or dare?" Harry draws out, asking the question extremely slowly. I almost groan in exasperation.

"Dare."

"I dare you to cuddle me for 5 minutes."

"W-Without clothes on?"

Harry nods, and I blush. I pick up my phone and set a timer.

"5 minutes."

I walk over to Harry, and lay in front of him, making eye contact. Harry places one hand on my back - dangerously close to my bum - pulling me closer to him. I wrap one arm around his waist, and the other over over his shoulder. He keeps his hand on my back, wrapping his other arm around my shoulders. We lay there, hugging each other. Harry feels warm, making every place he touches get a tingling sensation. His clothes feel soft against my skin, and his smell is amazing. I close my eyes, and let myself get absorbed in the comfort.

Ring ring ring

I pull back from Harry, making eye contact.

"Time's up."

***

(Author from the future)

My past notes no longer apply to the book

So

I threw them all away

You're welcome

Chapter Text

(Still Saturday)

*Louis' POV*

I gently remove myself from Harry's arms, and go to put my clothes on.

"Do you hate me?"

I whip my head around, my jeans half way up my legs.

"What? Why would I hate you?"

"Well, I just feel like I'm pushing you out of your comfort zone."

I laugh slightly, pulling my pants on all the way. "You're definitely pushing me out of my comfort zone. But it's nice. I've been too closed off, you make me... Want to open up?"

It's only half true. I've already wanted to open up, but Harry is the one who made me open up. And I'm glad that he did.

I finish pulling all my clothes on, and turn back around to face Harry.

"I think this game has gotten a little out of hand. Let's take a break," I throw Harry's shirt at him.

"What do you want to do?" I watch the admiration in Harry's eyes shift to curiosity. One of his eye brows quirks up slightly.

I hum, but then the room starts to sway.

"We haven't had lunch," I point out, the words coming out slightly slower than usual.

Harry glances at his clock, which reads 1:28.

"I didn't realize it was this late in the day. I can make us some classic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, if you want."

I nod my head quickly, trying to ignore the slight dizziness in my head.

"Are you okay Lou? You look sick," I look up at Harry, and see the concern in his face. The slightly down turned eyebrows, the lightly squinted soft-green eyes. I want to memorize every expression he has.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Now go to the kitchen, which is practically your home," I try to joke.

The concern doesn't leave Harry's face, but he nods and heads downstairs anyways. I focus on my breathing as I follow him, grabbing the rail on the stairs for support.

***

As I watch Harry make us sandwiches - as well as bake cookies, because he's insane - I try not to let my fatigue consume me.

But soon, as Harry is mixing the cookie batter, small black spots appear in my vision.

No, no no no no. This can't happen.

My breathing falters a little, my breath short from panic and low energy levels. I see Harry look up at me, but the room is a bit blurry.

"Louis? Are you okay?"

I blink. Nod weakly. More black spots. The ground shifts.

Darkness.

***

*Harry's POV*

"Louis!" I practically shout, rushing to catch him before he falls out of his chair.

I don't know if passing out is cause for an ambulance, but I don't care. The closest hospital is a 30 minute walk, and Louis needs help now.

I quickly run to my phone and pull it out, dialing the number for emergency services.

"Hello, what is your emergency?"

"My friend just passed out, he needs to get to a hospital," my voice cracks slightly as I try to get control of my fear.

"We'll send someone over right away."

***

"Only family is allowed to visit patients."

"But I need to make sure he's okay! Please," I beg with the doctor stopping me from checking on Louis. Louis, who is now in a hospital bed.

"I'm sorry, but unless you're related or in a relationship, I can't let you in."

"We are. In a relationship," I lie, hoping that Louis won't be too mad if I pretend to be dating him. I just need to make sure he's okay.

The doctor sighs. "Right, well, since you can't really prove that while he's passed out, I suppose I can let you in for now."

I almost cry in relief, feeling a huge smile spread on my face.

"Thank you so much," I rush, walking into the room as quickly as I can without running. The doctor follows behind me, closing the door. Watching me.

I look at the room and see Louis over on a bed. After a few minutes of watching him sleep, he groans, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

***

*Louis' POV*

I open my eyes to see the dim lighting of a hospital room. Light gray almost white ceiling, bone white walls, light yellow lights, half on half off.

I have a slight headache, and I groan, rubbing my forehead.

"Boyfriend!" I hear a familiar voice say, and I see Harry's familiar face approach me.

"Wh-"

Before I can ask any questions, Harry is kissing me. My mind is spinning, and my heart is racing, and what is happening?

The kiss is gentle, soft and caring, yet urgent. As if Harry is glad I'm awake, yet was worrying that I wouldn't wake up at all.

In my confusion and and tiredness, I don't even pull back. I just close my eyes and try not to scream because Harry is kissing me. And he keeps kissing me until a distant cough comes from somewhere else in the room.

"I'll, erm, leave you two alone," an unfamiliar, high pitched voice says. Then the sound of a door opening and closing.

Harry pulls back from me, looking into my eyes. "'M sorry. They would only let me visit you if we were related or dating. I wanted to make sure you were okay, so I had to make us dating believable."

"Someone passes out in your kitchen, and the first thing you do when they wake up is kiss them? You made me so surprised I almost passed out again," I mock slightly, trying desperately to calm the blushing on my face and the racing in my heart.

"Are you going to tell me why you passed out, or do I have to force it out of you?" Harry scoffs.

"I have an iron deficiency. If I don't eat enough, move too much, or have my heart beat too fast, I'll pass out."

"Oh, so your heart was beating fast around me? Good to know," I see Harry smirk.

I roll my eyes. "In case you don't remember, we also didn't eat lunch. Which, by the way, I'm still hungry. Be a good fake boyfriend and get me some food."

Harry's eyebrow quirks up. "From where?"

"I'm pretty sure there's vending machines here. Find one and bring me some crisps."

Harry nods, and leaves the room. A few minutes later, he comes back in, carrying a bag and a bottle.

"They only had salt and vinegar. I also got you water, just in case."

I sit up slowly, and take the food, eating it quickly so that I don't pass out again.

"Thanks," I mumble, blushing, trying desperately not to think about Harry kissing me.

"No problem, babe," Harry responds.

***

After the doctor came back in and made sure I had no major injuries, she said that I was free to leave. But since the hospital didn't want me to pass out again, they had the doctor drive me home (a/n: I know this is probably illegal, but just go with it).

One I got home, I made myself a proper meal. According to a note on the fridge, my mum was out introducing herself to the new neighbour.

I went up to my room, flopping onto my bed. I then promptly started screaming into my pillow.

"HE KISSED ME!" I yelled over and over again.

Why didn't I stop him? I was pretty tired, that could be it. But it also made my heart race. Does that mean I have a crush on him? No, I can't, we've only hung out a few times. Yeah, we're close now, but that kiss didn't have to mean anything. He just had to pretend to be my boyfriend because he cared enough to check on me. Yeah, that's all it was, best not to overthink it.

It still bugged me, though, that Harry stole my first kiss, and I still wasn't sure how I thought about him. I decided it would be best to avoid him for a bit, just until I cleared my head.

***

(Author)

I'm sorry this chapter is kinda short, but don't worry, I have a very small minimal plan. (Wow really? I was starting to wonder)

This one was inspired by the fact that I've been really dizzy recently, and I can't stand up without falling back down. I think I have an iron deficiency, but I don't know, so that's fun (I don't. I just don't drink enough water)

I also just really wanted Harry to pretend to be Louis' boyfriend for drama purposes

Writer's block sucks

Chapter Text

(Friday)

*Louis' POV*

"You've been ignoring my texts for almost a week. What's going on?" Liam asks me as soon as I sit down next to him on the bus to go home.

"I shut my phone off. Something happened on Saturday, and I needed to clear my head."

"What happened?" Liam looked me in the eyes, and I could tell that he was worried.

I blushed and looked down, before mumbling quietly. "Harry kissed me."

I don't see Liam's reaction, but when he lifts my head up, his eyes are soft.

"Did you like it?"

I groan, putting my head in my hands. "I don't know, Liam, that's the problem!"

I feel Liam's strong arms wrap around me, and I instantly lean into his chest. I close my eyes, and listen to Liam's breathing to calm my stress down.

Liam rubs my back soothingly, until he suddenly pushes me back. "You need to figure this out. The more you avoid it, the more awkward things will be between you and Harry."

"I've actually been avoiding him, too."

"That's even worse. You two had a good connection, don't let your stupid brain ruin that."

"Thanks for calling my brain stupid," I look up at Liam and give him a soft smile.

"Do you need me to help you figure out your feelings?"

"No, I think I can handle it. Thanks Lima."

"Any time Lewis. Now turn your phone back on so that I can text you again."

The thought of seeing missed messages scares me, but I turn my phone on anyway.

(8 new messages)

(Mon. 2:30 pm) Lima: You looked stressed at school today. Everything okay?

(Mon. 2:35 pm) Lima: Oh, do you not want to talk about it? That's alright, just let me know if you need anything

(Tue. 2:30 pm) Lima: I'm really worried about you. I don't want to force you to talk about anything, but at least don't ignore my texts

(Tue. 2:35 pm) Lima: Alright, I'll give you some space. Talk to me when you can

(Sat. 5 pm) Harry: I'm sorry if the thing at the hospital freaked you out. I just wanted to make sure you were okay

(Mon. 2:30 pm) Harry: Have you been avoiding me? You barely even glanced my way today

(Mon. 3 pm) Harry: You promised you wouldn't keep me waiting for your texts again, so I guess your phone must be off

(Mon. 3 pm) Harry: That, or you broke your promise just to avoid talking to me

I didn't really know what to say to Harry, so I just turned to Liam instead. "Thanks for being such a good friend."

"Any time," Liam said, moving to hug me again.

***

As soon as I got home, I flopped on my bed. I still didn't know how to respond to Harry's texts, and I really needed to sort out my feelings.

After a few minutes of rolling around on my bed, thinking so much my head hurt, I decided that I needed fresh air. I put on my vans, and walked outside.

The cool September air hit me as soon as I walked out, and I breathed in deeply. The chills outside combined with the bright sky instantly made me feel more relaxed.

I walked aimlessly down the street, humming to myself, watching my feet move on the ground.

"Louis?" I take in a sharp breath at the familiar low voice, and immediately stop in my step, looking up.

"Um, hi," I awkwardly wave at Harry, who is definitely the last person I needed to see right now.

"Are you okay? You've been avoiding me all week. I didn't freak you out, did I?

I look down, fidgeting with my fingers.

"I-I, um. I n-needed some time to think. That k-kiss," I pause, feeling myself blush, forcing my brain to come up with the right words, "did it, um. Did it m-mean anything?"

I look up, and see that Harry's blushing as well. "Do you want it to mean something?" He asked softly.

"I don't know," I answer honestly, looking back down again.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. It could be," Harry paused, "a platonic kiss?"

"Yeah, I don't think friends usually platonically kiss each other," I laugh slightly, trying to ease some of the awkward tension.

"They usually don't, but I would make an acception for you," Harry winks at me.

I scoff, crossing my arms. "Are you seriously flirting with me right now? 5 minutes ago you probably thought I hated you."

"Oh, I definitely thought you hated me. But now that I know that you don't, I can go back to being my usual charming self."

Harry took one of my hands in his, and kissed the back of it softly. His lips left a warm tingling sensation on my skin, and I tried desperately to control my breathing.

"Right, I'm gonna go before you try to pull any other move on me," I pull my hand away, and walk back to my house, feeling my face burn.

***

(Saturday)

"Lou, breakfast!"

I wake up from a sleepless night of dreaming about Harry and waking up embarrassed and blushing.

I trudge downstairs, and see my mum already sat by the counter, waffles piked into plates in front of her.

"Thanks mum," I kiss her cheek and sit down, grabbing a plate of waffles.

"Smell anything new?" She asks cryptically.

I chew on my bite of waffle, sniffing the air.

"Apples? Wait, did you bake a pie!?" I ask, staring at her. She always baked some type of dessert when she met someone.

"I did. Last week I met the new neighbour, and she told me that apple pie was her favourite dessert. She also told me that she had a son your age."

I stare at her, chewing my waffle slowly. "I'm not going."

"Come on Lou, you need to meet new people," she put her hand on my arm, and I sighed.

"Not fair. You're corrupting my choice with good breakfast."

My mum laughed, knowing she had won me over.

***

After getting changed and ready for the day, my mum and I walked out the door, me holding the pie.

"You're already forcing me to socialize, you could at least hold your own peace offering," I mutter.

My mum hummed, and locked the door behind us, leading the way through the streets.

The path was oddly familiar, and soon we were stopped at a house that I knew all to well.

"Mum," I looked at her, panicking a little. I still wasn't sure if I was ready to face Harry yet.

"It's too late to get out of this, dear," she said, immediately ringing the door bell.

I gulped, and took deep breaths, trying not to have a melt down.

"Jay!" A woman answered the door, bringing my mum into a hug while I awkwardly stood behind them.

"Hello again Anne. I hope you don't mind that I brought a guest with me," my mum stepped back and nudged me forward.

"H-Hello ma'am. I'm Louis," I say somewhat quietly.

"Louis? Oh, I've heard all about you from my son! Come in, he's sleeping upstairs. You two can spend some time together while your mum and I catch up."

The woman - who I didn't know whether to call "Anne" or "Mrs. Styles" - led my mum and I inside, taking my mum into the kitchen and leaving me in the hallway.

I took a deep a deep breath, and made my way up the stairs

***

(Author)

Cliffhanger ;)

I hate reading cliffhangers, but now I understand why authors use them. They're so much fun to write

I'd say things are just starting to get juicy in Louis and Harry's relationship ;)

I made Harry the new neighbour both out of popular demand, and because it forces Louis to interact with him

And trust me, this interaction is going to be good (if I can write it well enough)

Comment your favourite Louis song. I think I'd have to say that mine is Habit because yes

By the way, in case you were wondering, Louis' stutter is inspired by my stutter, because I think I'm developing one and it's kinda freaking me out :D (this is still true)

Chapter Text

(Still Saturday)

*Louis' POV*

"Harry?" I knock on his door gently, then remember that Mrs. Styles said that he was sleeping.

I turn the knob to find that it's unlocked, and I slowly open the door.

I walk into Harry's room, a small amount of light seeping through the blinds on his window, making the entire area dimly lit.

I see Harry sleeping on his bed, and I decide that I probably shouldn't wake him up. I go over to his desk, sitting on his chair, laying my head down in my arms.

***

A few minutes later, I hear the gentle noise of blankets moving and soft feet landing on the floor. I look up and see Harry rubbing his eyes, not having noticed me yet. Harry was also not wearing anything but boxers.

Harry moved his hands from his eyes and spotted me, surprise instantly flashing on his face.

"Louis? What are you doing here?" His voice was deep and groggy, and it was so insanely beautiful.

Harry himself was also beautiful. His hair was gently sprawled around his head, only slightly messy from sleep. His eyes were already shining despite just having woken up, and the magnificent emerald green was practically glowing. His body looked incredible, the smallest bit of tan lightly colouring his smooth skin, the slightest bit of muscle shaping him to look like a model (a/n: I'm imagining frat boy Harry). His lips were a soft red, and looked incredibly enticing.

I shake my head a bit, not allowing myself to romanticise my friend.

"I'm, uh. Your mum, your mum told me to... Upstairs and um. W-Welcome to the neighbour- neighbourhood."

I stand up, walking over to Harry and holding out my hand. He looks incredibly confused, but he shakes my hand gently.

"Thanks, but I still don't really know what you're doing in my room."

"R-Right, right. Um. My mum dragged me, dragged me here to m-meet the new neighbour, of c-course I had n-no idea it was, it was you, and when I got here y-your mum practically shoved me upstairs to talk to, to talk to you, so h-here I am."

I rush out my explanation, my stutter making me feel even more embarrassed to be here. Before Harry can respond, we both hear his mum's voice through the door.

"Louis and Harry, Jay and I are going to go out shopping for a bit, so you two will be left here by yourselves. Don't set the house on fire."

I look at Harry, eyeing him up and down.

"You should probably get dressed."

Harry's cheeks had pink flaked over them, and he immediately turned to look in his closet. My phone rang suddenly, and I picked it up, checking the caller ID.

"Hey Liam."

"Hey Louis. We're hanging out and you don't have a choice."

"I'd love to, but I'm not really at my house right now. 'M actually at Harry's."

"Oh, the lovebirds are spending quality time together?"

"Shut up."

Liam laughed on the other end of the phone.

"We still need to properly hang out, though. How about a study session? I know you need help on your homework, and I could invite Niall as well."

"I'll see if Harry's okay with it." At this, Harry turned to me. He had sweats on, and was pulling a jumper over his head.

"Do you mind if Liam and a classmate have a study session here?"

"I don't mind, but I'm inviting one of my mates as well."

"Deal. He said yes," I said, talking to Liam again.

"To your proposal or to the study session?"

"Oh piss off." I hung up on him, texting him Harry's address.

***

A few minutes later, Liam and Niall showed up at Harry's house, as well as Zayn. I guessed that Zayn was the person Harry invited.

"There's only two couches, they can both only fit two people. One of us will have to sit on the floor."

At this, Niall ran into the living area of Harry's house energetically, jumping on the floor and messily taking out his homework.

Harry took my hand and dragged me onto one of the couches, pulling me so that I was leaning into his side. Liam glanced over at me, giving a small smirk.

"Right. Since not everyone in this room knows everyone in this room, why don't we all introduce ourselves? Names and basic personality." Harry turned to me. "You wanna go first, Lou?"

I felt a bit put on the spot, but I channeled my inner actor, displaying false confidence.

"I'm Louis. I'm sassy and sarcastic, and if I flip you off, it's usually in good fun." I turned to Harry and nodded at him to go next.

"I'm Harry. I'm easygoing, and I like to think I'm a nice enough person to be around." He smiled, nodding at Zayn.

"I'm Zayn. I like to think that I'm fun to be around, but I can be pretty quiet at times." He looked between Niall and Liam before nodding at Liam, who was sitting next to him.

"I'm Liam. I can be a bit overprotective, and I think Louis gets annoyed at how much I care about him." He smiles at me before nodding at Niall.

"I'm Niall. I can be pretty energetic, and I love food. Speaking of, Harry, what food do you have here?"

Harry shrugged. "You can go to my pantry and take whatever you want. Just don't eat an entire bag of flour."

Niall jumped up and ran out of the room.

"Alright then. How about the rest of us get to work?" Harry moved from beside me to get his homework, as the rest of us did the same.

***

(Author)

I know this chapter is short but omg I have an idea and it needs it's own chapter

I feel like these chapters are getting shorter, I'm sorry :(

I'm doing my best I swear

I also suck at describing things omg

Anygay

Comment your favourite type of cactus

Chapter Text

(Still Saturday)

*Louis POV*

"This is boring," I groaned after completing only half my algebra assignment.

I leaned back into Harry's chest. We were sat quite closely together on the couch, our sides and legs touching. Harry rested his chin on the top of my head.

I looked over to Liam and Zayn, and they were also quite close together, murmuring softly to each other as they went over their work together. Liam looked up at me, though, and immediately scooted a tiny bit away from Zayn.

"Party time!" Niall came into the room yelling, throwing popcorn at us.

He put a bunch of junk food on the coffee table, before setting an empty bottle on the ground.

"Spin the bottle," he grinned.

"No offense Niall, but I literally don't know you. I'd rather not kiss you," Zayn said flatly.

"If you don't want to kiss the person it lands on, you can just kiss their cheek or something. Come on lads, live a little!"

Niall grabbed Liam and Zayn's hands, pulling them onto the floor, before he came over to Harry and I.

Liam landed on the floor, Zayn falling on top of him, both of them starting to apologize profusely.

Niall then did the same to Harry and I, Harry ending up on the floor beneath me.

We all looked at each other and shrugged, moving to form a circle around the bottle. The order was me, Zayn, Harry, Niall, and Liam.

"We each go one turn," Niall said, spinning the bottle. "Whoever it lands on doesn't have to spin again." The bottle spun between Zayn and I, pointing at the coffee table.

Niall shrugged and moved to the table, picking up a pack of crisps and kissing it passionately.

Harry spun the bottle, and it stopped spinning, pointing at me. My breath caught in my throat, and I saw Liam smirking at me.

"Go on lads, you know the rules," Liam said, shoving me towards Harry.

I fell forward a little, Harry catching my arms. He looked me in the eyes and quirked his eyebrow up, as if to ask me if I wanted to do this.

Harry pulled me closer to him, and I wrapped my arms over his shoulders. We made eye contact for a few seconds, before Liam and Zayn stared chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

I didn't really know if I wanted to or not, but it didn't seem like I had a choice.

Harry and I closed our eyes, leaning in together. Our lips met softly, a tingling sensation running through my body. I pulled back, feeling myself blush at kissing Harry in front of an audience.

And kissing Harry. Holy crap, I kissed Harry. And the scary part was that I didn't hate it.

Liam gave me a look that screamed 'I am going to make fun of you for this later,' and spun the bottle. It landed on Zayn, and I immediately smiled knowing I could get revenge.

Liam looked up at Zayn, and I could tell that he was shocked.

"Go on lads, you know the rules," I mocked him, nudging his arm.

Liam and Zayn made some intense eye contact as they moved towards each other.

I started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" As Harry joined me in chanting as well.

Liam and Zayn kissed quickly, just a small peck, and they both pulled back quickly, their faces turning bright shades of red.

"You two look like tomatoes," I laughed.

Liam gave me a glare and Zayn looked down at his lap. Niall moved back into the circle, still making out with his bag of crisps.

"Alright lads, now for some truth or dare."

"Are you just going to make us do all the cheesy high school movie activities?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

"Yes," Niall laughs loudly.

I shrug, and Niall turns to Harry. "You go first. Ask whoever you want, and then that person asks the next, and so on."

Harry looks at me. "Lou, truth or dare?"

"Truth," I respond, not wanting to go through a dare like one of the ones I had the last time we played this game together.

"Am I a good kisser?"

I choke on air, going into a bit of a coughing fit. Liam pats my back firmly, and I try to calm myself down.

"U-Um. Dare."

"If I'm a good kisser, go get a glass of water. If I'm not a good kisser, get a glass of apple juice."

I feel my face heat up, and I bury my head into my hands. I take a moment to steady my breathing before I stand up, running to the kitchen. I hear Liam laugh behind me.

I grab a glass from the kitchen, pouring some water into it from the tap, and going back to the circle, sitting down embarrassed.

"L-Liam, truth or, truth or dare?" I ask, my stutter breaking out.

"Dare," he replies, the knowing smile on his face making me want to slap him.

"Take your shirt off."

Liam looks confused, but he takes his shirt off regardless. I splash the water on his bare chest, giving him my best death glare.

"How threatening, spilling water on me," Liam rolls his eyes, ignoring the water droplets rolling down his chest.

I notice Zayn's face get red again.

"Niall, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Is making out with a bag of crisps fun?"

Niall laughed loudly, clutching at his sides.

"Yes," he answered after he regained his breath. "Zayn, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to give Liam your jumper."

Zayn's face turned even more red, and he pulled his jumper off, revealing a tight black shirt underneath. He handed the jumper to Liam, who put it on, also starting to blush.

"Liam, truth or dare?"

"I practically just went, but truth."

"What's the weirdest place you've ever slept?"

"My bathroom floor," he laughed. "Louis, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Do you have a crush on Harry?" He poked my shoulder, and I glared at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harry blush.

"We're just friends," I poke him back.

"That doesn't answer the question."

I roll my eyes. "Zayn, truth or dare."

"Dare."

The perfect chance to get back at Liam. "After you ask the next person, I dare you to play seven minutes in heaven with Liam."

Zayn' blush returned, and he turned to Harry. "Truth or dare?"

"You seem to really want to get locked up with Liam. Dare."

"I dare you to to cuddle with Louis for the rest of the night."

At that, Zayn stood up and grabbed Liam's hand, pulling him to a door in Harry's living area that probably lead to a closet. I started a 7 minute timer on my phone, and looked over to Harry.

Harry shrugged, and crawled over to me. I opened my legs a little, and Harry sat between them, leaning his back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around his stomach, because he was warm.

"Niall, truth or dare?" Harry asked.

"Dare."

"I dare you to eat those crisps you were making out with. This game is over."

I laughed, slightly shocked by Harry's directness. I started carding my fingers through his hair gently, because his curls looked amazing and I couldn't resist.

Niall opened his bag of crisps and ran back to the kitchen, leaving Harry and I alone in the room.

I kept stroking Harry's hair softly, my fingers occasionally catching in small knots. I brushed the knots out, getting his hair a bit less messy. I came across a slightly large knot, and pulled a bit roughly at Harry's hair. He let out a low noise, which I could only classify as a moan.

I stopped my hand, my entire body suddenly feeling very warm. "You alright?"

"Um, yeah, sorry. It just hurt a little."

"Sorry love, I can stop if you want."

"No, keep going. It feels nice and soothing."

I chuckle gently, and continue carding through Harry's mess of curls.

After some time, I heard my phone go off, and I realized it had been 7 minutes since Liam and Zayn left.

"Should we just leave them be?" I asked softly, using the hand that wasn't in Harry's hair to turn the alarm off.

Harry nodded. I moved from behind him, and held out my hands.

"Come on, I'm tired. Let's cuddle on the couch instead of this floor."

Harry took my hands and I pulled him up, walking backwards until I fell against the couch, pulling him down with me. I grabbed a blanket that was resting on the back of the couch, and covered us with it, spooning Harry as I went back to carding his hair.

***

(Author)

Oh boy, things happened

So, there's this magical thing called a queerplatonic relationship. In simple terms, it's when two people border the lines between friendship and romance, and it usually happens between queer people. That's kinda what Harry and Louis are developing

Close friends who cuddle and kiss, how romantic and confusing

No I'm not telling you what happened between Liam and Zayn when they did 7 minutes in heaven, because I don't feel like coming up with something

Also, I think I should be calling it a sofa instead of a couch, because British, but whatever

Also, I wrote 4 chapters in a row, I'm so proud of myself (I use the word "also" too much)

Fun fact: at the start of this fanfic, I wrote the first 6 chapters at once. That was pretty wild

Comment your favourite movie

Chapter Text

(Saturday)

*Liam's POV*

After Zayn got dared to play 7 minutes in heaven with me, he stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me to a door in Harry's living area. I'll admit, I was pretty nervous when he rushed through daring Harry, but I didn't want to think about it too much.

The door that Zayn led me to was a laundry room, big enough so that we could both sit comfortably. I saw Louis set a timer on his phone, so I assumed he'd get us when the time was up.

"I'm sorry if I made things awkward," Zayn says.

"It wasn't your fault, it was mostly Louis'. I think he wanted to get back at me for asking him if he had a crush on Harry."

"Do you think he does?"

I hesitate. Louis hasn't had a crush on anyone since the incident. It's possible he could be over it already, but he's stubborn.

"It's hard to tell. Part of me thinks he does and hasn't admitted it to himself, and part of me thinks he doesn't."

Part of me thinks he doesn't because he's not ready to have another crush yet.

Zayn nods. "I think Harry has a crush on Louis, though."

"That doesn't surprise me. He seemed really invested in seeing if Lou thought he was a good kisser," I laugh.

"Speaking of, um, kissing, did you," Zayn paused, "I mean, um. Did our kiss make you uncomfortable?"

I look up at Zayn, just realized that I'd been looking at the floor. He was blushing, but he was looking back at me, interested in my answer.

"Well, I am bisexual, but I barely know you. I'm not saying it was bad, but we should get to know each other before it happens again."

I basically just admitted that I liked how it felt when Zayn and I kissed, but I may as well be honest with him.

"Yeah, agree."

So we spent the time talking and learning about each other. We had a lot of common interests, but we were different enough so that it was fun to be together.

"I'm tired of talking. How much longer do we have?" Zayn asked eventually.

"I'm not sure. I'll go ask Louis. You can stay here or come with me."

I got up and Zayn followed behind me. We walked into the living area to find Louis and Harry cuddling on the couch, both of them fast asleep.

"We must have passed seven minutes if they're already asleep," I whispered to not wake them up.

"Most likely. Where's Niall?"

He wasn't in the living area, so we went into the kitchen, where we found him. He sat at the counter, which was covered in empty bags of crisps, and he was eating cookies out of a bag. On the floor, there was flour and a few broken eggs.

"Do I want to know what happened?" I asked at the sight in front of me.

"Well, someone had to finish all the snacks I brought to the table, so I decided it should be me. Then I got bored and wanted to make cookies, but that didn't end great, as you can tell from the floor. But then I found these cookies from some bakery, so I'm eating them instead."

I looked at the floor again, not even wanting to know how Niall managed to get egg shells there. Then I heard the sound of a door opening.

"I'm home!" The slightly soft sound of a woman's voice called through the house. She walked into the kitchen, and stared at the scene in front of her. "What happened here?"

"Um, hello ma'am. Harry invited us over and," I didn't really know how to explain the Niall situation, so I just ended my sentence there.

"I see. I don't mind cleaning up this mess, I'm used to Harry spilling things in the kitchen when he bakes. You boys can sleep in Harry's room if you'd like."

Niall jumped up and ran to Harry's room, yelling, "I call the room!"

"You don't happen to have a spare room, do you?" I asked the woman, who I assumed was Harry's mum.

"There is a guest room, it's right across the hall from Harry's."

I eyed Zayn. "Do you want to take it?"

"No, I'd feel bad if I had it to myself. I can sleep on the couch and you can take the bed."

I sighed, grabbed Zayn's hand, and led him up the stairs. We would have to sleep together. Neither of us would let the other sleep on the couch.

We got to the room, and it was like something from a hotel. The bed was fairly large, so that was good. And the whole room smelled like lemons.

"Um, Liam?" Zayn's voice was a bit soft, and it started me.

"Yeah?"

"I've never, um, slept without cuddling something. At my house, I just use a pillow, but here," he stopped, eyeing the bed.

There were pillows, but only two. If one person slept on the bed, they could use one for their head and the other for cuddling. But we were sharing it.

"That's alright. I'm a good cuddler, so you're in luck," I smiled, trying to ease the tension.

We got into the bed, our legs intertwining, and our arms wrapping around each other. It was a bit strange, but it felt nice.

***

(Sunday)

I woke up, opening my eyes to see Zayn still cuddling with me. I got out of bed as gently as I could, but I still woke him up.

"Morning," I said softly.

"What time is it?"

I glanced at a clock that was on the wall. "Six."

"Too early," he closed his eyes and rolled over.

I laughed softly, leaving the room to find Harry's mum doing the same.

"Good morning miss Styles," I greeted her.

"Good morning. If Harry asks, tell him I'm off to a small business meeting and then spending the day with Louis' mum."

***

I waited down stairs, on the couch that Harry and Louis weren't on. Then Harry woke up and started making pancakes. I told him were his mum was, and he thanked me. Niall came running down at the smell of food, and I woke up Zayn.

Zayn and I decided to mess with Louis. I nudged Zayn when Louis' eyes fluttered, showing that he was awake, but not ready to open his eyes.

***

(Author)

So Zayn and Liam are gonna have a conversation when Louis wakes up, and that's gonna be in Louis' POV on the next chapter

It was hard to write this, because I've already written the next chapter, so I kinda had to squeeze this one in, but I hope it was worth it

No, Liam and Zayn didn't kiss again, but they kinda just met. Give it time ;)

Do y'all know how hard it is to come up with excuses for why the characters just stop existing?
Like, I had to explain where Niall went, where Anne was, freaking everything

But I guess that's part of writing a story. You kinda have to explain things

Chapter Text

(Sunday)

*Louis' POV*

I wake up to the smell of pancakes. I'm not quite ready to open my eyes yet, so I stay laying on the surface that I vaguely recognize as Harry's couch.

"So do you think they're dating?"

"I'm not sure. I thought Lou would've told me if they were in a relationship, but they seem rather close."

I hear Zayn and Liam's low voices. They're obviously trying to be quiet, and I can tell that they don't know that I've woken up.

"Harry hasn't told me anything either, so they must not be."

At this, I decide that eavesdropping is probably a horrible idea. Zayn and Liam are clearly talking about Harry and I, and I'd rather not hear something I'm not meant to. I yawn loudly, pretending to have just woken up.

"Morning sleepy head. Did you have good dreams?"

I rub my eyes and look over at Liam, who's smirking slightly at me.

"No better than usual." I stretch my arms above my head. "What's that amazing smell?"

"Harry's making all of us breakfast. Niall is watching him like a cat stalking a mouse in the kitchen. Zayn and I were thinking of different ways to wake you up."

"Oh yeah? And what ideas did you think of?"

"Well, I was thinking I could just throw Harry on top of you and see what happened," Zayn said while Liam chuckled, his arm around Zayn's waist.

I rolled my eyes before looking between them. "You two seem close."

They both blushed slightly, Liam immediately taking his arm off of Zayn.

"We got to know eachother quite well when we were locked together last night. Speaking of, thanks for telling us the time was up," Liam said the last part sarcastically.

"You're welcome," I smile at him, earning a shove to my arm.

"Pancakes are ready!" I hear Harry call from the kitchen.

I get up off the couch and walk to the kitchen, a giant plate piled with pancakes sat in the center of the counter.

"This looks excessive," I mutter.

"Those are just for Niall. I have separate plates for the rest of us."

I eye Niall, who's already started eating quickly.

"Don't eat too fast, you'll get a stomach ache," Harry said to him lightly, placing a hand on the one Niall was using to shove food into his mouth.

A weird feeling took over my chest, and I felt myself frown out of my control. Niall nodded at Harry, taking his hand back and continuing to eat, a little slower this time.

I sat down, and saw Liam sit next to me.

"You alright Lou? You look like you're about to kill someone."

I glance at him and shrug, starting to eat my food. "I must have woken up on the wrong said of the bed," I dismissed his question.

"Speaking of, did you sleep okay?" Harry asked me gently, placing one of his hands on the one I wasn't using to eat.

I immediately felt at ease at his touch, and I smiled up at him. "Yeah, I did."

Harry and I made eye contact for a bit, just smiling at each other.

"Get a room," Liam said, nudging my leg with his foot.

I looked back down at my food, feeling myself blush. After that, the rest of the morning was just more of the 5 of us getting to know each other.

***

"So, are any of you lads taking part in the school play? Louis and I have to try out since we're in drama class," Niall asks the other boys after we've all finished our food.

"I might, depending on what the play is about," Harry responded.

"It's a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Our drama teacher was actually thinking of making it a progressive romance as well, having Juliet be cast by a man and switching the name to Julien."

I noticed that Harry suddenly looked very interested.

"I love Shakespeare. Yeah, I think I'll try out," he smiled, showing off his magnificent dimples.

Liam clearly noticed me staring, because I felt his foot nudge my leg again.

"You hear that, Lou? If you and Harry get the lead roles, you might get to kiss again," Liam teased me.

"I d-doubt I'll be g-good enough for a, for a lead role." I cringed at my stutter, knowing Zayn and Niall hadn't heard it yet.

"Especially with this damn stutter," I muttered quietly to myself. Liam must have heard me, though, because he placed a soft hand on my arm.

"You'll do great," he gave me an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, lad. I've seen you act, and you're definitely one of the best actors I've ever witnessed," Niall pitched in.

I smiled down at the table, a bit overwhelmed by the support.

"Right, well, I should probably brush up on my acting skills if I want to stand any chance," Harry said playfully. "You guys can leave, or stay and watch me embarrass myself."

At that, all of us stood up and walked to the door. Harry caught my arm.

"Lou, could you, um, stay?"

I look at him for a second, feeling Liam's knowing eyes on me, before Harry quickly adds,

"Because you're such a good actor. And I need help practicing. For the play tryouts."

I take a deep breath, ignoring everyone around us. "Sure."

Zayn and Niall leave, and Liam parts with a, "call me when you get home."

I glare at him before the door is closed, and the only people left in the house are me and Harry.

"So, do you have a script for this play?" Harry asked me.

"Well, Miss Melissa was planning on putting scripts around the school with posters advertising the play tomorrow, but yeah. We got ours early."

I walk to my backpack and get out the play script that I've been practicing since I received it.

"I think I'm going to go for the role of Romeo. It's a big part, but minor roles are boring," I say to Harry as I hand him the script to look at the list of roles.

"I guess I have to go for Juliet then, so that we can be together," Harry smirks, nudging my shoulder with his.

I feel myself blush, and I turn away from him a bit. "I-I, um, have s-some scenes me-memorized already, so we can, um, we can practice th-those."

"Alright, where should I turn this script to?"

"Page three. Scene two."

Harry and I act out all the scenes that I have memorized, and I slip easily out of myself and into the character of Romeo.

"You're mildly decent, but you're not putting enough emotion into your acting," I critique Harry.

"Well how do you do it? In all that last scene, you looked so heart broken I actually thought you were going to cry."

"That's because I almost did," I laugh. "When I act, I'm not myself anymore. I'm the character. I feel what they're feeling. I become them."

Harry thinks over what I said, nodding slightly to himself. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

So we try again. After every scene, I give him small feedbacks, and he gets just a little bit better. By the end of our second running through the scenes, Harry's not that bad.

"You're definitely getting better. We should call it a day for now."

"Wait," Harry says, grabbing my hand. I turn to him.

"Romeo, I know our parents hate each other, but I can't keep hiding my feelings for you. And I know you feel the same."

It's a scene that I hadn't memorized yet. I knew most of the words, but I usually messed up a line or two. Romeo and Juliet's first kiss. I decide to play into the scene.

"I do feel the same. Maybe if our parents know that we're in love, they'll let us be together," I smile, grabbing Harry's hands.

"Do you think so? Do you really think we can work?" Harry looks up at me, his eyes shining with passion.

This is where I'm supposed to say, 'only one way to find out'. This is where I'm supposed to lean in and kiss Juliet to see if our feelings are true. But I'm not Romeo, and Harry's not Juliet, and I have no idea if I want to kiss Harry or not.

"I'm sorry Juliet, but I'm not sure," I pull away from Harry, grab my things, and walk back home.

***

(Author)

I saw this really good poem online;
'Roses are red
Violets are blue
Where do you want to sit
Next to you'
*sobs*

Are you guys excited for the play?

I have some ideas and oh boy are things going to get spicy

Chapter Text

This isn't scary, don't worry

***

(Still Sunday)

*Louis POV*

I get home and check the time. It's already noon, so I make myself lunch. I see a note from my mum saying that she's spending another day with Mrs. Styles, so I have the house to myself. I call Liam.

"So you think Harry is a good kisser and you got jealous when he put his hand on Niall. Oh, and I almost forgot the Romeo and Juliet thing."

I groan. "What exactly do you want me to say?"

"Right, sorry. One thing to embarrass you about at a time. So, you think Harry is a good kisser?"

I groan again, putting my head in my arms. I regret calling Liam.

"Yes! Damnit, Liam, yes. He's a fucking amazing kisser! That makes it so much more frustrating to figure out my feelings. If he was a bad kisser, maybe I could deny things more."

Liam hums. "You looked like you wanted to kill Niall when Harry put his hand on him."

"Yeah, I got this really weird feeling in my stomach when he did that. I couldn't really control my face."

"So you were jealous."

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Because you love him."

I stare at my phone. "I do not love him."

"What about that Romeo and Juliet thing? How did that go?"

I sigh. "We acted out the scenes I had memorized. He improved quickly. And then he," I pause.

"He?" Liam prompts me to keep talking.

I bang my head against a wall a few times. "He tried to kiss me."

"Did you let him?"

"It was part of the scene but," I say the next part softly, "no. I didn't."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I'm scared, Liam! You know how this went the last time," my voice breaks and I feel myself crying.

The line goes dead, and I run up to my room. I jump onto my bed and sob into my pillows.

And a few minutes later, strong arms wrap around me.

"Go away," I sniffle.

"No," Liam hugs me tighter.

"You know I hate crying in front of people."

"I know. But you know you don't really have a choice."

I sniff again, knowing Liam is right. He's never let me suffer alone. He's always comforted me when I needed him. And right now, I needed him.

"I'm going to hug you, and you're probably going to get snot and tears all over your shirt, but you brought this on yourself," I warn him.

He lets me turn around in his arms, and I bury my face in his chest. I hug him as much as I can, but I really just have one arm over his waist because I don't have the energy for anything else.

I cry into his chest, and he starts running his hand through my hair. We stay like that until there's not tears anymore, but I'm still hiccuping slightly.

"Feeling better?" Liam asks softly.

"N-No."

"Do you want me to spend the night here?"

I let out shaky hiccupy breaths. "Yeah."

Liam slowly let's go of me, walking over to my closet. We used to have sleepovers all the time, so some of his clothes were stashed in there. I bury my face into my pillows as I hear him changing into clothes more fit for sleeping.

"Can you stand, or do you need me to help you change?"

"Help. Please," my voice is small and pathetic, but I don't care.

Liam brings over my pajamas, helping me change into them. Then he hugs me under the blankets again.

"Can you sleep?"

I think for a minute as my breathing calms down a bit. "I think so, yeah."

***

He leans in close to me, cupping my jaw with his hand.

"Do you like me?"

I look into his eyes. For someone who can read emotions, I was being so stupid that day. His eyes showed no compassion or love. Only betrayal.

"Yeah, I do. I've had a crush on you for a year," I admit, because he obviously wanted the truth.

His smirk is evil. I should've seen it back then.

"Can I kiss you?"

I nod my head. It's what I wanted back then.

He didn't close his eyes. He leaned forward, pressing me against the locker behind me. We were in the middle of the hallway. I should've known it was a trap.

His lips get close to mine. But they don't make contact.

"You're disgusting."

And then I'm being shoved. I relive every punch, every kick, every hit. The faces of his friends are fuzzy, but the look on his face is crystal clear.

He never loved me. He only wanted to humiliate me.

***

I wake up crying, thrashing. I jolt up into a sitting position, screaming.

"STOP!"

I feel strong hands push me back down onto the bed. My bed. I'm back in my room, Liam's arms around me tighter than they were before. Crying hysterically.

Liam is whispering against me, trying to calm me down.

"He's not here, it's not real, he can't hurt you, you're safe."

I try to listen to him and calm down. I'm shaking and crying and it's hard to breathe.

"Thi-is *hiccup* is yo-our," I breathe heavily, "fau-ault."

"I know, I'm sorry, I know how much it still hurts. I won't bring up that action again."

'That action' was kissing. Something I'm so scared of. Yet when Harry did it to me, I barely thought about it. It was only when I had to confront how I felt about it that it freaked me out

Liam holds me tight, whispering reassurances until I can breathe normally again.

"Louis, look at me."

I look into Liam's eyes. For once, I can see the emotions in them. For once I see the pure care that he's feeling for me, that he's trying to show me in his stare.

"Do you honestly think Harry will do something like that?"

I want to look down, but I know that keeping eye contact with Liam will help me think.

"No," I answer softly.

"Exactly. I hate to say this, but all the signs were there. He always made up excuses for missing your dates, excuses for leaving them early, excuses for not seeing you. You two barely held hands. Harry looks at you with so much care, he's so much better for you. I think you need to move on."

"I have moved on. I don't miss being with him, I just can't get over the betrayal that he left me with. I even stopped trusting you for a while," I frown at that memory.

"But you trust me now, right?"

His eyes are boring care and empathy into mine, like he's trying to make me feel safe just through his look alone. I nod.

"So trust me when I say that Harry is so much better than he ever was."

I finally look away from Liam's stare. "I don't know how I feel about Harry."

"That's okay, Lou. I'll be here when you are. Okay?"

"Okay."

***

(Author)

Oh no, what happened? It looks like Louis had a past. Wonder what that's about

Liam is such a good friend

Trust me, I have something good planned. It's gonna be delicious

Chapter Text

(Monday)

*Louis POV*

The school was littered with posters advertising the modern day Romeo and Juliet play. Under the posters there were folders with scripts in them, so that you could take one and learn the script well enough for auditions on Tuesday.

I wasn't really paying attention to any of this, though. I've been spaced out trying to figure out what my feelings for Harry are.

Why are feelings so confusing?

And just like that, I'm in art class. I walk over to my seat, continuing to work on the mug project.

"Hey Louis."

I look up and see Harry smiling at me. Damn it, why does he have to be so hot?

"Hey. Sorry about Sunday, I didn't have that part memorised. Did I get the line right?" I try to act as if me rejecting Harry was just part of the play. As if my mind didn't hurt every time I tried to think about what he is to me.

"I'm not sure, but you definitely helped me out. I feel way more confident for auditions tomorrow."

"Are you auditioning for the role of Juliet, then?"

"Yeah, I am. I decided that was the best choice since I'm already somewhat familiar with the role."

We keep talking about the play while working on our projects, and it's actually not that bad. Talking is easy. Feelings are hard. But Harry wasn't making me talk about my feelings at all, so that was nice.

***

"Do you want me to help you practice for tomorrow?" Liam asked me on the bus.

"I think I'm good. Miss Melissa gave each role a specific scene to act out at the auditions, and I have the one for Romeo memorised already. Thanks, though."

Liam hummed. "We still need to hang out."

"Already?" I lowered my voice, "Need I remind you that you practically spent the entire day yesterday at my house making sure I was okay?"

"That doesn't count as hanging out. That was making sure that you didn't fall apart."

I sigh. "Thank you."

"Any time. Now are we hanging out or not?"

"You really can't leave me alone," I laugh. "Fine, we can hang out. You can even invite people if you want."

Liam grinned and immediately moved his eyes to his phone. He was texting someone, which definitely meant he was inviting someone.

***

"When I said you could invite people, I didn't mean you could invite Harry!" I whisper shouted at Liam in my kitchen, while Zayn and Harry sat in the living area.

"It'll force you to confront your feelings. Zayn and I will force you two into a room together by yourselves, and it'll be the perfect chance to see how you feel."

I stare at Liam with my mouth slightly open from shock. There is no way this is happening.

As if he read my mind, Liam said, "It's too late to stop me, the plan's already in action."

I had dragged him into the kitchen earlier, claiming that I needed him to help me make smoothies for the other two. We ended up actually making them, to not seem suspicious, and that was when I confronted Liam.

Liam grabbed one of the smoothies from the kitchen table and threw it onto my shirt.

"Liam!" I shout.

Harry and Zayn run into the kitchen, looking concerned.

"Calm down, Lou. It was an accident."

I give him my best death glare.

"Well, you can't walk around the house like that. Go up and change your shirt, we'll wait for you down here," Liam says innocently.

I'm suspicious of what his "plan" is, but I go up into my room anyway. After I take my smoothie covered shirt off, I hear a thump against my door.

Confused, I go over and try to open it. It won't budge.

I start pounding on the door with my fist. "Oi! What's going on!? What did you do to my door!?"

I keep knocking loudly, trying and failing over and over to get the door open. Eventually, I hear a voice.

"Stop knocking, there's a chair blocking the door handle. I'm going to move it, but I don't really want you to punch me in the face," Harry says.

I back up, going back to my closet to put on a jumper. Then Harry is in my room. I see the chair in the hallway from the open door, and then I see Zayn running up the stairs.

"Hey-"

Before I can ask what's happening, the door is being closed, and another thump.

"What the hell!?" I yell to no one in particular.

"You two are being trapped here for fourteen minutes. That's how long Liam and I stayed locked in a closet when we did seven minutes in heaven, so this is our payback," Zayn said calmly through the door.

I groaned, going from the door to my bed. I didn't really care what Harry did, I just needed a nap.

"Lou? Are you okay?"

I wanted to scream, because no, I wasn't okay. I was confused and stressed and tired and still a bit sad from the day before.

"Yeah I'm fine," I mumbled into my pillow.

"Um, if you're just going to sleep, do you mind if I join you? I'd feel awkward just watching."

I thought it over for a second, then decided I don't care anymore. Harry and I are friends, we've had sleepovers before, and honestly I was so tired in that moment that I didn't care if Harry joined me, as long as I got sleep.

So I nodded, and he joined me in the bed. I wrapped the blankets over us, spooning him. Not because I wanted to cuddle with Harry, just because it was comfortable.

***

I woke up to a poking on my cheek.

"Go away," my voice was muffled by something that felt strangely like hair.

"I would, but you seriously need to get up. It's already been 14 minutes, and I don't think falling asleep at 3 in the afternoon is a good idea," Liam said.

I groaned, burying my face into whatever it was buried into.

"Stop being all cuddly with your boyfriend before I gag."

I instantly sat up, and saw that I had been pressing my face into Harry's hair.

"He's not my boyfriend," I said as Harry sat up as well.

"Yet," Harry said, and he smiled at me.

"Harold! Not the time!"

"You didn't deny it," I hear Zayn say, and I shoot him a death glare.

"Weren't we all going to hang out, or something? Stop obsessing over my words so we can actually do stuff."

We all make our way downstairs. We watched a movie, and then I made the boys go home so that I could rehearse the play script in peace.

***

(Author)

Why are my eyes watery?
Like I'm on the edge of crying for no reason

This chapter wasn't very spicy, but it was kind of a filler to show Louis' emotions, I guess

(That awkward moment when even the author doesn't know why the chapter happened)

ANYGAY
The auditions are tomorrow
And by tomorrow I mean tomorrow in this made up world.

How do you think it'll go?

Chapter Text

(Tuesday)

*Louis' POV*

"Harry Styles."

Miss Melissa calls Harry up to the stage. In the auditions, we have to preform the scene of our character on the stage in front of everyone else auditioning. It gives Miss Melissa both an idea of our acting skills, and how we do in front of a crowd.

"Good luck," I say, smiling at Harry before he goes up.

"Thanks," he replies, getting up and walking to the stage.

"What role are you auditioning for?" Miss Melissa asks him.

"Juliet," he answers.

Miss Melissa writes something down on the paper in front of her. "Alright. Go for it."

Harry acts out the scene, and he does pretty well. He's pretty believable, and he doesn't seem at all uncomfortable by the audience. My heart swells with excitement. He might just get the part.

A few more people go up before Miss Melissa calls my name.

"Louis Tomlinson."

"Good luck," Harry says to me. He kisses my cheek.

I feel my face heat up, and I take deep breaths to calm myself down before I walk onto the stage. Now is not the time to get flustered.

I march onto the stage like I belong there.

"What role are you auditioning for?"

"Romeo," I respond confidently. I can do this. I can act, I can impress her, and I can get the role.

I will get the role.

"Go for it."

So I do. I act with as much emotion as I can muster. I make Romeo's emotions my own. I become him. I take hold of the scene and I don't let go.

At my last line, I look to Miss Melissa. I can tell she's impressed.

"Thank you for your application. Next."

I walk confidently back to my seat next to Harry. I know I did well.

***

"Thank you everyone for auditioning today. We got a lot of people going for the roles, so if you don't get one, it doesn't mean you did badly. It just means someone else did a little better. You can't all be winners. I'll have the cast list up by tomorrow. You are dismissed."

The auditions took place after school, so I have to walk home. Not that it'll be that bad, but it will definitely be tiring.

"Hey Lou, do you want to walk home together?" Harry asks me.

It would definitely be less boring with some company. "Sure."

We walk home together, talking about the play. We talk about who we think did the best for each role, except for the ones we auditioned for.

"What happens if you get Romeo and I get Juliet?" Harry asks.

"What do you mean?" I look at him. His eyes are concerned.

"I mean," he breaks eye contact, "there's a kiss scene. You have to know that by now."

I do know that. And I've been avoiding thinking about it.

"Then I guess we'll k-kiss," I look down, feeling myself blush.

"Maybe we should kiss now to get it out of the way," Harry says it in a way that's supposed to sound like he's joking, but I can tell he's actually considering it.

"M-Maybe we sh-should," I agree a bit quietly.

"Lou, look at me."

I look into Harry's gorgeous green eyes. I could stare at them forever.

"We don't have to if you don't want to. I'm sure we can convince Miss Melissa to take it out of the play."

"No, it's in the script, so we'll do it. It's our job as actors," I say sternly.

We're reach Harry's house as it starts raining lightly.

"Will you be fine to walk home in the rain?"

"Yeah, I will."

We make eye contact for s bit longer before Harry cups my chin with his hand and leans in.

"Do you still want to do this?" His breath hits my face and he smells like mint.

"Yes," I whisper.

The rain dropping lightly makes me cold. I close my eyes and feel the anticipation build in my stomach. Then I feel Harry's soft lips against mine. Kissing me gently. And it feels like my entire body catches on fire. I put a hand behind Harry's head, digging my fingers into his curls.

Harry pulls back first. "You should get home before you catch a cold."

His pupils are dilated, and I can tell he doesn't want me to leave. I nod anyways.

"See you tomorrow," I say, and then I walk the rest of the way home.

***

"Liam."

"Louis."

"Are you busy?"

"Only a little. I'm working on homework, but I can easily finish it later."

"Liam."

"Louis. Are you alright?"

"He kissed me," I whisper.

"Harry?"

I roll my eyes. "No, Zayn. Yes it was Harry!"

"I just had to make sure. Are you okay?"

"You already asked me that."

"You never answered."

"I might need you to come over." A tear falls down my cheek.

"I'm on my way."

***

"I don't know how I feel about him and it's driving me insane!" I yell in my room, pacing back and forth.

"Well, you think he's a good kisser, right? I don't think you would say that if you didn't have a crush on him.

"But what if he's just using me like N- he did?"

"We already had this conversation. Harry's not using you."

"How can you be so sure?"

Liam sighed, and picked up his phone.

"What are you doing?" I stare at him, continuing to pace.

"Calling Harry," he answers simply, putting the phone on speaker so I can hear the ringing.

"WHAT!?" I shout, but then Harry picks up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Harry. I just wanted to call to ask if you're manipulating Louis," Liam states in the most blunt way possible.

I want to melt into the floor out of embarrassment.

"What? Why would I- what? No!"

He sounds confused as to why Liam would ask him that. That gives me hope.

"It's just that Tommo here thinks the entire world is against him, so I'm just making sure you actually want him and you're not just playing with his feelings."

"Is he in the room?"

"Yeah, but I can make it so that he can't hear you."

"Do that, please."

Now I have less hope. Liam picks up the phone and takes it off speaker.

"Okay, he can't hear anymore," he says.

There's a pause where Harry is obviously talking, but Liam was right. I can't hear him.

Liam responds, "That sounds like a good idea."

Another pause. "Yeah, definitely. Go for it."

Another pause. "No problem. Bye."

"What was that about?" I ask nervously.

"Harry has a surprise for you," is all Liam answers with before he leaves my room.

And then I'm left alone. Confused, but sure that whatever Harry has planned, it can't be bad if Liam didn't tell me what it was.

***

(Author)

What do you think Harry has planned?

I'm not typing out the entire play, because um, why would I do that?

I might include a few scenes from auditions, though. I have much spice planned

Chapter Text

(Friday)

*Louis' POV*

The entire week has been filled with Harry, Liam, Niall, Zayn, and I all hanging out at various places to help me and Harry keep our minds off the auditions. But today is the day the cast list gets posted.

Harry waits for me to get off the bus, and we walk into school together. I'm a bit nervous, so I subconsciously hold Harry's hand to make myself feel better.

We get to the poster, which has a decent crowd around it. (A/N: I changed the names of the characters in the play a bit to make it more modern cuz that's the whole thing)

Cast List for Romeo and Juliet
.
Side Roles
.
Matt (Romeo's dad): Tyler Joseph

Carla (Juliet's mom): Eleanor Shellstrop
Mercury (Romeo's friend): Josh Dun

Ben (Romeo's friend): Nick Thomas
Barry (Romeo's butler): Paul Meany
Sam (Juliet's butler): Chris Salih
Juliet's nurse: Elizabeth Schuyler
.
Main Roles
.
Romeo: Louis Tomlinson
Juliet/Julien: Harry Styles

I barely realize that my name is cast as one of the main roles before I feel Harry hugging me. I did it, I got the part. And Harry got the part of Juliet/Julien.

Wait.

Harry got the part of Juliet/Julien.

The character that Romeo has a kiss scene with. Oh no no no no no.

"We did it, Louis! We got the parts!" Harry says excitedly to me, letting me go and smiling like a maniac.

"Yeah, we did," I give a weak smile back, trying not to scream. Because this means that Harry and I will have to kiss again. And I still don't know if Harry hates me or not.

*Are you okay? You look shocked. I honestly thought that you expected to get the role," Harry says jokingly. He's trying to cheer me up. But that could mean nothing.

"Oh, I did expect it. I'm just shocked they gave you Juliet when there were plenty of girls to choose from," I say with a bit of sass. Because that's what I'm known for, and being sassy also helps calm me down.

"Ouch," Harry laughs, making me smile.

We look at the cast list for a little longer, then head to our separate classes.

***

"Are you going to tell me what Harry's surprise is?" I ask Liam on the bus.

"You'll know by your first rehearsal. Besides, if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

I groan in frustration, pulling out my phone.

Louis: Liam tells me you have a surprise for me

Harry: Did he tell you what it was?

Louis: No, he's being a butt face, so I've decided to bug you until I get some answers

Harry: You're not getting anything from me

Louis: Oh yeah? I bet I can force the answers out of you

Harry: Is that a challenge?

Louis: My house. Get off at my bus stop.

Harry: You're on

***

"I bet you're ticklish," I say as I lead Harry into my house. I take him up to my room, because that's the most comfortable place.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he responds.

"You're not helping," I pout, crossing my arms.

"Why would I help you force answers out of me?"

I huff. I take Harry's hands into my own and yank him into my room, closing and locking the door behind me. I throw him onto the bed and climb on top of him, pinning his arms above his head and straddling him.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," I say sternly, looking into his eyes. I notice him gulp, a slight blush tainting his cheeks.

"What's the hard way?"

"The hard way is that I tickle and pinch you until you give me answers. The easy way is that you just confess now, and no harm will come to you."

"What if I'm not ticklish?"

"Then I guess I'll bite you."

Harry's face turns red, and I realize what I said could be taken a different way. Add in me pinning Harry on top of my bed, and you have a pretty tense atmosphere.

"I-I mean, um, n-not like th-that, um," I try to save the situation, but there's really no way to make it better.

"Bite me, then. I won't tell you anything," Harry's blush has gone down, and now he's looking at me teasingly.

I feel my own face heat up, and I close my eyes from embarrassment. I don't back down from challenges, so really, the next thing I do is Harry's own fault.

I open my eyes again and lean down to Harry's arm. I take a deep breath, and bite his wrist.

Harry moans. He fucking moans. I freeze with my head just barely over his arm, not knowing what to do. To make matters worse, I feel blood rush between my legs.

"Harry," I don't know what to say, but I don't want the room to be filled with awkward silence.

"I think I have a thing for pain," his voice is lower than usual, and that only makes me more flustered.

"I th-think so t-too," I hesitantly raise my head to make eye contact with Harry, and see that his pupils are dilated. Because of course they are.

"Um, I-I'm just g-going to," I wander off, standing up from the bed and walking over to my closet. I pull out an oversized hoodie and put it on. It doesn't completely hide my situation, but it's the best I can do.

"Are you cold?" Harry asks gently, and I turn around to see him sit up on the bed.

"Um, k-kinda," I lie, feeling my face heat up. This is humiliating.

"Do you want to cuddle? I mean, only if you don't feel awkward," Harry's face radiates concern and care, and I immediately feel comforted. It's like whenever I'm with him, he always manages to make me feel safe, even if the situation is awkward.

"Sure, why not," I smile gently, and get into the bed with Harry, spooning him.

***

He leans in close to me, cupping my jaw with his hand.

"Can I kiss you?"

I'm having this nightmare again. This time I recognize it as a nightmare because his face has changed. It's no longer the fake love that it was on the day of The Incident, it's a distorted and harsh face.

"No," I say sternly. I finally have control over myself. Every other time I've had this nightmare, it's just the harsh memory. But this time I can say what I really want. "No, you can't kiss me. Because I don't love you."

"You're disgusting."

Even though I told him he couldn't kiss me, the nightmare of a memory still continues as normal. Which means, any second now, his friends will come and beat me up.

"I hate you," I say before they arrive.

***

I wake up crying. Even though this time I knew it was a nightmare, and I could control what I said, the memory still held power over me. It could still make me cry.

"Lou? Are you okay?"

I immediately open my eyes. Harry and I are no longer spooning, but we're facing each other. My arms are wrapped tightly around myself, and our legs are entwined. Harry's eyes are filled with concern, and I turn myself over so he can't see me cry.

"I'm f-fine," I sniffle a little, hoping he can't hear it.

"You're clearly not," Harry wraps his arms around me, holding me in a tight hug.

"Can you just tell me if you're messing with me?" I blurt out.

"What do you mean?" His voice sounds concerned and soft. Not to mention gravelly from sleep.

"The last time someone liked me," I pause, not knowing if I can talk about it. But I need to. I need to make sure I don't get hurt again.

"He never actually liked me, he just pretended to. I should've seen it. He always made excuses to not hang out with me, he never even held my hand. He just flirted with me and gave me false hope and s-stabbed me in th-the back," I start to hiccup a little as I finish my sentence, a new wake of tears threatening to pour down my face.

"So you want me to tell you how I feel about you?" Harry asks gently.

I nod my head as a few tears spill out of my eyes against my will.

"Fine," Harry sighs. "I was planning on telling you before rehearsals anyways to make the kiss scene less awkward. Or more awkward, if you don't feel the same way. But I love you, Louis. And I know to you we just met this year in art class, but I've actually known you longer than that. For the past two years, we've had a few classes where we sat on opposite sides of the room. In those years, I just admired you from afar. Your looks drew me in, but I overheard a few of your interactions with Liam, and our personality was just as amazing.

I know you might not feel the same, and I know you might not be ready for a relationship, but I just want to say, I'm here when you are ready. And if you're never ready, that's alright. At least I got to tell you how I feel."

I let Harry's confession sink in for a bit. He said he loves me. He said he loves me. Is that what I feel for him? Is it love, or just a pathetic crush that I'll get over in a week?

"I... I don't know if w-what I f-feel for you is just a c-crush or something m-more. And I d-don't want to h-hurt you by being in a r-relationship and h-having, and having my f-feelings go away," my voice wavers and I whisper a few things, but I get my feelings out there.

And I finally realize that I do have feelings for Harry. Whether it's love or just a crush, right here and right now, Harry is my source of comfort. And I know he'll never hurt me.

"It's okay. Whatever you want, I'm here for you."

***

(Author)

I didn't know how to end this so sorry if it was abrubt ahaaa

I also didn't know what to title this chapter until the very end, and I got really close to leaving it as, "I have no idea what to call this"

SOOOO THERE WAS DEVELOPMENT IN THE RELATIONSHIP!!!!!!

The legal age of consent in the UK is 16..... Harry and Louis are 16...... I'm not saying something's gonna happen, I'm just.... Putting that information out there.................. (I don't think this is correct, but either way, in the UK you're legally an adult at 16, I think)

Chapter Text

(Monday)

*Louis' POV*

Harry and I hung out quite a bit during the weekend, celebrating the fact that we got the lead roles. Today is our first rehearsal, and it's after school.

"Alright everyone, thank you for being here," Miss Melissa says to the cast. Everyone is sitting around in the auditorium, looking at the stage where Miss Melissa is currently standing.

"Now, I have a few things to go over with some of you separately, so I hope you don't mind waiting a bit." At this, she walked off the stage and went to go talk to some of the other cast members.

"What do you think their talking about?" Harry whispered to me.

"You don't have to be so quiet, you know. And it's probably just costume design or something." Ive been in the school plays before, so I know how much Miss Melissa values student feedback on stuff like props and set pieces.

Eventually, Miss Melissa came over to where Harry and I were sitting together.

"Harry, I have a question for you," she stated confidently. Her tone always made her sound like a professional producer.

"What is it?"

"Well, I cast you as Juliet because I thought you suited the role well. However, this is a modern recreation of the play, so I want to know how you would like to play the part. There are three options. One is to play Juliet and cross dress, wearing a dress and a long haired wig, and maybe altering your voice to be higher. Another is to play Julien, a male twist on the role, and wear more masculine clothing with your regular voice. The third is still to play Julien, but as a more feminine man who breaks gender roles and wears a dress anyways. What do you think?"

I can see Harry carefully considering the options. I can't tell which one he likes more.

"Would you mind if I took a few days to think it over?" He asked politely.

He could sound so professional. It was amazing.

"Of course. Now a question for the both of you," Miss Melissa looked between Harry and me. "Are you two alright with acting as lovers and doing the kissing scene? Because we can always take that part out."

Harry looked at me and nodded slightly. I knew he was okay with it, since he kind of confessed his feelings for me on Friday. I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was wondering if I was okay with it.

"Yes, we're okay with acting as a couple," I answered. It might be awkward, but it would help me figure out my feelings.

"Alright then. That's all I need from you two. Please wait patiently while I talk to the other cast members."

***

"Hey Romeo, I noticed that you've been eyeing that guy over there. Isn't he the son of your dad's enemy?"

"Cut!" Miss Melissa yelled. "Josh, how many times do I need to tell you that that's not your line? Mercury doesn't know that Julien is off limits!"

"Sorry, miss. What's the line again?"

Miss Melissa glanced down at her watch. "We have the building until three, but it's already two fifty-five. Practice that part at home. I'll see you all on Thursday."

Rehearsals are every Monday and Thursday until 3 at the school, and the play isn't until November, so we had plenty of time to get our lines memorised.

"Hey Lou, want to walk home together?" Harry asked as he started walking beside me.

"Sure," I smile gently, taking Harry's hand into my own.

We walk to our neighbourhood together, chatting every now and then about anything and everything. It was really peaceful and nice. I could get used to this.

"So have you fallen madly in love with me yet?" Harry asked in a teasing voice.

I whipped my head to face him, unable to hide my surprise.

"W-W-W," I couldn't even force out the word 'what', which was embarrassing.

"Calm down, I was only joking," Harry chuckled gently. "You should see the look on your face."

"N-Not f-funny," I mumbled, yanking my hand out of his in retaliation.

"Hey," he whined in response.

"If you're going to be a flirtatious jerk, you don't get to hold my hand," I say sternly.

"If I say I'm sorry, can I hold your hand again?" He asked hopefully.

I pretended to think it over, but it was almost October, and starting to get chilly outside, so holding hands to keep warm was incredibly enticing.

"Fine," I huffed, holding Harry's hand again.

"I've been thinking about my role," Harry said after a bit of silence.

"Yeah? Do you know which option you're going to go with?"

"I think I might try out the gender breaking Julien role. If I don't like wearing a dress, I'm sure Miss Melissa will let me switch."

"I haven't seen you in a dress before," I hummed.

"Do you think I'll look good?" Harry asked softly.

"You always look good," I scoffed, hoping he could hear the sincerity in my statement.

"Thanks," his voice was shy, and it caught me a bit off guard. I looked up at him and saw that he was blushing a little.

I looked to the ground, feeling myself blush as well.

Stupid Harry and his good looks and great personality making me fall for him.

***

"Liam, we have an emergency," I say over my phone as soon as I get home.

"Is this a 'come hug me' emergency or 'let me yell into the phone' emergency?"

"Undecided. The problem is, I have a crush on Harry-"

"How is that a problem?"

"You didn't let me finish," I huff. "I have a crush on him, but I don't know if it's just a crush that will go away in two weeks, or if it's," I trail off.

"Or if it's love?" Liam finishes my sentence for me.

"Yeah, that."

"I'd love to help you, but I'm struggling with my feelings too. I'm sure Niall would love to help, though."

"Wait wait wait. You have feelings for someone?" I ask somewhat excitedly.

"Maybe!" Liam yells, then hangs up the phone, making me laugh.

I guess I'll text Niall, then.

Louis: Niall, I need your wisdom

Niall: You've finally come to me for food suggestions? About time

Louis: No, I need help figuring out my feelings for Harry

Niall: I'll be there soon

***

"So you don't want to start a relationship because your worried that your feelings will fade?" Niall asks after I fill him in.

"Exactly," I say.

Niall hums a little, thinking to himself.

"If I were Harry, I'd wait until you were more confident about your feelings. Yet at the same time, if you two like each other, you should date. It's feelings one-oh-one."

"Thanks Niall, you just made things even more confusing," I groan, putting my head in my hands.

"To be honest, I'd wait it out a little. Maybe get closer to him, cuddle more, stuff like that. And since you'll be kissing for the play, I think that will help, too."

"You don't think Harry will be upset that I can't sort my feelings out?" I ask, looking up at him.

"Course not! If anything, he'll be happier if you have more time to think things over. 'Cause then you'll be more sure."

"Thanks, Ni," I smile at him, and pull him into a soft hug.

***

(Author)

Ugh omg. I need it to be Halloween in this world already but it's NOT EVEN OCTOBER. I HAVE AN IDEA BUT I CAN'T DO IT YET UGHHHHHHHHHHHH

So who do you think Liam has feelings for?

I'm literally trying my best to write filler chapters until I can do all the main things that will like, actually impact the story, but it's so hArd

I feel like this chapter kinda sucked tbh

Oh well. You live and you life

Chapter Text

(Tuesday)

*Louis' POV*

The entire time that I should be focusing on algebra, the only thing I can think about is Harry. Because - as much as I don't want to admit it - I have feelings for him. And something as stupid as Niall tapping his pencil on the desk reminds me of Harry tapping his fingers on my kitchen counter when he first made cupcakes in my house.

It's all Harry's fault, too. If he hasn't confessed to me, I wouldn't have realized that I had feelings for him, and I could've kept living in non-crush filled bliss.

I hear a tap on my desk, and I see my teacher place a note in front of me.

'Please meet me during lunch to discuss your grades'

***

"Are you okay? You look worried," Harry notes during art class, where we're still working on our mug projects.

"My algebra teacher wants to meet me to talk about my grades. I'm worried that they've gone down," I sigh, resting my head in my hands. "That could mean that I'll have to quit the play."

"Hey, don't worry about it. If your grades are going down, I can start helping you with your homework again." Harry says with a soothing voice that helps me calm down.

"You'd do that?" I ask, looking up at him. I know from Liam's complaining how difficult it is to help me with maths.

"Of course," Harry smiles at me, his dimples showing. It makes me smile softly in return.

"Thanks Hazza," I startle myself with the nickname. But from the look on Harry's face, he seemed to like it.

"No problem, Lou."

***

After art class was lunch time. I anxiously walked to my maths classroom, trying to calm myself down.

"Louis, thank you for meeting with me on such short notice," my teacher greeted me as soon as I walked through the door.

"You wanted to discuss my grades?" I asked.

"Yes. Over the span of this month, you've only had one assignment completely filled out. The rest are half filled, and most of the answers are wrong. If you keep this up, you'll fail my class, and you won't be able to participate in school held activities, such as plays."

My heart dropped a little. It was just what I was afraid of. But then I remembered Harry's offer.

"Don't worry Miss, I have someone who can help me with my homework."

"And this person is just helping, not lending you answers?" My teacher asked firmly.

"Of course," I assure her.

"I won't oppose to you getting a friend to help, but if your grades don't improve, you'll need a tutor."

"I understand."

I left the room in a hurry, trying not to panic. I knew Harry was good at helping me. There would be no need for a tutor. I could stay in the play. I hope.

As soon as I turn down the hall to head pack to the cafeteria, I bump into someone, knocking them down onto the floor and landing on top of them.

"Oops," I open my eyes to see if the person I bumped into was hurt, and I almost sigh in relief.

"Hi," Harry smiles at me, not looking too bothered.

"Why are you here?" I ask, getting up off the floor and reaching out a hand.

"I wanted to check up on you," he says simply, grabbing my hand.

I help pull him up off the ground. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, but I wanted to. I care about you," he said softly, his voice low with affection.

"Thanks," I mutter, feeling myself blush. "Let's get to lunch, I'm starving," I add quickly before Harry notices my flustering.

***

"Tell me again why you need me there," Liam says on the bus.

"I need you there to help me focus on homework and not Harry," I explain again.

I had asked Liam earlier to join the study session Harry and I had planned in hopes that with him around, maybe my brain wouldn't be scrambling with feelings and confusion.

"Fine, but you owe me," he says, not really meaning it. That's the great thing about Liam; he'll do things for you without expecting anything in return.

"Thanks Lima," I say right as the bus stops near my house. I get off with Liam, and Harry gets off as well. We all walk to my house together.

"I hope you don't mind Harry, but I invited Liam to join us," I say to Harry I unlock my door.

"Because he can't handle being alone with you," Liam adds, making me almost fall when I open the door to my house.

"Th-That is n-not true," I huff, leading the boys into the living area of my house.

"Oh, right. You can handle being alone with him, you'll just focus on him instead of the homework," Liam smiles innocently as if he said the most natural thing in the world.

I give him my 'shut-up-before-I-rip-your-head-off' look, and sit down on the couch, pulling out my homework.

"Let's just get started already," I mumble.

Thankfully, Liam doesn't say anything else. He does talk about a few of my embarrassing phases in between Harry helping me with my homework, and I seriously consider sewing his mouth closed. But luckily, we mostly just work, and by the end of the day, I have a completely filled out assignment that I'm somewhat proud of.

"Thanks again for helping me, Harry. I owe you," I give him a soft smile, and he looks back at me a little flushed.

"It's no problem, really. Besides, if I didn't help you, you wouldn't be able to be in the play, and I know how important it is to you," Harry says, running his fingers through his hair.

"And you two lead roles would have to kiss someone else if one of you had to quit," Liam adds.

I choke on nothing, causing me to go into a bit of a coughing fit. Harry walks over to me, patting my back, trying to help.

"Thanks," I mumble, feeling myself blush. That was humiliating.

"No problem," Harry smiles, his hand still on my lower back.

"Get a room," Liam says after a few seconds of Harry and I just looking at each other.

"I have a better idea, you lads could leave my house," I say, glaring at Liam.

To be honest, it would be nice to have them stay a bit longer, but I don't know how much more I can handle of Liam not-so-subtly pushing Harry and I together.

"I'll get going, but you should stay, Harry. Drive Louis crazy," Liam winks and walks out of my house without so much as another glance in our direction.

"Um, I'm gonna leave too. Something tells me you need time to yourself. Next me if you need anything," Harry says the last part softly, laced with concern.

My heart feels fuzzy and my stomach swirls. Harry cares about me. And for some reason, this makes me extremely happy, and I try my best not to break into a giant smile that would scare him off.

"Yeah, I will," I say, walking Harry to the door. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Harry responds, walking out the door.

***

(Author)

Do you know how many days it took me to write this chapter?
Hint: the answer is TOO MANY

Like I almost didn't have a chapter prepared for you guys omg. I just have reeeally bad writer's block and idk what to put to fill in the time between now and the play ahhhhhh

Also, I feel like I spelt coughing wrong. Like, it should be coffing

Chapter Text

(Thursday)

*Louis' POV*

"Action!"

Miss Melissa calls for us to start our scene. We're doing a run through of the entire play at once, then going over what could be done better in each scene after it's performed. Today we've had enough time to make it to the kiss scene, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.

I shove down all my feelings. Right now, I'm not Louis who is nervous and confused. I'm Romeo who is madly in love with Julien. I can do this.

"Romeo, I know our parents hate each other, but I can't keep hiding my feelings for you. And I know you feel the same," Harry says to me, starting the scene.

"I do feel the same. Maybe if our parents know that we're in love, they'll let us be together," I smile, grabbing Harry's hands. So far, I've been able to stay in character, but my heart is beating just a little faster than usual.

"Do you think so? Do you really think we can work?" Harry looks up at me. Just like the last time he said this line to me, his eyes are burning with desire. He wants me to say yes, to tell him that we can make our relationship work. My stomach swirls.

"Only one way to find out," I step towards Harry, placing one hand on his lower back and the other at the back of his neck.

Harry closes his eyes, and that helps me build up my courage. I lean in and kiss him softly. It's gentle, because Romeo and Julien don't know if they can be together, so they don't want all their feelings out yet. I pull back from Harry, delivering the last line of the scene.

"We can do this, Julien. We can be together no matter what our parents say," I give him a loving smile, doing my best not to shake under the intense swarm of butterflies in my stomach.

"Wonderful, boys. That was beautiful," Miss Melissa says.

I immediately take a step back from Harry, feeling overwhelmed from my emotions. That kiss gave me actual butterflies.

I might not be able to hold back my feelings for Harry for much longer. I don't want to hurt him, but I need more time after the incident. Hopefully he can wait a bit longer until I've pulled myself together.

"All right everyone, we're out of time. Don't forget to practice over the weekend," Miss Melissa calls to the room.

Immediately, everyone gathers their things. Harry and I walk off the stage together, and I almost trip on the stairs when I see who walks through the door.

"Come on, let's go," I say quickly to Harry, grabbing his hand and practically running to where our things are.

"Well well well, if it isn't Louis Tomlinson," the voice I've heard in my nightmares has gotten a bit deeper, and he talks like he's trying to send daggers with his words.

I ignore him, deciding that he probably just wants attention as usual. I pack my stuff as quickly as I can, glancing over at Harry.

"Do you have all your things?" I ask him, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.

"What's wrong, Louis? You don't like me anymore?" I feel a hand on my shoulder and I jump, spinning around.

Nick is looking at me with a menacing smirk, just begging me to fall apart again. I take a step back, smacking his hand off of me.

"No, as a matter of fact, I don't. What are you even doing here? I didn't know you were into stalking," I stand as tall as I can, talking a bit slowly to control my stutter.

"I came to pick up my step sister. I usually wait outside, but I decided to come in today. And I don't believe that you don't like me anymore. You were all over me in middle school," he says in a menacing tone that makes me want to punch him in the face.

"He has a boyfriend now," Harry says, grabbing my hand. "I have all my things, let's go."

Even though we're not dating, I don't care that Harry said that. He saved me from having to talk to Nick for any longer. And Nick doesn't say anything as Harry and I rush out of the building, holding hands.

"Who was that guy?" Harry asks as soon as we're out of the building, sounding somewhat angry.

Memories of the day Nick broke not only my heart, but my trust, come flooding back to me. I think I needed closure, needed to know if he was just messing around with me to fit in with his friends, or if he actually was just a bad person. Now that I know, I think the nightmares will stop.

"He..." I pause, remembering the day I woke up crying with Harry. That was the day he confessed his feelings as well. He deserves to know the story.

"It's a long story, let's go to my house so we can get comfortable," I say, looking up at Harry.

He nods, and we begin our walk to my house.

***

Harry and I are sitting on my couch. I brought out some snacks, and I nervously fiddle with my hands. Here goes nothing.

"When I was about half way through seventh grade, I had a crush on Nick. We had been friends the year before, but we weren't too close. We mostly just talked about how annoying everyone was. His friends were jerks who shoved smart people into lockers, but I never hung out with them. I think Nick realised that I had a crush on him, because he started being more flirty with me. But he never agreed to hang out more than just in school. I was an idiot. I never realised how fake his words sounded, or how soulless his eyes were. I just wanted to be with him."

"In eighth grade, he told me that we weren't going to be in the same high school. Half way through the year, I decided I should confess my feelings for him. I think I was hoping that if I told him how I felt, he would somehow change schools to be with me. So we met in the hallway and I told him how I felt. He asked if he could kiss me, and when I said yes, he leaned in and called me disgusting. His friends came out of nowhere, and you can probably guess what they did to me. For a week, they harrassed me, and because Nick broke my trust, I didn't even go to Liam, because I thought he wouldn't care either."

"By the time a week had passed, Liam decided he'd had enough of me ignoring him. He followed me to class, but Nick's friends got to me first. Liam chased them off and reported them to the principal, so they we're expelled. Nick got expelled as well."

I don't look up at Harry. I don't want to see what his reaction to my story is.

"Lou," Harry says softly. I hold my breath, not knowing what he'll say.

"Lou," Harry says again, taking my head in his hand and turning me to face him.

His eyes burn into mine, showing passion and care and... Love.

"I love you. I bet that Nike guy never told you that, but I will. I'll tell you I love you for however many times it takes for you to believe me. And I'll keep loving you until you're ready to love me back," Harry holds my hands, and I can see in his eyes that he's telling the truth. I'm safe with him. He actually cares.

"Thank you," I practically whisper. But I know he heard me.

Harry is good. He's seen me at my worst, and he's still here. The nightmare is over. I can move on.

***

(Author)

Wowza. What a sad backstory

At first I wanted this to be a happy fic with like no problems, but then I remembered that without some drama, that would probably be boring

So I think Louis might be ready to be with Harry?¿!/?‽??

I don't know, this story is literally writing itself. Like I get one idea, and then the rest kinda just pours out

This does kinda suck, though. I'm thinking that I'll finish writing this fic, take a little break, and then maybe rewrite it, but better? (Still kinda want to do this)

Because like, the plot is all over the place, as well as the character development, sooo idk man
We shall see

Chapter Text

(Still Thursday)

*Louis' POV*

"I think I'm going to clear my head this weekend. I don't want to get closer to you now and have a sort of rebound relationship," I say to Harry.

"You can take however long you need. I'll still be here when you need me," Harry says, moving to stand up.

"Wait," I say, pulling on his arms so that he doesn't leave. "Stay, please. I don't want to be alone today."

"Alright," Harry agrees. "I'll bake something for you."

"I'm in the mood for cookies," I smile

Harry and I get up, moving to the kitchen. I help him find all the ingredients he lists from memory.

"Do you want to help me this time?" Harry asks, smiling down at me.

"I would, but I think I'll leave it to the expert. I don't want to mess up any of the mixing or whatever else you'll do."

"You can measure the flour for me," Harry says as he measures some sugar.

"Okay, fine," I agree, just to make him happy. I've never been good at baking, but surely I can't mess up measuring flour.

Harry tells me how much he needs, and I grab the flour bag to pour the flour into a measuring cup. I feel flour falling on me as I tilt the bag, and I see a hole in the bottom of it.

"Of course the bag is broken," I mumble mostly to myself, getting some tape to put over the hole. "I'm going to change out of my flour covered clothes. Try not to walk in on me again."

I walk out of the kitchen, making my way upstairs. By the time I'm finished changing, about 10 minutes have passed. I walk back downstairs slowly, and pause when I hear singing.

"I know you never loved the crinkles by your eyes when you smile,
You never loved your stomach or your thighs,
The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine,
But I love them endlessly.
I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth,
But if I do, it's you,
It's you they add up to,
I'm in love with Lou, and all his little things."

It's Harry. He's singing. And he sounds amazing.

"You're a wonderful singer," I say, walking into the kitchen.

Harry snaps his head up, his face turning red. "You heard me?"

"Yeah. It was a cute song. Your voice is amazing," I smile at him.

"I, um, thanks," Harry looks down again.

It's strange to see him look so flustered. He usually handles everything so confidently. But his shy side is so adorable.

"You're cute when you're flustered," I tell him.

There's a small pause where Harry seems to be gathering his thoughts.

"So you liked the song?"

I feel myself blush, remembering the last line he sang. "I'm in love with Lou, and all his little things." I'll admit that it gave me butterflies thinking about it.

"Yeah, it was nice," I say, smiling at him.

"So you like my little declarations of love?" Harry asks in a teasing voice, walking towards me.

"They do wonders for my ego. I can't blame you for being obsessed with me, though," I respond somewhat sarcastically, backing up slightly.

Harry keeps moving towards me, and I keep backing up until I feel my back hit a wall. I look up at him, and he places his hands on either side of my head.

"Nobody likes a narcissist," Harry says, leaning forward slightly.

I blink. I'm backed against a wall, and my head is trapped between Harry's hands, and he's looking at me all intense, and my heart is racing.

"You m-must hate me, then. I l-love myself too much for y-you," I stutter under the intense situation, not quite sure what's happening.

"Yeah, I hate you so much. I hate how perfect your hips are," Harry lowers one of his hands and squeezes my hip softly. I bite my lip to stifle a groan.

"I hate how soft your hair is," Harry runs his fingers through my hair, and I close my eyes at how nice it feels.

"And I especially hate how amazing your lips feel against mine," Harry cups my jaw and looks into my eyes with passion and want. "Only when you want to, though."

I take a deep breath. I don't want to make whatever this thing I have with Harry to be fueled by my anger with Nick. I want to be close to Harry when it's my decision, not my brain's way of coping.

Harry must sense my hesitation, because he immediately backs up.

"Let's keep baking, shall we?" He asks in an overly "fancy" voice.

"We shall," I answer in the same tone.

***

"What should we do while the cookies are baking?" Harry asks when we finally put the desserts in the oven.

"I'm going to text the lads. Invite them over since my mum has to work overnight, and we still need to properly celebrate the fact that we got the lead roles in the play."

(Group chat)

Louis: Hey lads, you're all coming over to my place tonight for a sleepover. You don't have a choice

Liam: Alright

Niall: Will there be food?

Louis : No, Niall, my house is completely void of food

Niall: I just had to check

Louis: If you eat all of it, you're getting kicked out

Harry: Don't starve the kid, Louis

Louis: Harry you're literally in the same house as me, you don't need to be texting in here

Zayn: How romantic

Louis : Just shut up and be at my place by 6

"I guess we'll just have to hope they're coming over, then. Come on, you're helping me make dinner," I grab Harry's hand and pull him over to where the high cabinets are.

"I can't reach and I don't feel like getting a stool, so you need to help me up," I cross my arms.

"Okay, climb on my back," Harry agrees easily.

He basically gives me a piggyback ride, making it easier for me to reach the cabinets. I grab one of the cookbooks and get back down softly.

"Okay, time to get cooking!"

***

(Author)

I literally only included that cabinet piggyback scene because it was at 940 words and I wanted it to be at least 1,000

My mind went a million different places while writing this chapter

Wow a lot of stuff happened, but also nothing happened at the same time, it's so weird

Did you like the song? It was a chopped version of Little Things by One Addition

Harry also backed Louis against a wall and teased him, so that was kinda spicy

Chapter Text

(s t i l l  T h u r s d a y)

*Louis' POV even though I'm probably not changing it to someone else ever again*

The lads all arrive at my house by the time Harry and I have finished cooking. Niall, smelling the food, watched us like a hawk until we set out plates for everyone.

"Why are we here, again?" Zayn asks while we're all seated in the kitchen, eating our food.

"To celebrate Harry and I being amazing actors," I responded easily.

"You were amazing. I'm still surprised I got the part," Harry admits.

"You shouldn't be surprised. After all, you were trained by a master," I say in reference to myself.

I'm being a bit cocky, but it feels nice to flaunt my skills every now and then.

"I still haven't thanked you for that, have I?" Harry muses.

"You getting the part is all the thanks I need," I smile at him.

"If you two are just going to flirt all night, I'm leaving," Liam says bluntly.

"We're not flirting, we're appreciating each other's skills," I cross my arms, pouting slightly.

"Whatever you say," Liam rolls his eyes.

"We should play a game. I have FIFA, if you lads are up for it," I say after we eat in silence for a few minutes.

The boys all think about it for a few seconds before agreeing. We finish our food, getting up to go to the living area.

Niall runs to the room, while the rest of us walk. Zayn stops by the doorway, glancing at Liam. They seem to have a conversation with their eyes.

Zayn stops Harry, turning him around so he's facing the kitchen again. Liam grabs me by the arms, pulling me to him.

"Hey, what are you-"

Liam shoves me forward, making me trip. I land in Harry's arms, our bodies and faces close together. I immediately take a step back, glaring at Liam.

"What was that for?" I ask, trying to ignore the fluttering in my chest and the heat in my face.

"We're just trying to shove you two together, that's all. Now come on, Niall is probably lonely," Liam says quickly, taking my arm and pulling me to the other room.

***

"All right. We need two teams and one judge," I say, setting up the game.

(A/N: I have no idea what FIFA is but I've seen it used as a video game in other fics so I'm just improvising on minimal knowledge)

"I'll be the judge! I want to steal all your food while you're busy playing," Niall grins.

"I'll be on a team with Zayn," Liam says, wrapping his arm around Zayn's shoulders.

"I guess that leaves us two as a team as well, Curly," I smile at Harry.

We play a few rounds, Niall screaming random sports terms that aren't accurate, such as, "hole in one!"

"This is getting boring," Liam says after a while.

"You're only saying that because you're losing," I tease him.

"Maybe. But weren't we going to celebrate? This seems more like hanging out than celebrating," Liam points out.

"All right mister party man. How do you think we should celebrate?" I poke Liam in the shoulder.

"I for one think that there's way too little food here. We need to get ice cream and cake," Niall says, hopping up off the ground and moving towards the door.

"Where are you going, exactly?" I ask.

"Shopping. Unless you want to bake the cake, but that would take to long. You lads need to come, too. I can't carry everything by myself," Niall walks out the door to the house, and the rest of us glance at each other and shrug, joining Niall in walking to the store.

***

"I can't believe we got kicked out," Zayn mutters as we drop all the food on the kitchen counter.

"I can't believe they let us buy everything before they kicked us out," Liam added.

"It's not my fault you kept dropping everything. Tripping over the ice cream pints and falling into the shelves was inevitable," Niall shrugs, opening one of the ice cream containers.

I blush as I think about the disaster that was our shopping trip. Niall kept shoving ice cream pints into our arms, and we kept dropping them, making us trip a lot.

One of the times I tripped, I ended up falling against Harry, making us both slam into one of the shelves. We also may or may not have accidentally kissed from the fall.

"I just can't believe you had the money to pay for that. I didn't realise you were rich," I say to Niall, trying to get my mind somewhere else.

"I'm not rich, I just save up money a lot so I can it all on food," Niall shrugs, devouring an entire ice cream pint on his own.

"How do you eat so much and never gain weight?" I ask in slight awe at Niall's ability to eat quite literally everything.

Niall shurgs, "I guess it's just a natural talent."

The rest of us scoop some ice cream into bowls (because not everyone can eat entire pints of ice cream), moving into the living area to put on a film about winning.

"What about Prom? It's about two lesbians winning their right to go to prom. That seems cute," I suggest.

"That sounds like a romantic movie. We want to celebrate, not cuddle up on couches," Niall says.

"I don't know, Ireland. Cuddling up in couches sounds like the perfect celebration to me," I run over to Niall and squeeze him into the tightest hug I can manage.

Niall puts his hands on my arms and twirls me in circles, throwing me onto one of the couches.

"I'd rather eat all your food, but the rest of you can watch the movie. Here, cuddle with your boyfriend," Niall says, grabbing Harry and shoving him onto the couch that I'm currently laying on.

Harry lands on top of me, his arms catching his fall, planted on either side of me. His face barely lands away from mine, our noses touching. He almost immediately pushes himself up, allowing me space to sit up as well.

"He's not my-" I start to say, but Niall is already leaving to room to go to the kitchen, so I let it go.

***

Harry and I sleep in my room, and Zayn and Liam take the couch. And Niall seemed perfectly content in staying in the kitchen the whole night.

Harry and I may or may not have cuddled while sleeping, and it may or may not have been the best night of sleep I've had in a while.

Now it's Friday, and officially October, and we have a normal day of light banter at school, before separating for the weekend.

***

(Author)

Can you tell that I didn't know how to end this chapter

IT'S FINALLY FREAKING OCTOBER IN THIS BOOK WOW IT TOOK FOREVER

Omg I'm so excited for Halloween it's gonna be amazing, okay (don't tell anyone, but I already started writing that chapter. It was like the 5th one I wrote teehee)

Future author here, the next chapter is very spicy ;)

(What does that MEAN???)

Chapter Text

(October. Monday)

*Louis' POV*

New Message

Harry: Hey Lou, do you mind if I come over after school?

It's an innocent enough question. Something any friend would ask. Except Harry doesn't want a friendly hang out session.

I told him I would take the weekend to think over my feelings, and now that the weekend is over, he expects an answer.

Louis: Sure. Get off at my stop and we can walk to my house from there

***

"So, how was your weekend?" I ask Harry as I lead him up to my room.

"It was a bit boring. I mostly just rehearsed the play script by myself. How about yours? Did you do a lot of thinking?" Harry asks, looking at me with curiosity and concern.

"Yeah, I did," I look down, sitting on my bed and fidgeting with my fingers.

Harry sits on the opposite side of the bed, so that our backs are touching each other.

"What did you think about?" He asks even though he knows the answer.

"You, mostly. And me, somewhat," I answer honestly.

Over the weekend, I had thought about Harry. How much he cares for me, how open he is with me, how comfortable he makes me. I thought about the way his eyes light up when he sees me, how he laughs at every one of my dumb jokes, how he can never seem to be close enough to me.

And I had thought about myself. Mostly asking myself questions. Questions like am I sure I'm ready? Can I really do this?

The answers were clear with the bearing if my heart as I envisioned a relationship with Harry. Holding hands while walking places. Cuddling on couches as much as possible. Whispering things to each other, like how good the other looks or how much we miss each other. Sending secret glances across rooms.

I could envision each scenario clearly, as if it was real. And each one filled my chest with an unmistakable warmth.

"I know now that I want to be with you," I say, turning around to face him.

"You do?" Harry asks, turning as well.

We make intense eye contact. His green eyes burn passion and love and care into my blue ones. It feels like lightning is sizzling between us.

"Yeah. I want to be with you and have a cheesy relationship with late night movies and cute montages of random moments together," I place my hands on top of Harry's gently.

"Lou," Harry whispers gently, taking one of his hands from mine, placing it softly on the side of my face, cupping my jaw.

"Can I?" He asks just as softly.

I nod my head, not trusting my voice, and I close my eyes in anticipation.

Harry's lips press against mine in a soft kiss. My heart drops to the bottom of my stomach, getting eaten alive by butterflies.

I bury my hands in Harry's curls, bringing him closer to me. The tingling sensation of having Harry this close washes over me, and before I know what I'm doing, I'm parting my lips slightly.

Harry parts his as well, and our tongues swirl around each other's. Harry's hand moves from my face to the back of me neck, the other planted softly on my lower back.

My blood pulses through my body quickly, a strange sort of heat washing over me. I lean into Harry more, pushing him down until his back is against the mattress, doing my best not to break the kiss.

I place my knees on either side of him, kissing him passionately. I take one of my hands from his hair, running it down his arm. I feel him shiver beneath my touch.

"Hey Louis, I think I left my-" I hear Liam's voice from the other side of my door, and then I hear him barge into my room.

I immediately pull my head back, stumbling to get off of Harry as quickly as possible.

"L-Liam! Erm, what, uh, w-what are you... What are you d-doing here?" I feel my face flush as I sit dizzily on the edge of my bed.

"I think I left my jacket here from the celebration. I also think I interrupted something," he says in his knowing voice that pisses me off.

"W-We were just, um," I try to come up with some sort of excuse, but nothing comes to mind. So I settle for blunt honesty.

"We were making out since we're officially dating," I say, giving him a small glare, crossing my arms.

"Oh, so you two are finally together? Took you long enough," Liam smiles.

There's an awkward silence in the room where no one quite knows what to do.

"So are you getting your jacket or not?" I ask somewhat impatiently.

"Eager to get back on top of your boyfriend, huh?" Liam asks in a teasing voice.

"Shut up and get your damn piece of fabric," I say, grabbing Liam by the door and pulling him out of my room.

"I think I saw it in here earlier. I was going to bring it to school, but I forgot," I say as I drag Liam into my living area, over by where his jacket lays.

"Take it and leave," I shove the jacket into his arms, shoving him as well. "Bye Lima."

"You're such a sweet host," he responds sarcastically.

"Only when I want to be!" I say in a sing-song voice as I skip back up to my room.

When I walk back through the door, Harry is sitting up on my bed, looking like he doesn't know what to do.

"I'd say the moment has been officially ruined, so why don't we just rehearse for the play together?" I ask.

"That sounds nice," Harry smiles, getting up off the bed.

We go over the scenes with a new appreciation for the lines. Turns out it's easier to act hopelessly in love when you actually love the person you're acting with.

***

(Author)

This is barely 1,000 words wow

I'm sorry I made Liam walk in on them, but I just couldn't resist

There may or may not be smut in the next chapter, idk, I haven't decided yet (there is)

LARRY IS OFFICIALLY TOGETHER AYYY

I'm so in love with their love. I tried to be as descriptive as possible

I've literally never made out with someone sooo idk if it was accurate or not ahaaa

Chapter Text

(Tuesday)

*Louis' POV*

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me after rehearsal," Miss Melissa says to both me and Harry.

As soon as we got to rehearsal, Miss Melissa pulled us to the side and asked us to meet with her after rehearsal to discuss a possible change in the script.

"So I had an idea. This is a modern day play, so what if there was a rather promiscuous scene? I talked to the school board, and while neither of you are allowed to be naked on stage, they said that for the play it would be okay if one of you was shirtless."

"Now, there's not a lot you can do with that, but I'm thinking perhaps Julien ties Romeo to his bed with his curtains, kissing his chest. Then Julien would slide his hand down Romeo's stomach, but before anything else can happen, Julien's nurse walks in on the scene, and alerts the castle."

"This also makes it so that Julien and Romeo have more of a reason for running away together. So, what do you think?"

Miss Melissa's eyes sparkle with excitement and curiousity. Meanwhile, I'm staring blankly at her, trying to figure out if she's high or drunk, or possibly both.

After a beat of silence, she continues. "I don't know what the relationship between you two is, but I just think this would add a nice bit of spice to the story."

This woman is insane.

"You... You want us... You want us t-to.... T-To do a s-sex scene?" I stutter, trying to wrap my head around this insane idea.

"Well, technically it's just kissing. But I did write up some more graphic scenes because I couldn't help myself. You can have them if you'd like," Miss Melissa doesn't wait for an answer, immediately flitting to her office.

"What the fuck?" I can't help but say out loud, completely shocked. I had no idea our play director was so... excessive?

"That wasn't a question, but I agree," Harry says, entwining his fingers with mine.

"While I appreciate the affection, I don't know if physical contact is a good idea after what our play director just suggested," I sigh, taking my hand from him.

"Oh? Did her idea make you all hot and bothered?" Harry teases, running a finger down my neck.

I shiver, feeling my face heat up.

"Here they are!" Miss Melissa sings, hanging me a small stack of papers.

"Miss Melissa, you're a wonderful director, but I don't think either of us would be comfortable with your idea," Harry says politely.

"I see. I guess I did get carried away. Sorry for the trouble. You two can go home now," she smiles sweetly at us, her excitement immedie being replaced with calmness.

***

"Some of these actually sound quite fun," Harry says while we're walking through our neighbourhood.

"Why are you reading those?" I ask, snatching the paper he's currently holding.

"I wanted to see what kind of things our director came up with. Turns out, she's a complete sex freak," Harry shrugs.

"Are they really that graphic?" I ask, glancing at the small pile in my hands.

"Some of them are, some of them aren't," Harry responds.

Suddenly he's grabbing onto me, his hands gripping my shoulders. He pulls my body back against his, whispering hotly in my ear.

"We could read through them together. Act out our favourite ones."

I feel my blood heat up in my body, my jeans suddenly a bit tight.

"You're going to drive me insane," I say, grabbing his hand and walking faster to my house, almost jogging.

***

"Almost all of these involve bondage," I point out while Harry and I look through the papers.

"I'm guessing you don't have any rope or blindfolds," Harry responds questioningly.

"Not that I know of," I say, moving the paper I'm currently holding into one of two piles.

Harry and I divided the papers into two piles. One for scenes we can do, and the other for things we can't do, mostly because of lack of materials.

"All right, I think that's all of them," I say a bit breathlessly, my body hot from the things that the papers said.

"I say we both pick out our favourite scenes from the "can do" pile and act out both of them. Sound good?" Harry asks.

"Yeah," I agree somewhat breathlessly.

***

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we've only been dating for a day," Harry asks gently.

I take my shirt off, double checking that my door is locked. I don't want a repeat of yesterday.

"Yes, I'm sure. You make me feel safe, Harry. And I want to thank you for being here for me," I say, turning to face him.

We both decided to take almost all our clothes off before going into the scenes, to allow ourselves to just observe each other for a bit. We both stand in our boxers, and I start the first step.

***

*Harry's POV. Third person* (So it's third person but with descriptions of Harry's emotions)

Louis steps towards Harry in his boxers, and Harry's heart flutters. Louis looks so beautiful, and Harry is breathless by the sight of him.

Harry is glad that Louis agreed to this. Looking at Louis now, Harry is filled with so much love that he can barely contain himself.

Louis pushes Harry against the bed, making Harry lay flat on his back. Louis places his knees on either side of Harry's hips, and kisses him passionately, hands moving into Harry's curls.

Louis tugs on Harry's hair roughly, causing Harry to let out a moan, throwing his head back in pleasure.

Louis kisses along Harry's neck, tugging some areas lightly with his teeth, licking over the bitten areas with his tongue.

"Harder," Harry feels himself whimper, wanting more pressure on his skin.

Louis goes to another area of Harry's neck, tugging harder at the skin, causing Harry to moan again. Harry leans his head back further, allowing Louis better access to his neck.

Louis continues biting and licking along Harry's neck, moving lower with each mark.

Louis moves back up to Harry's face, kissing him gently as he pulls down Harry's boxers. Harry shimmies his legs, kicking the underwear across the room.

"Are you ready for this?" Louis asks once he places a mark on Harry's collar bone, moving on to the next part of the scene.

"Yes, please," Harry begs, closing his eyes in anticipation.

Louis drags his nails, running them harshly over Harry's chest. Harry lets out a low groan as Louis moves his hands from his chest to the base of his spine.

Louis digs his fingers into Harry's bum, stretching his cheeks apart.

"Open your legs for me," Louis says.

Harry obeys, spreading his legs apart, and shifting his hips so that Louis has better access to his bum.

"Do you want me to keep going?" Louis asks before he moves any further.

"Yes!" Harry practically shouts, his body tingling with need. All of his nerves feel like they're on fire, and Harry wants Louis so badly. So, so badly.

He hears Louis take a deep breath, and he keeps his eyes closed. Then he feels Louis' warm, wet tongue run over his hole, and he bucks his hips, groaning.

"Fuck, Louis, please-" Harry stops his sentence as Louis presses his tongue into him, his words being replaced by moans and whimpers.

Louis digs his nails into Harry's bum, licking into his hole softly. The combined pain and pleasure are almost too much for Harry, as he feels himself grow harder with every passing second.

"Louis," he whimpers as he feels precum dribble onto his stomach.

Louis pulls his tongue out of Harry, licking one last wet stripe over his hole, causing Harry's eyes to snap open.

They make eye contact as Louis moves his hands from Harry's bum to his stomach, scratching up and down lightly.

"Are you ready for the next part?" Louis asks with a scratchy voice, pupils dilated.

A soft, "Please" is all Harry can manage, the scratching from Louis' nails on his stomach making the heat in his body amplify.

Louis licks a soft stripe over Harry's dïck with his tongue, before licking teasing circles around the head.

"Louis," Harry wines, unable to handle the teasing.

Louis stops teasing, opening his mouth and almost gagging at Harry's size. Harry feels Louis relax his throat around him, and he fists the sheets to keep from bucking his hips up.

Louis moves his head up and down at a steady pace, continuing to scratch at Harry's chest. Harry closes his eyes and sighs, completely overwhelmed by pleasure.

And then he feels the rush building in his stomach.

"Lou- I'm gonna-" he moans brokenly, hardly able to manage talking.

Louis moves faster, adding his tongue into the mix, scratching harder at Harry's stomach. It all becomes too much, and Harry feels himself release, moaning loudly into the room.

He feels Louis swallow around him, and when he looks up, Louis is wiping his mouth.

"Well, then. Ready for my scene, or do you need a moment?"

***

(Author)

Cliff hanger teehee

Okay but in reality I didn't want this chapter to be too long so Louis' scene will be in the next one

By the way, I'm a teenage virgin who had to reread some scenes in other fanfics to write this chapter, so sorry if the smut was bad

So Harry's scene was pain and pleasure, Louis scratching him, biting his neck, and tugging his hair were all a part of the scene.

For clarification, they're acting out some smut scenes their teacher wrote. The actions are all the same, but the dialogue is all their own. I hope that clears up any confusion

Chapter Text

*Louis' POV. First person*

"Well, then. Ready for my scene, or do you need a moment?" I ask Harry, looking down at him gently.

His face is flushed and he's sweating. His eyes are gently glassed over as well, his hair curling in every direction from me tugging on it. He looks beautiful.

He takes a few deep breaths, then sits up. "I'm ready if you are."

***

*Third person*

Harry gets up and pushes Louis down on the bed, planting one leg next to his side, and the other between his legs.

He kisses Louis deeply, his tongue swirling in his mouth gently. He lifts up a little, swiftly taking off Louis' boxers.

Harry deepens the kiss again, slightly grazing his thigh against Louis' dick, which was already half hard.

Harry pulls back, moving his mouth next to Louis' ear. "You looked so hot sucking me off," he whispers hotly in Louis' ear, causing Louis to shiver.

Harry nibbles Louis' earlobe gently, before moving down to Louis' chest, kissing at his collar bones. He runs his large hands over Louis' thighs, causing Louis to shiver and groan lightly.

Harry kisses down Louis' chest, tongue peeking out occasionally, his hands continuing to circle Louis' thighs.

Harry places a kiss on Louis' belly button, licking right below it, where Louis is practically shaking.

"Harry," Louis whimpers, hips bucking up with need.

"Do you have lube?" Harry asks, looking up at him.

"I th-think so. Check in the c-corner of my closet," Louis responds somewhat breathlessly.

Harry gets off of him, the air around Louis suddenly cold. He catches his breath while he watches Harry rummage through his closet, bringing back a small tube.

"Found it. Do you still want this?" Harry asks.

"Yes," Louis whines, pushing his legs apart.

"God you look beautiful," Harry whispers, his low voice sending shivers down Louis' spine.

Louis watches as Harry rubs lube on his fingers, and he buries his own in the sheets on his bed, fisting them lightly.

Harry circles his finger around Louis' rim, making him moan. He's fully hard by now, his body filling with want.

Harry pushes a finger inside his hole, and Louis gasps. It feels a bit strange at first, but then he adjusts to it as Harry pushes his finger lightly.

"More," Louis groans, pushing his hips down against Harry's finger.

Harry obeys silently, adding a second finger and moving them at a slightly faster pace. Harry fingers Louis while he grips the sheets tighter, trying hard not to touch himself.

"Look at you all needy for me. You're dribbling precum all over yourself," Harry says lowly, adding a third finger.

"Fuck, Harry," Louis groans, his breaths heavy. He feels his eyes flutter shut.

"I want you to cum untouched, screaming my name," Harry whispers, pumping his fingers faster.

All Louis can do is moan and whimper, the feeling of Harry's fingers in him washing over his body. Harry angles his fingers to hit a different spot, and Louis loses control.

"HARRY'" Louis screams, his orgasm washing over him, his cum coating his stomach.

He pants lightly, opening his eyes to see Harry staring back at him.

"Do you want me to clean that off?" Harry asks, glancing at his stomach.

"Yeah, please," Louis says, his breathing still heavy.

Harry licks at Louis' stomach, cleaning off all that he can with his tongue.

***

*First person*

"That was," I take a few deep breaths, "incredible."

"I can't believe you actually came without touching yourself," Harry says with amazement in his voice.

"We should probably take showers," I say, noticing little areas of my stomach that Harry hadn't gotten.

"Let's just take one together. Save water," Harry suggests.

"Sure. Can we wait a bit, though? I feel like pudding," I say, my limbs heavy.

"Of course. Hopefully you can still walk," Harry teases, lying down next to me.

***

"Ow, my thighs are sore already," I whine as I try to stand up a few minutes later.

"I'm not surprised," Harry says, getting up off the bed and standing easily.

"Can you carry me?" I ask.

"I would love to," Harry scoops me up, one arm under my back, the other under my knees. Bridal style.

He carries me into my bathroom, and I close and lock the door behind us.

"Shower or bath?" He asks, not making a move to set me down.

"Shower. I may be wobbly when I stand, but I sure as hell won't be able to sit," I roll my eyes.

"Shower it is," Harry carries me into the tub - which is excessive - before setting me on my feet, his hands on my waist to steady me.

"Thanks," I say, turning on the water.

We shower together, the warm water soothing my muscles, and hopefully Harry's as well. It's refreshing after what we just did.

"I wonder if my bedsheets need to be cleaned," I think out loud.

"We were sweating on them, so you should clean them regardless," Harry points out.

"Okay, but you're helping me replace them."

"As if I have a choice. You can barely stand on your own."

***

Harry and I get out of the shower, changing into different clothes. Harry had, for some reason, packed a complete outfit in his backpack, which he brought over after play rehearsal.

"You even have another set of underpants in there. How often do you need those?" I ask him bluntly.

"Any time I jump into water fully clothed," Harry answers as if it's the most natural thing in the world.

"Why would you- you know what never mind," I laugh lightly, shaking my head.

Harry and I, dressed in our sleep clothes, (which for me is boxers and pants, and for Harry is just boxers,) change the sheets on my bed, putting the dirty ones in my laundry pile, as well as our dirty clothes.

"I feel like I should give you your own drawer in my dresser now, or something. I have a feeling you'll be staying over a lot," I smile sleepily at Harry.

"You definitely should," he smiles back.

We crawl into bed, cuddling together, letting our exhaustion lull us to sleep.

***

(Author)

I feel like this one was worse than the last one djsivnskxkc

Chapter Text

(Wednesday)

*Louis' POV. First person*

My room is bright behind my closed eyes, and I bury my face into my blankets, trying to block out the light.

"Too bright," I feel myself mumble sleepily.

Then I smell eggs and sausage. And I remember that Harry had slept over.

"Harry?" I call as loud as I can manage, opening my eyes.

He walks into my room carrying a plate of food.

"I made you breakfast," he smiles at me.

"You're amazing," I blurt, sitting up.

I wince, my bum still somewhat sore from yesterday.

"Are you okay?" Harry asks, moving to sit next to me, placing an arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, just a little sore," I rub my eyes to wake myself up.

"Eat up. We're late to school," Harry says.

I groan. "Can we skip today? 'M too sleepy to think," I take the plate Harry hands to me.

"I guess we may as well. It's already 10."

I eat all the food Harry made me quickly, because it tastes fantastic.

"You're such a good cook. I wish I could wake up to breakfast in bed every day," I sigh, leaning my head against Harry's shoulder.

His arm holds me tighter, and he rests the side of his face against the top of my head. I sigh with contentment, closing my eyes.

"Don't fall asleep on me again. You need to wake up. Get ready for the day," Harry says.

"I don't wanna," I groan sleepily, nuzzling into Harry's side.

"Well, you have to," Harry gets up sharply, causing me to fall on my side.

"Hey!" I shout as he pulls all my blankets off me sharply, causing the room to go cold.

"It's time to get up!" Harry says in a sing-song voice, placing his hands around my wrists, tugging on my arms to make me sit up.

"Okay fine," I grumble.

I get up off the bed, stumbling slightly. Harry stands up as well, helping me walk to my closet.

***

"What do you want to do today?" Harry asks when we've both gotten dressed and brushed our teeth.

"Nothing," I answer seriously, hopping back into my bed.

"No you don't," Harry says, wrapping his arms around my stomach and pulling to his chest, my feet slightly above the floor.

"Put me down!" I yell, kicking my legs against his.

"Nope. We need to do something productive today," Harry says, unaffected by my fighting.

"Why?" I whine, trying to push his arms off of me.

Harry thinks for a moment, before responding with, "actually, I guess we don't."

"Glad we're on the same page. Now put me down," I grumble.

"Let's cuddle and watch movies all day," Harry says lowly, still holding me above the floor.

"If you don't put me down, I'll kick you out," I threaten.

Harry ignores me, scooping my legs up in his arms and carrying me bridal style down my stairs.

"I can walk, you know," I say.

"Can you?" Harry asks, setting me down at the bottom of the staircase.

"Yes," I humph, taking a step forward.

I wobble a little bit, my legs shaking slightly. I start walking towards my couch, trying to keep my legs under control.

"You're wobbling," Harry points out.

"That's just because I'm tired," I lie, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of being right.

"You're so stubborn," Harry chuckles, walking up to me and picking me up again.

"Are you just going to carry me all day?" I huff.

"Yup," Harry smiles, carrying me over to the couch and setting me down gently.

"I'm going to get snacks for us. I'll be right back," Harry says, kissing my forehead gently.

Which doesn't make my heart flutter. At all.

I pull the blanket on the back of the couch down over me, getting comfortable. Harry comes back into the room carrying a large bowl of popcorn.

"What's your favourite kind of movie?" Harry asks me, crawling under the blanket I pulled down.

I put my arms around him, spooning him gently. "I like romantic comedies."

"What if we just search romantic comedies on Netflix and see what we find?" Harry asks, grabbing the remote to turn on the telly.

"That sounds good," I answer, closing my eyes.

I hear Harry clicking on the remote, and I open my eyes again to see what movie he picks out.

"This one looks interesting," he mumbles, mostly to himself, clicking on a movie.

We watch the movie, occasionally talking about how cheesy it is. We stay snuggled up on the couch all day, playing different movies and eating popcorn.

***

(Thursday)

"Where were you yesterday?" Liam asks me as soon as I sit next to him on the bus.

"I skipped," I answer bluntly, shrugging.

"Why? Is everything okay?" Liam asks, instantly worried.

"Calm down, Lima. I was just too tired to come to school. Slept right through my alarm," I say easily.

"Why were you so tired?" He asks, causing me to blush.

The scenes with Harry play back in my head, making me shift in my seat. Calm down Tommo. Keep it in your pants.

"Erm, I, uh," I stumble, trying to come up with an excuse.

"Louis," Liam says firmly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I sigh, looking down at my hands. I fiddle with my fingers.

"Harry and I, uh, we, we had uh," I stutter.

"Oh my god, did you two fuck?" Liam asks bluntly, sounding way too happy.

"Well, t-technically not," I say, fiddling with my fingers some more.

"Congrats, lad," Liam pats me on the back, and I look up at him.

"For what?" I ask, slightly exasperated.

"For having your first time be with someone you love," Liam says.

I blush, looking down at my hands again.

"It's not like it's a major accomplishment," I mumble.

"It kind of is. You had an intimate moment and didn't totally freak out," Liam says, rubbing small circles on my back.

"Harry makes me feel safe. I can let loose with him," I say.

"I'm glad you found your special someone," Liam says.

I just keep looking down at my hands, blushing to myself. Love really is a weird thing.

***

(Author)

Ahaaa hey

I don't know what the point of this was tbh

This chapter was bad bad bad but we're gonna ignore thAt

Chapter Text

(Fast forward like a lot. It's the end of October. It's a Tuesday, and on the weekend it'll be Halloween [I really hope that made sense])

Sunday Monday Tuesday(current day) Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday(Halloween)

***

*Louis' POV*

"All right everyone! Today we're doing a full run through of the play without our scrips. Additionally, this will be a dress rehearsal! I'll come around and help each of you get into your costumes," Miss Melissa announces to the cast.

"Are you ready to wear a dress, Curly?" I ask, glancing at Harry.

"I guess I have to be," he laughs, but it sounds nervous.

"Hey, you'll be okay," I say softly, putting my hand on his arm and squeezing gently.

Ever since Harry and I officially started dating, we've been nearly inseparable. Harry starting coming over to my house a lot, and we mostly bake and study together.

Unless Harry inviting me to his bakery counted, we still haven't gone on a proper date. Which is mostly because we've been busy with the play. And also because we just like spending time together without making a big thing of it.

"Thank you," Harry says in return.

Miss Melissa comes over to us and ushers us over to the changing area.

"I hope you don't mind me putting you two in the same changing room, but we don't have any space left. Put on what you can and call me if you need help."

And with that, she leaves me in Harry in a closed room to change into modernly-medieval clothing.

Harry

Link?? I hope??

Louis

I really hope this works

"You two look wonderful!" Miss Melissa gushes when we walk back to the stage area.

"Does the dress feel okay?" She asks, walking over to Harry.

"It's a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be," he smiles.

"All right, then. Actors to their places!"

Harry doesn't seem to have trouble moving around on stage in a dress, which is good. He owns it proudly, and I can't help but admire his confidence.

"It's like you were made to break gender stereotypes," I whisper to him backstage, while we're not in a scene.

"Maybe I was. I might start wearing more stuff like this," he says happily, comfort and joy evident in his eyes.

"I'm glad you're comfortable," is all I have time to say before I go back on stage.

***

"So, lads, have you given any thought as to what you're wearing for Halloween?" Liam asks the group as we all sit for lunch.

"I got an idea from dress rehearsal. I'm thinking maybe I can be a witch, so that I can wear one of those costumes with a skirt," Harry says.

"I'm not sure how a modernly medieval Juliet costume inspires a witch costume, but at least you have it figured out," I say.

"You usually figure out your costume the first week of October," Liam notes, looking at me.

I shrug. "I was a little held up this year. You know, with play rehearsal and whatnot."

"And snogging your boyfriend," Liam mutters just loud enough for the table to hear.

"So you two are finally together?" Niall asks, looking back and forth between Harry and I.

Zayn glances at us as well, expectation written on his features.

"Yes, we're together," I roll my eyes, not wanting to make a big thing of it.

"What about you two? What are you going as?" I ask, pointing at Liam and Zayn to change the subject.

"We were thinking of dressing as peanut butter and jelly jars," Zayn says.

"Wow Liam, why'd you never tell me that you and Zayn are a proper couple?" I laugh, surprised that they're dressing in matching costumes.

"We're just trying some things out," Liam shrugs, but there's a slight blush to his face.

"So are we going trick or treating, or have we grown out of that?" I ask, mostly joking, but I see Niall tense up.

"I'd rather stay home eating candy. Maybe pop in a movie like The Nightmare Before Christmas," Niall says.

"I think that's a Christmas movie," Liam points out.

"What's wrong, Nialler? Are you scared of ghosts?" I tease.

"As a matter of fact, I am," he huffs, crossing his arms.

"You can stay home if you want. I want to go trick or treating," Harry says excitedly.

"I'm guessing you just want to show off your costume?" I ask, looking at him.

"That's part of it. The other part is free candy," he laughs.

I sigh, shaking my head. "I still don't know what I'm going to dress as."

Harry claps his hands, a delighted look on his face, like he's just won the lottery. "Louis! You should be my cat!"

I look at him with complete shock, while Niall laughs hysterically.

"Every witch needs an evil cat partner," he continues, looking at me with an almost begging expression.

I groan, putting my face into the palms of my hands.

"Fine," I grumble, not looking up.

"Whipped," I hear Liam murmur.

"So it's decided, then. Us four will go out trick or treating, and Niall can stay home and steal all our candy when we get back," Harry says, sounding ecstatic.

"It doesn't really seem like we have a choice," Zayn says flatly.

"I have blackmail on you, Malik. You and your almost boyfriend are coming with me and my actual boyfriend," Harry says in a stern tone that I didn't think he had.

I look up to see Zayn rolling his eyes, both him and Liam blushing slightly.

With nothing else to say, we all continue eating lunch.

***

(New Message)

Hazza: Hey Lou, are you busy?

Hazza: I want to come over and work on my Halloween costume with you, if you don't mind

Louis: Sure. But I don't think I'll be much help

Hazza: All I need is company :)

Harry arrives at my house, loads of fabric and thread in view.

"Are you making the entire thing from scratch?" I ask, amazed.

"Not the entire thing, but maybe a few things. I drew up a rough drawing of what I want it to look like, but I'm not an artist, so it's not helping much," Harry says.

"I can redraw it for you. Now come sit down, we have costumes to plan."

***

(Author)

Louis changed Harry's contact name from Harry to Hazza

I'm not gonna include them making their costumes cuz I have no idea what I would write for that, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Photoshop I did was so bad omg

I was laughing the entire time I made it. It looks so horrible that it's funny (I'm genuinely upset I couldn't include it here)

Chapter Text

I was convinced to do horrible Photoshop again, to show what Louis and Harry look like in their costumes. Louis' isn't that bad, but Harry's.... Well, you'll see

I'm sorry that I skipped time again, it's just that I literally didn't know what to make happen, sooo here we are

(Sunday. Halloween)

*Louis POV*

"Aren't we too old to go trick or treating?" I ask Harry over the phone as I pull on my costume.

He had already said that he wanted to go trick or treating, but I still feel like we've grown out of it.

"There's no such thing."

"Are you sure? Because you literally had to make your own costumes because the store didn't have anything your size."

"You're never too old to go to stranger's houses in cosplay to get free candy."

I sigh, and look at myself in the mirror.

"I look ridiculous."

"That's because you're only one half of the costume. You'll look better with me by your side."

I roll my eyes. "Thanks for the confidence boost."

Harry laughs, and I hang up the phone.

I look sufficiently idiotic. I'm wearing all black clothing, all with a fuzzy texture. I cut up some fluffy pants to make a tail that I sewed into the back of my pants, and I used the same fabric to make some ears. It looks so childish and homemade that I could die of shame. There's even eye liner whiskers and a nose. Hopefully Harry's right, and it'll look better with his witch costume.

Link to Louis' outfit

A few minutes later, I hear my door bell ring. Since my mum won't be home again, I don't have any candy for trick or treaters, so I leave my porch lights off. I open the door to find Harry, who looks amazing.

Harry is dressed like witches in cartoons. He has on a pointy black hat with a purple ribbon tied on it, resting on top of his mess of curls. His outfit is a long sleeve green shirt, with dirt all over it, as well as having the ends of the sleeves torn. The shirt is tucked into a ruffled skirt, that has layers in it. The top and belt are black, the middle is purple, and the bottom is black. He also has thigh high green socks, and black high heeled shoes.

Link to Harry's outfit

"Woah, Haz, how do you walk in those things?" I ask as soon as I notice the shoes.

"It took some practice of walking back and forth in my house, but it was pretty easy once I got used to it. You look good," Harry smirks, showing off his dimples.

"I look good? You look like you came straight out of a movie!" I still can't get over the amount of effort Harry put into his costume.

Harry shrugs, before grabbing my hand. "C'mon Lou, let's go before all the good candy gets taken."

We meet up with Liam and Zayn, who are standing just outside of Liam's house.

"Woah, H, you look insane," Zayn comments as soon as we reach him and Liam.

"Hey, give my little kitten here some love, too," Harry reaches up and pets my head like I'm an actual cat. I scowl at him.

"Careful Harold, this cat has claws," I shoot back at him.

Harry lifts his hands up in surrender.

"Where's Niall?" I ask the group.

"He's at my place. But I remember him saying that he was going to go to your house instead, because you have better food," Harry answers, facing me.

"Wonderful," I grumble, before taking in Liam and Zayn's costumes.

Liam and Zayn have cardboard boxes around them, simulating the shape of jars. Liam's is painted to look like peanut butter, and Zayn's is painted to look like jelly. They look ridiculous.

"You two look like a cheesy movie couple," I say, slightly mocking their costumes.

"You and Harry aren't much better," Liam shoots back.

"At least we're dating. You and Zayn seem to have some underlying romantic tension that neither of you want to acknowledge," I point out.

Liam rolls his eyes, but both him and Zayn are blushing.

"Let's just get going already," Liam grumbles, grabbing Zayn's hand.

"Oh look babe, the almost couple is holding hands," I mock, smiling at Harry.

Liam gives me a glare, not bothering to answer me while he storms ahead of Harry and I. We walk through the neighbourhood, knocking on doors and recieving candy.

A few houses down, Harry trips on a lawn decoration, and falls on his hands and knees.

"Are you okay?" I rush to him, helping him get up.

"Um, I think so. My knees sting, though."

I glanced down and see that Harry's socks have rips in them, and his knees are slowly dripping blood.

"Guys, I'm taking Harry back to my house. These scrapes don't look good. Keep going without us," I say to Liam and Zayn. They both nod, and I pick Harry up in my arms, carrying him bridal style to my house.

***

"You could've just helped me walk, y'know. Didn't have to carry me."

Harry is sitting on a chair in my bathroom. I made him take off his shoes and socks, so that I could take proper care of his scrapes.

"You did the same to me that one day. Besides, I didn't want you putting pressure on your legs. These scrapes look horrible."

"Hey! I look amazing, thank you very much," Harry fake glares at me.

I laugh, taking out some gauze from the first aid kit I have.

"This might sting a little," I say as I clean Harry's scrapes.

"You're good at this," Harry notices.

I feel my face heat slightly, and I shrug, keeping my eyes on Harry's knees.

"I have a bit of practice," I admit.

Harry places his hand on the side of my face and tilts my head up.

"What happened?" He asks, concern shining in his eyes.

I divert my eyes to the wall, not wanting to look at him.

"Was it that arsehole who approached you at play rehearsal?" He asks, a slight anger tinting his words.

"He never hurt me. His friends did," I whisper, keeping my eyes on the wall.

"And he let it happen?" Harry asks angrily.

"Yeah. He flirted with me and led me on, then he hold his friends and they..." I let the sentence end itself.

"They bullied you just because you were attracted to a guy?" Harry almost yells, which slightly scares me, because he's usually so calm.

"That about sums it up. Now let go of my face, your scrapes need to be cleaned some more," I say, trying to change the subject.

Harry doesn't pry any further, letting go of my face and letting me go back to helping him recover.

***

(Author)

Fun fact: this was like the 5th chapter I wrote. Originally, I had it so that Louis and Harry were the almost couple, and Zayn and Liam were an actual couple, but then I swapped it because of the way the story went

Brain. Mush. No words

Um what

I'm so confused I have no idea what's happening, hello?

(I think I wrote this while I was sleep deprived)

Chapter Text

(Still Sunday)

*Louis' POV*

"There. They should heal up with time," I say once I finish cleaning Harry's knees.

I stand up, taking his hands in mine to pull him up as well.

"You know I'd never hurt you, right?" He blurts out.

"What?" I ask, looking up at him.

"It's just that, it seems like you were really hurt by that Nick guy. But I want you to know that I'd never hurt you like that. And if he ever tries to hurt you again, I'll make him regret it," Harry says with fire in his eyes.

I don't realize that I'm crying until Harry wipes the tears off my face. I let my hands fall limply to my sides.

"Thank you," I breathe, burying my hands in his curls and pulling his face to mine.

I kiss him passionately, trying to let him know with my actions just how much it means to me that he said that.

"Hey, I saw you carry Harry up here, are you two alright?" Niall asks, barging into the bathroom.

"Niall," I pant slightly, "how did you get into my house?"

"Spare key under the doormat," Niall shrugs.

"So you just decided to break in without telling me?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

"That about sums it up. Now are you two gonna make out some more, or will you come make me food?" Niall asks.

I let out an aggravated sigh, taking a step back from Harry.

"What do you want me to make?" I ask begrudgingly.

"Brownies, please," Niall smiles, tackling me into a hug.

"Niall, get off me," I struggle against his tight hold.

"You're the best!" He sings, skipping out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

I sigh, turning to face Harry. "Do you want to help me bake brownies for the leprechaun?"

He laughs loudly, making my chest warm up. "I'd love to."

We hold hands, walking down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"I'm going to text Liam. I don't want him and Zayn to be out this late," I say, taking my phone out.

Louis: Hey, come over to my house with your boyfriend. Harry and I are baking brownies

Lima: That's quite a cute couple activity

Louis: You didn't deny that he's your boyfriend

Liam doesn't text me back after that, so I assume that he's ignoring me.

"All right, let's get baking," I say to Harry.

Harry and I move around the kitchen, baking brownies together. Right as we put them in the oven, there's a knock on my front door.

"Finally someone who knows how to knock," I say loudly enough for Niall to hear.

Niall just laughs loudly, and I roll my eyes, walking to the front of my house.

"Hey Ziam," I say as I open the door, seeing Liam and Zayn holding hands on the other side.

"Who the hell is Ziam?" Liam asks as him and Zayn walk into my house together.

"That's your two names put together. It's your ship name," I smirk, walking back into the kitchen.

Harry rushes over to me and pulls my back to his chest, wrapping his arms around my waist in a tight hug. He buries his face in my neck.

"I missed you," he whispers lowly.

"I was barely gone for a minute," I scoff, putting my hands over his arms, relaxing against his hold.

"I guess your ship name would be Larry then. You're quite the couple, too. It seems like you can barely keep your hands to yourselves," Liam says.

I roll my eyes, slightly pushing against Harry's hold.

"Hazza, don't give Liam even more ammunition against me," I say, struggling to get out of his tight embrace.

"Fine," Harry sighs, removing his arms from around me and taking a step back.

"Hey Liam, you and your boyfriend are still holding hands," I point out, glancing at their entwined fingers.

"You can handle seeing us holding hands. We have to watch you and Harry be all cuddly every day," Zayn responds, moving the tiniest bit closer to Liam.

"Oh so you are dating?" I smile teasingly at the pair.

"How about we agree to not pry for information about each other's love lives?" Liam asks, blushing.

"But Lima," I whine, going over to him and hugging him tightly, "we're friends. We're supposed to tell each other everything."

Liam pats my head with his free hand, most likely keeping his other linked with Zayn's. I close my eyes and bury my face in his chest, trying to act cute to get information from him.

"Louis, I know this trick. Acting cuddly won't work this time. Besides, Harry's looking like he might kill me if you keep hugging me for much longer," Liam says, pushing me back lightly.

"Harry would never kill you. I wouldn't let him because I care about you so much," I say, kissing Liam on the cheek.

I feel strong hands pull me by my shoulders, and I let go of Liam, surprised by the sudden force. I get turned around, and before I know what's happening, Harry is kissing me roughly.

He pulls back and looks into my eyes.
"Sorry, I got jealous," he mumbles, not looking sorry at all.

I blush, looking down at the ground. Liam taps me on the shoulder, and I turn to look at him. He holds his phone in front of my face, his screen glowing with an image. An image of Harry kissing me in my kitchen.

"How the fuck did you take that picture so fast?" I ask, the volume of my voice raising slightly.

Instead of answering, Liam sniffs the air.

"Hey, why do I smell chocolate?" He asks.

"Shit, the brownies are probably done by now," Harry says, rushing over to the oven.

"Send me that picture," I whisper to Liam.

Liam holds back from teasing me, choosing to just send the picture without embarrassing me further.

"You still need to tell me what's happening between you and Zayn. I won't judge you," I whisper so that Zayn doesn't hear, and then I walk over to Harry.

"The brownies are done," he says, placing them on the kitchen counter.

It takes all of two seconds for Niall to come sprinting in to the kitchen.

"I smelled food," he says excitedly, smiling widely when he sees the brownies.

"Thanks Tommo, you're the best!" He hugs me, kissing my cheek and placing a brownie onto a plate.

"Only one? That's surprising," I point out.

"Well they just came out of the oven, so I don't want to burn my mouth. I'll eat the rest when they've cooled down, but I wanted one as soon as possible," he replies, taking the smallest bite I've ever seen.

We all move to the living area, deciding to spend the rest of the night at my house watching movies.

***

(Author)

When you don't know how to end a chapter

Also I don't know how to end this book either cuz like
The plot that I planned out kinda died
So

This is fun. I'm writing a very amateur fanfiction that has a very crippled story line and a plot that's going nowhere

I'll figure something out (I'm pretty sure I gave up and ended the story abruptly)

Chapter Text

Lol I wrote this at 1 am

(Monday. November)

"So, are you going to tell me what's happening between you and Zayn?" I ask Liam when I sit next to him on the bus.

"Did you have to say that so loud? Someone could have heard you!" Liam whisper yells at me.

"So what? Our school is super accepting. If you two are dating, no one will care," I shrug.

"I'll tell you in a less public space," Liam says lowly.

"Alright, alright. Just stop whispering, it's weird."

***

I sit down at the usual spot in the cafeteria, I'm the corner near the exit. Zayn is already sat there, and I sit with him, waiting for Liam to show up for lunch.

"So, will you tell me what's happening with you and Liam?" I ask him.

"Nope. He said he wanted to tell you himself," Zayn answers.

I sigh, picking at my lunch with boredom.

"You should eat," Zayn says, glancing at my food.

The school served us pizza today, but it's the kind that has crust made of cardboard and cheese that tastes like it's from a can. I ended up having to get it because I forgot to pack a lunch.

"I'm not hungry," I say even though I am.

"Hey guys," Harry approaches the table, setting down his lunch container.

"Harry, do you have enough food for two people? Louis here doesn't want to eat school pizza," Zayn glances up at him.

"I have plenty to share. To be honest, I thought you'd forget," Harry smiles at me, making me blush.

"I'm not th-that forgetful," I mutter, taking the food that Harry gives me.

We eat until Niall and Liam show up, and I look at Liam expectantly.

"You can bring your food. Let's go," Liam says, grabbing my arm.

"Where-" I start to ask, and then remember that I don't really care, so long as I get answers.

***

"Zayn and I... We're kind of like... Platonic friends with benefits?" Liam states like it's a question, kicking at the rocky ground right outside the school.

"How do you platonically have se-"

"We're not doing that," he quickly interrupts me.

I roll my eyes, crossing my arms. "Then please, elaborate."

"So far it's been cuddling and holding hands, and we've kissed each other's cheeks a few times. I think we're both a bit nervous to kiss again, though," Liam says, looking at the ground.

"And why didn't you want to tell me this before?"

"Because I thought you'd give me a lot of banter for it. I mean, Zayn Niall and I all kind of pushed you and Harry together, so I thought maybe you'd do the same for me and Zayn. And we really just want to take things nice and slow."

"You could've just said that. You know I'd never do anything outside your comfort zone. Well, I would, but only in good fun," I smile up at him.

He chuckles, patting me on the back.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't tell me."

"Hug?"

"No chance. I don't want to hug an emotional sap like you," I scoff, turning to go back into the building.

"Oh come here you tiny emotionless gremlin," Liam says, grabbing my arm and pulling me into his chest.

"Did you just call me tiny!?" I yell, wriggling against his hold.

"Yup," he answers, hugging me tighter.

I sigh, giving up on trying to fight him off, instead choosing to just melt into his arms.

"You can let go now," I say after a full 20 seconds (not that I counted).

"If we didn't have classes to get to, I wouldn't let you off so easily," he responds, letting go of me.

We walk back into the building together, both feeling much better about our friendship.

***

"So Liam and Zayn are totally stealing our plot line," I say to Harry.

We're currently sitting in my room, chatting lightly while we do homework after school.

"What plot line? It's not like we're in a movie or something."

"They're being all platonically in love. That was our thing," I say, turning to face Harry instead of my homework.

"Well, then I guess it's their thing now," he answers, still writing his essay for whatever class is making him write an essay.

"But then we don't have a thing anymore," I pout, crossing my arms.

"Sure we do. Our thing is being the super cuddly PDA couple that makes you want to vomit from cuteness."

"Ew. That's disgusting. You disgust me, Styles," I crumple up my algebra paper and throw it at him.

"You should really work on your homework instead of attacking me with it," he points out.

I groan, getting up from where I was sitting. Instead of grabbing the paper that Harry held up for me, I fall into his lap, my stomach laying over his crossed legs.

"Lou, that kinda hurts," Harry shifts a bit under my weight.

"Deal with it, mister pain kink," I grumble, laying my head in my arms on the floor.

"You need to do your homework, love," he says, carding his fingers through my hair.

"I don't want to," my words come out a bit muffled.

"How about I give you some motivation? For every question you complete, I'll give you a kiss."

I roll off of Harry's lap, grabbing my paper and moving back to where I was before.

"You're on, Harold. And if I complete this thing within 15 minutes, I want an extra prize."

"What's the extra prize?" Harry asks skeptically.

"You'll find out when I win," I answer confidently.

(Update: it's 2 am and I have no idea what words are anymore)

***

"Your time's up," Harry says, turning around to face me.

"Well, I've finished. So you need to give me lots of kisses to go with my extra prize," I smirk at him.

I take his hands, leading him over to my bed. I take off my pants, and Harry seems to understand. He palms me though my boxers while kissing me and whispering things to get me even more worked up.

He eventually swallows around me, looking up at me with flushed cheeks and glassy eyes. He looks amazing, as usual.

"You need to motivate me to do my homework more often," I say.

"I think that can be arranged," he smiles, and then lets out a low yawn.

"Do you want to stay the night?" I ask, not really wanting him to leave.

"I'd love it, if you'd let me," he answers.

And so we spend another night cuddling and dreaming together.

***

(Author)

This is what happens when you force yourself to write
You end up with chapters that dintmskeesense because you wrote them at 1 and 2 am (not it didn't take me an ohoud

I took a break to watch glee mkayw

Can't type sntmode

Hnnng so tired

Good night or morning I guess idfk

I love you guyyyyys

- me lol

P.S. the end is near

(Sleep deprived me has many moods. This one happened to be loopy)

(The others are sad, numb, and overly giggly)

Chapter Text

(Thursday)

*Louis' POV*

For our first class of the school day, no one really gets anything done. We perform the play during school today, and every student is required to watch. We also perform on Saturday, so that parents can come watch the play as well. Half of the kids in my school probably don't even want to watch the play, they just want the day off.

The people who are acting in the play met up in the auditorium instead of going to our first classes, so that we could get into our costumes and calm our nerves.

Harry walks up to me backstage, entwining his fingers with mine.

"This is your first performance, right?" I ask him, noticing how scared he looks.

"Yeah, I'm really nervous," his voices wavers a bit.

"Don't be. Even if you mess up the script, it's not like they'll know what it was supposed to be. And besides, one small slip up is nothing compared to the rest of the play," I squeeze his hand reassuringly.

He squeezes my hand back, smiling softly at me. Then a bell rings.

"There's five minutes left in class. That means the teachers will start bringing students in here. Everyone get backstage!" Miss Melissa announces through a megaphone.

All the actors that were wandering around the auditorium rush to get backstage. A few teachers open the doors, letting their classes in. Eventually, every class gets to the auditorium, and the lights dim.

Miss Melissa steps onto the stage. An overhead light shines on her.

"Thank you everyone for gathering here today. This is a modern version of Romeo and Juliet, where Juliet is played by a man, therefore making it Romeo and Julien. There will be a 15 minute intermission halfway between the play, and there are snack tables at the back of the auditorium. Please silence your cell phones and try not to get up during the performance, because that might distract our actors. Once the play is finished, you are welcome to come to the after party that's going to be hosted in the gymnasium. Now that announcements are out of the way, let me step off the stage so that you can enjoy the play!"

***

Not to brag or anything, but we were fantastic. At the end of the play, when all the actors got on stage to bow, practically every student stood up to clap and cheer.

We all walk backstage, so that Miss Melissa can do the end announcements.

"I hope you all enjoyed that play. Feel free to join the actors in the gymnasium. If you don't want to attend the after party, classes are dismissed for the rest of the day, so you can go wherever you want. Just don't trash any classrooms."

There's a few laughs, and then everyone is moving towards the exit. We wait until the crowd has died down a little, and then we walk to the gymnasium.

The bleachers are all pulled out, and there's a few ballons decorating the area. There's also a table with soda, crisps, brownies, cookies, and pizza.

Harry and I hold hands while walking over to the food table. We grab a few things and sit down at on bleachers.

"You did really good for your first performance," I smile at him.

"Thanks. I'm excited to do it again this weekend," he smiles back, showing off his dimples.

The temptation is too strong. I reach out and poke one, making Harry laugh.

"You're only excited because you get to kiss me on stage again," I tease him.

"I can kiss you whenever I want," he huffs.

I hum, taking a bite out of a brownie. Harry rests his head on my shoulder.

"Can I do this?" He asks.

"I don't mind," I respond, wrapping my arm around his stomach to pull him closer.

We eat and talk, enjoying the little after party as much as we can.

***

(Saturday)

All the actors are huddled backstage again, this time being at the school around noon. Miss Melissa made fliers for us to give our parents with the time and date of the performance.

Our families and family friends all gathered in the auditorium, creating a smaller crowd than all the students did. Which isn't surprising, really.

Miss Melissa gives the same opening speech. We deliver the same lines and have the same stage actions. Miss Melissa announces the same after party.

Except, this time, everyone is going to the after party. Because parents will want to congratulate their kids. There's even a small area in the gymnasium for parents to take pictures of their kids in costume.

I awkwardly stand by the food table in my costume. My mum is currently over by Harry and his mum, talking about who knows what. Leaving me by myself.

I feel someone tap my shoulder, and I turn and see Nick, and before I can say anything, he's pulling me by my arm?

"What are you doing?" I ask, struggling against his harsh grip.

"We need to talk," he responds, pulling me harder.

"There's nothing for us to talk about," I say, but he ignores me and pulls me out of the gymnasium, towards a row of lockers in the hallway.

I try to free myself, but he's stronger than me. He shoves me against the lockers, both of his hands pushing back my shoulders.

"If you don't let go of me, I'll kick you in the balls," I threaten.

"I just want to explain myself. My friends, they were jerks. They never liked gay people, because they had internalised homophobia, so they bullied anyone who seemed the tiniest bit gay. They forced me to lead you on, baby. If I didn't do it, they would've called me names. I'm sure you could understand why I didn't want that. But now they don't have any control over me. When I lead you on, I did actually catch some feelings. So come on, give me a second chance."

Nick strokes my cheek, and I glare at him.

"So you bullied me in order to not get bullied yourself? You could've just reported them to the principal. And if you really caught feelings, you would've tried to make me feel good, not practically ignore me. You have some kind of alternate motive."

I'm not even sure why I'm still letting him talk to me.

"You caught me. Truth is, my stepsister, the one in your play, has a little crush on you. And I just love taking things she loves. It drives her insane, but it's so entertaining. So I want to steal you as well. Date you and kiss you right in front of her so that she's furious for weeks."

"You're disgusting," I kick him where it hurts, shoving him back and moving away from the lockers.

He reaches one hand down, jaw clenched with pain. His other grabs my arm again, pulling me to him harshly. Before I get a chance to move away, he grabs my neck and kisses me roughly.

And then he's on the ground, one hand between his legs and the other over his bleeding face. I turn away from him, seeing Harry standing there with shaking hands.

"Touch my boyfriend again, and your face won't be the only thing that bleeds," Harry threatens.

He takes me hand and gently leads me to an empty classroom, closing the door behind him.

"Are you okay, baby?" He asks, letting go of my hand.

I cringe at the nickname, the same one Nick called me. I start crying, disgusted by everything he did.

"H-He..... he k-kissed me H-Harry...... I'm s-so so s-sorry. So sorry..... I s-swear I d-didn't k-kiss him b-back," I cry.

I sit in a nearby desk, pulling up my legs and wrapping my arms around them. I bury my head in my arms, not wanting to see the disappointment on Harry's face.

"Loubear, it's okay. I know you didn't want him to kiss you.... Is it okay if I hug you?" He asks.

"N-No.... I d-don't want you to s-see me cry."

"You know, crying is very manly," Harry says, and I feel his hand rub circles on my back.

It's soothing. I take my head out of my arms, letting my legs hand over the desk. Harry is standing right behind me, so I lean back against his chest. He kisses my forehead.

"Thank you," I sniffle.

"You don't need to thank me. I'm just trying to treat you like you deserve. Do you want me to carry you home? We can cuddle for the rest of the day," Harry murmers.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Harry picks me up bridal style, and I lean my head against his chest, closing my eyes.

"You're the best boyfriend ever," I mumble sleepily.

"I'm only trying to be worthy of you."

***

(Author)

This is the last chapter confirmed????

Don't worry, there's an epilogue

Omg it's really over wow. I went from having an idea for a story in my head to completely ditching the plot and writing the worst fanfic ever

Anyway uh. Yeah

Comment if you think this fic had an abrupt ending

I love you guys so so so so so so so so much

I love you I love you I love you

Chapter Text

(Valentine's Day)

(Louis and Harry are 17)

*Harry's POV*

"Okay Zayn, what did you tell him?" I ask nervously.

"I told him that you had a surprise for him," Zayn answers in a bored tone.

"Do you think that's too obvious? He probably guessed what the surprise is. I mean, what else could it be? Maybe I shouldn't even go through with it. What if he thinks promise rings are dumb? Oh god, I don't even know if he likes wearing jewelry. He'll probably hate it-"

Zayn cuts me off by slapping me in the face.

"Yeah, okay, I deserved that," I mumble, rubbing my cheek.

"He'll love it, okay? This place looks amazing. And I'm sure he'll love what you have planned for after he accepts. Which he will"

I look around at the area that I've spent weeks preparing.

Pink and white trees have red lights strung in their branches, making the area look like an enclosed garden. Pink and red roses and white tulips are planted carefully in the ground, surrounded by clovers. I hand planted those flowers, because before it was just a clover field surrounded by beautiful trees, but I thought the flowers would add a romantic touch.

There's a cobblestone path that leads from the edge of the forest to the center of the field. There's a small circle of cobble that surrounds a small fountain, with little white benches on either side of it.

It's the perfect spot to give Louis a promise ring. We're only 17, so it's too early to propose, but he's the love of my life. Ever since we started dating, we've only grown closer. He's someone I can be myself around, and our playful banter is always something that I'll love. We argue sometimes, but we always talk it out and end up stronger on the other side. And I know that I want to spend the rest of my life waking up with him in my arms.

I also booked a hotel room in a hotel about 20 minutes away from the forest. Zayn will drive us there if Louis accepts my promise ring, and we'll (hopefully) have a nice celebration.

"Come on, he'll be here any minute. You need to meet him at the edge of the forest," Zayn says, walking down the cobblestone path.

I nod, silently following him, hearing my heart thump loudly in my ears.

"I'll wait in the car," Zayn says.

He walks to his car, parked at the side of the road. I stand at the end of the forest path, waiting nervously for Louis to show up.

His car approaches, and he parks behind Zayn.

"Hey Hazza. What's with the creepy forest? Are you planning on murdering me?" Louis asks jokingly as he steps out of his car.

"I guess you'll have to find out," I answer, linking our hands together.

We walk on the path through the forest together, and I watch his face turn to wonder as the green trees fade to pink and white. And then we approach the open field.

"Surprise," I say, looking at him to see his reaction.

His eyes light up, and his mouth opens slightly. He takes in the view. I've never been as good at reading people as he is, so I have no idea what his emotions are.

"Love, what is this place? It's so gorgeous," he says almost breathlessly.

"I was driving by and noticed the path, so I decided to follow it. The lights and flowers were my own additions," I smile at him.

He looks around again, and I nervously reach into the pocket of my jacket.

"There's a reason I brought you here," I say.

He looks at me, tilting his head to the side.

"What is it?"

I take a deep breath, closing my eyes.

"Louis Tomlinson. The first time I saw you, I couldn't believe how beautiful you were. I kept sneaking glances at you, too nervous to approach you. And then we had art class together. From there we just bonded so easily. I feel like we got so close so fast. As if we're in some kind of book where the author just wanted to shove us together without a long, drawn out wait."

"When I confessed my feelings for you, I thought it would help you understand that all I feel for you is love. I would never hurt you in any way, and you mean so much to me. So much that I want to be with you forever."

"Louis, you're spontaneous, sarcastic, sassy, and loud. But you're also caring, you treat me really well, and you're just a great person to sit and admire what you're like."

"I want to sit and admire you forever. I want to cook you meals forever, because I know how much you hate cooking. I want to cuddle you to sleep and kiss you good morning forever. I want you forever."

"Louis, I want to give you something that symbolises my promise to you. I promise that I'll always be there for you forever. And, one day, I want us to get married. But for now, since we're still young, I think a simple promise is enough."

"Louis Tomlinson, will you take this promise ring?"

I go down on one knee, pulling the box out of my pocket. I pop it open and slowly open my eyes to see Louis' reaction.

Tears are streaming down his face. His cheeks are slightly flushed, and his pupils barely let any of his eye colour show.

"Yes. Yes, of course," he smiles, running towards me.

I stand up quickly, and he runs into my arms. We hug each other tightly, not wanting to let go.

Eventually we do, and I slip the ring on his finger.

"That was great practice for my real proposal," I smile at him.

"Next time, make the speech shorter. I almost fell asleep," he laughs.

"Well, you don't want to fall asleep just yet. I have an after surprise since you said yes," I grin widely.

"Does it involve kissing? Because I really want to kiss you right now," he admits.

"There will be plenty of time for that on the drive. Come on."

I take Louis' hand, and we practically run to Zayn's car. He sees us through the window and unlocks the door.

We get into the car, and Louis glances at the cardboard wall in front of him.

"I put that up so that we could make out in the back seat without Zayn complaining. He can still hear us, though, so we'll have to save the extra stuff for the hotel."

"Hotel?"

"I booked us a room. I'll tell you about all my plans when we get there."

We don't waste any more time talking. Zayn drives off, and Louis and I kiss passionately in his back seat. We only pull apart when we feel the car stop.

"Alright lovefucks. We're at the hotel. Text me when you need me to pick you back up. But I'm letting you know that I won't come get you any time before tomorrow."

We get out of the car and Zayn drives off, most likely going to visit Liam. They started dating a while back, but we won't get into that because they're not the main characters so shut up.

I hold Louis' hand as I lead him to our hotel room, and I watch his reaction to what I set up.

Vanilla scented candles are lit on every surface I could put them that wouldn't be a fire hazard. The curtains are closed, so the room is dimly lit. There's red rose petals leading from the door to the bed. Lube and condoms rest on the bedside table. Soft, romantic piano plays through a CD player.

"I was thinking, since we're going to get married some day, maybe we could celebrate by..." I let the sentence finish itself, gesturing towards the bed.

Louis steps further into the room, closing and locking the door behind us.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," he smiles mischievously at me.

We've been intimate a few times in our relationship, but that was mostly blow and hand jobs on the occasions where we just couldn't keep it in. But tonight, we're going to go all in.

***

Louis and I lay in bed, naked. The piano can once again be heard, but it's like a quiet background noise that neither of us pay much attention to.

"Harry?" Louis asks almost as softly as the piano.

"Yeah?" I ask just as soft.

"I'm glad I fell in love with you," he says, cuddling me under the sheets.

"I'm glad I fell in love with you too," I respond, giving him a dimpled smile, because I know he likes those.

We cuddle together under the sheets, soft piano playing in the background, candles still lit around us.

And in this moment, neither of us care that we should probably put the candles out. Nor do we care that we're sweaty and we should probably shower.

Because in this moment, we're in love. And all that matters is that we have each other.

***

(Author)

I will cry

I'm sorry I didn't write in smut. I just literally don't know how

And I wanted this to be romantic fluffy ending

It's overrrr omg I'm kinda sad

Chapter Text

I had an idea for this fanfic. It was going to be fluffy book where Harry and Louis were friends who kissed and cuddled and held hands and literally acted like a couple and everyone would tell them and they'd be all like "no homo tho"

Safe to say that didn't happen

I don't even know what to say? Like this ending was so abrupt? But it felt right??

Cuz there's nothing left to add. Nick is basically dead, Larry is together, Ziam is platonic friends with benefits, and Niall has his food. So everything's good

I thought I knew the pain of reading the ending to a book I love. But writing the ending is so much worse

I feel like I've killed my child

I hope you guys enjoyed this story, because, um, I'm working on A BUNCH more????

I might never publish them, and they're gonna take a lot longer to write (because I'm actually sticking to the plot and not doing whatever the fuck this is)

And I'm also don't know whether or not I'm going to publish them while they're still in progress, or if I'll only publish them when they're finished. Because tbh I don't have a lot of motivation lol

I think I'm going to publish a work on here that's purely my WIPS or ideas, so that you guys can comment your opinions on them. Let me know if you think that's a good idea

I'm also going to publish the other work I have on Wattpad to here, so brace yourselves for that