Chapter Text
The sky was pouring with rain when the silver car came to a halt in front of the tall skyscraper. The boy inside pressed his face closer to the window, mesmerized by how majestic the building looked - he'd seen pictures before, of course, but now he was finally here it was so much different, so much better.
"Thanks for driving me.", he said absentmindedly as he and the driver, his Uncle, got out of the car. "It's amazing."
"Sorry you can't stay with us.", his Uncle retorted, pulling the large, black suitcase out of the trunk. "You know, after the whole thing with your cousin-“
"Relax, it's fine.", he interrupted. "I have a place to stay, so you don't have to worry about anything."
Noticing that his nephew wasn't really listening anyway, Mike Selley decided not to argue.
"Want me to help you with the suitcase?", he asked instead, studying Harry carefully.
"I don't think that will be necessary. But thanks." Finally, Harry turned his head to look at his Uncle, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "I'll call you tomorrow.“
-
As soon as Mr. Selley was gone, Harry returned his attention to the building. So this was it - his home for the next twelve months, in the heart of New York City.
Somehow, his slight nervousness faded when he climbed the few steps to the main entrance, dragging the suitcase behind him. The name he was looking for was at the top of the doorbell panel, a small, golden sign that read: L. Tomlinson.
Without hesitation he rang the doorbell, trying to shield himself from the rain a little. By now, it was useless though, for he was completely soaked already. A few seconds later it buzzed and he pushed the door open, stepping inside. The warmth of the staircase engulfed him, making him shiver from the rain still clinging to him.
There was an elevator, luckily, and its doors flew open almost immediately after he pressed the button. He needed to get to the fifteenth floor, the top of the building. It only took half a minute until he was there: There were only very few doors leading into the apartments up here, but that didn’t surprise him - the guy he was supposed to stay with, Louis, was pretty wealthy, so he could easily afford a place in one of the more expensive areas of the city.
„So you’re Harry.“ He turned his head, meeting the gaze of a young man, maybe a few years older than himself. He looked good, with messy light brown hair falling into his eyes and a radiant smile that made Harry want to smile too.
„Yeah, that’s me.“, he said a little awkwardly as he stepped closer to the doorframe of the apartment the guy was standing in.
„I’m Louis.“, he said with a faint british accent as he took a step aside so Harry could enter. „But you probably know that already.“
„Yeah, I do.“ He brushed against Louis, who was actually a few inches shorter than him, as he entered the place. „Sorry, I’m kinda wet, it’s raining outside.“
„That’s fine, you can take a shower in a minute.“ Louis flashed him another of his smiles as he closed the door.
The place looked nice, modern and clean, and as Harry stepped from the hallway in what was apparently the living room his breath caught in his throat for a second.
The view was incredible: instead of a wall, a huge window stretched across the opposite side of the room, overlooking a huge part New York City.
„Like it?“
He hadn’t even noticed Louis come to a halt next to him, but he nodded, unable to look away just yet.
„It’s beautiful.“, he said honestly. „I didn’t know…I didn’t know you’d be that rich.“
„What, you didn’t?“ He could hear the smile in the man’s voice. „I’m working for your father, aren’t you used to stuff like this?“
Harry could feel his face heat up, like it always did whenever someone asked him this question. The fact that he indeed wasn’t used to this stuff only led to more questions and to be honest he wasn’t in the mood for sharing major life details right now. So he shrugged.
„Yeah I am. Sorry, that was dumb. It’s just my first time in New York and I-“
„No worries.“
This time he managed to tear his gaze away from the panorama view and put it on Louis instead who just grinned back at him and said:
„Come on, I’ll show you around.“
The apartment was even better than Harry had thought - it was huge, with a lot of rooms that Louis barely seemed to use. Harry’s new bedroom was one of them. It was right next to Louis’ master bedroom, and even though it wasn’t too big there was enough space for a king-size bed as well as a desk and a wardrobe. There was another door as well, presumably leading to the bathroom - though it did look a little like a hotel room Harry liked it instantly.
„I’ll let you unpack.“ Louis rested his hand on Harry’s shoulder briefly, warm and reassuring, before pulling back and making his way over to the door.
„Louis?“
„Yeah?“
„Thanks. I appreciate it.“