Chapter Text
"I'm gonna paint you by numbers and colour you in."
Direct Message: @lwtommo - @curlystyles
@lwtommo hey there! i just saw your post about how
coco pops are the worst cereal and im here
to tell u that ur wrong! have a good day!
@curlystyles Hello, you’re wrong but have a good day!
@lwtommo and pray tell, how am i wrong
@curlystyles Have you SEEN the nutritional facts on
the Coco Pops packaging?
@lwtommo i have, and what
@curlystyles I hate you.
@lwtommo i hate u 2 curly :)
And that’s how it starts.
Louis pushes open the door to his apartment, the small space barely lit up by the artificial lights of the Los Angeles skyline. The apartment was so dark that he could barely see where he was walking, and after stubbing his toe on the shoe rack and a couple of mumbled profanities later, he finally manages to turn on the light. Sighing, he slips his shoes off before heading to his room to drop off his belongings, trying to hurry so that he can finally have that beer he has been waiting for all day. Plugging in his phone, the screen shows 8%, making him roll his eyes. He needs a new phone, the battery is fucked. Louis plugs his laptop into the charger as well, knowing that it would definitely die as soon as he turned it on.
As he walks down the hallway, dragging his feet to emphasize how tired he is, he lets out a yawn causing his jaw to click which he scowls over. Grabbing the beer bottle out of the fridge he presses it against his forehead, sighing at the cooling sensation the bottle gives off. Cracking it open he makes his way to the loungeroom, turning on the TV, fully knowing he’s going to turn it off within the next two minutes.
It had been a long day, you see. He had woken up to realise that he had run out of his favourite tea; he had ended up hitting his head on his bedside table trying to reach for a pillow that fell on the floor. His best friend, Zayn, was ignoring him over some stupid shit. The cafe that he would go to when he had no tea was shut so he had to go to Starbucks. The students that he had to coach for his teaching job were being little shits, and his boss wasn’t exactly being helpful, standing off to the side on his phone the entire time instead of actually doing his job. All very small things but altogether, not a good day.
Switching off the television Louis heads back to his room, beer in hand and already half empty. As soon as he sits down on his bed he sighs, setting the bottle aside and rubbing his forehead, trying to soothe the headache that was beginning to start. Looking to his left he sees his phone screen flash on, indicating that he received a notification. Louis smiles to himself as he sees the familiar contact name. Picking up his phone he quickly types in his passcode in order to read the message.
hazza I’m not a photographer but I can
picture you and me together :)
louis haz u are a photographer and we are literally together
and why are you still awake
hazza Don’t ruin the moment Lou :(
And I can’t sleep.
louis too busy thinking of me right
hazza You know I am.
I miss you.
Louis sighs.
A week after their first chat, Harry had dmed him again to apologise for saying he hated Louis, and even though Louis did not take it to heart and tried to explain that he knew Harry was joking, Harry wasn’t taking any of it and continued to apologise until Louis finally accepted his apology. After that, they ended messaging more frequently, and soon it became a part of their individual lives to constantly check in with one another. Slowly but eventually Louis gathered the courage to ask Harry for his phone number, and that’s when he found out that he lived all the way in London, while Louis lived in Los Angeles.
After discovering the distance between, things got a bit difficult, as the two had grown rather close, which was ironic. They soon got passed that hurdle, and twitter dms turned into regular messages, which turned into phone calls which turned into video calls. Five months and 6 days after their first chat (not that Louis was counting), during a drunk video call, Harry accidentally blurted out the fact that he had gained feelings for the other boy. This resulted in a red-faced Louis and an embarrassed Harry who immediately ended the call and cried to his best friend, Niall who tried to reassure Harry that Louis definitely reciprocated those feelings.
Around two shots later (taken by Louis, confidence shots he said to himself), Louis had typed out a whole paragraph on how he had fallen in love with Harry, just as he was about to send it, Harry’s face popped up on his phone screen, showing that he was calling.
To cut things short, they both had a little freak out which may have ended in a few tears shed by both of them, and after a lot of reassurance, coming from both parties, they decided that they could make this relationship work. It’s a good thing that Louis’ family lives in Doncaster, because that meant that whenever he got to go see his family, he was also able to catch a train in to London to see his boy. Of course it wasn’t just Louis doing the travelling, as Harry’s sister, Gemma, lived in central LA which was kind of close to where Louis lives. It all kind of seemed too perfect ─ well, if you minus the distance that was still between them.
But here they are, almost two years and still going strong.
louis i miss u too love
hazza How was your day Lou?
Did the kids cause you any trouble at all?
louis they always do, been a pretty
shit day if im being honest
hazza I’m sorry babe, is there anything
that I can do to make your day better?
louis i would say call me
but u need to sleep
Incoming call from hazza…
Rolling his eyes, Louis answers the call, knowing full well if he doesn’t Harry won’t stop. “Did I not just say that you need to go to sleep?”
“Hello to you too Lou, and yes you did, but I’m going to ignore it because you aren’t having a good day, and I can’t go to sleep knowing that you’re not okay.”
The smile that appears on Louis’ face can’t even begin to describe the feeling of happiness that runs through him. God, even just the sound of his voice was enough to make his day better. His voice, soft and smooth, but at the same time deep and rough from the lack of sleep. His voice was comforting. That’s the word. And that’s what Louis needed right now.
“Thank you Haz, but it’s really late for you, it’s already like one in the morning baby. You have classes soon.”
“Classes shmasses, who cares? I can survive on 3 hours of sleep.”
“Mmm sure, but you will regret it once you wake up, I know you well Styles.”
And that was true, the last time Harry had tried to stay up to stay on call with Louis he did not get to sleep until 3 in the morning and ended up sleeping through his alarms. Right as Louis is about to say something else, Harry lets out a yawn.
Silence.
“Don’t sa-” “I told you so.”
“No.” Louis rolls his eyes again. One of these days his eyes are going to roll out of his head and it will be Harry’s fault. His stubborn boy.
“Harry. I’ll be fine, one bad day won’t hurt me. Besides, it’s not a bad life, it’s just a bad day. I can get through this, easy peasy.”
“I know you can Lou, you’re so strong I just worry that you’re going to overwork yourself one day.”
Louis’ face softens at that. Always worrying, he is, but always caring. That’s how their relationship has always been, with both of them constantly worrying about each other. It’s hard you see? Not being able to comfort your person, in person. Especially when all you want to do is keep them safe. It’s hard, but they’re okay. They’re okay.
“I’m gonna be fine babe, don’t worry your little head. Now go to sleep please, for me?”
“...Fine Lou, for you. But if anything happens message me please?”
“Always, I love you.”
“I love you.” Another yawn.
“Goodnight love, sweet dreams.” Louis giggles.
“G’night, Lou.”
Call ended.