July 27th
When Zayn had texted Louis about the party the day before, Louis was home, sitting on his bed with his sister and helping her with some summer English work she couldn't manage to finish on her own. Zayn had insisted on the fact that if Louis wanted, he could bring Harry and they would be happy to get to know him. It wasn't really a party actually, it was probably more of a sleepover than anything else. Less than 10 people drinking a bit, playing board games. They had done them quite a few times, of course, they were still partying but those were the opportunity to be just between friends, chatting and having a nice time together. So here they were, sitting on the floor of Zayn's new apartment he was sharing with his sister and a co-worker, both absent, and playing some board games that started annoying the girls, Sophia and Gigi. They couldn't stop sighing loudly, trying to show their disappointment and most of the boys were ignoring them, as for Harry, he was trying not to laugh.
"Couldn't we play something funnier?" Gigi asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Sophia nodded while she grabbed Liam's hand and shook it, trying to drive his attention on her. They were trying to convince them to change game for a while now, it was around 11 and they were starting to feel really bored. There were 3 teams, Sophia and Liam, Zayn and Gigi, Harry and Louis. The last team was winning, probably because both of them were actually working on it, unlike Sophia and Gigi who had somewhat teamed up together against their partner. It hadn't worked until now, but Zayn and Liam were getting tired of their loud complains.
"OK! What do you want to play then?" Zayn asked, looking at the girls.
"Never have I ever?" Gigi offered with a smile full of hope.
Liam sighed loudly. It was THE game they used to play at parties and usually it was ending pretty bad, break up, friendship ending, etc... This game may have brought fun to the parties but it also brought drama. And right now, no one wanted to face any drama, they wanted to chill and have a good time all together. Harry smiled discretely, he never played Never have I ever, maybe because he only had Niall as a friend and he didn't think playing the game when you're only two would be much fun. Gigi exchanged a look with Sophia who nodded before turning toward Liam and kissing his cheek.
"Come on, like in the good old days!" she saw him smile a bit so she used her best puppy look and added "Please..."
"OK, I'm in!" he said after his girlfriend had kissed him.
Zayn sighed and Louis laughed.
"I am in as well! Harry?" Louis asked.
"Of course I am in!" he exclaimed a grin painted on his lips.
"You're all traitors!" Zayn shouted before taking the board game and throwing it behind him.
They all laughed as Zayn sighed loudly and shrugged, showing he was okay – he didn't really have any choice – to play the game. They didn't have drank much yet, only the current beer on their side or in their hand. Louis didn't really want to end up drunk around Harry and Harry didn't drink much. He simply didn't like the taste or anything about the effect that would have on him. He liked having control of himself and losing it with some alcohol wasn't his goal in life, he would probably end up making a fool of himself and reveal some embarrassing things about himself. No, never going to happen. He liked some beer now and then. Not much. Zayn stood up and after a while was back with a bottle of vodka, and some orange juice and a bottle of coke. He was also holding some plastic cups. He set all of them on the floor and gave them to each one of his guests. Once the mixtures were done and Harry had insisted on only keeping his beer, they started.
"Never have I ever got a tattoo and regretted it!" Gigi started, a smile on her face.
Zayn and Liam drank a bit of their cup, sighing loudly and reminding themselves not to jump in the first tattoo parlour they could see ever again.
"Never have I ever stolen something but got caught!" Zayn said, a bit too proudly.
Liam exchanged a look with Louis before they started laughing and drinking. They kept laughing for a while and Harry wished he knew what Louis had done with Liam that was supposed to be so funny. As the other were going through their Never have I ever, Harry was looking for one, a good one, he didn't want to be ridiculous. He would probably not drink much at this game. He used to be so calm, he had spent most of his years in sport, running, swimming, cycling, whatever it could be. He was rarely ever going to party. Mostly because they weren't getting any invitation, and if they did, Harry had a marathon, a race, competition and he couldn't go. He liked it the way it was though, even though he hadn't done anything crazy in his life, he liked to think it wasn't making him any less interesting.
"Never have I ever broken a bone!" Liam declared, looking around.
Harry bit the inside of his cheek and leant on Louis a bit before whispering:
"I should probably drink the whole can for this one.."
He drank a bit of his beer. Louis slid his hand discretely on Harry's lower back and rubbed it gently to comfort him. Strangely he was the only one on the circle who had broken a bone which implied he had to tell the story. But Louis was against this, he didn't want Harry to get in this situation. It was supposed to be a funny night, chilling and enjoying themselves, not reminding himself why he was the way he was now.
"You're the only one, you have to tell us!" Liam spoke up again with a smile.
Louis and Harry couldn't blame them, they didn't know how Harry had became blind, they probably thought he was born like this. Louis had never took the time to tell them, maybe because he was avoiding talking about Harry to them, for some reason.
"I don't think he..." but he was cut off.
"That's okay, I had a really bad car accident in February, I got a broken tibia and fibula on my left leg, some ribs, my collarbone and my cheekbone was pretty bad as well. Oh, and as a bonus, I lost my eyesight." he said, almost ironically.
Louis remained speechless with the way Harry had talked about it. Weeks ago, he would have ran and cry, hiding himself somewhere no one could see him. But tonight, he didn't look broken, he simply pinched his lips in a sad manner and shrugged. Louis didn't know how violent the accident was before Harry said that. He didn't know anything about it, at all. No one talked, the atmosphere was awkward, uncomfortable even. The girls' jaws had dropped, shocked and Zayn was looking at Louis who was staring at the curly haired boy with shiny eyes and a proud smile on his lips.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to..." Liam started.
"That's the game!" Harry cut him off with a forced smile, trying to ease the atmosphere. "Your turn Louis!" he added.
"Never have I ever cheated on a test!" no, he didn't have a better idea.
"Of course!" Zayn laughed.
They all grabbed their cups and drank a bit of the mixture, even Harry drank off his can. Louis laughed a bit.
"Never have I ever dyed my hair a crazy colour!" Harry asked, nothing better either.
"Is grey a crazy colour?" Zayn asked.
"Even if it wasn't, green is, so drink!" Louis added.
"And pink is as well, you definitely have to drink on this one!" Liam laughed.
Harry was surprised, he liked that. That was probably the main reason why he had first talked to Carrie, she had curly light lilac blue hair and it was freaking beautiful with her dark red lipstick and her big dark brown eyes and thick eyebrows, she was always dressing herself in an 80s grunge fashion vibe. She was stunning. She would always stand out from the crowd and maybe Harry was only intrigued. She was different from the other girl. Most girls didn't really like Harry in his old school, no matter if they didn't even know his name. Zayn drank after sighing loudly.
"Never have I ever taken a shower with someone else!" Gigi said raising an eyebrow and looking around.
Everyone drank except Harry, his cheeks was tinted with a bit of pink at the question. He wasn't really opened or anything on this kind of subject, some people would say he was prude. But he simply didn't like to display his personal life, there wasn't much to display on that subject really. Louis looked at him, he wasn't surprised. Harry looked so innocent and pure and was hiding his body so much even though he knew well there wasn't anything that deserved to be hidden. He could say by the way his black pants were showing the curves of his legs that he had muscular legs. And he assumed the rest of his body was also muscular.
"Louis, truth or dare?" Zayn suddenly asked.
Sophia frowned deeply.
"What, Zayn, this is not..."
"You made me change the game earlier, I have the right to change it right now!" he said with an eyebrow raised.
And strangely, they didn't complain. It wasn't much different anyway. Still getting to know each other in a funny way and reminding themselves the good old days. So they let him do so. Zayn was stubborn anyway, it took the girls almost 2 hours to make him change the game earlier and they didn't want to upset him. The boys didn't really mind even if Harry was pretty much of a chicken at this game, picking safety, that meant truth. He even lied sometimes because it was too personal. What a sin!
"Dare!" Louis said happily.
"Kiss Harry!" he exclaimed before adding "on the lips, of course!".
Sophia laughed a bit at how Louis' face turned pallid, like he was about to throw up. Harry wasn't better but rather than turning white, his face had burnt up to a vibrant pink colour. Louis felt his stomach tight suddenly, his hands were hot and sweating a bit. He wanted to, in all honesty, he wanted to grab Harry's face and kiss his so beautiful lips, but if it had to happened, he didn't want it to happen like that, in front of his friends, among people and watched by them. No, it wasn't the way he wanted it to happen. Maybe it would never happen anyway, maybe Harry would never want to kiss him, he wouldn't be surprised. But if it had a chance to happen, then a dare was far from what he wanted. He shook his head.
"I won't do that!" he said loudly.
Harry's heart hurt a bit at his words. He shouldn't be surprised. Why was he surprised? Louis wasn't gay, he even got a girlfriend for a long time, he wasn't gay and he knew it. But it was a dare. Lot of straight people kissed a same sex person for a dare, it was no big deal. Or maybe it was to Louis? Maybe he was one of those men who think kissing a boy was disgusting. No matter if it was their friend. Silently, in the back of his head, Harry wished he was not one of them. Maybe he was the problem, what if he looked so ugly or disgusting that Louis didn't want to kiss him. It wouldn't have been a real kiss anyway, just a simple quick peck on the lips. Louis' voice was so cold and that offended Harry even more.
"Then you know what to do!" Zayn said.
Louis rolled his eyes and sighed loudly as he drank the rest of his cup. Serving himself another glass of the mixture.
"Liam, truth or dare?" Louis asked.
"Dare!"
"Call Zayn's mum and tell her you both are a thing!"
Sophia laughed while Zayn opened his mouth, complaining and trying to force Liam to put his phone down but he had already composed the number and the phone was against his ear. When he heard Trisha's voice, he cleared his throat.
"Hi, yeah, it's Liam, I am sorry it's late, I know, I needed to tell you something because I can't wait anymore, Zayn won't ever have the courage to tell you." he felt bad for a second, when he heard her asking how was her son and if everything was alright but he spoke up again "Zayn and I, we're kind of a thing now, it's been a while, we're in love and he was too scared to tell you but I am tired of hiding, goodnight!" he hang up before bursting into laughters.
Zayn was looking at him with wide eyes before taking his phone out of his pocket. Louis leant on Harry.
"Revenge is a dish best savoured cold!" he whispered to his ear.
"There's no need for revenge when you don't actually agree on the dare!" Harry answered in a low voice.
Louis frowned, looking down to Harry, his teeth were clenched, he could see it by the way his jaw looked bigger and how visible his masseter muscle was under his skin. He shook his head before bringing his attention back on Liam and Zayn. The next dares were between Gigi, Zayn and Sophia.
"Harry, truth or dare."
"Dare.." he said unsure, but he didn't want to be a chicken.
It was probably the first time since the accident he was going to a party and he didn't want to be judged by people he barely knew.
"Sing a song all the way through the end." she said with a smile.
He felt his heart speed in his chest and a knot in his throat. He didn't want to look ridiculous, he was used to sing in the shower only, like half people on the planet. But he didn't want to be a chicken, not after what he had told Louis. He tried to find a song he knew, but there were none he could sing or remember the lyrics all the way through the end.
"I don't know any song entirely." he explained, secretly hoping she would drop the idea and change her mind.
"Then goes for the one you know the most."
Strangely, only one could appear in Harry's mind, he needed to look confident, like he didn't care what they would think about him. He was anxious, stressed, he breathed in before humming slowly the beginning, and he started slowly:
Won't you come see about me?
I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby
Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving me everything inside and out and
Love's strange so real in the dark
Sophia had wide eyes and Gigi looked pretty much as shocked as her. His voice was already really good just by talking but singing was fitting it so perfectly. Louis hoped he was dreaming, he deeply wished it wasn't real, that Harry wasn't singing just beside him, singing beautifully. He couldn't stop starring at him, he used all his strength not to yell at him to kiss him, right now, right here. He wondered if Harry could get any better? Every time he thought he was one of the best person he had ever met, he would discover something that would make him think he was actually the best. His mouth was half-opened, helping him to breathe and Zayn was looking at him with a smile plastered on his lips.
Think of the tender things that we were working on
Slow change may pull us apart
When the light gets into your heart, baby
Don't you forget about me
Don't don't don't don't
Don't you forget about me
He sang for a little while before the lyrics became blur in his mind so he stopped slowly, biting on his lip and chewing gently, he felt like he was about to explode. He wanted them to talk, at least he didn't hear any laugh, that was probably a good thing, they weren't laughing at him.
"Where did you learn to sing like that?!" Sophia asked, still shocked.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Under the shower?" he joked.
They played for several hours before Gigi and Liam were starting to fall asleep, none of them were really drunk. Louis was probably the most drunk of them all. Not too bad, he could still think pretty straight and walk without stumbling but his self promise about not being drunk around Harry was far from his mind now. So they decided to go to bed, it was about 4 and they laughed about how they couldn't stay awake longer anymore, no more sleepless night like when they were 16. Zayn had given the three rooms. Gigi and him would take his co-worker's room, for the only reason that Zayn was the only one he knew and trusted. Zayn's sister's room had been assigned to Liam and Sophia. Harry and Louis had to take the last room, Zayn's. Louis led Harry to Zayn's room. He led him to the bed slowly, and it was silent. They had forgotten their pyjamas and even though Louis offered Harry to take one of Zayn's, Harry refused, it would be inappropriate. So he simply laid down with his tight black jeans and his grey shirt. Louis striped down, kicking his jeans and sweatshirt on the floor, getting ride of his socks and he laid down in the bed, giggling softly. He came closer to Harry, wrapping his arm around his waist, his chest against his back. The younger boy froze at the sudden and unexpected touch. On one hand he wanted to push Louis away because he knew he was drunk and probably couldn't really realise what he was doing, but on the other hand, it felt so good, Louis's hand on his stomach and his face in his hair.
"If you promise me to sing to me in the shower, I'd happily help you fix your never have I ever taken a shower with someone else." Louis sighed against his hair, driving away from reality to fall into some random dream.
Harry didn't answer, he could feel a lump in his throat and his heart beating faster than ever in his chest. Soon after, he heard Louis' regulate breath, proving he had fallen asleep. Harry tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't stop dwelling on Louis' arm around him, his chest against his back, his body so close to his and his words. He knew all of this was the consequence of him being drunk. But he wished it wasn't, he wished Louis truly wanted to hold him in his arm just like that. And his chest was hurting, so bad. He didn't want all of this, not like that. Every time he had imagined Louis cuddling with him, he imagined it would make him happy, the happiest ever, it was supposed to bring him so much happiness. But it wasn't, because Louis was drunk and probably wouldn't do it if he wasn't. Harry grabbed Louis' hand on his tummy and slowly lifted it as he sat up, he took the pillow and kneed on the floor before laying on the carpet slowly because he would rather having nothing than getting what he wanted because of alcohol.
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Hiii! How are you doing today ? Good I hope
Another day, another chapter!
I won't ramble this time :)
I just hope you all liked this 15th chapter, more Zayn, more Liam :)
Thanks for reading !
Take care of you ♥
-Lisa-