LOUIS
It's December now. Louis has 24 days. He still hasn't told anyone.
Harry is all over the place. He's dragging Louis on date after date and Louis feels smothered and happy and he wishes he could enjoy it more. He wishes there wasn't a sense of utter dread absolutely devouring him.
Maybe he should tell Harry. Maybe Harry would hold him until it all gets better. Maybe Harry would kiss him until it doesn't hurt anymore, but it would still be there. He would still be weeks away from loosing his entire family. No, loosing isn't the right word. It's not a loss, it's an excommunication. A paid excommunication, but an excommunication nonetheless.
He could also tell Zayn, but he and Zayn don't really speak that much anymore. It isn't a concious thing, they just don't really spend time together. Of course, they see each other a lot. Louis lives with him, but Zayn is always gone with Liam or has Liam there with him. Louis misses him.
Louis just has this weird feeling in his stomach. He thinks his entire world is about to come crumbling down on him. He's probably right.
He tries his hardest to blame it all on the meeting with the lawyer in- 10 days? Decemeber flies by. Any other year, it would drag on. Normally, Louis would be celebrating his birthday starting 12:01 December 1st, but instead he dreads it.
Harry doesn't ask what Louis wants to do for his birthday. That's ok with Louis. He doesn't want to have to explain that he can't really do anything, or that he'll have to wait until after his parents pay him to never speak to them again. He has a feeling that after that he's just going to disapear for a while.
He does buy Harry a Christmas present- It's stupid and kind of cheesy, but Harry will like it.
He buys Zayn one too, something a bit more thoughtful. He buys the Malik's a little something for being kind enough to let him move in with them. He's even got a little batman bobblehead with Liam's name on it. Buying things for other people helps him spend less time thinking about himself.
He doesn't cry much. Not as much as he thought he would. He's kind of numb now, really. He doesn't feel anything. At one point, he tests it with a razor blade. Nothing.
He doesn't eat much either. Harry notices that. Harry cooks a lot for him. Harry is so sweet, so caring. He tries really hard, and Louis feels horrible that he isn't trying back just as hard. He fakes smiles as much as he can. He acts like he's in to it when they have sex. It's good, it's always good, but Louis just really isn't in the mood to have a dick in him.
Now he's at 3 days. Maybe the numb will go away when it's over.
___________
LIAM
Liam's hair grows back slowly. It still isn't back in it's entirety. Zayn says he loves Liam no matter what his hair looks like.
Liam's parents have been talking to him a lot about college lately. Football season is over, and they're anxiously waiting for scholarships to come. Liam hopes they don't.
Zayn takes his ACT's and SAT's in December, a week apart from each other. He's very stressed, but Liam is sure he did fine. Zayn's really smart. Much smarter than Liam. He might actually do well in college. He'll probably study something smart like English or Literature and he'll go far away and break up with Liam for someone more exciting.
Zayn gets really into Christmas apparently, but so does Liam. It evens his anxiety out a bit. Zayn declines his invitation to the Payne family Christmas Eve feast, because it's Louis' birthday. That's ok.
Instead, they decide to go out the day before Christmas Eve, to celebrate together, even if it is a bit early. Zayn doesn't take him somewhere quite as fancy this time, but it's still a really nice restaurant.
"I got you something," Zayn tells him after they place their dessert orders.
Liam blushes, "Zayn, you didn't have to-"
Zayn hands him an envelope, "Open it?"
Liam tries his best not to rip the envelope, he hates ripping the envelope. He pulls out a certificate to-
"Oh," Liam says quietly.
Zayn's grin falters, "You hate it."
Liam fumbles on his words, "No, Zayn, I love it really."
"I just- you always kiss mine and tell me how much you love them, and I thought maybe you wanted one?"
Liam grins, "I love it."
"I love you."
He folds the tattoo certificate carefully, and slides it into his wallet.
"I got you something too," Liam smiles. He reaches under his chair, pulling out a thin package, he hands it over to his boyfriend.
Zayn undoes the paper carefully, his eyes widen when he sees it.
"Babe, is this?"
Liam nods, "Uh huh. It's the one we talked about."
"But it's so rare, how'd you find it?" Zayn asks, his eyes still widen in amazement.
"EBay, just typed in 'Rare Batman Comics' and it popped right up," Liam grins, he's not going to lie, he's pretty fucking proud of himself.
Zayn shakes his head, "It must've cost you a fortune, they can be so expensive."
Liam looks down at the table, "I saved up for a while, wanted to get you something special."
"I love you so much," Zayn leans across the table, kissing his boyfriend hard and not caring that the whole restaraunt can see, "So much, don't forget."
"I'll try."
