The first time Louis had eyes on Harry, had been on the first day of his third year at the University of Arts. He had been walking next to Liam and Zayn down the hallway. They had been talking excitedly about the upcoming semester, but Louis' attention had quickly drifted somewhere else.
A boy, looking to be around twenty, had accidentally dropped his books on the ground of the hallway. Louis' first instinct had been to run over and help him, but a blonde guy, who Louis now had gotten to know as Niall, had rushed to the boys' aid. When the boy had straightened up, an embarrassed flush to his cheeks, Louis had been taken back by his beauty.
Louis had developed a slight hallway crush on the boy. He didn't know his name, or what degree he was taking, but every time he would see him in the hallways or in the library or somewhere else, he would have a hard time looking away.
He hadn't known it was Harry at first when he saw him in the Starbucks. It had first been revealed to him when he had touched his shoulder, and he had turned around. Louis had had to compose himself in mere seconds, butterflies basking in his stomach at having those green eyes on him.
When he had heard what his name was, a voice in his head had whispered, I like the sound of that.
When Louis got home, Zayn and Liam had to hear all of it. Then there was the library. He hadn't known Harry was there, but it had been a pleasant surprise. Then again at the pizzeria.
And now, a week later, he had Harry's number saved in his phone. Not a single text had been shared between them. Louis had been too scared to initiate it, mostly because he wasn't even sure Harry was into him. Or guys for that matter. But Niall had said they should meet up at some time, so Louis let his finger hover above the message he had spent fifteen minutes to try and formulate correctly.
Hey, I was wondering if you and Niall would like to join Zayn, Liam, and I for beers and Monopoly at our apartment tonight. It's our traditional game night.
"Just send it for fucks sake," Zayn groaned from where he was sitting at the foot end of Louis' bed. "It's already four."
"But what if they don't want to?" said Louis. "Or maybe they already have plans? Then it will just be awkward."
"Louis, you're severely overthinking this," Liam said where he had spawned in the door to Louis' room. "Just send the text. Jesus."
"No need to call me that," Louis mumbled, looking back at his phone. He bit his bottom lip into his mouth in deep thought. Then—
Zayn snatched the phone away from his hand and pressed send.
"No!" shrieked Louis, jumping at Zayn.
Zayn laughed, wrestling Louis so he wouldn't get the phone. Zayn was slightly stronger than Louis—Louis refused to go near the gym, only going on runs—and they kept going until the sound of a notification sounded from Louis' phone.
Louis stiffened, looking at the phone. "Give me it, Zayn."
Zayn grinned, handing Louis the phone.
Liam, who had been an onlooker to their wrestling, sighed and returned to the kitchen.
Louis looked down at Harry's message.
Sure, why not :)) What time and where?
Louis grinned broadly. "He said yes!"
Zayn pinched his hip. "I told you so. Now go take a shower, you stink."
"No, I don't," scowled Louis.
Zayn wriggled his eyebrows at him, and Louis tackled him again.
* * *
Harry and Niall were to arrive at six p.m., and Louis was far from ready. He had no clue what to wear.
"Jesus," Zayn groaned, "just go with casual. A T-shirt and jeans. It's not like we are gonna do anything fancy."
"But which ones?" Louis said, voice slightly panicked. He gestured to the options on the bed. There were his black jeans, as well as his blue ones. And then three different tops. A black T-shirt, a blue hoodie, and his navy blue button-up.
Zayn grasped the button-up and threw it in Louis' dresser. "That one is for sure too fancy. I would say you should take the hoodie and the black jeans."
"But—"
"Louis, you will just start freezing if you wear the T-shirt. You're always so bloody cold."
Louis crossed his arms over his chest. "Not true."
"Yes, it is. Now get dressed. They will be here in fifteen."
Louis quickly dressed, then spent five minutes on his fringe. Finally, he joined Liam and Zayn in the kitchen where Liam was in the middle of making Tacos, and Zayn was talking to him.
"This smells amazing, Payno," Louis said, sitting down at their dining table.
As he sat, he let his eyes trail over their small apartment. In the years they had owned it, it had slowly transformed into a home. It had three rooms, one bathroom, and a kitchen and living room in one. The walls were cream-white, the floor dark wood. Their kitchen was small, the cabinets painted in blue. Their dining table was built in oak wood, big and solid. There was their ugly, green couch that Liam one day proudly had brought home from a thrift store—Louis and Zayn had at the time loathed the thing, but had now come to love it.
And Harry was going to see it all.
Louis felt like a schoolboy with his first crush. And he had only had three barely-there conversations with the guy.
Their buzzer sounded and Louis jumped up from his chair, running to the door before Zayn and Liam could get the chance. He pressed the button, panting, "Who's there?"
"Niall," came the reply. "And I brought Curly."
Louis' lip tugged up at Niall's nickname for Harry, and he quickly let them inside.
He had exactly three minutes to compose himself before the knock sounded on his door. He let out a breath and opened.
They were both there, Niall and Harry, but it was Harry who instantly caught his gaze, even though he was standing slightly behind Niall. He was wearing a long coat, a scarf tightly secured around his neck. His curls were falling around his wind-bitten face, and his eyes were clear. His lips pulled up in a smile at the sight of Louis, and Louis could feel the butterflies in his stomach take off.
"Am I gonna get some eye-fucking as well?" Niall asked.
"What?" Louis sputtered, quickly looking at the man.
Niall chuckled. "God, you two are so..." He trailed off. "Anyway, we brought a bottle of wine as a thanks for the invite." He held out a bottle that Louis first now noticed.
Louis grinned. "Thank you so much, you really didn't have to."
Suddenly Zayn appeared beside him, Liam as well. "You must be Niall," Zayn said, holding out a hand to shake. "I'm Zayn. Louis' childhood friend and part-time parent."
"Niall indeed," confirmed Niall, grinning.
"And I'm Liam, though you already know that from class," said Liam. "Not a lifelong friend, but also a part-time parent for Lou."
Louis scoffed. "You guys are acting like I'm not the oldest here."
Harry chuckled slightly at that, but he had yet to say anything.
"Come on in," Liam said. "Louis can show you where to put your jackets and shoes."
"Yes," Louis excitedly said, stepping away from the doorframe, making space for Niall and Harry to enter.
He showed Harry and Niall the closet with hangers, and as he handed Harry one, their fingers brushed.
Harry wet his lips, blushing slightly. "Thank you."
Louis' belly did a flip. "You're welcome." He handed one to Niall as well.
"Thanks, mate," Niall spoke.
"Welcome," Louis grinned. "You guys like tacos, right?"
"Niall loves every type of food there is," Harry said. "And I'm not too different."
"Phew, that's good," Louis said. "And you're lucky, Liam is the best chef in the town. I keep telling him, that if he doesn't wanna go through with acting, he could be the new Gordan Ramsay for sure. Except, just a nicer version. He doesn't curse as much—"
"Louis!" Zayn called from the kitchen. "Shut up and find the game and some beers, will you?"
Louis flipped him off. "Fine."
Zayn blew him a kiss.
"Why don't you two sit down at the table?" Louis suggested. "I will bring you something to drink. And then the game and dinner should also be right up. Also, we have chips. Loads of chips. And gummies." Louis had a habit of ranting when he got nervous.
"It all sounds very great, thank you," Harry said, sending him a smile. It was the first smile he had sent in Louis' direction where a dimple had shown on his cheek, and Louis almost melted at the sight.
"Right, I will just—the game." He took off.
Once Louis had fetched the game and beers, Liam had finished cooking the dinner, and they all settled around the table. Louis was seated next to Zayn, Harry opposite to him.
"Take all you can eat," Liam said, gesturing to the tacos. "After there is deemed game night."
"Don't say that twice," Niall grinned, putting two tacos on his plate.
"Thank you for inviting us again," Harry said. "It was very kind of you."
Louis shrugged, smiling. "You seem like good fun."
"Give Niall some shots and then he will be more than good fun," Harry said.
"I will hold you to that," Louis said.
"Also, I have to warn you," Zayn said. "Game night tends to be slightly... violent. We take it very seriously."
"Just wait," Harry said, "I'm a master at Monopoly."
"That's Zayn, I'm afraid," Liam said.
"We'll see," smirked Harry.
After they all had eaten, Louis carried their plates to the sink, beginning the work of washing up. Soon, someone joined him, taking hold of a plate and scrubbing it clean. Louis expected to see Zayn once he looked up but was surprised when he was met with Harry.
"Harry," he said, "no need to help me. You're a guest."
Harry smiled softly, placing the, now clean, plat on its rack. "I don't mind. Also, Niall began talking about golf, so I figured I would save myself." He gestured to the table in the dining room. True to Harry's word, Niall was talking about white golf balls.
Louis chuckled. "Well, in that case, thank you."
Harry sent him a shy smile. "You're welcome."
"Haven't been in days, actually."
Harry stuttered out a laugh. "Louis!"
"Don't mind him, Harry," Liam said as he entered the kitchen. "Lou makes gross and inappropriate jokes all the time. And about pretty much everything."
Louis crossed his arms over his chest. "You love that about me."
"I sure do," Liam said, ruffling Louis' hair in his passing.
"Oi! I worked on that fringe," said Louis.
Liam huffed out a laugh, mumbling, "Wonder why."
"Here," Harry said, reaching up. "Let me help." He reached up to Louis' fringe, carefully fixing it. Louis held his breath as Harry's fingers delicately moved over his hair, fixing it into a fringe once again.
"Thank you," he breathed, tingles running through his whole body.
Harry wet his lips as he eyed Louis. "No problem." His lips formed in a toothy grin. "Now, what about that Monopoly?"
Harry truly was a master at Monopoly. He beat all of them three times, and Louis couldn't take his eyes away. He couldn't believe that the clumsy boy he saw on that first day, the boy he had been crushing on for weeks, was here in his apartment, looking like he was having the time of his life.
After, they all settled on the couch. They had moved on from beer to the wine Niall and Harry had brought, talking about their lives at the University.
"So, Niall," Zayn said. "Liam tells me both of you are in the same drama class?"
Niall nodded. "Yup. Liam does an amazing imitation of Juliet."
"You didn't tell me you were being Juliet, Payno," Louis said, an accusing tilt in his voice. "Are you gonna play her in a play?"
"No, you dumb bimbo," Liam said, laughing. "It was just practising."
"You would make a great Juliet, though," Zayn said.
"I would make an excellent Juliet, thank you very much," said Liam, taking a sip of his wine.
"So," Harry said, "Liam and Niall wanna be actors, Zayn and I writers—"
"Journalist."
"Right, sorry," apologised Harry. "And, Louis, it was a photographer, right?"
Louis nodded, grinning. "Yeah. That's correct." Harry had remembered. It made the butterflies in his stomach bask wildly with his wings.
"Cool." Harry took a sip of his wine. "What do you prefer to take photos of?"
A warm feeling settled in Louis' chest at Harry's words. "Well, I like a bit of all of it. Landscapes, places, people... I hope to one day make my own business where I can offer a bit of everything."
Harry smiled softly. "That sounds lovely."
"What about you, Harry? What do you wanna write?"
Niall, Zayn, and Liam had begun their own conversation regarding the best pubs in Manchester, but Louis' focus was on Harry.
"Well, I would like to write romance novels one day, or maybe even fantasy," Harry said. "I'm practising all I can to hopefully one day be good enough."
"I'm sure you are more than good," Louis said. "Do you read a lot as well?"
Harry nodded, his cheeks rosy from the wine and beer. "Yeah, I do. All my books are still packed away in boxes, but they will soon be overflowing the apartment. What about you, do you read?"
"Every now and then," Louis said. "I prefer classics and fantasy."
"What's your favourite?" Harry asked, clearly interested.
"Good question," Louis pondered. "I would say... probably anything by Jane Austin."
"Good choice," Harry said.
"If you're willing to share one day, I would love to read something you've written," Louis said.
The corner of Harry's lips quirked up. "Only if you will show me some of your photographs."
* * *
When it neared midnight, Harry and Niall decided it was about time to go home. Louis handed them their coats, Harry's and his fingers once again brushing. Louis' cheeks turned red.
"Thank you for having us," Niall said as they stood in the door. "It was very fun. You should come to visit us next time. It's still kinda messy, but if you don't mind that, we would love to have you."
"Sounds like a plan," Liam said. "Right, guys?"
"Absolutely," Louis said, his eyes landing on Harry. "Tonight was cosy."
Zayn hummed in agreement.
Harry smiled softly. "Yeah, it really was."
"Text me?" Louis said, the words directed to Harry. "I mean, since you have my number and all. We could agree on a day to meet again."
"I like the sound of that," Harry said.
"I do as well," Niall said, "since I'm a part of this conversation."
Zayn cackled.
Once they had left, Louis was close to dancing on his way to bed.