Defenceless l.s

Forty Nine

Work had been a lot more pleasant lately and Louis had noticed his increasingly good mood, though it usually only lasted for a while. But that was fine, at least it's something. He hadn't seen Niall in a while and he missed him. He considered texting him but decided against it, he didn't want to seem clingy, he was probably just busy. Maybe he should ask Mr.Styles, he had asked him to finish a report for him about the financial statistics of a collaboration over the past months and figured he would work a couple of extra hours today. He didn't mind, it's not like he had anything better to do, he usually just got home to Zayn and watched tv or wasted time on 'youtube'. So a few hours a week wouldn't hurt, and it's not like he's alone. Mr.Styles also usually stays behind a lot these past weeks, leading them to spend a lot more time together.

Niall was right, he really is nice, maybe a bit strict but that's to but that's to be expected. Louis sipped his tea as he went over Mr.Styles' scheduled for tomorrow, he had his usual weekly meeting planned and of course the report he is supposed to help with. He turned off his computer as he watched how the place emptied as the clock hit five. He grabbed his stuff and went over to the office, knocking firmly on the door.

He took a seat at his desk and smiled at Mr.Styles. Even though these evening meetings or whatever you want to call them had become a bit of a runtime over the past couple of weeks, Louis couldn't help but feel nervous and he couldn't figure out why. He always had this ball of guilt weighing heavy in his stomach, and every time he thought about Liam that ball came crawling up his throat cutting off his airways. He shouldn't be here, he thought with a heavy sigh as he opened his laptop.

The report took a lot longer than anticipated and it was getting late by the time they were done. Mr.Styles had repeatedly told him to go home but he insisted on helping him since 'it would take a lot longer if he did it himself'. Harry soon realized that it was a useless battle and just let him stay even though he wanted him to leave. Not because he wasn't enjoying his company, because he really was. No, because he felt bad, feeling like Louis only stayed behind to help him.

Well, he did. He knew he did, because he was the one who asked him. But he didn't know how this whole thing worked. He had seen a lot of shows or books where people come out of abusive relationships and just can't say no and he didn't want Louis to feel like he had to stay. He shut off his computer and grabbed his stuff before they headed out. "What is that? Your diary?" Louis asked with an amused grin and pointed at the little brown leather notebook in his hand.

"No, it's my song book," he said and tucked it under his arm as they strolled down the empty hallway.

"You write songs?" Louis asked, surprised making Harry blush. He had never seen him blush before. How cute.

"Sometimes, they aren't any good though."

Louis giggled, "you're like a movie character," he said and covered his mouth with the back of his hand.
Harry thought that must be the most adorable sound he has ever heard.

"How?" He asked.

"Well, you are like this bad ass boss with a crazy ex and you write songs."

Harry laughed, "I'm not a bad ass boss, what even is that?" He asked, amused.

"I meant that you can be very strict," Louis explained, blushing a bit at his choice of word.

"Yeah," Harry sighed, "what movies have you seen with characters like that anyway?" He asked.

"Well I can't remember anything right now. You're putting me on the spot!" He said and threw his arms up in the air dramatically. "And I'm too tired to think."

Harry frowned, "I told you, you could've gone home."

"Do you want me to leave or something? What's with the constant reminder Mr.Styles?"