When Hate Turns Into Love (Larry Stylinson AU)

Chapter 20 ~ Do You Even Like Me?

"Oh, I see. My name's Luke, by the way," he smiled, extending his right hand.

I took it and gave it a shake before letting go. "I'm Louis. Do I know you?" I asked since he looked a tad familiar. I was pretty sure I had at least seen him once before.

"Not really, but we go to the same school and I may or may not have been the guy you kissed at a party a few weeks ago when that other guy came over and interrupted us."

I narrowed my eyes, thinking back to that time Harry had shoved me into a food storage at Adam's party. I also remembered telling him that the boy I had been kissing was a bad kisser, and that boy must've been Luke. "Oh," I said, grimacing slightly. "I remember you."

"You do?" He smiled, sounding a little too happy.

"Yeah. I bet I've seen you in school as well. You're friends with that Calum guy, right?"

"Yep, that's correct."

We talked for a while, which actually made all thoughts of Harry disappear for a second, something I also found great because the last thing I needed right now was to worry about my feelings for him. It turned out, however, that Luke was a really nice lad. He even offered me a ride home, which I accepted right away since I didn't really want to walk for half an hour all by myself.

When he dropped me off, he asked for my number, and I gave it to him without thinking too much about it. He was nice, and I could definitely need a friend right now, seeing as things were as they were at the moment.

I stepped into the warmth of my house only seconds later, calling on mum who was probably in the living room watching a rom-com or something on the TV. "I'm in here, love," she called back from, indeed, the living room.

I joined her on the couch after laying Harry's blanket in my room upstairs, and slumped back against the soft cushion, closing my eyes. "Are you alright?" She asked, concern making its way into her voice.

I nodded without opening them. "Yeah, there are just a lot of things going on right now."

"Like...?" She asked curiously.

I bit my bottom lip, finally opening my eyes to look into hers. "Feelings, mum. Something you wouldn't understand."

"Ooohhh, who might the boy or girl be?" She cooed, giving me a wink.

I slapped her on the arm, rolling my eyes. "Shut up."

She merely chuckled, turning back to the TV, much to my relief. I didn't know what I would've done if she had demanded an answer from me. I really did hate lying to her.

"Mum?" I asked after a few minutes of silence, the only sound that could be heard coming from the television.

"Yes, darling?"

"Can I ask you something?"

She turned to me with a suspicious look on her face, nodding slowly. "Sure. What's on your mind?"

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst reaction. "We've never really talked about it, but um... is there a reason why you wanted me to stay away from Harry Styles when I was a kid?" I asked slowly, watching as she tensed.

"Harry Styles? Uh, why are you asking me about him?" She mumbled, and I was almost sure I could see tears building up in her eyes.

"I um..." Shit, what was I supposed to say? "I... I still recognize him in school, and I saw him today, so it just crossed my mind that you never really gave me a reason to hate him."

She swallowed hard, looking down at her laced fingers in her lap. If I knew asking her this would affect her so much, I wouldn't have done it. I hated seeing my mum suffer because of me. "I'm sorry, honey. I just never thought you would ask me about him again. Not after all these years," she grimaced.