❝LEAVING BLUE❞
(If you haven't already, READ THE WARNINGS. People always get the wrong idea in the first two chapters when they don't.)
"Hey, buddy..." Harry yells, winding the window of his car down. "Hop in!"
The ten year old squeals in excitement. He says goodbye to his friends, leaving them at the school gate and runs around to the passenger side, jumping into the old, blue car. "Hazzy! I didn't know you were picking me up!"
Louis throws his paw patrol bag into the back seat and climbs over to the driver's seat, hugging Harry tightly.
"I haven't seen you in forever!" Louis pouts, crossing his arms.
Harry chuckles, grabbing onto the boys waist so he is more stable. "I came over to yours for dinner last night..."
"You just spent time with Lottie, not poor little Louis." Louis sighs dramatically, huffing and climbing off of Harry and back to the passenger seat.
Harry scrunches his nose, fonding over the boy. "Oh come on, that's not true, blue!" Harry gasps, acting as if he is offended. "I let you sit on my lap when we ate, I gave you cuddles when we all watched the movie and I read you a bed time story and tucked you into bed! We spent plenty of time together..."
Louis' lips quirk up at the sides, a smile threatening to spread on his face. "Okayy," he giggles. "Maybe you did spend a lot of time with me."
Harry shakes his head, laughing at the boy. "Put your seatbelt on, bub." When he has made sure Louis has, he pulls out of the school car park and drives out onto the road.
The radio plays softly and Louis hums to it, dancing a little to it. Harry glances at him, smiling uncontrollably.
"Do you love Lottie more than me?" Louis pushes his fringe out of his eyes, looking over at Harry.
"Uh..." Harry bites his lips. "I love you guys in different ways." Harry nods. "Lottie is my girlfriend, so I love her in a relationship way. And you, well you are my blue, my best pal. So I love you in like a brotherly way."
"I see..." Louis clasps his hands together on his lap, looking down at them. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course. What is it, Lou?"
"Well... You know how I don't have a dad?" Louis purses his lips.
"Yeah..." Harry frowns, glancing at Louis in concern.
"Well there is a 'bring your dad to work day' happening at school next Friday... Can you come instead?" Louis blinks his big, blue, innocent eyes up at Harry, his long eyelashes framing them.
Harry feels his heart drop to his stomach. "I don't think so, blue..."
"Oh." Louis cheeks blush pink in embarrassment and he awkwardly tugs at the bottom of his pastel purple tee shirt. "It's fine."
"It's not that I don't want to. I'd love to... You'll find out why I can't later, okay? I love you." Harry creeps his hand over to Louis' stomach and starts tickling the boy, hoping to get his beautiful smile to reappear.
It works. Louis' face lights up in joy as he squirms against the seat, bubbly laughs falling from his dark pink lips.
"Hazza, no!" He squeals. Taking deep breaths when the boy stops to place his hands on the wheel. "Imma wrestle you when we get home!" Louis huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I'm going to win like usual."
Harry sighs sadly. "You do always win, don't you?" Harry would never tell him that he let's him.
To Louis' surprise, they drive past the road the road they take to go home. "Um... Hazza, you've missed it."
"I know," Harry winks at him. "Where is our favourite place to go in summer?" Harry grins at him.
"Uh... The pool?" Louis giggles. "It's too cold for swimming, Harry." Louis swings his little legs excitedly.
"Is it too cold for ice-cream?" Harry grins, chuckling as Louis shakes his head quickly.
"Definitely not! As long as it's rainbow..."
-*-
Harry closes his eyes momentarily, a dimpled smile blossoming onto his face.
"There!" Louis pulls his hand away from Harry's face. "Be more careful, okay? You had ice-cream on your face!"
Harry tilts his head, a smirk on his face. He grabs his napkin and reaches over the table to wipe Louis' face, the napkin filling with the pastel colours of the ice-cream. "I think you're the one who needs to be careful, blue."
Harry shows him the napkin and Louis gasps. "I didn't know I had any on my face." He pouts softly.
Harry laughs, "you got some on your nose too!" He uses thumb to gently wipe it off. "It's okay, the colours suit you."
Louis smiles, the gaps from where he has lost some teeth showing. "Thank you," he mumbles softly, blushing a little.
-*-
"Why are you packing your stuff?" Louis walks into Lotties room, climbs up on her bed and kneels over Harry's suitcase. His eyes cast a look of fear at the older boy. "Did you and Lottie break up?"
"No..." Harry sniffs. "Give me a hug." Harry opens his arms and Louis stands up on the bed, jumping into them. "Lotts! Can you come in here?"
Seconds later, Lottie is in the room. Smile dropping when she sees Louis. "Is it time?"
"I think so... Lou, we have to tell you something." Harry settles Louis on the bed and gets on his knees so they're the same height. "Me and Lottie have finished school now, yeah?"
Louis nods, smiling at Harry and his sister. "Lucky."
Harry gives him a sad smile. "But now we are off to college... Which is far away, Lou."
Louis scrunches his eyebrows. "Will you be home by my birthday?" Louis looks at them with his big, blue eyes. "It's a month away... And then it's Christmas."
"Lou," Harry voice cracks.
Lottie takes over, seeing how upset Harry is getting. "We won't be back, bub... Not for a while. But we will still video call you on the computer, okay? And mum said you can use her phone to text us."
"When are you leaving?" Louis' bottom lip wobbles. He reaches to grab Harry's curls, pulling him closer.
"Today. In around twenty minutes," Lottie sighs, watching her little brothers face turn from upset to distraught.
"No," he shakes his head, tears filling up his eyes. "Don't leave, Hawwy." He puts on his baby voice, knowing he can get anything he wants from Harry with it. Louis makes grabby hands at Harry. "Don't leave me..."
"I'm sorry," Harry breaks, picking Louis up in his arms. He stands up ans holds him close, squeezing him. "We will still talk all the time, yeah?"
"B-but, who will help me with my homework?" Louis mumbles against Harry's neck. "And-and pick me up from school to take me for ice-cream... Oh no, who will watch toy story with me?"
Harry bites his lip, "we will do that all when I get back. I promise... I will see you on breaks, okay?"
"Not enough."
Lottie walks up to the two, wrapping her arms around them. "I'll look after him, Louis." She plants a kiss on Louis' cheek. "But you have to look after mum for me, yeah?"
"Okay," Louis closes his eyes, breathing in. Harry always smells so good, like soap and deodorant. And Louis loves it.
Louis hears zipping and removes his head from its place against Harry's shoulder, to see Lottie lifting the suitcase of the bed and beginning to roll it out.
"Can you stay here?" Louis whipsers, his little heart breaking at the thought of not having Harry around all of the time.
"I'm sorry, blue," Harry shakes his head. "I have to go..." Harry manages to pry Louis off of him, to put him back on the bed.
"No. No." Louis sobs, grabbing onto Harry's leg and falling off the bed onto the floor.
"It's okay, baby... I'm not leaving yet," Harry leans down and places his hand on Louis' head. "Just wait here, okay?"
Louis nods, hesitating before letting Harry's leg go. His heart beating quickly.
Harry walks out of the room and Louis gasps, bringing his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.
But before Louis knows it he is back, his favourite lilac sweater in his hands. "I want you to have it..." Harry sits on the ground in front of Louis, crossing his legs. "Arms up."
Louis does as he is told, lifting his arms and allowing Harry to slip the large sweater onto him.
"You're swimming in it... But you look perfect." Harry rubs his cheek with his knuckles. "I'll be back before you know it, okay?"
Louis nods and uses his sweater paw to wipe his flushed, wet cheeks. "Okay, Hazzy." He whispers, voice coming out shaky. "I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, blue."
-*-
Harry gives Louis a kiss on the cheek. "I love you." Louis watches as Jay and Lottie say goodbye, his face formed into a frown.
"I love you too," Louis mumbles back, his hands clenched tightly onto Harry shirt.
"Okay, Lou... They have to go now, darling." Jay opens her arms. "Come to mum."
Louis shakes his head, wriggling to get closer to Harry. "No."
"Louis," Jay says in a warning tone. She grabs him by the waist and pulls a little. "Let go of Harry, Lou."
Louis' eyes widen and he starts crying hard. "Don't let her take me."
"I'm sorry..."
Louis loses grip of Harry and gets pulled away from him. "No, no, no!" He yells, making grabby hands at Harry.
He thrashes in Jay's grip, crying hysterically. "Mummy," he hiccups. "Let me go."
Harry picks up a suit case in one hand, blowing Louis a kiss with the other. "Goodbye, blue."
And then, he walks out. Leaving a screaming, crying Louis. Louis covers his face with the arms of the sweater, falling onto the floor when Jay tries to get him to stand on his own.
"You let him leave me," Louis sobs, struggling to catch his breath. His whole face is flushed red, and his eyes are full of tears, wetting his cheeks as they fall. "He's gone." Louis cries, coughing with the intensity of his sobbing. He watches the car pull out of the driveway.
"He will be back, Lou. He isn't gone forever."
But that didn't help the boy, his heart still feeling like it had been shattered into a million pieces.
Hi bbys! I hope you liked this first chapter!
I have a playlist for this book on my spotify 'wintergraye' (or message me if you would like the link!) <3
I
really hope with all my heart you enjoy this book! I love you all! ♡