Neighbors • Larry & Niam (One Shot)

NEIGHBORS

Louis hates his parents.

Well, he doesn't really hate them, but he absolutely hates that they're always right. He knows that them sending him to live on his own to learn how to live independently is actually a good idea, but he is sure that he is going to miss them. He is going to miss his mom making him breakfast and him watching football games with his dad. He won't attend family nights anymore with his sister and there will be no more Sunday lunches with the four of them making jokes, having fun and goofing around.

His new apartment, that his parents are paying rent for, is an hour away from his previous home and that means that he won't be able to visit them on a daily basis. Especially because of college.

Because Louis hates college as well.

He always wanted to study music, but when it comes to his family, he hates everything that separates them. He probably is too dependent on his loved ones, but he can't bring himself to care. He is overreacting as always, as Niall says.

Niall. His bestfriend of ten years and his now flatmate. Their parents thought that it would be an even better idea if the two boys shared an apartment, since the both of them are attending the same college. Niall will be studying law though and that means that they are not going to have any common classes.

Another reason why he hates college.

"Stop whining, Louis, please. You're gonna be fine." His mom, Susan, sighs as she places a box on top of the kitchen table. They're currently finishing up with Louis and Niall's personal belongings and even though Niall is happier than ever, Louis hasn't stopped complaining.

"Yeah, Lou. Stop acting like a three year old and come help us with your things." Niall says and pushes Louis through the door of their apartment.

Louis' father comes in as well and carries two boxes in Niall's room before appearing again in the living room. "Honestly, son. You're more of a diva than your own sister and we all know what that means."

Niall bursts out laughing, "Man, that's so true. Zoe must be so proud of you since you're following her steps."

"I can hear you, you know." Zoe, his seventeen year old sister, smiles from where she is sitting at on the new couch with her phone in hand, munching on her gum, almost annoyingly. "But yeah, Lou. They're right. You need to calm down."

"I am calm, I just don't like that my own fucking parents are throwing me out." Louis pouts and joins Zoe on the couch, crossing his hands over his chest.

"Language, Louis William." His mom says sternly at the same time his dad says, "We are not throwing you out."

"I know. I just don't wanna leave just yet. I feel like it's too early."

Susan approaches him and kneels in front of him, placing a soft reassuring hand on his knee. "We're always going to be there for you, Boo. We're only an hour away. You can visit, call and text us anytime you want."

"I can even come get you and Niall every other weekend." Niall's dad suggests and Louis smiles at the sound of it.

"That actually doesn't sound as bad, Will. I might take you up on that offer."

Louis' dad chuckles, "Quit bitching now and start putting everything into place. Me, your mom and Will are leaving in half an-"

Josh gets interrupted by a knock on the door. Everyone is looking curiously at Will who is closer to it and he opens the door revealing a tall, tattooed, -very- good looking man around his 30s or so. Louis turns to look at Niall and he is already looking back with the same expression.

"Hello?"

"Hey. I'm Liam. Liam Payne. I live in the next door apartment. I just saw you had a few boxes outside and I thought to offer some help."

Susan gets up from the couch, smiling, "Oh, no, sweetheart, we are fine. But you can stay for coffee if you want. It would be nice to get to know the neighbors of our boys."

"Of course, let me just bring these in." He says kindly and picks up the three remaining boxes to place them in the living room. Niall is looking at him like he is going to faint and Louis smirks. He is so going to tease him when they are alone.

"Thank you, Liam." Josh says.

Minutes later, almost everything is in place and all of them are in the living room, coffee and tea mugs on the table. They find out that Liam is 32, he is an attorney and he is also teaching microeconomics and formal logic in college, which means he is going to be Niall's professor and Louis is going to explode if their parents don't go away soon. He wants to tease Niall like there is no tomorrow. The blonde boy just sits on the armchair, blushing like a mad man, while Will and Josh keep talking with Liam and telling him that it would be nice if he could help by tutoring Niall.

Thankfully, Liam doesn't seem uncomfortable and Louis or Susan don't need to come to his rescue.

It was around 8 in the evening when Susan announced they had to go. "I think it's time for us to go, boys. We don't want to go home late. Zoe has school tomorrow after all."

"Liam, it was really nice to meet you." Will says and Louis mouths 'father in law' to Niall, laughing when the boy blushes once again.

"It was a pleasure, Will." They shake hands, same with Josh and Susan. They all say their goodbyes and moments later they are all out of the door, which leaves Niall and Louis alone. Louis is already jumping on top of Niall on the armchair before the boy can move to disappear in his room.

"IS MY LITTLE NIALL IN LOVE?" He screams and Niall reaches with his hands to close his mouth, his eyes widened.

"Would you, please, shut the fuck up? He is right next door he could have heard you, you know."

Louis shrugs, smiling. "So what?"

"Louis." Niall warns him.

"Okay, okay. But you can admit that you liked him. I mean, he is handsome."

Niall blushes and looks down on his lap, fidgeting with his fingers. "Maybe." He says, his voice just above a whisper.

"I fucking knew it."

"God, Louis. He is 32. He is too hot for me. There is no way anything can happen between me and him. He is my professor for fuck's shake."

"First of all, age is just a number. And what the fuck do you mean his too hot for you?" Louis facepalms. "Niall, you're beautiful as well. I'm sure he is going to notice that soon, if he hasn't already."

"Can you stop talking about him and getting my hopes up, please? I preferred it when you were bitching about living alone." Niall says, still red as a tomato and pushes Louis from the armchair, the smaller boy falling on his butt, groaning.

"I think I quite like it here after all." Louis admits and winks at Niall, earning a pillow on his face a second later.
__

Niall's classes begin the next morning and Louis has a free week before his own start. He wakes up first and searches for recipees on his phone to make breakfast. He decides that, if he is indeed going to live without his parents, he might as well learn how to cook. He goes for pancakes with maple syrup and even makes Niall a sandwich to take with him. He sets the table and calls Niall, because he is too bored to walk to his room to wake him up. Soon enough, a sleepy Niall appears and his eyes light up at the sight of breakfast.

"Oh my God. You made these?" He sits down immedietaly and starts devouring everything that is on his plate. Louis enjoys his breakfast as well and is quite proud.

"Alone in an apartment, Liam as a neighbor and you making me breakfast and lunch for my classes? I'm loving it already." Niall says as he finishes up his food.

"Oh, so now, Liam being our neighbor makes you love it here? Interesting." Louis smirks and a soft pink colour covered Niall's neck and cheeks.

"I hate you, Lou."
__

They agree that when Louis cooks, Niall will wash the dishes and vice versa. They even write down who is going to do the laundry or make their beds every day. Louis finds himself getting interested in living alone. Since his classes won't begin until next Monday, he takes up most of the housework for that week.

It's not until Niall is getting ready to leave, placing his sandwich in his backpack before the doorbell rings and Louis opens the door. It's Liam and Louis greets him, kindly offering some if the leftover pancakes that he had saved for later.

"No, I'm full, Harry makes breakfast every morning and it's enough to feed ten people. Thank you though."

"Harry?" Louis asks curiously, noticing from the corner of his eye how Niall's face falls.

"He is my roommate and bestfriend. It must have slipped my mind yesterday and forgot to mention him." Liam points out and Louis can hear Niall letting out a small breath.

"Oh. It's fine." Louis says smiling.

"I actually came here for Niall." Liam says, scratching the back of head. Only then does Louis notice that he is dressed in a grayish black button up, back formal pants and shoes and he is holding a brown leather jacket. His hair is styled to the back and he smells amazing. Louis on the other side is sporting some grey shorts, a tshirt with no shoes on and Niall is wearing a blue polo shirt and black skinnies.

"Me?" Niall is surprised and comes to the door, right beside Louis, who smiles to encourage him.

"Uhm, yeah." Liam chuckles. "I know your classes start today and I'm heading to college right now. You could ride with me if you want."

Louis can sense that Niall might faint any second now and wraps and arm around his shoulders.

"That would be a great idea, Liam, but wait. How did you know his classes start today?"

Liam grins, "He has microeconomics with me first and then civil procedure with my sister, Ruth Payne. So, Niall?"

"Y-yeah. If I- If I'm not a bother, I mean."

Liam shakes his head, "Of course you aren't. I'll be waiting for you in the garage, you know where it is, right?"

Niall nods, "I think so, yes."

"I'll see you downstairs then. Bye, Louis!" He says and he takes the stairs, disappearing from their sight.

Louis turns to Niall with a huge smile, "I ship it."

"Come on, Lou, he is just being polite." Niall smiles and grabs his backpack.

"Just go. We'll talk about this when you get back. Good luck, Ni!" Louis says and almost pushes him out the door.

"Bye, Lou, love you."
__

Two hours later and Louis is already bored and homesick. He is not giving up just yet though, he promised his mom that he is going to try. So, he decides to do just that. He rearranges his room, so his bed is in front of his window. The view from his room is kind of incredible and he wants to be able to see it when he is lying down. He also moves his desk to the right side of his bed in order to hang his mirror beside the door. Once he has finished his room, he sends a few pictures to his mom and Zoe, before looking at the clock on his bedside table. It's 12:36 and Niall won't be home until 14:00. He realizes he has a lot of time to kill, so he makes popcorn, grabs his phone and lies down on the couch, opening their tv on netflix and putting on whatever movie popped up first.

Twenty minutes in, the movie starts to get really predictable and Louis lowers the volume down, only to hear someone moaning.

"What the fuck?" He mumbles and gets up to place his ear on the wall that is between their and Liam's apartment, the moaning and the sound of skin clapping onto skin gets louder. He can hear a really deep voice accompanied by a woman's 'ah's' and 'oh's'.

"Oh God."

He isn't going to sit there and listen to a not so district couple having sex. He feels disgusted. He goes and rings the doorbell of Liam's apartment, since they are the only ones that live on the fourth floor and he assumes that the one who is making all that noise is his roommate, Harold. Or was it Harry?

"Who are you?" A greek god appears when the door opens and Louis is looking at him up and down. He is wearing nothing but a sheet around his waist, leaving everything in plain sight. Tattoos all over his arms, chest and one of a huge, ridiculous butterfly on his stomach. Toned body and broad shoulders, long curly hair, face of a model, green eyes and full lips that could...woah.

Louis was staring and he was now staring for too long, realizing it after the Greek god cleared his throat.

"I-. I'm Louis, I just moved in on the apartment."

The man is looking at Louis with a bored expression on his face, until a slim figure appears beside him.

"What is taking you so long, baby?" She purrs into his ear, not even acknowledging Louis.

"Anything else?" Harry asks, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I can hear you, you know." Louis says, suddenly getting angry.

"And?"

"Are you serious?"

Harry smirks. "I'm not doing anything wrong. If it bothers you that much just put on some headphones or go for a walk."

"Oh, really?" Louis feels offended. "You know what, go fuck yourself." And with that, he is back into his apartment. He can hear the guy laugh and close the door as well before the previous sounds of them having sex come back.

To Niall:

Liam's flatmate is an asshole

To Louis:

what? u met him?

To Niall:

He was fucking some chick and I could hear them all the way from here and I went to ask him to stop, but he completely ignored me and told me to put headphones on or go for a walk. He is an asshole. Why does Liam even live with him

To Louis:

lmfao is he hot like liam?

To Niall:

Well, he is. Kind of. That's not the fucking point Niall.

To Louis:

be there soon liam is driving me home i can ask him for dits if u want

To Niall:

DON'T YOU DARE

To Louis:

Hahahahah calm down lou i wouldn't do that

Louis throws his phone on the coffee table and lies down on the couch, waiting for Niall. He is trying so hard to block every single moan, but he can't. So he ends up taking up his neighbor's advice and puts on his headphones. Not even an hour later, Niall comes back and throws Louis a bag of McDonald's, pulling his headphones off his head. Louis looks up at him and grins at the smell of his favorite food. He notices how Niall is flushed and smiley and he can't help but ask him right away.

"What happened?"

Niall blushes and falls down on the couch beside his best friend. "I think I'm in love."

"Yeah, yeah, now tell me what happened."

"He is so smart and he is the kind of professor that gives everyone a chance in class, he asked each and every one of us about our life before college and our future plans, he is funny and he even introduced me to his sister when we got there. He also told me that he could tutor me on any lesson if I ever need help and then he searched for me after class and told me to wait for him, so he could drive me home. But I think he probably feels obligated because of my dad. I also was so awkward and shy that he probably thought I'm impolite."

Louis almost coos. "You totally have a crush on him."

Niall groans, "I think I do, but nothing is going to happen between us. He told me he is straight."

"What? When did he tell you that?"

"Well, he didn't exactly tell me, but you know, we were talking about his ex that is the daughter of our principal and they are still friends and all that. So, yeah. She is also really beautiful and I think he told me she will be teaching you history of western music or something like that. Her name is Danielle."

"He could be bi, or pan. He never mentioned being straight from what you're telling me." Louis exclaims.

Niall shrugs. "I don't even know any more. Wait. I can't hear anything, did they stop?"

"Probably. I mean, Liam is back, isn't he? They probably stopped when he came in."

They leave it at that and they decide to watch a movie while eating their food. It's not even after the movie that their doorbell rings. They look at each other before Louis pushes Niall from the couch to open the door, believing that it's Liam.

Indeed, Liam is standing behind the door and Niall stutters when he greets him. Louis almost coos again at how cute of a couple they would make. Liam is a sweet, polite guy and Niall is shy and really loveable.

"Hey, Louis. I brought you some cookies. Harry made them and I thought you may like them." Liam greets him as well.

"Hey. Niall, let the man in, where are your manners?" Louis jokes and Niall's face seems to have a permanent red colour on it since he met Liam.

"Sorry. You can come in. Make yourself at home."

Liam sits on the armchair across from Louis and Niall goes into the kitchen, getting back with a few fizzy drinks and a beer for himself. He needs it after all. Louis goes for a cookie and he must admit that it tastes good. Really good.

"Well, do you like it?" Liam asks.

"It's good. I'm not really into cookies, but this is nice." Louis nods, eating the last bit of the biscuit.

"I'll tell Harry. He likes it when people enjoy his creations."

"Speaking of Harry, is he always so... noisy?" Niall asks, smirking at Louis. Payback is a bitch.

"Why? Did he do anything?" Liam asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

Louis sighs, "He was kind of having sex...really loudly. But he didn't give a shit when I told him to keep it down, so..."

"I'm going to kill him." Liam pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, Louis. I've told him off a million times about that, but he is...well, he is Harry."

"I noticed that." Louis shrugs. "So, tell me, Liam. What are your intentions with our Niall here?" He asks jokingly and Liam chokes on his drink while Niall turns to his bestfriend, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"I don't-. I'm not. What do you mean?" Liam asks, still coughing.

"I was only joking, Liam. Calm down." Louis smirks and even though Niall hates him for asking, he is sort of thankful.

"It's fine. I don't want my intentions to be misunderstood. You and Niall are way too young for that anyway." Liam says and Niall tries to keep his smile from faltering, but fails anyway.

"I know, I know, don't worry. I was kidding." Louis reassures him and gives a sympathetic look to his bestfriend.
__

It has been three weeks since Louis has started his classes as well and he finds himself enjoying every minute of college and living with Niall alone. His professors are fine, the students are all crazy and wild. He is having the time of his life, except for the time he is at home and Liam leaves Harry alone. He and Niall have managed to get tired of telling him to shut up, that whenever Harry has a girl, -one of the many-, over, they put on music loudly and ignore him. Louis believes he is doing it on purpose now and Niall agrees.

Liam on the other side, is a great guy. They all hang out together when they have free time, they even go out clubbing and he drives them both to their classes whenever he can. Louis has noticed and has pointed that out to Niall that he seems to have a soft spot for the blonde boy. He is friendly with Louis as well, they even meet up alone for FIFA and COD and Niall always says that, but Louis can see that his behavior changes when Niall is around. He becomes... softer.

A month into college and Louis decides that he wants to visit his family and Niall has to study for an upcoming test, so Josh comes to pick up Louis on a Friday afternoon and Niall stays home. He orders pizza, opens his textbooks an starts studying, because he won't admit it, but he is a total nerd.

Two hours later he has gathered every little detail that he needs to remember for the test and starts learning every single one by heart. It's one thing on microeconomics that he can't understand and he knows he should ask Liam, but he is shy and a coward. Luck is on his side though. Around eight PM, the doorbell rings and his heart skips a beat at the thought of Liam being at the door.

"Hi, Li." He says and Liam smiles at him.

"Hey. Louis told me he would be going home today, so I thought you could probably use some company."

Niall feels giddy inside, "I actually wanted to ask you something before the test, so I could really use your company."

"Oh, you only want me here for the test? How flattering." Liam jokes and follows Niall inside, both of them taking a seat on the couch, leaving a lot of space between them.

"You know I didn't mean it that way." Niall says, blushing.

"I know, Ni. Don't worry." Liam grins. "So, what were you going to ask me?"

"Liquidity trap." The younger boy says, getting up to bring his textbook, before sitting back down, a bit closer to Liam. "I honestly don't get it."

Liam chuckles. "Most students don't on their first month of college. You can start by its definition. Do you remember it?"

"I think so. A liquidity trap is a contradictory economic situation in which interest rates are very low and..." He trails off, trying to remember the rest.

"And savings rates are high, rendering monetary policy ineffective." Liam helps him. It goes on like this until Niall starts yawning and Liam smiles fondly at him.

"I think it's time I go home now." He says, ruffling Niall's hair and the boy's head snaps up.

"No." He says, almost immediately. "I mean, you can stay here if you want. I don't mind." He can't believe he found the courage to ask Liam to stay, but he is glad when Liam agrees.

"We can watch a movie, I'm not that sleepy after all."

"Which one?"

"What about... fast and furious 8?"

Liam shrugs, "Sounds good to me."

When the movie ends, Niall is ready to fall asleep, his head resting on Liam's shoulder and Liam wraps an arm around him. "Do you want me to carry you?" He says jokingly, but Niall hums sleepily in response and Liam actually picks him up and carries him into his bedroom. He is already in shorts and a tshirt, so Liam lies him down and he instantly falls asleep.

"Goodnight, Niall."
__

Niall wakes up in the morning to a delicious smell of freshly baked goods. He wonders where they are coming from until he finds Liam in the kitchen, pancakes, muffins and fruits on top of the kitchen table.

"Good morning." He mumbles tiredly and Liam smiles widely.

"Good morning. Have a seat, Harry made breakfast before he went to work, so he brought us some."

"I should thank him when he comes back today."

"Actually, he won't be coming back until tomorrow. He is going to stay at Nikkie's tonight."

Niall raises an eyebrow, "Nikkie? I've seen him with lots of girls lately, who is it?"

Liam laughs, "I don't even know myself. He says he has found someone that interests him, but he keeps on sleeping with different girls every day."

"Harry has found someone. Who would have thought?" Niall questions.

"What about you, though? Anyone special?" Liam asks, curiously. "I mean, you've already been here for like a month or so."

Niall clears his throat, "I...I don't know. Maybe."

Liam's face falls. "Maybe?"

"I mean, there is someone, but he is not interested.

"He?" Liam looks surprised and clueless and Niall can't believe that Liam hasn't noticed.

"I'm gay, Li. I thought you knew that."

"I didn't know." Liam says and looks down at his plate.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Niall asks, worried because of Liam's sudden behavior.

"No. Not at all."

"Oh. Okay."

They finish breakfast quietly and Niall feels bad, as if he said something wrong. Liam announces that he is going to leave right after they've washed the dishes, but before he can open the door, Niall gets in front of him.

"What's wrong, Li?" The younger boy looks genuinely concerned and Liam sighs, not even looking at him.

"Everything is fine." He says flatly, reaching for the door handle again, but Niall holds his hand to prevent him.

"Look at me, please. What did I do?"

Liam finally meets his gaze and he seems angry. "You did nothing, Niall. Just let me go."

"Why do you want to leave all of a sudden?" Niall's voice is small and a pout appears on his lips. Liam hates himself for making him feel that way. "Liam."

"Fuck it." The older man mumbles and before Niall can even utter a word, his lips are met with Liam's full ones. He kisses him hungrily and the younger boy tries to keep up with him. Liam grabs him by his love handles and brings him impossibly close to his body and Niall moans into the kiss.

"Li-Liam." He mumbles, gently pushing Liam away.

"I'm sorry. Fuck. I shouldn't have kissed you." Liam groans and releases Niall completely, going to sit on the couch and putting his face in his hands.

"Why did you?" Niall asks and stands in front of him.

"I don't fucking know, okay?" Liam says, almost shouting at him and Niall flinches. "I know you like someone, you just told me, I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

"Liam. What are you talking about? I thought you had noticed."

"What? What should I have noticed?"

"That the person I like is you. It's been you since the very first day we met." Niall admits, his cheeks blushing even more. Liam looks up at him and his expression softens.

"You're not being serious, are you?"

Niall shrugs, "I don't have a reason to lie."

"Fuck, Niall. This is so wrong." Liam groans and before Niall can react, he is out of the house. The younger boy shakes his head, falls onto the couch and hugs his favorite pillow that his father got him as a gift.

He almost goes off Liam, since he wasn't expecting such an immature behavior from someone that is fourteen years older. Their college rules say nothing about relationships between students and teachers and even though he did have a problem with their age difference, he forgot all about it the moment their lips touched for the first time. Niall wants, needs to text him, but he is too stubborn to do so. Instead he grabs his book and starts reading again for his upcoming test.

His upcoming test on microeconomics, the course that Liam teaches him.

He can't read more than one word without thinking of his professor and he eventually ends up regretting being too honest and admitting his feelings. Liam probably doesn't feel the same and Niall decides to let it go.
_

Louis returns home a week later along with their best friend, Zayn, and finds Niall moping around in the kitchen. The living room is a mess and he is ready to lecture Niall, but only then does he notice his troublesome eyes. Niall explains everything to his best friends and Louis calls Liam an asshole way too many times in such a short period of time. Niall can't blame him though.

He tells them how Liam still drives him to college, but he is no longer talking to Niall as much. He is even ignoring him at times when they're not in the car together, even though he always finds Niall when they need to get back home.

Zayn hasn't said a word and he is smirking, something that concerns Niall.

"Zee, I really fucking hate it when you make that face. You're always up for trouble."

Louis laughs, "What do you have in mind?"

Zayn simply shrugs, "The guy likes you. It's pretty obvious if you ask me, but he is a coward. I do have a plan though."

Niall facepalms, "Not this shit again, the last time you had a plan, Louis broke up with his boyfriend."

Louis shakes his head, "It wasn't Zayn's fault, you know it. That bastard was cheating on me."

"Of fucking course it wasn't my fault. Stalking him was the only choice we had in order to prove he was a cheater."

"Okay, okay, what do you think we should do?"

"First of all, I don't care if you got classes tomorrow. We're going out, the three of us, we need to let loose." Zayn ignores the groans from his friends and keeps talking, "And you, my friend, are going to make him jealous with every chance you've got."

"How is that even going to happen?"

Zayn smirks again, "I'm staying here for a week or so, since Gigi is going to Germany for work. We're going to pretend we are boyfriends."

Both Niall and Louis feel the need to facepalm, but they stop themselves. "Zayn, you are straight as a pole. And what is Gigi going to think? Nope, not happening."

"Hey, you know how laid back Gigi is. She'll probably give us advice as well." Louis points out and Niall hates that he has to agree.

"See? You'll stop going with him every morning, I'll drive you to and from school for starters."

"Zayn, you are a genius." Louis grins and claps his hands excitedly.

"But that means I won't get to see him except for class and he probably won't even ask me again for a ride back."

"Even better, you'll show him that you don't need him since your sexy ass boyfriend will be driving you every morning." Louis says and high fives Zayn.

"Fuck, I hate you two so much." Niall whines, but agrees nevertheless.
_
At midnight, they're all dressed and ready for a night out. Zayn is wearing a slim fit shirt with the first three buttons undone, skinny jeans and black converse. Louis has combed his hair back in a quiff and he is wearing black skinnies as well, - the boys compliment him for how good his butt looks in these-, with a simple black t-shirt and his worn out vans. Niall on the other hand is sporting a white floral, short sleeved shirt, light blue jeans and cream white converse, still trying to fix his unruly hair.

"Niall, come on, Zayn is waiting in the car." Louis shouts. He is at the hall that connects their apartment with Liam and Harry's, while Niall is still in the bathroom. Louis hears a door open, but he curses himself as he realizes it's not from their apartment, but instead...

"Would you look at that, Liam? Our tiny irritable neighbor is shouting and disturbing us." He hears Harry say and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"At least I'm not doing anything inappropriate." He fights back as he turns to look at him, Liam standing right behind Harry, waving at Louis. "Hey, Payno."

"Neither am I." Harry grins ironically. Louis takes a better look at him and he notices both he and Liam are all dressed up as well. They're both wearing white shirts and skinnies, but Harry is wearing a fedora on his head making him look hot as hell, even though Louis will never admit it.

"I don't have time to deal with you." He says to Harry and then turns to their door. "Niall! I'm gonna kill you, come on."

"I'm here, stop screaming." The blond boy appears and Louis almost misses how Liam almost undresses him with his eyes.

"Finally."

"Where are you going, guys? We can drive you, me and Harry are also going out." Liam asks politely and Louis remembers something.

"Thank you, Li, but Zayn is waiting for us in the car outside." He says and Niall hates where this is going, since he doesn't believe that it's going to work.

"Who is Zayn?"

Louis smirks, "Niall's boyfriend." He swears Liam's face almost snaps in half at how hard he is trying not to show his emotions.

"Oh, have fun, then." He says and gets back into his house as the two boys turn to leave.

"Bye, Harry." Niall says and Louis walks to the elevator, completely ignoring the man.

"Nice ass, Tomlinson." Harry says, earning a chuckle from Niall and Louis' middle finger as he gets into the elevator, trying to hide his sudden, unwanted blush.

"I know what it's called, Zayn. It's called hatred."

Zayn chuckles, "No, Lou. It's called sexual tension and you two seriously need to fuck before you kill each other."

Niall bursts out laughing from the back of the car as they drive to the club and Louis crosses his arms on his chest. "He is only a giant, cocky, bigheaded, disrespectful asshole. I would never."

Zayn smiles, "Whatever you say, bro."
_

They end up at the same club that Liam and Harry choose for their night out and Louis wants to leave by the time he sees them, but stays back, because it's Niall's chance to make his man jealous. Way into the night, after a few, or a lot of drinks, Niall and Zayn are dancing together, Louis is sitting at the bar counting Liam's glares on his friends having fun and Harry is grinding on every girl and boy he gets his hands on. Louis even huffs when he spots him with a girl, currently unbuttoning his shirt all the way down.

He is not jealous, he really isn't.

And he definitively isn't admiring Harry's features from afar. He stares at the boy's glistening chest and abs from sweat, he notices how he kisses the girl's neck repeatedly and eventually he's had enough. He gulps down the remaining of his drink and goes to the bathroom in order to splash some water on his face.

He hates Harry officially.

He wipes his face with some toilet paper and he turns to leave, only to fall onto someone's chest. He hates how it turns out to be Harry and he hates how good he smells even if he is sweaty as fuck. He also hates that he has had to drink as much and can't focus, so he can be rude to him and just leave the bathroom.

"Watch where you're going, Tomlinson." Harry says, his voice deep and teasing.

"I'm almost too drunk to have a talk with you right now. I'm leaving." He makes to leave, but Harry catches him.

"Wait. I actually came to check if you're okay. You seemed dizzy walking back here."

"As if you, of all people, would even give a shit about me?" Louis says and laughs it off. "I may be a hundred years younger than you, but I'm not buying into your bullshit."

Harry smirks. "Okay, then. Have fun walking back there on your own."

"I'm not even that drunk, you asshole, I don't need your help." Louis says and looks up at him, piercing blue eyes looking into Harry's emerald green ones.

"I get it. I'll leave you alone, I've better things to do anyway." Harry shrugs and turns to leave, but stops when Louis starts talking again.

"Of course you do. Don't forget to bring that girl over to yours, so we can hear how bad you are fu-"

"You never shut up, do you?" Harry interrupts Louis' angry, drunken words. He isn't mad, but he isn't enjoying the smaller boy's insults either.

"Does it bother you? Because, frankly, my dear, I don't give a fuck." Louis points out, but before he can even fathom what is happening, Harry is pushing him back and into a stall, his back colliding with the wall.

"I can shut you up another way." Harry exclaims, bringing his face down and impossibly close to Louis'.

"What are you waiting for, then?" Louis suggests, his voice just above a whisper, his lips just an inch away from Harry's.

Harry doesn't need to be told twice. He forcefully pushes their lips together and Louis kisses him back just as passionately. The short boy wraps an arm around the taller's neck and uses his other one to grab onto Harry's curls. Harry is reaching with his hands for Louis' ass and picks him up, the latter instantly wrapping his legs around his waist. Louis moans out Harry's name when he leaves his mouth, only to start nibbling on his neck, probably leaving a mark that Louis won't have to worry about until he is completely sober. They keep on hungrily making out and grinding on each other until they're both incredibly hard and Louis starts undressing Harry, by eagerly pulling on his already unbuttoned shirt.

"No. Not here, Louis." Harry stops him and lowers him on the ground, both of them out of breath. Louis looks up at him, face flushed and lips red and swollen.

"Fuck, we shouldn't be doing any of that." He says, fixing his now wrinkled t shirt.

Harry's face falls, but he keeps his posture before suggesting, "Yeah, we should probably go back to our friends. I've left Liam alone for too long."

Louis only nods and they make their way out of the bathroom stall.
_

"Where were you, Lou?" Zayn asks protectively.

"Bathroom." He yells over the loud music. "I'll tell you everything at home."

"Please, tell me that Harry was in there with you?" Niall's face lights up and Louis blushes.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT." Zayn says, high fiving Niall.

"Oh, shut up. Nothing happened." Louis shrugs them off and turns to look at Harry who is now talking and smiling with Liam. He is almost thankful that he doesn't see him dancing with somebody else.

"Liam has been watching you two, all night. At least, he had been before I went to the bathroom." Louis says and Niall fights the need to smile.

"Really?"

"Yes, Niall, really. You should step up with the game though, because all you've been doing is dancing with each other a meter apart." He advises and Zayn nods.

"He is right, Ni."

Niall's confused and Zayn continues to enlighten him. "Kiss me. Don't worry, Gigi already approved. She says anything for her little Nialler."

Niall laughs, "I honestly love Gigi more than you guys, she always acts all motherly like to me."

"Of course she does, she even told me that she will kill me if you and Mr. Payne over there don't get together." Zayn says making both if his best friend laugh. "Now, kiss me, Ni. Louis keep watching for any reaction, alright?"

"Yes, sir." He laughs and watches Liam as his two bestfriends kiss. He hates how weird they can be sometimes, but he loves how they all unite for one's happiness.

Louis watches Liam's face getting angrier as he notices the two boys, he leans in to talk to Harry, the taller boy nods and in an instant, they pay for their drinks and leave the club. Louis pats Niall on the shoulder and they break off.

"He left, guys. I think he is really, really fucking mad."
_

They wake up earlier than they would like to, since Niall is the only one who is planning on actually going to his classes and after he almost cries, because Liam didn't even ask to drive him to school, he makes Zayn drive him just in time for his class. He rushes to get in and thankfully, Liam is only now getting into the auditorium. They lock eyes for just a mere moment and Niall thinks he notices black circles around his eyes, like he hasn't slept thought the night. He only hopes it's because of him.

Zayn is currently trying to get Louis to talk to him honestly, but he has a headache and as he says, he needs to forget the past night. He regrets whatever happened with the idiot he has as a neighbor and he keeps telling Zayn about that, but the older lad doesn't seem to believe him.

"I'm telling you, Zee. We just made out, that's it. I was drunk, I would never do that while sober."

Zayn shakes his head, "Louis, can you just be honest for a minute? Harry is sex on legs and he even cared enough to come and look for you."

"He took advantage of me, Zayn. He knew I was drunk."

"You knew well enough what was happening Louis and you wanted it just as much."

Louis sighs, "Zayn, please, he was probably drunk as well. He would never even look at me if he weren't. He hates my guts."

"Is that why you want to forget last night? Because you believe he doesn't want you?" Zayn smiles softly.

Louis groans, "Shut up, Zayn. Just leave me alone. Do me a favor and forget about Harry, okay? I should forget all about him too."

"But you like him, Lou."

"Is that what you want to hear? Because, yes, I do. I do like him, but he would never... Fuck, Zee. He is fucking every single person he meets, I'm sure he is just like Mason. He doesn't even want to see me most of the time, let alone date me." Louis admits, his eyes getting teary and Zayn pulls him into a hug.

"You have nothing to lose, Lou. You could talk to him and please, stop comparing anyone to Mason. He was fucking everyone while he was in a relationship with you. Harry is single and can do whatever he wants. Worst case scenario? He only wants to have sex with you, because my eyes can't deceive me. The sexual tension exists and radiates from both of you."

"I'm not even good enough for him, Zee. He is a giant with godlike body and perfect face and everything. I'm just... me."

Zayn smacks him upside the head, "Louis, stop. I may be straight, but I know when someone is attractive, whether it's a girl or not. Even if you aren't his type, your personality is more than enough."

"Honestly, me and Niall couldn't wish for better friends. You and Gigi are amazing." Louis smiles and hugs Zayn again.

"We are simply looking out for you. Think of us as another, younger version of parents."

"I love you, younger version of dad."

They laugh at that and soon enough they start preparing lunch before it's time for Zayn to pick Niall up. Louis sets the table and he has around twenty minutes on his own before the boys get back. He lies down on the couch and closes his eyes, trying to get some rest though luck isn't on his side. He soon hears a few familiar moans and he feels his heart shutter into pieces. He promises himself that he will not say anything to Harry about it, but when the moans get louder, he finds himself knocking on Harry's door for what feels like the millionth time since they moved here.

He hears some shuffling and Harry opens the door, only in his boxers. "Again?" He asks with a bored expression on his face.

Louis nearly punches him. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Did you hear me stutter? Get used to it, Louis."

Louis huffs, on the verge to cry, but too proud to let Harry see, he simply turns around and goes back into his apartment, slamming the door behind him.

"Asshole." He lets a tear fall, placing his hand in top of the small hickey he has on his neck, but he wipes it away and goes into the kitchen to wait for the boys.
_

Niall hasn't said a word to Zayn during the ride home and when they arrive home he goes straight into his room and locks himself up. Louis looks at Zayn questionably, but Zayn shrugs, since he doesn't really know what is happening. They ask him to join them for lunch, but he replies that he is not hungry and not until after they've finished washing the dishes, Niall makes his way into the living room and sit inbetween them on the couch.

"He ignored me all day." He says and lifts his legs up on the couch, hugging them into his chest. Zayn turns down the volume of the tv and Louis looks at Niall, motioning for him to continue.

"He didn't even let me ask him about the actual lesson. I genuinely had a problem with understanding the shit he gave us, but he pretended he didn't see me raising my hand twice. I tried talking to him after class, but he went straight to the principal's office. Later, when we were in class with his sister, she told us he requested to drop our class."

"What?"

"I can't believe this."

"I honestly don't get it. Even if he got indeed jealous, why would he change classes? Why won't he talk to me?" Niall complaints and Zayn sighs.

"I should go talk to him."

Louis shakes his head, "No, if anyone should talk to him, it's Niall."

"He won't listen to me."

"He will. Just go to his."

"But he is with Harry, we won't be alone."

Louis' frowns, "Harry has someone over, he probably won't get out until they leave."

Both of the boys turn to look at him, "You heard him? Again?"

Louis nods. "I even went to knock some sense into him, but he..." He breaths. "He told me to get used to it."

"The guy is an asshole." Zayn says with wide eyes.

"Told you so." Louis says halfheartedly and turns his attention back to Niall. "Go talk to him, Ni. You two need to be honest with each other."

"Alright, I'm going. Wish me luck."
_

Niall breaths in and out one last time before he rings the doorbell and waits. Soon enough, Liam opens the door and his expression is unreadable as he stares at Niall. The latter takes in his appearance. He has changed into gray sweats and a white tank top, revealing his tattoos.

"Hey." Niall greets him quietly, rubbing his arm.

"Hi." Liam says softly.

"Can I come in? I wanna talk to you."

Liam sighs, "There is nothing to talk about, Niall."

"Why did you change classes?" Niall's eyes pierce right through Liam's and the older man seems defeated.

"Alright, come in."

Niall smiles and they make their way to Liam's room. He takes a seat on the bed and Liam sits on the chair he uses for his desk. "Look, Niall. Me changing classes has nothing to do with you."

"I didn't say it has something to do with me. I only asked you why."

"Fuck, Niall. What are you doing here?"

Niall is taken aback, but he can't even recognize Liam anymore. "We need to solve this, Liam. Ever since we kissed-"

Liam cuts him off, "Aren't you with Zayn?"

Niall wants to smile so badly, "Start being honest with me, so I can be honest with you."

"I can't stand being in the same room with you, especially now that you are with Zayn." Liam admits, his voice low and serious.

"Why?" Niall presses.

"I was jealous. I am jealous that he has you and I don't."

Niall's heart is ready to explode. "But you told me..."

"I told you it was wrong, but I honestly thought about it and there's nothing wrong with it. Our age difference, though-"

It's Niall's turn to interrupt. "Our age difference is nothing, but a number."

"It depends on how you see it."

Niall gets up, takes Liam's hand in his and makes him stand up as well. "Zayn is not my boyfriend. He never was. He is my other bestfriend and he thought it would be a good idea to try and make you jealous."

"Do you kiss all of your bestfriends like that?" Liam asks, still feeling hurt when thinking about the sight he saw at the club.

"It only happened once and only because you were watching us." Niall admits and blushes.

"I should be angry with you." Liam says, squeezing Niall's hand in his.

"I know, it was immature, but it worked, didn't it?" Niall smiles cutely.

Liam leans in to place small kiss on Niall's forehead. "It did. It made me realize how much of an idiot I was to let you go."

"So?" Niall asks hopefully.

"We should probably continue what we started a week ago."

"I'm going to agree on this only if you promise to never ignore me again." Niall says, his voice serious and a bit of sadness appears in his eyes.

"I promise. I wouldn't be able to ignore you for much longer even if I tried to."

Niall is satisfied with Liam's answer and leans in to finally kiss the man he has started falling for. Almost instantly, Liam wraps his arms around Niall's waist and kisses him back slowly and softly, enjoying every second of the kiss. Niall reaches for Liam's cheek and he notices that his beard has grown even more, loving the feeling of it on the palm of his hand.

"I could get used to this." Liam whispers and wraps Niall into his embrace, the smaller boy nuzzling his face into his chest.

"Me too."

"Liam? You can come out, I'm alone." They hear Harry shout from the other side of the door.

"I'm coming in two." Liam shouts back, giving one last kiss to Niall's lips and guides him to the living room, where Harry is sitting on the recliner, scrolling through his phone.

"Oh, hey, Niall. Didn't know you were in there."

Niall tries really hard to hide his anger towards Harry, but fails. "You would have known if you weren't so occupied."

Harry looks up at him surprised, not expecting to be lectured, Liam, though, comes to his rescue. "Hey, how do you know Harry had someone over? Since we came back he hasn't been that loud."

Harry smirks, "Louis must have been complaining again."

Niall almost sees red, "He wouldn't have been complaining if it wasn't for you making out with him last night."

"What?" Liam is shocked, his faces turning towards Harry. "You did that and then you brought someone over today?"

"Of course he did and he had the audacity to tell Louis to get used to it."

"Harry, that's so fucked up, man." Liam exclaims. "You should apologize."

"I have nothing to apologize for. He should mind his own business. It was just a drunken kiss, nothing more." Harry shakes his head.

"Why do you have to be that much of an asshole?" Niall sighs.

Harry shrugs, "It's just the way I am."

"I'm leaving, Li. Talk to you tomorrow." Niall says, completely ignoring Harry now.

"I'm driving you tomorrow, okay?" Liam says and Niall smiles widely.

"Okay." He gives him a small kiss and within seconds he is out of the door.

Liam knows his best friend and even though, he know he is a player, he knows he is not an asshole. He would never hurt someone's feelings like that. "Harry?"

The man only hums in response and Liam continues, "What did really happen with Louis?"

"He was drunk and I was a little bit tipsy so, we kinda snogged in the bathroom last night."

"And today?"

"Nikkie came over, he obviously heard us and he came over to complain, just like he always does. I told him to get used to it and he sort of got angry and went back into his." Harry explains calmly.

"Is Nikkie your girlfriend now?"

"No, she is not. She is my sex buddy though, she is the only one I have sex with nowadays."

Liam facepalms and sits on the couch. "Harry, you're 33 now. We're not kids anymore. You haven't been in a relationship for five years now, don't you miss it?"

"I don't like where this is going, Li." Harry warns him, predicting what his best friend is planning on suggesting.

"Louis is a good kid, Harry. He is beautiful as well and I know for a fact that you weren't even tipsy last night, you only drunk like one third of your drink."

"He is hot, Liam, yes, but just like you said he is a kid." Harry points out as a matter of fact, completely ignoring the fact that he wasn't drunk.

"Alright, you idiot. Do whatever you want, but do me a favor and apologize to Lou." Liam says and Harry surprisingly nods his head.

"Do you have his number?"

"Will you honestly apologize over text? For fuck's sake, H."

Harry sighs, "He is probably going to mock me again if I apologize face to face and we are surely going to fight right after. So, yeah, text it is. I can ignore whatever he has to say next way more easily."

"You do have a point there."

It's not until 2 am that Harry is lying on his bed, finally deciding to type down his apology text.

To Louis:

I'm sorry about today. Harry

It's simple and short, but he thinks it's better this way. He is expecting Louis to snap at him if he even answers at all, so he awaits for his response, smiling to himself. To be honest, he is almost enjoying their bickering.

From Louis:

apology accepted

He is surprised to say the least. He was expecting a snarky remark, a lot of swearing, but definitely not this kind of message. He wasn't exactly planning on replying, but Louis being so calm about that alarms him.

To Louis:

Wait, that's it?

From Louis:

as I've told you before I've better things to do than dealing with you

To Louis:

It didn't seem like it last night.

Harry is not willing to let it go that easily.

From Louis:

i was drunk out of my mind dont flatter yourself that would never happen if i was sober

To Louis:

Alright, then. Goodnight, Tomlinson. Hope you go to your classes tomorrow so you can't interrupt me.

From Louis:

Too bad I'll stay home tomorrow. Goodnight, Harry.

Harry shakes his head, but he finds it really tempting to have Louis mad over hearing him again. He sends a text to Nikkie, but when she replies that she has already made plans, he groans. He needs to find one of his booty calls.
_

Niall leaves with Liam in the morning and Zayn decides he wants to go shopping, so that leaves Louis alone in the house. He sleeps until 12 in the afternoon and he surprisingly wakes up in a good mood. Especially since no sound has been heard from Harry and Liam's apartment. Since it's too late for breakfast, he puts on music, grabs some of his favorite ingredients and starts dancing and improvising for lunch. Ten minutes into slicing his mushrooms, he faintly hears the doorbell ring.

To his surprise, Harry is standing in front him, shirtless and only wearing a pair of black shorts. He tries not to look at his body as he greets him.

"You should keep the music down." He says, looking a bit annoyed.

"Oh, do you not like having loud neighbors? That's too bad." Louis smirks and closes the door, but Harry gets in the way.

"I've never been this loud."

"I don't care if it bothers you, Harry. Just call some of your toys and have fun."

"Why don't you just turn the volume down?"

"I'm not gonna do it. Get used to it."

Harry smirks, "Using my words on me, aren't we now, Louis?"

"It's what you deserve for being a dick."

"You didn't seem to think of me that way at the club."

Louis tries to hide his blush, "I was drunk, I would never do that otherwise. "

Harry comes closer at that, "Oh, you wouldn't?"

"No, I wouldn't." Louis shakes his head and takes a step back, as Harry makes his way in.

"Really?" He says and leans in so he is only a few centimeters away from Louis' face.

"R-really."

Harry leans even closer only to place a tiny, soft peck on Louis' lips, still not pulling away completely. "So, if I do this again, you're going to throw me out of the house or?"

"Fuck you, Harry Styles." Louis whispers and grabs Harry's face, their lips colliding for a passionate kiss. Harry smiles into it and he is quick to pick Louis up, close the door behind them and move to the couch. He lays Louis down and gets in between his legs. They're both kissing each other hungrily and Harry thrusts his hips into Louis, earning a muffled moan. Things are escalating way too quickly for Louis liking, but he can't help it. He is beyond aroused and Harry isn't helping his situation. The latter pulls the former's shirt off his head and starts kissing from his neck all the way down to the waistband of his sweats. He looks up at Louis for permission and he nods eagerly.

"Louis, are you sure?"

"I'm not a fucking virgin, Harry." He groans and Harry chuckles, completely undressing the boy beneath him. He admires his nice little body, before taking hold of his member and begins to move his hand slowly. Louis squirms and grabs him by his curls to bring him down, already needing his lips again.

"Niall will be home in an hour, you better make this quick." Louis demands and Harry smirks.

"Yes, sir."
_

They're both out of breath as they finish and Louis already knows how much he is going to be hurting after this. Harry knackered him out.

"I should probably leave before Niall comes." Harry says after a minute of silence.

Louis nods, "Yes, you should." He really wants Harry to stay for lunch, but he knows that nothing really changes between them.

"Is something burning?" Harry asks as he puts on his shorts. Louis' eyes widen and he only puts on his boxers before running to the kitchen. He has completely forgotten he was preparing lunch before Harry came. His bolognese was stuck at the bottom of the pot and it smelled terribly. Harry appeared beside him and placed the pot in the sink quickly.

"Were you trying to burn down the house or something?" He asks and Louis blushes.

"Me and Niall agreed that I'll be the cook of the house, so I've been practicing quite a lot lately and then you came and I completely forgot about it." He explains and Harry laughs.

"You should have seen your face."

Louis frowns, "Weren't you leaving?"

"I was, but I should make up for making you forget about your food." Harry shrugs and starts washing the pot after emptying its burnt contents into the trashcan.

"You don't have to do that, Harry. It's my fault, honestly." Louis says and watches -shirtless- Harry preparing to cook.

"I want to." Harry smiles. "Can I?" He asks, motioning to the cupboards. Louis nods.

"What are you making?"

"Something quick and simple. Take notes, Tomlinson. Not everyone gets to see me cook. Well, except for my boss and sue chef." Harry grins cheekily and Louis raises an eyebrow.

"Wait, what?"

"I'm a chef, I thought you already knew that." Harry points out.

Louis, on the other side, is clueless. "I mean, Liam has told me that you are a great cook at times, but I didn't know it's your job. I didn't even know you had a job, to be honest."

"That's mostly because I'm almost always home. I have a blog full of recipes and I send new ones every now and then to my boss at the restaurant before I go over to show them how it's done. It's really complicated, but you can say I'm getting paid for making up recipes that happen to be delicious." Harry is so full of himself that Louis feels the urge to smack him upside the head, but stops himself.

"That's-" Louis gets interrupted by the sound of keys jiggling. Niall is home and Louis panics, but when he sees Harry being calm, he relaxes as well.

"Hey, Lou, I'm ba-" Niall appears in the kitchen and looks dumbfounded at the sight in front of him. Only then does Louis realize that he and Harry are standing half naked in the kitchen, cooking and being close to each other. "What the heck?"

"It's not what it looks like, Ni." Louis says, but his bestfriend knows him better.

"I would probably believe you if it weren't for all those hickeys on your neck." Niall casually tells him and Harry stifles a laugh, earning a glare from Louis.

"I noticed them too, who did this to you, Louis?" Harry teases, but for some reason Louis doesn't find it funny.

Niall chuckles, not getting why Louis isn't laughing as well. "At least we won't have to listen to you today, Harry."

"Well, you never know." Harry winks and Louis can't believe he actually said that. He should at least have some decency to not say anything like that only minutes after he and Louis had sex. It's not like Louis cares, which of course he doesn't, but he finds it really disrespectful.

He doesn't even utter a word and leaves the kitchen to disappear into his room. He falls face down onto his bed and wishes he hadn't slept with Harry. He regretted it the moment Harry uttered those words. Maybe Louis is a little bit jealous, but he hates that he has to admit it. He hates that he feels that way for Harry and hates Harry in general. He thinks it's better this way, since Harry is never going to change and Louis doesn't actually hope for it. He can find someone better, someone that will not fuck everything that has two legs and a hole.

"Louis?" He hears his name being called by an oh-so-familiar deep voice and before he can react, Harry is opening the door to his room.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?"

"Would you let me in if I knocked?" Harry smartly asks, smiling softly.

"No."

"Exactly." He says and Louis gets up to pull over a shirt and a pair of sweats. "Look, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Save it for someone who actually cares, Harry." Louis isn't even looking at the man as he sits back down on his bed.

"I'm old enough to understand what's happening around me, Louis." He is still standing at the door, which is now closed behind him.

"You can fuck whoever you want, I don't care. Just, don't ever touch me again." Louis knows he overreacting, but he doesn't give a shit at the moment.

"Louis."

"What?"

"Lunch is ready."

"I'm not hungry." Louis lies, because his stomach is literally complaining as he smells something really good.

"Alright, then. Niall will probably eat it without you. See you later, Louis." And with that, he is out if the door and Louis wants to cry, but he doesn't. Instead, when he hears the front door close, he gets up quickly and goes straight to the kitchen. Niall is already stuffing his mouth with Harry's food. He's made carbonara and Louis honestly falls in love with the first bite.

"Did you two...?" The question finally comes from Niall.

"Yes, we did." Louis says quietly.

"Harry didn't mean it the way you think." Niall reveals, looking at Louis intensely. "I mean, I would too expect him to say something bad, but he was talking about the two of you."

"What?"

"He was confused as to why you left and when I broke it down for him, he told me what he meant by it."

Louis stops eating, "And why didn't he tell me?"

"Possibly because you didn't let him, just like you do with everyone, you stubborn little shit." Niall laughs and ruffles Louis' hair from across the table.

"Thanks, mate." Louis rolls his eyes, fighting back a smile. "And I don't believe him, he is just trying to cover his ass."

Niall shrugs, "I don't even know anymore, everything has been so confusing ever since we came here."
_

Days pass and Louis, thankfully, hasn't even heard Harry's name. Niall is almost spending every night with Liam and Zayn left two days after the incident with Harry. Louis felt alone, but he enjoyed it at times. He finds some really interesting recipees on Harry's blog, which he definitely didn't search for, he cooks and bakes a few times and he is pretty much proud of himself that he is managing to pull that off. His mum was impressed when he sent her his last creation, a unicorn birthday cake. Not everything he is trying to make is from Harry's blog, but half of them for sure.

Weeks pass and he can't even believe how fast December comes. His birthday, Christmas and New Year's eve are only a few days away and he is torn between staying with Niall and some of their new friends, plus Zayn and Gigi or travel with his family. They are going to Paris, Vienna and Prague for the holidays and he really doesn't know what to do. It's not that he misses his family, because ever since Niall made it official with Liam, Louis has been going home every weekend in order for the lovebirds to be alone in the house. It's not even a bother for him, because he loves how happy his bestfriend is and he admires them as a couple. He is doing it willingly, since Niall always begs him to stay and feels bad when Louis leaves. He is not even ignoring him, he always includes Louis in his plans and always texts him when they're not together. He is proud and grateful to have him as a friend.

Liam has also been so great to him. He helps him with his exams along with Niall's and he even drove him to his parents' house a few times. He feels like Liam is the older brother he never had.

They even had dinner with Zayn and Gigi once, since the couple wanted to announce their engagement. Liam and Zayn seemingly have a lot in common and started being friends after that. Liam even apologized for being jealous and not introducing himself properly the first time Zayn came around.

There was only one person that Louis had completely lost contact with. Harry.

It's like both of them want nothing to do with each other. Harry merely brings someone over anymore and he is almost always not home. After last time, Louis didn't even bother to knock on his door anymore when Harry had someone over. He just put on music and ignored whatever was happening. He had come to the conclusion that he indeed has feelings for Harry, but he was trying to get over him as soon as possible and since they hadn't even talked properly the past weeks, it seemed easier.

Gigi advises him to talk to the man, but he never does. He feels serene when he doesn't think or talk about Harry and he leaves it at that, which has Gigi and Niall be disappointed in him, because they truly believed that him and Harry were potentially too in love to not be together. Even though Gigi doesn't even know the guy.

He decides to stay for the holidays and his parents along with his sister leave for vacation. Niall has been planning a small party in their apartment for Louis' birthday and Christmas and has informed Louis on every single detail because he knows how much he hates surprises. He has even invited Harry, but Louis tries to ignore the weird feeling in his stomach when he remembers about it. He tries to change Niall's mind a few times, but the Irish lad keeps on saying that it would be rude and impolite not to invite him. Even if he doesn't choose to come.

He and Niall pass every single course with a high grade, thanks to Liam's help and it's officially the beginning of their break, a day before Louis' birthday.

Niall has done an amazing job. He has decorated their living room with christmas lights and golden balloons, he made Louis decorate the Christmas tree and even asked Liam for help to pick out the cake and catering for snacks.

"Hey, Ni. What do you think?" Liam asks coming into Niall's room, who is currently in front of his mirror, buttoning his dark blue dress shirt. Niall turns to look at Liam, thinking that Louis probably let him in and he gapes at the sight in front of him.

Liam is wearing a total black outfit, his pitch black tuxedo hugging his god-like body perfectly and his hair is simply styled on top of his head. Niall on the other hand already feels self conscious, since he doesn't feel adequate in front of Liam. The older man notices and quickly approaches Niall, coming up from behind him and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's waist. He kisses his neck from behind, sending shiver all over his body.

"You look stunning, baby." He says softly, causing Niall to blush.

"No need to lie, Li." Niall frowns and turns in Liam's arms to hug him. "You look handsome, by the way."

"I'd never lie to you, Niall. You look so good tonight." Liam says truthfully and takes Niall's hand to spin him around. Along with his dark blue button up, he is wearing his tight, black dress pants and dark shoes.

"At least, not nearly as good as you." Niall giggles as Liam presses kisses all over his face when he finally pulls him into his body again.

"We should go with the others, Zayn and Gigi were already here when I came." Liam says and Niall nods.

Soon enough, everybody is here. Zayn, Gigi, Liam and also Matt and Deborah from college. They're the new friends both Niall and Louis haven't stopped talking about. They refer to them as the cutest and funniest couple ever and all of them have managed to become really good friends, even in such a short amount of time. Deborah even knows about Louis and Harry's situation.

"Finally, you idiots. I'm starving." Louis says smiling. He looks amazing in his simple -compared to everyone else's- outfit. He always wears what he feels comfortable with and he is wearing as always his black skinnies, a dark burgundy, short sleeved button down and his black and white vans.

They sit around the table they moved into the living room from the kitchen and Niall turns on the radio, the volume barely audible, playing 'all I want for Christmas is You' by Mariah Carey. They're all laughing, making jokes and conversing with one another until Liam mentions something about his flatmate that makes Louis' smile fall. It's not like he had wished for Harry to be able to come, but he is actually disappointed that he didn't show up. He quickly manages to cover it up and laughs along with whatever they kept on saying.

Niall still catches his expression and he decides to actually do something about it. He doesn't want his best friend to be sad, especially on his birthday.

To Harry:

I thought you were coming tonight

From Harry:

I'm sorry, something came up.

Niall huffs and puts his phone back into his pocket, placing a reassuring hand on Liam's thigh when he looks at him worriedly.

"Everything okay?"

"Yes, just checking for any messages from my dad."

Liam smiles sadly, "He'll come around, baby. I'm sure he will."

Niall hopes so. He hates that his dad can't accept his relationship. It's not like he is homophobic, because he has always supported Niall through everything, but he thinks that Liam is too old for his son. Liam even tried to talk to him, but he was having none of that. He didn't even ask where and who Niall was spending the holidays with.

Later that night, when they've eaten most of the cake and Niall and Louis have washed all the dishes, Matt and Deb leave, since the snow is getting too thick and they wouldn't be able to leave if they stayed more and Zayn and Gigi follow right after. It's almost midnight, Louis is alone at the balcony, wrapped in his jacket and smoking a cigarette, a habit he took up from Matt and Liam and Niall are cuddled up on the sofa.

"Niall?"

Niall hums in response and rests his head on Liam's shoulder, the latter softly caressing the back of his head.

"I love you." He whispers and feels Niall freeze in his arms. "You don't have to say it back or anything, I just wanted to let you know. I know it's a bit too soon, but I know when I feel something. I really, really love you."

Niall raises his head and looks into Liam's warm brown eyes. "Liam?"

"Yeah?"

"I really, really love you too." Niall grins and Liam pecks his lips softly, but gets cut off when Niall yawns.

"Way to ruin a moment, baby." He laughs out loud and Niall giggles. "You can go to bed, Ni. I'll just go outside with Lou and join you in a few, okay?"

"Alright. Don't let him smoke any more, okay? He's done enough for today." Niall says as he gets up to go to his bedroom and Liam nods, heading to the balcony.

"Are you okay, Lou?" Liam asks and all he sees is Louis back until he hears a faint sniffle and he turns him around. Louis' face is pretty much covered in tears and his nose is red both from the cold and crying.

"Aw, Louis." Liam hugs him instantly into his chest and rubs his back. "What happened? Tell me it's not because of Harry, I'm going to kill him."

"I didn't mean to like him, Li. I honestly thought I hated him before everything happened and then, he completely shut me out." Louis pulls away and wipes his tears with the back of his hand. "He didn't even text me for my birthday."

Liam shakes his head, "We all told you not to expect much from him, Lou. I know you would make him happy, but he is Harry. He may be my best friend, but I know that he won't be good for you if he doesn't change. He keeps hurting you and he hasn't even talked to you in almost a month."

"I tried. I really tried to get over him, but I can't." Louis cries.

"I know. Feelings don't just disappear, Lou. It'll take time and it is going to hurt, but me and Niall are here for you." Liam reassures him and hugs him one last time.

"Thank you, Liam." Louis says, a small smile on his face. They go inside and Liam goes to bed, leaving Louis alone in the living room, wrapped in a blanket and holding his phone to his chest. He is still letting a few tears fall and he can't stop himself from what he does next.

To Harry:

don't I deserve at least a happy birthday 00.36 am

He isn't expecting a response and he hates himself for being so vulnerable. He leaves the phone beside him and grabs the remote control, but before he can press the button to open the television, the doorbell rings and Louis almost shits his pants from the sudden sound. He slowly makes his way to the door and he sees Harry standing in front of him, looking stressed. He is in sweatpants and a hoodie and Louis is shocked.

"Happy birthday, Louis."

It's only a wish and his name, only three words that are enough to make his heart skip a beat. He doesn't control the tears that roll onto his cheeks and Harry notices, but he is too much of a coward to get close to Louis.

You see, Harry has been struggling just as much. Since he slept with Louis, everyone else seems unimportant, useless. He is scared of the fact that he thinks about Louis all the time. Never in his life has he felt that way about someone and he tried to ignore it. He tried to ignore Louis in general. How can he go from fucking everything that moves to settling down to one person? Because he knows Louis likes him, it was obvious when he got jealous, he isn't that clueless. He didn't want to take advantage of Louis, so he disappeared. He worked away from home most of the time, he tried to have Nikkie over a few times, but he never quite enjoyed it anymore since all he could think about was a young, blue eyed boy that had managed to steal his heart. He finally realized he had feelings for Louis, but he didn't know what to do. He didn't even know if Louis would be willing to be with him.

He isn't sure and confident about his next move, but Harry slowly approaches Louis and embraces him, resting his chin on top of the shorter boy's head. "You shouldn't be crying on your birthday."

Louis huffs and doesn't move as he lets Harry hold him into his chest. "I should be allowed to do anything I want on my birthday."

"Why are you crying, though?" Harry asks, even though he is almost a hundred percent sure of the reason. Louis pulls away from him and wipes his eyes.

"That's none of your business." He snaps and looks down.

"Louis?"

"Yeah?" He is still looking down and Harry isn't having any of it.

"Louis."

"What?" He finally looks up and Harry is smiling at him, looking absolutely beautiful. Louis hates that he has to admit that.

"We should go to sleep, it's really late." Harry says.

Louis feels disappointed, but he nods anyway. "Yeah, okay." He mumbles, wiping one last tear with his hand. "Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight."

Neither makes a move to leave and Harry is staring at the younger boy, his expression unreadable. Louis finds himself blushing and avoids looking at him directly in the eyes.

"Look, Louis, I-" Harry stops abruptly and sighs. "I'm sorry."

Louis is confused. "Why are you even sorry?"

"Making you feel bad when it wasn't my intention, ignoring you the past few weeks, making you cry on your birthday..." He trails off, causing Louis' heart to skip a beat.

"Why were you ignoring me?"

Harry furrows his eyebrows. "We shouldn't be doing this conversation in the hallway. We should go inside, don't you think?"

Louis is almost going crazy, because Harry's behavior is different, in the best way possible.

"Mine or yours?" Harry doesn't reply, he simply turns around and unlocks the door to his apartment, motioning for Louis to come in.

They sit on the couch, Harry brings out a few cupcakes he had made this morning and Louis devours the lime and strawberry flavoured one in seconds. "God, I love cupcakes."

"I can see that." Harry smirks, making Louis' cheeks flush. "At least we found a way to make you happy again."

"Definitely."

"You never told me the reason you were crying though."

Louis hate that Harry has to bring that back. "I told you, it's none of your business. It has nothing to do with you."

Harry smiles softly. He knows Louis is lying. "Why do I feel like it does?"

"Because you're a conceited asshole?"

"That's the Louis I know."

"Fuck you."

Harry clears his throat, "We've been there."

"Harry!"

Harry laughs his ass off, dimples showing, making Louis laugh as well. It feels weird to laugh, talk and be with Harry in the same room without fighting, but it's not awkward and Louis almost enjoys it.

"Okay, okay, sorry. Now, tell me the truth, Tomlinson."

Louis huffs, "I'm not a liar, Harry."

"Actually..."

"I'll tell you why I was crying if you tell me the reason you've been ignoring me all this time." He feels like they're both acting like children.

Harry's smile falls unexpectedly and he looks down at his lap. "I..."

"You what?" Louis presses.

"I thought you had feelings for me." He coughs slightly to clear his throats and continues. "Especially after taking what I said that day the wrong way."

"I didn't take it the wrong way."

"You did, Louis." He says sternly. "You thought I was talking about me and someone else and I wasn't."

Louis really wants to believe Harry. "This still doesn't answer my question."

"If you'd let me finish for once." Harry groans. "I started ignoring you after that, because I knew you had feelings for me and I thought I didn't. I didn't want you to think there was something between us, because you'd end up hurt."

"Harry. I wasn't a virgin nor inexperienced, I knew exactly what we were doing."

"But you got jealous, Louis!"

Louis blushes, "No, I didn't. I just thought it was extremely disrespectful."

"Because you took it the wrong way."

Louis pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing. "We're not getting anywhere with this conversation going back and forth."

"Then stop fucking lying."

"We'll end up fighting again and I'm too tired for this. Goodnight, Harry." He gets up to leave, but before he can move towards the door, Harry grabs him and pulls him close, their bodies colliding with force. Louis loses his breath and before he can even realize what Harry is doing, the older guy is already kissing him with passion. Louis is lost, but he manages to kiss Harry back and run his hands through Harry's curls, gripping tightly. He is soon being picked up and carried into the bedroom, realizing how much he needs what is going to happen next.

They both don't expect to end up in bed again and when Harry thrusts into Louis one last time, they both reach their climax and Harry falls on top of Louis, their sweaty chests colliding. The younger boy feels wrecked and exhausted and he is ready to fall asleep, but he knows he should go home. He moves to get up from underneath Harry, but he grabs his hips to prevent him.

"Where are you going?"

"Home?" Louis exclaims as a matter of fact.

"So soon?"

"I'm tired."

Harry raises his head to look at the boy underneath him and timidly pulls Louis hair back and out of his face. "You can sleep here."

Louis is shocked once again, but manages to hide it. "No, it's fine. I'll go."

"Louis, stay. I'll sleep on the couch, I won't bother you."

He really wants to refuse, but Harry being so soft all of a sudden and asking him to stay is more than enough to convince him to sleep exactly where he is laying at. Harry's bed.

"Are you sure?"

Harry simply nods, grinning tiredly and gets up, grabbing one of his pillows, also reaching for a drawer to pull out a second blanket to take with him on the couch. Louis feels bad, but he is way too sleepy to say it. They don't even bother with showering and they both fall asleep pretty quick.
_

From Liam:

I'm going to fucking kill you when you wake up. 3.34 am

From Niall:

You better make things right this time 3.38 am

From Liam:

Wake up you fucker 7.56 am

From Liam:

I'm this 👉👈 close to coming over 9.12 am

From Liam:

Niall is the only thing keeping me away from struggling you 10.32 am

From Liam:

Please, at least don't fuck it up again. Lou was crying last night. I care about both of you. Just tell me he is okay and I'll talk to you when I can come home 11.03 am

From Niall:

You owe me. It took me four freaking hours to convince him that you two are adults that can decide for your own lives. 11.15 am

Harry wakes up to seven text messages and two missed calls from both Liam and Niall and finds himself laughing at the last two texts, imagining Liam freaking out and Niall calming him down. He knows Liam is overprotective, especially over Louis and Niall. He has known them for too little, but he already considers Louis as a very good friend and he and Niall have gotten closer than ever.

To Liam:

He is fine. Slept on the bed, I slept on the couch. Sorry for waking you up last night, I can't promise it won't happen again 11.20 am

From Liam:

Gosh, you are an idiot. Don't wake him up, he hasn't been sleeping well the past few days. 11.21 am

To Liam:

Yes, Liam. Keep in mind though that I'm your friend too 11.24 am

From Liam:

Love you, Haz 11.25 am

Harry smiles at that. After he showers and brushes his teeth, he starts making breakfast, while munching on a cupcake from yesterday. He goes for spinach and prosciutto frittata muffins and also makes two banana smoothies, one for him and one for Louis. He doesn't know why, but he feels the need to take care of the boy.

"Harry?" He hears a small, sleepy voice call from behind him and he turns to see Louis standing in the kitchen, fully dressed and rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning." Harry simply smiles as he pours the smoothies into two glasses. He places on the table and motions for Louis to join him, who obeys and sits down carefully. Harry knows what's going on when Louis flinches and shifts on his seat, but he tries to keep himself from laughing. Louis notices.

"Don't you dare." He glares at Harry and it actually makes the older man explode and burst out laughing, but it's cut short when Louis leaves his fork down forcefully and gets up to leave. Harry is quick to catch him.

"I'm not making fun of you, Louis. You'd laugh too if it was anybody else."

"Doesn't make it okay to laugh, especially when it's your fault."

Harry smiles. "I'm sorry." He is looking right into Louis' eyes and he is only now noticing how intriguing and deep his blue orbs are.

"It's fine." Louis says and tries to avoid Harry's gaze.

"Let's go finish breakfast, Liam and Niall are going crazy." Harry points out and Louis' eyes widen.

"Oh God, what am I going to tell them?" He almost freaks out, but Harry calms him down by caressing his back while pushing him to the kitchen again to keep eating.

"They know."

Louis' mouth falls open, "What?"

"They heard us." Harry shrugs, biting into his frittata.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"Why are you freaking out?"

"I'm not like you to enjoy being heard having sex." Louis snaps.

Harry is taken aback, "We didn't do anything bad, Louis. Calm down. We are going to talk, if you want to of course and then you'll go back to yours. They were just worried about you, there is no reason for you to flip out like that."

"I don't know what's gotten into me." He says and Harry snorts as he drinks a sip from his smoothie.

"Harry! Stop it with the dirty jokes, it's not funny!" Louis whines.

"It kind of is, but I'll stop if it bothers you so much."

"Why the heck are you being so nice to me?"

Harry chuckles, dimples showing. "Because I want to make things right."

Louis doesn't know what that means, but his heart is beating faster than usual and he can't believe he had sex with Harry, he slept in his bed and now he is eating breakfast with him. It's so confusing, but he wants to enjoy it while it lasts.

When they've finished, Harry places the dishes into the sink, deciding to let Liam wash them later and informs Louis that it's what he always does and Liam never really refuses to wash them. They make their way to the living room and Harry sits down first, watching Louis as he moves slowly to sit down as well, once again far away from Harry. The latter shakes his head and scoots closer to Louis and turning to face him.

"We need to talk, but both of us have to be a hundred percent honest, okay?"

Louis simply nods.

"Why were you crying yesterday?"

"This isn't fair." Louis whines, but Harry's look causes him to stop and realize that he has to be serious. "I... I really wanted you to be there for my birthday."

"Why?"

"Because you...Because you may treat me like your worst enemy, but I..."

"You?" Harry encourages him.

Louis takes a shaky breath, "I kind of like you. And yes, I was jealous, but that's it. You can completely ignore both facts."

"I see." Harry doesn't say much and Louis suddenly feels annoyed.

"You knew already, why did you have to make me say it?"

"Because you kept denying it and I hate liars."

Louis huffs, "Alright, now that we've cleared that up, can I go home?"

"Wait, you've said your part, aren't I allowed to say mine?"

"You made it clear yesterday that you don't feel the same way and don't worry, you don't have to keep avoiding me. I'm okay with us being friends."

Harry shakes his head, "Louis, I-"

Louis stands up, cutting him off. "No, it's fine. I'll just go, they're probably waiting for me."

"Alright, I can't keep you here if you want to leave."

"Bye, Harry." He says and gets quickly out the door before Harry can say anything else.
_

Liam and Niall don't leave him time to breath, since by the time he opens the door to their apartment, they bombard him with questions. He tells them everything that happened, including his confession and Harry saying he doesn't have feelings for him. Niall is sympathetic and comforts Louis whereas Liam hugs him one last time and leaves them alone to go back to his. They assume he wants to speak with Harry and they stop talking about the subject, because Louis has had enough.

Liam on the other side, wants his best friend to let everything out. He knows Harry better than anyone and the way Louis described things confused him. He knows Harry wouldn't just appear on Louis' door to wish him for his birthday only because of a text. He wouldn't try to talk to Louis and find out about why he was crying if he didn't care about the boy.

"Harry?" Liam calls when he enters their apartment.

"In the kitchen." Harry shouts back and Liam finds him standing up in front of the sink doing the only thing he would never expect Harry to do.

He is washing the dishes.

"Things are getting serious over here. Are you really doing the dishes?"

Harry huffs, pouring some soap onto the sponge. "No, I'm just helping them bath."

"Your jokes are seriously not funny."

"You asked for it."

Liam chuckles and sits down watching Harry's back for a few moments. "Louis told me what happened."

"Of course he would."

"He also told me that you don't have any feelings for him."

Harry turns off the tap and dries his hands with a towel. "And?"

"Is it true?"

"Let him believe what he wants to believe."

Liam furrows his eyebrows, "He is going to believe whatever you say to him, he isn't a fortune teller."

"Look, Liam, I know you know. I do like him, but he didn't let me tell him. I tried, but he wouldn't listen." He says and sits down across from Liam.

"But you like him."

"Yes, Liam, that's literally what I just said."

"I'm just surprised you actually admitted it."

Harry smiles, "I have nothing to hide, Li. Especially from you."

"I'm glad to hear that."
_

"We're ready to leave, Haz. Is it okay for you to help me with our stuff? Niall's knee isn't getting any better." Liam appears in the living room, Niall behind him. The younger boy had an accident while playing football in the snow with Louis the other day and his knee has been swollen ever since. He is not letting anyone drive him to the hospital, so Liam has done everything in his power to let him rest.

It's the weekend and Liam manages to plan a small trip for him and Niall to relax and have some time alone. Harry helps them get their things down and into the car, ignoring Louis who is watching them from the balcony dressed in a huge jacket, while smoking a cigarette. He misses the feeling of having him close, but he will never admit that. It's the first time he sees him after a few days and he hates that they aren't on speaking terms. Liam and Niall leave and when Harry looks up, Louis has already gotten back into the house. Harry shakes his head and gets back up to prepare a mushroom soup for lunch.

From Niall:

It's not too late, Harry. If what Liam told me is true, Louis is right next door, he is sick and has been moping around and crying most of the day. Don't do it out of pity. If you truly like him, do something. x

He smiles sadly at his phone and thinks before replying.

To Niall:

I'm not sure if this is going to work, but I'm going to try.

From Niall:

Soooooo Liam was right, you like Louis? TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH

To Niall:

Enjoy your trip, little one.

He laughs and places his phone down. He suddenly can't concentrate, because the image of Louis being alone and crying because of him makes his heart hurt. He needs to talk to him, again.
_

"Harry?"

"Hey. Can I talk to you?"

Louis only finds the strength to nod and the both make their way to the living room. Harry watches him as he snuggles up in the corner of the sofa and tries to keep his fond look for later.

"Are you okay?" He asks, still not taking a seat.

"I am, yeah." Louis' voice is raspy.

"Have you eaten anything?"

He shakes his head, "No, I only made some tea. I'm not hungry."

Harry gives him a stern look, "You have to eat something, Louis. You're obviously sick. I'm bringing you some soup and some medicine that Liam has in our apartment."

"No."

"Why not? You're not well and I can't just let you be."

"You don't have to act like you give a fuck about me."

"If you had actually shut up and listen, you would know about the fucks I give about you." Harry snaps, even though he doesn't want to, since it hurts him to see Louis so vulnerable and sad. "I'll be back in two, I'm leaving the door open."

Louis doesn't object and soon enough, Harry comes back with a bowl of soup and a small packet of ibuprofen. He helps Louis sit up and gives him the soup, which he starts eating immediately. It's warm and it's the only thing he can shallow without having his throat ache. When he finishes it off, Harry brings him some water to take the pill and places his hand on Louis' forehead.

"Fuck, you're burning, Louis."

"I feel fine, I only have a sore throat." He says and lets out a small cough.

"You've got a fever too. If the pills don't work, I'm taking you to the doctor's." Harry says and he seems like he is not taking no for an answer.

"Thank you, Harry. I appreciate it." Louis says truthfully and cuddles even more into his blanket. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Harry smiles softly, "Now is not the time for that, you are sick."

"I don't mind."

"I do, though."

Louis knows he doesn't have any chance so he just grabs his remote control and turns on the tv before looking at Harry, "What do you want to watch?"

Harry is surprised to say the least, "I don't know, put whatever you want to."

"Shrek it is, then."

"Really now?"

Louis glares at him, "I'm sorry I'm not a grandpa like you, Styles. I love me some animated movies."

"I'm not a grandpa." Harry frowns and Louis really wants to kiss his pout away.

"You kind of are." He giggles, coughing a bit more and grips his blanket tightly. "Fuck, I'm cold." He mumbles, not really talking to Harry, but more to his self.

"Come here." Harry opens his arms for Louis and the latter almost freezes in his seat.

"No."

"Alright, then. I'll just bring you another blanket." Harry shrugs, but before he can get up, Louis stops him and moves closer to cuddle into his side. Harry smiles and wraps his arms around the little ball of fluff, the only thing poking out of the blanket being Louis' head.

It's not even ten minutes into the movie that Louis falls asleep on Harry and the older man admires his features. He looks like an angel and his cheeks are pink from the fever, which makes him look adorable. Harry kisses his warm forehead and he contemplates between staying with him on the couch or move him to bed and let him rest. He decides that it would be selfish to let him sleep on the couch just because he doesn't want to end their cuddle, so he picks him up carefully and takes him to his bed, wrapping him up with both his blanket and the duvet. He turns to leave, but a small, quiet voice stops him.

"Please, stay."

He doesn't known if he hears right and he turns to look at Louis. He is looking at him, his beautiful blue eyes glassy because of the fever.

"You need to rest."

"I don't want to rest, I need a cuddle."

Harry is torn. He doesn't know if he wants to just go with the flow, cuddle Louis, have fun with him and see what happens or have an actual conversation with the boy and see where that takes them.

"Alright, fine." He pulls off his shoes, gets into bed beside Louis and the smaller boy instantly nuzzles his face into Harry's chest.

"You smell really good." Louis mumbles, his eyes closed.

"Uh, thanks?" He doesn't know what to say and he doesn't know what he is doing as he hesitantly wraps his arms around Louis again. "Louis?"

"Mhm." He doesn't open his eyes until he feels Harry place his lips on his forehead.

"You're still a little bit warm."

Louis shrugs, "I'm feeling better now."

"Are you sure? I can take you to the d-"

"Harry. I'm fine, don't worry and I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, I should get off of you. I didn't want to-"

Harry stops him before he can roll away from him on the bed and pulls him closer to his body again. They don't speak, they're softly looking into each other's eyes before Harry slowly leans in, his lips only a few inches away from Louis'. Louis' breath hitches and a second later their lips touch and start moving together slowly and passionately. Harry rolls them onto the mattress so he is hovering over Louis' smaller body frame and takes the initiative to deepen the kiss a bit more. Louis instantly brings his hands up to cup Harry's face and pulls his legs apart so Harry can get in between them.

A few seconds later Harry stops Louis from grinding up as he feels both of them getting hard in their sweatpants. "No, Lou. We're not doing any of that while you're sick."

"I'm alright, really. I want to."

"We need to talk before anything, Louis, we need to be clear to each other."

"I know you want it to be just sex, Harry, I'm okay with that."

Harry groans, pinching the bridge of his nose as he moves and lies down on his side, facing Louis. "For fuck's sake, Louis. Will you ever let me speak without making assumptions?"

Louis pouts, "Sorry."

"I like you, you little shit, but you never shut up. You would have known by now, but you never listen."

"What?"

"I like you, Louis. As in, I don't want to have sex with you and then forget all about it. I want to lay with you all day, take care of you, cook for you, watch stupid animated kid movies with you and keep fighting with you, so we can make up right after."

Louis is lost for words. "What... how?"

"I don't know how. At the beginning, I thought that all I wanted to do was throw you down this building, but ever since that night at the club, everything changed. That night I realized that you were something else, not my short, loud, annoying neighbor. I mean, you still are all of those, but you also are the most beautiful person I've ever met."

"Harry, I-"

"I've put you through some shit and I get it if you don't want to give me a chance, but I needed you to know that I was confused and I didn't want to hurt you. It felt... easier to just ignore my feelings and meet different people every night, but I couldn't do it anymore. All I could think about was you."

Louis is blushing madly as Harry suddenly raises his hand to caress Louis' cheek. "Please, tell me you're not lying."

"I hate liars, Lou."

"But you... How could you be with someone else if you wanted me?"

"I wanted to forget about you and I really tried to, but then you sent me that text on your birthday and I knew right away that you already had me wrapped around your finger. I realized that I was only having someone over  before just so you would come outside my door looking all annoyed and jealous."

"I was not jealous."

"You so were, Lou." Harry smiles. "I saw you cry that day and I felt like the shittiest person ever. I wanted to make things right with you, I tried to and I would have told you how I feel about you sooner if you'd actually let me to."

Louis can't even breath right after hearing Harry's confession and he can't believe a man like Harry actually likes him back. "I'm... You... Do you really like me?"

Harry decides that he is going to prove that he likes Louis by kissing him again. It's soft and simple this time and Louis is ready to melt into a little puddle on the mattress. He kisses Harry back sweetly and his hands find their way into Harry's hair again, a habit he has started loving ever since he first kissed Harry. He breaks the kiss off when he has the urge to cough and it makes Harry chuckle as he pulls Louis closer and kisses his head.

"I'm taking you to the doctor's tomorrow if this goes on until tonight." Harry insists and Louis nods, finding it nice that Harry actually cares for him. He feels Harry caressing his back, sending shivers down his spine and he hums happily. They both fall asleep a few minutes later and Louis finally feels  extremely happy after a long time.

Louis doesn't ever remember when was the last time he slept so serenely. When he wakes up he feels so warm, secure and comfortable in Harry's arms that he doesn't want to move. Harry ended up spooning him while they were asleep and Louis enjoys the feeling of having his strong arms around him. Seconds later, he can feel Harry waking up and the older man presses a kiss on his temple from behind.

"You're not that warm anymore." He mumbles, his voice deep and raspy.

"I know, I'm feeling a lot better." He turns around to face Harry and they just stare at each other for a few seconds.

"I'll never get over how beautiful your eyes are." Harry blurts out, fascinated by Louis' eyes. The younger boy blushes and smiles.

"They're not that special. They're just blue."

"They are special to me."

"You enjoy making me blush, don't you?"

Harry shrugs, grinning from ear to ear. "Guilty as charged." He, then, leans in to peck Louis' lips, caressing his cheek in the meantime. "Do you know when Liam and Niall are coming back?"

"I think Niall told me tomorrow afternoon? His dad is coming over tomorrow night."

"Is he still mad about them dating?"

"No, I don't believe so. He was never mad to be honest, he is just worried. The only thing that bothers him is their age difference."

Harry frowns, "Yeah, that's... understandable."

"No, it's not. He likes Liam as a person and he knows that he is the best for Niall." Louis quickly argues and sits up, causing Harry to mimic his actions and sit up as well.

"I'm sure he'll come around. Just like you said, he's worried. He is not against them."

"I know, I think that's why he is coming tomorrow. To apologize, eventually." Louis nods.

"What about your parents?"

"My parents have always loved Niall as their own son and they also love Liam, they've met him a few times now. They even tried to knock some sense into Will."

Harry listens closely, but he ends up chuckling. "That's good to hear, but that's not what I meant."

Louis furrows his eyebrows, "What did you-Oh."

"Yeah."

"Do you honestly want to meet my parents?"

"No!" Harry is quick to reply, "No, not yet at least. But I don't want you to fight with your parents because of me."

"They're not like Will. They're not so overprotective with me and Zoe, I'm sure they'll be okay with me and you."

Harry lets out a sigh of relief, "Thank God."

"You don't have to worry about them. Niall's situation is different. Niall is an only child and Will raised him on his own, since his mother abandoned them. He is scared."

"Oh, I get it now." Harry says and they end up talking a little bit more before going into the kitchen to prepare something for dinner.
_

Louis doesn't know when six months pass. He doesn't seem to realize how he and Harry are together for almost half a year. Everything is great. They've had a few bumps along the way, but the two of them wouldn't survive in a relationship without a few fights every now and then. Even when they fight, Louis can't stay mad for long because Harry always treats him like a prince. He doesn't even know how he got so lucky.

As for Niall and Liam, they're better than ever. Eventually, after nine months, Niall's dad came to terms with their relationship and completely supports them. They even visit him every other weekend and Will considers Liam as family now.

Just like Louis' parents treat Harry. They loved Harry from the very first time they met him. Especially Louis' mom. You see, she was a huge fan of his blog and knew him already. She was on cloud nine when Louis brought him over to meet them. He is glad that Harry felt comfortable with them, even though Zoe wasn't so fond of him at first. Finally, after so long, they're almost best friends. Louis swears sometimes his sister loves him less than Harry.

But he isn't complaining. Gemma, Harry's sister, and Anne, Harry's mother, adore him.

After lots of ups and downs, fights, jealousy, anger, they're finally happy and in love. Harry loves Louis and Louis loves Harry. Niall loves Liam and Liam loves Niall. And as Niall said, they were all meant to be neighbors and then... lovers.