It's a Yes From Me // l.s.

Chapter 5

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As soon as Harry walks away from the older boy, questions begin to storm into his mind. That was his chance to ask Louis about his past with Nick but he blew it. He tries to shake it off and tell himself maybe it isn't time yet, to just give it more time, but the more laps he walks around the studio, the more anxious he becomes. He wants to get more answers or he's going to go completely mad.

He completes his sixth lap and starts off towards the lounge, hoping Louis will be settled in there alone so he can talk to him in private. He just hopes his shyness will tuck itself away for this one or he'll get nothing accomplished.

As soon as he reaches the doorway, he's having second thoughts and he immediately takes two steps back, rethinking his whole plan. Is this really a good idea? Is Louis going to hate him forever for asking about his private life? Will he tell Simon about it and have him fired?

Fuck, he's tearing himself apart.

He takes a deep breath, telling himself it's going to be okay before entering the room. At first, he doesn't see anyone until he hears a small groan from behind an opened cupboard.

"Why the fuck does Niall have to shove the crisps in the very back, for Christ's sake..."

Harry smiles a bit, walking closer to the boy that's struggling to reach into the cupboard. He's on his tiptoes and cursing every third word.

"Need some assistance?"

Louis jumps at his voice, bumping his head on the side of the cabinet. He curses under his breath, holding his head immediately and looking for who the voice belonged to. His eyes fall on Harry and his face relaxes.

"Oh, hi. Sorry, uh, that would help."

He steps back a few so Harry can approach the opened cupboard. He reaches up and grabs the bag of crisps Louis was struggling to get with ease. He gives them to the older boy with a smile and Louis just gives him a blank stare.

"How did you...? I've been trying to get those for ten minutes, I'll have you know. That is not at all okay that you could get those that fast." He says, hands on his hips as he looks up at the taller boy who just laughs.

"Grow a few inches and you shouldn't have a problem."

Louis gives him an incredulous look, eyes wide in shock.

"When did you become a smart ass? Last time I checked you were the silent new boy that only spoke if spoken to."

This results in a shrug from Harry.

"People change."

"Not in a span of ten minutes. I was just talking to little shy Harry in the hallway and now you're telling me you 'changed'? Nice try, love, but I don't believe it."

Harry just shrugs once more and looks towards the floor, not knowing what to say. Louis opens up the bag and tilts the bag towards the younger boy after he grabs one for himself.

"Consider it a gift." He says with a small smile.

Harry returns it while reaching into the yellow bag and pulling out a single crisp. He pops it into his mouth and smiles wider.

"Thanks."

Louis bobs his head while watching Harry take a timid step back. His brows pinch together, wondering what has the boy acting so timid all of a sudden.

"What's up, new boy?" He decides to ask before the question eats him up inside.

The boy looks about, fear in his eyes. He toes at the ground with the tip of his heeled boot and his fingers toy with the frayed end of his button down shirt.

"Uhm... Is it okay if I ask you a question? You can say no, it's not like... urgent or anything..." He says slowly, eyes still casted down to the floor.

Louis looks at him a bit longer before he decides to take a seat on the couch, patting the seat next to him.

"Ask anything you want." He says to the younger boy, telling him this because he can tell Harry needs to get this out of his head before it eats him up as well.

The boy slowly makes his way towards Louis, his long legs weaving their way closer to the couch. He sits down slowly, a few inches from where the older boy sits.

He collects his thoughts into a bundle, sorting it all out in his head. He never really thought he would get this far, thinking Louis would have said no to him immediately or he would just leave the room completely at the question.

"Uh... You and Nick." He starts out, still trying to sort out his words.

Louis gives him a look, as if to say 'keep going'.

"Did you two like... date?"

Finally, Louis speaks up and it's a laugh. A loud, boisterous laugh.

Harry looks at him confused, wondering what was so funny about the question. He feels foolish for even asking now.

"Nick doesn't date." Louis only says.

"What?" Harry says, eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

"This is going to be a lot, are you sure you want to know?" The boy asks, looking Harry in the eyes. "Also, what sparked your interest in my love life?"

"U-Uh... I'm just curious with all of the bet talk and how Nick acts around you. That's it. That's why." Harry quickly musters together.

Louis nods slowly, not completely believing Harry's words.

"I'll start off by saying one thing; Don't let Nick get too close to you. He's extremely toxic and only hurts the people he's with. Fucks with their heads."

"He hasn't-"

"Bullshit, Harry." Harry flinches at Louis' harsh tone, which makes the older immediately soften his voice. "I saw the way he was leaning against you in the club and whispering in your ear. Why do you think I went over there so fast?"

Harry stays silent.

"He did the same thing to me three years ago when I started here. We were hired at the same time, went through orientation together, we did everything together. He had a crush on me then just like he does on Liam now."

Harry looks up at this.

"Does that mean he...?"

"Yes, Harry. He made the same bet with Shawn that I did with Nick earlier this week."

"Why did you do that, though? You knew how much it hurt when you found out it was bet so why put Liam through the same hurt?" Harry asks, this whole scenario not making sense in his head.

"Revenge? I don't know, in the moment I was just thinking about how much Nick hurt me and I wanted to take the one thing he wanted away from him. It sounds stupid when I say it aloud, I know." The boy says, his head in his hands.

"It's not... stupid. You were hurt..." Harry says softly, his hand timidly hovering over Louis' back before he actually gets the courage to rub circles to soothe the boy. "Just... try to fix this please? I don't know Liam personally but I really don't want to see him heartbroken."

Louis doesn't say anything right away, his elbows resting on his knees and his head hanging down. He stares at the floor and Harry can't tell if the boy is crying or not.

"I will. Just... Don't tell anyone what I told you, okay? Please." He finally says, sounding a bit desperate.

"I won't."

"Okay."

Louis looks up to lock eyes with Harry, as if he's making an unspoken promise between the two of them.

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