Don't let the storm slow you down, now honey, don't let the storm slow us down.
Louis placed his head on the steering wheel. Why did he come here so early? His flight didn't leave for another three hours. He turned up the volume on the radio, but it still didn't cover the sound of the rain pounding his windshield.
"Home," he whispered.
Pictures. There were pictures flashing through his mind, with unknown faces, unknown places, and unknown words spoken. But they were there, clouding his vision along with the tears that swayed back and forth underneath his eyelids, every blink pushing them past to trickle down his cheek. He bit his lip hardly, and that caused him to think of Harry. His soft, gentle lips just barely pushing into his, his forehead touching louis' with the perfect amount of pressure. He remembers how their noses brushed against each other, and how he held his breath until it was over.
He was holding his breath now. He released it, the sound disappearing into sound of droplets throwing themselves against the car, each one on its own path, somehow making it back to the lake, remembering where it belongs.
Where does he belong?
Louis shook his head, closing his eyes. "Here," he reminded himself.
He jumped when his phone rang in his pocket, letting out a sigh and pulling it out slowly. "Hello?"
"L-lou? I need help."
***
"How did this happen?" Louis asked softly, holding Harry's trembling hands. There was a gash on his wrist, and it was bleeding pretty badly.
"I was cutting, vegetables," Harry said quickly.
Louis quirked an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
Harry nodded quickly. "Yeah. Uhm, celery. I was hungry."
Louis looked down, gently pulling Harry's wrist under the running water. Harry winced a bit as the blood trickled down the sink, disappearing in streaks of red. "Well. Don't do that again."
He felt Harry staring at his face, and his cheeks burned. The ache he felt in his heart was so common now, he barely noticed it.
Louis unwrapped a band-aid after putting ointment across the cut, and he carefully pushed it onto Harry's wrist. "Are you not going anywhere for break?"
Harry shook his head sadly. "No, not exactly. I have a Twitcam thing I have to do in a few days, but other than that I was planning on staying home and watching movies, maybe writing a bit for my new book. I'm having a bit of writer's block on that, though."
"Drink your favourite French vanilla coffee. That might help." Louis commented without thinking, throwing the wrapper of the band-aid away before turning to the sink and washing his hands.
When Harry didn't respond, he turned around. Harry's eyes were wide, green and warm in the dim lighting of his bathroom.
"What?" Louis asked. "What'd I say?"
Harry just shook his head, biting his lip, and Louis suddenly had the urge to kiss him. But when he put his forehead against Harry's, closing his eyes, Harry pushed him away. "I need to be alone for a minute, Lou... I mean, Louis. I'm sorry."
"Wait! I have one question. Because I really need to know, like, right now."
Harry stopped and turned around. Louis thought he was beautiful. His broad shoulders, his tan chest and his skinny waist.
"What were you like when you were younger?"
Harry sighed. "I was in love." That's all he said before he walked out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, closing the door without a sound.
***
"Louis!"
Louis dropped all of his bags on the ground, collapsing to his knees on the floor and wrapping his arms around all four of his sisters. The melted into his arms and he felt tears prickle his eyes as Phoebe's hair brushed his nose and he smelled her strawberry shampoo.
"Hi nuggles," he said, his voice raw with emotion. "I missed you so so much."
Lottie and Fizzy pulled back first, letting Phoebe and Daisy hug him a little longer.
"Louis, you have to see Ernie and Doris!" Lottie cried. "They've gotten so big since you saw them last!"
Louis smiled widely. "Yeah, let me see those little cutie pies!" As if planned, his mum came into the entryway, carrying his two twin siblings (well, half-siblings). "Mum," he breathed, feeling the tears come back, a wave of emotions washing over him the minute their eyes met. "I missed you."
Lottie and Fizzy immediately grabbed the two wriggling babies, and Louis kissed each of their foreheads, blowing raspberries on their cheeks. "Hi bebees," he cooed. Then he felt Jay's warm hand on his arm, and he melted against her touch.
"Hi mum," he whispered, pulling her into a tight hug. She caressed his hair and cheeks, reminding him of when he was a little child. "I really needed to see you," he murmured into her shoulder.
"Well it's a good thing you're here," she smiled, holding him back at arm's length. "I see you're deciding to go clean-shaven now, hm?"
Louis blushed. "Yeah. Uhm... Har-Niall told me that it would look better."
Jay raised an eyebrow. "Har?"
"Harry," Louis admitted. "Do you know the writer I was obsessing over? That Harry."
Jay's eyes widened. "He... You did? Harry Styles?"
Louis nodded, and the look in his mum's eyes was unreadable. "What?"
She shook her head quickly. "Nothing." When Louis frowned at her, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Let's just eat dinner, yeah? You came right in time, Lou."
Louis gave her a hesitant smile. "Okay." He turned to grab Phoebe and Daisy's hands. "Let's go wash our hands and then eat dinner, okay nuggles?"
Phoebe laughed. "Okay, Louis. We're eleven, you don't have to still call us that." She flinched when Daisy lightly slapped her cheek. Daisy had her eyebrows furrowed, and her bottom lip poking out. It was adorable.
"No. I like when he calls us that."
Louis smiled at her, before dragging them both towards the kitchen.
***
"You still haven't changed my room," Louis grinned, sitting down on his bed. Jay walked in behind him, shutting the door quietly.
"Yeah. It's so I can come in your room when I'm really missing my baby boy, and I can just... kinda be with you for a while. Because everything in here reminds me of you." She picked up the picture frame off his desk. It had him and his little sisters on their first day of school. "I love this one."
Louis looked at her. "Mum?"
She put the frame down carefully, before sitting down on the bed next to him. "Yeah?"
"Can you tell me what the year I forgot about was like?"
She froze in place for a second, clearing her throat before answering. "Uhm, yeah. I can't remember much. Why are you suddenly asking me this now?"
"Oh, no reason." Louis lied.
"You don't remember anything, do you?" Jay's voice was filled with hope, excitement.
Louis shook his head, but to be honest, he didn't even know the real answer. He couldn't tell if what he saw in his mind was a memory or just a dream.
"Well," she sighed. "You were... really happy. A reader, like you are now. A dreamer, and you really loved the school newspaper. You were always asking me if we could just subscribe so it came in the mail, so you didn't have to pick it up in the office."
"Why did I like it so much?" Louis asked, playing with the edge of his pillowcase.
Jay opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it. "Well, you were the one that kept them. You never told me where. But if you do find it, maybe you'll see." She leaned in and kissed his forehead. "Now get ready for bed. Your sisters want you to tell them a story. They say you have a soothing voice."
Louis chuckled. "Okay, I will. Just... if you happen to remember me telling you where I kept them, can you tell me?"
"Of course," she smiled.
Louis watched as she walked out of the room, before turning back to the picture frame.
"Prince," he whispered, before getting up and walking to his special drawer. When he opened it, newspapers that overflowed tumbled onto the floor. Louis jumped a bit before leaning over and picking one up.
He flicked through the pages, trying to see what he was so fascinated with.
A wave of nostalgia washed over him when he saw a small picture of Harry. It said he was a sophomore. And when he started to read it, it seemed so familiar that it wasn't a dream.
***
I love you.
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-Kayla. x