Prince Not-So-Charming And His Tipsy Princess (l.s)

Chapter 16

Harry plopped next to him when they piled into Liam's car the next day and he felt that way again, glancing at the front where Liam and Zayn were having a full-fledged conversation. It was a strange sight, especially since they both seemed to be smiling despite the fact that it was an argument over some superhero-related thing. His eyes trailed down to Zayn's hand, tapping almost incessantly against the arm rest. The moment Liam reached over and gave it a comforting squeeze, Louis moved his gaze back to Harry to let them have their private little moment, chuckling when he saw he was poking at Niall to get every tickle spot possible out of him.

It was nice hearing all that laughter and playful banter fill the car. Louis sighed long and hard. He could feel himself getting sucked away. He wasn't a part of that. He would never be a part of that. His life was simply that way; on the outside, looking in. Harry tugged his hand when they got there and Louis shrugged when he got a worried look from him, ruffling his hair. He didn't have the energy to pretend he was okay and usually, people either acted like they didn't notice cos it took much less effort or just didn't give a shit. That, he was used to. But well...

Something about Harry.

Being at this fancy karaoke bar, they had some drinks before a redhead came up to them. Harry introduced them all to the friend he had mentioned who also happened to be the owner, Ed Sheeran. Unlike Harry, though, he didn't go around in expensive looking suits and jewellery. He wore the kind of clothes you'd expect any other Brit to have on. He appreciated that about this Ed guy but his general interest in him dropped rather suddenly when the ginger reached out and gave Harry a noogie, messing his hair up.

Louis wanted to get it back to the original standing but they were in public and he didn't want any attention, especially from Niall who would instantly cry about the beauty of Larry. It was a weird ship name to suddenly strike upon but then again, he had gotten rather drunk within the time they spent at this bar so maybe he would think of a less lame-sounding one when sober. Not that Louis cared what his ship name with Harry was.

"Guys! We all just got drunk together- okay, scratch that, I'm the only one who's drunk but still, we should form like a group chat or something! Omg! I've got it, I've got a name!! Da Gays," he said with flourish. Harry gasped, eyes bright until Liam interrupted them with a slow head shake.

"I agree with Liam. It's not at all original and also, we aren't all fruity."

"Ugh. Inclusivity is the worst. We need more braining guys!" That got them both spit-balling off each other, Niall giving his weird and bizarre options and Liam and Zayn chipping in until Louis facepalmed.

"Guys, can we please stop going in opposite directions? We've been arguing about this for the past ten minutes." Louis had gotten irritated over time and was now subconsciously smoothening Harry's hair from Ed's utter violation to distract himself. Harry loved his hair, messing it up that bad was just rude, unlike him who just pulled and twisted a bit.

"Huh. Sure jan, one direction it is, then," Zayn muttered with an eye roll. He didn't know why Harry had that excited look on his face but he was more than drained from all the social interaction. He just wanted to grab Liam, have him drive him home and make him a blushing mess by rubbing his thigh all the way. Anything else felt boring, even doodling on his napkin.

"One direction? Ooh, One Direction! Niall? I like it cos- cos it's like we're all moving together and stuff, and that's what a group chat's all about, right?" Niall blinked then nodded quickly, bouncing about a little with Harry. Damn, they really fed off each other's energy. It was kind of cute, Louis noted, ignoring his discomfort with that, as well. He never really bothered understanding his mind, these days. Harry and Niall turned to the rest expectantly, finally turning to Liam who had refused the first idea. He rolled his eyes at them when they both shared a look and pouted heavily.