Falling In Manchester

Chapter Five - Harry

"Hi," Harry breathed.

"Hey," Louis said, his eyes raking over Harry's outfit.

"Phew," Niall said, "the tension is thick here. Mind if I just join Liam and Zayn? Then the two of you can devour each other?"

"Uh-huh," Louis said, stepping aside. "Just go in."

"Damn, alright," mumbled Niall, stepping into the apartment.

Once Niall had disappeared, Louis wet his lips, eyeing Harry's outfit one last time. "I like your outfit."

"Oh, uh, um." Harry's cheeks turned red. "I—Thank you. I, um, I like your forehead."

Louis huffed out a laugh. "What?"

"God." Harry hid his face in his hands. "God, I'm sorry. Just... you know, your hair, and... it looks great! Very great. Like, so great. I'm rambling. Sorry. Should I be sorry?"

Louis looked like he was trying to stifle his laughter. "Are you finished?"

"Did two hours ago in the shower."

Louis cackled, shaking his head amused. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Harry exhaled, his face still warm.

Louis grinned. "Wanna come inside? We are drinking some beers to get started."

Harry nodded. "Yeah." He stepped into the apartment, following Louis to the kitchen.

Zayn, Liam, and Niall were all seated around the table, beers and a card game in front of them.

"Hey, guys," Harry greeted, pulling out a chair to sit down. "Good to see you all again."

"Hey," Liam greeted, grinning.

"Hi, Harold," Zayn said, giving out cards. "Wanna join us for a game of rummy cupe?"

"Nah, I'm good just watching."

"Alright."

Louis placed an open beer bottle in front of Harry, sitting down opposite him. He grinned. "Not much card player?"

Harry shook his head, taking a swig of beer. "Not really. Prefer boadgames."

"You and me both," Louis said.

"No one can relate to you," Niall informed them. "And... ha! I won that round, motherfuckers."

Zayn scowled at him. Harry rolled his eyes fondly.

"So... this party," Harry asked Louis as the other boys emerged back into their game. "Where is it?"

Louis took a swig of beer. "As I said, it's my friend Stan. He goes to the University, but I actually met him through work. He has, like, this gigantic apartment. Perfect place for private parties. It's twenty minutes away from here in car."

"Noted." Harry took another swig of beer. "What do you work as?"

"I work in a warehouse a couple of times a week," Louis said. "Not very interesting, but it pays the bills. Do you have a job?"

Harry shook his head. "No, but I'm looking. Not hasty yet, though, I still have plenty of money saved up for now."

"That's nice." Louis let his finger run along the rim of his bottle, Harry's finger zoning in on it. "Are you planning on driving home with us?"

"What?" Harry jerked his head up.

"Yeah, you know..." Louis gestured in the air. "Niall told me he expected to find someone to go home with tonight, so we shouldn't count him in, I was wondering if you..." He trailed off.