The Contract

Four

Harry avoided Louis the next morning and headed to work early. He felt so ashamed. He had to come clean. Right? What if Leslie had been the one for Louis?

He had to change gym too. Leslie probably knew that he had given Louis his number. Why on Earth would he have done that if Louis actually was his boyfriend? No, he couldn't face Leslie either. He googled gyms nearby during his lunch break.

He dragged his feet back to the apartment after work, trying to come up with an explanation for his behavior yesterday. Louis would be furious. He had the right to be!

The boys were all gathered in the kitchen when he arrived at the apartment. It was Zayn's week to make food. Harry took a deep breath before he entered. He refused to look at Louis who was sitting on one of the kitchen counters.
"Hi Harry, did you have to work late today?" Liam asked.

"Uhm, yeah." Harry mumbled. He was about to flee when Zayn opened his mouth and he stopped in his tracks.

"So Louis, did you bring someone home last night?"

"Yeah, a total bust. He fled when I went for a wee and now he's totally fucking ghosting me." Louis snorted.

"He escaped when you went to the loo? That's fucked up. Why did he even go home with you then?" Niall wondered.

"It beats me." Louis shrugged.

"Sorry, are you sad about it?" Zayn wondered.

"No. I shouldn't have brought him home on the first date. That's not the way to go when you're looking for something serious. I let my dick do the thinking. He obviously wasn't the right guy for me. I just wished he would have been man enough to let me down in person, you know what I mean?" Louis said.

Alright, this was the time to confess but Harry couldn't get a word out. He decided to keep quiet. Louis wasn't sad about it so no harm done, right? He walked up to the cabinet where they stored the plates and started to set the table.

They sat down to eat and Harry was glad that they had dropped the subject. A couple of days later he had dropped the guilty conscious as well. It was a one-time thing. He wouldn't destroy any of Louis' potential dates in the future. He wasn't that petty.

Except he totally was! Two weeks later Louis went out with a guy named Leo. Apparently, the date went well because Louis went on a second date with the guy. Harry bumped into the guy on his way inside their apartment complex after a really bad date. He had no idea what came over him but before he could think it through he stopped the man in the doorway and introduced himself as Louis' flatmate. Leo looked a little confused but greeted him friendly.
"I'm glad that Louis has found someone that can oversee his criminal past. You know, he has worked a lot on his anger issues after his time in prison." Harry blurted out.

"Prison?" Leo asked. He looked pale.

"Yeah, you know, that whole killing his partner misunderstanding. It was clearly an accident." Harry lied and cursed at himself quietly. What the hell was wrong with him? That was a horrible lie!

Leo just stared at him.
"He's sensitive about it, so maybe we can keep this conversation between us? I'm just glad that you're cool about it." Harry smiled.

"Yeah, uhm, I have to go." Leo said and hurried off.

Harry smashed the back of his head against the wall. What the hell did he just do? Why was he trying to destroy Louis' happiness? Spreading awful lies about him? He needed to get his head checked.

He tried to sneak past the living room when he got inside the apartment but Louis called for him.
"Haz? How was your date?"

Harry stopped in the doorway and refused to look at Louis. He felt so guilty.
"A total bust. Yours?"

Louis sighed.
"I thought it was going well but the guy just texted me and told me that he doesn't want to see me again."

Oh. Harry glanced at Louis. His flatmate looked tired and a little upset.
"I'm sorry."

"I'm clearly not boyfriend material." Louis shrugged. He was saying it casually but Harry knew him better. His stomach twisted from guilt.

He walked over to the couch and took a seat.
"That's not true. You'll be a great boyfriend to someone."

Louis glanced at him.
"How would you know that?"

"I live with you, remember? As long as they can overlook the fact that you can't cook they'll be lucky to have you." Harry said. He felt the need to be nice to Louis after destroying his chance of happiness.

"I can cook!" Louis protested.

Harry just looked at him. Louis started to giggle.
"Fine, I'm fucking lousy at it but don't tell the guys."

"Your secret's safe with me." Harry grinned.

Louis smiled.
"You know, with me horrible luck in dating you're the one who will have to deal with me lousy cooking as me trophy husband."

Harry gasped.
"I will never be a trophy husband! That will be you! Just wait and see."

Louis threw his head back in a loud laugh. Harry watched how his eyes crinkled and he looked like a ball of sunshine. He joined in on the laughter. It was really contagious. When their laughter died out Louis looked at him with glittery eyes.
"Wanna watch an episode of Friends?"

He should probably go to sleep since it was a work day tomorrow.
"Sure."

They made themselves comfortable on the couch and Louis pressed play. Harry glanced at him.
"Lou? Are you sad that Leo called it off? I mean, for real?"

Louis gave him a surprised look. He seemed to think about it before he answered.
"No. I don't think he was the guy for me anyway. We didn't have that spark, you know what I mean? I just never thought that it would be this difficult to find someone. Not when I actually make an effort."

"Yeah." Harry sighed. He knew exactly what he meant.

Ten minutes later they had both fallen asleep on the couch.