For the Road

35

"I'm probably not going be back until late. Maybe two or so depending on how much Liam and I decide on drinking," Louis explains. He turns back to look at Harry. His eyebrows are slightly furrowed and his bites on his button lip anxiously.

"Just make sure to get an Uber home or catch a cab. I don't want you driving if you're going to be drinking," Harry reminds him, but Louis shrugs it off. This isn't the first time he's gone out clubbing, so he knows the drill. It's just the first time he's gone out since Harry's moved in with him.

"Does this look okay," Louis asks. Louis can feel Harry's eyes rake down his body, examining him. Harry folds his arms across his chest and smiles.

"You always look okay," Harry responds casually. Louis sighs loudly and leans in for a quick kiss.

"Serious, Harry, do I look good or not? The cab should be here soon to pick me up," Louis explains. Harry's lips purse into a thin line and he shrugs.

"Yeah, you look all right for a night out." Louis lets out a breath of relief and checks to make sure he has everything again. He doesn't know why he's so anxious to go out, but he is. He shrugs off the feeling of strangeness and instead tries to focus on gathering his things.

The car arrives a few Moments later and Louis' quick to leave. He feels a little bad for not inviting Harry, but it's only supposed to be Liam and him. Liam's the one that suggested going out and Louis would've felt bad if he invited Harry without talking to Liam about it first.

Liam's already in the car, dressed in skinny jeans and a band shirt. "We're heading to our usual, right?" Liam questions. Louis nods quickly and buckles up after being glared at by the driver.

"Harry's not with you? I'm surprised. You guys seem to be glued at the hip," Liam jokes. Louis feels a smile creep onto his face, but he pushes it back down quickly. He clears his throat and shrugs.

"He's a good friend, yeah. I didn't think to invite him, but maybe next time," Louis explains quickly. Louis wants to change the subject before he starts 'fonding' as Harry would put it.

Louis never knew what Harry was talking about when he described the behavior. Harry only recently explained that 'fonding' was something Louis did quite frequently. He described it as looking and radiating love or admiration for someone (in Louis' case it was Harry).

"Niall seems to like him a lot," Liam presses. Louis just gives him a quick nod and pulls out his phone to distract himself. He sees a text from Harry and can't help smiling.

Harry

Be safe. Love you.

You

Will do! See you at home

~_~_~

The bass seems to pound into Louis' soul as he takes another sip from his drink. He shifts on the large red couch as Liam laughs loudly beside him. Louis would be lying if he said Liam isn't shit-faced. He pities the poor guy, because tomorrow he's sure to be hung over.

Liam turns to him and leans in close. "I stole Louis' toothbrush on tour once, but you can't tell him," Liam whispers loudly. Louis rolls his eyes and gives him a small nod. Louis promised Liam earlier in the night that he would stay relatively sober, so they have someone leveled-headed to keep the other one safe. Louis regrets the decision now.

"I am Louis," Louis explains for probably the millionth time that night. Liam gives him a confused look and blinks quickly.

When Liam's drunk he spills every secret he's ever had. It's not a good thing for him, which is why Liam hardly ever goes out anymore and never drinks a lot around strangers. Liam's a pretty relaxed guy and doesn't have a lot of secrets to begin with, so it's never really a big deal anyway. One of the worst thing's he's done drunk is admitted to being bisexual, but everyone saw that coming anyway. Most of the secrets he spills are minor.

"Oh. Well don't tell Louis, Louis," Liam says. He laughs at himself loudly, probably proud of his joke. Louis wants to jump off a very tall building, but refrains from doing so. He watches as Liam attempts to flirt with a guy sitting at the table next to them. Louis cringes at Liam's poorly attempted pick-up lines.

Liam turns back around pathetically. He crosses his arms across his chest and pouts for a second. Louis stares at him, waiting for his friend to do something. "Oh! I remember I have something to tell you," Liam says. The boy's pout turns into a smile, and he leans in close to Louis.

"Come on, Liam, you don't want to do that. You're going to regret it tomorro—"

"I dated Zayn," Liam cheers. "But you can't tell Louis! Louis can't know, okay? Niall knows, and Zayn hates me for telling him that and Zayn'll hate me even more if Louis finds out," Liam explains.

Louis' in shock. The same Zayn that makes gay jokes and says that gays are gross, dated a guy? Not just any guy, but Liam? When did they date? They couldn't have dated while they were in the band or Louis would've caught on, right?

"When did you date Zayn," Louis questions. Liam furrows an eyebrow and thinks for a Moment. He listens as Liam starts to hum a song from their second album. The whole thing is about being in love with someone that you shouldn't be, and was written by Liam. Louis didn't understand where the song came from at the time, but he understands it now.

"2012? You two dated in 2012," Louis asks. Liam nods quickly.

"That's the number I couldn't remember. Ha, that's funny, 2012. That was a long time ago," Liam laughs. Louis massages his temples, trying to make sense of everything going on. How could Liam and Zayn have dated? They're complete opposite!

"Why did you guys break up," Louis asks. Liam's face changes to something more serious and he huffs in annoyance.

"I think I want to dance."

~_~_~

Hey guys! Not sure when you reached your goal, but you did. If you reached it on Saturday then I was gone all day and that's why I didn't update. Thoughts on Zayn being nicer to Harry? Ziam's relationship? Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! ~B

ATLC: I like high school AUs. I don't really like writing them though, because I like writing really unique things and high school AUs are kind of boring and generic. Shoutout to Obviouslarreh for having the same answer.  

Bonus Goal: 17 votes and 22 comments

QOTC: Favorite show?