fighting love » l.s.

fifteen - harold

Louis put his hand right back, finally turning his head to look at the curly haired boy. He could tell that Harry was worrying about something as he observed him biting his red bottom lip, deep in thought. "Harold is your name when you're worrying about something."

"I'm not worrying."

"You are," Louis retorted, sitting up a bit straighter and taking his head off of Harry's shoulder. Harry pouted a bit at the loss of contact, but still refused to meet Louis's gaze, keeping his eyes locked on the laptop screen.

"Harry," Louis urged a bit more seriously, furrowing his brow at the younger boy. "You can tell me anything, you know?"

Harry nodded slightly, biting his lip harder. Louis watched him carefully, trying to read Harry's mind to no avail.

"You know?" Louis repeated, squeezing Harry's thigh reassuringly. Harry nearly flinched at the sparks that fluttered across his skin.

"I know," Harry verbalized his response, dropping his gaze to his lap. He started fiddling with his fingers nervously, knowing what Louis's next request would be.

"So tell me."

"I don't know, Lou," Harry said quietly, finally raising his gaze to meet Louis's. Louis couldn't read the emotions in Harry's green eyes, but it was something he'd never seen before. He'd thought that he could read Harry easily, but this was uncharted territory. Suddenly, he was even more worried than before.

"Harry, tell me. Please."

Harry sucked in a deep breath, studying Louis's face as he chose his words. He didn't know how to explain his feelings without sounding needy and obsessive. He didn't want Louis to pity him. He didn't want Louis to see him the way Harry saw himself.

"I don't know, Lou," Harry began, a lump already rising in his throat. "I guess I just feel --"

Louis's phone vibrated suddenly on the side table, causing both boys to jump, heads snapping in the direction of the sound. Louis reached over and had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"It's El, hold on," he said, putting the phone to his ear. "What's up?"

"Where are you? Are you home?" her high-pitched voice came piercing through the speaker. Louis had to hold his phone a bit further from his ear to keep himself from going deaf.

"No, not right now," he replied vaguely, eying the curly haired boy sitting in front of him. "Why?"

"I'm at your house, can you come home quickly?"

"What the hell? Why are you at my house?" Louis exclaimed. Harry's head snapped up in response to Louis's statement, a confused look spreading across his face. "You could have called first."

"I wanted to surprise you. I assumed you'd be home, you have no reason to be out -- wait, are you with Harry?" she accused. Louis tucked the phone a bit more tightly between his ear and his shoulder, hoping Harry couldn't hear her words.

He hadn't told Harry, but Eleanor hated him. She hated that Louis hung out with Harry more than he hung out with her, but he just kept telling her that Harry was his best friend, and that was just how they were. They fought about it at least once a week.

"Why does it matter, El?" Louis asked, exasperation clear in his voice.

"Of course you're with him, Louis. You always are. Why don't you fucking date him if you want to spend so much damn time with him?"

"It's not like that and you know it," Louis lowered his voice. He stood up off the bed and walked across the room, turning his back to the bed so he couldn't see Harry's reaction. He didn't think he could bear it.

"I don't know anything, Louis!" Eleanor practically screamed into the phone. "All I know is that if you're not home in 15 minutes, we're done. If you don't love me enough to do this one thing for me, we're over, Louis."

And she hung up the phone.

Louis turned around and sighed, flopping back down on the bed beside Harry. Harry sat tensely beside the blue eyed boy, watching him rub his hands over his face with frustration.

"What was that about?" Harry asked quietly.

"She wants me to come home," Louis groaned. "She said she'll break up with me if I don't. Fucking crazy, she is."

"You better go, then," Harry replied, trying to ignore the tightness in his chest. He knew that this was the advice he needed to give Louis as his friend.

Louis turned to face the green eyed boy, surprise clear on his face. Harry raised his gaze to meet Louis's, locking their eyes together. They just stared at each other for a moment as they both tried to figure out what the other way thinking.

And then Louis finally spoke: "I want to stay here, Harry. I don't want to go with her."

Harry took in a deep breath before tearing his eyes from Louis's beautiful blue ones. "I don't think your girlfriend would like that," he said with a small shrug.

Louis studied the younger boy for a moment, trying to understand what was going on Harry's head. And then he gave up, standing from the bed and brushing himself off.

"Alright, then. See you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you then. Hope everything goes well with -- um, Eleanor." Harry hated the way her name came off of his tongue. It felt like poison.

For a moment Harry thought that Louis wasn't going to say anything. The small boy walked toward Harry's bedroom window, knowing that Harry's mother was home, and opened it enough for him to climb out onto the roof.

And then he looked back. His blue eyes fused with Harry's green ones and it was another one of countless moments between them where they didn't have to say anything. They both knew. They both felt the same thing.

"Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Lou."

And Louis climbed out the window into the overbearing darkness, leaving Harry alone in the bright light of his bedroom and the suffocating blackness of his thoughts.