take care of me // larry au

12

''Louis.'' Harry says when he answers.

''Hi.'' Louis says awkwardly.

In his own room, surrounded by the walls that have been brown since he was young, a painting beside his bed and the wall on the other side of that, obnoxiously big mirrors on the wall in front of his bed and lamps beside them, and the single chair in the corner of the room, it's hard to picture Harry.

''I didn't expect you to call,'' Harry admits quietly. Louis wonders if he's lying in bed, phone pressed to his ear. He thinks so. ''I thought maybe you were lying. Maybe not consciously, but you know..''

''I told you I would.'' Louis reminds him.

''Yeah,'' Harry is quiet for a moment before he perks up. ''What are you doing on Thursday?''

Louis grins to himself. ''Spending the day with you, obviously. After school though. I have got to go back. I'm not looking forward to going through the halls with these stupid crutches I've got. It took me about ten minutes to just to get up the stairs.''

''Crutches are the worst,'' Harry symphatises. ''Is there any way you could pick me up?''

Louis wonders if his mum will let him use the car. If it were to go out with his friends, he thinks not. But his mum had actually met Harry (while he was doped up, which he still tries not to think about because it's too embarassing) and she's rather fond of him. 

Thinks he's a good influence. Maybe she'll say yes.

''Give me a minute.'' Louis says.

''Mhm.''

Louis puts the phone down and uses the crutches to get to the door. They hurt his arms, but he had attempted to walk without them and tears had welled in his eyes within seconds.

''Mum.'' he calls from the top of the stairs. He's not going down them unless he has to, because he has a feeling he'll be going down them on his ass and not his feet.

His mum appears a moment later, eyebrows raised. ''I'm not giving you back your-''

''I know,'' he says dismissively. ''I was wondering if I could use the car on Thursday.''

''What part of 'grounded' do you not understand?'' she asks.

Louis rolls his eyes because parents are always so difficult. ''I want to take Harry out.''

''Harry,'' his mum repeats. ''The nice boy from the hospital? The volunteer?''

''That's the one.''

His mother chews this over for a minute before she says, ''Fine, but if you're lying just to get the car and I find out, you'll regret it.''

''Whatever,'' Louis says. ''But thanks.''

His mother grins at him. ''I'll have lunch ready in about two hours, if you want to come down. We're having soup.''

He nods and returns to his room. When he picks up the phone he hears Harry singing softly to himself, and he covers the microphone for a moment, not wanting Harry to know that he's back. He recognizes the song as Queen's ''Bohemian Rhapsody'', and Harry has a deep, pleasant voice.

Eventually he realizes how creepy he's being so he uncovers the microphone and says, ''Hey, I'm back.''

Harry cuts himself off and coughs. ''Sorry, did you hear that?''

''Hear what?'' Louis asks, faking innocence. 

''Nothing.''

''My mum said I can use the car,'' Louis tells him. ''What's your address?''

~*~

''This is adorable.'' Zayn says from the bed.

Louis flips him off and adjusts his sweater in the mirror. ''Fuck off,'' he adds for good measure. ''He's really fit, okay?''

''You've fallen hard and fast,'' Zayn informs him. ''It's pathetic.''

''Do I need to bring that time up that time I had to trick Liam into coming to the park with me so you could surprise him with flowers after he ignored you for five days when you went out with your friends instead of spending the night with him as you promised?'' Louis asks.

Zayn flips him off this time. ''So when do I get to meet him?'' he asks a moment later.

''Never,'' Louis says seriously. ''You're going to stay as far away from him as humanly possible.''

''Rude,'' Zayn quips. ''You're embarassed of me.''

''I am.'' Louis agrees.

Zayn rolls his eyes. ''Whatever. Don't wear that sweater though. Go with the white shirt and dark blue button up from earlier, but leave it open. Otherwise you look like you're trying too hard.''

Louis glares at him but trades the grey sweater in for the white shirt and dark blue button up because he's right. When he's ready he drives Zayn home before heading for the hospital. He can't lie to himself about how nervous he is, which he sort of hates. 

 Louis is not nervous. He is confident and collected. But he has never really dated before. 

  He has had girlfriends and boyfriends, but none of them were really serious, and all they ever did was hang out with mutual friends and then fuck in each other's rooms when their parents were out. This is different from that.