From: http://archiveofourown.org/works/731795
~~~~~~
Rating: Mature
Warnings/tags: dancing alternate universe - stripper/exotic dancer, boys kissing, boys grinding, dancer!louis, radioshowhost!harry, jealousy, secrets, confusion, established relationship, dirty dancing, larry stylinson - freeform
Word count: 10228
Summary:
Louis Tomlinson had been a dancer for three years.
He'd been dating Harry for two.
Although... Harry had yet to find out about the first part.
-
Louis woke to a pair of lips pressing over his. He moaned softly, and the soft, plump, familiar lips started to move on his. He lifted a hand to tangle in the curls that rested on the boy who was kissings head. He pulled them back slightly and opened his eyes, meeting a pair of bright green ones right on front of his.
"Well, good morning Harold." he smiled. "Do you find it necessary to kiss me
before
I've brushed my teeth?"
"Mm..." Harry thought about it for a moment before leaning back down, his arms braced on either sides of Louis' head, whispering softly against Louis' lips "Yes."
"Get off me, idiot," Louis laughed, pushing his younger boyfriend off him. Harry laughed, rolling to the side and landing next to Louis on the bed.
"I was
trying
to be romantic, thank you." He huffed sarcastically as he sat up. "I made breakfast."
"Yum." Louis laughed as he buried himself back under the duvet.
"Hey, get out!" Harry laughed, ripping the sheet from Louis, who squealed.
"Harry!" Louis laughed, pulling a pillow down to cover his naked body.
"I don't get why you're covering up," Harry sighed as he stood, throwing the duvet to the ground. "It's not like it's anything I haven't seen before - hell, it's not like it's anything I didn't see last night."
"Yea, but it's cold!" Louis whined, rolling off the side of the bed for his clothes that had been discarded of the night before. He came up with a pair of black boxers and his jeans. "Where'd my shirt go?"
"Find it later, you're not leaving me just yet." Harry laughed, pulling Louis close, pecking him lightly on the lips, before pulling away with an exagerated face of disgust. "Oh god, you're right.
Why
did I kiss you before you brushed your teeth?"
"Oh, shut up." Louis laughed, hitting Harry's chest before pulling away and heading to the bathroom, where Harry kept a spare tooth brush for him. He shook his head at the sight of the many lovebites covering his chest, sighing deeply. How was he going to cover them up?
He walked out and headed to the kitchen once he was all cleaned up, and sat down on the counter behind Harry, who was too lost in humming along to whatever tune was going through his head to hear Louis enter the kitchen. Louis swung his leg out to kick Harry's bum, causing the younger boy to jump, yelping.
"Hey!" He laughed, turning around, wooden spoon in hand.
"What are you going to do to me?" Louis laughed. reaching a hand out to bat the utensil away from his face. "Is the food done?"
"You hadn't even wanted to get out of bed, and now you want food?"
"You bribed me to get up." Louis reminded him with a smile.
~
"I'll see you later," Louis smiled, pecking Harry lightly on the cheek, his jacket swung loosely over his arm.
"You're coming back over tonight?" Harry asked hopefully. Louis just smiled, backing away and blowing a kiss as Harry shook his head, a fond grin playing on his pink lips as he leaned against the hood of his car, ready to head off to his own job - he was a radio show host.
"Love you!" Louis laughed, shouting at the top of his lungs before he turned the corner, not giving Harry a chance to respond. A moment later, he got a text, and fished his phone from his pocket.
From; Harold Love you too .x
Louis smiled, slipping his phone back into his pocket and ducking down the back alley, turning corners, and slipping through buildings that would have left anyone else completely lost - but Louis knew where he was going. He'd been following this path ever Thursday, Friday and Saturday for nearly two years. He pulled his beanie tighter onto his head, slipping his jacket on as he got to the rougher area of London that he'd grown to call his home.
He slipped into the dodgy building and skipped up the stairs, knowing very well that the lift was broken. He stepped into his small, drabby flat and went to take a quick shower before dressing in sweats and a grey shirt, slipping black skinny jeans and a white scoop neck into his bag. He grabbed a red zip-up hoodie, slipping it on with his TOMS, and headed out the door. It was nearly four o'clock, and the club opened at seven.
He walked down the familiar streets, wet from the recent rain as he avoided puddles, jumping around like a little kid hoping not to get his shoes wet. He arrived at the club in twenty minutes, the sign that red '
Art
' turned off as he let himself in.
"Hello?" He shouted out to the near empty room.
"In the back!" shouted a voice, and he followed it, dropping his bag onto the table and heading to the back where the rest of the dancers were all sitting. Danielle, the head dancer, was standing. "Finally." she smiled at him.
Louis went to take his seat on the floor next to one of the other dancers, Jade.
"You're late." she sang softly in his ear, so he flicked her arm. She laughed.
Louis looked around the small room he'd spent more than his fair share of hours in over the past years. He was currently one of the only two male dancers - the club was an '
all types
' club, as Zayn, the owner, liked to put it. It was open to all types of sexuality, straight, bi, gay, trans, any and all. The previous owner had made the same rule, but had ran a pretty shitty club, and Zayn had bought it from him in early 2011, when he'd turned eighteen.
He'd made all the dancers re-audition, and only thirteen had made it through. He'd kept a few males, and that was also on part because it was Louis who'd inspired Zayn - who was straight - to buy the club. Because he'd seen how talented Louis was, and how shitty the choreography was.
Louis had happened upon the club a few months before Zayn, when Louis himself was still eighteen, having moved to London to get away from his family and nothing life in Doncaster. He'd hoped to make it big on stage - he'd always been big on singing, acting, and, of course, dancing. He'd started dance lessons when he was seven and could barely take two steps without tripping over his own feet.
His mother had stated it was for balance, but he was certain she'd only started him in the class as a punishment for feeding his younger sister the canned dog food. Somehow, though, he'd ended up liking the class, and had stuck with it until he'd moved. He'd come to London in hope of pursuing a career, but ended up broke and close to being evicted when he was walking around and caught sight of the run down looking club with the poorly written sign in the front window that read '
DANCERS WANTED!
' so he'd walked in.
Jade had been the first to catch sight of him, and she'd asked him what he was there for. He said something about being a dancer, and ow he'd been dancing since he was seven. Jade had proceeded to then go and collect Danielle, who told Louis if he could follow her through one dance, he'd get the job.
He'd gotten the job, and had been working their ever since.
There had been nearly thirty dancers at that point, so more people got more nights off, and the dancers were rather shit. Zayn had come in on a Friday - back when Louis only worked Fridays - and had seen him. He'd been with his girlfriend, Perrie, who was friends with two of the dancers, and had told Zayn about it. Once he'd bought the club, the dancers had dwindled down.
Once he was done with that, they were left with only their best dancers - Louis, Danielle, Jade, Leigh-Anne, Cher, Katie, Eleanor, Cara, Rita, Amy, Rebecca, Josh and Emma. The club was only open four days a week, being Thurday, Friday, Saturday and Monday. Louis worked on Thurdays, Fridays and Saturdays, while Josh worked on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays.
"Okay," Danielle clapped her hands, breaking Louis from his train of thought. "So, we've all still got the same dances and everything, but Zayn insisted on new outfits - don't ask me why."
"Perrie." Jade and Leigh-Anne chorused together. Everyone laughed, although the statement was more than likely true.
"Anyways," Danielle smiled, silencing the room. "We're just trying these out for this weekend, see if people like them. We didn't use them yesterday, because not everyone was here, but it's Friday, and we have the biggest crowd tonight. So girls, your new outfits are in your room, Josh, Lou, your outfits are in yours. Everyone go try them on, make sure everything fits."
People got up when she clapped, and started down the hall, but Louis was stopped as she grabbed his arm.
"'Sup?" he smiled at her.
"Last night..?" she offered, and Louis sighed. Every week, she would check up on him. Everyone knew about Harry, and they all knew he was keeping
this
a secret from him, and he'd often go back to Harry's place after his shift. The next day, someone would always check up to make sure he was alright when he got home.
"Fine. Dani, it's always fine. You guys need to stop worrying so much. It'll cause wrinkles." he tapped her forehead gently before turning and heading out of the room with a silent sigh.
*
Harry spun around in his chair as the song filled the room.
"Hey," Niall, one of the producers, smiled as he walked in.
"Hi." Harry smiled, grabbing the desk to stop the spinning chair. "What's up?"
"Nothing, just never really see you outside of work anymore." Niall shrugged. Harry laughed, but nodded.
When Harry had first started at the radio on a internship, him and Niall had been nearly insperable. It was once he met Louis, and Niall got promoted, that the two started to drift. Harry had soon gotten promoted to on-air as well, and they barely saw each other outside of office hours anymore - Niall had only met Louis once.
"Yea, sorry about that, mate." Harry waved his hand through the hair. "Just had a lot of stuff going on lately."
"You still with Louis?" Niall asked.
"Mhm." Harry hummed, picking up his water bottle and taking a quick swig. "Why?"
"Dunno." Niall brushed off some imaginary dust. "Anyways, I heard of this great club - wondering if maybe you wanted to come out to it with me tonight or something? Heard there's dancers."
"Um.." Harry shrugged. "Louis' busy tonight, and I was just going to stay home and cook him something for when he gets back."
"Oh." Niall paused, looking somewhat like a sad puppy.
"Maybe.. um, maybe another night?" Harry offered. "I just, I don't like going out if Louis thinks I'm going to be at home?"
"Sorry, just didn't realize you two were living together." Niall sighed.
"We're not." Harry shook his head. "He just stays over at my place more nights than not. He still has his own flat."
"Songs about to end." Niall said, voice soft. Harry nodded, and quickly introduced the next song, something by Olly Murs. He pushed the mic away from his face once the song was playing.
"Niall, we'll go out to that place-"
"It's called
Art.
" Niall filled him in. Harry nodded.
"We'll go to
Art
sometime soon, just not tonight." Harry said, looking up at Niall, who nodded softly, looking as though he was contemplating something. "What are you thinking about?" Harry asked.
"Just..." Niall paused, brow furrowing. "Well, you always say that Louis goes out on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, but you've never said what he does?"
"Um.." Harry paused. "Well.. he... he's never actually told me what he does." he looked down, tracing a design on the desk.
"He hasn't told you?" Niall asked. "Haven't you two been together for like... two years?"
"Yea, so I trust him." Harry snapped, almost harshly. Niall didn't seem put off by it.
"But shouldn't he trust you as well?" Niall pushed. "I mean, what does he even do for a living?"
"Niall-"
"I mean, I've never really heard you say much about him-"
"Niall-"
"Like, why'd he move to London? What's his family like? Has he-"
"
Niall!
" Harry hissed. "Stop."
"Harry-"
"I have a show to do." Harry snapped harshly, pulling the mic back into place as the sing ended, ignoring Niall's presence, thoughts scattered the the Irish man left the room after a few minutes.
*
"Do I look hot?" Louis asked, spinning around and trying to get a good look at himself in the mirror. "My ass? Does it look to big?"
"It looks great." Josh laughed.
"No seriously, like, would you fuck me?" Louis asked, spinning back to face Josh, lifting his arms slightly to show off his outfit. It was a tight pair of blue boxers - to match his eyes, Perrie had said when she'd asked, everyone's outfits matched their
eyes
- that sparked under the lights, black suspenders, and a bow tie around his neck. He tought he looked a bit too cliched.
"Mm, yea, sure." Josh shrugged, tapping away on his phone.
"Fuck it, I'm going to ask one of the girls for their opinion." Louis huffed, turning on his heel and storming from the room and down the hall, pushing the door to the girls dressing room open without knocking. No one paid him much attention.
"Hi, Lou." Cher smiled as she caught sight of him. "Help me?" she asked, spinning around and lifting her dark brown hair from her back. Louis walked over and buttoned up the top few buttons on the lace shirt that went from the top of her ribs right up to her chin. He looked around at how the colours matched on another, and it made him think of a rainbow.
They'd previously only worn black and white outfits, except for special occasions like holidays or birthdays. But now, they looked dazzling. The girls all wore tight black shorts with sparkles of their colour along the seams, and the black lace shirts like Cher had with sleeves that went to their wrists, their buttons and bras matching the sparkles on their shorts. The outfit was topped off with black stilettos and a hair accessorie to match their shorts and bras.
Girl with blue eyes, had blue. Girls with green eyes, had purple. Girls with brown eyes, had red. Girls with hazel eyes, had yellow. In all, everyone looked brighter now, more exciting - which was what Zayn had been going for since he bought the club.
"And we'll have body glitter tonight. And maybe some lipstick." Perrie smiled, walking into the room.
"Lipstick?" Louis asked as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, you guys too. It'll really look good, I promise." she smiled. "You look fabulous, by the way."
"Thank you." Louis smiled graciously at her.
"Alright, so.. we open in about two hours. Everyone should run through their dances at least once, alright?" Danielle smiled.
"Fine, fine." Louis huffed with a fake yawn as they all started out to the club, and Louis restrained from tugging the almost unbearably tight shorts.
They all took seat that would be filled with customers in a few hours as everyone took their turns going to practice - most of the girls got paired together, and Louis danced with Cher once, but he had three dances to himself, as did Josh. By the end, they'd only gone over parts of each of their dances, since they had enough lined up for nearly four hours.
Danielle was sitting on her boyfriend, one of the bartenders, Liam's lap. Zayn was at the back talking with Perrie, and most of the girls were just stretching their limbs and filling their water bottles. Louis was laying on the ground, looking up at the ceiling, thinking about Harry.
*
It was after two that Louis thanked Zayn and Perrie for the ride, dropping him off about a block away from Harry's flat, and he started down to Harry's place. He was in his black skinnys, and white scoop neck that he'd packed earlier, leaving his bag in Zayns car, thanking him for the promise of dropping it back off at Louis' flat.
Louis walked into the building, feeling absolutely wiped, yet still buzzed on adrenaline as he rested his body against the mirrored wall in the lift. He yawned, squeezing his eyes shut as the door opened, and he stepped out in the hall. He fished the key Harry had given him from his pocket, assuming the younger boy would be asleep already. He opened the door, greeted by the sound of the TV.
He kicked his shoes off, walking to the living room.
"Haz?" he asked. "What are you still doing up?"
Harry almost never waited up, though Louis would usually wake him, climbing into bed.
"Where were you?" Harry asked, pausing the episode of Doctor Who that was on, glancing up at Louis. He had a lamp on next to him.
"Out." Louis smiled softly, sitting on the coffee table in front of his boyfriend. "Is something wrong? You never wait up for me babe." he said, voice calming as he reached a hand up to run it through Harry's curls. "Haz?"
"Louis, where were you?"
"Out." Louis said, with an almost forced smile.
"Louis, you're
always
out. But where do you go?" Harry asked, leaning forwards, elbows resting on his knees.
"Why the sudden interest?" Louis asked, voice annoyed. "It's never been that big a deal."
"I'm not trying to make it a big deal, but we've been together for like, two years, and I don't know what you do for a living, where you go every week, anything about your family. You know everything about me."
"I just go
out
, Harry." Louis snapped, standing up and starting towards the kitchen, a churning in his stomach.
"Louis, why is it such a big deal?" Harry asked earnestly as followed Louis. "I'm your boyfriend, you practically
live
here, can't you just tell me where you go three nights of the week until ungodly hours in the morning?"
"Is that the problem?" Louis asked, spinning around to face Harry, who was closer than he thought. "You don't want me spending as much time here? Because if that's it-"
"Louis, stop over reacting. I just want to know a bit more about you."
"Why? Why now all of a sudden?" Louis asked.
"Because-" Harry started, but cut himself off, brow furrowing. "Is that... Louis, are you wearing lipstick?"
"What? No." Louis answered quickly, scoffing. "Why would I be wearing lipstick?"
"Seriously? You're lying to me?" Harry asked, eyes going wide. "I can
clearly
tell you're wearing lipstick. It's smudged everywhere."
"I'm not wearing lipstick." Louis muttered, hand covering his mouth. He had been certain he'd gotten it all off.
"Fuck, really?" Harry snapped, pulling Louis' hand from his mouth and running his thumb over Louis' lips, pulling it away with faded red colouring across it. "You're honestly going to tell me you're not wearing lipstick?"
"Uh..." Louis froze, jaw slack and eyes wide as he tried to come up with a suitable explanation as to why he was arriving home at two in the morning with lipstick on. "I... um...."
"Were you...?" Harry paused, taking a deep breath as his brow furrowed. "Are you cheating on me?"
"I - what?" Louis gasped. "No, I wouldn't - you.. you
know
I wouldn't!"
"Apparently not." Harry stepped back as Louis tried to step closer. "You won't tell me
anything
about yourself! How the hell am I supposed to know whether you're lying or not right now? You literally
just
lied about not wearing lipstick, when you very fucking obviously are!"
"Harry, I can - I can explain!" Louis tried as he grabbed Harry's wrists, but Harry just pulled away from his grasp.
"Then explain; explain to me right now why you're wearing lipstick, why you lied to me about it, and where you go every god damn week!"
"I - I..." Louis opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say, so he shook his head, as his jaw moved with silent words. His eyes glistened with tears, but Harry just shook his head, taking another step back. "Harry..." he started, but trailed off with nothing else to say.
"I, um," Harry cleared his throat. "I think you should go."
"What?" Louis gasped as Harry brushed past him, headed for the entrance. "
Harry, please
."
"Louis, you should go." Harry said softly, eyes on the ground as he reached the door, swinging it open. He held the door, green eyes flickering up to meet Louis', glistening with unshed tears.
"Harry, we can talk-"
"It's after two in the morning, Louis," Harry sighed. "Now is not the time for talking. I think it's best you just leave."
"I - Harry - just..." Louis shook his head, his face pained as he realized he had nothing to say. He walked over, slipping his shoes back on and stepping out into the hallway. "I'm sorry." he whispered, eyes on Harry's face.
"Have a nice night." Harry said, starting to shut the door. Louis reached a hand out, stopping it from closing, meeting Harry's watery green eyes.
"I love you."
"Goodnight, Louis." Harry whispered out, shutting the door finally. Louis stood in the hall for a minute, body trembling as he hoped for Harry to open the door back up. He didn't, so with shaking legs, Louis made his way into the lift, pulling his phone from his pocket and texting Perrie to see if her and Zayn could come pick him back up.
*
The next morning, heading to work, Harry hadn't slept a wink. He parked his car, getting out and walking into the warm building full of familiar, smiling faces. It made him feel sick. He avoided any food, and just drank his water, his eyes feeling dry from crying so much the night prior as he tried to firgure out what was so important that Louis couldn't tell him.
He ran a hand through his messy curls, untamed after a night of tossing an turning in his too big, too empty, cold bed. He yawned as the door opened, and he turned to see Niall walked in, a sheet of paper in his hand.
"Whoa mate, you look like shit." Niall chuckled, falling silent when Harry didn't even smile. "What's wrong?"
"I tried asking Louis last night what he did every night." Harry said. "He refused to answer. He had lipstick on his lips, and lied to me about that, and even when I kicked him out, he didn't say anything." Harry sighed. "I don't know what the fuck he could be keeping from me!"
"Hey, calm down, man." Niall said softly, taking a seat next to Harry.
"Niall, I just..."
"That club?" Niall said. "We'll go tonight. Drinking, dancing, hot guys, it'll get your mind off of him."
"Ni-"
"Harry, believe me." Niall said, clapping a hand onto Harry's shoulder. "It'll do ya' good. When was the last time you had a night out?"
"Dunno." Harry shrugged, because he was usually just content with staying in and curling up with Louis.
"Then tonight, we'll go out. Alright?" he asked.
"Yea, tonight we'll go out."
*
"Are you sure you're alright to dance tonight?" Danielle asked, cupping Louis' face in her hands gently. He batted her hands away, annoyed.
"Yes, I am sure." he sighed. "It's my outlet - my escape. I'll be fine."
Danielle nodded, leaving him to the room by himself. Of course, by the time he'd arrived for work that afternoon, everyone in the club knew about his fight with Harry, and were making too big a deal about it. He wasn't upset at Perrie - because it was obviously Perrie who told someone - because he knew she was doing it with his best interest in heart, he was just annoyed that everyone was treating him like a child.
He stood, his dancing clothes on under his sweats and hoodie, as he walked out of the room and headed to the bar, in search of something to drink.
"Feeling any better?" the female bartender asked him with a soft smile, handing him a glass of water.
"Yes, Jesy, I'm perfectly fine. Everyone needs to stop asking me, because
I'm fine
." he sighed, running a hand over his face, exhausted.
"Louis?"
"I'm fine."
*
Harry sat on the curb, waiting for Niall to arrive still. He was sitting outside the club Niall had told him about -
Art.
The word was on a bright, neon pink sign that hung above the entrance. Loud music was booming from inside, and a bouncer stood outside the door. A few flyers were stuck to the red brick wall, all advertising the club itself, but mostly the '
exotic dancers
'. Harry still wasn't sure why he was here.
"Hey mate, sorry I'm late." the thick Irish accent made him jump, and he looked up to see Niall standing above him.
"S'alright." Harry shrugged, standing up and heading to the door with Niall, where the line had since minimalized. He noted that the club apparently open at seven, but the dancing didn't start until ten. He wondered why they opened so early, but didn't care to question it.
When they walked in, Harry had to blink. The bright lights were flashing in even brighter colours - currently, they were mostly pinks and purples. The girl on stage had dyed blue hair, and was dancing in a way Harry didn't find particularily attractive, but the straight guys at the front of the crowd cheering her on seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Harry noted that it looked like there were a few other rooms with other stages - one had red lights flashing from it, the other had yellows and blues and greens - but it seemed that they were in the room with the main stage.
"Let's go get drinks." Niall said, motioning for the bar. Harry nodded and followed him to the crowded bar that seemed to go along the entire wall, and had a large amount of bartenders working. A girl with long dark hair that was getting grabbed at by all the guys who were shouting at her about her '
amazing curves
' walked over to them with a smile.
"What can I get you two boys?" she smiled, and Harry and Niall ordered their drinks, moving away from the packed bar as soon as they had their drinks in their hands.
They talked for a bit, and Harry declined numerous invitations to dance, stating he had someone waiting for him at home - even though he didn't - and Niall kept giving him odd looks. He just felt weird, assuming that him and Louis were over. They'd had one fight, and now he wasn't sure
what
they were. Harry just really hoped that they were still something.
"I'm going to dance." Niall stated, and Harry nodded, absently, leaning against a wall, halfway through his second beer still, and it was nearly midnight. Usually at that point, he'd be getting ready for bed, leaving a plate of food in the microwave for Louis to reheat when he got home that night. But now, he was alone at some club where girls and guys kept coming over and talking to him.
"What time is it?" he heard a voice ask from a few feet away. There were a few murmurs, and a group of guys - a few of which had asked Harry to dance - seemed distressed.
"He's on in like a minute!" one of them gasped out, and the men started to try and subtly make their way up to the stage. Harry straightened up slightly, hearing that there was going to be a male dancer - because, apparently, there were two, and he'd seen one already, but hadn't been all too interested. Most of the club had been slightly interested, but by the crowd gathering around the stage, this was the act to watch.
Harry wasn't exactly sure
what
he was expecting, but what walked out onto the stage was anything but what he was expecting. Not in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Louis -
his Louis
- would walk out in nothing but tight, sparkling blue shorts, black suspenders, and a black bow tie.
His jaw dropped the moment Louis started to sway his hips to the music.
"First time here, mate?" an amused voice asked, and Harry turned to see another guy walking past him with a smile.
"Uh.." Harry tried to clear his throat out. "That obvious?"
"Well, considering he's-" the man pointed to Louis on stage "-has been working here for, like, three years, yea, I'll assume it's your first time. Unless you come on Mondays, but that would mean your straight, since no one comes for Josh. And by the tent in your jeans, I'm assuming your
straight?"
"He's been working here for three years?" Harry asked; he hadn't even known Louis for three years.
"Yea, I mean, he was here for a few months before Zayn bought the place, and that was in, like, January 2011." the guy nodded.
Harry just turned back to the stage, where his boyfriend was moving along to the beat in a sinfully seductive manner, and Harry felt too warm.
"Not his best night, I'll admit." the guy shrugged, and Harry turned to gape, because not
once
had Louis ever acted like this near him, so smooth and seductive, and just
hot.
"Not his best?" Harry asked, voice hoarse. The man chuckled, nodding.
"Yea, seems off." he shrugged. "Maybe he'll actually dance with his ever increasing fanbase tonight."
"What?" Harry asked.
"Um, since like.. god, what was it? Around July in 2011, he just stopped dancing when people asked him to dance. It's rather shit, if you ask me, because, well, fuck, but he's amazing, right? Don't know what happened." the guy shrugged, starting towards the stage.
July 2011.
That was when they'd gotten together. Harry had accidently spilt his milkshake on him, and they'd hit it off right away. And he'd stopped dancing with other people. Harry ran a clammy hand over his face as the song slowly came to an end, Louis disappearing off the stage. Niall was still nowhere in sight, so Harry went to buy another drink, walking back to stand against the wall and watch the stage.
A while later, Louis came back out, this time with a girl, her long dark hair falling to her back, her clothes red, contrasting greatly ro Louis' bright blue. Harry got undeniably jealous when they danced.
More dancers came and went, and Louis came out a few more times, and by the end of the night, Harry was painfully hard. His face was burning, and a tan, curly haired girl was the last one out on the stage before the lights dimmed. Harry kept his eyes on the stage as a petite blonde girl in a floral skirt and a pretty pink shirt, a flowery headband on came onto the stage.
"Okay, dancers are done for the night everyone." she smiled. "We're open for another few hours, though."
She walked off the stage after that, heading over to talk to one of the bartenders, getting a tray of drinks - this time alcoholic looking - and carried them through the door to the dancers. Harry stood in his spot, watching the door, no longer even caring where Niall was. Fifteen minutes later, people started pouring out.
Louis was among the last, coming out in a group of four - him, the tan girl, the blue haired girl, and a girl with black curly hair. The girls were all smiling, and Louis was too, but Harry could tell it was forced. The girls dragged him to the bar, and sat him down. He folded his arms in front of him, resting his head on them as they all talked with people who came up asking for a dance. The tall, tan dancer stayed with Louis, seeming to decline any requests to dance.
One of the bar tenders walked over to them, handing Louis a drink with a sypathetic look on his face. Louis ignored him as the dancer rubbed circles between his shoulder blades. She said something to the bartender, leaning across the counter to kiss him softly on the lips. He replied, turning and walking away.
The dancer kept talking to Louis.
Harry's eyes narrowed as the guy who he'd talked to earlier walked up to Louis, talking to him. Louis turned his head so he was facing the dancer. This happened with a few other guys before a tan guy with a quiff walked over. He leaned in, saying something to Louis, who sat up properly, nodding and rubbing his eyes. He stood, and the tan guy dropped an arm over Louis' shoulders.
Louis dropped his head onto the tan guys shoulders as they started for the door, and without even thinking about Niall, Harry followed them, jealousy burning in his stomach. His hands were clenched at his side as he reached the street, looking both ways for them. He started following them when he caught sight of them, wondering where they were going.
They stopped at a car, where the blonde who had been on stage to say the dancing was done, stood. She was leaning against the hood of the car.
"There you guys are." she smiled, going around to the back and pulling a bag - one Harry recognized as Louis' gym bag - from the back seat. "Here ya' go." she smiled, handing Louis the bag as the tan guy stepped away from Louis, pulling the blonde in for a light kiss.
"Thanks." Louis muttered softly.
"You sure you don't want a ride tonight?" the tan guys asked, his arms around the blonde girl.
"Yea, Zayn, just gonna walk. Clear my head, and al that." he shrugged with a small smile. "I'll text you guys when I get home, so you know I'm safe and all that."
"You'll be fine alone tonight?" the blonde asked as 'Zayn' went to get into the car.
"Yes, Perrie, I'll be fine." Louis assured her with a hug. "I'll see you next week or something." he shrugged, hitching his bag up on his shoulder before turning and starting down the street, Zayn and Perrie driving off.
Harry stood there, watching Louis disappear off into one direction, the car in another, getting brought out of his thoughts as a text from Niall came, asking him where he was.
*
Louis had spent the entire week locked away in his flat, except for the two times he went out to buy ice cream and beer. He'd been living on Chinese take out, in his tiny flat. He'd been trying to give Harry his space, after the few texts he'd sent that had gone without any reply.
He had huddled himself on his bed, looking around the flat he barely was ever at anymore. It was a shitty flat that he'd gotten when he had almost no money. It was generally one big room, with his bed by the window, the kitchen just a few feet away, a small TV that picked up mostly static so he had a DVD player, and the bathroom was through a small door, into an almost smaller room.
It was early Thursday morning - the sun was barely shining in through his murky window - when the door swung open. He jumped, pulling his blanket over his head, only to have it ripped off.
"Come on, out of bed." Danielle said, motioning for him to stand. Louis stared blankly at her, looking around at the group of dancers - Jade, Cher, Leigh-Anne - and Perrie that had gathered in his room.
"What?" he asked, voice thick as he rubbed his eyes.
"You." Danielle poked his chest. "Get up, it's Thursday, and you have work, and you smell like tears and leftover Chinese."
"It worries me that you can smell tears." Cher noted, her brow furrowed, a surprised laugh escaping Louis lips. Cher smiled, shrugging as she looked at her nails.
"Shut up." Danielle said lightly before turning back to Louis. "But seriously, you need to get up and come with us."
"Can't I take a shower first?" Louis asked as Danielle grabbed his hands, pulling up to stand.
"No, we're taking you to Perrie and Zayns. You can shower there." Jade smiled. "Their shower is better than your anyways."
"I think this is a health hazzard." Perrie called, and Louis glanced over to see she had the door to his bathroom open. Cher walked over and glanced over her shoulder, pulling away and gagging.
"What the hell?!" she coughed as Perrie pinched her own nose, shutting the door.
"What?" Louis asked.
"Everything is rusted over, and it smells like something died in there." Perrie said, voice nasily as her thumb and forefinger were still pressed onto her nose. Louis rolled his eyes as Leigh-Anne threw a pair of sweats and a hoodie at him.
"Put these on." she said.
"But my dance clothes-" he started, but Perrie shook her head.
"All the girls were complaining that the sequins dug into their skin." She explained. "Jesy is just getting the last of the new outfits ready."
"People are going to start thinking we have new outfits every week." Louis sighed as they led him down to the car that was parked outside, Perrie driving, Louis in the passenger seat, and the four dancers in the back seat.
They went to Perrie and Zayn's flat, which was much more luxurious than Louis' by far. Once he was showered, and the girls had worked on his hair and skin until they deemed him presentable, he was in a pair of clean sweats and a scoop neck as they headed to the club. When they walked in, the rest of the dancers were on the stage.
"New outfits?" Cara asked as soon as she saw Perrie and Danielle, obviously unsure who she was supposed to be asking. They both nodded, but Perrie spoke up first.
"Yea, since last weeks were apparently really uncomfortable, and we don't want to go back to black and white, I came up with a new idea. Go and change into what Jesy has laif out for you guys, then meet me in the basement." she clapped, turning to walk to Jesy, who was standing at the counter. It was nearly six thirty, and Louis was wondering why they were cutting it so close.
He was even more confused by his new outfit - black suspenders, black tie, and tight white shorts. What happened to colouful?
When he reached the basement, he was more confused, because, as opposed to the usual seating area they had set up for the dancers to relax in over the evenings with a few couches and what not, all the furniture was gone, and the red carpet and the walls were all covered in plastic. The girls seemed just as confused.
"What the fuck." Louis whispered, and Eleanor nodded her head. The dancers slowly filed in, and Louis' brow furrowed. Josh was dressed identically to him, with the lack of suspenders, and the girls all wore white shorts - if they were even long enough to be considered shorts - and black bras. He turned when Perrie walked in. "Don't want to go back to black and white, I see."
"Shut up, Liam, Zayn, get in here!" she laughed, and Liam and Zayn came walking in, carrying a long piece of wood that had about twenty large tins on them. Jesy came in, and the four opened the cans up to reveal a vast assortment of bright, neon colours.
"What-?" Rita started, but Perrie cut her off.
"Body paint!" she smiled - shouted, really - throwing her arms in the air. Louis, and a few other girls, gaped. Zayn and Liam chuckled before heading back out to finish setting up, Jesy following along behind with a snicker.
"Are you serious?" Danielle asked, obviously no more aware of the situation than the other dancers.
"It glows in the dark." Perrie smiled, dipping two of her fingers in the yellow. "Now, you guys are on in about three hours, so...." she smiled, flicking her fingers to the group in general. "have fun."
When she walked out, everyone stood there for a moment, unsure what to do. Louis shrugged, walking over and dipping his hand into the pink paint, scooping as much up as he could, before turning and throwing it at thr girls, managing to splatter Cher, Danielle and Jade all at once. He laughed as they all froze in ashtonishment, and then he felt paint across his chest, and looked to see Cher smiling at him, the bright green dripping from her fingers.
At that point, an all out war started.
*
It was Saturday. It had been exactly a week since he'd last seen Louis - not that Louis had seen him. He'd told Niall, who had just gaped at him, wondering how he hadn't realized it was Louis, then pointing out that he'd only met Louis once. Harry had rolled his eyes at Niall's annoyed tone, accusing him of being a horrible best mate.
But Harry was sitting on the foot of his bed, hands pressed over his mouth, as Niall chatted animatedly, walking through out the flat.
"Harry?" he asked, walking into Harry's room. Harry stayed completely still, except for his eyes flickering up to look at Niall, who had a stack of cookies in his hand. "Mate, we should go back."
"M'sorry, what?" Harry asked, words slightly muffled by his hands.
"Go back. You should talk to him, figure out why he didn't tell you." Niall reasoned. "I mean, he's probably got a reason, right?"
"And what could that be?" Harry mused, opting to rest his chin on his hands as they spoke.
"I don't know." Niall shrugged, stuffing an entire oreo into his mouth. "That'd be why you should ask him. If we get ready now.." Niall said around his mouthful of cookie as he looked at the clock. "We should make it there by eleven."
"Fine." Harry huffed, not putting up much of a fight, because he really just wanted to see Louis again - he missed having the smaller boy in his bed at night.
*
Louis was laying on the floor, covered in dry body paint when the last dancer - Danielle - made her way off stage, almost stepping on him.
"
Louis!
" she gasped as she stumbled into the wall. "What the bloody hell are you doing?"
"Dying." Louis groaned.
"What?" Danielle asked, helping him up, leading him to the dressing room in the back, tossing him his jeans and shirt.
"I just feel
lonely
." He said softly, pulling a blanket from the couch once he was dressed and draping it over his body. He tried hiding his face, but Danielle pulled it from his body, and he let out a high-pitched whine. "Dani!"
"Come on." she smiled, pulling him up, and he groaned as they started for the door. "We're going to get you piss drunk."
"How am I supposed to go home? I have seven flights of stairs, in case you forgot!"
"Stay with me and Li, or Zayn and Perrie tonight." she shrugged, finally reaching the club, which was too loud for Louis at the moment, and he was being dragged through the heavy crowd of people. He complained the entire time that he just wanted to go home and eat some icecream, but Danielle sat him down at the bar anyways. "Li, get him something strong." Danielle smiled at her boyfriend.
"Water." Louis corrected. A bright green drink was placed in front of him, and he looked up to glare at Jesy, who beamed down at him, shrugging. "I'm not drinking it."
"Yes you are."
"No."
"Oh, what's that?" Cher asked, coming up to sit on the other side of Louis.
"Don't know." Louis shrugged. "Want it?"
"Nah, drink up." she smiled. Louis froze, and glanced around at most of his friends, all smiling at me. "This is a group effort, isn't it?"
"Not like you would know." Jade sang out softly.
"What?"
"You
were
locked up in you flat for the better part of the week." Liam pointed out, and Louis groaned.
*
Harry was in his spot by the wall again, Niall by his side this time. Harry was watching - and listening to, he was closer this time - Louis and the dancers as they all tried to make him drink the bright green drink. He had paint speckled all over his arms, his neck, his face, even in his hair, no doubt under his tight clothes as well.
"
Louis!
" said one of the girls sitting with Louis, who was either unnaturaly tiny, or too young to be dancing in a club like this.
"Cher, if you want it drank so bad, drink it yourself." Louis said, lifting the drink and handing it to the girl. "I need to piss." he sighed, standing and starting to make his way through the crowd.
"Now, go now!" Niall hissed, pushing Harry towards where Louis was disappearing.
*
Louis slipped away from his friends, more or less just in hopes of getting some air. They'd been suffocating since picking him up on Thursday, and he really wanted to go back to moping around by himself.
"Here, wait up!" Danielle smiled, starting after him.
"Dani, I can piss by myself." he forced a smile, and she stopped as he turned and started to urgently push his way through the crowd. He was just reaching the hall that led to the bathrooms when a hand large hand caught his wrist. He turned to kindly tell whoever it was to leave him alone, but froze at the green eyes he met.
They stood for a moment, Harry's hand capturing Louis' wrist, and Louis staring at him with wide, slightly horrified, blue eyes. They seemed all but frozen, when someone came up beside them.
"Is there a problem here..?" the male voice asked, and Louis turned to see Liam standing, arms over his chest, eyebrows raised as he looked ta Harry. No one actually knew what he looked like.
"No, we're fine." Harry said, gaze not moving from Louis.
"I wasn't actually asking you." Liam said, voice cold.
"It's all good, Li." Louis said, and Liam looked at him skeptically, eyes narrowed. "It's all good." he said, voice firm.
"Alright Lou." Liam said, voice clipping at the end of his sentence. He glanced over the two one last time, before walking back to the bar. Louis' eyes flicked over to where everyone sat, eyes trained on them. He glanced around, and realized they were still closer to the dance floor than he'd originally thought. He looked back to see Harry still looking at him.
"What are you doing here?" Louis asked, voice a mix between confusion and sadness.
"Might ask you the same thing." Harry replied quickly, and Louis swallowed heavily.
"How... um," he cleared his throat. "How'd you find out?"
"Niall made me come here last weekend. Quite the surprise, if you'd ask me, to find out my boyfriend is an exotic dancer." he said, and Louis froze. He
knew
that tone. He glanced up from the floor, where he'd been looking, and met Harry's eyes, pupils dark and blown wide, brpw furrowed slightly.
"You're not.." Louis paused, composing himself. "You're not disgusted?"
"
Disgusted?
" Harry asked as if it were the most insane idea he'd ever heard.
"You know.." Louis motioned a hand at the stage. "That I dance around on a stage for horny guys in just... well... not that much."
"Yea, but as long as you're not doing anything with any horny guys but me..." Harry said, fingers hooking into Louis' belt loops. "Then why would I be upset? Hm?"
"But... I kept it from you..." Louis whispered.
"You're right." Harry noted. "Guess I should be mad. Maybe I am. Maybe you should do something for me to forgive you." he smiled.
"What?" Louis asked.
"Well, every guy in here seems to want to dance with you.." Harry said, trailing off as he looked around the room. "So, maybe, I want them to know you're mine. Maybe I want them to see that they can't have you, because
I
already do."
"Yea?" Louis asked.
"Yea." Harry breathed out, pulling Louis in so their hips collided. "Dance with me."
*
Harry wasn't really sure what to expect as Louis took his hands and slowly led him out to the center of the dance floor, somehow managing to find a small space for the two of them to fit into. They'd only gone out to clubs a few times in their relationship, Louis always finding a reason not to dance with Harry. So, to say the curly haired boy was nervous and excited, would have been a lie.
"One dance." Louis clarified as the song that was playing neared its end. Harry nodded at him, heart pounding heavily in his own chest. Then the next song started, and Louis' hands were pressed to his chest.
The song didn't start off
slow
, but it didn't quite start off fast either. So as it built up, Harry's anticipation built up as Louis just ran his hands over Harry's chest, his arms, anywhere he could reach. He kept his blue eyes locked on Harry's green ones, taking in his reaction until the drums started, then suddenly he wasn't facing Harry anymore, but had his back pressed to Harry's chest, fingers reaching up to tangle in the dark brown curls, and ass grinding as sinfully against Harry's hips as it had been swaying earlier on stage.
He dropped his head onto Harry's shoulder, meeting Harry's eyes, his own pupils dark and blown wide. He grinned at Harry, picking up the pace of his movements, and Harry's breath caught in his throat as Louis' lips brushed his jawline. His breath was hot, and Harry had to press his hands onto Louis' hips, trying to steady himself. Louis smirked, grinding further into Harry as Harry let out a high pitched whimper.
"Problem?" he breathed into Harry's ear, and all Harry could do was shake his head because,
no, this was most definately not a problem.
If anything, this was exact opposite of a problem, unless Louis didn't plan on doing anything once they got home. Then,
maybe
it was a problem.
Maybe.
Louis spun suddenly in his arms, slotting his thigh between Harry's and pressing their chests together. Harry slipped his hands into Louis' back pockets on his jeans, pulling him impossibly closer. Louis laughs softly, wrapping his arms around Harry's neck, his elbows resting on the taller boys shoulders and his hands tangling into his curls.
His smile was wide on his lips as he reached up to press a kiss to Harry's lips, capturing Harry's bottom lip between his and nipping at it. Harry groaned softly into his mouth, and Louis pulled back as the song came to an end. Harry leaned in, but Louis leaned away, smiling.
"I want a drink." he smiled, slipping from Harry's grip and starting through the crowd. Harry stood there for a moment, then realized people were staring at him, most looking slightly jealous, as he turned to follow Louis, quickly sliding through the crowd. Harry was barely a couple paces behind Louis when they were nearing the edge of the crowd when a guy came up and grabbed Louis wrist. Louis squeaked, stumbling as the guy pulled on his wrist.
"Wanna dance?" the guy smirked as Harry came up right behind Louis, although the guy didn't seem to care.
"I'm
good
." Louis sneered, pulling his arm, but the guy kept a strong hold on him. Louis brow furrowed as he continued to try and pull away from the guy. "Let go of me."
"Aw, c'mon." the guy smiled, stepping closer, almost pressed up to Louis as Louis took a step back, bumping into Harry who just rested his hands on Louis' waist. "You never dance with anyone, and now you practically fuck this guy right on the dance floor, and you can't even spare someone who's been coming to see you for a year a dance, when I don't think I've ever seen this guy here before."
"Maybe," Harry snapped out. "He won't dance with you because you're a pig."
"Oh, that fucking so?" the man hissed out at Harry, shoving Louis away slightly. "What about you, big guy? You wanna dance with me?"
"Thanks, but no thanks." Harry grimaced.
"Fine then, guess I'll just have to take the real dancer." the guy smiled, grabbing Louis' wrist once more and giving him a sharp tug. Louis gasped out in surprise, stumbling towards him. Harry didn't realize what he was doing until his fist made contact with the strangers face. The man released Louis and glared at Harry, going to hit him, which Harry quickly blocked.
A tan hand grabbed the mans arm as he went to punch Harry again, and he turned to gape at the man who Harry recognized from the night before, but couldn't put a name to. His hair was quiffed up, dark brown eyes narrowed at the man.
"Oh, thank go-" the first guy started, only to be cut off by the guy with the quiff.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave my club." he said, voice calm. The first guy gaped.
"What?" he gasped. "I'm an innocent bystander! I was defending myself when this phsyco hit me!"
"Really? Because it looked to me like he was trying to prevent you from pulling Louis out onto the dance floor when he really didn't want to go." the apparent owner of the club stated plainly.
"And why would he be doing that?" the jerk asked, eyes narrowing.
"Well," the owner started. "I'm just going to assume he's Harry?" he paused, turning to Harry, who nodded, wondering how this guy knew who he was. "See? Now if that's Harry, that means he's been dating Louis for two years and of course wouldn't let some piece of shit like you drag him out onto the dance floor. Now I'm going to ask you one more time to leave my club before I call Paul to escort you out."
The guys eyes widened at the mention of 'Paul', pulling away and slipping through the crowd. Louis stepped back so he was pressed against Harry.
"Zayn." the owner of the club smiled, offering his hand to Harry. Harry shook it. "Nice to
finally
meet you." he said with a pointed glance at Louis who just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm guessing everyone else will be ecstatic as well."
"Oh." Louis turned to look at Harry. "Be prepared for a dozen dancers and a few weird bartenders to harass you."
"What?" Harry gasped, eyes wide.
"Let's go." Louis smiled, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him to the bar, where all the dancers and bartenders were already staring at the couple, their eyes wide.
*
Once Harry had met everyone, who all seemed to know who he was and just kept smiling at him, he and Louis left, Niall was distracted by the only other male dancer who's name Harry had forgotten, and Harry really didn't care to remember, because before he knew it, him and Louis were back at his flat, naked and grinding together.
"Harry - Harry -
fuck
- Harry.." Louis was whining from beneath him, his eyes screwed shut and head thrown to the side.
"Mm?" Harry hummed, sucking a bruise into Louis' neck. Louis couldn't do more than whimper as Harry brought their mouths' back together for a long kiss, just happy to have Louis back - to
know
why Louis hadn't been their in the first place.
*
Louis woke up with his legs tangled with Harry's, their chests pressed together. He opened his eyes, jerking back and blinking at Harry, who was laying with his eyes wide open just inches away from Louis' face.
"Morning." he smiled as Louis sat up, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. Harry reached a hand up to run along Louis' back, and Louis shivered. He fell back to the pillows, smiling at Harry.
"Morning." he whispered, curling in to Harry's side. tracing the tattoo's on his chest. Harry pressed his lips into Louis hair as Louis' eyes fluttered back shut, and when he opened them, Harry was gone.
He sat up, rubbing a hand over his face and slipping out of bed. He pulled on a pair of boxers and grabbed a random shirt from the floor, realizing as he slid it over his head that it wasn't his. He shugged, adjusting the too-large shirt as he walked out to find Harry sprawled across the sofa.
"Hi." he smiled, walking over to sit down. Harry opened his arms, and Louis crawled into them, kissing Harry's jaw lightly before resting his head on Harry's shoulder, looking at the TV, where an episode of FRIENDS was playing.
"So, are you going to tell me?" Harry asked.
"Mm?" Louis rolled his head so he was facing up.
"Are you going to tell me why it took me two years to find out?" Harry asked, voice soft as he glanced down at Louis, who was looking up at him.
"Uh.." Louis cleared his throat, adjusting so he was still in Harry's arms, but sitting up more. "I well.. I don't know." he shrugged.
"What don't you know?" Harry asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.
"Well... um, what do you want to know?" he asked, pulling a pillow from on the couch onto his lap and picking at it.
"Everything." Harry said softly, fingers hooking under Louis' chin so the older boy was forced to meet his eyes. "Why you worked there? Where you learned to dance like that? Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, eyebrows creased slightly. Louis nodded, biting his lip and dropping his eyes and gathering his thoughts as he tried to figure out what to say.
"Well, um..." he pauses. "When I was eighteen, I moved here to London. Didn't want to stay at home, because my entire town was
really
fucking homophobic, even the kid who'd been my best friend growing up refused to talk to me. So I moved here, and I wanted to act or something like that, and was about to get evicted, so I, well, I found the club. The old owner sucked, but it was a job, and then when Zayn turned eighteen, he bought the club and fired over half the dancers, but it was better. I started dancing when I was like, six, because I was so clumsy, and I guess I just never stopped?" he looked up through his eyelashes.
Harry nodded slowly, eyes unfocused as he tried to organize Louis' rant in his head. "Okay..." he said slowly, licking his lips for a moment before his eyes focused on Louis. "But
why
didn't you tell me?"
"I just..." Louis sighed heavily. "I didn't want to tell you right away, yea? Because after starting working at the club and before I met you, I tried dating a few guys, and they all pretty much just liked me as a dancer and not as a person. And then, well, I thought that I'd waited too long, and I thought if I told you, you'd hate me, or find it dumb or gross or stupid, or something like that. My mom stopped talking to me when she found out, and I just..." he trailed off, shrugging slowly. "Didn't want to lose you too."
He was chewing nervously on his lip, and even when Harry pulled his chin again, he refused to meet his gaze. Harry sighed, leaning in to press his lips to Louis'.
"Louis," he whispered, barely pulling back as he spoke against Louis' lips. "I'm not going anywhere, alright? Love you too much for that, and
fuck
, but after last night, I might just start liking you just as a dancer."
"Shut up!" Louis snapped weakly, shoving Harry's shoulder back.
"But seriously, Lou." Harry said, resting a large hand on either side of Louis' face - covering a lot of his face and ears, so he looked kind of silly, really - "I'm not going anywhere. You're kind of stuck with me."
"Not stuck," Louis smiled, leaning in and resting his forehead. "Never stuck if I don't want you to go. Love you too much for my own good. The girls got mad at me because apparently my flat smelt like old Chinese takeout and tears."
"Tears?"
"Ask Danielle."
"Which one was that?"
"Tall, tan, curly hair and dating the bar tender."
"Liam?" Harry asked, and Louis nodded, humming softly and shutting his eyes, with Harry's arms wrapped around him and FRIENDS still playing in the backround as they spoke about the club, and he was almost certain he could smell soup cooking.
Nothing could have been more perfect.