Chapter 7 ~ The Lunch
[Louis]
During the next few days, I didn't do very much. I went to school, did my homework and laid in my bed. That was pretty much it. I didn't feel like doing anything else but mope. I knew that I shouldn't, that I should try my best to stop thinking about Harry and his appearance out of nowhere, but it was hard. He'd been my best friend since birth and my boyfriend for two years, it was close to impossible.
It was now Saturday morning and I was still lying in bed, not wanting to wake up and face yet another day of bad things happening. But it was Saturday after all, so I would at least not have to go to school, which was definitely a positive thing. Rolling around on the bed, I let out a loud groan and rubbed my eyes with my fists to get the sleep out of them.
After some time, I finally managed to get up and go down to the kitchen where my entire family was sat at the table; mom, Lottie and Fizzy. I slumped down beside Lottie without a word and reached out to grab a slice of toast on a plate in the middle of the table. It took some time for me to realize that I was being examined.
Looking up, I noticed that all three of them were looking at me, all of them seeming slightly concerned. I furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"
"How are you, son?" She asked, pressing her lips into a thin line.
"I'm alright, why?"
She let out a sigh, placing her spoon on the table. "It's just that you have seemed pretty... off these last few days and it's starting to worry me. You haven't been talking much and you've mostly kept to yourself. I'm just wondering if everything is okay with you?"
The wrinkle between my eyebrows only deepened by her words. I knew that I hadn't been speaking very much lately, but I didn't think they had noticed it. Usually, they were too caught up in their own business to catch up on my change in behavior. At least when it had just been going on for a couple of days. "It's nothing, mom. There's no need to worry," I promised her.
She nodded slowly. "I hope you're speaking the truth. I don't like seeing you like this."
I gave her a weak smile, nodding my head.
We continued eating in silence for the next couple of minutes until Fizzy broke the silence. "When were we going out for lunch?"
Looking up in confusion, having no idea that we were planning to eat out today, I furrowed my eyebrows. It didn't happen very often considering mom was the only one with an income in the household so we usually didn't waste the money we had on eating out. "We're eating out?" I asked, my eyes finding my mom again.
She bit her bottom lip, shaking her head slowly. "Eh, no, we're not. Actually, we're going over to Anne and Robin's for lunch. That's what I told you too, Fiz."
During the entire time she spoke that sentence, she kept her eyes on my younger sister. She knew I wouldn't like the idea considering what happened last time I was over at their place. Yet, here she was, planning it all without even my knowledge.
"We're what?" I almost spat the food out of my mouth.
Mom turned to me then, looking a bit apologetic. "I know things aren't good between you and Harry now, but I've talked to Anne and we both think that you two need each other. You just need to talk things out."
I furrowed my eyebrows together. "We don't need to talk about anything. He's already made his mind up and he doesn't want me in his life anymore. He's definitely made sure of that. There's nothing to do about it, and to be honest, I'm fine with how it is now. I thought you agreed with me on this, mom," I said, averting my gaze.
To be honest, I wanted my words to be truer than they were. I wished I could say that I was better off without him and mean it, but Harry was Harry after all, and I wasn't sure that I would ever think that a life without him would be better even if things were as they were now.
She let out a sigh. "I did, yeah, but when Anne told me that Harry isn't the same anymore either and that it could be because he doesn't have you in his life, I started to realize that you two might actually need each other. Please, would you at least consider going? For me... and for Anne?"
I pursed my lips, looking down at the surface of the table. I'd always had a soft spot for Anne. She'd always been there for me and I hated to let her down. I just wondered how mom could change her mind so quickly, considering she told me just a week ago to try and move on from Harry. Anne must be very good at persuading her or something.
"Fine," I muttered after a while of silence. "I'll do it, but not because I want to but because Anne wants me to. Though, if things go as badly as last time, I won't hesitate to turn back and go home, alright?"
Mom nodded, letting her lips form a small smile. "Of course. I just want you to try. Anne is going to talk to Harry too, so he will be prepared this time. Hopefully, things will go better then."
"Yeah..." I trailed off, taking a bite of my toast and looking down at the table. "Hopefully."
-
A few hours later, I was standing in the hallway, waiting together with mom and Fizzy for Lottie to come down and join us. She'd been preparing herself for this lunch for probably an hour and a half, yet she wasn't done yet. I wanted to roll my eyes at the idea, knowing she was becoming a teenager more and more during each day that passed. This was only one sign of it.
"Lottie, it's only lunch at Anne and Robin's, you're not going to prom, for God's sake!" I shouted through the house, causing my mom to send me a warning look. She hated when we raised our voices at each other.
A minute later, Lottie finally trudged down the stairs with a look that could kill on her face, and it was directed at me. "Shut up. It's not every day you're meeting a world famous artist," she grumbled, making me roll my eyes.
"It's only Harry."
She shot me another look. "Well, this Harry has fans all over the world that adore him and would like to just get a look of him. I should, in fact, make myself look pretty if I don't want to embarrass myself."
I laughed even though I couldn't help but think twice about her words. Maybe she was right somehow. Not about the 'make myself look pretty for a world famous artist' part, but about the fact that he wasn't 'only' Harry anymore. He had changed. A lot.
"Alright kids, we don't have time for any discussions. We're supposed to be there in ten minutes, so let's leave right now," mom interrupted.
Without any complaining, we did as told and exited the house. Mom locked the door behind us before we walked off to Anne and Robin's. During the entire way, I had a big knot in my stomach that was only growing bigger the closer we got to the house. It was very uncomfortable and I swear I was about to be sick any second. Why did I agree to this again? Oh yeah, that's right, because I was a big, stupid idiot that was basically attempting suicide by doing this. What had I put myself into?
The moment we were standing in front of the big house, I could feel my hands getting sweaty. Mom took a step forward to ring the doorbell while I stayed in the background, not wanting to be seen. It didn't take more than five seconds until the door opened and Anne's head popped up.
A big smile formed on her beautiful face when she caught sight of us and she instantly opened the door wider. "Hello guys, come on in."
As soon as we were inside, Anne stepped forward to pull mom into a bone-crushing hug. "God, it feels like forever since we last saw each other. It must've been like half a year ago or something, right?"
Mom nodded her head once she stepped back. "Yeah, it must be something like that. It's been a really long time at least," she agreed with an apologetic look on her face.
Anne returned it with a smile before turning to my sisters. Her lips twitched again as she pulled first Lottie into a hug. "God, you've grown so much since I last saw you two," she gushed. "How have you been?"
She gave Fizzy a hug too and waited for them to answer. Lottie shrugged. "It's been good, I guess. Life goes on, right?"
Anne nodded her head in agreement, her gaze flicking to me. Instantly, her face expression changed. It went from happy to pity and apologetic in the snap of a finger. "Oh, Lou. I'm so sorry about what happened last time. If I had known how he... I would have never invited you like that. At least, I would have prepared the two of you. It wasn't my intention to put you in that situation. I'm so sorry."
I waved my hand in dismissal as if it didn't matter. It did matter, but I didn't want her to go around and blame herself for it. It wasn't as if she knew Harry would react the way he did. She only wanted to be nice, so I couldn't be mad at her for it. I was just mad at Harry.
"Don't worry about it, Anne. It wasn't your fault."
She let out a sigh, nodding her head. "Well, I guess, but I should've known better. I mean, I didn't prepare either of you."
Before I could open my mouth to reply, Robin entered the hallway and greeted us all. However, there was still no sign of a certain curly-headed boy, and judging by the impatient look on Lottie's face, I could tell she had noticed this too.
"Where's Harry and Gemma?" Mom asked once it fell silent.
"Oh, Gemma is working, unfortunately, but Harry and Liam are up in Harry's room. They were up pretty late yesterday so they decided to take a small nap. They should be down here any minute though. Harry promised they would come down for lunch," Anne explained.
I rolled my eyes at the idea of Harry taking a nap. From what I could remember, he had always hated taking naps during the day. He always said he had trouble sleeping when the sun was shining and that he couldn't let himself relax like that early in the day. It was only days when he was hungover he would lie in bed at this time.
"I see," mom smiled, slipping off her shoes.
We all went into the kitchen that basically felt like my own judging by how many times I had been there, and sat down at the table that was already set.
I was surprised that it didn't take more than a minute until the sound of footsteps in the staircase could be heard.
Everyone turned their heads in the direction and we were soon welcomed by my ex and his new boyfriend. Even though I had seen Harry a few times since he had come back now, I still felt a tug in my heart at the sight of him. Why did he have to be so incredibly beautiful? He didn't deserve it.
The second they stepped into the kitchen, I looked down at my plate, biting my bottom lip. I hated this situation. I hated seeing him like this, knowing that things were so different from how it had always been before. We had never had an awkward conversation and now it felt like I couldn't even form a word in his presence. I didn't know him anymore.
Mom was the first one to react to their appearance. She stood up from her seat and walked over to give Harry a hug. "God, it's been such a long time since I last saw you. How have you been, sweetheart?"
My eyes widened at the scene. What happened to my mom? Was it really the same person who had told me to move on from him? It couldn't be. She must have a twin she'd never told me about or something. This just couldn't be her.
He seemed very caught off guard by her gesture when she pulled back too, even though he tried to hide it and play it cool. An uneasy smile formed on his lips as if he didn't really know how to tackle the situation. "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, Jay. It's been ages."
My eyes widened more if that was even possible. Why did he say it like it wasn't a big deal? I mean, when I met him the first time, he was nothing like this. Was he trying to act normal all of a sudden or what was going on here?
Feeling nothing but shocked, I looked back down at my plate, biting my bottom lip while trying to figure out what was happening. Was this some wicked dream or something?
Mom seemed satisfied with his reply and sat back down in her seat. She kept her eyes on him though, and so did my sisters. After a few seconds of silence, mom spoke up again. "You have to tell us what's been happening in your life during these years. A lot has changed for you, right?"
Without realizing it, I had looked up from my plate again, and I was now watching the brown haired guy as well. His gaze met mine for a split second, and right then, I swear my heart skipped at least three beats in my chest. He swallowed hard, giving Liam a look too before focusing on my mom. "Yeah, definitely. Nothing is the same anymore, but I enjoy it."
Mom nodded, an almost forced smile forming on her lips. Now, that was the mom I knew. The one who had been hesitant about Harry since he became famous. "Of course you do. You don't miss your old life then, do you?" She asked, and if it weren't for the fact that I felt Anne watching me, I would have given my mom a warning look because this was slowly heading the wrong way.
I knew what she was getting at now, and this wasn't the right time to talk about that. It wasn't even her place to talk about it with him in the first place. It was mine, and she should stay out of it.
Harry opened his mouth to reply, but I beat him to it, not really knowing what I was doing. "Alright, I think the food is ready, don't you Anne?"
I gave her a look, and she nodded. It seemed like she didn't want to have this conversation right now either, and thank God for that. "Yeah, it smells like it," she agreed and stood up to get the food out of the oven.
Once she sat down again, it fell dead silent. It was awkward, and I looked at every face in the room, trying to see if anyone was going to speak up any time soon. Unfortunately, everyone just seemed uneasy and not very comfortable at all. However, Anne finally broke the silence by telling us to dig into the food.
Being hungry and a little eager, Fizzy didn't hesitate to take the spatula and plate some spaghetti bolognese. We took turns, still with the awkward tension in the air. It wasn't until we had all started eating that Anne cleared her throat.
"So, Louis. Tell us about yourself. What's happened in your life?"
It wasn't like she didn't already know pretty much everything that had and was going on in my life. I had visited them quite a few times during these past two years after all. I think she just asked because of Harry, so he would know as well, and to ease the tension.
"Um, well... Not very much, to be quite honest." I kept my gaze at Anne so I wouldn't have to see his reaction. "I've made a few new friends and a girlfriend. That's pretty much it," I shrugged.
From the corner of my eye, I could see how Harry's jaw clenched at the mention of my girlfriend. However, it happened so quickly that I almost doubted myself that it did.
"Yeah, Niall, Zayn and Hannah, right?"
I nodded to Anne."Yes. They're awesome friends."
If there had been tension in the air before, it could barely be compared to the one now. It was even thicker, and I wouldn't even dare turn my head to see Harry's facial expression. But, that didn't mean I regretted saying what I just did. I was just speaking the truth after all, even if I might have hinted at him a little.
"Alright, what about you, Harry? Have you made any new friends?" Mom asked, turning to the curly haired boy who was staring at his untouched plate.
He looked up at the mention of his name and searched for the source of the statement. "Uh... Yeah. I've found awesome people too," he smiled forcefully, glancing at Liam through the corner of his eye.
Liam smiled back, obviously not acknowledging the tension in the air. After that, we actually started talking pretty normally. Anne and mom hadn't seen each other in a long time so they had a lot to catch up on. Robin joined their conversation while Lottie tried to speak with Harry who seemed to be in a deep conversation with his boyfriend. I, on the other hand, tried to enjoy my food instead of focusing on the fact that I didn't really have anyone to talk to.
Once we were all finished and were just sitting there, talking, mom spoke up again; "So, Liam. We want to know about you too. How did you and Harry meet?"
And that was when I really understood the reason why my mom had agreed to come here in the first place.
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Hello guys! It's been a really long time, I'm sorry. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. Thank you for reading :)
Pauline .xx