Chapter Text
Harry's eyes followed Louis as he walked up and down the stage. He watched as Louis ran his hands through his light brown feathered hair while Liam talked to the crowd and how he nodded along to Niall's jokes. He watched as he smiled every so often at fans signs.
Harry loved Louis' smile. He loved how his eyes would crease on the sides and slight dimples would show up on either side of his mouth. But as soon as he would turn around to pick up a bottle of water his smile would drop and the emotionless face would show up once again. He just wasn't the same on stage anymore. If he was honest, Harry missed the Lilo water fights, sure he would act pissed afterwards but he secretly loved them.
Louis turned around and caught sight of Harry's staring and his ocean met Harry's forest. Harry searched for any emotion in his face but the dull blue eyes had their hard walls up. Louis turned around and walked towards Liam and slung an arm around his shoulders and flashing a smile.
Zayn nudged Harry side and motioned to the management staff member sitting on the side of the stage, giving him a stern look. Harry moved his gaze to the crowd and searched for an outrageous and extravagant sign. A sign that had tiny fairy lights caught his eye. It read:
Hazza, Dj Malik, Payno and Nialler are the best in the world <3 when are going to get rid of Louis?
Harry frowned and decided to jump in after Liam had finished answering the question of a fan. "I think that's enough sign reading for now. Can I please ask everyone to put down their sign for Through the Dark? Thank you!" Niall gave him a confused look as the music started to play. Harry mouthed back I'll tell you later. Niall nodded and began to hype up the crowd a bit. Louis part came on but his voice was shaky and his eyes were glazed over like he was on autopilot.
The rest of the show went on smoothly. Louis zoned out a couple of times and Zayn had to catch his attention but Harry didn't spot out any other signs that were rude. They piled onto the tour bus and collapsed onto the couch. Liam turned on the TV while Niall went searching for snacks. Zayn went off to bed and Louis wasn't too far behind. Niall returned with chips and M&M's.
"More for me I guess." He laughed and began munching away on the couch. Liam and Niall both headed off to bed about another hour later and Harry was alone with his thoughts.
His thoughts wandered around on different topics before settling on Louis. He didn't look right tonight, to be fair though he had been like this for a couple of months. Maybe he was getting sick of the repetitive shows and tours. But usually, he was so much more present and interactive with the crowd. But tonight he was like a grey cloud that tried to hide under the sunshine. It wasn't because he was sick of the job at all and Harry knew that. Ever since that night, Louis had never been the same, neither of them has. The screaming, the broken furniture and bleary eyes hadn't left either of the boys completely. They had barely spoken to each other since then. They had made small talk during interviews or some shows to keep the fans from coming up with conspiracy theories. Simon hated when the boys were the cause of 1 or more conspiracy theories and he was always pissed if there was even a slight hint of them.
Harry touched his lips, remembering the soft, thin lips that were once on them so long ago. He moved his hand to his chest and felt the heart that belonged to shining blue eyes and feathered hair. His hand touched his neck where a small face had once snuggled into before. He ran his hands through his hair, longing for the feel of the small, soft hands playing and braiding his hair. He closed his eyes and imagined the crisp green apple scent of Louis' hair overwhelming his senses.
He sighed and opened his eyes when he heard someone's footsteps. He turned off the TV and began walking to bed. He hit the person in the shoulder. He quickly muttered an apology at the small boy. He glanced at the boys face. Bloodshot eyes glanced back and Harry's eyebrows knitted together. "What's wrong?" Harry asked but Louis pushed past him and mumbled something along the lines of 'I'm fine.'
Harry sighed in defeat and trudged off to bed. He fit uncomfortably in the bunks ever since his last growth spurt and he grew a couple of inches. He preferred staying in the hotels rather than the bus. But since they did a show tonight they had to sleep on the bus whilst they drove to the next destination. He curled up and let his thoughts run wild for a bit more before drifting into sleep.
"Harold! Wake up!" An Irish accent filled his ears and he groaned, pulling the pillow over his head. Niall laughed and ripped the blankets off of his friend. Harry curled up and pushed Niall away. "He's awake," Niall yelled out to the others before looking back at Harry, grinning. "We have an interview in half an hour then you have a meeting with management." He left and Harry laid there for a bit longer.
He focused on the noises around him. He could hear the TV playing what sounded like Friends. Liam and Zayn were arguing over the best flavour of ice cream and Niall adding in comments of agreement with both sides. Cars were driving past and horns were honking meaning they were still on the road.
Harry rolled over and sat up, grabbing a change of clothes and walking to the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and got changed into black skinny jeans, a white tee and a jumper. He walked out into the kitchen, saying a quick good morning to everyone. Everyone replied except Louis, who was sitting on the couch consumed by whatever was on his phone. Harry shrugged and made himself a bowl of Cheerios.
"How much longer until we reach the hotel?" Harry asked, directing the question at Liam.
"About 10 minutes. Then we have to dump all of our crap in the rooms and get straight into the car to go to the interview."
Harry nodded, laying back on the couch and began to get into the episode of Friends. They felt the bus stop and they all grabbed their suitcases and got off once security hit the door, signalling they could come out.
"Hey Harry, so they only got 3 rooms again meaning we have to share. Niall and Zayn have already agreed to share, do you want to be alone or share with me? I know things have been rough between you and Louis."
"Honestly Liam it's fine. I'll be with whoever, it's up to you. If you want to be alone, I'm happy to share with Louis. You just have to ask him what he prefers." Liam nodded in reply and turned around to talk to Louis. He returned a few minutes later.
"Louis said he doesn't care. So I'm making you two share, maybe this will help you two talk and interact with each other better. The fans are going to think something is up if you two don't start acting like at least friends. God knows we can't have Simon on our asses again." Liam smiled at Harry and he replied with a sad smile.
"Yeah, I understand Liam. Thanks." Harry patted Liam on the back and walked into his room, Louis trailing behind. He glared at Harry and plopped himself on the couch. He, however, walked into the bathroom and examined himself in the mirror.
Louis knew it wasn't his fault what had happened and yet he still looked at him like he was a serial killer. Harry remembered when things weren't so complicated and Louis laugh was a constant song playing in his ears.
"Come on, Hazza. You have to come to the pub with us. What are you going to do here? Watch this shit?" Louis looked disapprovingly at the TV like it was a child with a runny nose.
"I quite like this 'shit' Louis and if you don't mind I would like to spend my night here. Plus someone has to take care of you guys when you come back drunk off your face."
"Nope, I'm not taking no for an answer. Harold Edward Styles get your lonely ass off of that fucking couch, get your shoes on and get in the car." He gave Harry a stern look but failed at keeping it there when he burst into laughter.
"Fine, Lewis. But I'm not drinking." Louis grinned back before smacking Harry over the head for calling him Lewis.
"Hurry up you loser," Louis called over his shoulder as he walked out of the door. Harry huffed and put on a pair of Chelsea boots before following Louis.
The pub was buzzing with teenagers and men who had just gotten off of work and decided to share a drink with a coworker. "Cheer up, lad, it's not that bad." Louis elbowed a sulking Harry.
After multiple rounds of shots. Niall was dancing in the middle of the pub, singing along to some random Irish song and dancing with strangers. Louis was cheering him on and Zayn was laughing into a beer. Harry and Liam were looking at each other bracing themselves for the morning to come when they would start complaining and blaming everyone else for their drinking.
Once Niall had finished singing Carly Rae Jepson's 'Call Me Maybe,' Liam and Harry decided to grab the two drunks and guide them to the car and plopping them into the backseat. They were still singing but none of it was anything you could understand.
Harry guided Louis to their room while Zayn helped Liam take Niall to his room.
"You know, Curly, you have the curliest curls."
"Yeah, I do actually. That's why you call me Curly." Harry laughed.
"Hey, don't make fun of me. I was testing you, seeing if you listened to me."
"Sure sure, Lou. How about we argue about this in the morning? But for now, we need to get you into bed."
"But I'm not tired, Haz."
"Ok, what if we lay down and you can play with my curls?"
Louis lit up like a light globe and nodded eagerly. He laid down on the bed and Harry joined him after getting out an Ibuprofen and a glass of water. Louis snuggled up close to hart and his hands took their place in Harry's hair. He braided his hair and then unbraided it on repeat. Soon enough Harry heard Louis breathing even out and his hands stop moving.
Harry glanced at the sleeping boy next to him, admiring his features. His long eyelashes were ever so slightly touching his under eyes. His sharp jawline and defined cheekbones. His stubble was growing longer than usual since he hadn't had time to shave it. His feathered hair was strewn across his head. God, no words could explain how much he loved this boy.
"Harry!"
"Sorry, what?" Harry blinked back tears from the memory.
"I said we need to leave now."
"Okay coming!" Harry replied to Liam. He did it again. He got caught up in memory and zoned out the present world. He was doing it more often as if the longer he was away from Louis the more times the memories overtook his senses.
He washed his hands and glanced back up to the mirror, removing all signs of his crying. He opened the door and saw a slightly annoyed Liam whose expression softened when he saw Harry.
"You alright, mate?"
"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"