Chapter 28 ~ The Second Goodbye
[Louis]
"Remember that time when Harry was so mad at you for calling him stubborn that he locked you out and you refused to leave until he forgave you. It took at least an hour until he finally decided to open the door for you," Anne reminded us, making me let out a chuckle.
I was never going to forget that. He'd been so mad at me, madder than he was that time we were going to Manchester for his audition. You see, we were 14 at the time and Harry had got back his Maths test. The teacher gave him an F and he wouldn't stop complaining, claiming that he deserved better, so he went to the teacher and begged her to give him at least an E. After a lot of convincing - and puppy eyes - she eventually obeyed.
That day when we walked back to his place, I just couldn't help but call him stubborn. I mean, no other person would have gotten away with it. He just didn't give up. And of course, he didn't like to hear that, especially not from me.
Turning to look at Harry who was sitting beside me, I noticed the pout on his lips. I nudged him in the side before answering Anne. "Of course I do. He wouldn't accept an F on a Maths test, so he practically begged on his knees for the teacher to make him pass. I couldn't let him get away with it without letting him know how wrong it was," I laughed, the scene playing out in my head.
Harry was pouting even more after my words. "It's true though, Harry. You've always been stubborn," Robin winked.
"Alright," the curly haired boy grumbled. "I am stubborn. Can we talk about something else now?"
I patted his thigh reassuringly, but couldn't help but let out another laugh. It was pretty hilarious.
"Well, I'll go ahead and say that I'm so happy to see the two of you together again," Anne said excitedly, her face brightening at her own words.
Harry rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair. "Mom, really? That was like the first thing you said when we entered the house earlier. I think we've got the message."
"Let her be happy," I said, shrugging. "I'm happy too."
He turned to me, his lips twitching at my words. I smiled back at him, earning an 'aw' from Anne. Harry groaned. "Mom."
Chuckling, she leaned her head on Robin's shoulder. "You two are really meant for each other. I always knew it."
After sitting there for another ten minutes, I looked at the clock on my phone, noticing it was already eight in the evening. My eyes widened in realizing. Shit, mom must be worried right now, unless the words had gotten around that Harry was back and Lottie had told her that I probably was with him. Or, who knew? Anne could already have spoken to her about the news. The town was pretty small after all.
"Guys, I'm so glad that you let me stay for dinner. It was very delicious. But I see that time is ticking and I should probably go home now. I have school tomorrow after all," I apologized, getting up from my seat.
Anne waved a hand in dismissal, smiling at me. "Don't worry, Louis. You're always welcome. I'm so happy you came around today."
I thanked her once more and said goodbye to Robin before going to the hall, Harry following suit. Once I had slipped my shoes on and put on my jacket, I turned around to meet the green eyes I had fallen in love with all those years ago.
He took a step forward to wrap his arms around my waist, pulling my body to his. "I don't want you to leave," he whispered in my ear, making me shiver involuntarily.
I pulled away a little to look at him. "I have to."
"Stay," he pleaded.
"I can't," I said, shaking my head. "I just need a little time for myself, alright? When do you leave tomorrow?"
He let out a sigh, looking behind me. "I leave at ten in the morning."
I could feel my heart drop in my chest. So soon? "Oh.." I trailed off, looking down at my shoes.
I nodded my head slowly, the thought still not sitting well with me. I didn't want him to leave at all, but I guess there was no other way. He was famous after all, I had to remind myself of that.
"See you tomorrow, yeah?" He mumbled as he leaned in to press his plump lips against my forehead.
Closing my eyes, I inhaled a deep breath and enjoyed his presence while I still could. When he pulled back, he gave me a small smile. "I love you."
My heart skipped a beat by his words, and I couldn't help but return the smile. Without thinking twice about it, I took a step forward and grabbed the collar of his shirt to pull him down in a passionate kiss.
My lips moved determinedly against his, my tongue trailing along his bottom lip. He let out a deep moan, wrapping his arms around my waist to pull me even closer to him. I let my tongue slip past his lips - something he willingly agreed to - and roamed his mouth. He didn't even challenge me, which I was positive was due to the fact that it had been so long since we last did this, like this.
It was heavenly and even better than the kiss we shared in the hallway earlier. This was more intense and loving, and I loved every second of it. How come I had even been able to survive without his kisses? My body felt like a tingling mess by his touch and presence.
We pulled away a few seconds later, and just looked into our eyes while we tried to catch our breaths. "See you tomorrow," I confirmed as I started backing away from him, my breath still caught in my throat.
He chuckled at the sound of my voice as he reached behind me to open the door for me. "Bye, Lou."
"Bye, Hazza."
-
When I returned home that evening, I was barely through the door before Lottie had thrown herself over me, bombing me with questions. I assumed the words had gotten around to them, after all.
Mom was quick to show up in the hall behind Lottie, an obvious smile gracing her lips. And seems like she had talked to Anne as well... Great, so they already knew everything then?
"Tell me everything!" Lottie exclaimed, waving her hands in front of my face frantically. "Everyone's saying that you were seen kissing him in the hallway! How could you not tell me this?"
I rolled my eyes at her words. "How was I supposed to tell you when I haven't even met you after it happened?"
She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out her phone. "Phone, duh?" She said, raising her eyebrows at me.
"Well, my first thought might not have been texting my sister after it happened, alright?" I said, matter-of-factly, making her huff.
"Fine," she grumbled. "So, he's back then?"
I nodded my head, my lips twitching at the thought. "Yeah, he came back when he saw the text I sent him the other day," I said dreamily, still not really understanding that he actually did.
"You were at his place just now, weren't you?" She smirked, making my cheeks redden a little.
My eyes fell on my mother and I could see the same smirk on her face. "Yes, oh my God. Would you let me breathe?" I groaned. I mean, I had barely entered the house yet.
They chuckled but didn't say anything else until we were in the living room, sitting on the couch. Fizzy was already there, munching on some popcorn. She looked up with a smile at my arrival before turning her attention back to the television.
"Alright, so what happened? He kissed you, right?" Lottie asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
I rolled my eyes but nodded my head. "Yes, he did, and yes, I was at his place. No, I don't know if we're together again, but yes, we talked things out, but he is leaving tomorrow though. I guess that kind of summed it up."
Mom and Lottie blinked at me, trying to take the news in. Mom was the first time to register the facts. "He's leaving tomorrow already?" She asked.
I nodded my head sadly, looking down at my lap. "Yeah. I mean, he is on tour, so it's predictable. Yet, I can't help but feel sad about it."
Lottie placed a hand on my knee. "You have the right to be sad, you love him."
I gave her a small smile, shaking my head. "I don't even know what to think of all this. I mean, only a few days ago I didn't even want to let myself fall into his arms again, yet here I am."
Mom sat down beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "That's what love does. You just can't control it. Plus, I think this was bound to happen sometime. I mean, both Anne and I have always known that the two of you were born to be with each other," she assured me.
Letting out a sigh, I nodded my head slowly. Maybe she was right. Maybe I shouldn't put too much thought into this. However, I didn't want to be that guy who just forgave too quickly only to fall in the same trap again. But, didn't I trust Harry? He wasn't going to hurt me again, right?
I let myself fall deeper into my mom's arms, having missed her warmth and love. However, I knew I had been the only one pulling her away since she didn't agree with my beliefs and decisions. Now, when we were on the same page again, I was glad to be back in her arms.
A while later, we pulled away and figured it was about time we got ready for bed. It was almost ten o'clock and all of us had to get up early tomorrow. I went up to my room and undressed before climbing into my bed, inhaling the scent of my pillow. It didn't smell quite as good as Harry did, but it was enough... for now.
With that thought in my head, I drifted off with a smile on my face, hoping it would stay there for a long while.
-
The next day, I was up early to get ready for the day. I didn't know what Harry had in plan, but I was hoping he would come up with something to meet me again before he went away. Otherwise, I would be devastated.
My nerves were almost driving me over the edge as I walked to school that day, passing by Harry's house on my way there. Part of me wanted to go knock on his door to see if he was there, but the shy part of me made me not to. I didn't want to pressure him, I told myself. I mean, he hadn't contacted me since yesterday and yet I didn't want to push things.
I entered the hallways about five minutes later, biting the nail of my index finger as I did so. Turning the last corner, I was so caught up in staring at the floor to ignore people's stares to notice that someone was already standing in front of my locker. It wasn't until I was right in front of it that I noticed the figure.
Furrowing my eyebrows together, I looked up only for my heart to stop beating in my chest. It was him. He was here, waiting for me to arrive with the most beautiful smile on his face. God, I really did love him.
"Wha--" I found myself saying, but cut myself off when he leaned down to press his soft lips against mine in a sweet and loving kiss.
"Good morning, Lou."
My heart raced at the sound of his voice, making me look down at my feet for a second.
"Morning," I mumbled, barely audible.
He placed a finger under my chin to lift my face up so we were looking into each other's eyes. He raised his eyebrows at me. "What was that?"
I rolled my eyes at him because I knew he heard me even if I was mumbling, he was just making fun of me. "Shut up."
Harry chuckled, moving his hand to my cheek to caress it gently. He didn't say anything, so I took matters into my own hands. "What are you doing here?"
His face showed that he was offended. "What? You don't want me here?" You could hear the smile in his voice, though, making me nudge my shoulder into his side.
"Stop messing with me. Of course I want you here. I was just surprised because you didn't say anything about it."
He shrugged. "Yeah, I wanted to surprise you. I love seeing your face when you don't expect me to be here," he winked.
I rolled my eyes even though his words made my heart flutter. What this boy did to me...
"You coming with me to class?" I asked, looking around only to notice that he was here alone today. Paul must've trusted that he was safe here... even with Zayn walking around the hallways.
"Yeah, I'm staying at your side until I have to leave. Paul's gonna call me when it's time to go," he explained.
I nodded my head without saying anything. Instead, I opened my locker and tossed my backpack into it before shrugging off my jacket. Together, we made our way to class, and if I thought people were looking at me all those times before, it was nothing compared to this. It was like we were aliens coming from another planet, like something they hadn't seen before.
I felt insecure about it and turned my gaze towards the floor, but still kept my hand in his. He noticed my discomfort and gave my hand a tight squeeze. "Don't worry about them," he whispered in my ear.
Inhaling a deep breath, we continued walking towards the classroom. The second we entered, the biggest smile I'd ever seen on Mr. Waltz' face came on. There was no doubt he was happy to see the two of us together again.
"Mr. Styles, Mr. Tomlinson," he greeted as we walked by him, the smile never leaving his face.
Harry nodded his head in response. "Morning, Mr. Waltz."
"It's nice to see the two of you together again." He turned his gaze to me, giving me a knowing look.
Harry noticed this, looking a bit confused. "Thank you," I said, returning his smile before pulling Harry to my desk. He didn't even let me sit down before he spoke up.
"What was that look all about?" He wondered, raising his eyebrows at me.
I bit my lip. "Mr. Waltz and I just had a conversation about you once. He explained that he made that test up because of the two of us. Apparently, he thought it was sad that your fame got in the way for us," I shrugged, not wanting it to come off as a big deal.
"Oh," he frowned, going silent.
Neither of us did anything during that hour but talk to each other. Harry didn't even have to work, but that didn't change the fact that I did. I could tell by the look Mr. Waltz shot us that he didn't mind it though, but I guess it was only this once.
Harry and I talked about everything. He especially talked about his experience of becoming famous, and honestly, it didn't surprise me that it was easy to get on wrong thoughts. It all had happened so fast for him. One day he was a sixteen-year-old student and the next he had tons of fans adoring him. So, I could tell it must be hard to stay focused on what reality really looked like.
I, on the other hand, told him about how life had been here, how Zayn, Niall and Hannah had shown up in my life when I was feeling the lowest. He obviously didn't like to hear how I had been devasted, but I thought it was necessary to fill him in on what had happened in my life when he wasn't there.
When the bell rang, we left the classroom, and we hadn't even reached my locker until Harry's phone went off in his back pocket.
With the hand that wasn't holding mine, he fished it up and swiped his finger across the screen before bringing it to his ear. "Hello?"
He nodded a few times, mumbling 'yes' and 'I understand' before hanging up a minute later. Pushing the phone back in his pocket, he let out a deep sigh, and I instantly knew what that meant.
"It was Paul, wasn't it?" I muttered.
"Yeah," he breathed, looking straight forward.
We didn't say anything until we were at my locker. I didn't even make a move to open it, I just pressed my back against it so I was facing his beautiful figure. Why did he have to leave?
He placed his hands on my hips, pulling our bodies together. "I'm going to miss you," he whispered, his face so close that I could feel his breath on my lips.
"Not as much as I'm going to miss you."
He shook his head, looking down for a few seconds before returning to my eyes. "I don't want to leave you, Lou. I've finally got you back, and I don't really know how I'll be able to go a day without you."
I leaned in to ghost my lips over his before pulling back slightly. "We still have phones though, and maybe, when the semester ends, I can go see you?" I suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
Judging by the smile that appeared on his face, I assumed I succeeded.
"That sounds like a great idea."
He then leaned in to press his lips against mine in a proper kiss, his mouth moving with mine desperately, as if it was our last kiss. And in a way, it was, which only made the kiss feel even more passionate and loving.
His hands squeezed my hips, making me let out a low squeak. He smiled at that, trailing his tongue along my bottom lip. I granted him access, separating my lips for him to enter my mouth. Our tongues worked together skillfully. We knew exactly how we liked it, even if it was two years ago since last time. It was so easy to fall right back into kissing him.
We parted a minute later, staring at one another for another thirty seconds until Harry let go of my hips. "I really have to go now, Lou. I'll text you, I promise."
"Bye, Hazza," I said when he leaned in to press one last time kiss on my forehead.
"Bye, Lou."
He started walking away in the direction of the exit but stopped when he was just about to round the corner.
"Oh, and Lou?"
I looked up to meet his gaze, a little surprised that he had stopped.
"I love you."
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A cute little chappy for you guys! I hope you liked it <3
What's your thoughts on Harry leaving?
Pauline .xx