Half a heart

Chapter 22

Once Louis finished up ordering the food he moved closer to help Harry unpack. He grabbed Harry's shoes out of the duffel and went to the closet to place them inside. As he turned to walk out a picture frame edging out from under a sweater caught his eye. He moved the sweater and picked up the pictures. It's identical to the one he has sitting on his nightstand in his flat.

"What are you staring at? Oh..." Harry appeared in the doorway of the closet.

"You still have yours too..." Louis commented quietly, looking at the picture of their younger selves.

"Too?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, mine sits on my nightstand. Used to make me cry every night because I thought I'd never have another chance and I had screwed everything up... now it just makes me happy because I have you again... and I have Scarlet." Louis replied looking over at Harry with a soft smile on his thin lips.

Harry responded with a smile of his own and moved forward to curl his arms around Louis' waist and hook his chin over his shoulder in a tight hug. Louis with the picture still in hand wrapped his arms around Harry's shoulders, his free hand scratching at the base of Harry's neck gently.

They went back to unpacking until there was a knock at the door signalling the arrival of their food which Louis hurried to get and pay for. He called Scarlet and Harry out to the living room once he had everything set out on the coffee table. Scarlet picked up a pork lo mein while Harry grabbed a beef lo mein and Louis took the sweet and sour chicken.

-*-

A few days later Harry began going to work again and dropping Scarlet off at Niall's to be watched. It hasn't really clicked in his mind that there are men following them everywhere they go with cameras. They're snapping pictures and articles are coming out on the internet about the place where Louis Tomlinson's boyfriend works and daughter stays. They stay out of sight is the thing normally so he just actually see them, but a few aren't so sneaky.

Anne has tossed out fifteen different paps within the first three days Harry has started working again. She does it was a frown on her face and a look that dares the paps to argue with her. Tammy tells Harry whenever there's someone with a camera in the bakery once Anne tells him the paps have been coming in on the fifth days he's been working, so Harry had asked Tammy to tell him whenever she suspected somebody was a pap.

Now that he's paying attention it drives Harry crazy.

Sometimes he can't even walk down the street without a camera flash going off in his face or somebody asking him where Louis is or how Louis is doing or where their daughter is.

"Mate you've got to talk to Louis about this." Niall stated when Harry arrived to pick up Scarlet.

"I know, it's driving me crazy." Harry responded, gesturing for Scarlet to come give him a hug.

She's getting taller - he's noticed that in the past few months. It kinda scares him because that means she's growing up and too soon she won't be his 'little' girl anymore.

"It's not you I'm concerned about Haz, no offence, it's Scarlet. They followed us everywhere today, questioning who I was, asking if you were cheating, asking where you were... I finally just brought her back here, they were all shoving camera's in our faces." Niall stated with a frown. "Hell I'm surprised they're not out there right now!"

"Niall." Harry warned shifting his eyes pointedly to Scarlet then back to Niall.

"Right. Sorry. Anyways, it scared her. You gotta do something before it gets out of hand..." Niall said as they moved to the door.

"I'll talk to him and see what he can do about it." Harry responded, reaching for the door knob once Scarlet had her shoes on.

"Keep her close mate, it's like they're lurking in the shadows.." Niall warned then kissed Scarlet's forehead and waved goodbye.