Your Addictive Heart || l.s

Fool Me Twice

"It's getting chilly." Olivia clutched Zayn's varsity  jacket closer to herself. She was being obvious.

Harry was caught between a rock and a hard place. Of course he wanted to play into it. Of course he wanted to ask her 'is that Zayn's jacket?' and jump for joy with her as she gave him all the details.

He wanted to congratulate his best friend for finally getting the attention of the boy she'd only been crushing on for a year, but how could he even give her a congratulatory smile after what Niall had dumped on him only hours ago?

He'd been hung up on the confession all day. How could he have been so blind? Niall was his closest friend.

He admitted he was so crushed that night, even Louis tried to lift his spirits. He told Harry he mostly felt guilty that he was jealous of his friend and not happy for Olivia. He said he needed some time away to get over the stupid crush but Harry knew this ran deeper than that.

"Yeah, guess summer's finally over." Harry decided to ignore the less subtle hint.

"Is Niall going to be here soon?" She looked around behind them hoping to see the broken-hearted boy.

"No, uh. We snuck out for lunch and he ordered something that messed with his stomach." Harry covered for his friend.

"Oh, you two weren't at lunch? Huh, I wasn't there. I ate lunch with Zayn. Just the two of us." She couldn't be more obvious.

"That's great." Harry smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"What's wrong? Louis drama?" She was rightfully skeptical.

"No, I mean...I just got a lot going on, I guess." He was finding it hard to not be honest with her but that wasn't technically dishonest.

"Right, I'm sorry. Your dad." She fiddled around with the charm on her necklace. "I forgot."

So, did Harry. His attire had been surprisingly well received by his peers, not that he'd make a habit of this look. He was trying not to think too much about it. It wasn't anything new to Harry. He knew how his Dad felt. He knew how to hide himself. They lived in perfect denial. It's only when he really thought about it that it got to him.

"'S okay." He perked up at the sight of Louis and the team filing out onto the field. Olivia perked up just the same as she caught sight of Zayn.

Somehow, Louis had been the only thing about the past couple days that had been good. He seemed to be holding strong for Harry and actually listening to him. He'd made an effort to be receptive of what Harry thought of his behavior. He'd been there for Niall when Harry couldn't. He'd been doing more than Harry gave him credit for. Maybe that night was just a fluke. Maybe they could make this work.

He smiled at the boy giving his team careful instruction. "Beautiful, isn't he?" He heard a husky voice behind him and a tall presence looming over him.

Anna and Olivia laughed as Harry shuddered in his place. They let the older boy sneak up on him.

Harry turned to Tito wearing a smug look on his face. His eyes still glued to Louis. What the hell was he doing here?

"You're not even going to give me a hug?" Olivia dragged him by the ear. He turned to give her a tight embrace. "I can't believe you didn't tell anyone you were in town!" Olivia greeted the old friend.

He hated the way he was the only one here who knew the truth. He hated seeing the way she embraced him. He hated...

No. He's not going to get the best of him.

"It's good to see you Tito." Harry greeted him hesitantly.

"You too." He tousled Harry's hair with an obnoxious grin on his face. Harry had always told him that he hated that. He wore a pretentious leather jacket and jeans that did his athletic body no justice. He didn't understand what everyone found so bloody attractive about him. "You look good, Harold. That's a good look on you." He eyed him up and down with a tactical subtlety.

"Thank you." Harry decided not to return a backhanded compliment. He didn't want to risk the half-truth going to his head.

"Why didn't you tell anyone you were going to be here? We could have planned something together." Olivia criticized.

Harry resisted rolling his eyes. "I told a few people." He turned his gaze to the field. "I didn't want to make all these different plans. Just enjoy my time home. Go with the flow." He didn't take his eyes off Louis. It's like nobody else could see it but Harry. He wanted to kill him.

He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe this at all. He felt like his stomach was falling through an endless pit. He hated that he was already blinking away tears.

"The guys are going to be so excited. We can't wait to hear about the college life!" Olivia was on the verge of getting on Harry's nerves with her sunny disposition.

"Yeah. It's good to see them killing it out on the field now though." He put an arm around Harry and he felt frozen.

Louis finally caught sight of them. Tito gave him a playful wave and all Louis could do was give Harry an apologetic look. Harry could hardly see through his teary eyes. Was this what he had to tell him? That he'd been seeing him again?

He had never felt so stupid. He was a damn fool. This whole time. He was just playing pretend. Refusing to see the man he gave his heart to for who he really was.

Harry pulled himself away from Tito's grip with a harsh tug. He started walking away and refused to look back. He didn't look back because he didn't deserve to see him cry.

"Harry, where are you going?" Olivia called out.

He didn't know where he was going. He only knew that he couldn't run towards Louis anymore, and that truth only made each step harder to take.

***
And suddenly, it all comes crashing down.

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