Chapter Text
At least there was nothing big or heavy to move; that was what Harry kept telling himself while unpacking. He tried to ignore that it was only because he owned nothing big or heavy and just focused on not needing to move anything like that. His last flat came with all the furniture he needed, so he never bought any. This new house came entirely unfurnished, but his new housemates clearly owned furniture because they had managed to fill up the whole house, which included his bedroom, so all he needed to do was unpack.
As Harry knelt on the floor and sorted his clothes into drawers, Niall asked, "You sure you're okay with this room?" He was sitting behind Harry on his new but second-hand bed. "It's kinda small."
Harry nodded, as he continued sorting his clothes. "Yeah, it's fine."
"Not quite the same as having your own flat, is it?"
Harry placed the last pair of trousers in a drawer and then turned to face Niall. "No," he answered truthfully, "but it's better than being homeless." Marginally. "Or moving back into a student hall." Honestly, he'd rather be homeless than move back into student halls as a post-grad student. He wasn't even sure that was allowed.
"Watch it! No slandering student halls around me," Niall said, attempting to look severe, but his twitching lips ruined it for him. "If it hadn't been for student halls, we wouldn't have met."
"If I moved back into one, I might've made a new best friend," Harry said. "Is that what you want?"
They both knew Harry wouldn't have made a new best friend, but Niall played along anyway. "You're right, absolutely! Student housing is the worst."
Harry grinned and got to his feet. "I think I'm finally unpacked."
"Finally, thank fuck! That was a very long thirty minutes. Can't believe it took you that long."
"Yeah, yeah, I don't have much stuff. I get it."
Niall motioned to the bed he was sitting on. "You don't even have sheets."
"Got 'em in the car," Harry said. "Had to buy new ones because my old bed was a double, and this one is…." He motioned to the single bed to finish his sentence.
Niall pursed his lips, and Harry knew what was coming. "We could swi-"
"We're not switching rooms," Harry said with what he hoped was an air of finality.
It mustn't have been, though, because Niall rambled on, "I haven't unpacked yet. It would be easy to swap."
"I'm paying the least amount of rent. It makes sense I get the smallest room," Harry had lost count of how many times they'd had this argument, and he was fed up it. He had already lost the fight about Niall taking the day off to help him move, 'It's a Monday. I'd take it off anyway,' he'd said. Harry wasn't losing this one.
"Yeah, a'right. I know." Niall shuffled on the bed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Liam and Zayn should be home any minute. We should go downstairs so I can introduce you to Zayn."
"I've met Zayn," Harry said, prickling at the thought of a formal introduction.
"You've seen Zayn. You've been in the same room with Zayn. I wouldn't say you've really met him." Niall reached his arms up towards Harry, and Harry took them and pulled him up.
That wasn't entirely true. Harry was almost certain they'd said hi to each other. "Is it really necessary?" Harry whined.
"For you to meet your new housemate?" Niall raised his eyebrow. "Yes, Harry, I'd put that pretty high on the list of necessities."
"Fine, fine," he muttered and followed Niall down the stairs. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to tame the wavy mess. Niall's light brown hair wasn't much shorter than Harrys, but somehow his always looked styled. Maybe Harry needed a haircut.
Even though his new bedroom was small, the rest of the house wasn't. Harry was still unsure how they had convinced a real estate agent to let five lads in their mid-twenties move in, but somehow they had.
Niall and Harry reached the bottom of the stairs and doubled back into the living room. Harry took the two-seater against the back wall, giving him an almost unobstructed view of the renovated open-plan downstairs area. It meant he could keep his eyes on the front door, readying himself for the impending arrivals.
"Fucks sake, mate." Niall sounded equal parts exasperated and amused.
Harry stopped wringing his hands and glanced at him.
"It's just Liam and Zayn. You know Liam, you like Liam. And Zayn's a good lad."
Harry nodded. "I know, I know."
As soon as he was accepted into his Master's Program, Harry knew it wasn't feasible to work full-time and complete it so he'd have to quit his full-time job. And quitting meant there was no way he'd be able to afford his own flat. Truth be told, he could barely afford it even when he was working full-time. Niall's lease was up around the same time, and Niall suggested that Harry, Liam - Niall's only housemate at the time - and himself try to find somewhere together.
Harry hadn't spent all that much time around Liam, as Niall and Harry tended to spend more time at Harry's, but he still liked him well enough. He'd had decided that Liam was a well-natured, very likeable lad. Based on the state of Niall's flat, he also could tell that Liam was tidy because there was no way that Niall was keeping the flat that clean.
So while not ideal- ideal would be that Harry would continue living alone or just with Niall- moving into a flat with Niall and Liam seemed the next best thing.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t been that easy. The renting market was, well, shot to shit. There were very few available flats and those that were available were either well beyond their budgets or resulted in rejected applications.
In what Liam and Niall called a miracle, and Harry called an unfortunate coincidence, Liam's two childhood friends had also decided that they wanted to move out of their flat. Harry wasn't too concerned at first because surely trying to find somewhere for five people to live would be more challenging than three, right?
Wrong. Harry had been wrong. Niall turned up with a rental agreement to sign less than a week later. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Harry didn't see what other reasonable choice he had. So he accepted that he was going from living alone to living with four others; his best friend, a friendly acquaintance, a guy Harry had said hello to once, and a complete stranger that was friends with Liam and Zayn.
Niall stood, turned on the telly, and wordlessly handed Harry one of the PlayStation controllers. Before they'd even gotten past the start menu on FIFA, Harry heard keys unlock the front door.
He chewed his bottom lip as Liam walked through the door, followed by Zayn. They were talking to each other but stopped once they reached Niall and Harry in the living area.
"Haz," Liam said and bounded over to him. "So good to see you, mate!" He reached his hand out, and Harry took it, intending to shake it, but instead, Liam pulled him up into him and patted his back with his other hand.
Harry's eyes found Niall's, and there was amusement dancing in them. Liam pulled back and grinned at Harry.
Harry couldn't help but smile. "Good to see you, too."
Niall quietly cleared his throat. "And Harry, this is Zayn. Zayn, this is Harry."
Liam stepped aside so that he was no longer blocking their view of each other.
"Hey man," Zayn said, effortlessly cool. He also looked effortlessly cool. Harry knew that Zayn was a high school English teacher, and he could confidently say he'd never had a teacher that looked anything like Zayn. His hair was about the same length as Harry's, but it was well-styled, unlike Harry's messy hair. He was wearing black jeans, a white shirt and a leather jacket. He even had a nose piercing.
Harry gave an awkward wave and cringed at it. "Hey," was all he managed to choke out.
Despite Niall's protests, Harry sneaked off to his bedroom as soon as Liam and Zayn were out of sight.
Harry drifted in and out of sleep until the sounds coming through the wall became impossible to ignore. He checked his phone and was relieved it was only one in the morning, giving him a lot more time to get back to sleep.
He was woken by a female-sounding giggle. As he had to wee anyway, so he got out of bed, pulled on some tracksuit bottoms and headed into the landing. The window at the far side of the floor provided enough light for him to fumble his way down it. His room was at the other end of the landing, with Niall's room to one side and Louis' -the housemate he hadn't met yet- on the other side of Harry's. As he walked past both doors, he could tell that the giggling was coming from Louis' room. He wasn't overly surprised that it wasn't coming from Niall's. Even when Niall was in college and partied a lot, he'd never been the type to bring girls home on Monday nights.
Harry didn't know much about Louis, but he did know he worked at a bar, and Niall mentioned he got around a bit. Which was completely fine. Two consenting adults could do whatever they wanted, but Harry hadn't considered how thin the wall between them could be.
After he used the loo, he opened the door, and someone ran straight into his chest, blonde hair pressed all over his face. The contact broke as a blonde-haired girl stepped back, only illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the window. "Shit, sorry," she whispered.
"No problem," Harry whispered back. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah, just need to use the bathroom. Louis said it was through here."
"Yeah, it is." Harry stepped out of the way so she could go in, but the girl hesitated.
"I'm Caity, by the way," she said as she held her hand out.
Harry took it and noticed she was only wearing an oversized band shirt. "Harry," he said. She still didn't move. "Are you, um, Louis' girlfriend?"
She laughed shortly. "No, no, I'm not. I only met him tonight." Then the smile slid off his face. "Why? Does he have a girlfriend?"
"Oh, not as far as I know," Harry answered, wanting to soothe the panic on her face. "I haven't actually met Louis yet."
"What?" she asked. "Why not?"
"Only moved in today."
She nodded. "Makes sense." She still didn't move to the bathroom.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Caity. I'm going to go to bed now."
"Oh, right, of course," she said as he stepped past her. "Sleep well."
"You too," he said.
Harry's alarm went off way too early on Tuesday morning. Caity wasn't quiet, and apparently, Louis knew how to make the girl moan. It had taken him ages to fall back to sleep.
After he took his meds and headed downstairs, he heard Zayn and Liam's voices coming from the kitchen, and he considered heading back upstairs. In the end, he decided he couldn't hide from them every day since they were going to be living together for a year.
"Haz!" Liam, who was leaning next to the sink, beamed and said, 'Good morning.' Harry had always considered himself a morning person, but he had nothing on Liam.
Zayn swivelled in the stool at the kitchen bench to face Harry and gave him a friendly nod of greeting. Harry happily noted that Zayn wasn’t looking quite as bright as Liam was.
"Morning," Harry said with a tight smile. Both Liam and Zayn were already dressed. Zayn was wearing fitted black trousers and a v-neck knit jumper, and somehow, he still managed to make it look edgy. Liam was wearing a casual suit, perfectly appropriate for a dentist.
"You want any tea or coffee?" Liam asked. "Kettles already boiled."
Harry nodded, walked past Zayn to the kettle in the corner of their counter that housed it, and made himself a tea.
As he drank his tea he listened to the banter between Zayn and Liam and decided it wasn't a terrible thing to wake up to.
"What are your plans today?" It took Harry a moment to realise Liam had directed the question to him.
"Oh," he said. "I'll study until Niall's ready for me to take him to work and then spend the day at uni."
"Do you go every day?" Zayn asked.
"To uni?" Harry clarified.
"Yeah."
"Most, yeah, I don't have classes every day, but I tutor under-grads every day, so I go in and just study when I'm not tutoring or in class."
Zayn nodded.
"Every day, wow," Liam said. "That's a big commitment."
It was. Harry had considered rearranging some students, so he only had to go in on the two days he had class, or even three. That would still be better than five.
Zayn glance at his watch. "We better go, Li," he said.
"We carpool," Liam explained to Harry. "Our workplaces are only about two minutes apart."
They nodded their goodbyes, and Harry took his tea to his room to study until Niall woke up.
"I'm so sorry, mate," Niall said as he climbed into Harry's car. "Just got caught up with Friday deadlines."
Harry pulled out of the parking space once Niall had put on his seatbelt. "No worries, I've only been here for a couple of minutes." It was a small lie, but he hadn't wanted Niall to worry. "Did you get it all finished?"
"Yeah, thank god. I'm proper knackered, and the last thing I feel like doing is work on the weekend."
"Any big plans?" Harry asked.
"Nah, don't think so. Keen for a quiet one. Just with the lads."
Harry nodded and hated himself for questioning whether h-
"You're one of the lads," Niall said, cutting through his thoughts.
Harry nodded again and felt even worse that Niall could read him so easily.
"You'll have dinner with us tonight, yeah? Not going to hide up in your room again."
Harry groaned. "I don't hide. I study."
"You study all day, and then you have to come home and study at night?"
"Well, I mean, I also watch Netflix and read."
"See! Hiding!"
"Not hiding," Harry said. "Just easier to do in my room."
"Whatever you say, but tonight you'll hang out with us?"
Harry sighed. "Yeah, guess so."
"First official housemate bonding night with all of us!"
"Oh, will Louis be there?"
"Yeah, he's meant to be."
"I still haven't met him," Harry said.
"What? Really?" Niall asked.
"Yeah, haven't ever seen him. Anyone could walk into our house and say, 'Hi, I'm Louis, your housemate', and I'd be like, 'Fair enough.’"
Niall hummed. "I guess I haven't seen him this week either. Oh, he finished early on Wednesday night, so I saw him then. I think you'd already gone to bed."
"Yeah, guess so." Then Harry laughed. "That actually makes sense. Wednesday night was the only night I wasn't woken up to sex noises coming from his bedroom."
Niall choked a laugh. "The what?"
"Don't you hear it?" Harry asked, realising that he'd never brought it up with Niall or the other guys.
"Sex noises?"
"Yeah."
Harry glanced away from the road to Niall, and Niall shook his head.
"What?" Harry asked incredulously. "Your bedroom is directly opposite his. How come it's not waking you up?"
"I mean, I am a pretty deep sleeper." That was an understatement; Niall could sleep through anything. "So, every night except Wednesday?"
"Yep," Harry answered.
"Always the same lass?" Even though Harry was watching the road, he saw Niall stiffen as he hastily added, "Or lad!"
Harry held back his groan. Even though Harry already knew he was, Niall always went out of his way to show he was inclusive and accepting. His attempts, like that, only made it awkward. "Different girls." Harry pulled into his designated parking space. "Well, Monday and last night were different. I didn't actually meet the one on Tuesday. Definitely, moaned like a girl, though."
He and Niall got out of the car, but Niall seemed frozen. "That's revolting."
Harry laughed. "I can't believe I'm the only one who has to listen to it."
"Wait, did you say you've met them?"
Harry started walking to their house, "Yeah, those two, at least. My bladder hates me, so I met them both on the landing." He glanced at Niall, whose mouth was agape. "Nice enough girls."
Niall was silent until they reached the door. "Well, tonight your lucky night," he said, "because I can already hear him. Can't wait to introduce you."
"Do we have to? I have to study or something, anything."
"Absolutely not. Housemate bonding night, remember!" Niall grinned. "Besides, don't you want to meet The Man, The Myth, The Legend who keeps you up all night?”
"No, not particularly," Harry answered as Niall unlocked the front door. Harry went to follow him but ran into his back. Niall shut the door so they were still on the front step. "What?"
Niall turned to face him. "You aren't awake all night, are you? You're getting enough sleep?"
"Oh god, you're worse than mum. Yes, I'm getting enough sleep."
Niall studied him as if trying to determine whether he was lying. "We can still switch rooms if you want. It might be quieter. Or you could swap with Liam. He is at the other end of the floor, there's no way you'd be able to hear it from there. Or I could ask Lou-"
"Stop." Harry planted his hands on Niall's chest. "Don't do this."
"It's just, I worry." Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Niall covered it with his hand. "I know you don't want me to fuss, but I can't help it. And if you're not getting enough sleep and something happens, and it's because I made you move in, I'll hate myself."
"I can take care of myself." Then a terrible thought came to Harry. "You haven't told any of them, have you?"
Niall shook his head. "'Course not, you asked me not to. I still think you should, though."
"That's enough, now," Harry said, voice firmer. "Let's not go over this again."
Niall looked like he was about to protest, so Harry grabbed his arm. "C'mon, I need to meet this man who definitely isn't interrupting my precious sleep with his constant shagging."
Niall laughed and let Harry reach around him to open their front door and push Niall through it. Voices were coming from the kitchen. Well, only one voice, actually. Niall hadn't been lying; he would have been able to hear Louis' voice from outside. It was so boisterous that Harry was surprised that he hadn't heard it.
He followed Niall until they reached the kitchen workbench. Zayn and Liam were also there, still in the clothes they'd left in this morning. They were both watching who Harry had to assume was Louis. None of them seemed to notice that he and Niall had arrived, and Harry wasn't sure he could blame them given the way Louis took up a room, all energy radiating through him.
Louis was standing there completely shirtless. His waist was taut, and his stomach well defined, but not in an obnoxious way. He was suspiciously tanned, considering the general weather in Oxford. It definitely was a tan and not just his skin tone, though. Harry could tell because Louis' track pants sat so low that he could see the milky skin where the tan line finished. He also had a pretty impressive tattoo collection, he may have more than Harry.
Harry averted his eyes as soon as he realised he'd been staring. No, no, no! Harry could not be caught staring at his new housemate. Staring wasn't the right word, and Harry knew it. Checking out would be more appropriate.
Louis must've finished whatever he was saying because the room was suddenly quieter.
Harry glanced up from his clasped hands and found Liam, Zayn, and Louis looking at him.
"Hey," Niall hollered, as if unaware of the room's tension. Or maybe Harry was the only one who could feel it. "Louis, mate, this is Harry. Harry Styles."
Harry gave a tight-lipped smile, positive his cheeks were flushed judging by the heat he could feel in them.
"You haven't met?" Zayn asked.
"Nah, haven't had the pleasure yet," Louis said with an easy smile. "Hey mate, glad to finally meet you."
"Yeah, you too," Harry said, his voice scratchier than usual.
"Harry, did Niall tell you about our family dinner?" Liam asked.
"Ha, yeah, he did."
"Brilliant, let's get pizza," Louis said decidedly, pulling out his phone. "I'll order." No one seemed to be concerned that he hadn't consulted them.
"I'm, erm, going to go and put my things away," Harry said to no one in particular, unsure if anyone was even listening to him, and walked up to his bedroom.
He stayed in his bedroom until he heard the doorbell and then dragged himself downstairs. He did promise Niall, after all.
Louis strategically placed all the pizza on their large coffee table so that all the boxes were open. He remained shirtless, much to the dismay of Harry's self-preservation plan.
"That's a lot of pizza," Harry said.
Louis looked up at him. "Yeah, there are eight. Why?"
Harry shook his head, wanting to let it go. His mouth mustn't've gotten the message. "Just seems like a lot of food for five people."
Louis stood then and studied him. Harry felt hot under Louis' scrutiny. "I mean, if I want to buy eight pizzas, I don't see what the issue is."
"There's no issue," Harry said. "I was just stating a fact."
"Right…" Louis said, looking away from Harry, and Harry felt like he could finally breathe again. "Well, there is basically one of everything, so just take what you want."
Harry's stomach knotted. There was basically one of everything. However, every single one had meat on it. Harry sat down while everyone else filled their plates.
"Styles," Zayn's voice came, "you gonna eat?"
"Oh, um, I'm not too hungry." He saw in his peripheral that Louis' head whipped around to him.
"You're not going to eat?" Louis asked, his voice tight.
Niall said through a mouthful of food, "Oh, shit, Harry's vegetarian."
Louis looked at all the pizzas on the table, one by one and then back to Harry. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't ask," Harry answered. "It's fine, though, really. I can make a sandwich." He pushed himself off the lounge and did his best to ignore the fact that everyone's eyes were on him. With all the confidence he could muster, he walked to the kitchen.
He heard footsteps approaching while he reached for a plate causing him to freeze.
"Why'd you lie?" Louis asked from behind him.
Harry grabbed the plate and placed it on the counter before turning to look at Louis. Louis pursed his lips, accentuating his well-defined cheekbones. No, Harry, no.
"Sorry, what do you mean?" Harry asked. Louis' eyes were trained on his own, and Harry was struck by how blue they were. Louis looked away from him, and Harry was glad because he wasn't sure what his face could give away.
"You lied. You said you weren't hungry when you were. Why didn't you say you didn't want pizza?"
"It's not that I didn't want pizza. I couldn't eat any of it because I'm vegetarian."
Louis tapped his fingers on the kitchen bench that was separating them. "Why didn't you just say that, though?"
Why hadn't he just said that? "I don't know."
Louis huffed a brittle laugh. "Don't tell me then," he said. His eyes met Harry's for a brief moment before he walked out of the kitchen, leaving Harry to try and put together the pieces of the interaction and make it make sense.
It was a testament to his love of Niall that once he finished making his sandwich, he went back into the living room and sat on the two-seater that he and Zayn had seemed to claim as their own.
"How was your day, Haz?" Liam asked him.
"Oh, yeah, good." Truthfully, it could have been better. He'd spent the whole day at uni just for two tutoring students. He'd been studying so much that he had run out of content to learn. He did spend some time updating his old under-grad notes so that he could sell them online, but even that got boring after a while. He'd decided to try rearranging his schedule to stop wasting entire days.
"You're at uni, right?" Louis asked him from the three-seater, in between Liam and Niall.
"Yeah," Harry answered hesitantly.
"What are you studying?"
"Master's in Bio-chem."
Louis whistled lowly. "Oh, so you're like smart-smart."
Harry shrugged.
"I'm the only one who didn't go to uni," Louis said before taking another bite of pizza.
"Lucky you've got a pretty face to fall back on," Zayn said.
Even with a mouth full of pizza, Louis' smile was still something of beauty, and Harry fucking hated it.
"You could have gone to uni if you'd wanted to," Liam said.
Louis snorted. "Yeah, okay. Learning isn't for everyone."
"I think it can be," Harry said and instantly wanted to pull the words back into his mouth because in what universe would saying them have been a good idea?
Louis raised his eyebrows at him. "Righteo mastermind, not everyone is cut out to go into biological warfare."
Harry laughed at the absurdity of him working in chemical warfare. "It's that what you think bio-chem is? Because it's definitely not."
"Right, okay," Louis said. All the bravado in his voice seemed to be gone.
If Harry hadn't known any better, he'd think that he'd offended Louis. Guilt trickled in anyway. "You're a barman, right?"
"Yep," he popped the 'P' as he said it. Harry watched as he opened his mouth and then snapped it closed.
"Cool," Harry said. "That's cool. Do you enjoy it?"
"Guess so. It pays the bills, doesn't it?"
Harry chewed on his lip and studied Louis, who looked up and met his eyes.
Harry wasn't sure what did it, but Louis' face hardened. "For fuck's sake, Styles." Zayn had called him by his last name before, but it was weird coming from Louis. "Not everyone is cut out for higher education." He leant forward from his seat, "Some of us have to work in bars so that people like you have somewhere to go to keep the world spinning."
Liam placed an arm in front of Louis' chest and gently guided him so that his back returned to the lounge pillow. Harry glanced at Niall, who was staring back, eyes wide.
"People like me?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, peop-"
"Let's leave this conversation there, hey?" Liam said. It was apparent he was trying to keep his voice light, but there was an edge.
Louis muttered, "Yeah, a'right, sorry," before leaving the room. He returned with a six-pack of beers. And fuck.
He handed them to the others before reaching Harry. Louis held one out to him with a strained smile.
"Uhm, no thanks."
"You don't like beer?"
Fuck. "It's not that."
"We have other alcohol if you want something else," Louis said. "We have pretty much everything. What do you want?"
"I don't drink."
"You don't drink?" Louis said, looking incredulous, and Harry hated the judgment written all over his face. "Why don't you drink?"
Niall suddenly stood. "Who wants to play FIFA? Let's play FIFA!" Then he slipped past Louis forcing Louis to take a step back away from Harry, and, honestly, Harry could have kissed his best friend then and there.
It had seemed like Liam, Zayn, and Niall had made it their mission to make Harry spend time with them. He suspected that Niall had told them they needed to, like he was a bloody charity case or something.
Liam and Zayn were already in the kitchen every morning when he woke and had poured him a cup of tea and talked to him until they left for work. Every night the three of them made him eat dinner with them.
While he'd heard Louis every second night or so, well heard a girl, it wasn't until Wednesday night that he saw him again. If it weren't for the habit of eating dinner together with the others, Harry probably would have spent the night huddled in his bedroom. It would be obvious why he wasn't there and add to the pre-existing undercurrent of tension that constantly lingered, even when Louis wasn't there. Although, maybe only Harry noticed it.
Harry had declined the offer of getting takeaway. He'd been living almost solely off takeaway dinners, and the thought of even one more made him feel ill. The others were already eating in the living room, so Harry took his dinner out and sat next to Zayn on their two-seater lounge.
He'd barely lifted the fork to his mouth when Louis asked, "What the fuck is that?" Harry looked at him, and Louis motioned to Harry's bowl.
Harry lowered his fork and looked down at his bowl. "Oh, erm, it's a Buddha Bowl," he said hesitantly. Harry hated the effect Louis had on him, one that seemed to turn him back into the awkward kid he used to be.
"And what the fuck is a Buddha Bowl?"
Harry didn't understand why Louis always had to be so brash. He had to think about the definition of a Buddha Bowl - and also why the hell he didn't just call it a salad or something. "It's like… a bowl... With all different ingredients, I guess." That was probably the worst description that has ever been given. "I think it started because people in communities would all bring food they could spare, and they'd make a meal with it and share it, kind of like a co-op. I'm not sure how to-"
"Co-op?" Louis asked, cutting Harry off.
Harry wasn't sure whether Louis was taking the piss or simply didn't know, so he proceeded carefully. "You know, a co-op. A food cooperative." Louis stared at Harry and felt compelled to elaborate, "Local people bring produce from their, generally small, gardens, and then they distribute it between everyone. So someone might grow tomatoes, and someone else might grow pumpkins, and someone else might grow potatoes and so on. They bring whatever they have and then spilt it up, so they get some of everything." Harry ran a hand through his hair, overwhelmed by the weight of Louis' stare.
"Right, okay," Louis said. He put a forkful of food into his mouth, but his eyes didn't move from Harry's.
Zayn coughed, causing Harry to look at him. He had a smirk on his face. He wasn't looking back at Harry, though. Harry followed his eye line, and Liam stared back at Zayn, eyes looking panicked.
Liam realised Harry was looking at him. "Uh, so how'd tutoring go today?"
"Yeah, good," Harry said, thankful for the conversation change.
Liam nodded.
"Do you like doing it?" Zayn asked. "What are the students like?"
Niall laughed. "That's such a teacher thing to ask."
Harry smiled. "Yeah, I like it. They're all pretty motivated; they wouldn't be looking for tutoring if they weren't. I only have one who is a bit more challenging. His parents pay for him to be tutored, despite him being nineteen, and he is a bit less motivated. But otherwise, they just need a little bit of help to grasp the content a bit more. They put the work in, and it shows in their results, so it's pretty rewarding."
"It's not just about effort, though, is it?" Louis said.
"Fucks sake," Zayn muttered next to Harry.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "In my experience, I'd say it is. Sometimes people aren't in the right space to put the effort in, but I'd suggest, generally, if they put the effort in, they get the results they're hoping for."
Louis rolled his eyes. "I get the impression your experiences are pretty limited."
Harry forced himself to unclench his jaw. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Seems like you don't have a lot of real-world experiences. Bit sheltered, yeah?"
"No," Harry spat. Fuck, Louis got under his skin. He made Harry feel like he did back in high school. He'd long moved on since then, but Louis made him regress to that scared, lonely kid.
"I want to play Halo," Niall said. "Everyone in?"
Harry noted that this had become a recurring theme and seemed like the only way that Niall knew how to diffuse a situation. He would have made a joke about it if he wasn't so pissed off.
"I forgot I have a paper I need to finish. Sorry, lads." The fact that no one tried to get him to stay spoke volumes to him. Of course, they'd all be on Louis' side, and he understood. He did. Why would they want to be around Harry when they could be around Louis?
"You're going to be so proud of me!" Emily declared as she bounded towards Harry, getting disapproving stares from other students in the library.
Harry stood from his chair at their usual studying table, grinning at her as she dropped her bag and tackled him into a hug, causing him to laugh. "You did well, I'm guessing."
She pulled back, hands still holding his waist and beamed. "Ninety-five per cent!"
"Em, that's amazing! You should be so proud of yourself."
She detangled herself fully. "Thank you so much, Harry!"
Harry pulled his chair back out and sat. "It was my pleasure. But you're the one who put the work in."
"Still, I couldn't've done it without you," she said as she sat across from him at the small table.
"Don't be daft. Of course, you could have."
"Harry," she whined endearingly, "take a compliment!"
"You need to take the compliment. This was all you."
She sighed, "Fine."
"Say it," Harry said with a smirk. "Say 'I'm Emily, and I got the grade I wanted because I worked hard.'"
Emily laughed but repeated it like he knew she would.
He remembered what Louis had said about how effort wasn't always enough and decided Louis had been wrong.
"How are you going to celebrate?" Harry asked her.
"Going to get plastered," Emily said earnestly. "That sounds terrible, doesn't it?"
Harry smirked. "If that's what you want to do, you should."
She grinned at him. "Anyway, I guess we still have to study, don't we?"
"We probably should. I gotta earn the heap of dosh you throw my way."
Emily snorted. "Harry, you know you're the cheapest tutor on campus. And the best. I still don't understand why you don't increase your cost."
Harry shrugged. The truth was that even though he could do with the extra money, he also knew some students couldn't afford much more. At first, he had given a discount to the students he felt needed it without telling them, but then one of those students found out and was, rightfully, offended. Harry decided to lower his fees to the discounted price for everyone and got more students anyway, "Anything, in particular, you want to cover today?"
Emily sighed but took her textbook out of her bag.
When Niall and Harry arrived home on Friday night, Harry noted that Louis' car was out the front and groaned. Niall followed his gaze and then smirked.
"Sod off, Niall. It's not funny," Harry said. "He is such a tosser. You're not laughing when he starts having a go at me."
"He isn't a tosser," Niall answered. Harry mustn't've looked convinced because Niall continued, "He isn't. You two rub each other the wrong way or something."
"Yeah, it's because he's a tosser."
"At least you don't have to see him much," Niall offered.
Harry chewed his bottom lip. It was true that their paths rarely crossed. Unfortunately, they were about to.
"Lads!" Louis bellowed from the lounge before they even stepped through the front door. "You're here, finally."
Harry was already getting pissed off. They had to wait until Niall finished work; they could not have gotten here any sooner.
"Hey Lou," Niall said as he walked into the living room. Harry reluctantly followed him. He said quick hello's to Zayn and Liam.
"Glad you're here. We were thinking of having people over tonight, like a housewarming party, if that's okay with you two."
"Yeah, 'course," Niall answered.
Harry gave a short nod.
"Brilliant! I've already invited a bunch of people, and you can invite whoever you want."
Harry wondered what Louis would have done if Niall or Harry had said no, uninvite everyone?
"We can all go out after, as well," Louis said, looking well-chuffed now, "Got the perfect club in mind. Proper bonding experience."
Niall looked at Harry, and Louis must've realised because Harry's eyes met his striking blue ones.
"I, uh, I can't go out after." He braced himself for the onslaught he was sure he was about to receive.
"What? Why not?" Louis demanded.
Harry wanted to punch him. If he knew how to punch, he probably would have. As it was, Harry did not know how to punch, and despite Louis being a bit smaller than him, he was pretty sure Louis would be able to take him.
"Just can't."
"Don't be a pussy; come out with us. You don't have to drink."
Harry felt heat rise to his cheeks. "Pussy?"
"Yeah," Louis said.
"Lou," Liam said quietly from Louis' side.
"Didn't know people still used that word as an insult," Harry said, trying to keep his voice steady. "Kind of misogynistic, no?"
Louis looked surprised. "How is it misogynistic?"
"Because you're using female anatomy as an insult."
Louis looked taken aback for a second before he smirked. "Do you say that because you don't get any?"
"Excuse me?" Harry said. Maybe he could punch him after all. Even if Louis took him out, Harry would be satisfied to get the first blow in.
"Louis," Liam's sounded aghast, as if it was unimaginable that Louis would say something like that. In fact, in all their interactions, Liam had seemed surprised by Louis' behaviour. At some point, they just needed to accept their friend was a tosser. "Stop. Harry, it's fine if you don't want to come out with us. Isn't it, Lou?"
"Yeah, whatever," Louis huffed. "Gents, you'll have to excuse me. I need to get ready."
Once it was apparent that he was no longer in earshot, Liam turned to Harry. "Sorry, that was so out of line."
"You don't need to apologise for him," Harry said.
Liam shook his head. "I really don't know what's gotten into him lately."
Zayn laughed but turned it into a cough when the others looked at him.
"Right, well, I guess I should go and get ready, too," Harry said.
He strode up the stairs. When he reached the landing, he looked down it to make sure Louis wasn't there. He wasn't in sight, so Harry legged it to his room and quickly closed his door.
The thing was, even though the thought of living with others had worried Harry before moving in, it had started okay. Liam was a good lad, and it seemed like Zayn was warming up to him in his own Zayn way. Sure, they wouldn't consider Harry their mate, but they were becoming the closest things Harry had to friends, excluding Niall, of course.
So of-fucking-course there was something here to mess it up - something being Louis. Harry knew how friend groups worked. Every group had a leader, and no matter who was in the group, they would all end up doing what the leader said.
Louis was the leader, and no matter how friendly Liam was or how unbothered Zayn was, if Louis hated Harry, they would turn soon. They'd get fed up with trying to act nice and telling Louis to sod off, or Louis would get sick of it, and they'd be too scared to do something.
He'd seen it all before. He'd seen it his whole life.
The fact he even dreamed he could ever have more friends than just Niall was stupid.
His biggest fear wasn't that Zayn and Liam might start to hate Harry, though; his biggest fear was that Niall would too. Niall had spent five years telling Harry he was his best friend and showing it as well. He'd stood by him through so much, and Harry hadn't doubted their friendship in years, the first friendship he hadn't had to question.
But Niall was also friends with Liam, Zayn, and Louis. Harry hoped their friendship was strong enough, but he wasn't entirely sure it was.
As if on cue, Niall flung his bedroom door open and glanced around until he saw Harry.
"Why are you on the floor?" Niall asked.
"Dunno." Harry didn't even remember sitting on his bedroom floor, but he was there.
Niall shut the door and walked over, slid down and sat next to him.
"You here to defend him?" Harry asked.
"Nup," Niall said.
Harry turned to Niall. "You're not?"
"Nah, what he said was fucked up," Niall said, meeting Harry's eyes. "Couldn't defend it even if I wanted to."
Harry nodded and wondered if he had been spiralling a bit when he thought Niall might not want to be his friend anymore.
He did want to know more for a reason he couldn't explain. "He really isn't normally like that?"
"Never in all the time I've spent with him, which isn't that much. But Liam and Zayn, who grew up with him, said they'd never seen him be that bad. Not unless the person fucked up or something."
"Weird," Harry said. "Do you think I did something?"
Niall shrugged.
"What? What does that mean?" Harry asked.
"It's not that I think you did something." Niall paused and scrunched his face like he often did when thinking. "I think you're very different people. Not that surprising you aren't getting along, is it?"
"I'm trying."
Niall seemed to hesitate. "Are you, though?" Before Harry could answer, he said, "I'm not saying it's your fault! I'm just asking if you're trying."
"I am!" Harry said.
"Okay," was all Niall said. "Anyway, you coming to the party?"
"The one at my house?"
Niall's lip quirked, and some of the tension drained out of Harry. "Yeah, that one."
"The one I was asked permission to hold an hour before all the guests arrived?"
Niall grinned then. "The very same one."
"Might grace everyone with an appearance at some point," Harry said. "You inviting anyone?"
"Fuck, no," Niall groaned. "None of my forty-year-old colleagues would want to come to a house party. Anyone I know who would be interested in a house party already lives in the house."
"Same." Harry huffed out a laugh. "Actually, that's not true. I tutor at least ten under-grads who would love to come to a house party, but I don't think I'll be inviting them."
After a few moments, Niall turned back to him. "Do you mind if I go out after? I don't have to if you don't want me to."
"Don't be daft, Niall," Harry said with an eye-roll. "You should go. I'll just be going to bed anyway. I'm knackered."
Niall nodded. "Yeah, okay. You know, if you just told everyone, this would be a lot less awkward."
Harry pulled his pillow off his bed and lightly whacked Niall with it. "I," he whacked him again, "am," and again "not," and one more time for good measure, "telling them!"
Niall was laughing. "Okay," he conceded between giggles. Satisfied with Niall's surrender, Harry dropped the pillow before Niall continued, "Okay, you're not going to tell them." He said once he caught his breath. "It's just, it would be easier-"
Harry raised his eyebrows and the pillow. "Do you want me to hit you again? Because I will, happily."
Niall put his hands in front of his face, laughing. "I'll drop it. I'll drop it."
"I'm not keeping it a secret," Harry was definitely keeping it a secret, "they just don't need to know."
Niall held Harry's glance for a few beats before saying, "Whatever you think is best, I guess."
"I know it's for the best."
Niall raised his hands. "I won't bring it up again."
Harry laughed. "Yeah, you will."
Niall grinned. "Yeah, I probably will, only because I love you. Anyway, I'm going to go and get ready. Can't wait to have my presence graced by you."
"Yeah, yeah. You better go now. It takes you hours to look presentable."
Niall stood and pulled Harry to stand. "You're one to talk. Haz, you do know I love you, right?"
Harry nodded, knowing his cheeks were flushed.
"Say it back." Niall insisted.
Harry sighed. "Love you too."
"You barely even flinched that time," Niall said. "Growth."
"Shut up and get out of my room," Harry said, pushing him out.
It wasn't until an hour after guests started arriving that Harry decided he should go downstairs. Not knowing the dress code of a house party for people in their mid-twenties, he'd thrown on a pair of black jeans and a white shirt. After stopping by his mirror and taming his hair the best he could, he was satisfied that he was, at the very least, presentable.
Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw that most people were in the lounge room. Not ready to face that many people, he turned right and went into the kitchen.
Although the house was full of people, Harry estimated around forty, it was more subdued than Harry expected. He expected a similar piss-up to the parties Niall used to drag him to in college. This party did seem more grown-up, somehow.
Harry weaved through the small number of people in the kitchen to grab a glass and fill it with water. He felt someone lightly grab his arm, and he turned to see a pretty brunette staring up at him.
"Hi, can I, uh, help you with something?" he asked her.
Her face was already flushed, but Harry noted that her cheeks turned a brighter shade of red. She didn't answer him.
The girl next to her giggled. "She's pretty drunk," she said, "but she wanted to tell you she thinks you're cute."
Harry smiled at the first girl. "That's very kind. What was your name?"
"Tahlia," she said through giggles.
"Nice to meet you, Tahlia. I'm Harry." He looked at her friend. "And your name?"
"Mia," she said with a grin. "How come we've never met you, Harry?"
"I'm not much of a partier," Harry told her. "Who do you know here?"
"The guys who live here," Tahlia said, face a little less flaming red.
"Oh yeah," Harry said. "Which ones?"
"We met Louis, Liam, and Zayn when we were at college, but we also know Niall," Mia answered while Tahlia downed the rest of her drink. "Who do you know?"
"The guys who live here," Harry said.
Mia grinned. "Yeah, but which ones?"
Before Harry could answer, he heard Louis' booming voice, "Mia! Tahlia!" he exclaimed and embraced them both.
They both smiled at Louis fondly as they hugged him. Mia even kissed his cheek. Harry wondered how Louis had convinced these girls to like him. Or anyone, ever.
As they untangled themselves, Louis met Harry's gaze. "I see you've met the famous Harry Styles."
Harry tried to scoff, but it got caught somewhere in his throat. For at least the fiftieth time since meeting Louis, Harry silently cursed himself for finding someone so obnoxious fit. He was only wearing tight black pants and a loose black shirt, dressed more casually than Harry. And yet, somehow, he looked insanely fit.
Harry had never had a type. He usually liked guys for their personalities, not their looks. He'd never really had a celebrity crush or anything. Sure, he could always appreciate a good-looking guy, but he'd never met someone who made his libido react the way Louis did just by looking at him.
"You're famous?" Tahlia asked, wide-eyed and mouth agape.
"No," Harry assured her. "I have no idea what he is talking about."
"How do you two know each other?" Mia asked.
Louis cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't Styles tell you? We're roommates."
"Housemates," Harry corrected, causing Louis to roll his eyes.
"So your Niall's mystery friend?" Mia asked. "Good luck managing them all. They're a handful, especially this one." She pointed to Louis.
Louis gasped. "You wound me, love. I'm delightful." Louis looked back at Harry. "Anyway, I just came over to watch Harry try to pull and see if he needed any pointers."
Fuck, he was a wanker. He was clearly unaware that Harry was gay. "I wasn't trying to pull anyone," Harry said.
"So, you're shit at it then?" He smirked
"What the fuck, Lou?" Mia said, giving him a light push. "Don't be a dick. Harry has been very charming."
Louis' smile faltered but was back in place as quickly as it had left. "Good, glad to hear it. I invited Harry to come out with us later, but he declined. Wanted to sleep or something."
"Oh, you should come. Please?" Tahlia said, giving him puppy-dog eyes.
He looked at her gently. "I can't tonight," he said to her. "Maybe another night."
Harry watched as Louis' jaw clenched. He looked down at Harry's cup. "What are you drinking?"
"Water," Harry answered.
Louis rolled his eyes again. "Of course you are."
"You've got a problem with me being hydrated?"
"Why don't you drink, Harry?" Louis asked. Harry had to admit that Louis' tone was softer, not so bold or rude, maybe curious. "You don't strike me as an ex-alcoholic or anything."
And fuck that. Fuck Louis Tomilson. "You think you know what an alcoholic looks like?" Harry asked.
Louis shrugged. "Seen a few in my day."
"Lou, I don't think you're meant to ask people that," Mia said quietly.
Harry was also sure that people weren't meant to ask that. Given Louis worked in a bar, he should know better. "Why are you such a dick? For what it's worth, no, I'm not an ex-alcoholic. I just don't drink."
Louis eyed him for a few moments, and Harry felt the frustratingly familiar heat he got whenever Louis did so. Although this time, he could tell himself it was pure rage.
As soon as Louis opened his mouth again, Harry was about to take a swing, no longer caring if Louis could pummel him to the ground.
"You think you're better than us, don't you?" Louis asked.
The question and the absurdity of it took Harry by surprise. "No?" was all he could muster.
Eyebrow raised, Louis said, "Yeah, real fucking convincing. I know guys like you. I grew up with guys like you. You think you're so high and mighty."
"Louis, what the fuck?" Mia said. Harry had almost forgotten that Mia and Tahlia were next to them. Although Tahlia was swaying on her feet, Harry doubted very much that she could even follow the conversation. "What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing," Louis said. "You don't know what it's like to live with him."
Harry's stomach dropped. He knew Louis didn't like him for whatever reason, but he also shared the house with three other guys. What if he was terrible to live with, and Louis was the only one brave enough to say it? What if the others felt the same way?
Before Harry could even process the rest of the conversation, let alone formulate an answer, Mia and Louis were bickering. Louis had the good grace to at least look a bit sheepish.
"It was lovely meeting you, Mia, Tahlia." Mia gave him a weak smile, and Tahlia didn't even look up. Harry forced himself to look at Louis. "Your friend Tahlia seems pretty wasted there. Don't you have to sign some oath of responsible barkeeping? Maybe you should take care of her or something."
"Don't tell me what to do, Styles." Louis retorted.
As Harry walked away, he heard Louis' tone soften, though, "Tahlia, babe, I think that's probably enough for now. Why don't we get you some water."
Louis was the most annoyingly confusing person he'd ever met.