friends?

1

He was a master of disguise. In control of his facial expressions. Hiding. Deceiving. Hurting on the inside.

They had been friends since forever. He couldn't remember a time in his life when Louis hadn't been the center of it.

He has been five years old when he moved to Doncaster with his family. Next door lived a beautiful blue-eyed boy. Louis. He was two years older than him but that didn't matter. They had been best friends from the first day they met.

He had looked up to him. Admired him. Still did. They were inseparable.

He had been ten or so when he realized that he had a crush on his best friend. He kept that to himself.

Louis was represented as an Alpha when he turned thirteen. Harry didn't care. He hadn't given much thought to the whole Alpha, Beta, Omega thing. He had been told about it but as an eleven-year-old, it wasn't something that occupied his mind.

When he turned thirteen and represented as an Omega he understood. Suddenly hormones were raging through his body when he experienced his first heat.

When he came to his senses he started crying. Everything would change now. Louis was an Alpha. They couldn't be best friends now, could they?

Louis came to check up on him and found him in tears. He immediately rushed over and hugged him.
"What's wrong Hazza?"

"I'm an Omega now." Harry sobbed.

"So?" Louis questioned.

"How are we supposed to be friends now?" Harry asked.

"What are you talking about? That won't change anything. You'll always be my best friend." Louis promised.

Except, it changed everything. Not for Louis. He still treated him the same way. They were still inseparable. Harry on the other hand realized that he was in love with his best friend. The day he discovered that was the day he became a master at disguising his feelings. He was afraid to lose Louis.

He made a move two years later. They were at a party and Harry was drunk for the first time. He tried to kiss Louis who pushed him away and laughed.
"Alright, it's time to get you home safely."

They never talked about it and Harry never tried to kiss him again.

Louis started dating. Girls. Harry hated them with every petty fiber in his teenage body. He was consumed with jealousy. But Louis broke it off quickly. After he had dated three girls and ended it right away Harry finally asked why.
"They're complaining that I reak of Omega."

"Of... Oh, me?" Harry wondered.

"Yeah." Louis chuckled with a side glance at him.

"I'm sorry, Lou. I..." Harry blushed.

"Don't be. If they can't handle that I have an Omega for a best friend I don't want to date them." Louis huffed.

Harry didn't date anyone for two obvious reasons. One, he was helplessly in love with his best friend, and two, he was gay but wasn't ready to go public with that information even if everyone already knew. He was a male Omega after all.

Louis never commented on it and he never backed away. He kept cuddling him. They had always been close. Too close if you asked people around them. Louis always defended him. Protected him. He was the most loyal friend anyone could ask for, except Harry wanted something else, something more. Something he could never have.

Louis graduated school but refused to go away to college. No one could change his mind. Not his parents. Not his friends. Not Harry. Especially not Harry.
"I'm not moving away from you. We're gonna go to college together. I can wait."

"You'll be fine, Lou. We'll still see each other. You can't wait two years, that's too long!" Harry protested.

"I'm tired of school. I need a break anyhow and I can't just see you on holidays. I need my daily dose of Harry." Louis replied.

He stayed. He actually stayed. Louis got a job at a burger joint. He oozed of grease and hamburgers when they met up after school.

Harry didn't care. Louis Alpha scent always surrounded him anyway. He could smell it so strongly. Louis' whole room smelled like him. It was Harry's favorite smell in the world. Intoxicating. He stole shirts he had been wearing and slept with them like a comfort blanket. He obviously didn't tell him that. Louis often complained about clothes going missing. Harry would rather die than confess that he took them. They ended up in Louis' laundry basket after a while anyway, when they had lost their smell.

Harry held on to his secret while he finished high school. Two years went by fast. They were glued together. Harry was a familiar face in the Tomlinson household. Louis' mum usually put an extra plate on the table without asking if Harry would join them for dinner. Louis spent time at his house too. Harry's mum used to joke about having a second son around.

They never asked if they were a couple. Sometimes Harry got the feeling that they just assumed it. Louis' mother Jay had been upset at first that he wanted to blow off college, but when Louis explained that he was waiting for Harry to finish high school first she accepted it.

Harry was happy when his graduation day finally arrived. Louis sat on the front row with both their families and he looked so proud. They went out to dinner to celebrate and their families joined them. They had applied to the same colleges and were waiting for their acceptance letters. Louis had big plans about their living situation and shared them with their families.
"So you're planning on living in an apartment just the two of you? What about dorm rooms? I think Harry would be safer in an Omega dorm room." Harry's mother Anne said.

"I'm not allowed there. That's out of the question. How am I supposed to see Harry then?" Louis replied.

Anne and Jay exchanged a look.
"Harry, I think you're too young to move in with your boyfriend." Anne said.

Harry choked on his soft drink and started to cough. Louis rubbed his back and made sure that he was okay before he turned to their mothers.
"Harry and I are just friends. Why would you think that he's my boyfriend? We have never said that."

Harry glanced at him. Louis looked irritated. Harry could feel his heart break a little.
"Sweetie, what are you gonna do when you go into rut and heat? Your cycles match. Neither of you will be in the right state of mind." Jay said softly.

Harry blushed but Louis was defensive.
"So? We can barricade our doors or I can go on suppressants. I sleep on the fucking street if I have to. I wanna live with my best friend! Why should the fact that we're an Alpha and an Omega stop that? Our heat and rut happen five days every third month. We can make that work."

"Harry? You're awfully quiet." Jay said and turned to him.

"I wanna live with Lou." Harry replied. He couldn't bear the thought of being without him.

"Okay. We'll make it work." Anne said.