I snapped myself out of that frame of mind and occupied myself with twitter. I scrolled through the hundreds of tweets, some good, some bad, then eventually gave up. There were so many new tweets filling the page, I had no time to even read one. I threw my phone onto the nightstand gently and closed my eyes, the sun setting outside my window. I went back into the hallway hesitantly. I didn't even know what I was doing, I just didn't want to be all cooped up in my room. I walked out onto the balcony, watching the sunset.
"Beautiful.." I murmured, watching the sun fade behind the houses in the distance.
"Lou!" I heard a familiar voice shout. I looked down to my right, and on the balcony downstairs, Niall was standing there giving me a thumbs up. "Amazing, isn't it?" He smiled up to me.
"I know.. I wish Harry wasn't being such a knob, he'd probably like it too." I laughed.
"I'm a knob now am I?" I heard a voice from behind me. I rolled my eyes to Niall and Harry walked up to the edge of the balcony next to me.
"I'll leave you two to it." Niall smirked, closing his door behind him. Damn you, Niall leaving me here with it. Yes, I called him 'it'. I watched the sun go down lower until it was almost darkness and looked at Harry briefly who was staring, almost glaring at me. I quickly looked away before turning on my heels and walking away.
"Louis, wait.." Harry grabbed my wrist and my cheeks turned a light shade of pink for some reason. I shrugged my wrist from his hand and slowly walked back to him.
"What?" I asked sheepishly, afraid I'd done something wrong. Damn why am I so scared of him? I guess I didn't know what he was capable of. A tear fell down his cheek and his lip was shaking a little. "Harry, what's up?" I asked and he shook his head, scrunching his face with an angry expression.
"I don't hate you, okay?" He said, gritting his teeth.
"Nice to know." I said, I couldn't help let a tiny smile play on the corner of my mouth. "What's going on, Harry?" I questioned after a short pause.
"Nothing.." He shook his head. "I just miss my family." He shrugged off the subject and wiped the tears from his face. I narrowed my eyebrows in confusion and sighed a little.
"Well, I don't want to be enemies Harry." I smiled.
"We can't be friends." He replied quickly.
"Why's that?" I sighed a frustrated sigh.
"We just can't. Sorry." He shrugged and looked out on the fading sunlight. After a minute of silence, the sun had gone and so had my interest in the conversation. If he wanted to be like this then fine, he obviously wanted nothing to do with me. I walked back inside and turned the TV back on, watching whatever program was on. About 10 minutes later, his slouched figure walked past me and without saying a word he vanished back into his bedroom. So, he doesn't hate me but it's very clear he doesn't want to be my friend. It bothered me. I wanted to know why he was avoiding me and no-one else. He was so cheerful around everyone else but.. Why not me? I thought and thought on it until I drifted off to sleep on the sofa.
**
I woke up with a cream blanket placed over my hips and legs. My eyes started to adjust to the light in the room shining through from the glass balcony doors. I looked over to the kitchen door and saw Harry walk past it, holding a cup of coffee. I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I could smell the coffee coming from the kitchen as I pushed my legs from the sofa and stood up. I made myself some Yorkshire tea and sat at the kitchen table. An awkward silence filled the room as he sat opposite me. I gulped down the drink, warming my body and quickly got up from the table. Harry's eyes watched my every move. Those green eyes. God damn it, stop staring at his eyes Louis. I pulled my eyes away from his and left the room quickly. I threw on some fresh clothes and wondered what I was going to do today. We couldn't go anywhere in public, people knew who we were and we would get mobbed. As I was thinking, I picked up my phone to check for messages and there was one from Ed. We'd met Ed Sheeran on the X Factor and he was a great guy.
"Alright, Lou? Thought we could get round to showing you that song today. Tell me if your up for it. :)" it read and I smiled, replying straight away.
"That would be great, tell me the time and I'll meet you at the studio. :D" I replied and headed back to the kitchen nervously.
"Harry, Ed is gonna show us the song at the studio today." I ran a hand through my non-styled hair and pushed my fringe off of my face.
"What time?" He said, crunching on some cereal while scrolling through his phone yet again.
"Don't know, just waiting for him to reply."
"Then don't tell me til you know, dumb shit." He gave me a dirty look and continued scrolling.
"Wow, someone's got PMS." I rolled my eyes and he stood up.
"You what?" He growled.
"Harry, calm the hell down." I felt my phone vibrate as he glared through me.
"About 11 would be good for me, I'm near the studio now." Ed had replied.
"That was Ed, we're meeting him at 11." I stuttered, giving him a slight dirty look through my nervousness. I don't know what I was afraid of, even if he did hit me or anything I was stronger than him by the looks of our muscles. Although, his arms were quite muscular through his short sleeved navy t-shirt and his shoulders were broad. Stop it, Lou you're staring again. I shook my eyes lightly, returning them to Harry's glare.
"K.." Harry traced his tongue over his bottom lip, making it glisten slightly. The sight caught my breath and gave me goosebumps. What the heck? Okay, I admit it - he's attractive. But come on, he's a dick. I don't care if he's going through a hard time. Well, that's a lie I guess. I do care. I obviously do otherwise I wouldn't be thinking about it so much. Christ Lou you're staring again!
"You got a problem?" Harry raised his eyebrow at me.
"No.. Sorry." I mumbled before running a hand through my locks again. I turned to the door and traced my fingertips along the wall as I walked through the hall to my room. 'Stop thinking about it Lou. You need to focus.' I thought to myself as I closed my door and wandered to my wardrobe. I pulled out a brightly coloured stripy shirt and some jeans. I pulled my fingers through my hair, once in the bathroom and swept it upwards and to the side. It was barely a style but people said it looked good.
I slipped my fresh clothes on and almost sneaked out of my room. I poked my head round the corner a little and Harry was already dressed, pacing around the living room still on his phone.
"You're obsessed with that thing." I laughed nervously, glancing at the phone as his head flicked up to look at me. His curls bounced around the frame of his face, making his pink lips stand out. My eyes lingered on his as his breathing got heavier then slowly relaxed. He took in my words before smiling slightly and shrugging. He slipped his phone into his pocket and suddenly the air was filled with tension. I'd had enough of these stupid questions flying through my mind. Harry walked past me in his white t-shirt and chino's and I took a breath, still a little nervous. I shook my head, trying to banish the nerves and turned to him,
"Harry.." I started as he turned his head back to me, emotionless. "You need to tell me why. Why can't we be friends? Why is it such an issue for you?"
He closed his eyes and let out a short breath. He parted his lips to speak but no words came out.
"I don't think you would want to know. There's a lot of stuff you don't know about me and I think we should leave it that way."
"We're in a band together, we should know everything about each other! Harry, this group is going to be around for a while and I don't want to spend every day hating each other." I said, my voice breaking a little.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't hate you, Lou." He stated. My stomach jumped a little at his words, it was the first time he had used a nickname for me that wasn't insulting. "I just don't... We're not.. I.." He trailed off and put his head back, thinking about his words carefully. "I'm not the best person to have as a friend, okay? Especially not for you."
"But why not for me? You get on so well with the others."
"You don't need to know that." Harry walked out of the room and before I could speak he was closing the front door behind him. I grabbed my car keys and walked out to my car. As I was driving, more and more questions came into my mind. What didn't I know about him? Why didn't he want me to know? If he doesn't hate me, why doesn't he class me as a friend?
I parked my car and saw Harry walking into the studio. I followed him in and stood behind him as he greeted Ed, doing so myself as Harry sat down.
"Okay, so I have this song I wrote a while ago. It's pretty dramatic actually." Ed began, showing me a sheet. He had text the others and they would be arriving soon. "It's about a girl dying, basically." He almost chuckled.
"That's a cheery subject." Harry smiled, his eyes flickering across the words. The light reflected off of his green orbs as they sparkled. I let a smile play on my face as I gazed into them, shortly returning my stare to my lyrics.
"I have a solo." I smiled at Ed and he nodded happily. I heard Niall's laugh echo through the hall and soon there was a big crash followed by a sarcastic scolding from Liam.
"Well done Niall." Liam said as he entered the room, Niall and Zayn following behind him.
"What's he done now?" Harry giggled as Niall shrugged happily.
"He wanted to see that if he flapped his arms really fast if he could fly. Safe to say he failed." Zayn shook his head as Niall rubbed his arm.
"Landed right on my shoulder." Niall smiled and I patted the seat next to me, the boys joining us. We went over the song, Moments, and soon we were rehearsing.
"Anyone for Nando's?" Niall shouted as we all walked to our cars.
"Sure." We all agreed and drove to the restaurant. We booked a table as girls squealed at us - I'll never get used to that. We took a few pictures before sitting down at our table and ordering. We all got our food and dug in hungrily. Harry looked over to Niall and took a chip, throwing it into his mouth. Niall gasped, grabbing Harry's hand and biting it.
"You steal my food, I steal your hand!" He shrieked, Harry bursting out with laughter in between his yelps of pain.
"Niall mate, let go! You can have one of mine!" Harry laughed, pulling his hand from the blond boy's teeth.
"That's what I thought." Niall smugly took one of Harry's chips and bit it, chewing with a big grin.
"He really loves his food." I shook my head with a smile to Zayn and he nodded with a smirk playing on his face. We finished up and split the bill, gulping down the last of our drinks. We made our way out to the car park and sped away in our vehicles. I smiled, knowing that tomorrow morning our first single would be ready and would go on sale at the end of the week.
I got home a few minutes before Harry and kicked off my shoes and jacket, walking to the balcony again. I rested my elbows on the bar and grabbed my earphones from my pocket. I scrolled through and found Asking Alexandria. I know, I know - screamo. But they were actually really good. I put on Right Now (Na Na Na) and closed my eyes, the sun setting into my skin. I nodded my head to the music, humming along and singing the odd word. I felt the warm breeze blow through my messy hair. I sang the chorus to the song and opened my eyes, staring at the dimming sun.
I felt the dryness of my throat start to tickle and I sighed, turning to get a glass of water. I turned and bumped into Harry's chest. I pulled my earphones out quickly and paused the song.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." I sighed, walking past him.
"It's fine." He smiled, following me. "Just wanted to say I was back. I'll be in my room." He walked through to his room and soon after I heard short gasps coming from down the hall. I didn't really want to know what he was doing - knowing Harry it wasn't pleasant.
**
The next day I bounced out of bed to my alarm, hitting the off button and turning on my music. I was never this happy in the mornings but today was the day we heard our first official song! I bounced to the bathroom, getting ready then back to my room and finishing off. I turned the music right up so it filled the apartment, running next door into Harry's bedroom.
"Ha--!" I started, stopping when I saw the topless boy asleep in bed. I picked up the cushion from his bed and threw it at him. "Harry! Get up!" I yelled as his eyes fluttered open. He sat up and his eyes widened, realising what day it was. He smiled and jumped out of bed in his boxers. I left the room and went to the kitchen, making tea and coffee. He came in, dressed and I gave him his coffee.
"Thanks." He smiled, gulping it down. I drank mine and we headed out the door with one set of keys - His. We got in the car and Harry (very dangerously) drove us to the studio. I breathed a sigh of relief when we got there alive and practically skipped inside. Everyone was there except for Niall who was running a little late. We sat down and I played with the fabric of my shirt, excited to hear the song. Niall burst in the door, breathing heavily.
"Sorry I'm late." He panted, sitting next to me.
"Right, we're all here now we can listen to it." Simon smiled. "I haven't even heard it yet." he smiled and we all widened our eyes as he pressed the button, the music and cowbells starting. Butterflies gathered in my stomach. This was really happening. People would be buying this and our upcoming album. We would be making money off of this. We all smiled massive smiles at Liam and Harry's opening solo's and our mouths all opened a little when the chorus came on. Everyone was dancing a little and all of our feet were tapping. I had never been so happy or smiled so much in my life. Simon was looking very proud as the song ended and looked at us with respect.
"Boys, I think we have your new single." He smiled and we all cheered. "This can go on sale Saturday at the earliest." He said and we all nodded.
"But you will have to do a lot of promoting. I have gotten you the gig on the show Red or Black on Friday night if you're up for it."
Our smiles grew brighter at his words and we all jumped up. "Go. Start rehearsing with the choreographer." He pointed to a woman waving at us. Holy.. This is going kind of fast. We walked through to the dance studio next door and started working on our routine. We practiced the song through a few times and what we were doing on stage. She told us we would have to come back every day until the performance. I glanced at Harry as we left. He had taken off his shirt and sweat was almost dripping down his torso, which was tanned and perfect. He caught me looking and I darted my eyes away as he smiled cockily at me. I got in the car with him and he put his shirt back on.
An awkward silence filled the air again as we returned home and I went straight to bed - once again tired. Short gasps and quiet sobs soon came from Harry's room again and I couldn't bring myself to look. I didn't want to see him upset. Damn my niceness.