Fingers✅

14-16

Louis is surprised when Harry's door is open, considering he's been locked away in there for two days straight. No one has been able to get out of him what was wrong, and Louis hasn't been able to go over there since Gemma and Louis' mum kept insisting he couldn't go over. Gemma didn't want Louis to say something wrong like he often does, and his mum just didn't want him barging in on Harry. But he does it anyway.

The boy is lying on his bed, all curled up with his face to the wall. He obviously hears Louis come in, but makes no attempt to move. The older boy takes it as his cue to continue, so he walks further into the room until he reaches the bed. He already took his shoes off down at the front door, so he just lifts the covers and sneaks himself into the bed. He scooches closer, wrapping his arm around Harry's waist all snugly. To anyone else it would seemed like a weird gesture, but it's something that they've always been used to doing.

"Where've you been the past couple days?" Louis mumbles, letting his forehead rest against the back of Harry's neck.

"In my room," the boy nearly whispers back.

Louis hums, "And why have you been doing that?" he asks, "you know you can always come to me, lovie," he coos.

"I know."

"Harry," Louis whispers, "turn around, please. Your curls are wonderfully fluffy but I want to see that pretty face," he says in a soft voice.

"No," Harry whines, squirming around as if to get further away. Though Louis keeps his grip on the boy, and turns him to face him instead.

"There he is," he smiles, but it only falls, "Harry, babe, please, talk to me. You've never done this before and it worries me. I don't know what's wrong and you haven't talked to me in days," his voice cracks at the end of the sentence. Because he's worried, mainly due to the fact that as he's speaking Harry's face contorts into a deep frown before he lets out a choked sob.

Louis pulls Harry to his chest, his arms around the boy. He hugs him tight, his cheek pressing into the top of Harry's head. "Shh," he murmurs. He keeps repeating reassuring words to Harry as he cries, and when he finally calms down Louis leaves himself to just simply lay with the boy. Minutes go by, Louis' fingers intertwined with Harry's, their hands lying in between their chests.

"I'm gay," Harry whispers. He refuses to lift his head off of Louis' chest, who wants to scream. He feels so horrible that that was the reason for Harry having bags under his eyes and crying and isolating himself. He did it too, when he was thirteen, and he was miserable during it. He didn't know what to think or even why he was keeping himself away knowing that he had nothing to worry about. It didn't help him at all. So for Harry to result to the same thing upsets him.

"That's amazing, sweetcheeks," Louis mumbles, kissing the top of his head.

"But I don't know what to do," the younger boy whines, "I have some friends who use gay as an insult because they're stupid and I don't want them to make fun of me for it," he tells Louis,"I don't know what to do, you were better with this," he digs his head into the crook of Louis' neck.

"No," he murmurs, "I wasn't any better than you're doing. I locked myself in my room for days, almost a week. Plus, you were the one to get me out, stupid little dimples," he jokes, causing the younger boy to chuckle.

Harry sighs, closing his eyes, "I don't know what to do, Lou," he whines, "people at my school are going to make fun of me about it. Most of them always go 'that's so gay' for everything, and it's so stupid but they're gonna be weird about it since I am," he says, his lips pouting.

Louis just keeps pushing his fingers through the boy's curls, "Well, if they do then you know they're not really your friends. I only had two friends do that to me, and both people did it on accident. Some people just don't know when they've crossed the line, but they learn. And if they're really your friends then they'll understand and stop saying that," he explains, "not to mention that I'm gay too so at least we know I won't be going away any time soon," he chuckles.

Harry wants to agree with him, but with the feelings of Louis in his chest, he can't help but worry about ruining anything between them. He doesn't know how his friend feels back, so if it's not mutual then he's just going to get hurt.

He pushes the thought to the back of his mind, and sighs. He knows he should get up and maybe put himself together a bit, but Louis' arms are around him. And for now Louis' bigger than him, which means he's just so so easy to cuddle into. Not to mention the little thing he always does with his ankles. Harry doesn't know if it's just him, or with anyone, but Louis always tangles his ankle in Harry's.

"Do we have to get up?" Harry asks.

Louis gives a little squeeze on Harry's hand, "Not quite yet. Have you told your mum and dad yet?" he asks, and when Harry nods he smiles a bit, "good good, that's good. I take it they're perfectly fine with it."

Harry huffs, "It was like my mum knew all along. She told me she wasn't surprised and saw it coming," he tells him, leaving out the part where she said how he's always been super close and personal with Louis, and with her catching them cuddling all the time she wasn't that surprised. Louis doesn't need to know that yet. That can wait. Especially since in the meantime Harry has bigger things to worry about. Like telling his friends for instance. It scares him, but it has to get done.

It does. A few days later during lunch time. He starts off with just his two closest friends, Davis and Logan. They both take it well, after Harry says that just because he's gay doesn't mean he likes either of them, and how he doesn't like every single guy he see's.

"Well... do you have a thing with someone? Is that how you knew or something?" Davis asks, raising his eyebrows in question.

Harry squeezes his own hands together from under the table, "I- well, no. That's not how I knew, and I don't have a thing with anyone either I've got my eye on someone but... no," you can sense the uncomfortableness in his voice, "it's not any of you guys, by the way. They're a close friend two years up. I think I might barf if I liked one of the lads in the group, no offense," Logan laughs at that.

"Does anyone else know or no?" Logan asks.

"No one from school. Just you guys," he lies only a tiny bit, since Louis knows, but that's not the point.

"So then we won't tell anyone?" Davis assumes, and when Harry nods frantically he purses his lips, "sounds good then," he shrugs, "I-"

"Anthony though! He always says like 'that's so gay'. That can't really happen anymore. We've got to just tell him off a bit when he says it. You're in good hands, Haz," Logan gives a stiff nod, "damn, we're pretty damn good friends aren't we," he looks at Davis jokingly.

"Doesn't get much better, I mean," Davis nudges Logan's shoulder, playing along. And yeah, Harry thinks, he does have some good friends.