Louis Meets Harry | On Hold |

History

"Okay guys, here's today's topics of discussion," Louis says, nodding to where Taylor and Niall are sitting on his rug. They try to do this a few times a week, gathered up in Louis' bedroom, surrounded by snacks; they generally just discuss the day's events, cute boys, any new drama. Today, though, they have quite a bit to discuss. "I don't even know where to begin - Taylor and Joe? Her huge betrayal? My boy problems, which once again include Liam? Like, what the hell," Louis rants, pacing back and forth. He's a little over-caffeinated, over-sugared, and also just plain overwhelmed. He's a small boy, he can only handle so much.

"How about we start with Liam?" Niall suggests, not wanting any problems between Taylor and Louis to erupt. They usually never fight, but when they do it can get ugly, and Niall is really not in the mood to mediate. He had a feeling that something was going on between Taylor and Joe anyway, when he caught her sneaking in through Joe's garden gate one night over the summer; he just knew it wasn't his place to interfere. He smiles at the grateful look Taylor shoots him.

Louis squints suspiciously, as if he knows what Niall is up to. In the end though, the Liam issue is bothering him enough that he doesn't mind. "Ugh, fine. He just - he just smiled at me! Like, twice! What the hell was that about? I thought I had the plague - the gay plague?" He stops pacing and instead drops down to the rug, squeezing himself between Niall and Taylor. He likes to face his problems face down on the ground, like a normal human being.

That's how Taylor first met him, actually, all the way back in Kindergarten. Louis was lying on the grass outside, and Taylor thought that he might be dead. She had walked up to him slowly, sticking her leg out to daintily move his back with her foot. She screeched when he moved, and then started laughing when he did the same. They had been friends ever since, although there was that one rough month in middle school where neither of them spoke to each other; Taylor told Louis she had a crush on him, and all Louis had said was "Gross!" (He already knew he was gay, he just hadn't thought to share that fact with her yet). After that, they became even closer, bonding over boys and how mean they could be.

Niall came into their lives that very same year, a timid boy who already knew there was something different with him, something that he didn't feel was wrong but that his family was openly against. Taylor and Louis were the ones who approached him, Louis swearing that he could sense something special in him. It had taken Niall some time to warm up to them and it took even longer for him to tell them his biggest secret - something he hadn't even yet admitted to himself. Of course, he was accepted with no judgment at all, and from then on the duo was an unbreakable trio. Louis and Niall had even tried dating, something that felt so wrong they had never talked about it after the fact, except when Taylor brought it up to make fun of them.

Taylor rubs his back, thinking carefully about her next words. Louis tends to over-react, and he's already worked up. "Maybe he misses you? Would that be so bad?" Even as she's saying it, she knows that it would be. Liam wrecked Louis, and never even apologized. "Never mind, screw that, he's the worst," she groans, flopping onto her back. She sighs, knowing it's her turn to apologize. "I'm sorry Lou, that I never told you. It's just, we aren't even officially dating, you know, and I'm in love with him. Ain't that the worst thing you ever heard? So pathetic," she mutters. Sometimes she thinks Joe returns her feelings, but he's never said anything and she's afraid to be the one that says it first. She'll have him any way she can, even if she ends up getting hurt in the process. "I didn't want you guys to judge me."

"You know we would never judge you, idiot! Except for when you bleached your hair without consulting me first. I mean, it looked great, you just should've asked me first," Louis rambles, getting side-tracked. "And, y'know, I think you should take the risk. Something tells me he feels the exact same way," Louis advises. The something being Joe himself, of course.

"I gotta agree with Lou, Taylor. I think you guys are made for each other, or some shit like that," Niall says, and he sounds so sure of himself that Taylor starts getting her hopes up. She sends Joe a text, and can't keep the dorky grin off her face when she gets a reply right away.

"Thanks guys, I love you bitches," she smiles. "Now, let's address the giant curly headed elephant in the room. Harry," she clarifies when she sees the confused looks on their faces. They're lucky they're so pretty. "So you had some rough luck, big deal. I think the letter you left was really cute. Did you give him your number?"

Oh, shit. Louis didn't even think about that. "No. I hate my life," he deadpans. "Tomorrow is just gonna be another day of looking for each other," he groans.

"That's super romantic though, if you think about it," Taylor reasons. "You're like, the mysterious princess and he's running around looking for you, and he only has this letter to go by. Kinda sexy, when you think about it."

"Shut up, Taylor."

"My bad."