Chapter Text
As Harry stared at the grey clouds outside his window, he felt a shiver run down his spine, not so much from the cold, because it wasn’t actually that cold, but more from the anticipation of the inevitable downpour. He absentmindedly pulled the sleeves of his oversized jumper over his hands and crossed his arms across his chest, tightly, as if hugging himself. He sighed, still staring. It was already mid-October, and he was perfectly aware of that, but the quickly darkening, looming clouds outside still felt like a painful blow to the chest, a bitter reminder that summer was definitely and indisputably over.
Yet , despite the raging rain and sharp, icy wind that were becoming increasingly frequent, the world somehow felt quite peaceful to Harry. University had started up again two weeks ago, so there were no imminent deadlines ahead to stress over and everything was beginning to fall into the familiar, secure routine. The only question going through Harry’s mind right now was whether it was cold enough to justify turning the heating on.
‘Do you think we should turn the heating on?’ Harry asked, while his friend was dashing past, stopping at the full length mirror in the hallway to check if his outfit looked alright. Harry looked at his flatmate pleadingly, but Will didn’t even acknowledge the question, staring intently at his reflection, trying to fix his hair into the perfect ‘messy’ look.
He put on a button-down shirt and a grey jumper over it, which was quite a smart look for him and not one he would usually had opted for. Nowadays, you’d rarely see him in anything other than sporty clothes or a casual combination of t-shirts, skinnies and vans — so clearly, he was trying to put some more effort into his outfit for the occasion. It was his half-year anniversary with his girlfriend, Eleanor, which Will was only aware of because Harry had reminded him of it. After a long conversation of whether a half-year anniversary is actually a real thing that should be celebrated, Harry convinced his flatmate to plan something special. It’s not that Will didn’t care about his girlfriend, he just wasn’t much of a romantic. But he was making an effort now, and, quite honestly, Harry thought it was really cute.
As Harry watched his friend, he couldn’t help the feeling of amused relief because, thankfully, Will had finally ditched his sailor boy look that he had been sporting for most of last year. See, for almost the whole twelve months that the two had known each other, Will insisted on wearing some sort of striped top, chinos or brightly coloured skinny jeans and TOMS pretty much every day - u p until his mates had teased him enough for him to finally realise that it wasn’t the greatest look, that is. Harry couldn’t help but to grin at the memory.
‘What?’ Will finally asked, still completely distracted, before stopping for a moment in front of Harry once he had processed the question. ‘What are you on about? Stop whining, it’s not even cold. Get a blanket or something, if you must. Seriously, you little crybaby.’ He rolled his eyes dramatically, rushing away without waiting for an answer.
‘Well, that’s not very nice.’ Harry muttered under his breath. Will seemed to always get a bit on-edge before going out to see his girlfriend, so Harry didn’t mind him mocking him a little. Eleanor used to live in the same flat as Harry in student halls last year, and the two met through him. They seemed happy enough, he thought.
Will stopped in the hallway in front of the mirror again, messing with his hair a bit more, before turning to Harry. ‘What do I need? Just a wallet, right? And key. We’re just going to dinner.’
‘Well, you could get some flowers, you know.’ Harry just said slowly.
‘Shit.’ Will said, slight panic in his eyes. His expression made Harry chuckle. ‘I probably should, you’re right. Good idea.’ He sighed loudly, before saying, ‘Okay, gotta go. See ya later, mate.’ and spinning round towards the door. He disappeared behind it, slamming it shut.
Harry got up and walked to the door sluggishly, locking it from the inside.
It was suddenly so silent. Everything seemed eerily still for a moment.
After a long, deep breath, Harry went into the living room, threw himself back onto the sofa, picked up the remote and turned on the tv. He wasn’t particularly interested in watching anything, but he had nothing better to do.
***
Harry was halfway through a second episode of 'Friends', wondering if there will ever be a time when re-runs of the show will stop being aired, when the doorbell rang.
He groaned a bit, not particularly eager to get up. Did Will forget his keys again? And why would he be back so early? Did something go wrong? Harry wondered, bit concerned, but no, he specifically remembered Will talking about taking his keys before he left. Who could it be then?
Harry dragged his feet while he walked, stretching a bit after the long time spent lying in the same position on the sofa.
When he opened the door, his mind went absolutely blank.
What?
‘Will?’ Harry asked, frowning as if faced with a puzzle. But this wasn’t your usual crossword or sudoku. This made no sense and he had no clue how to process it. He was staring at his friend’s face, except everything about the guy was completely off. The Will in front of him was not his Will. He was wearing all black; a black denim jacket with a black hoodie underneath, black ripped skinny jeans and some black Vans that looked on the verge of falling apart. Now, Will’s style had changed drastically from the year before, sure, but these clothes that this Will, this strange Will, was wearing were really something else. His face also seemed off. Sure, it was Will’ face, but somehow skinnier, rougher and unshaven, with dark circles under tired, bloodshot eyes.
The guy was standing there, soaked from head to toe, with his messy hair, which was slightly longer than real Will’s, falling onto his face. Even from a few feet away, he smelled of cigarettes and rain. He smirked when Harry said the name Will and replied, ‘Nope. But from your freaked out expression, I assume he lives here?’
‘Yes.’ Harry said quietly, his voice full of confusion and his eyebrows drawn tightly together, a bit shaken up.
‘Fantastic.’ The guy said flatly, then, picking up a big duffle bag and a guitar case that were at his feet, walked passed Harry and into the flat. He was so sure of himself, so bold in his movements, that Harry just moved out his way, staring.
Not-Will dropped his things by the sofa and started looking around the room. Harry closed the door slowly, every action taking more concentration and effort than usual, as his mind was going crazy. He was completely dumbstruck, feeling as if he was part of some really elaborate practical joke.
‘Um, who,’ he hesitated, feeling stupid as he asked the question, ‘who are you?’
‘Hm. Lets think about that. I mean, it really is a toughie. I look just like Will. You could even say identical to him. But I’m not him. What could that possibly mean?’ He asked, with a massive over-exaggerated sigh as he rolled his eyes, his words seeping with patronising sarcasm. He didn’t seem like the most pleasant of people to be around, Harry thought.
‘You’re his twin.’ The words came out quiet, sounding like a question. Harry felt he must have seemed really dim, but he was so bewildered by this new unexpected situation, that he could hardly form any coherent thoughts, let alone say them out loud.
‘Ding ding ding. Ten points to team Curly.’ The guy said in a voice of an over the top gameshow host. He really looked at Harry then, pausing his assessment of the living room. What he saw was a teenager with wild curly hair, slightly taller than him, but definitely with a younger, softer face than his own. The boy stared at him wide-eyed, still struggling to compose his thoughts. After waiting for a moment for Harry to say something to him, he finally asked, ’Are you always this slow, kid?’
‘What?’ Harry said absentmindedly, which he realised was not helping his case. He then tried speaking again, but the words came out quiet, tiny. ‘I’m not a kid.’
The guy laughed, then, looking at Harry with a smirk said, ‘If you have the need to say you’re not a kid, it pretty much proves that you are a kid.’
‘I’m two years younger than you.’ Harry defended himself with a frown.
‘Really?’ the guy raised his eyebrows, amused. ‘Well, I really wouldn’t have guessed. Maybe I’m just a bit jaded for my own age, so you look all little and innocent to me.’ He chuckled at Harry’s facial expression; he did not look pleased, to say the least. The guy responded to Harry’s annoyed, offended expression, by giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder, saying ‘You know what, we should totally go out, kid. Get drunk off our asses. You look like you need some fun and I need a new drinking buddy. Then you could roughen up a bit. Get rid of that baby face.’ He teased.
Harry didn’t know what to say, still taken aback, as well as feeling as if the guy enjoyed irritating him. And he really was irritated at that point.
After a pause, not getting any response from Harry apart from a glare, he asked, ‘What should I call you then, kid?’
Harry would’ve preferred this unwelcome guest to not call him anything at all and to leave the house, so that everything went back to normal. Still, he replied.
’Harry,’ the word left his lips unenthusiastically, after a defeated sigh. Not knowing what else to do, he figured he might just as well go along with this absurd situation.
‘Great. Harry. Nice to meet you,’ the guy said and, putting his hand out for a handshake, added, ‘Louis Tomlinson. Or Tommo. Though, I suppose you probably call my brother that, so maybe we should stick with Louis to avoid confusion.’
It didn’t seem like a sincere gesture. It seemed as if he was playing some sort of game. Harry took the hand, but still frowning, unsure. He didn’t like this different Will… Louis.
Louis did’t seem at all discouraged by Harry’s expression, saying, ‘I should probably get a towel to dry off. And I really could use a drink. D’you think my bro has anything?’
He didn’t wait for an answer, but just went further into the flat, quickly finding the kitchen. He headed straight for the fridge and, pulling out a beer, said, ‘Ah, now that’s what I’m talking about.’ He turned to Harry who had followed him into the kitchen wordlessly. Louis smirked again, ‘Will won’t mind if I take this, will he?’
‘Doubt he would, considering it’s actually mine.’ Harry replied plainly.
‘Really?’ Louis laughed. ‘Well, good then. Do you want one?’
‘Well, as much as I appreciate you offering me my own drink, I’m fine.’ Harry said, not at all amused.
‘I like you, kid. You’re funny.’ he replied, then, seeing Harry’s glare quickly added, ‘Sorry, I meant Harry. My bad.’ He laughed before opening the can and taking a sip, then spoke again, ’So, where is good old Will at?’
‘He went out with his girlfriend.’ Harry said. His voice was flat, annoyed at the inconvenience that Louis’ presence was.
‘Huh. Well, good for him, I suppose.’ He shut up then and just stood there quietly, staring at the can in his hands.
Harry, however, didn’t drop his gaze and continued staring at the intruder in front of him. He still felt unable to wrap his head around what was happening, the way the guy in front of him looked, the way he moved around as if he owned the place. His condescending way of speaking. How could this man look so like his best friend, while, at the same time, be so completely different?
‘Will never mentioned you.’ Harry said, breaking the silence, his tone was almost accusatory.
Harry had known Will for a year now. When they met Harry had just started university, while Will was in his second year. They met at an ultimate frisbee society taster session, of all places — both of them thought it sounded fun, but ended up never going again. It was such a strange, chance event, which they, during many deep, drunken conversations, concluded must have been fate. It only took that one first impression for them to realise that they would get along, and it wasn’t long until they started hanging out more and more. They found that they had mutual friends too; it turned out that one of Harry’s flatmates from last year, Niall, was on the university football team with Will, which only made their friendship stronger. By summer it was obvious that they wanted to live together the next year.
So how, when they were clearly so close, could Will keep such a huge piece of information from Harry? And, more importantly, why?
Louis looked up at Harry finally, noticing him staring back with a frown. ‘To be honest, he’s not going to be happy that I’m here.’ Louis said plainly. The simple statement seemed more genuine to Harry than anything he had said up to now.
‘Yeah? How come?’ Harry asked. He didn’t particularly want him there at that point either, but he really wanted to know more.
‘We didn’t exactly leave things on good terms.’ he said, then laughed flatly, ‘Well, that’s a nice way of putting it, really. Honestly, he hates me and not without reason, I suppose. Which is probably why you had no clue I existed.’
Harry waited a moment before speaking. There was a change in Louis’s tone and posture; the way he said those words made most of the annoying cockiness he previously displayed momentarily fade, making Harry warm up to the guy slightly. Still, with some restraint, he asked curiously, ’What happened?’
‘I sort of just abandoned them all, I suppose,’ He shrugged, ‘my family, that is.’
Harry felt a sadness behind this offhand response. He wanted to know more. He felt there was much more to know that Louis just didn’t want to say. How bad must’ve this thing between them be, that it would cause Will to completely erase his brother from his life?
‘How come you’re here now?’ Harry asked, trying to figure out exactly what the hell was going on.
‘Got nowhere to go, really.’ He laughed dryly. ‘Back with my tail between my legs.’
Harry nodded, but said nothing. He waited for a while, watching Louis drink his beer. As he watched him, he slowly began to see the guy as less of a malicious imposter and more of a person. Not an amazingly likeable person, bit unpleasant and scary looking quite frankly, but a person nonetheless. He couldn’t help it. Harry cared for people, it was just the way he was.
‘You should really get changed.’ he said simply, ‘I’ll get you that towel.’
‘Thanks,’ Louis replied with a small smile that surprised Harry for a moment, seeming almost genuine, before shaking his head as if in defeat, saying, ‘I’m pretty sure most of my other clothes are soaked too though.’
***
Louis was right about a lot of his stuff being soaked - his duffel bag wasn’t exactly waterproof. After finding a dry t-shirt and pair of jeans, Louis went to the bathroom to get changed.
Harry didn’t really know what to do, so he just waited in the living room, leaning on the arm of the sofa, staring at nowhere in particular. His head quickly snapped up when he heard Louis walking into the room again. He was wearing an almost identical pair of black skinny jeans to the pair he had on previously, the only difference being that these miraculously looked even more faded and worn-out, and a black t-shirt with the Black Flag logo on it; Harry recognised it but couldn’t actually think of any song by the band. The clothes were pretty much what Harry could’ve expected from Louis from that brief first-impression, but what he wasn’t prepared for is seeing the guy’s arms almost completely covered in tattoos. Harry looked from Louis’ clothes, to his tattoos, to his face, unable to hold back his fascination with this new puzzle of a person. The more he looked at the guy, the less Will he saw in him. He tried to remind himself not to stare many times, but each time curiosity won over, and his eyes turned back to Louis.
After Louis came into the room, the two of them decided to hang some of his clothes up by the radiator to dry. It gave Harry an excuse to turn the heating on, which he was quite pleased about, liking the flat nice and warm.
‘Would you like some tea?’ Harry asked when they were done putting up the clothes. He ran his fingers through his curls, unsure of what the appropriate thing to do or say would be at that moment.
‘Yeah, sure,’ Louis shrugged.
Harry nodded in response, letting out a breath that he didn’t even realise he was holding. He went to the kitchen, glad to have something to do.
Just as Harry was walking back into the room with two cups of hot tea, he saw Louis grab his jacket and pull out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He took one out.
‘You’re not going to smoke that in here, are you?’ Harry said, his eyebrows pulled together. Just when he thought everything was going to settle down so that he could relax again.
‘Well, obviously I am. I’m not going outside in this rain.’ He scoffed, looking up at the boy from where he was sitting on the sofa. He lit the cigarette, taking in a big breath.
Harry was stunned for a moment, then, putting the cups down on the coffee table, spoke in a raised voice, ‘No, what are you doing? You can’t just do what you want here.’
‘Calm down, kid, it’s just a cigarette.’ Louis laughed at Harry’s distressed expression.
‘You really don’t have any consideration for others, do you?’
‘Jeez, calm down kid. How about I go and smoke by the window? Would that be more considerate?’ He said in a patronising tone. Like to a child. It played on Harry’s nerves, but he just shrugged deciding that the effort of an argument didn’t seem worth it.
Louis went to the window, opening it slightly and leaning against it. He stared out, seeming completely absent from the room, from the world. Harry watched him with scorn. What a dick. He regretted helping him. He regretted making him tea.
No he didn’t, he realised. Not really. He couldn’t help being drawn in, couldn’t stop staring at the guy, even as irritated as he was with his behaviour. He couldn’t believe how Louis acted, yet a big part of him was completely consumed by watching him, fascinated.
‘God, don’t look at me like that.’ Louis’ words broke Harry away from his thoughts, as if breaking him free from a trance. ‘Seriously, it’s just a cigarette, kid. I didn’t kill anyone.’ He laughed.
‘You’re a dick, you know that?’ Harry replied, surprised by his own bluntness.
Louis shrugged, completely unbothered, ‘So, I’ve been told.’
‘And you seriously don’t care?’
‘Guess I’m just used to it.’ He replied, before sucking in one last puff of smoke and putting out his cigarette on the windowsill. Louis walked right past Harry before dropping himself onto the sofa. He lay on it, resting his head on one of the arms. He closed his eyes, but did not fall asleep.
Harry sat down on an armchair adjacent to the sofa. He crossed his arms and waited for the other to speak. But Louis didn’t seem like he was going to. Instead Harry was sitting there, his annoyance levels rising as he was thinking about the fact that Louis most definitely left a mark on the windowsill by putting out his disgusting little cigarette against it, wondering if they would get charged for damage. Their landlord sure was picky.
Suddenly, Louis sat up a bit and his eyes turned towards Harry. ‘Can you stop with the staring? I can feel your eyes burning into my skin.’ He said flatly.
Harry looked away quickly. He felt a burning feeling spreading all across his face, he was undoubtedly turning red, feeling as if he had been caught doing something wrong. He caught what looked like a small, amused smile appear on Louis’ face out of the corner of his eye. Then, just moments after Louis put his head back down and closed his eyes again, Harry felt the urge to look at the guy again. It didn’t take long for him to give into it.
‘Give me some time.’ Louis said quietly, out of nowhere. ‘I’m not the devil, you know. I’m just a little messed up.’
‘You seem a lot messed up to me.’ Harry muttered, but Louis still heard it and laughed.
‘So, I’ve been told.’ He said with a sigh.
***
Not long after that, the two of them heard the door being unlocked and, almost immediately after, Will’s loud voice shouting, ‘Harry?’
‘Yeah?’ he shouted back.
‘You won’t believe how how horrific the rain—’ he started while taking his shoes and jacket off, stopping in his tracks as he got closer, ‘have you been smoking? It stinks here.’
He finished his words as he entered the living room. Immediately his expression became harsh, furious even.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ He said, glaring at Louis. Harry had never heard such venom in his friend’s voice and it made a chill run down his spine.
‘I called up Lottie and she said it was better that I don’t come back home right away. So she told me where you live.’ Louis explained with a shrug. Harry was surprised at how small his voice sounded all of a sudden, as if shying away from a fight.
‘And you thought I would be okay with you just appearing out of nowhere? What did you expect me to be happy to see you? You’re absolutely insane if you did.’ Will said, coming closer and towering over Louis, who was still on the couch.
‘Listen, I’m sorry—‘ He started but was instantly interrupted.
‘Sorry? Seriously? Sorry? Well, that’s it then. All better.’ Will said sarcastically. ‘What were you thinking? Do you know how much you hurt everyone when you left? You don’t. Clearly, it never bothered you till now.’
‘That’s not true—‘ Louis began, quietly.
‘It is though. It really is. Fuck, how could you just disappear like that? Do you know how much mum cried? How much the girls cried? Really, you didn’t think of anyone but yourself, did ya?’
Harry felt extremely uncomfortable at this point, standing up slowly and saying, ‘Maybe I should leave you two —‘
Will didn’t even acknowledge that Harry had said a single word, continuing, ‘And now you have some delusion that you can just come back and, what? Everything would be okay? Just like that?’
At this point, Louis stopped trying to apologise and just listened as his brother yelled at him.
‘You are fucking unbelievable. You’re an absolute joke of a human being. If that. It was absolute hell after you left, you do realise that, right? Or have you just gone off and not thought of us at all? That must have been it, otherwise you wouldn’t have just completely disappeared. Mum thought you were dead! And, honestly, I wished you actually were sometimes.’
Harry couldn’t believe the words coming out of his friend’s mouth. He had never seen him this mad. Surely he saw Will angry, usually over football, but this was something else. His friend, usually such a bright, open person seemed to have transformed into some sort of furious beast. It frightened him a bit.
Louis just dropped his head down, listening to the verbal abuse hurled at him by his brother. His gaze seemed empty, his eyes glossing over.
‘And why are you even here? Did the stupid fucking band not work out then? Your big plans and dreams gone to shit, is that it? So you just crawl right back to the family you abandoned?’ Will paused then, waiting for a response this time.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what else to say.’ Louis said, his voice weak, ‘I know what I did was—‘ he paused as if searching for a word, ‘just awful.’
‘Yeah, you’re right there.’ Will said sharply.
‘I don’t expect you to forgive me—‘
‘Good. ‘Cause I’m not planning on it.’ Will cut him off.
‘I don’t expect you to forgive me,’ Louis started again, ‘but I just need somewhere to stay. Just for a little bit. I just need a chance.’
‘You’re having a fucking laugh. You really think I’d want you here?’ Will scoffed. ‘You’ve lost your mind, seriously.’
‘Will, just hear me out.’ Louis pleaded, ‘It’s just for a tiny bit while I get myself sorted out. I’m still your brother.’
‘No. You’re not. I’ve not had a brother for three years. You’re just a waste of space. I want you to leave.’ Will said, then he turned and walked away, into his room. Slamming the door.
Harry still stood in the room, openmouthed, unable to comprehend what just went down.
‘Shit. That went badly.’ Louis said, hiding his face in his hands.
‘I’ve never seen him like this,’ Harry finally managed after a long pause.
‘I deserve it, really.’ Louis sighed, looking up. All that cockiness, all that bluntness seemed to have escaped him in that moment. ‘I should probably get my stuff together and leave.’ He said, standing up.
‘Wait,’ Harry said quickly, ‘your stuff is still not dry. And you said you didn’t have anywhere else to go?’ Louis nodded in response, so Harry continued. ‘Maybe I can talk to him.’
‘You’d do that for me?’ Louis snickered, ‘For this dickhead, who has fucked up so much that even his brother basically wants him dead? You sure you want to do that, kid?’
Harry shrugged, ignoring the fact that he had been called a kid again, ‘You asked me to give you a chance. And I can’t just let you leave into that downpour with nowhere to go. Wouldn’t be right.’
‘Thanks.’ Louis just said, unable to find any more words.
‘Okay then,’ Harry said, ‘just stay here for a while. I’ll see what I can do.’
***
Harry stood in front of the door to Will’s room for some time, before finally braving it and knocking. There was no answer, so he just walked in after a while.
Will was pacing around his room. As soon as the doors were shut behind his friend, he started speaking,
‘I just don’t know what to do, seriously.’ He said, looking up at Harry with a panicked expression. ‘He just comes out from nowhere, I mean, I’m right to be mad, right? I should be mad. That’s the natural response to all this shit.’
Harry nodded, though he could not honestly tell if Will’s response was justified, not knowing what exactly went down between the two. He clearly saw that Will wasn't done talking yet, so he stayed quiet, listening.
‘Do you know what the worst thing is? When i saw him, a part of me felt… relieved. That’s what makes me the most angry. I actually want him to stay. And I hate that, because I can’t trust him. I can’t deal with him. i don’t know if he really means it— if he is really gonna stick around, you know?’
Harry was quite surprised at Will’s confession. Moments before he would’ve sworn that all that Will wanted was to kick Louis out and never see him again, he thought that all that Will felt towards his brother was hatred, but apparently he was wrong. He waited for his friend to continue.
‘I won’t let him go to our parents. I can’t. It would hurt mum so much if he’d just disappear again. But I really can’t be around him, I’m too angry.’ He then turned to Harry, looking at him with pleading eyes, ‘Could you just help me figure him out? What his intentions actually are? Because i don’t think i can do it. I don’t trust him and I don’t trust myself around him. Because I want to believe him. I really do. But I know I shouldn’t.’
The worried expression on Will’s face made Harry feel a bit lost; he wasn’t used to seeing this side of his friend. His friend was bright and loud and football-obsessed. He wasn’t this. He didn’t get worked up like that about anything.
After a moment, Harry managed to nod in response and ask, ‘So you don’t want him to leave?’
Will sighed and shook his head. ‘No, we need to keep him here. So he doesn’t leave again. Shit, he hasn’t left yet, has he?’
‘No, he’s still here,’ Harry said quickly, quite relieved that he didn’t actually have to do any convincing or arguing with Will.
‘Are you okay with him staying here?’ Will finally asked, sitting down on his bed, looking exhausted from all the pacing and stressing out.
‘Yeah, sure.’ Harry shrugged. And he did. Even though the guy frustrated him so much, he would be lying if he said he actually wanted him to leave. The situation actually felt a bit… exhilarating. The idea of finding out about Louis and his past felt exciting. He seemed like the definition of dark and mysterious — a mystery Harry longed to solve.
‘Okay then. Give me a moment. I just need some time to settle down, then I’ll go talk to him.’ Will let out an exasperated sigh and lay down, closing his eyes. The way he just lay there, eyes closed, thinking and composing himself, looked just like how Louis was laying on the sofa not long ago and the uncanny similarity felt eerie to Harry.
‘Okay.’ Harry just said, leaving the room. When he walked into the living room, he found Louis sitting on the sofa, looking uncomfortable, staring down at his hands, waiting.
‘He said it’s okay for you to stay.’ Harry said simply. The sudden words made Louis’ head snap up at the sound, looking quite startled. ‘It’s best you keep your distance for now though. Give him some time.’
‘Oh,’ he said, standing up. He walked up to Harry, threw his arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug, ‘Thank you so much, man.’
Harry couldn’t move for a while, partly because he was so surprised by the sudden physical contact and partly because Louis’ hold on him really was that tight. Louis slapped Harry’s back a couple of times, then he pulled away, holding Harry at arms length, his hands wrapped tightly around the boy’s shoulders.
‘This is great.’ he grinned. There was a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, that made Harry feel a bit worried, not knowing what sort of trouble may lay ahead because of Louis’ presence. But, even though he remained weary, he couldn’t help feeling uplifted by the guy’s sudden high spirits. Harry chuckled at seeing such a happy expression on Louis, the gloomy, moody, black wearing, constantly sarcastic Louis. Harry also didn’t mind taking the credit for convincing Will to let his brother stay with them, because he liked the way Louis looked at him in that moment - he looked almost impressed and Harry really enjoyed that.
‘Now,’ Louis took a couple of steps back, then, clasping his hands, said, ‘do you have any food, ‘cause I’m absolutely starving.’
Harry rolled his eyes at how at home Louis seemed to make himself already, then turned around and started walking towards the kitchen, gesturing for the guy to follow him.
Once in the kitchen, Harry realised that, because of all the commotion, he hadn’t eaten dinner himself either and it was already after 10pm. His stomach twisted painfully from hunger and, not feeling very inspired to cook anything at that time, the two settled on sandwiches.
‘I’m so exhausted, man.’ Louis said between bites. ‘I came straight here from the airport. Ten hour flight as well.’
‘Really?’ Harry asked wide eyed, realising that he had no clue where Louis was coming from or what he had been doing over the past few years while estranged from his family. He hadn’t really thought about it at all yet. Of course he didn’t though, he didn’t even know the guy existed a couple hours ago! ‘Where were you all this time?’
‘All over. America mainly.’ Louis shrugged, suddenly looking very fascinated by the sandwich in his hand, avoiding looking at Harry. ‘I’m not in the mood to talk about it all right now, if it’s all the same to you.’
Harry felt a bit disappointed, he wanted to know as much as possible about Louis and the fact that the guy was so elusive with talking about himself made him all that more curious.
‘I’ll get some stuff for you then. You’ll sleep in the living room. Best we can do is the sofa.’ Harry informed him quickly, feeling the need to start doing something to stop himself from standing there and ceaselessly staring at Louis. His mind was going wild with questions and he really didn’t want to seem like a creep, watching the guy, so he hurried out of the kitchen before Louis even got the chance to respond.
When Louis came in, Harry was tidying up any cups or rubbish from around the living room, to make everything neater. He rushed the task, feeling Louis’ eyes on himself, waiting. He couldn’t tell what the other was thinking.
‘Anyway.’ he said as soon as he was done. He ran his fingers through his messy curls in a nervous way, saying, ‘I’m gonna leave you now. See ya.’
‘You’re a nice little housewife, aren’t ya?’ Louis smirked. His words annoyed Harry, even though, admittedly, he did like keeping the house neat and having guests, liked to think he was a good host, so should he really feel that defensive? It was just something about Louis’ tone that rubbed him the wrong way. But he decided that maybe it was better to avoid that discussion right now. He suddenly felt really worn out.
He walked right past Louis, saying a quick, ‘Night.’
He wasn’t sure if the other responded before he disappeared behind his bedroom door.