I Know You, Lou // l.s.

37.

This was it.

Harry was sitting in his beat-up car in the university car park, just as he had a year ago, his worried eyes scanning the campus in front of him.

He was nervous, but not in the same way he had been when he first began at his new university. This time, he had friends, he knew where he was going, and he had Louis.

This time, his nerves were only due to navigating busy halls again. As much as his life had improved over the past year, his anxiety hadn't. He still hated crowds, very much.

He'd arrived early with his car packed full of his things, ready to move back into his dorm with Niall, as to avoid as many people as possible. The longer he sat there, the worse it was going to get.

He spotted some girls walking past together, laughing and talking. He spotted some boys playing football in the grass. He spotted a couple, sitting on a bench as well, which made him think of Louis.

Louis had already arrived and moved into his dorm a few days before, wanting to be early so he and a few of his mates could practice for football tryouts together. Harry hadn't seen him since they'd gone to each other's parents' houses a few weeks before. This was the closest they'd been to each other in weeks, and Harry could feel the excitement running down his spine.

He let out a breath, smiled, and thought he should probably get moving.

So he climbed out of the car, grabbed his bags and began the walk to his dorm room. He kept his head down, avoiding eye contact and ignoring anyone's shouts, before he made it to his room. He took out his key, and opened the door.

The room was empty, Niall hadn't yet arrived, so he at least had privacy while putting his side of the room together.

He put his suitcase on the bed, and ran back to his car to get the last of his boxes. When he had everything, he started to unpack.

His placed picture frames on his side table and dresser. Ones of his mum, Gemma, and Louis as well as one of the happy couple with Louis' family from the summer. He smiled and ran a finger along the dresser in front of the photos of he and Louis.

He felt tears welling up, and he didn't know why. He missed Louis, but he was going to see him soon, so he wasn't sure why he was getting upset. Maybe it was just overwhelming for him to be back at school again.

"Hey hey hey!"

Harry spun around to see a familiar blonde head of hair bursting through the door, and found his arms full of his Irish friend.

"Ni!" Harry laughed, hugging him back as Niall clung onto him. "H-How've you been!"

"Good!" He answered, pulling back with a grin. "How are you?"

"Good." Harry smiled as they slapped hands and returned to their own suitcases.

They unpacked their things, talked about uni and all the things they'd done over the summer. Niall bragged about the girls he'd managed to kiss at various bars with his mates. Apparently he'd hung out with Liam and Zayn once or twice in pubs around London too. Harry was happy for his friend, it sounded like he'd had a great time.

"How's Louis then?" Niall asked, and Harry blushed as he folded a t-shirt and placed it in his drawer.

"Really good." He murmured, biting his bottom lip and thinking about his boyfriend.

"I assume you spent the summer bucking, then?" He laughed loudly, and Harry turned and even deeper shade of red.

"Ni-" He began, shaking his head with fondness at his roommate's crude language. But before he could finish, another voice sounded from the doorway.