Spring was approaching at full tilt. Pollen was swirling in the air and the breeze wasn't as chilly. It was a particularly warm Thursday evening when Liam called Louis in absolute panic mode.
Louis had been in the middle of heating his T.V. dinner in the microwave, ready to spend the rest of his night curled up on the couch texting Harry, Netflix playing on the television for background noise.
"Louis I think I'm going to puke," Liam rushed out, his quick footsteps audible through the phone.
"Woah, chill out, Lima. What's wrong?" The microwaved sounded and Louis grabbed his dinner, burning his pinky in the process. He winced and ran it under cold water.
"I have a date tonight!"
"With Maya?" Louis asked.
"Yes, who else?"
"Okay..." He drawled. "You've been on a billion dates with Maya. Why are you so worked up?"
"Because I'm supposed to babysit Mrs. Sander's kids tonight and I totally forgot!"
Louis pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. This meant only one thing: Louis was babysitting Mrs. Sander's kids on this beautiful Thursday evening instead of curling up on the couch.
"You're lucky I love you, Liam."
***
"Where is it we're going, exactly?" Harry's sleepy voice questioned from the passenger seat. He was allegedly in the middle of his routine weekday nap when Louis called him from his driveway, telling him to wear something comfy and come outside because they were hanging out.
"Liam has a date with his new girlfriend and forgot he had to babysit tonight, so we're babysitting for him," Louis explained. He glanced over at Harry to see him beaming, grin so wide it probably hurt.
"You could have gotten me out of the house ten minutes quicker if you would've told me we're hanging out with babies, Louis!" He exclaimed. Louis giggled.
"Well, they're not necessarily babies, the youngest is five. But they're children."
"Doesn't matter. We're hanging out with children and I'm happy about it. I take back what I said about you waking me up from my nap."
"You mean when you called me a 'stupid fucking cu-'"
"Shh! You can't be speaking like that when children are around!" Harry interrupted.
Louis rolled his eyes as he pulled into the Sander's driveway. Potted plants decorated the pathway to their front door, which had a fancy 'S' anchored to it. White brick lined the entirety of the house, black wood door and shudders making it look modern and tasteful.
Harry was practically bouncing his way up to the door behind Louis, who found himself trying to contain his smile by sinking his teeth into his lower lip. Louis rang the doorbell, hyper aware of how close Harry was standing next to him. He heard laughter from inside and looked over at Harry, who looked back at him in complete delight.
Oh my god I like him a lot oh my god oh my god.
The door opened suddenly, yanking Louis out of his trance. He focused on the woman standing in the doorway, who was in the middle of putting an earring in her ear. She smiled confusedly.
"Hello, Louis, darling. I thought Liam was coming tonight?" Mrs. Sander questioned, glancing between Harry and Louis.
"He was supposed to, but something came up last minute and he called me to take over. Is it alright that I brought a friend?" Louis replied, gesturing to Harry.
"Of course, honey. Who's this?" She asked, holding her hand out to shake.
"I'm Harry, nice to meet you." Louis watched on fondly as Harry tried to restrain his excitement.
"I promise he's not on drugs, he just really likes kids," Louis reassured, even though Mrs. Sander seemed perfectly content with Harry's presence.
"No worries at all."
Mr. Sander appeared at the doorway holding her purse and sweater, politely explaining to the boys that they were going to be late if they didn't leave right then. Once the door was locked behind them, Harry followed Louis into the living room to meet the kids.
Upon their entrance, Emily, the youngest, jumped up and ran over to Louis, wrapping her short arms around his hips.
"Louis!" The other two shouted, following Emily's lead. Once they had all properly said hello, Louis began introducing them to Harry.
"Emily, Justin, Luna, this is Harry. He's going to be hanging out with us tonight," Louis explained carefully, unsure of how they would react to a new presence. They hadn't taken to Louis all that well at first.
Harry smiled his biggest, friendliest smile, and the moment Louis looked back down that the children, he knew they were hooked.
He bent down and they engulfed him in a group hug, Justin, the middle child, and Luna, the oldest, letting go first and leaving Emily to cling to Harry. She pulled away, only to hold his face in her small, pale hands and study him.
"You're pretty," she stated. She looked up at Louis, back to Harry, then back up at Louis again. "Isn't he pretty, Lou?"
Louis flushed immediately. He looked at Harry, who broke out into an even wider grin, if possible, but it had a bit of a smugness to it that wasn't there previously.
"Yeah, Em, he's very pretty," Louis agreed, his voice dripping with accidental fondness. He would've been embarrassed if Harry didn't blush and look down at his own feet.
Louis looked over at Luna, who was eying them in amusement. For thirteen, she was extremely intelligent. She could probably recognize Louis' crush the second she saw them.
Crush. Jesus fuck.
Emily let go of Harry and he stood to his full height, towering over all of them, including Louis. Louis watched him for a brief moment, the glee glimmering in his eyes, the stray curls poking out from underneath his headscarf, the happy tilt to his lips. He smiled before turning back to the kids.
"Alright, did you guys eat dinner yet?"
***
Even though Louis had insisted they ordered pizza, Harry was not going to budge. 'Kids need to eat healthy dinners, Lewis,' Harry had said. Louis gave in when Harry began searching the cabinets for ingredients.
Now, he was perched up on the arm of the leather sofa with the kids while Harry cooked in the kitchen. He could smell the chicken that was in the oven and it made his stomach grumble. He'd put his T.V. dinner in the fridge at home in favor of ordering pizza with the Sander's money. So much for that. Harry had better hope that he was the best chef in all of Kentucky, or else Louis was never bringing him around the kids again.
Plankton was in the middle of sneaking into the Krusty Krab when Harry called out that dinner was ready. Emily bolted out of the living room and into the kitchen, followed by a loud squeal. Either she was incredibly impressed by Harry's cooking skills, or Harry had picked her up. There were no other possibilities.
It turned out to be the latter. Louis walked in with Luna and Jacob in tow to see Emily almost upside down in Harry's arms, legs flailing in the air and a giant grin on her face.
"You're torturing my children," Louis observed. Harry smirked before setting Emily back down on the ground. "What'd you make, Chef Styles?"
"Chicken and rice," he announced proudly, puffing his chest out and resting his hands on his hips dramatically. His pinky nail had a smudge of black nail polish on it. It made Louis' insides feel cozy.
Louis hummed noncommittally, feigning disinterest as he ambled over to the stove. An empty pot and tray were sitting on top of it. He spun around to face Harry again, who was still standing there dripping with pride, for some reason.
"Bold of you to assume I'd call you all out here just to have you serve yourselves. What kind of housewife do you think I am?" Louis' stomach most definitely did not flip-flop.
He followed Harry into the dining room, where Jacob was already scooping a mountain of white rice into his bowl. Louis took in the simple display. Harry had managed to find a fancy plate to put the chicken on.
"So, since you're such an excellent housewife, you plan on doing the dishes while I stand by, right?" Louis asked after monitoring the table, looking over at Harry and fluttering his eyelashes as innocently as he could muster.
"Of course, my darling."
Harry ran his hand up and down Louis' back once before making his way over to his seat. Louis suppressed a shiver while he sat down in his own.
***
"Lou, can I ask you a question?" Luna asked softly as Louis was about to leave her to sleep. He and Harry had let them stay up a half hour later than usual with the promise that they wouldn't snitch to their parents. Harry was currently tucking Emily into bed -- who, much to Louis' dismay, had fallen in love with the boy instantly -- while Louis took Luna and Jacob. He'd just tucked Jacob in and was making sure Luna was alright.
"Sure, what's up?"
"Is Harry your boyfriend?"
He sputtered for a moment, unsure of how to reply.
"Um... no. Just a friend," he settled on.
"Special friend?" She probed sleepily.
He hesitated for far too long before answering with a breathy, "no." She stared at him blankly. He sighed.
"It's written all over my face, isn't it?"
She giggled gently and nodded. He ran a hand through his hair.
"Want to know the worst part?" Another nod. "I used to hate his guts."
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
"Why?"
"Wish I could tell you, but I've been asking myself the same thing." He hesitated again before giving in. It felt good to explain it to someone, even if said someone was a thirteen year old. "Especially as of late."
He could feel the blush rising up his neck, and he was thankful that the darkness of Luna's bedroom covered it.
"Goodnight, Luna."
She murmured her goodnight as he carefully closed the door. He took a deep breath and went back down to the living room, where Harry was bundled up in blankets surfing through Netflix. Louis' heart definitely lurched.
In an attempt to avoid an awkward where-do-I-sit situation, he took a running start and flung himself onto the couch, letting gravity decide where he landed. Harry squawked as Louis fell onto his legs.
Louis shuffled up onto the couch and put a bit of distance between them, that stupid tension of theirs ever so present again. Harry decided on 'Friends' and set the remote on the coffee table.
Five minutes into the show, Harry kept side-glancing Louis, and Louis was sweating.
Another five minutes and Harry had taken to looking at him head-on.
Five more minutes and Harry huffed loudly before sitting up, pushing his pile of blankets off of him and holding his arms out to Louis, positively pouting. Louis' heart was about to come out of his mouth, but he still played hard to get and looked at Harry with a question in his eyes.
Harry huffed again and rolled his eyes as he pulled a giggling Louis back down onto the couch with him. He wrapped his arms tightly around Louis' middle, holding him to his front, and slipped an ankle through Louis' legs for good measure. Louis rested his hands on Harry's arms, his face flaming. Harry had a hand right over his heart, and he could surely feel it pounding away. He'd be kind of embarrassed if it weren't for Harry's beating in time with his right against his back.
Louis wiggled further into Harry's warmth, nestling his head into Harry's neck. In turn, Harry nuzzled right back, pressing the underside of his chin to the top of Louis' head. Louis was encompassed entirely by Harry's body, and the butterflies in his stomach were flapping so hard he was sure they would try to escape.
He couldn't suppress the giggles that once again crawled their way up his throat.
"What?" Harry asked softly, laughter in his voice, as well.
"Nothing," Louis lied, giggles showing no signs of stopping.
"Come on, tell me," he prodded, squeezing Louis a little tighter before loosening his grip again.
"I'm happy," Louis finally blurted out, cheeks growing darker. Then it was Harry's turn to giggle. He pressed his smile into Louis' hair.
"Me too," Harry whispered once the giddiness subsided.
They laid there spooning for another hour before the Sanders came home. They'd sent the boys off with a wave and $20 each, refusing to give in to Harry's protests.
Louis drove Harry back to his house, thanking him profusely the entire time. Before getting out, Harry reached across the console and grabbed Louis' hand, squeezing it and wishing him a goodnight.
Louis made it around the corner before having to pull over and scream.
***
They had been neglecting Burger Girl and Louis only noticed when Niall, of all people, pointed it out.
Louis and Zayn were sprawled out on the sidelines of the football field while Harry, Liam and Niall ran around passing the ball to each other. The weather was getting warmer and warmer, and it was a sunny day in mid-April. Liam had begged Zayn and Louis to join them, but they declined in favor of watching the clouds. Inevitably, that turned into Zayn watching the clouds and Louis trying not to be caught watching Harry jog around with his shirt tied around his head.
He had to have done that knowing that Louis was going to see it. He took his shirt off far too slow for it not to be for show. And there was no way he wasn't flexing his biceps at least a little bit as he tied his hair up with it, feeling Louis' eyes roaming his backside. Louis heard a snort from beside him, and when he looked, Zayn was still staring at the sky but with a grin on his face.
It was during a water break that Niall brought it up.
"We haven't been to the diner in a while," Niall said, bending over to sit criss-cross applesauce on the ground next to the boys. The rest hummed in agreement.
"You're right. My aunt has been asking where we've been," Harry piped up from about a foot away from Louis. Louis looked up from staring at Harry's abs in sudden interest.
"Aunt?" He asked. It turned out that Louis was not the only one ogling, because he caught Harry just in time to see him eyeing his thighs, which were still splayed out on the grass.
"Yeah, her name is Shannon. We're pretty close. Niall and I used to go there a lot more when we were younger. She always served us the new stuff."
I wonder if she ever mentioned me.
"I am kind of hungry," Liam noted. "You guys want to go now?"
So that was how Louis ended up squished in the middle of Harry and Niall at their booth. He felt severely inferior sandwiched between two brawny football players, like he was some twiggy pop star with a pair of bodyguards. But then he remembered how Harry had literally hid behind Louis the day prior when he noticed a spider on his wall, and then Louis felt a bit less petite.
Louis had called Shannon out on her failure to inform him about her relation to Harry, to which she replied, "I overheard you talking about him once and I didn't want to risk my unrivaled reviews."
"I bet you can imagine my surprise when I saw the five of you tumbling out of the same car," she had added.
Louis could feel the warmth of Harry's arm behind him, which was resting on the backrest. It wasn't touching him and it was reaching all the way over to Niall's shoulder, but it still gave him butterflies when he noticed it.
He and Harry had been hanging out quite frequently recently. Harry blamed it on Niall's new fling in the beginning, but that ended soon enough and their hangouts never stopped. He'd even slept over at Harry's once. Well... only because his car wouldn't start again and he had to wait until the morning for insurance to come. He slept on the living room couch and woke up at seven A.M. to Harry's mother getting ready for work.
When he got home early that afternoon, Lottie had been sitting at the kitchen table waiting to hear every detail. He gave her the finger and continued up to his bedroom.
So they were getting close now. Harry knew about Louis' little ticks and Louis knew about Harry's little insecurities. That was about as far as it went. They were friends. Louis was happy.
Except he still did feel a bit giddy every time Harry was nearby -- take, for example, right then: Harry's arm three inches from Louis' body.
"Alright boys, here we are," Shannon announced as she came over with a tray full of food. Plates were handed out and she sauntered away, stopping at a nearby table to check if everything was alright. The boys dug in immediately, having been more hungry than they thought.
"Do you guys think we'll still visit here after we go off to college?" Niall wondered after a long stretch of comfortable silence.
Now that was something Louis had not thought about in a while. Had it been the beginning of the year, it would've been on the forefront of his mind, especially with his english class. It was his constant reminder. The thing that got him through the period. College wants me to take this class. As if college were some sort of authoritative figure in his life.
"A writer can write from anywhere in the world. Until I round up enough cash to move to a penthouse in Italy, I'll be here," Louis joked nervously, lightening the topic before it could get heavy. "Whether or not you boys join me is up to you."
The boys chuckled softly.
"I think I'll be here pretty often, also. I'm not planning on going far," Liam spoke. "I already got into Bellarmine and I think I'm going to stick with it."
"I'm still waiting to hear back from that art school I applied to in Cincinnati. I'm thinking I might stay in the area if I get in, maybe find a roommate and get an apartment," Zayn explained.
It became glaringly obvious, then, that they'd never broached this topic for some reason. They were seniors, after all, almost nearing graduation.
"I applied to more colleges than I can count on one hand, so I have no idea where I'm going yet," Niall spoke. "How about you, Harry?"
Louis only then noticed how quiet Harry had been throughout the conversation. When he looked over at him, he realized that he was sitting awfully still and a little pale in the face. He shrugged before speaking.
"I'm not too sure yet, either. I have a couple I'm leaning toward, but I haven't totally decided yet."
Due to all the time Louis had been spending with the boy recently, he knew right away that he was withholding an important piece of information. But the other boys had taken that and moved on, so Louis wasn't going to question him about it. Harry seemed to move on rather quickly, as well, having been grateful for the change of subject. He decided not to stress over it, figuring that he would be told eventually if need be.
Once they finished eating, they found themselves arguing lightheartedly over football teams that Louis wasn't necessarily interested in. He was simply just hyper focused on Harry's arm, which had smoothly wiggled its way between the backrest and Louis' back. His hand was secured around Louis' waist and tightened a bit whenever Harry had a point to prove in his conversation.
Even as they left Burger Girl, Harry kept his arm wrapped around Louis until they reached Liam's car. He squeezed his hip once more before dropping his arm. He chose to ignore Liam and Zayn's teasing glances.