Undone, Undress (Larry Stylinson)

one

"Louis, this is Harry. Harry, this is Louis," Liam introduces, waving his hands between the two vaguely. He's grinning like he knows something Louis doesn't. It's unnerving.

Louis stands back for a quick moment to eye the guy up, really observing him. The pictures of him on Instagram were good but they didn't do him justice.

He's taller than Liam by an inch or two, yet his shoulders are hunched forward. They curve inward in a way that suggests he's a little uncomfortable with his own stature. His skin is snowy and pale, not abnormal for a winter in New York, and his fingers are curled around the strap of his bag so tightly his knuckles are white. The way he carries himself, a little awkwardly and a lot timidly, like he's afraid of calling attention to himself, is so vaguely familiar, it startles Louis.

He isn't meeting Louis' eyes, but Louis knows in an instant he has seen this Harry Styles guy somewhere before.

Louis sticks out his hand in casual greeting, and Harry mumbles something like nice to meet you , probably just to fill the lengthy silence.

"You look really familiar, have we had a class together or something?"

His eyebrows furrow like he's in deep concentration, possibly recollecting various seating charts and classes to try to remember if Louis was in any of them. "Ummm-"

"Oh!" Louis exclaims, almost as if a light bulb flashes over his head suddenly in recognition. "I do remember you—you're the one I saw walk into that pole the other day!"

"What?" Liam asks, laughter bubbling out of him as he looks between Louis, who is grinning in remembrance and welcome, and Harry, who is blushing furiously.

"Ummm..."

"So it was you," Louis surmises, unable to stop the twinge in his lips which quirks the corners up. He stifles a laugh at the memory, trying not to mortify his new roommate too much. Harry is squeezing the strap of his bag very tightly with one hand as the other comes up to cover his face in embarrassment.

Louis had been walking to class two days ago and just happened to witness the guy walking in front of him crash right into a streetlamp, hitting his face and everything. He had meant to check if the guy was okay but he was in a rush, and another girl already had her hand on his arm and was seemingly fixing the problem, so Louis just kept walking. He only laughed a little when he thought of the gangly, awkward looking guy walking straight into a pole. He wasn't even doing anything—no phone or book in his hands, nothing to distract him. He just. Walked right into the streetlight like he didn't even see it there in the middle of his projected path.

"Well, is your head okay?" Louis asks, reaching out to prod at the guy's skull as if he's checking for bumps. He doesn't think anything of his own actions until he notices how uncomfortable his new roommate looks with the touch.

Harry pulls away carefully and nods, cheeks still aflame in rosy pink.

Liam clasps his hands together, backing away towards the door. Louis knows he's going to meet Zayn for dinner tonight—Sunday night is their unofficial date night. Even though Liam denies they're even dating, Louis knows the truth and he won't ever let his best friend forget it. It's fun to tease Liam about his secret boyfriend because Zayn is the only entity on the entire planet that truly turns Liam soft, and Louis finds enjoyment in flustering Liam. "I guess I'll leave you guys to it, then."

"'Kay," Louis chirps, not even looking when Liam exits the apartment and closes the door behind him. His eyes are still on his new roommate, curious and inquiring. Harry is still just standing there like he doesn't know what else to do, fingers curled around the strap of his duffel bag, the pink in his cheeks subtly paling back to the normal snowy color.