I Know You, Lou // l.s.

22.

Present Day 2015

After dinner under their tree, Harry and Louis made their way back to Harry's dorm room.

The entire time, Louis couldn't stop thinking about Harry and the way they were when they were kids. He thought about their tree back at home, in his old backyard, and everything that they'd been through, and he knew he'd made a mistake.

He never wanted to treat Harry badly, and he never wanted to put the boy through any sort of pain, but it had been necessary.

Maybe he'd been selfish, trying to protect himself by pushing Harry away, but he had to. Harry had been through a lot in high school, but so had he. No one knew the things he'd suffered at Doncaster High.

He didn't want to put a dampener on their night though, so Louis pushed those thoughts from his mind and focused on the present; he had Harry back.

"Well," Louis hummed as they opened the door and went inside, Harry quickly closing it while Louis flopped onto the bed, starfished in the middle of the blankets while Harry fondly watched. "That was fun."

"Yeah," Harry nodded with a smile, slowly walking over to the bed and sitting down beside the older boy. Then, Louis shuffled across so they could both lean against the headboard, side-by-side.

"Which movie do you want to watch?" Louis asked, turning his head so he could look up at Harry with a smile.

When Harry did the same, looking down at Louis, his breath hitched, Louis' lips were right there, so pink, so kissable, Harry thought. He forgot what Louis had even asked as he became so wrapped up in what they would taste like, what they would feel like against his own.

"Harry?" Louis voice snapped him back to reality, the younger boy blinking a few times as his cheeks blushed a light pink colour.

"Yeah?" He breathed.

"Which film?" Louis whispered, still smiling fondly at his best friend.

"Oh, um, I-I don't mind." Harry stuttered, so Louis nodded and climbed over him, getting off the bed to put on a movie.

When he came back to the bed, the opening credits were playing. Harry didn't know what he had picked, but he didn't particularly care, he just wanted to spend time with Louis.

So when Louis climbed back over him and settled against his side, Harry let his arm circle his shoulder as he smiled and Louis nuzzled into his side.

Even as the movie played, Harry only had eyes for Louis. It was getting harder and harder to pretend like they were just best friends, and that Harry had no deeper feelings for him. All Harry wanted was for them to be like they were back when they were 12, and had a bright future ahead of them, before Louis left.

Everything about those few months before Louis told him he was moving away, was perfect. Everything had fallen exactly into place, and Harry had never been so happy.

.

24th December 2007

After Louis opened his present, the two of them had sat on his couch for hours, reading through the scrapbook Harry had made.

Louis' back was pressed to Harry's chest, the younger boy's chin resting on Louis shoulder as they laughed.

"Oh my God." Louis chuckled, pointing to a picture of Harry. "I remember that! That was so funny, remember how you-"

Harry slapped a hand over Louis' mouth while the other boy continued laughing at the memory.
"Sh." Harry nervously laughed to himself. "That was embarrassing. C'mon, Lou! I was only 9."