Letters to the Author -Larry Stylinson

chapter eleven

"He's so... mysterious. I don't know what it is. He just brings back memories of something."

"Of what?" Niall furrowed his brows and took a sip of his coffee. 

Louis uncomfortably shifted in the hard chair, leaning forward on his elbows and laying his face in his hands. He could still practically taste the alcohol from last night, that he never drank. He could smell it faintly on Harry's breath when they said their hesitant goodbyes. 

"I don't know. I just," Louis trailed off and looked around, shaking his head. The clock on the wall read eleven thirty. He had ten minutes until his break was over. After that, Niall planned on going to the airport to fly all the way back to Ireland. They were getting a week break before the next quarter started. He was going home to visit his mum and his sisters, and he was so excited about that, but all he could think about was Harry Styles.

"You just what?" Niall pried, putting his coffee down and pulling his phone out of his pocket as it vibrated. "Hey Lou, I'm sorry, gotta take this. It's Greg. He's gonna be picking me up at the airport." 

Louis half-heartily nodded, biting his lip and fixing his gaze on the view outside the window of the small building. He could see the book store that was conveniently positioned right across the street. He often found himself there on his lunch breaks. There were quite a few cars parked on the curb, and many people walking along the wide sidewalks. The sun was shining bright, warming the September air. It was the perfect weather for Louis to wear his simple light blue Topman shirt, with the rolled up sleeves. He wore a pair of black jeans and some new converse shoes. 

Louis played with the bracelet on his wrist and watched the hand on the clock tick by, nearing closer and closer to the time he would return to work. Liam was running the counter by himself, but mostly he was flirting with Zayn. Louis still found it quite annoying, the way Zayn was nice to everyone but him. One minute he would be laughing with Liam, and if Louis came to refill his coffee his face would fix into a deep frown. He especially got mad if Louis mentioned Harry.

Louis had just gotten up to put his half-eaten muffin in the trash when the door opened to the book store, and out walked Harry Styles. He had a few girls following him, holding his most popular book, Amnesia. It also happened to be the first book he wrote, and the first book Louis read by him. Some of them were crying, some were desperately clinging to Harry's jacket as he tried to sign all of their books at once.

A dry chuckle escaped Louis' lips as he watched Harry struggle to maintain his composure. He could see the annoyance etched in the fake smile on his face. He'd seen Harry's genuine smile. That wasn't it. Louis took a step outside the Donnie Cafe, goosebumps immediately rising on his arms, because although the sun was shining, it was still a bit chilly, especially since he was under the shade of the awning. 

"Hey!" Louis called, reaching into his back pocket to pull his sunglasses out. He slowly put them over his eyes, squinting a bit as Harry began to walk away. "Hey wait." His converse were loud on the pavement as he crossed the street and followed after Harry, who was taking even faster steps as the girls hesitantly turned away. "Harry!"

Harry didn't stop, not until Louis sped up his pace and grabbed Harry's elbow, the material of his jacket rough against his fingers. Harry whipped around, his breath catching and his green eyes wide. They softened when he saw Louis' face, probably a bit flushed from running. Harry's cheeks were a warm shade of pink from the crisp fall air. It took everything in Louis not to reach out and touch his face, to touch the soft, pale, smooth skin.

"Lou," Harry breathed out, obviously caught off guard, and his eyes were sparkling and he had an ache in his voice that Louis had never heard, before he shook his head quickly and grunted. "I mean, Louis. Tomlinson." He started to glare, taking a step back and brushing his curls out of his face. "What?"

Louis blushed, embarrassed. "Uhm, uh, I don't know. I just saw you from where I work." He motioned with his thumb to the Donnie Cafe, which he probably should be getting back to soon. "And I figured I would say hi."

"Why?" Harry actually looked offended. "You don't know me." The way he stressed the word 'know' made Louis furrow his brows in confusion.

"I kind of do. We met at the party, didn't we?"

"Yeah," Harry said flatly. "That's where we met." He looked away for something, and Louis couldn't help but admire his beautiful jawline and long lashes. "Look, Louis, I have to go." He started to walk away, and without thinking, Louis reached out and grabbed his elbow again.

Harry looked at him in surprise, and Louis couldn't breathe when he reached out and gently took his sunglasses of his face. "There," Harry whispered. "God, that hurts."

Louis felt his heart stutter, and a million butterflies went wild in his stomach. "W-what?" he said, his lips parting slightly, and he licked them quickly. "Uhm, just come to Donnie's. I already took my break, but I can also take my lunch if you want." 

Harry looked behind him for a second, before looking at his watch. "I don't know, Louis. I have a meeting with my publisher in an hour." Louis heart sunk a bit, and he hoped his shoulders didn't sag too much.

"Please?" He asked softly, looking up at Harry with wide blue eyes.

And the face Harry made, the pure affection and adoration he had in his eyes was something Louis had never in his life seen before. He looked up at the sky for a second, and bit his lip although it was a bit wobbly. What, Louis wondered, could this boy possibly be thinking?

"Okay." Harry cleared his throat when his voice cracked, and Louis felt his heart contract with something like worry, or maybe an ache for something he had before. And then a million sparks went up his arm when Harry gently took his hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing. "Yeah, that sounds really, really great. I'll text my publisher that I'll be running late. Traffic." He let out a short laugh.

"Yeah. Traffic," Louis responded, unable to tear his eyes away from Harry. His hand was sweaty and shaky in Harry's, and he was afraid if he made any sudden movements Harry would let go, so he didn't.

Instead of trying to keep a conversation, Louis listened to the sounds of the city around them as they walked back to the Donnie Cafe. He had a slight sense of deja vu, especially when Harry started to tell a story about the time he got lost in America, when his mum and dad took him there for a visit when he was little. The pictures playing through his mind were familiar, and he didn't know why.

When they finally arrived, Niall was about to walk through the door to exit. He jumped in surprise, his bleached blonde hair falling into his eyes and his breath catching.

"Louis!" he cried. "Where did you go? I only said I would be gone for a minute. That doesn't mean you can just leave!" His eyes wandered over Louis' face to Harry's, and then he was looking down at their hands. "Oh."

"I'm back," Harry said, and for once, Louis saw Harry cry.

***

Track. School. Work. MY GOODNESS.

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-Kayla. x