"Niall promised me he'd teach me to play FIFA sometime soon. I used to really like playing football, but haven't played in a long time and he says FIFA is almost like actually playing it yourself! And he says there are so many movies I have to see too and promised he would take me to the movies one day. He also wants me to try Chinese food - I've never tried it before, but he says it's really good and that we could get some the next time he comes over. That's okay right? He also said that I should try sushi, but I'm not so sure about eating raw fish... have you ever had sushi before Harry?"
Harry just grunted as an answer and Louis apparently thought it was good enough and started rambling about something Liam had taught him while Harry was training with Zayn a few days back.
After Harry had been nice to him yesterday after the fight, Louis had really come out of his shell. He had woken up with a smile on his face and talked to Harry without getting all teary eyed, and stuttering seemed to no longer be a problem. Harry wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad thing though.
It was of course nicer that he didn't have to walk on eggshells around the kid anymore, but after having been living alone for years, it was hard to suddenly have to share the flat. Not to mention with someone who turned out to be pretty much the opposite if Harry. And the fact that Harry had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, even grumpier than usual, didn't help the situation.
He didn't want to snap at Louis though, it would ruin the progress and it actually was somewhat nice to have the younger boy around. Harry probably just had to get a little more used to it. He could think of worse people to live with than Louis if he had to be honest - not that he would ever admit that.
"Harry?" Louis' soft voice broke Harry out of his thoughts and he turned to look at the kid, who was suddenly sitting almost right next to him.
"What?"
The boy blushed a deep red and looked down at his hands as if thinking about whether to ask or not, when his stomach decided to do it for him and growl loudly, making Louis bow his head in embarrassment as his ears turned red.
All the talk about food must have made him hungry and he did only eat a piece of toast for breakfast, so it wasn't surprising he would get hungry earlier than usual. Normally Harry would go and make something for Louis, knowing the kid was completely useless in a kitchen and would only end up making more of a mess than actual food, but at the moment he couldn't really be bothered to get up. For some reason he was in a real shitty mood.
Looking up again, he found Louis staring at him with his big, blue eyes, looking at him a bit like a dog waiting to be fed, and Harry raised a brow at him. "What are you waiting for then? I assume you know where everything is, I'm not your servant!" His voice came out harsher than he had wanted and Louis visibly cringed away from Harry, a wounded look in his eyes.
Before Harry could say anything - probably try to apologize but end up snapping again because he sucked at dealing with feelings - Louis quickly scurried off to the kitchen with a small whimper.
Harry sighed and hit his head against the backrest of the couch, cursing silently at himself. He really was bad at this whole 'being nice' thing. He couldn't help it, he was just naturally grumpy - like he was suffering from a chronic bad mood. And honestly he shouldn't really feel bad, Louis wasn't supposed to be his friend, but again, he couldn't really help it. Being frightened constantly wasn't something he wished for anyone. He really just needed to pull himself together and at least be a little nicer while Louis was with him.
Just as he was getting up to go check on Louis and hopefully prevent him from making a mess, the shrill of Harry's phone stopped him in his tracks. He frowned at the sound of the personalized ringtone - Simon.
Not wanting Louis to overhear the conversation in case it was about him, Harry went into his bedroom and closed the door before answering his phone with a cold "what do you want?"
"Harry Styles," Simon greeted, his usual joking demeanor replaced by an ice-cold businessman. "I am not very pleased with you at the moment."
"And what have I done to upset you this time?" Harry grumbled, unfazed by Simon's chilling tone. He knew what he had done wrong but Simon's anger was completely unnecessary.
"I told you to bring the boy to the fight yesterday and yet when I need him, you're not there. Fortunately I found out before I went and made a fool out of myself, but I still had to come up with an excuse to why the trophy boy wasn't present as promised. Care to explain?!"
Harry fought the urge to yell at him and settled for nearly ripping open his pillow. As expected Simon wasn't happy about how Harry had chosen to cope with the situation, but the fact that he called him out on it made Harry want to punch something. He was questioning Harry's judgment.
"You told me to take care of Louis and that's what I did. People were riled up last night to the point where something was bound to go wrong. And I may be able to knockout someone on the ring, but even I can't fight off 200 drunk and horny old men who would undoubtedly decide to try and get to
Louis if he got too close. I just followed orders and you know I'm right, so fix your wounded ego and move on!"
For a while Simon didn't say anything and Harry knew he had won this round. Then the older man sighed and cleared his throat, making a noise of agreement.
"Very well - don't let it happen again! And speaking of your fighting, I trust you at least stayed to watch the last fight correct? We need to discuss how to make your matches more... thrilling. Mr. Parker knows what he is doing, the crowd loved him, they want more. Unless we do something, he is going to take our money source with him back to Manchester. That means you have to - "
"I am not going to be your little show dancer in the ring!" Harry growled furiously, cutting him off. "Say whatever you want old man, but that is not going to happen! If people don't like the way I fight, they can fuck off - you'll make enough money even with only half the income you're getting now."
There was another tense silence from the other side and Harry could almost feel Simon's rage seeping through the speakers. He was happy he wasn't in the same room as Simon at the moment - very few people got away unharmed with pissing off Simon.
"If I wasn't so fond of you Harry, I would have fired to you on the spot - something I am still considering. I bet I could find a good replacement somewhere. Maybe I should even relocate the kid too, make sure he'd with someone who knows how to follow orders."
Something snapped in Harry and there was a sound of fabric ripping as the pillow he had been holding on to split open, feathers flying everywhere. First he questions Harry's judgment, then he criticizes his fighting style, wanting to replace him, and now he wants to take away Louis, no doubt placing him somewhere he will be miserable and mistreated. The two of them may not be friends yet but he could not let that happen.
"You will not touch him!" Harry's voice was low and threatening.
Simon let out a bark of laughter. "My, my Styles, you going soft on me?" he crooned mockingly. "Maybe it would be better to relocate the kid before you turn into a puddle of mush."
By now Harry was fed up with listening to Simon's bullshit and wanted nothing more than to hand up on him and break something. A lot of something. "Let's make a deal old man," he suggested, taking a deep breath to try and calm down so he wouldn't say anything he would regret later. "My next fight is in a week - if enough people show up, after your standards of course, you'll get off my back. They have seen Parker fight, so they should have picked a favorite by now. Deal?"
"You are one infuriating young man Styles," Simon grumbled. "But I like a good bet. If you lose, you'll do as I say. We have a deal! - And one more thing, after last night's fiasco I had to tell everyone that Louis was sick and had to leave early. So stay away tonight. That's all." And with that he hung up.
Harry resisted his urge to hurl his phone at the wall and ran a hand through his hair, tugging on it frustrated. Simon really knew how to push all the wrong buttons.
At least he didn't have to go tonight. Even though it was a good idea to watch the competition fight to study their technique, he was pretty sure they only real threat was Rex and it was quite a bore to just sit and watch.
He stormed into the living room and sat on the couch, crossing his arms. It probably looked childish, but he didn't give a fuck.
Louis was back in the room too, but he had returned to his corner. He wasn't crying, but his eyes had a glossy shine to them, so it was probably only a matter of time - meaning it was only a matter of whether or not Harry could refrain from saying something hurtful to him. At the moment though, he shouldn't keep his hopes up.
A weird sound broke the silence and Harry frowned, looking around. He couldn't see where it should have come from, so he shrugged it off. Then it was there again and his eyes landed on Louis, who was suddenly looking very uncomfortable and fidgety, still refusing to look at Harry. For a third time the sound was there, this time accompanied by a little jump from Louis. He had the hiccups.
Harry sighed and put his attention back on the TV. If he tried speaking to Louis now, with the mood he was in, he would end up making him cry. It was better to wait until he had calmed down. He could still feel his blood boiling after his conversation with Simon.
He really tried focusing on whatever show was playing to try and calm down, but as minutes went by, Louis' hiccups still hadn't gone away and the constant little 'hic' from the small boy was driving him crazy. His foot was tapping on the table and his fingers was drumming on his thighs. He was seconds away from exploding.
The last drop was when Louis hiccupped again, this time giggling a little to himself after. Harry snapped and before he could stop himself, he was on his feet, glaring it Louis, who was now looking up at him with wide, scared eyes.
"FOR FUCKS SAKE, DO YOU EVER SHUT UP?!" he roared and suddenly it was like a dam inside him breached and he let out everything he had been thinking about the last couple of days. "God you're so annoying! If you're not crying like a baby, you're talking like a fucking waterfall acting like a goddamn hyperactive poodle. I wish Simon had placed you somewhere else so I wouldn't have to look at your sorry little arse!"
As soon as the words were out, he regretted saying them. Tears were streaming down Louis' cheeks and he sobbed loudly before curling op into a ball, pressing himself even further onto his corner, trying to make himself as small as possible. And Harry felt terrible.
"Louis..." he started, taking a step towards the crying boy, but he shook his head and scrambled to get further away from Harry even though it was impossible because of the wall.
In theory he could just go over and grab the younger boy, force him to listen, but that wouldn't be fair and would only make Louis hate him even more. The corner was like Louis' room - he may not be able to close the door, but it was still his space and Harry should respect that.
He knew he should apologize, but he honestly had no idea how to. Saying sorry wasn't something he could ever remember doing. This time though, he would have to bite the bullet and just do it.
"Louis I... I'm sorry." Harry's voice came out squeaky and unsure, something that was very unlike him. "I... do... do you want some Oreos? You like those right?" He was pathetic and he knew it, but he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.
Louis kept on sobbing into his knees, ignoring Harry completely and Harry was beginning to panic a little. What do you do with a crying kid?
Once again, he went into his room and pulled out his phone. "Liam, I need your help!" he tried keeping he desperation out of his voice, but failed miserably.
"Harry?" Liam sounded surprised, and with good reasons. Harry had never asked for help directly.
"Yes Liam, it's me," Harry said frustrated. "Now come help me! Louis' crying and I don't know what to do!"
"... What did you do to him Harry?" Liam's voice was low and angry.
"Goddammit Liam, I blew up okay?! Now would you please get your arse over here or send Zayn or Niall or whatever. I don't know what to do!"
Harry was about to give up when Liam agreed grudgingly before hanging up.
* * *
Louis could hear Harry talking to someone in his room, but he couldn't pick out any words.
He wasn't crying anymore but he was still breathing irregularly, his breath hitching every now and then because he had cried so much. He sniffled and dried his eyes with the back of his hands. Harry had been so nice to him for a very short period of time and Louis figured he should have expected for him to blow up sooner or later. But he had really hoped for the future. He really liked having nice Harry around - he was someone Louis wouldn't mind living with for the time being.
He didn't know how long he had been in the corner when the sound of the front door being flung open suddenly echoed through the flat, and Louis looked around frantically, searching for a place to hide. He relaxed when a cheerful 'Tommo!' followed the sound of the door, Niall barreling into the room seconds later followed by Zayn and Liam.
Niall frowned when he saw Louis' state and immediately hurried over to him, pulling him into a hug while Zayn and Liam slipped into Harry's bedroom. Had Harry called them over?
"What did that meanie do to you?" Niall asked, cooing a little to try and make Louis smile.
Just thinking about it brought tears back to Louis' eyes and he sniffled a little. "H-he yelled at me... said I w-was annoying and t-that he didn't want m-me here..."
Shaking his head, Niall sighed sadly and patted Louis' cheek. "Listen Louis, Harry's never been good at dealin' with feelings. Anger is what he knows, and he's got a lot t'be angry about. 's probably hard to believe, but he's usually good at hidin' it. Sometimes it just flows over and he needs t'let it out - so if anythin' annoys him just a little bit, he blows up. Most of the time he doesn't even mean what he says, he just wants to... turn his anger against someone else than himself for a change, if that makes sense. 's why the lads 'n I have managed to stick around, we know not to take anythin' he says to heart when he's like that."
Louis looked at him surprised. Niall was rarely this serious and he had honestly not expected for him to say that.
He had heard a little bit of Harry's past from the boys when they weren't really thinking about what they were saying - they would always stop themselves once they realized what they were doing, but he had enough pieces to put together a bit of the puzzle, and it was surprisingly similar to Louis' own story. The part about having something to be angry about was certainly true. Harry had been alone for longer than Louis.
Suddenly feeling bad about not even listening to Harry when he tried to apologize, Louis got teary eyed again. Harry probably wasn't even angry all the time, just sad. And he covered it up with the anger so others couldn't see it.
"H-he did apologize," he then mumbled, wiping away the tears before they could run down his cheeks. He had cried enough already.
Niall gasped and pulled away to look down at Louis. "He did what now?" He looked genuinely shocked and Louis blinked confused.
"He said he was sorry," he repeated and Niall's eyes nearly rolled out of his head, a look of disbelief on his face.
"Jesus Christ, ye must be one special lad Louis, I don't think I've ever heard 'im apologize before." Niall's face split into a huge grin and he looked somewhat proud. "How did he do it? Did he say anythin' else?"
Louis giggled as he thought about it, realizing how funny it had actually been. "He asked if I
wanted some Oreos because he knows I like them."
A weird choking sound came from Niall before he burst into laughter and he rolled onto his side, pulling Louis down with him. Louis squeaked, shocked by his outburst, but couldn't help but laugh himself. The blonde looked hilarious with his face tomato-red and tears rolling down his cheeks.
"I would've killed 't see that! He must've looked so uncomfortable," Niall said as he had calmed down enough to talk in between laughing and pulled both of them up into a sitting position again. "Y'know what, if ye wanna make 'im really uncomfortable, hug 'im."
Just as Louis was about to protest, not really feeling comfortable with that, the door to Harry's bedroom burst open and Harry just about ran into the living room, followed by the two others. They obviously heard the laughing and wanted to know what was going on.
Louis glanced at Niall, who grinned mischievously and nodded his head towards Harry.
Slowly, Louis got up and walked towards Harry with a shy smile on his face, Harry standing frozen in the middle of the room, as if awaiting Louis' next move. He stopped in front of Harry and glanced up into his green eyes. Harry was obviously trying to keep his face free of emotions, but Louis could see a hint of insecurity in his eyes.
Remembering what Niall said about Harry not being good at dealing with emotions, he decided he would try and help him. Everyone deserved to be happy, even just a little bit. If Harry could be nice to Louis even if he didn't like him that much, Louis would be nice to Harry too.
So before he could back out, he did as Niall said and put his arms around Harry's waist, hugging him tightly just like Niall did to him when he was sad.