A Weekend Away // l.s.

Volume ii - Chapter 30

Harry's POV

I felt my cheeks heat up again. I knew they were glowing red and it killed me to know I couldn't do anything about it. I hate getting flustered.

"I'll wash, you dry." Louis suggested as we walked over to the bucket where we would do the dishes and he plunged his hands into the water.

I don't even know why I blushed. Just being around him makes my heart beat faster and after my behaviour lately, I was being extra careful not to embarrass myself further.

So I was back to my awkward, dorky self. Great.

"O-Okay," I stuttered, grabbing the tea towel as I waited for him to finish a dish.

Once he had, he handed it to me and I dried it before placing it on a pile.

We were in silence and it felt a little awkward, but I didn't know what to do or what to say to make it less awkward. So I stood still, drying dishes and watching Louis' toned arms search the water for a plate.

He's so attractive and just looking at him made me unable to look away.

He looked up past me towards the fire after a couple more dishes before he turned his gaze back to the water, a small smile forming on his mouth.

I watched him as he smiled down at the water and I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about.

Was it something near the fire? Or maybe it was just something funny?

Was it me?

He looked so happy and I found myself getting jealous about whatever he was thinking about. I wanted it to be me and in that moment, I knew that all I wanted to do was make him that happy.

I followed his gaze to the campfire to see what he was looking for.

It was empty.

The others must have all gone to bed and left the fire in a small simmer and Louis and I standing over by the bucket.

Jesus, how long have we been out here, washing dishes?

Then, I turned back and was met with Louis, handing me another dish. His eyes were still on the water and he was still smiling.

Seeing him happy, made me happy so I couldn't help but smile myself at his adorable expression.

I just wish I had the confidence to do something, anything right now and break the silence. I wanted to hear his voice, hear him laugh, have him look at me and smile at me, but I didn't know how.

Then, he turned to me.

"Hey Harry," he said with a giggle and a very mischievous look on his face.

Oh dear God, what is he planning?

I looked at him with my eyes wide and leant backwards slightly, alarmed by what he could do.

"C'mere," he nodded his head to the side, indicating for me to come closer.

I slowly did what he wanted and leant in to him, thinking he was going to tell me something. He moved his lips closer to my ear and I waited.

But no words came.

Instead, the side of my face and half my hair was drenched.

Shit.

My eyes flew wide and I jumped backwards at the feeling of the icy hold water all over my face.

I gasped loudly and screamed his name and I wiped frantically at my head and my eyes.

There were even bubbles in my hair.

He threw his head back and clutched his stomach, despite his wet hands and laughed.

Very loudly.

I looked around desperately for the tea towel so I could get the water off me.

Even though it was incredibly uncomfortable, I couldn't help but smile. He looked so happy and his laughter filling the air was a sound I never wanted to stop hearing. It was beautiful.

He covered his mouth with his hands and let out a few small laughs as he tried to calm himself down.

"What was that for?" I asked him as I turned to face him. He had turned away and had his hands back in the bucket, searching for some cutlery to wash.

He took a deep breath and bit his lip to stop from laughing before he turned to me with a straight face.

"What? Nothing happened," he replied, like everything was totally normal.

I rolled my eyes and looked at him.

"Louis," I whined, getting no response.

"Louis," I repeated, trying to get his attention. He turned to look at me with an overly-dramatic oblivious expression.

"What?" He teased, putting his hand over his heart.

So, he was playing dumb.

Well, if he was going to act, then so was I.

I don't know how, but with a newfound confidence, I pulled out my best puppy dog face.

Gem and I have always been told that we do incredibly cute puppy dog faces.

It must be a Styles thing.

And judging by his face, it was working.

His dumb act dropped immediately and he looked like he wanted to run right into my arms.

But he didn't.

I could tell he was fighting the urge desperately but he managed to stand still and just smile.

Damn, I thought that would work.

I huffed and walked back towards him and grabbed the wet frying pan to dry before leaning on the table and watching him fumble around in the bucket.

I looked down and felt another blush spread across my cheeks as I whispered to myself "You really are something."

I wasn't really sure whether or not he heard me, but I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if he did.

For the rest of the time we did dishes, we stayed in silence and didn't really look at each other, save a few small smiles.

Just as I was washing the last dish, I felt Louis put his hand on my shoulder and before I knew it, he had kissed my cheek.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

I felt him pull away and I thought he'd gone but after a pause, I heard him speak again.

"And so are you." he added quickly before heading off to his tent.

So he did hear what I said.

I felt butterflies in my stomach and what he said and did. My cheek was still tingling where he had left his kiss.

I think this is what it must be like to be in love; always feeling nervous around them, but the good kind of nervous.

I've known for a little while now that I love Louis, but only now was I realising just how in love I was.

I stood at the bucket for a while even after I finished the last dish and put it away. I couldn't stop smiling and I didn't know what to do with myself.

After a while, I pulled myself together and headed towards my tent. I opened the flap and climbed in, careful not to step on Niall's sleeping body.

Except he wasn't there. His sleeping bag was empty.

I frowned. Was he still really that angry at me that he didn't want to be here with me anymore? He's my best friend...

I figured he must have been with Zayn, they've been inseparable lately, so I changed and crawled into my sleeping bag, content that he was safe.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell asleep, thoughts of Louis filling my mind as I slipped into a dreamless sleep.