𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎

𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

Harry Styles always did have a way of catching Louis off-guard. First it was standing next to him at the urinals (honestly, who does that?), then splashing pee on his shoe (gross), then somehow managing to like him back. And then, of course, it was getting Louis kicked out of the competition.

Louis thought maybe that was it for surprises from Harry, but apparently he was wrong.

Case in point: he is now sputtering and coughing, coming up for air as he looks over to see the one and only man who betrayed him doing the same.

Yeah, Harry somehow managed to push them both into the pool. Louis will chalk it up to another reason he despises Harry. A tick on the pros side of pranking him.

"What the fuck, mate?" Louis asks when he's caught his breath, one hand braced against the lip of the pool. Harry's still flicking his long hair from his eyes. He kind of looks like baby Tarzan.

Louis shakes all thoughts of cute things from his head, because none of that deserves to be thought of in relation to Harry Styles.

Maybe Harry did write a song about him, but he still broke Louis' trust in the worst possible way, and Louis can't just forgive him that easily.

Even if he's adorable.

Objectively.

"Sorry, sorry," Harry slurs, and Louis realizes he's pretty drunk. Okay, maybe it was an accident. It better have been an accident, because Louis will not hesitate to dunk him under water again for ruining his new Burberry shirt. Well, he might hesitate, but only for a second.

"Alright?" Zayn asks, walking over to the edge of the pool and reaching out a hand for Louis. Louis waves him away and supports his weight on his palms as his arm muscles flex, helping him lift himself out of the pool.

He looks behind him to see Harry watching him with sharp eyes, green irises trained on his body, which is soaking wet.

Um, no. Harry does not get to do that after what he pulled. Sure, it was five years ago, but he could at least apologize. Or even fucking acknowledge it.

"That was amazing!" Louis hears someone exclaim from the group of people sitting by the pool. It's then that he realizes some of them were recording.

Oh shit.

***

"Do you realize what this looks like?"

"I tripped over Harry Styles and we both fell in a pool?"

Liam sighs heavily and shakes his head, looking 110% done. "No. This looks like you have absolutely no decorum whatsoever, and you hate Harry Styles so much that you pushed him into a pool. And accidentally fell in too."

Louis scoffs. "Who still uses the word 'decorum' anyway?"

"I just did," Liam shoots back, beyond annoyed. "Louis, this is out of control. Remember when I said we'd have to take some measures to keep whatever this is in check so Harry doesn't destroy you?"

"Yes..." Louis doesn't like where this is going.

"Well, I've gotten in contact with Harry's team, and they're willing to fake a public friendship. It would be beneficial for both of you if you weren't constantly at each other's throats, especially in front of cameras."

Louis gulps, hard. This is absolutely not what he wants to happen. He can't even be in the same room as Harry, let alone pretend to be friends with him.

He only has one good play left that might convince Liam to reconsider. So he shoots his shot.

"Did you know he outed me?" Louis asks softly. Liam leans a bit closer to hear him, and when his words register, his eyes widen.

"What?"

"He outed me," Louis repeats, voice stronger. "We were on the X-Factor together, and I told him I was gay," he says, leaving out the part where they kissed and...did other stuff. "I don't know how exactly he did it, but he must've told someone, because I was kicked off the show. I wasn't even conventionally eliminated. It was broadcasted that I left because of 'family obligations,' which wasn't extremely unbelievable given how many siblings I have. But really, I was called into a room and told that someone like me would make the other contestants uncomfortable, and they sent me home."

Liam processes for a bit. "Are you sure it was Harry?" he wonders, which Louis can't say he wasn't expecting, but he is a bit annoyed that Liam doesn't believe him.

"Positive," Louis answers. "I didn't tell anyone else. Not even my family. I was still figuring things out back then."

"And nobody else could've seen you, like, kissing a boy, or something, and tipped someone off?"

Without his permission, Louis' mind flashes to making out with Harry in abandoned stairwells, behind locked doors, really anywhere they could find where there weren't people present.

There's no way someone else could've seen them, right? They were incredibly careful. Besides, if someone had seen them, Harry would've been kicked out too.

"No," Louis responds. "He got me eliminated on the basis of sexuality and I will never forgive him for it."

"Doesn't that seem more like the fault of the show, though? That they were willing to send you home because of something as ridiculous as not liking girls? It's not like you were fucking any of the contestants," Liam continues.

While he's right, and Louis is also angry at the people behind the show, he was fucking one of the contestants. And it's the one who sold him out.

But there's no way he can tell Liam that. It'll just make everything so much more complicated.

"Louis, I'm not going to change my mind. Whatever happened five years ago is none of my business. I know it still means a lot to you, which is why I'm willing to try to make your necessary interactions as online as possible, to avoid you having to see each other. But this has to happen so the press doesn't decide you're the next Alex and Henry."

Louis blinks. "You read Red, White & Royal Blue?" he asks instead of answering any other part of Liam's monologue. Liam pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Of course that's the part you pay attention to," he mumbles. "Yes, I did, and yes, it was amazing. Now. You agree?"

Louis sighs and runs a hand through his hair anxiously. "I guess. Hey, maybe this'll make good songwriting material. Stuck in a friendship with someone who's wronged me? Sounds like a good revenge song."

"As long as you get back in the studio," Liam says.

Louis focuses on the steady stream of ridiculous revenge lyrics running through his head in an effort not to think about what exactly he just agreed to. Being friends with Harry Styles. At least he's already out this time.

Deep down, though, he knows Harry will find some way to catch him off-guard.

As usual.

Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions?

Okay I actually really need to go to sleep now lol. Btw I'm in France!! <33333

xoxo, K