It had been about a week since Harry had kissed Louis, and it was still the only thing he thought about. When he drove Louis home that day, he stared at Louis' lips and thought "I kissed Louis." When he saw Liam, 2 days after, the first thing he had screamed was "I kissed Louis." Every night this week, he had fallen asleep thinking "I kissed Louis." Even though nothing "serious" was going on with them, Harry reassured himself throughout the day with "I kissed Louis." And now, sitting across a table from Louis, inside of some coffee shop, all he could possibly think was "I kissed Louis."
They had gone out little places a few more times, maybe to eat, or walk around. Louis still wasn't talking about his flat, or bringing Harry there, but that was ok with Harry. He knew Louis needed some things to happen in certain ways sometimes, and he would wait as long as necessary to visit Louis' flat. This afternoon, however, Harry had invited Louis out to get hot chocolate with him. (NOT solely for the purpose that Louis always looked so cute sipping out of his little cup, and his cheeks flushed from the warmth, not at all.) Harry was actually planning on asking Louis over to his flat, to meet Liam. Liam was excited about meeting Harry's "boyfriend", and had agreed to come over to his flat to meet Louis. The problem with this plan though, was if Louis would want to meet someone new.
He stared at Louis, as Louis stayed quiet, intently looking at his drink. He was perfectly adorable. Today, Louis was sporting a silver jumper, with little sparkly threads strung through it. He had his gray beanie balancing on top of his caramel fringe, and his normal black jeans on his legs. Harry knew that there happened to be a little pink flower crown in his bag that rested at his feet. He had gotten very, very, nervous in the car, and anxiously taken off the crown. He was worried that people in the coffee shop, or more specifically, Harry, would think he was weird or be embarrassed by him. Harry had desperately tried to reassure him that it wasn't a big deal. He had even thrown in that he thought Louis looked precious in his little flower crowns. But Louis just stuffed it in his bag, and replied that he would wear his beanie instead. Either way, he looked beautiful, and that was enough for Harry.
"So love," Harry said, leaning over the table a bit. He used a calm voice, not wanting to permanently spook Louis before he even got to the hard part of this conversation. Louis, who was currently fixed on his drink, glanced up a bit through his eyelashes at Harry. His tiny hands came and set the cup down on the table, as he offered a shy smile towards Harry. Harry eagerly smiled back, as Louis addressed him.
"Yes Haz?" He asked, blue eyes fixed on Harry's green ones. Harry sucked in a breath, and silently prayed that he wouldn't make Louis too nervous.
"I was wondering if, maybe later, you would want to come over to my flat?" Harry stopped here, as he realized that Louis wasn't holding his gaze anymore. Instead, he was staring down at the table, hands clinging onto the edges of it. Louis' breaths were rapidly increasing, and Harry couldn't tell if he was listening or not. He chose to drop the question, in order to calm Louis down first.
"Louis, love. Can you hear me? Please don't shut me out, I want to help you." No response. Harry cursed under his breath, as he continued. He was going for a stronger tactic now, as he decided to use sweet words and little nicknames on Louis. "Darling, please listen. You might make yourself sick, and I don't want that. I want the healthy, adorable little Louis to come back. Listen, ok Lou? Will you nod if you can hear me? Can you do that?" Harry was still staring at Louis, who hadn't moved from his position. But, he noticed a minuscule nod of his head, which was an improvement.
"Wonderful baby, you're doing great. Now, I'm going to finish what I was going to ask you." Louis took a sharp breath in, and Harry heard little wheezing sounds. As much as he wanted to panic, he didn't. He needed to stay calm, if he wanted Louis to be calm. "I know it's scaring you, but listen first. I'm not going to force you into anything, but you might like what I'm going to say. Nod if that's alright, please Louis?" Harry bit his lip, hoping for a response. There was, with another tiny nod.
"Perfect. I'm going to start now, alright?" Louis blinked his wide, teary eyes once. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to come to my flat for a bit, to meet my friend Liam. He's very sweet, and is so excited to meet you! He's the one who I told you worked at the credit union where the tree lighting ceremony was held. I even think he ordered us some food? Chinese, I'm pretty sure." Harry paused again, as he realized he was rambling. "But it wouldn't have to be for long, and I'll be right there with you. So, what do you think?"
Louis was breathing heavy, his hands almost white from gripping the table so hard. It was physically hurting Harry to see this, so he slowly reached a hand across the table. He didn't want to make Louis panic more, so carefully, he let his hand rest on top of one of Louis'. He brushed his fingers over the hand, hoping he could cause Louis' grip to loosen. After a minute or so, the only sound emitting from either of them was that of Louis' rushed breaths, one hand dropped it's grip on the table. The hand made its way to Harry's hand, and the tiny fingernails dug into Harry's skin. He didn't mind though, it was an improvement.
"Oh Lou." Harry breathed out, practically feeling the fondness dripping within his words. Louis was shaking like a leaf, but he was holding Harry's hand and that's really all that mattered. Harry could tell Louis was trying so, SO, hard to calm down. "Take your time, you don't have to answer right away." Fingernails were picking at Harry's hand now, and his gaze was still fixed on Louis' tiny, scared, frame.
"I'm so proud of you, my darling." Harry murmured, carefully bringing Louis' shaking hand up to his lips. He planted a tiny kiss to it, and let their still intertwined hands fall back down to the table. That was when Louis' mouth twitched, and his blue eyes focused back in on the table.
"Y-yy-you-you're p-p-p-pr-oud o-of... m-m-mm-m-e-ee?" Louis' airy voice managed, his entire body still heaving with every breath. The tears that Louis had held in his eyes, were slowly clearing up. Harry wanted to burst right there because 'wow his Louis was so adorable and unsure of himself and who wouldn't be proud of him for putting such an effort to control his anxiety in the middle of a random coffee shop?!' But he didn't. He just smiled a "large smile", and laughed a tiny bit.
"Of course I'm proud of you, Louis. You tried so hard to stop the panic attack. Look, you didn't even cry. What an amazing boy you are, love. I'm so proud to be here with you right now." Harry let his rambling continue, for once, and the phrases of encouragement and compassion contained to tumble out. Louis even started to smile, a small, unsure smile that lit up the entire room. Harry brought his other hand to Louis' cheek, and ran his thumb over his jawline. It earned that little noise of approval from Louis, and his eyes fluttered shut. Once they opened, he managed to meet Harry's warm stare, and blinked back the remaining tears.
"Harry," Louis said, not any louder than a whisper. "I-I-I... I want to come see Liam." Harry now cheered, not caring who heard him. Louis was just amazing. "But, uh." Louis glanced back down at the table. He squeezed Harry's hand once before saying "Will you hold my hand? Um, in front of Liam?" And that's when Harry completely lost it, leaning in and kissing Louis square on the mouth, and laughing at the little muffled sound Louis gave out from under his lips. It was just a tiny kiss, as Harry wanted to answer Louis' utterly irresistibly cute question.
"Of course I will. I might even let you sit in my lap, if you're feeling nervous." Louis' lit up as they met his again. Finally, there was a "large smile" playing out on his face.
"Now let's go, love. We don't want to keep the Chinese food-I mean LIAM- waiting." With that, Louis grabbed Harry's hand tighter, and they made their way straight towards the car.
(CURRENTLY LISTENING TO I WISH BY THE BOYS AND GAH FETUS IS JUST. Oh yeah this is a time lapse)
They were standing outside of Harry's building now, which was a creamy color, and had 3 floors. Each floor was a different home, Harry's located on the first floor. He wasn't really sure who lived on the third floor, just that an older, grouchy lady by the name of Susan was on the second. Louis had laughed when Harry told him he only liked Susan for her little cat she had, called Nellie. Harry glanced over at Louis now, seeing his blue eyes scanning the building. He was daintily holding Harry's hand. Harry smiled, as Louis turned to meet the smiling gaze.
"You said Liam is... Is. Already up there? In your flat?" Louis asked.
Harry nodded, and went for a laugh by responding with "Well, he's technically not 'up there'. I live on the first floor." He paused a moment, for dramatic purposes, but Louis just stared at him. He was still nervous, and Harry didn't want him to freak out. He had gotten a little flustered in the car, about his flower crown, so they had ended up just leaving the bag on the passenger seat.
"It's going to be fine, you know." Harry said, squeezing Louis' hand once. Louis grimaced, and kept his eyes on Harry. "Liam is already so excited to meet you, and there's nothing you could possibly say or do to make him not like you. You're too adorable for that." Once Harry saw Louis blush a bit from the compliment, he decided to move a bit closer to the door. But Louis hesitated.
"Hey. This door doesn't go right into my flat, it's the tiny, awkward lobby with a hallway to my side, and a elevator to the higher floors. We can go inside, and if you need to take a breather, we can. Ok?" Harry gave Louis a questioning glance. Louis sighed a bit, before nodding shyly. They moved towards the door, and Harry held it opened for Louis. He hurried in, and stood off to side once inside. He chewed on his lip, as Harry closed the door. He reached a hand out and smoothed down Louis' fringe that peaked out from his beanie. His hand floated down, and locked back again with Louis' hand.
"Harry, I'm a bit nervous still. Are you sure Liam will like me?" Harry held in a laugh after Louis asked, because who couldn't like Louis? He was wonderful. It was times like this when Harry really hated those people who used to bully Louis.
"I'm positive. Liam is such a sap too, he'll practically coo over you. But don't worry. You're still mine." Harry let the last part slip, and worried it crossed Louis' comfort line. The way Louis gripped his hand tighter showed him it didn't. Harry started to walk towards the left, down the hallway to his flat. Louis was slow behind him, so Harry was sort of dragging him along. They made their way down the hallway, Harry keeping his hold on Louis' hand. To Harry, the hall seemed to go on forever, the pressure of the whole "Louis meets Liam" situation building on him. But he couldn't say anything, his talk about it had to be positive for Louis' sake.
Finally, they reached the door. It was at the end of the hall, to the right side. It was across from a window, that gave you a "lovely view" of the street. Harry had painted it purple in a spur of the moment decision. It earned a little smile from Louis, as he reached his free hand out to touch the paint.
"Purple? How... Pretty." Louis said. He giggled a bit, as Harry fake gasped with a "Pretty? It's MANLY." But Louis' smile faltered then. He knew they were about to enter the house, and Harry wasn't quite sure how it would play out.
"Remember, I'm right next to you, ok Lou? Just hold my hand. You can squeeze it, if you get nervous. I wouldn't mind my hand getting mangled by your very strong and manly grip." Harry chuckled, and Louis gripped tighter to his hand. He focused his eyes to the floor, and Harry decided that he had to open the door now. 'It won't be that bad, it can't be that bad...' Harry reassured himself, as he shakily reached for the doorknob. His fingers curled around the knob, and slowly turned. The door creaked opened, and he could feel Louis' fingernail start to dig into his other hand. With that, they were in.
Harry lead the way, quietly inching down the hallway that stretched from his door to his living room. Louis wasn't moving very fast, but Harry didn't mind. It was quiet, which meant Liam was sitting in the living room. He really, REALLY, didn't want Louis to freak out, and he wasn't really sure how Liam would act. He would be fine... Right?
At the end of the hallway, you could go to your right and hit the big coat closet. To your left, was the living room. Against the back wall, was Harry's little sofa. And who happened to be perched on the cushions, but Liam Payne himself.
"Oh hey Harry! Isn't it great for you to FINALLY show up?" Liam laughed as he stood up, moving towards them. "I have the Chinese on the table, when you want to eat. Oh! Is this Louis?" Liam took a step to the side, trying to get a better look at Louis. Louis just squeezed Harry's hand, and step closer to Harry's back. Louis was practically cowering into him. Harry noticed Liam get the hint that Louis was a bit scared, and he moved the slightest way backwards.
"Well, he's adorable! Too bad I didn't spot him first." Liam was joking of course, as Harry knew as well as anyone that Liam was the farthest you could be from gay. But still, Harry felt a little jealous, and very protective all of a sudden.
"Well, you didn't. He's my Louis. So watch yourself, Li." Harry pulled on Louis' hand a bit, bringing him closer into his back. Liam's eyes widened, but he was smiling. Then, Harry heard a quiet giggle ring out, which could only belong to one lovely boy. He felt Louis' press his tiny nose into his upper back, trying to suppress the giggles. By now Liam had noticed, and was mouthing an "awwww!" to Harry.
"What's so funny back there love?" Harry asked, looking back at his giggly boy. Louis looked up to meet Harry's eyes, and moved his free hand to his mouth to stifle his giggling.
"You sounded jealous, Harry." Louis said with a smile on his face. He had tears at his eyes from laughing so hard. Harry looked down, embarrassed at first, but then found himself laughing right along. Liam looked at them like they were crazy, but Harry didn't mind.
Liam looked the 2 over again, both complete giggling messes, and sighed contently. "You 2 are so sweet together. I'm so glad you have each other." Both Harry and Louis looked up to Liam, Harry giving him a nod. The giggles quieted down, and Louis shyly stepped out from behind Harry. He stayed glued to his side, but now he was in Liam's direct view.
"Oh! You are a cutie, Louis!" Liam noted. Louis blushed a bit, and put his head into Harry's shoulder. Harry leaned into the contact, and nudged Louis a bit.
"You're doing wonderfully." Harry whispered into Louis' ear, low enough that Liam couldn't hear. "I'm very proud of you. I always am." With that, Louis looked back up, ready to address Liam.
"I haven't really properly introduced myself to you. I'm Liam." He held out a hand, implying a handshake. Louis looked to Harry, biting on his lip, who gave him a nod. Louis let go of Harry's hand, and stepped up to take Liam's. He held his hand in his dainty grip, and shook it up and down a few times.
"I-I-I'm, uh, L-Louis." Louis said, as confidently as he could. Harry was unbelievably proud of Louis, it was something he just couldn't help. He found himself taking in the sight of Louis then, the way he leaned into one foot and tucked the other one behind his ankle, his little hands now held tight in front of his stomach, the fringe that poked out randomly from his beanie. He stood in front of Liam, now talking a bit more, and he even saw his body shaking a bit with laughter. Louis was stunning, and Harry was just glad he got to spend this much time with him.
"Harry?" Liam questioned, bringing Harry out of his thoughts. He shook his head a bit, and looked back up to Liam and Louis. Louis gave him a little wave, and Harry dumbly waved back.
"Uh. Yeah Liam? Sorry, I was zoned out there for a second." Harry looked over both faces, Liam a bit questioning, but understanding. Louis was smiling bright, and watching Harry with his big blue eyes.
"Louis and I were saying that maybe we should eat now? No need to let Chinese food sit around, right Louis?" Liam turned to Louis, who nodded excitedly.
"Alright! Let me go get your plates set, ok?" Liam said over his shoulder. He was already out the doorway and into the kitchen when Harry addressed Louis.
"You were perfect! Liam seemed to really like you, love." Harry added a wink with the word 'love', like always. Louis was happy; Harry could see him bouncing on his heels. Suddenly, Louis skidded back across the room, directly into Harry arms. With an 'OOF', Harry stumbled backwards, wrapping his arms around Louis' tinier frame. He was giggling into Harry's chest now, (he noticed Louis got very giggly when he was happy), and Harry's hands traced up and down his back.
"This is nice, Harry. You're nice." Louis told Harry, innocently and sweetly. It was touching really, Louis' special way of thanking Harry. Harry just smiled, Louis curling further into his chest. He gently kissed the top of Louis' head, and held him closer, if that was even possible. Harry could feel the short, even breaths that Louis let out on his collar bones, and Louis hands moving up to twist into his hair. They probably looked like a tangle of limbs, in the middle of the living room, no less. But, this was LOUIS Harry was dealing with, and honestly, Harry would do anything with him and it would seem "normal". They stood there, just holding each other tight, until Liam called out that the food was ready. And who's to say that Harry didn't pull Louis into his lap halfway through their meal, just to make him smile?
(TIME LAPSE. I LOVE THESE THINGS LIKE I CAN TALK TO YOU GUYS HERE HEEEEY. UM I REALLY LOB UNIQUELY PERFECT I MEAN IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT A LOT?)
"Do you want me to walk you in Lou? I will, if that's what you need?" Harry had driven Louis home, again. And they were faced with the problem of "Harry can't meet Louis' flatmates", again.
"Not really. I'm alright, honest. Thank you a lovely time though. Liam is very kind." Louis smiled as he talked, bending down and pulling his bag up onto his shoulder. Harry crossed his arms in front of him, just watching the boy. Eventually, Louis looked up at Harry through those long eyelashes of his, as he sat up. He blushed the littlest bit, under Harry's gaze, and reached out for Harry's hand.
"You are too sweet to me, Harry." Louis said. Harry just shook his head, as he laughed. Their heads drifted towards each other, their lips growing nearer and nearer. They were so close now; Harry could almost feel Louis' soft lips on his own. His eyes peered into Louis', as Louis tilted his head up. They closed the distance between their faces and-
"Oi! You 2 are in public, tune down the PDA!" A voiced shouted at them through the car window. Louis had opened it on their drive here, and it seems like he had kept it opened. They both shot up, and looked out the window. There seemed to be 4 figures outside of the window, one extremely close. It was a girl, from what Harry could tell, with long black hair and dark skin. She had her face almost poking into the window, and Harry wondered who the heck she was.
"Leigh! Get out of here!" Louis yelled, as the girl only laughed. So Louis DID know this girl. The girl, Leigh, backed up, her hands clutching at her skinny waist. Before Harry could ask Louis what was going on, there was another face at the window. This girl now had her face up against the window, with long red/brown hair, and big eyelashes. She was pushing her hair behind her ears, and batting those eyelashes at Louis.
"So is this your boyfriend, huh Lou? Does he know I'm the one who helped you realize you liked boys? If it wasn't for me, you'd still be with that girl from school... What was she called? Oh yeah, Eleanor! Ah, the stories I have to use against you about her. Harry did Louis ever tell you about the time that he and Eleanor..."
"Jesy! Not right now, please? What are you girls doing here?" Louis sounded exasperated, but had a hint of compassion in his eyes. But it was mostly embarrassment. Harry just watched the interaction, not knowing what to say.
"We're enforcing the law, Tomlinson. You can't just go about KISSING people in public!" This time the voice came from a giddy girl, bouncing around the sidewalk, with bright purple hair. She had a flower crown sitting in it, and Harry guessed she was the girl Louis said made his flower crowns. He had called her Pezza, but then Harry remembered it was actually Perrie.
"We are in a car Pez, can you and the girls go inside please?" Louis sighed, and looked back to Harry. "I'm really sorry about them. They don't mean any harm though, they just want to poke fun at me." Harry only smiled at Louis, as the girls continued to yell from the sidewalk. Finally, the last girl put her entire head through the window, and planted an overly dramatic kiss on Louis' head. She was the tiniest of all of them, with blue running through her dark hair. Her eyes were sparkling as she caught her breath.
"Hope ya don't think I'm stealing your man, Harry. Just wanted to pop in and see how the wedding plans are going?" Louis, who was ducking down now, started to frantically shake his head at the girl, who laughed more. "I'm Jade by the way, Mr. 'I'm Louis' knight in shining armor.' I'm going to be your maid of honor." She stuck out her hand towards Harry, who grabbed it in his own.
"Pleasure to meet you Jade. And I'll hold you to that offer, of out maid of honor? Just wait a few years." Harry playfully responded, adding a wink. Jade squealed, and took her head out of the car. Both Louis and Harry watched her run back to the little group of girls, whisper something, all 4 heads turned to look at them, and then they all started to scream. It was a happy scream, and Harry guessed it was because Jade had told the the remark he made about a 'wedding.' He looked to Louis, but he was only blushing. Harry took his hand to under Louis' chin, and tilted it upwards.
"Your friends are very funny, Lou. They seem very fun to hang out with. Maybe some other time I will, yeah?" Harry was about to look away, but Louis pressed his face forwards, into a kiss. It caught Harry off guard, but it was over before he could process it. Louis shyly met Harry's stunned gaze.
"Yeah. That would be great." With that, Louis opened his side door, and stepped out. Harry ran a hand over his face, completely in awe of this person he's found, but heard something at the still opened window. It was Louis.
"But, I'll see you again, right? Please come back." He looked a bit unsure, and Harry reached out to his cheeks.
"Of course. Now go deal with those girls, before they pass out on the sidewalk." Harry removed one hand from Louis' face, and jerked a thumb to the hoard of still squealing girls. Louis giggled, and blowing a tiny kiss, slowly back away.
Harry sure did like this boy.
{WOAH I FINALLY DID IT AND I REALLY LIKE THIS CHAPTER.
Yeah so like idk here it is.
My babes make a reappearance, and we FINALLY get Louis to see Liam!
Um so I HAVE EXCITING NEWS.
My story AWWL (the one you're reading right now surprise) HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR A 1DBromanceAward! The voting isn't up yet, and when it is, I will post something telling you where to vote. I'm super happy to have been nominated, but it would be even more AMAZING to win! My One Shot book has also been nominated, so that's SO COOL THANK YOU GUYS ILY.
Yeah um so look for that, it's gonna be CRAAYYY.
I'm gonna go. Not much to say today!
YES DEDICATION.
I was planning on having this up by Valentines, but I didn't. Oops. ANYWAY.
This is dedicated to my lovely Valentine, Emi (@styles_tomlinson_123)
ALRIGHT IM OFF.
Hugs and Butterfly Kisses,
~Lilly 😘🎀👑💗😊 }