"Hi."
"Hi? What are you doing here?" Louis asked.
"Reading, what about you?"
"Hanging with friends, they're over there by the pond."
For the first time that night, Harry looked behind him and through the trees to see, quite a ways away, a shimmering pond with the silhouettes of people splashing around in it.
"Cool." Harry had hoped Louis would go back to his friends when he said that. But instead, Louis crossed his arms and tapped his foot, still hovering over Harry who was trying to get back into his book.
"You don't talk much, huh?"
Harry looked up, shining his bright green eyes into the blue ones he had been so enchanted by before. Louis couldn't help but notice how beautiful the green was when it shone back at him, being reflected by Harry's soft flashlight.
"What's there to say?"
Louis shrugged, "I like that. Less is more, right?"
Harry nodded and looked back at the pages he was so desperately wanting to return to. Unfortunately, Louis wasn't going to let him end this that easily. No, Louis was quite interested in the boy sitting so oddly tucked away in his sweatshirt. He was curious.
"Why don't you come hang out with us?"
Harry looked back up at Louis, connecting blue with green once more, as he shook his head. "I'd rather not, but thank you for the offer."
"Why not?"
"I don't fancy big groups like that. I'd rather just curl up and read this book."
Louis looked down at the book Harry was grasping so tightly onto. "Call Me By Your Name? I've never heard of it. What's it about?"
"It's beautiful, but I'll let you find out what it's about. You should read it someday."
Louis smiled, "Maybe I will."
Harry thought that maybe their conversation was finally over and that maybe the caramel boy would turn and return to his friends, but he was mistaken once more.
"You have curly hair."
"And you have straight hair?" Harry was getting a little bit annoyed at how pushy the boy hovering over him was. And he had just noticed how awkward their position was, Harry huddled under his sweatshirt, and Louis lurking over him, looking down at him like he is scolding his child. Louis must've noticed too because he bent down and propped himself by sitting on his heels, sending a strong aroma towards Harry. He even smelled of caramel.
"Yeah, but everyone's got straight hair. You're special."
Harry shrugged. If only Louis knew how untrue his statement was. "Not really. Just born different."
"I wish I was born different."
"No you don't." Harry muttered as he looked back at his book, rereading the same sentence he's been trying to get through for the last five minutes.
"Why not? Why do you think being like everyone else is so good?"
"Because then there's no pressure. You don't feel like everyone is staring at you."
"Oh I completely disagree. Working your hardest to fit in and be like everyone else seems so tiring and a waste of energy. Letting yourself be you and showing off what makes you you seems so much more fun, does it not?"
Harry shrugged. He just really wanted to get back into his book.
"You really don't like talking do you?"
Harry looked up, after finally finishing the one sentence he's been trying to get through ever since Louis showed up. "It's not that I don't like talking, it's that I don't have anything to talk about."
"Well that's not true, there's tons to talk about. Why'd you come to Doncaster? How old are you? Why are you curled up in your sweatshirts with only your hands sticking out so that you look like a T-Rex? What's your favorite color? Stuff like that." Louis giggled.
"My mom says I need to live a more extravagant life. I'm sixteen. I'm cold. Green."
Louis shook his head, "Wow you really put no effort into that."
Harry couldn't help but smile a bit as he looked down at the ground trying to hide his grin.
Suddenly he felt cold and small fingers on his chin, lifting it up until his eyes shot straight into Louis'. He felt immediate chills as the two boys stared at each other.
"A smile looks good on you."
Harry's cheeks immediately flushed and became impossibly warm, despite the cold temperatures around him, and Louis lowered his hand.
"You should do it more often."
Maybe Harry did like this boy. Maybe he wasn't as annoying as he seemed. Maybe Harry should get to know him.
"So how old are you." Harry asked, even though he already knew the answer. He truly wasn't the best at making conversation, so he just re-asked one of the questions Louis had just asked.
"So he does know how to keep a conversation? I'm eighteen."
Harry nodded. Where to go from there? He had no idea.
Luckily Louis did, "So why is green your favorite color?" He asked as he plopped himself on his butt, leaning back and holding himself up with his arms as he crossed his legs in Indian style.
"I don't know. I guess it's because it's one of the most natural colors, so you know you can never go a day without seeing it."
"And it's the color of your eyes." Louis added, pointing at Harry's face.
"Yeah, but that's not why it's my favorite color. Who's favorite color is determined by their eye color?"
"Mine." Louis giggled.
Harry smiled a bit as he looked into the bright blue eyes that shone back at him. "Well, you have a pretty eye color, so I get why it's your favorite. I don't think I've ever seen a blue quite like it."
"I only know of one thing that shares the same color as my eyes."
"What?"
"Look around you." Louis chuckled as he motioned to all of the bright blue flowers surrounding them. It was almost like Harry was taking them in for the first time. They were truly beautiful, and the sight of the caramel boy sitting in the middle, with the eyes that shared the color of the flowers, seemed like it could be out of a painting.
"Woah." Harry let out in a quick breath.
Louis smiled. "They're called Bluebells. They were my grandma's favorite flower, and when I was born, my grandma, who had dementia by the way, immediately made the connection between her favorite flowers and her grandson's eyes. So my parents named me after her. She died shortly after."
"Oh, I'm so sorry Louis. What was her name?"
"Louisa. She was truly an angel, even though she couldn't remember it, we always told her she was. But all of my memories of her were from stories or photos, so I'm not too down about her passing. No need to pity me." Louis smiled.
Harry liked that. He never really knew how to react when someone was upset. He always felt awkward when he tried to comfort someone, and it never really worked. He only really knew how to make his mum happier, and that's all he needed.
"So why is your name Harry? Or is it short for something, Harold, Harrison?"
Harry shook his head, "No, just Harry, and I don't think there's a story behind it. I think my parents just liked the name."
"And how are your parents, what are their names?"
"Well my mum's name is Anne, and she's truly an angel. She reminds me a lot of your mum actually, I think they'd get along. And my dad, well, my dad passed away when I was seven, and he was as close to a living saint as you can get."
Louis' face softened. "I'm sorry Harry, but just think," Louis started, as he laid down on the ground and pointed up at the sky, "one of those stars is him, always looking down on you and always watching out for you."
Harry had never felt so comforted by a single sentence before. He smiled from cheek to cheek as he looked up at the starry sky. He knew exactly which star was his father, the brightest and most twinkling one.
Louis suddenly pointed to one star individually, "I bet that's him, the bright one next to the moon."
Harry couldn't help but feel his entire heart light up and his smile grow bigger. It was the same star he had been looking at.
"Your mum said it takes you a while to warm up to people, how come you're so comforting right now?"
Louis sat up and let his hands dangle in his lap as his back arched in a posture that was probably not good for him. "Because you intrigue me."
Harry was taken back by that statement. He curled his eyebrows together and titled his head. "Why?"
"I'm not sure, but there's something about you. Maybe it's how ridiculous you look huddled up in your sweatshirt like that..."
Harry immediately untucked himself and stretched out his legs and arms, and man was it cold.
"Or the way you're reading on a Friday night in the middle of nowhere."
Harry huffed, realizing how odd he seemed at the moment.
"Now don't get all shy now Harry, I like that you're like that. If I didn't, I would've peed and left. You kept me here. I'm not sure why, but I stayed."
Harry was completely interested now. Interested in how Louis was interested. Interested in how Louis wouldn't leave and kept asking questions. Interested in how Louis reacted with a smile everytime a single word left Harry's lips. Interested in how Louis crinkled his nose when he sniffed. Interested in how Louis' impossibly blue eyes sparked back and forth between Harry's. Interested in how Louis twiddled with the blades of grass in between his fingers as he talked to Harry. He noticed it all. He was interested...
In Louis.
And Louis was just as such interested in Harry. He was interested since the first second he saw the boy huddled under his sweatshirt. He was interested in how Harry's pupils grew every time they made eye contact. He was interested in how Harry's hair fell so delicately against the top of his head and how his curls twirled and danced in the wind. He was interested in how Harry blushed every time he was complimented. He was interested in why he found the boy with the deep voice, curly hair, and emerald eyes so interesting.
They were interested.
"Louis!"
Louis and Harry's head snapped to the right of them at the girl's voice.
"Oh that's probably Eleanor. I was just supposed to go pee, and how long has it been now, 45 minutes?" Louis asks as he looks down at his non-existent watch.
"Something like that." Harry shrugs. He hadn't realized how long it had been. To him, it only felt like ten minutes.
"Well, I should probably be getting back, I don't want them to think I was eaten by a bear."
"Are there bears in this forest?" Harry asked, his heart beat increasing as every second passed.
"Of course there are, silly! Be careful!" Louis said as he began to run towards the sounds of his friends.
"Wait Louis!"
Louis stopped and turned back to the boy who had stood up by now. Louis quickly looked him up and down and laughed, "Man, you're tall."
"Yeah, yeah, you forget your jacket." Harry called out as he motioned to the jacket he had wrapped around him. Louis had noticed how cold Harry was getting, and gave him his big fluffy jean jacket.
"Give it back to me later, that way you're almost forced to see me again!" He waved goodbye to Harry as he skipped away.
Harry's heart was pounding as he watched the boy skip away. He tightened his grip on the jacket and picked up his things, heading back towards the house he was still getting used to.
As he wandered down the same path he had taken to get there, he noticed that he couldn't stop smiling and for a second, he had forgotten about everything that was stressful and painful in his life. For a second, he had been truly happy. And it was because of the caramel boy.