Idk if anyone's reading but I'll just keep publishing, anyway..
To forget all about Eraser's troubles, the members of the One Direction groupchat decided that they were going to go to Coldstone and get murdered by sugar. This was obviously a bad idea, seeing as Zayn was slightly lactose intolerant, Liam hated how unhealthy and sugar-filled their dessert was, both Harry and Niall would definitely be on sugar highs within minutes and lastly, Louis was busy trying not to think of the teenager that had stopped them on their way to the mall earlier.
Apparently, there was a picture up already of both of them kissing at the spot Louis met up with Eleanor, garnering a lot of traction. It had only been some minutes since they left, the smaller of the two was completely stunned that people were now looking at his back on the internet, although his face couldn't be seen from that angle. Harry noticed Louis' discomfort and said he wasn't the one in the picture but that didn't deter the person, who slyly asked why he had on the same shirt. Neither of them had an answer to that.
Harry opted to take a picture with them so he could get back to his day and after gushing about how brave he was for standing up to the Royal Family and being independent, they were once again left alone. He glanced at Louis but he gave him a shrug and smile, throwing an arm over his shoulder and pulling him closer when Harry frowned. Harry caught on that he was faking it but the closeness made his mind go fuzzy and he decided they could discuss it later, excited about having a fun day with his closest friends.
It made Louis smile, how easy it was to use Harry's attention span to his advantage. Now, he could think in peace without anyone worrying about him. It was all in all very weird to be noticed by a stranger but he tried to focus on how this would all blow over, soon. Seeing Harry giggling and jumpy would certainly take his mind off things, he thought as he lowered his head and gazed at his fingers once they were in Liam's car.
Louis wasn't shy or socially anxious, he could stand his ground when it came to dealing with people but as a man who had lived rather reclusively for a good chunk of his life, he hated that his anonymity could be swiped away so fast thanks to the net. It had him fidgety and irritated, although he was determined to bottle it up so he didn't ruin everyone's fun.
Luckily, Harry and Niall were having a very serious and in-depth conversation about the flavours they had tried and sharing their opinions on each so he remained unnoticed in the back with them. Right until Liam suddenly swerved, parking the car off the road and looked right at a confused Louis through the rearview mirror.
"Li...?"
"What? Sorry. I can't drive, right now. I'll be okay but can someone just... Take over?" He was out of luck, there.
Louis hadn't bothered to get a driver's licence when he finally got out of juvenile detention because he didn't go out much and didn't need it, Harry had drivers most of his life so he had never even considered it, Niall was more than content using his bicycle to get people their deliveries and move around and lastly, Zayn and his ADHD had failed the driving test twice before he just gave up on trying, not really interested in learning anyway. So they all looked at each other at a loss, except Zayn who was staring at Liam, biting his lip when he heard one shuddering breath, then another.
"Leeyum, snap out of it. Please snap out of it... Breathe for me, yeah? You're hyperventilating a little... What's wrong?"
"Can't. Can't. This is my fault. I kept thinking of where I recognised her voice. Eleanor's. She came to the club weeks ago, looking for you in a fake blonde wig. She knew my name, she knew yours and it slipped right over my head. God, I've been an idiot, all this wouldn't have happened if I just paid attention and now you're... You're..."
Liam, like Louis, was a protector type. The difference was that while Louis' came off more aggressive, he was the mother hen friend that worried about everyone's safety and tried to keep them on the straight and narrow as much as he could. Louis definitely didn't want him breaking down over this so he reached over and rubbed Liam's shoulder. He had hoped no one noticed what was going on with him but clearly, his roommate did, having lived with him long enough to know that was a more uncomfortable experience for him than he let on.
"Liam, it's okay. The most important thing is that Harry's alright. It'll all die down, eventually." He hoped Liam would understand he was trying to deflect the conversation from himself but that didn't happen.
"It's not Harry I'm worried about, I know he's going to be fine. It's you. You're my best friend and now you're going through this and someone just recognised you on the street and I know you hate that and if I had just paid better attention, we could have had the upper hand on this Eleanor bitch and none of this would have happened in the first place and- fuck, Lou, I'm so sorry."
"Stop being... Weird."
"I fucking love you, idiot, I'll be as weird as I want and you're going to deal with it." Liam took off his seat belt and threw his arms around Louis, the size difference and limited space between the two making it a little tight but he did so, anyway. This wasn't the first time Louis had been hugged, of course but he suddenly realised that in the course of trying to support Harry through this, he hadn't processed his own emotions about everything. And yet, Liam could tell he was struggling. The words "I love you, too, idiot" were on his lips as well but he hesitated, choosing to hug Liam back instead.
"You've never hugged me back, before..." Ugh. Why was he smiling so hard? This tall muscular man was the literal definition of a golden retriever pup. Louis rolled his eyes and put his hand on Liam's face, pushing him away.
"Whatever. Don't make it weird." Liam sat back down and Zayn gave his arm a gentle squeeze that caused him to flush, slightly. Louis chuckled at their antics. They were really shitty at hiding how in love they were but he was beyond happy for them and didn't mind waiting for them to share their little "secret" whenever they were ready to.
"Aww! The Lilo bromance is so beautiful, brotp!!"
"Okay, Horan, we really need to have a discussion about these names-"
"Yes. They are wonderful. That was a lovely conversation, Lou, thanks for complementing the fabulous creativity of my brain- now on to more important shit; ice cream!"
They were all waiting on the queue when Harry suddenly remembered that there was a special kind of face cream he had that had finished up. Zayn arched a brow as they left, mouthing a "good luck" to Louis that he didn't understand. But then they were in the pharmacy with a basket full of the most random shit that he had to lug around and he understood completely.
"Harr, I know you're born with a diamond encrusted spoon in your mouth and all but you're killing me, here. You do not need all this crap-"
"Wh- yes, I do! It's not my fault this pharmacy has got an amazing cosmetics section! Don't blame me, blame them. Them," he said, smiling sweetly and kissing his cheek when Louis narrowed his eyes at him. Fuck. Great, now he was smiling. And Harry was smiling too, but a smile that said he knew exactly the power a little sugar had on Louis. He grumbled to himself about how he still needed to buy that hoodie but followed Harry blindly, pausing when Harry froze right in front of someone.
"Harry? Harry Styles? Shit, is it really you? It's been way too long!" As he was pulled into a hug that lasted way too long, Harry tried to force a smile the moment Louis got started glaring daggers at this dipshit man's head.
"Um... Sorry sir, you've got the wrong person. That's not me. Now, if you'll excuse us-"
"Oh, please, you're all over the blogs and entertainment news sites. It's gotta be almost impossible to forget that face, anyway, especially when I've had it servicing me-"
"Can you please not? I'm walking away, Brady." Louis wanted to butt in but it was more of Harry's fight than his own and he respected that. Still, he was ready to throw hands if needed. Harry took Louis' wrist, both of them getting more anxious and more ready to kill respectively when Brady replied.
"Right. Like you tend to do. I really thought that when you said you weren't going to leave, you meant it."
"I did mean it but lucky me, you treated me like shit so much that I actually managed to see past the bullshit that blinded me to your faults and run for the fucking hills. And the worst part is you were probably one of the nicest, compared to the others I dated - well, more like got used by - in the past. Let's go, Lou. You were right. I'd rather not stick around here, anymore so let's pay and go." Harry forced a smile and turned away, both he and Louis freezing up when Brady slapped his ass.
"Have fun with him. Best sex toy on the market!" Louis arched a brow, chuckling and walked past Harry who was still in shock from being handled like that. It had been a long time since he was treated like an object to be aggressively touched whenever his partner pleased and he could feel tears forming in his eyes, yet to notice Louis had left his side. Their eyes met and he took a step closer, just building up the rage at the man's amused huff.
"What do you want, little guy? Got something to say to me?"
"Well, compared to some of the guards I faced when I was locked away, big guy, you're nothing." Louis threw a single punch and Brady stumbled back, not looking where he was going. He crashed into a stand and both went down together, medicine bottles breaking and the liquid causing a strong smell to rise. Louis placed their basket down on the floor just as the pharmacist asked what was going on, leaving the counter to meet them at that aisle and shocked at what she saw.
"Sorry, this guy just walked slam into some products. Quite clumsy of him, I must say. What a nasty fall that was that you took, sir. Ouch. Lucky you're at a pharmacy, eh? Here. I'll pay for the damages... Might as well, I doubt he's got the money to afford it. How much will it cost?"
"I... Uh... God, sir, it's a lot. I can't lose this job. I can't. My son? Darnell? Oh God, my parents- fuck." Harry gave her a hug once she started crying and Brady still lay there in shock, hollering abuses. She had to call security when he started to rise and they took him out, still hollering at them and spitting venom. It was all pretty amusing to Louis and Harry smacked his arm when he laughed Brady out of the store.
Harry watched Louis who didn't even flinch when he saw the price, rolling his eyes when Louis refused to let him pay for anything. What was it with men and their stupid pride, he had more than enough money to pay, instead. But Louis was already sending the money to the girl's account so she could send it all to her boss.
"Sir, you... Sorry, there's an extra hundred here, sir. I think you... I think you-"
"Oh, that's for you. An apology for the drama I caused. See, that shitty man put his hands on my Harry and if I didn't punch him, I definitely would've killed him instead. Just straight up strangled him till he died-"
"Louis!"
"Sorry, sorry. Look, you just keep that extra amount, okay? It's for you and your family. Call it an apology for the mess and stress I brought in, today. I don't usually cause scenes like that, it's just..." there was something about Harry. She was speechless, rambling from gratitude as she hugged them both and Louis tried to hide his discomfort at how touchy she was, leaving the store once he had assured her that he was certain he wanted her to have it. He gripped Harry's hand and tugged him out. Harry waved to the still-dazed woman behind them, both giggling as they made their way back to Coldstone.
"I cannot believe you did all that."
"Did what? Britney back there was really clumsy, he should learn to be more careful and have some fucking respect and sense next time. Although there better not be a next time cos I will not stop swinging-"
"Louis! God, that was a little too far, don't you think? He could've gotten badly hurt."
"That's what I wanted, fucking universe decided to save him from cracking his head open like I did, though. Can't for the life of me imagine why. I know I'm a shit person and I've committed murder and all that but for fuck's sake, m'not that bad, why does he get lucky?"
"You're so silly," Harry whispered. Then he frowned, poking Louis' cheek and taking his hand so he could study it closely. "Just look at that. I'm sure your knuckles hurt right now. You could've gotten hurt, Lou, he's huge."
"Don't give a damn. Also, was that your type, before? Huge idiots?"
"Oh, I slept with a lot of people, Lou. And I don't have a type so no need to worry." Louis rolled his eyes but secretly, he was glad to hear it. "Practically all men cos well... Fuck the Royal Family and all that. I'm not even sure about my sexuality, really, I just want who I want. And since I like you, I feel inclined to tell you I don't want you punching random men and sending them flying just because they're rude to me."
"Excuse me, what? If I don't then what the hell would I do, instead? Stare? Tell them thank you for being assholes to the nicest person on the planet?"
Harry sighed. Clearly, he wasn't getting through to him. "Thank you. I know you were helping me and I do appreciate it but I'm serious. He deserved it but I don't want to ever encourage them to have a reason to put the blame on me. I just want to be nice to everyone and well, if they don't appreciate that, I move on. That's how I roll. Treat people with kindness and all that."
"Whatever. I can't promise I won't punch anyone that does something stupid like that to you but I can promise I will try to swear at them like a sailor instead of resorting to violence."
"Thank you. That poor woman is gonna have to clean up that mess, now. Also... Wanna talk about how you could pay for all that, plus extra as a self-sustaining college student?"
"Eh. I've got money for days actually, can't you tell by how rich I'm dressed? See this shirt? Cost me a thousand pounds. I swear it." Harry giggled and pecked his cheek once they reached the guys, taking a seat next to Niall with a smile on his face. Zayn was halfway through his, Liam was going slowly and his was all gone.
"Where's ours?"
"Apparently, Zee knew you would take your sweet time so you can go buy 'em yourself."
"You spent way too long away, compared to the amount of stuff you bought. Harry, Louis, what were you two doing?" Zayn asked, taking another lick. Niall took in their secretive glances, both leaning against each other a bit with slightly flushed faces and put two and two together.
"Oh my gosh, eww! Like... Dayum, you two are the definition of wild child but you couldn't wait till you got home, at least?" Louis facepalmed and tugged Harry to the counter, ordering for him as the lad whispered his ice cream needs into his ear. He went with a simple vanilla that had Harry gasping for air because there were too many flavours to pick something so plain but Louis was more than ready to just get back home. He dragged Harry along as he began to slander his treat, gesturing for the guys to follow them to the car.
Hours later, they were all gathered around Harry's huge TV, arguing over the game on TV. Louis' phone buzzed suddenly, strange because everyone he really talked to sat all around him but he dismissed it. But then his phone buzzed again and again and he finally pulled it out, attracting the attention of all the guys when he physically choked on pure air.
"Uh... Guys? We've got a bit of a problem?"
Eleanor had kept his identity a secret in her blog, only talking about how Harry was with a man with their blurred pictures. The problem was, darling Brady didn't give a damn about doing such a thing. He had a YouTube video up, now trending called 'Runaway Harold Styles Junior, Marquis of Cheshire's Lover, EXPOSED?!'
It spanned for five minutes, starting with the picture of them kissing earlier. Then, he put Louis' full name and picture out there. Afterwards, a tearful Brady called Louis out for assaulting him and asked for a response with promise to get the video evidence from the place it had happened. He suggested subscribing because Louis had been locked up for a reason that would be touched upon in the next video and was a very dangerous and out of control man. It was, in conclusion... A lot.
They watched it to the end, Harry glancing at Louis all through as he stared blankly at the screen. There weren't many comments yet but the top ones had multiple comments arguing with each other underneath. Everyone was talking about him. Louis wanted to pass out, shrink out of existence, even the boys were too focused on him. He wanted to disappear. He needed to.
And it was crazy just how far Brady had gone. He figured out the only social Louis' used, Twitter, encouraging people to get him cancelled. His phone was buzzing because of all the traction around his tweets. Each was a bit of original poetry and everyone had something to say, both positive and not.
And then Niall yelled to everyone that Eleanor's blog had posted something and he disappeared into his room, locking the door admist this storm brewing over his head. The insults scared him and once again, he remembered why he hated existing, so much. For a moment, hanging with the boys and Harry, it wasn't so bad but a weight was now resting on his chest, choking him up when he tried to attempt letting out a single sound. He couldn't breathe.
"Lou...? Lou? Open up... I won't enter if you don't want me to bother you but I don't want you to stay there alone. Please open the door. Lou, please! It's Harry, you know I can't leave you there by yourself."
He smiled to himself bitterly, pulling out his phone. He opened up his Twitter, glancing at the red '99+' on the notification icon for a moment.
Don't be scared for me, love.
Maybe this is all what I deserve.
Underneath, there was already an argument ensuing over whether he was talking about Harry or Eleanor. Eleanor? Of all people? Where would they get that idea from? It seemed whatever she just posted had created a new ship, Elounor. The thought of it made him sick to the stomach but he knew he was about to feel a whole lot worse when the doorbell rang. Zayn growled the moment he opened it.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Elevator?! And with... Him."