Summary: The 1D boys attended a Fourth of July party in the US. Unbeknownst to Louis, Harry is scared of fireworks.
Ignore all the celebrity names I dropped in this lmao
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Louis isn't quite sure why Olly Murs has decided to host a Fourth of July party in his Los Angeles home; he is British, after all. Additionally, he doesn't know why Harry keeps disappearing.
Harry. The boy who thinks Louis is too cool for him, and who is insecure about being surrounded by a bunch of half-naked girls and fit guys when he has abs that are only a little less visible and extra fat on his hips. Little does Harry know, he is the only person Louis cares about at this party--besides their band mates, of course.
"Has anyone seen my boy?" Louis asks a group of his friends.
"No, sorry," Ed Sheeran answers for the group; yet another Brit celebrating an American holiday.
"Last I saw he went upstairs with someone," Liam says from across the room. Louis nods, then makes his way through the crowded house, carefully stepping over red solo cups filled with alcohol, various groups of people doing loud drunk activities and having loud conversations, and most importantly, a couple making out next to the stairs.
Once upstairs, Louis sighs and begins knocking on each closed door in the long hallway. If nobody answers, he peeks inside just in case. Just as he is about to knock on the third door, he hears muffled moans.
"Shit..." he mutters to himself, then clears his head and keeps going. Each additional door he knocks on adds to his worry, because Harry just disappeared out of the blue. In fact, Louis had asked Harry to swim with him, and Harry agreed and said he wanted to change into his swimsuit. Louis knocks on the fifth and final door in the hallway, fully expecting to hear another stranger's voice.
"Occupied," Harry calls. Louis picks his head up and he feels refreshed, because he has finally found Harry. When he opens the door, he sees Harry sitting in a bean bag chair in the corner of the room. He also sees a girl sitting criss-crossed on the bed and facing Harry. Louis has to force himself not to jump to conclusions and be angry at Harry, but that is difficult when an attractive girl with a pixie cut and tan skin is sitting on a perfectly made bed and talking to Harry.
"So much for changing into your swimsuit then, hmm?" Louis cocks his head and slightly raises an eyebrow.
"Sorry, I got distracted. Um, Louis, this is Ruby." Louis looks at Ruby, who smiles and rises from the bed. She has tattoos and appears confident, and Louis has to force himself to look away.
"Ruby Rose, nice to meet you. I'm a big fan," she says, so relaxed that it almost comes off as cocky.
"Louis, nice to meet you. How do you know Olly?" Louis wonders, now somewhat skeptical.
"We worked on a television show together when he was in Australia last year. He's quite the guy. So is Harry, he's very charming, you better keep an eye on him," she teases.
"Yeah, I've got my eye on him," Louis says. While Louis feels tension building in the room, Harry looks like he could not be more amused by Louis and Ruby's interaction, namely Louis' unwarranted jealousy. "So has Harry given you his number yet? He's quite the flirt."
"That's sweet." Ruby chuckles, then sucks her teeth. "I bat for the other team. By the looks of it, I'm guessing both of you do as well," she quietly says close to Louis' ear, sending shivers down his spine. "But don't worry," she starts in a normal tone, "your secret's safe with me." With that, Ruby leaves the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.
"I bat for both teams," Louis corrects her in a mocking tone.
"Well I bat for her team. Wait, I'm not sure how that works actually... nevermind," Harry says.
"Why are you up here? There's a party going on downstairs," Louis says, shaking the conversation and the peculiar encounter.
"I got distracted," Harry simply answers.
"Mhm. Well, I think we missed our opportunity to swim, they're doing the fireworks soon. Come on." Louis extends his hand for Harry to take. Harry walks towards Louis and pecks his cheek, then musters up all the courage he has to come off as confident as he walks in front of his boyfriend down the hall.
"Do they still have those cocktail things?" Harry wonders; if he is going to get through this firework show, he's going to need alcohol.
"Yeah. I'll grab you one."
"That's alright. You head out there and find us seats, I'll meet you out there," Harry says.
"No, because you'll probably be antisocial and just stay inside." The house is much quieter than it was before Louis went searching for Harry, as mainly everybody is now outside.
"I won't, Lou," Harry basically whines, "that was just because I ran into Ruby. She's quite the talker, you know." No matter Harry's pleading, Louis doesn't budge. He grabs a can of fruit-flavored sparkling cocktail, something that should hardly be considered alcohol in Louis' humble opinion, then gives it to Harry before linking their arms and pulling him outside. It's dark, but a large bonfire and a few houselights illuminate the backyard and reveal the numerous blankets and chairs set up so everyone can watch the show.
"Let's sit here, love," Louis sits down on a large red and white striped blanket on the ground and pats the spot next to him. Harry sits down, then nervously sips on his drink and sees people beginning to light the fireworks. "I have to use the bathroom," Harry quickly tells Louis, then scurries back inside. Louis sighs, but decides to let Harry use the bathroom, trusting he'll come back.
"Oh, hey," Niall says when he suddenly spots Louis in the crowded backyard. He sits on the blanket and takes a sip of his beer, then looks up at the black sky decorated with thousands of shining stars.
"Hi," Louis bitterly says.
"Woah. What's the tone for?" Niall wonders, furrowing his eyebrows at Louis.
"Harry keeps bailing on me. I feel like I've been running around looking for him all night," Louis confesses as he plays with a small blade of grass on the blanket.
"Maybe he just wants to socialize," Niall shrugs.
"I doubt it. There's no one inside and he just ran to the bathroom. He's been gone for a while now, and the fireworks are about to start." Louis frowns when he realizes he will likely be watching the firework show alone.
"I don't blame him," Niall casually says before taking another swig of beer.
"Why don't you blame him?" Louis asks, now becoming defensive.
"Because he's scared of fireworks." A look of judgement displays on Louis' face when he processes Niall's words.
"No he's not. He would've told me that. We tell each other everything," Louis pointedly says.
"You two need to have a talk then, because he most certainly is scared of fireworks." Niall pats Louis' shoulder, then leaves him to mingle. Louis needs a minute to think, because he is baffled right now. Why has Harry never told him that he's scared of fireworks?
With the show about to start and Harry still not back, Louis jogs to the house and starts searching for Harry yet again; he starts by going straight to the bathroom door and quietly knocking.
"Uh, occupied," Harry says.
"It's me. Can I come in?" Louis asks. Nothing happens on the other side of the door for a few seconds, then Louis hears shuffling before the door opens.
"Hey."
"Why didn't you tell me you were scared of fireworks?" Louis questions. Harry looks stunned and he doesn't know what to say.
"I-I'm not," he meekly responds.
"Bullshit. Niall just told me. Why should I have to believe him over my own boyfriend?" Louis sounds accusatory, and Harry doesn't like it. When he takes a step back, Louis leans against the doorway and folds his arms in front of his chest.
"I'm not scared of fireworks. I'm not a child, Louis," Harry huffs.
"Fine. If you're not scared of fireworks like Niall said, then let's go back outside." Louis expects Harry to budge and admit that he's scared, but he doesn't. To his surprise, Harry leaves the bathroom and grabs his drink from the kitchen counter, walking ahead of Louis on their way back to the blanket.
Everyone is either sitting or standing while they look up at the sky, excitement growing as they wait for the firework show to start. Louis glances at Harry every couple of seconds, whose eyes keep switching from the sky to the beach. "Scared yet?" Louis pokes Harry's side, and Harry flips him off.
"No--fuck." Harry jumps and curses under his breath when a red firework explodes in the sky. Louis laughs at this, then returns his attention to the sky as more colorful fireworks go off. Each high-pitched scream of a firework jetting up into the sky before it explodes into a colored stream excites all of the partygoers...everyone except for Harry. "I think I'm gonna go get another drink," Harry says during a break in the fireworks.
"I think that's just another excuse to go inside," Louis says. "You can tell me if you're scared, bub." Louis plays with a lock of Harry's hair, then leans in and presses a soft kiss to the younger boy's lips. The fireworks continue right after the boys pull away, and Harry involuntarily squeezes Louis' hand. "Tell me you're scared and I can make it better," Louis softly says, now resting his head on Harry's shoulder. It is a very convincing offer, but Harry already feels like Louis is too cool to be with him; he doesn't need his dumb fear of fireworks to make Louis think he is a child.
A ceaseless succession of fireworks suddenly goes off, all erupting in the sky in gold, white, purple, red, and blue; each one is one or two seconds apart. Harry feels anxious, and he bites his lip and instinctively goes to plug his ears.
"I'm scared of fireworks! There, are you happy?" Harry admits, clearly not happy to have said the words.
"Ah, there we go. Thank you for telling me. Why'd it take you so long?" After the mass letting off of fireworks, the show slows down a bit to one firework every few seconds.
"Because I don't want you to think you're dating a kid. I mean, I'm only 19 and you're gonna be 22 this year," he frowns.
"Honey," Louis coos, "you know I don't care about you being younger than me. If I'm honest, I kind of like it."
"Really? Why? You're so cool and I'm just...well, I'm not."
"Enough of that. You are cool. I wouldn't hang out with you so much if I didn't think you were cool." Louis gives Harry a small smile, and Harry feels a little relieved. "So why don't you like fireworks?" He wonders.
"They're really loud. It's just a bunch of sudden loud noises, I don't see the appeal." Louis hums and watches the fireworks for a bit as he hatches a plan. When he has an idea, he smiles.
"Sit in between my legs." Louis stretches his legs in front of him and spreads them just enough for Harry to sit. Harry sighs, then shuffles between Louis' legs. Louis pulls Harry so close to him that his torso is pressed against Harry's back. He can't help hugging the boy for a moment, then eventually cups his hands over Harry's ears in an attempt to muffle the sound.
Among the fireworks, Louis hears Harry giggle, which makes him smile fondly and makes his heart skip a beat. Harry tilts his head back to rest on Louis' shoulder, then kisses his cheek before sitting back up. In return, Louis kisses Harry's neck before resting his chin on his shoulder.
Harry seems calmer and happier now that the fireworks aren't overwhelmingly loud. Louis is just glad that Harry confided in him, even if it was due to the fact that they are in the middle of watching Harry's fear. However, he still cannot believe that Harry thinks Louis is too cool for him; in Louis' eyes, there's no one cooler than Harry.
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Guys I'm getting a pixie cut in 18 days ahhhh (my hair reaches the middle of my back rn and has been that length and longer basically since 2014)
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