Archive of Our Own ^beta

All Harry wants to do now is relax.

Classes ended, finals are done, grades have been posted; he shouldn’t be stressed anymore. He’s supposed to spend the next three months alternating days between having the time of his life and being bored out of his mind.

Instead, he’s feeling the pressure of still needing to find a summer job.

Every morning, he wakes up and spends thirty minutes browsing openings on a generic job website, growing more and more discouraged with each passing day as he scrolls past the same jobs over and over. Anything that could have been good has been taken by all the students who had the common sense to apply early.

It’s already June; Harry knows he waited too long.

He knows he’s going to get stuck doing something he hates.

Though he supposes that any job is better than no job. Besides, it’s only for three months, and then he’s back to university, where he’ll spend the next nine months focused solely on his studies.

His roommate and best friend since high school, Zayn, is leaving in three days, out to some summer camp where he’ll spend the next ten weeks in the sun, supervising a bunch of pre-teens in the middle of nowhere.

Harry thinks that would be a great job, and he scolds himself for not applying with Zayn.

He continues submitting his resume to anybody still hiring, hoping to hear back from somebody.

“Hey,” Zayn nods, walking into Harry’s room after knocking lightly on the already open door. “Have you found a job yet?”

“Not yet,” Harry sighs.

“Well, I just got off the phone with one of the managers at Camp X for some basic orientation stuff.”

“Yeah?”

“And he needs one more last minute counsellor,” Zayn smiles.

Harry shoots up in bed, dropping his phone and abandoning his current application.

“How do I apply?”

“The job is yours if you want it,” Zayn walks closer, flopping down in bed next to Harry. “Niall was stressed, and I told him I had just the right guy to fill the position. I hyped you up pretty hard, so if you take this job, you better be good,” he laughs.

“Zayn, you’re the best.”

“I know.”

Zayn pulls out his phone, fingers moving quickly on the screen.

“So, now what?”

“I just texted you Niall’s number,” he puts his phone down, just as Harry’s vibrates beside him. “You better give him a call.”

**

Louis has been looking forward to this day since the day he left camp last year. This will be his third year back, and while it was initially just a job to keep him busy, he grew to love it very quickly, spending the school semesters just waiting for summer to come around.

He honks the horn twice outside Niall’s house, growing impatient. Since getting here, he’s already called Niall, telling him he’s arrived. It’s been ten minutes since he told Louis on the phone that he would be right out.

Finally, Niall comes running out, pulling the front door shut behind him with two big duffel bags in his hands. Upon seeing the huge grin on his face, Louis can’t even stay mad at Niall for making him wait. He pops the trunk and jumps out of the car to greet him.

The two of them were able to stay in touch over the winter, but mostly via text messages, only meeting up a handful of times. It doesn’t compare to spending the whole summer together.

“Hey, man,” Niall drops his bags at his feet as he reaches Louis, wrapping him in a tight hug. “Missed you.”

“Missed you, too,” Louis laughs.

The two of them first met during Louis’ first year at Camp X. Although they made friends with their bunk mates, they often found themselves sticking together because of their shared bond over being new. Since then, Niall really put in the work, and now he’s levelled up to a higher position, carrying out the duties of watching over all the counsellors.

“I found someone to replace Noah,” he tells Louis as he shuts the trunk. “I was on the phone with one of the new counsellors to go over some contract stuff right after I found out Noah was backing out, and he suggested I hire his friend.”

“So,” Louis pauses as they both slip into the car, doors slamming shut simultaneously. “You just decided to take the word of this new guy?”

“Yeah,” Niall shrugs, running a hand through his hair. “We were running out of time. I got on the phone with him the same day and I think it’ll be good. I ran it by Liam too, and he was just happy we found someone.”

Louis starts the ignition.

“You better hope so.”

Truthfully, Louis is still a little bitter that Noah backed out. The two of them had spent the last two summers hooking up most of the time they were out there. It only took two weeks of sexual tension the first year before they acted on it, and the second year, they only lasted four days before giving in.

The best part about it was there were no expectations. Neither of them cared to keep in touch over the winter. They didn’t need to see each other or hang out at all, neither of them sending so much as one text to catch up. They went back to their normal lives, effectively forgetting about their summer activities until they saw each other again.

But this year, Noah quit not even a week before the counsellors were supposed to arrive. He didn’t give much of a reason, which makes it all the more annoying for Louis.

Louis isn’t necessarily hoping that Noah’s replacement will fill that same role, but he is hoping he’s tolerable, at the very least.

He knows this could be his last year, and that’s what scares him. If he gets a job right after he graduates next year, he won’t have time to take ten weeks out of his summer to work at a camp.

Louis just wants this year to be good.

**

Harry stares out the window, still not fully convinced that Zayn knows where he’s going since exiting the highway nearly thirty minutes ago. Every time Harry brought it up, Zayn just reassured him that he trusted the GPS.

“Relax, Harry,” Zayn laughs, turning the radio down as if it will help him see better. “I think this path is a good sign.”

As if just saying it was enough, a big sign comes into view about a hundred feet down the road. Harry sits up straight in his seat, leaning forward to try to read it.

Zayn is still driving almost painfully slowly, though Harry can’t blame him, given it’s not a main road and he doesn’t exactly know where they are.

Welcome to Camp X.

The two of them share a look and a quick smile before turning back to the road.

Harry is so thankful Zayn got him this job. He didn’t really want to spend his summer alone in the apartment. He also really didn’t want to be jobless. This is kind of like the best of both worlds; he’s making money and he’s still hanging out with his best friend every day. Even if he hates the job, it’s still a win.

Zayn rolls down his window as the car approaches someone on the path, standing right in their way. He’s holding a clipboard and a pen, seemingly waiting for Zayn to pull up next to him.

“Hi, I’m Liam.”

Liam looks to be around their age, maybe a little older.

“I’m Zayn,” he smiles, then points over his shoulder before taking a quick look beside him. “This is Harry.”

Liam nods, smiling at them, before checking them off on his clipboard.

“Two of our new hires,” he looks up at them again. “And you, quite literally the newest.”

Harry can feel the heat rising to his cheeks.

“Thanks again, by the way. It was Niall who hired me, but he mentioned you were the general manager, so.”

Liam just waves his hands, brushing it off.

“You can park a little further up,” he points. “Just around that corner there. Lots of the other counsellors are here already. Niall will do bunk assignments right away.”

Zayn takes his foot off the brake, letting the car start slowly rolling again. He wanes gently on the gas, looking ahead to find the other cars. He pulls into an empty spot, the two of them jumping out swiftly at the sight of the other counsellors starting to gather in what seems to be the main quad.

“Come on,” Zayn moves quickly. “We’ll come back for our stuff after.”

The two of them take off in a jog, sliding their way into the group. There must be about twenty of them standing around, all waiting for instructions.

Harry and Zayn had been told that there were going to be thirty staff members and eighty kids.

Nobody really seems to notice when they join, all too busy chatting excitedly.

“Alright, alright,” a blonde says loudly, cutting them all off as he steps out of a nearby cabin. “Let’s get started.”

He walks over with a certain air of confidence that leads Harry to think it must be Niall. On the phone, he was sharp and witty, but quick to transition from laughter to more serious topics. And the way he’s walking towards the group gives Harry the exact same feeling as he got over the phone; pleasant and a little bit intimidating.

Harry is right, of course, and the blonde introduces himself as Niall. He explains that he’s the head counsellor, overlooking the staff specifically, while Liam is the general manager, who runs the whole thing.

Niall looks to be around Harry and Zayn’s age, too, suggesting a young management team.

“So, anybody who’s worked out here before knows that today is your first official day, but the campers don’t get here until tomorrow night at six.”

There’s some quiet cheers throughout the group.

“Tonight is just for all of us,” Niall shakes his head with a smile. “Let’s get you into your cabin assignments so we can get the party started.”

The cheers that follow are louder, with more conviction than the last set, now certain that they’re being given the opportunity to party.

“Ehh,” Niall points into the crowd. “No repeats from last year’s staff bonfire, though,” he pauses. “Yes, I’m looking at you, Tommo.”

The name sends Harry on high alert. The odds are so low, but not impossible.

Naturally, all eyes turn to look at who Niall is currently teasing. Harry’s eyes move a little less naturally, neck snapping with speed.

Before he can even catch a glimpse, a familiar, somewhat unfortunately unforgettable voice rings out.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Anyone who seems to know what they’re referring to just giggles at his response.

Harry gets the feeling that he’s staring, now. Everyone else has looked away, so he thinks maybe he should, too. He lolls his head back and forth before turning to glare at Zayn.

“You didn’t tell me he would be here.”

He tries his hardest to sound angry. But all those dumb, high school feelings come rushing back at the sight of the person he spent two years pining over and the entirety of the following year sulking that he was gone.

“How exactly do you think I would have known that?”

Zayn always gives it to Harry straight. They’ve been friends long enough that if Harry is being a brat, he will get called out for it. And the tone in Zayn’s voice right now is telling Harry to stop whining before he even starts.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Harry sighs quietly. “It’s just crazy.”

“Well, come on, H, it’s not that big of a deal, right?”

In theory, it shouldn’t be. Harry barely interacted with Louis while they were in school together. Louis should have been so easy to forget; it was just a high school crush. But Harry’s never quite gotten over it. Anytime he’s even tried to look at someone else as a prospect to date, his mind jumps back to blue eyes and loud, unabashed laughter.

“No, no,” Harry shakes away his thoughts. “It’s not.”

But Harry knows it kind of is a big deal. At least to him.

Zayn gives him a sympathetic look, accompanied by a quick shoulder squeeze. He’s only trying to make him feel better, albeit by downplaying Harry’s feelings, but that’s not his goal and Harry knows it. Zayn always just wants to help remind him that everything will be fine, and that sometimes you have to learn to lean into the punches as they come.

Harry hadn’t even realized Niall walked away until he’s coming back with a clipboard, presumably to assign them their cabins.

He starts reading out the pairings, Harry growing increasingly more antsy with each passing name that isn’t his own.

It’s not until Niall gets to the end of the list, telling Zayn he’s stuck with him, that Harry realizes he somehow missed his name.

“Wait,” he turns frantically to Zayn. “Who am I with?”

Zayn purses his lips in a bit of a pout, and it doesn’t give Harry much to work with.

“Hi.”

Harry widens his eyes at Zayn, who just looks over Harry’s shoulder and smiles. He closes his eyes briefly, tilting his head back slightly, before turning around and putting on his best happy face.

“Hi, it’s been-”

“I’m Louis.”

Harry stops in his tracks as Louis introduces himself. He stares at him for a moment, studying the way Louis shifts his weight, anticipating a response. When Harry looks back up into his eyes, Louis just raises his eyebrows at him, expressing amusement at Harry’s bemusement.

“I mean, you’re Harry, right?” Louis laughs. “I can show you to our cabin.”

Oh.

When Louis introduced himself, Harry allowed himself to hope for a second that he was just joking. But the look on his face right now screams anything but that.

He knows he needs to get it together and say something.

“Uh, yeah,” Harry extends his hand. “Harry.”

Louis looks at him curiously before taking his hand.

“Nice to meet you,” he shakes once before letting go and bringing the same hand up to scratch his neck. “Where’s your stuff?”

“Oh,” Harry laughs. “Still in the car. I’ll have to go grab it,” he looks over his shoulder. “Zayn? Shall we?”

Zayn knows that Harry isn’t asking.

The two of them walk towards the car, staying silent until Harry checks over his shoulder, uselessly paranoid that Louis may be following, or at least, close enough to hear.

When he sees Louis still standing alone right where they left him, Harry turns to Zayn.

“What the hell?”

Harry walks through the door of his next class, eyes scanning quickly for an empty seat. Everything near both the very front and the far back is taken, leaving him to sit somewhere in the middle.

He takes a spot quickly, setting his books down on the table and sliding into the chair. He looks around, desperately wishing Zayn was in this class; he doesn’t know anybody.

This is what he gets for taking a summer course to get ahead; a class full of people in a grade above his own.

His eyes land on somebody else sitting alone, just a couple of rows ahead. Except he’s not really alone, because he turns to his right and leans over to talk to somebody at the table beside him.

Even just from the side of his face, Harry thinks he looks kind. He almost thinks he wouldn’t have regretted it if he had taken the empty seat next to him, instead of sitting alone at an empty table.

But now class is starting and Harry tries to focus.

But he can’t seem to tear his eyes off the back of one particular head.

When class is over, he tells Zayn about the weird flip his stomach did when the boy turned around in his seat. Thankfully, he wasn’t looking at Harry, who was blushing furiously at the thought of getting caught staring, but Harry was still able to catch the perfect vision of a full, bright smile beneath a set of sharp blue eyes.

Harry doesn’t tell Zayn that he wished those eyes were looking at him.

“I don’t know,” Zayn shrugs, opening the trunk. “Maybe he’s just blocked everything out from high school,” he laughs suddenly. “I know I have.”

“But-”

“Harry,” Zayn pushes Harry’s bags into his chest. “Think about it this way. You get to start over now. He’s going to notice you. He’s going to know who you are.”

“I guess,” Harry breathes out.

They head back to the quad, where Zayn goes to meet Niall, leaving Harry with just a quick slap on the back for good luck. Harry keeps his eyes on his feet as he strides over to Louis, only stopping when Louis’ feet come into view.

“Alright, this is us,” he finally speaks up as they get to their cabin. “Your friend Zayn is just in that one right over there,” he smiles softly, as if he can read Harry’s slight nervousness.

“Cool.”

They step inside and Harry isn’t sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t bunk beds.

“Top or bottom?”

Harry barely registers the question, his eyes still darting around the room.

“Huh?” He chokes slightly, before clearing his throat. “Uh, doesn’t matter.”

Louis watches him curiously, fingers coming up to pinch at his bottom lip. Harry can tell he’s trying to hide a smirk.

“Alright, curly,” he cocks his head once, still looking smug. “I think I’ll take the top then. But we can switch it up sometimes if you’d like.”

Harry slaps a hand over his mouth to stop the laugh from escaping before his brain zeroes in on something else.

“Curly?”

Louis reaches his hand up rather naturally, but Harry catches the stutter in his movements, as if he’s waiting for Harry to tell him to stop.

When the word never comes, Louis twirls his fingers through one of Harry’s curls.

“I mean,” he tugs gently. “Yeah. That alright?”

“Yeah.”

The air is filled with silence again as Louis retreats his hand awkwardly. The two of them turn to start unpacking at least a little bit, throwing their clothes in the shared dresser and then tossing their not quite empty suitcases in the corner of the room.

Harry looks out the window, only to find nobody around; everybody else must still be inside their cabin.

“Want the unofficial tour?” Louis’ voice says from right behind Harry, making him jump. When Louis notices, he apologizes immediately for accidentally startling him.

“It’s alright,” Harry releases the tension in his shoulders. “But yes, I’d love a tour.”

So Louis leads and Harry follows.

They walk over to the only main building in sight, where Louis shows him the cafeteria, the rec room, the manager offices and the classrooms for studies. Just outside is another building, smaller than the first, which Louis tells Harry is the shower area.

“If you ever want to shower in peace, it’ll have to be either really early in the morning, or as late as possible at night.”

Louis leads him down the trail through the trees, pointing towards the empty barn and some different activity locations.

“What activity are you leading, anyways?”

“I’m coaching softball,” Harry laughs.

It’s not that he isn’t athletic; this is just one sport in particular that he’s never tried even once.

“What about you?”

“Art class.”

“Cute.”

“Cute?”

Louis glances over as they step out of the trees and into the sand of the small beach.

Harry cringes, knowing he can’t take back what he said, so he just shrugs it off. Louis doesn’t push it any further, opting instead to slip off his shoes and walk towards the dock. Harry follows suit, not wanting to be left to stand alone.

By the time he reaches the end of the dock, Louis is already sitting down, feet dangling in the water. He looks up over his shoulder, as if to invite Harry to sit with him.

As Harry sits, he reminds himself that he doesn’t know Louis.

“Zayn,” Harry sighs, closing the textbook. They’d been studying for hours, gradually slipping further and further off topic, finding it harder each time to get back on task.

“I think,” Harry rubs his chin. “I might, I don’t know,” he wishes he could just spit it out.

He wants to feel the words leave his mouth just to know how it feels.

Zayn is just looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish the thought. Harry’s mouth suddenly feels dry, but he knows he can tell Zayn anything; knows he’s about to feel relief in lieu of shame.

“I think I have a crush on Louis.”

Zayn just smiles.

“I know,” he says, voice calm and kind. “You’ve only been gushing over him since the first day of the semester.”

Zayn kind of brushes over the whole part of Harry having a crush on someone that isn’t a girl. He just takes it for what it is, and Harry’s pretty thankful.

“Isn’t that weird, though?” Harry toys with the pen still in his hand. “I mean, I don’t really know him.”

“That’s okay, H,” Zayn reaches out, rustling Harry’s hair casually. “You’re allowed to think he’s attractive. You can already see him from an outsider’s perspective, maybe someday you’ll get to see who he is from up close.”

Harry puts his feet in the water, too. It’s warm; the sun is still shining down on it. There’s a certain tranquility surrounding them, the only sound being the gentle rippling of the water as they glide their feet through it.

And somehow, Harry feels comfortable.

Everything is at peace, like maybe he was meant to end up here, sitting next to Louis in such a stillness that the loud memories of high school echoing in Harry’s mind are momentarily silenced.

**

This night is always unpredictable. Louis never knows what to expect when they have a night of drinking before the campers even arrive. At this point, nobody is really at the summer burnout point where blowing off steam is necessary. Instead, it’s kind of like they’re just hanging out for the fun of it, celebrating the start of another summer.

Niall calls Louis to his small office over the quad intercom, presumably to help get set up with the fire.

“I’ll come back for ya, curly,” Louis smiles, feeling guilty for leaving him alone as he slips out the door.

He walks towards the main building with a strange sense of excitement. When he enters, he finds Niall at the end of the hall, leaning on the doorframe, waiting for him. Louis doesn’t even have to make it all the way over because Niall starts moving to meet him halfway.

Louis turns himself right around and they head out the back door towards where they keep all the logs they chop for fires.

Niall unlocks the gate for them to step inside, each grabbing an axe.

They get to work in silence, though Louis resents that he was the only one asked to come help. He’s a strong believer that this kind of labour should be shared.

“So,” Niall gets the axe stuck in a piece of wood, and instead of fighting to get it out, he takes a pause, bringing one hand up to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “How’s your new bunkmate? Saw the two of you walking around together earlier,” he says, already speaking suggestively.

“He seems alright,” Louis says honestly. “He’s quiet. Shy, maybe.”

“You’re really gonna miss Noah, huh?”

Louis laughs at Niall’s forwardness.

“Yeah, yeah, probably.”

Louis knows it’s only a half-truth.

What he likes most about this camp is the friendships he makes, and Noah was never one of those.

But maybe Harry could be. If Louis tries hard enough.

They stack some of the chopped logs into two wheelbarrows, each pushing one out the gate and down the trail towards the fire pit. They dump it all out, only to go back for a second trip. It’s still early and light out, so nobody really takes notice. Anybody milling about outside is just wandering, killing time before the sun starts to set and they get the fire going.

Niall asks Louis to drive into town to the liquor store, giving him a two hundred dollar budget. His only instructions are to make sure he gets a good variety, so there will be something for everyone.

“Do you want to use your credit card to get points? Then I’ll give you cash when you get back?”

Louis knew there was a reason Niall was his favourite.

“Sounds good,” he raises a hand to wave once before turning towards the cabin.

Louis considers asking Harry if he wants to join him.

He rehearses the words in his mind a few times before muttering them quietly just outside their cabin. But when he swings the door open, he forgets everything he spent minutes thinking about.

“Oh,” the surprise expresses itself unwillingly. “Hey.”

Louis nods towards Zayn, who is leaning back against their dresser with his arms folded in front of his chest. He glances over at Harry, sitting on his bed.

“Don’t mean to interrupt,” he pulls himself together. “But I’m going to get drinks for tonight. What do you want, curly?”

Louis watches as Harry’s eyes dart down, then across to Zayn, then back to him. But Louis doesn’t follow; he just waits for Harry’s answer.

“You know the hard iced tea?”

“Yeah,” Louis holds back a laugh. “I think I know the one.”

“Okay,” Harry smiles. “But peach?”

“Oh, so you’re picky about your fruity little coolers.”

Louis watches the blush rise to Harry’s cheeks, and something inside him swells. He turns to Zayn before Harry can notice the stupid grin on his face.

“And what about you?”

“Are you asking all the counsellors?”

“Nope,” Louis shakes his head. “Just my bunkmate and his friend.”

Zayn nods in approval.

“I’m just a vodka kind of guy. Not that picky.”

“Good,” Louis glances back over at Harry. “Not sure how many special requests I can remember.”

As it turns out, apparently the answer is zero.

Louis spent too much time adoring the small town. He parked a few blocks away, just so he could walk past all the cute shops. He looks inside each window, people watching from the outside. Each moment he catches is so fleeting, moving on to the next scene immediately.

Once inside the liquor store, he continues to putter around, picking up bottles and putting them back down again, deciding against them. Slowly, he builds a collection, grabbing things he assumes everyone will enjoy. He adds them to his basket, trying to keep track of how much everything is, sure to stay within the budget.

A car horn catches his attention, and when he looks outside, he notices the sun is starting to set. Realizing he needs to hurry up, he brings everything to the counter, ready to get out of there, anyways. As he unloads, he registers the forgotten hard iced tea.

He apologizes to the cashier, who doesn’t so much as look up as Louis runs to the back of the store, where the boxes of canned drinks sit. He grabs a box, carrying it over to the front, getting back just as the cashier is finishing scanning and bagging everything else.

“Can I take a basket out to my car?” Louis asks as he inserts his credit card. “I’ll bring it right back.”

And then Louis is scrambling out to his car, basket full of drinks in one hand, box of hard iced tea in the other. He’s not moving slowly and taking it all in anymore; he needs to get back. He puts the box down to pop open his trunk, unloading as fast as he can. He slams it shut, bringing the basket to sit in the passenger seat next to him. He pulls away from the curb, heading straight towards the store, stopping just outside the door. He puts the car in park but doesn’t bother turning off the ignition. After calling out a quick thank you as he puts the basket down in the entrance, he’s back in the car within seconds, heading back to camp.

Only once he sees Harry’s face illuminated by the fire does he realize he screwed up.

Louis puts his face in his hands.

“I’m sorry,” he grits his teeth, looking over at the table they set up for drinks. Beside it, sitting all alone, is the box of hard iced tea.

But it isn’t the peach kind.

Harry’s eyes follow Louis’ gaze, before looking back at him.

“It’s okay.”

Louis knows that’s what everyone says. That’s almost always how apologies go; someone says I’m sorry and the other person says it’s okay. Certainly, that doesn’t mean it’s always okay. But Louis doesn’t usually feel weirdly hurt by those standard words.

It’s the complete lack of expression on Harry’s face that hurts.

Somehow, he doesn’t look surprised.

**

Harry wakes up early to the sound of his alarm. He turns it off quickly and rubs at his eyes before slipping out of bed. As he starts to pack a tote bag full of everything he needs, he regrets not doing it before having a few drinks at the bonfire last night; it would have made for a much cleaner getaway this morning.

Just before closing the door on his way out, Harry sees Louis sit up.

“Harry? Where are you going?”

“For a run and then a shower,” he whispers. “Sorry I woke you.”

“It’s alright,” Louis flops back down, already half asleep again by the time Harry closes the door.

He sets his bag down just outside their door, leaving it while he runs. Harry stretches his arms above his head, inhaling the morning air as he looks around, trying to choose a path to take. After a moment’s consideration, he sets off, arms pumping opposite his legs.

It doesn’t take long for his lungs to start burning, but there’s no feeling he loves more.

“Harry!”

Harry stops suddenly, turning around to find Niall jogging towards him.

“You’re running this early, too?”

“Yeah,” Harry laughs. “Thought I would be the only one.”

“Well, let me show you the best path to take.”

The two of them run together, Harry following Niall, memorizing each step so he can complete the same run alone if this doesn’t become a routine.

It’s a short run, but it’s better than nothing. They get back to the cabins, and Niall walks with Harry to pick up his shower bag before he heads back to get ready for his own shower.

They get to the door, laughing over something stupid, only to be cut off by the door swinging open.

“Hey, Louis,” Harry is surprised to find him standing there, though he knows it wouldn’t be anybody else inside their cabin.

Or at least, he hopes it wouldn’t.

“Morning,” Louis says, hand resting on his hip, playing with the waistband of his shorts. “You went for a run together?”

“Yeah,” Niall answers, still standing a few feet back. “Ran into Harry out here so I showed him my usual path.”

Harry can feel Louis’ eyes burning into him.

“Well, alright, curly. Better get going for your shower, then. Don’t want to miss breakfast.”

Harry is still sweating through his shirt, but something about the tone of Louis’ voice sends a chill through his body.

“Yeah,” Harry nods. “Yeah,” he repeats, turning to look at Niall. “Thanks for running with me. Maybe we can make a routine out of it.”

“Maybe,” Niall laughs loudly, looking right at Louis. “See you at breakfast.”

And then Niall is walking away, leaving Harry and Louis standing just outside their cabin.

Louis bends down, picking up Harry’s bag sitting next to his feet. Without a word, he extends his arm, holding it out for Harry to take. And then he disappears back inside the cabin, closing the door behind him, leaving Harry standing alone.

Harry only stands there a second longer before shaking his head and turning around to head to the shower.

He tries not to think about it; tries to convince himself he can’t consider Louis’ behaviour strange, because he doesn’t really know him.

But at the very least, Harry can admit the whole situation was a little tense.

Things lighten up at breakfast.

As soon as he walks in, Harry is overwhelmed by the sound of Louis’ laughter floating through the cafeteria. When he locates where he’s sitting, he finds Niall and Zayn at the same table.

“Harry, why don’t you just go talk to him?”

“Because,” Harry squirms away from Zayn’s teasing hand, eyes not leaving where they’re drawn to Louis in the middle of a crowded room. “It’s embarrassing. He doesn’t know who I am.”

“How will he ever know who you are if you never talk to him?” Zayn steps behind Harry slightly, giving him a gentle push on his lower back, trying to get his feet to move. “Look, there’s even an empty spot next to him.”

Zayn’s right; Louis isn’t alone at the table, but it isn’t full, either. Still, Harry refuses.

“Maybe someday,” Harry sighs. “Not today.”

They sit just a few tables away from where Louis is sitting with his friends. Harry tries to focus on paying attention to Zayn, but Louis’ laugh demands to be listened to.

“Hey!”

“Yeah?”

Zayn rolls his eyes.

“You’re insufferable when you have a crush.”

“Hey, Harry,” Zayn greets him as he sits in the empty spot next to Louis.

“I see you went with the yogurt parfait,” Louis comments, eyeing Harry’s breakfast. “Good choice.”

Harry glances down to see an empty yogurt cup in front of Louis.

“So,” Niall steers the conversation. “Are you guys ready for the kids to get here today?”

Zayn exhales loudly beside him.

“I guess,” he shakes his head with a smile. “What’s the plan for tonight, anyways?”

Niall explains that their drop-off time is between four and five in the afternoon. When they arrive, they’ll meet their co-counselors and be shown to their cabin. Once everyone is settled, they’ll go for a tour all together before playing some icebreaker games. After that they’ll eat dinner and then head to the rec room for a quiet movie night.

Before any of that happens, Liam is leading the counselors through an orientation, emphasizing the most important parts of the online training they already completed. By the time it’s over, they only have an hour before the campers start showing up.

“Ugh,” Louis groans, sinking into the small sofa in their cabin. “I’m tired already. It’s going to be a long ten weeks, curly.” Louis is staring straight up at the ceiling, until he registers Harry still hasn’t said anything. He lifts his neck to look at him, effectively catching him staring.

“Uh-”

“Come sit,” Louis sits up, smiling softly. “We can’t be the best co-counselors if we’re still complete strangers, can we?”

Mindlessly, Harry walks over, sitting himself down on the couch. It’s a tight fit; something more like a loveseat than a couch made for two.

“Alright, now is the time to spill all your deepest, darkest secrets.”

“Oh,” he laughs mechanically. “Is it?”

“It is,” Louis smiles. “One time offer.”

“Hm,” Harry pretends to think about it. “I think I’ll have to decline.”

Louis swats him playfully.

“Okay, well,” he pauses. “At least give me something. How old are you?”

Harry thinks that’s a safe question.

“Nineteen,” he swallows before asking Louis the same, despite already knowing the answer.

“Twenty-one. Are you in school?”

Harry nods.

“Just finished my first year of uni.”

Louis quirks an eyebrow, prodding him to continue.

“Law.”

Louis scoffs jokingly.

“Should have known you were smart,” he laughs. “Just finished my third year. Education.”

“Oh, yeah?” Harry actually didn’t know that. “What do you want to teach?”

“Honestly,” Louis shrugs. “I’m not really sure. I took the elementary route just so I didn’t have to choose a major, but I’d still like to teach high school someday, I think.”

“I think you’d make a good teacher,” Harry smiles.

“Oh, yeah?” And there’s that laugh again. “What makes you think that? The kids aren’t even here yet.”

Harry thinks that maybe if he just stays quiet for long enough, Louis will feel like there’s no other choice but to move on. Thankfully, it doesn’t take him long to make that decision.

“So,” Louis adjusts how he’s sitting. “How was your first year? Did you like it?”

“Yeah,” Harry nods, trying not to think about the way Louis’ knee is resting on his thigh now since he’s crossed his legs. “It was good. Busy, but good.”

“Probably not much time for a social life as a law student?”

“No,” Harry drawls. “I think Zayn was genuinely the only person I saw outside of classes the entire year,” he laughs, willing himself to look over at Louis again. “And that’s only because we live together.”

“Interesting,” Louis nods. “Where are you studying?”

“UofC,” Harry answers, tilting his head as Louis’ eyes light up. “What?”

“That’s where I study, too,” Louis shakes his head in disbelief.

For Harry, it’s not so hard to believe. He didn’t actually know that, but it makes sense that they’ve never run into each other; it’s a huge campus. They probably spend most of their time on opposite sides, separated by dozens of buildings and thousands of students.

“Are you from around there?”

“Yeah,” Harry nods, deciding to keep it vague. “You?”

“Yeah,” Louis nods along with him.

They’re silent after that, and Harry thinks it’s probably for the best.

But he’s thankful for the conversation, because when they’re welcoming their campers just a few minutes later, he feels like they know each other just a little bit better. It wasn’t much, but they’ve still got all summer, and Harry’s feeling optimistic.

“Alright, so the six of you will be in here,” Louis swings their door open, Harry trailing behind the group.

They run in excitedly, young and full of energy. Harry and Louis got some of the boys out of the youngest group; the nine year olds.

“Okay, now listen,” Louis says loudly, getting their attention over their scuffling, already picking beds and dropping their bags. “If there’s ever an emergency in the night, you come knock on this door,” Louis walks over to the door that separates their rooms. “But only if it’s an emergency. Harry and I are pretty cool, but if you wake us up for no reason…” he trails off, shaking his head in a mock menacing way. “Well, you’ll see what happens.”

The kids laugh genuinely at Louis’ joking threat.

“Yeah,” Harry cuts in, wanting to be liked by the kids, too. They are co-counselors, after all. “You can tell Louis gets his beauty sleep, and I definitely need it.”

From across the room, over the kids’ heads, the two of them lock eyes.

“Harold,” Louis brings a hand to his chest. “Did you just call me beautiful?”

Harry supposes he can’t really say that he didn’t. But still, he will.

“Hm, you must be getting that beauty sleep right now, actually,” Harry pauses, watching Louis’ head tilt in confusion. “Because that sounds like something I would say in your dreams.”

And then Harry’s watching Louis’ face go from perplexed to perfectly amused, head thrown back in laughter.

Harry can’t believe he survived a whole three years without hearing that laugh.

And that it’s finally him causing it.

**

Louis knows he can be oblivious sometimes; there have been a few occasions in which he assumes someone is just being friendly, only to find out otherwise later.

But not this time.

He’s almost positive Harry is flirting with him.

And there’s something tugging at him to move slowly.

So he flirts back, but he keeps it light and fun and teasing and gentle. Harry may be replacing Noah in Louis’ cabin, but Louis doesn’t want him to take on the same role.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy keeping his hands to himself when Harry is sitting so close during the movie. Louis kind of wants to trace his fingers along his skin, feel it burn beneath his touch.

“What?” Harry laughs quietly, catching him staring.

“Nothing,” Louis blushes. “Just remembering that you called me beautiful.”

“Oh, shut up.”

When the movie ends, Louis looks over to Niall, who gestures for him to stay a moment. He jumps up and tells Harry to take the kids back to the cabin, and he’ll be there in just a few minutes.

“What’s up?” Louis asks once the room is pretty much cleared out.

“I don’t know,” Niall smiles. “What’s up with you?”

“Niall,” Louis sighs, clueing in. “Nothing.”

“Okay,” Niall puts his hands up. “It just doesn’t look like nothing. Not from either of you. And it’s barely been two days.”

Louis just shakes his head. He doesn’t want to say anything and get ahead of himself.

“Also,” Niall tacks on. “Just so your jealousy is a little bit less obvious, I’m going to go for a run with Harry for the rest of this week but next week, I’ll start running in the evenings and you can go just the two of you if you decide to join him.”

“Hey, I wasn’t-”

“Sure you weren’t, Louis,” he laughs before shrugging. “Well I guess you better go get ready for bed, then.”

“Goodnight, Niall,” Louis rolls his eyes, turning around and walking out of the room.

He gets back to the cabin and swings the door open, only to find it empty. Harry is nowhere in sight. Just as he’s about to walk out to go looking for him, he hears giggling coming from the kids’ room.

Louis opens the door slowly, not sure what he’s expecting. It definitely wasn’t Harry lying on his stomach on the floor, playing cards with two of the boys.

“Louis,” Harry says, sounding surprised to find him there. “We’re just getting ready for bed.”

The whole scene is almost too much for Louis to take; the smile on Harry’s face is almost too endearing for his own good.

“Looks like it,” Louis thinks about being sarcastic, but this is genuinely the quietest he’s ever seen the campers on night one. Usually, it takes hours to get them to go to sleep. So Louis just smiles and steps back into his and Harry’s room, closing the door carefully behind him.

By the time Harry slips back into their side of the cabin, Louis has already gone for a quick shower and brushed his teeth. He’s cleaned up and ready to sleep.

“Louis?” Harry whispers in the dark.

“Yeah?”

“Oh, sorry,” Harry crawls into his bed. “Kids are all asleep.”

“You know, you don’t have to stay with them until they’re asleep.”

He thinks it comes across as weirdly jealous.

“I know.”

He thinks Harry could hear the envy, too.

“Okay.”

Louis kind of wishes he could see Harry’s face during this strange silence. So he sits up slightly and hangs over the edge of the bed to look at him.

“Are you going for a run again tomorrow morning?”

Harry looks over, meeting his eyes before nodding.

“Can I come?”

Louis can tell Harry’s trying to hide a smile, but even in the dark, he can still see the outline of a dimple giving him away.

“Yeah.”

“Cool.”

Louis still doesn’t lift his body up to lie down. He stays hanging over the edge, looking at Harry. In the dark and in the silence, Louis feels stuck; captivated in Harry’s gaze. He can see the pink rush to Harry’s cheeks, and he has to stop himself from reaching a hand down to physically feel the warmth.

“Louis?”

Louis waits for him to say something more, until he realizes that it’s Harry waiting for him to say something.

“Sorry curly,” Louis laughs, but still doesn’t tear his eyes away. “Just quite like looking at you until you’re blushing.”

Harry laughs abruptly before turning it into a groan, covering his cheeks with his hands.

“Can we take the beds apart?”

The words spill out of Louis’ mouth before he registers them; his brain to mouth filter failing him. He scolds himself mentally, calling himself a fool for thinking this was an acceptable question to ask after only two days together.

It’s just something about Harry.

Harry, the ever surprising and sweet one that he is, doesn’t seem to judge his directness for even a second.

“Yeah.”

Louis grins, jumping out of bed.

“Oh, you meant right now?” Harry laughs. “Okay,” he slips out of bed. “Let’s just not wake the kids though.”

“No, actually, you know what,” Louis places a hand on Harry’s arm, before tapping him repeatedly, trying to play it off as casual. “That’s a good idea. Get them to help us.”

Harry rolls his eyes, but Louis knows it’s lighthearted. He knows he’s making Harry laugh, and it feels like nothing else matters.

As much as it pains him to walk away, Louis turns to go switch the light back on. When he gets back, Harry is already studying the bunk bed.

“It looks like we need tools?” He turns to face Louis again, a hint of disappointment splashed across his features.

“Oh, I know,” Louis nods, which somehow only leads to Harry’s face dropping further, shoulders visibly sinking. “That’s why I suggested waking the kids. I thought maybe they would want to take part in our heist.”

Five minutes later, they’re dressed in all black with their camp provided flashlights in hand. Nothing Louis suggests seems to take much convincing for Harry, and with each okay that slips through his lips, Louis gets a new rush of excitement.

“Alright, let’s go.”

They slip out of their cabin and into the cool breeze of the night. The moon shines bright over the water nearby, effectively making the flashlights needless, as Harry had teased they would be.

It’s all part of the adventure, Louis had said.

Silently, they walk towards the main building.

“Is it locked?” Harry whispers from beside him as they reach the door.

Louis shakes his head.

“Too bad,” Harry shrugs.

“What?”

“Would have been more interesting if it was.”

Louis has to try really hard not to laugh as he pushes the door open quietly. When Harry steps inside behind him, Louis puts his arm out to stop Harry from going any further. Louis turns to look at Harry, bringing a single finger to his lips before pressing his back against the wall.

“Wait,” Harry whispers, leaning back too. “Does Liam sleep in here?”

“No, he lives in town.”

Harry grins, nodding at the realization that the building is actually empty and the sneaking around is just for their own personal entertainment.

Louis tiptoes dramatically into the hallway, ducking around another corner. He waves Harry over, and while his feet move soundlessly, the little giggles that escape his mouth would give them away in an instant if anybody were actually here.

The roles reverse the second Harry drops to the ground and rolls. Louis doesn’t think he’s ever laughed harder, until Harry is springing to his feet, covering Louis’ mouth with his hand. He stops instantly. Harry looks at him for just a second longer before retreating, continuing down their path to the supply closet.

Once Louis has the tool box in hand, their exit is much more graceful than their entrance. Putting an end to their hijinks, they walk normally again, and Louis has to fight the urge to slip his hand into Harry’s.

“What time do you think it is? I didn’t even check before we left,” Harry says casually, snapping Louis out of his thoughts.

“It’s probably almost midnight,” he guesses.

When they sneak back into their cabin, the first thing Harry does is check his phone for the time.

“You’re pretty good,” he laughs, turning his phone around for Louis to see.

Louis knows he’s supposed to be seeing that the time reads 11:47. But he gets completely sidetracked by Harry’s lockscreen; Harry, with his arm wrapped around Zayn’s shoulder at a crowded outdoor event.

Harry seems to realize Louis is studying more than just the hour. He turns his phone around again, looking down at it himself.

“This was a fun day,” he smiles at the image, and Louis feels like he’s letting him in on a secret. “You know the summer music festival? On the hill?”

The question only serves as a reminder for Louis that they live in the same city.

He nods slowly.

“Zayn dragged me to it for the first time ever, and I don’t think I’ve ever loved anything more.”

Louis nods again. “Wait, so,” he can’t help himself, and knows it’s too late to stop the words. “Are you and Zayn like…”

Harry raises an eyebrow, knowing where the question was going and daring Louis to finish it anyway.

But Louis refuses. He purses his lips and just shakes his head, willing to keep the question unanswered if it means moving on from this silence.

And then Harry surprises him.

“No,” he says, before looking down and adding softly, “not my boyfriend. No boyfriend.”

“Alright, curly,” Louis says, fighting a smile when Harry looks back up at him through fluttering eyelashes, still visibly shy regarding the admission. “How long do you think this will take? I’m aiming for ten minutes tops, so we can be asleep before twelve thirty.”

“Wait, you’ve never done this before?”

“What?” Louis gasps in mock offense. “You think I take the beds apart for all the boys?”

Harry blushes.

“No,” Louis says, wanting to be both teasing and explicit. “I’ve never taken the bunk beds apart before.”

With neither of them knowing what they’re doing, it takes a little longer than Louis anticipated. It’s also a lot more difficult, but that’s just because they have the added pressure of doing it in complete silence so they don’t wake the boys in the next room. After a few near fumbles, they finally get Louis’ top bed moved to the floor, and with such limited space, the beds are only a foot apart.

It’s one am by the time they’re lying in bed, ready to sleep. But Louis stays up just a little while longer; now that he can look at Harry sleeping almost right next to him but not quite, he’s not sure how to stop.

**

The end of the first week comes faster than Harry expected. When their weekend groups are posted on Friday evening, everyone crowds around the board to look after dinner.

“We have different shifts tomorrow,” Louis tells Harry. “But we’re together on Sunday,” he adds cheerfully, nudging his elbow into Harry’s side.

The weekends are spent divided into two groups of forty kids each and three groups of ten counsellors each. Instead of small, class-like sessions, they partake in larger group activities, and one group of counsellors gets a break during each shift rotation.

“So what are the activities this weekend?”

“Don’t worry about tomorrow because that doesn’t matter,” Louis winks playfully. “But Sunday is beach time, tree planting, soccer and capture the flag.”

And it turns out that Louis is right; Saturday’s activities don’t matter, not really, because Harry is bored without Zayn or Louis with him.

But then comes Sunday.

Harry is happy to plant trees in the morning, before the sun is at its worst. He helps the kids make holes in the soil, spacing them out properly before dropping the seed and covering it with dirt.

And the whole time, Louis is right there with a quick comment followed by a genuine smile, kids flocking towards them and the energy they create together.

When they’re forced to split up for a moment, Harry watches from a safe distance as Louis squats to plant a tree all on his own. Harry finishes what he’s doing before slowly moving towards Louis, careful to be quiet as he approaches. He reaches his hands out for Louis' shoulders, pulling him backwards until he loses his balance, sitting gracefully into the dirt.

“Hey,” he laughs, looking over his shoulder at Harry. “That wasn’t very nice, curly.”

As compensation, Harry sits next to him on the ground. He looks over at Louis, but turns his head away quickly when blue eyes meet his own.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Harry says, still staring off across the land.

He just can’t stop thinking about what it would have been like if they’d been friends in high school.

“Let’s go Louis!”

Students are packed in the bleachers for the first game of the basketball championships, all cheering as Louis drives up the court, exhibiting a burst of energy in the final quarter.

“It’s not fair,” Harry says over the noise. “Why does he get to be the star of two sports teams? That shouldn’t even be allowed,” he laughs, not speaking out of spite or jealousy, but incredulousness.

“You know why?” Zayn turns to face him. “Because you didn’t try out for this one. The two of you would have been unstoppable as teammates,” he’s interrupted by cheers as Louis intercepts a pass and puts up another two points. “And more than that, probably even friends.”

“Alright,” Louis shrugs, standing up. “We better get back then,” he extends his hand for Harry to take. “Think we’re switching soon.”

Harry takes Louis’ hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

On the next rotation, their group is on break. Everyone is free for two hours, trusted to be back at the meeting point on time. Harry doesn’t have any plans in particular. That is, until Louis tells him he does.

“I’m taking you to lunch.”

Harry doesn’t try to argue; he doesn’t want to.

He climbs into Louis’ passenger seat, not even bothering to ask where they’re going. He trusts Louis enough to not feel any worry.

Louis drives slowly through the town, pointing out all his favourite shops.

“Can we pick something so we can walk and eat?” Harry asks. “I’d like to walk down this road if that’s alright with you.”

Louis just smiles before turning off the ignition and jumping out of the car, waiting for Harry to follow him. He leads Harry into a small bakery, where he buys something for the both of them. Harry thanks him, maybe excessively, promising to buy the next time.

“Next time, huh?” Louis raises his eyebrows at the rather forward insinuation.

“Yeah,” Harry nods, not backing down. “Next time.”

“It’s a deal,” Louis looks impressed.

They walk along the sidewalk, Louis pulling Harry into the occasional shop. They eat and talk and laugh as they browse until Louis realizes it’s almost time to head back.

“Already?”

“Yeah,” Louis sighs. “Already.”

Harry tries not to think about how time seemed to fly by while they were alone together. Instead, he follows Louis back to his car, satisfied with their adventure for the day.

When they get back to the meeting point, Zayn eyes him immediately. When they’re finally given the instructions on where to go, he grabs Harry’s arm.

“How was your date? Don’t think I didn’t see you run off with Louis.”

“It wasn’t a date,” Harry laughs. “But it was nice.”

“Oh, it was a date,” Zayn says quietly as people shuffle around them. “The two of you are so obvious. We’ve been here a week and you’re just…” he trails off. “No sign of him remembering you though?”

“No,” Harry answers quickly. “And honestly, maybe you were right. Maybe it’s better that way. That night-”

“Harry!” Louis yells. “Let’s gooo!”

“I, uh,” Harry turns to look at Louis quickly before turning back to Zayn.

“I think you’d better go. Have fun, okay?”

“You too.”

Harry heads off to join Louis, walking side by side to the beach with the other counsellors and kids in their group.

When they get there, they split up almost immediately, Louis taking kids out to the dock, and Harry helping ensure everyone is wearing sunscreen. He doesn’t mind watching Louis from the sidelines, anyways. Something about the unearned familiarity of it all makes him feel nostalgic for something he never got to experience.

He watches as Louis jumps into the water over and over with the kids, splashing around for a bit before doing it again. Eventually, when a couple other counsellors go to join, Louis comes back to Harry, taking a towel before sitting down.

“You should probably reapply sunscreen, too,” Harry holds the bottle out.

“Good call,” Louis takes it, opening it and squeezing some of the lotion into his hand. Harry can’t stop his eyes from following Louis’ movements as he rubs it in across his exposed skin. He doesn’t realize it until Louis asks if it’s all even.

“Um,” Harry looks back up to his face before stifling a laugh. “Almost. Here,” he brings a hand up without thinking. It only takes a split second for Harry to gently blend the sunscreen that Louis missed just beside his ear, but with Louis’ eyes locked on his, it feels like an eternity.

“Thanks, curly,” Louis says softly. “I better sit with you for a bit before going back out. You know, so the sunscreen can dry or whatever.”

“Right,” Harry grins back at him.

They lounge in the grass, chatting and watching some of the kids run around nearby.

“We’re kind of running out of time here, curly,” Louis says suddenly. “Are you not going into the water or what?”

“I don’t know,” Harry looks away, slightly embarrassed.

He does want to go in the water; the weather is perfect and the lake is beautiful. He’s not even sure why he feels so awkward. This first week with Louis has been so much fun and anything but awkward. Louis doesn’t remember Harry and he’s starting to think maybe that’s the beauty of it.

“Next time,” he decides. “But you can go back out if you want.”

“Really? I have your permission?”

Harry can feel the heat rising to his cheeks; now he has a reason to be embarrassed.

“I didn’t mean-”

“I know,” Louis smiles, face soft and voice reassuring. “I’m just teasing you.”

“Oh,” Harry continues to avert his gaze. “I knew that.”

“Did you?”

“Stop it.”

Louis nudges him playfully once, and then he’s gone.

**

On Monday morning, after their initial activity as an entire group, they split up for their main activities.

Louis watches as Harry makes his way over to the diamond before he turns to head back inside the main building. Last night, as they were lying in bed, just inches apart, Harry talked excitedly about his finalization process for the softball teams. He’s keeping notes and paying attention and making sure that everything is as balanced as possible. And Louis couldn’t help but think about how Noah never cared so much; never bothered to put in half the effort Harry is.

But right now he tries to forget about it so he can focus on his first group for their art class. For Louis, his effort is strictly to make sure the kids have fun in his class. He’s not the most talented, artistically speaking, and he doesn’t feel like it would even be fair for him to even pretend to be “teaching” them anything.

So for today that means telling a one word story as a group before letting each of them take inspiration from it to draw a scene. He does the same thing with each group, and even though it’s kind of the same thing over and over again, each group tells a different story, meaning it never grows boring for him. Eventually, it’s time for his break; the one time slot during the day during which he doesn’t have a group.

The next time slot is lunch, and it would be so easy for him to just drive into town and take an extended break, roaming the shops and the streets. But instead, when he finally steps outside, he finds himself walking towards the diamond.

As he nears, a stray ball rolls towards his feet. He bends down to pick it up, and when he stands up straight again, he finds Harry walking towards him.

“What are you doing here?”

And Harry is smiling, as if he doesn’t really care all that much about the answer.

“Just thought I’d stop by during my break,” Louis shrugs. “Watch you in your element.”

“I wouldn’t say-”

“Sure sounded like it last night,” Louis tosses him the ball. “Coach.”

Harry just shakes his head, biting back a smile as he walks backwards a few steps before turning around and away from Louis.

Louis heads over to sit on the bleachers; a spot that he will make his own for the rest of the week.

When the session comes to an end, the kids all run towards the main building to find seats in the cafeteria. Louis sits back and waits for Harry to meet him.

“Did you have fun watching?” Harry laughs.

“Oh, yeah,” Louis stands up as Harry nears. “Loved watching the nervousness on your face every time one of the kids took a swing with the bat.”

Harry laughs abruptly as Louis turns to walk beside him, seizing the opportunity to sling an arm around his shoulder. Harry seems to happily accept the added weight the whole way back to the building.

“Hey, guys,” Zayn greets them as they approach their usual table, where he and Niall are already sitting. “Fun morning?”

He seems to be eyeing Louis specifically, probably having noticed the way they walked in together before Louis retreated his arm just a beat too late.

“Yeah,” Harry answers for the both of them, smiling at Zayn as he takes his seat. “Louis?”

“Yeah,” he agrees seamlessly.

“What about you guys?”

“Yeah,” Zayn nods. “I really enjoy teaching math, actually.”

“And what about you, Ni?”

Louis watches Harry’s face drop slightly as his eyes flicker between Louis and Niall, but it doesn’t last long enough for Louis to think anything of it.

“Yeah, all the classes I popped into looked like they were having fun. Now let’s go get some food.”

The four of them slide their chairs back and move to get in line. Louis is pulled away by Niall, and he can only watch as Zayn stays back to walk with Harry.

“Hey!”

“What’s going on, Louis?” Niall is still holding his arm, looking at him expectantly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Louis defends steadfastly.

“Come on. You and Harry walked in here basically attached at the hip before you took your arm off him.”

Louis knows his friend well enough to know when he’s been caught.

“Okay, okay,” he shakes his arm away, laughing. “He’s cute. And he’s funny and nice and there’s still nine weeks left.”

“So are you going to see him after we leave?”

“Niall,” Louis says loudly. “It’s week two.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means I don’t know.”

Louis hopes Harry isn’t getting grilled by Zayn the same way right now. Not only because it’s a little much, but also because it might kill Louis to not know how Harry is answering the same questions.

“Hey,” Harry catches up to him in line. “Everything okay?”

Louis looks over to see Harry looking right back at him with concern in his eyes. He realizes he needs to get better control of his face, because Harry hasn’t even known him for two weeks and he can already read him with no problem.

“Of course,” Louis smiles.

And because Harry hasn’t even known him for two weeks, they leave it at that.

**

Every day for the rest of the week, Louis shows up for Harry’s softball session right before lunch. It takes until Friday night for Harry to realize that if Louis has a free session while Harry doesn’t, then the opposite must also be true.

He shows up to their movie night with the idea in mind, wanting so badly to tell Louis he’ll show up for his class starting next week. But he also kind of wants to keep it a secret.

“Harry!” Zayn calls, waving him over to where he’s already sitting with Louis. “Over here!”

Harry walks over and sits down next to Louis.

“Where have you been since dinner?” Louis asks jokingly, already knowing the answer as he reaches up for Harry’s wet hair.

“Shower,” he laughs. “Can I share your blanket?”

“No,” Louis scoots away slightly. “It’s just for me.”

Harry pretends to pout.

“Oh, stop that,” Louis nudges him gently, moving back towards him, even closer than before. “Of course I’ll share.”

Harry can feel Zayn’s eyes burning into him, but if he has anything to say about it, he keeps it to himself.

“Actually, before I get settled,” Harry pushes the blanket away. “I’m just going to run to the washroom.”

“I’ll come with you,” Zayn offers, reading him perfectly.

They stand up, leaving Louis behind, heading out into the hallway towards the washrooms.

“You didn’t say anything to him, right?”

“No,” Zayn answers quickly. “Of course not, H. But I did hear-”

“Please don’t,” Harry says, whispering just loud enough for Zayn to hear him and stop talking. “I kind of just want to keep things how they are. Whatever this is, it’s up to us to figure it out.”

“Okay,” Zayn smiles, swinging the bathroom door open. “You got it.”

Harry just nods at him, not moving.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t actually have to go to the bathroom.”

“Well neither do I.”

“Okay, so.”

“So let’s just do a lap and take the long way back, I guess,” Zayn laughs.

When they get back, Louis is still right where they left him. They take back their original spots, and Louis holds up the blanket for Harry to slide under.

“Thanks.”

“The kids voted while you were gone,” Louis informs them. “Some Marvel movie.”

“Well, which one is it?” Zayn asks.

“I don’t know,” Louis shrugs. “I don’t know Marvel very well.”

“I’m not sure this friendship can last,” Zayn says, tone serious.

Harry hopes he’s joking. He knows Zayn is joking, but there’s always that what if he’s not.

But then Louis is laughing, and Zayn is laughing, too, and Harry takes a breath.

They settle in, and the movie is something Zayn has already seen. Which of course, by default means that Harry has also half-seen it, using it as background noise while he studies. The fact that Louis has not only becomes more apparent as he asks questions through the first half hour.

“Louis,” Harry whispers. “If you haven’t seen like five other unrelated but completely related movies, some things just aren’t going to make sense.”

Louis gazes at Harry for just a moment longer before whispering, “I guess sometimes things don’t have to make sense.”

Under the blanket, Louis finds Harry’s hand and gently laces their fingers together.

Harry tries not to think too hard about whether or not that makes sense to Louis.

They make it through the whole movie, plus another one, seemingly undetected by Zayn. Their hands still together under the blanket, and Harry inching just a little bit closer every few minutes. He longs to be this close to Louis. Every night, he has to lie next to him with just a foot of space between their two beds. But right now, with their shoulders pressed together, Harry wishes it could be like this all the time.

“Goodnight, Zayn,” they part ways as they exit the building.

“Goodnight, guys.”

With their six cabin campers trailing behind them, Harry and Louis share a quick smile as they walk back in silence. When they get back, Harry checks the time. It’s about to be their turn right away to go brush their teeth and get washed up. The kids step into the cabin and grab their stuff before stepping right back out to head to the washrooms.

Harry and Louis stand outside while they go in, and once they’re all out, Harry goes inside to brush his teeth first.

“You can head back,” Louis says once he comes out. “I’ll meet you back there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course,” Louis laughs. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

So Harry takes the kids back and gets them set up for a game of cards before it’s time for them to sleep. He fully expects Louis to be back on time to join the first round, but when he isn’t, Harry decides to start without him. They play the first round, and the second, and the third, until it’s lights out for the campers. He sends them off to bed and makes sure they’re all ready before Niall comes to check on them.

Harry covers for Louis when Niall shows up, telling him he just stepped out to go to the washroom. But once Niall is gone, Harry starts to get worried. He decides to text Louis, only to find his phone buzz from where it’s still charging on his bed.

He doesn’t know at what point he should go out to look for him.

It’s still early enough that there’s some light outside, so Harry decides that he’ll go looking only once it gets dark. For now, he’ll play cards by himself on the floor at the foot of their beds.

When it’s nearing midnight, Louis walks in.

“Harry,” he sounds exasperated, as if he knew Harry was waiting for him. “I’m so sorry. I ran into Liam on my way back and he wanted to chat for a bit. And then it took way longer than it should have.”

“It’s okay,” Harry smiles at Louis, where he’s sat down across from him. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“Can we play some cards?”

“Only if you want to.”

“I really do,” Louis assures him, reaching towards the deck. “Come on, I’ll deal.”

At almost two a.m., they go to bed. Harry thinks about how easy it would be to close the gap between their beds; spend the night with their bodies wrapped together just like their hands were earlier. In their own private space, it would be so simple. Things could make sense in this room.

“I didn’t even look tonight,” Louis whispers as they settle in. “Are we together tomorrow?”

“No,” Harry says, rolling over to face Louis. “But Sunday.”

“Wake me up when it’s Sunday, then.”

Harry spends the entirety of Saturday wishing he was with Louis. He thinks maybe he’s growing too attached too quickly, but it’s hard to stop when everything feels so right when they’re together.

On Sunday, they go through their new activities together, having just as much fun as the kids. When it’s time for their break, Louis pulls Harry away.

“Come on,” he urges him. “I want to show you something.”

Harry follows, adrenaline pumping as Louis picks up speed, running towards the beach before ducking into the trees. They finally come to a stop on an elevated lookout over the water.

“Woah.”

“It gets cooler,” Louis smiles, stepping towards a tree, which draws Harry’s eye to the rope attached to it. “It’s a secret, though. It’s out of bounds for the campers so the counsellors don’t come out here, either. I found it last year and me and Niall put up the rope.”

Harry just nods, impressed.

“We’re the only ones who know about it.”

“Got it.”

Louis unhooks the rope from its spot and extends it towards Harry.

“Can you go first?”

Louis smiles at him, before gesturing for him to hold the rope, anyways. He pulls off his shirt before taking it back and taking a running start towards the edge. From the moment he takes off to the moment he hits the water, Harry can’t wipe the smile off his face. He catches the rope as it swings back, ready to try after watching Louis do it.

“Come on!” Louis yells encouragingly from the water.

Harry places the rope between his legs and takes off his shirt, tossing it in the grass beside Louis’. He takes the rope back in his hands and holds on until it’s time to let go.

He lands close to Louis, and when he gets his bearings after resurfacing, he sees Louis swimming towards him. And then they’re face to face, treading water. Just when Harry allows himself to think that Louis might kiss him, he’s splashed in the face with water instead, as if to wake him up from the daydream.

“Let’s go again,” Louis moves away.

So they go again and again until they’re tired enough they just want to lie down in the sun for the rest of their break.

“Tell me more about yourself?” Louis asks without even looking over.

On his back, Harry rolls his head over to look at Louis.

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t know,” Louis answers, still without moving. “Just something. Anything.”

“Um,” Harry starts. “Okay,” he decides to be as vague as he can to get away with it. “When I was in high school, I spent every summer in school during the day and working during the night. This is the first summer in a long time where I’m not taking any classes and my job doesn't really feel like work.”

Louis hums. “Why did you do summer school every year?”

“Just to get ahead.”

“Why?”

“So I could finish all three sciences and get a university credit in my last year.”

Louis finally looks over as if to study Harry.

“Okay, something else now.”

“What?” Harry laughs.

“Well I already knew you were smart so that doesn’t even count. Come on now.”

“Okay, fine. I have an older sister.”

“How much older?” Louis looks over again, as if this caught his attention.

Harry suddenly feels sick.

“Hey,” Louis says calmly, sensing whatever it is that’s bubbling up inside Harry. “Don’t get jealous, curly,” he teases. “I’m just curious because I have lots of siblings, too.”

“Three years,” Harry relaxes.

“Hm. Well my oldest sister is one year older than me, which would make them the same age. Maybe they could be friends someday.”

The implication of the future sends Harry’s heart into overdrive.

“Yeah, maybe.”

The next morning, Harry wakes up to the sound of his alarm that he sets for earlier than the wake-up horn.

Louis groans and reaches towards him.

“Sorry,” Harry whispers, as if to coax Louis back to sleep. “Just going for a run.”

“With Niall?”

Harry shakes his head.

For the first week, he’d gone every morning with Niall. But over the weekend, Niall told Harry he was going to start running in the evenings instead, and he was still welcome to join him. But Harry has always preferred early mornings, so he politely declined and decided to stick with his routine.

“I’m coming with you,” Louis sits up. “I mean. Can I come with you?”

“Only if you can keep up, sports star,” Harry teases.

Louis pauses and looks up at Harry, taken aback. “How did you know that?”

“Good job, Louis!”

“Great game today, Louis!”

“Nice game, Louis!”

The praise comes from all directions as the team does their usual parade through the hallways whenever they win a home game.

“Say something when they walk by,” Zayn nudges him.

Harry always sticks with clapping.

“He probably knows who you are already, anyways,” Zayn shrugs. “And if he doesn’t, then he’s not good enough for you, H.”

“What?”

“You deserve someone who notices you. This school might be big, but you have a class together. There’s no reason he shouldn’t know who you are.”

Something about what Zayn says gives Harry a little push.

“Good game, Louis!” He calls, just as Louis leads the rest of the team past where him and Zayn are standing in the crowd.

Louis doesn’t so much as look in Harry’s direction.

“Um,” Harry stammers, feeling caught. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Louis stands up, finally moving again. “How did you know I was a so-called sports star?”

Harry knows he needs to come up with something to recover. And he knows he can’t drag anybody else into this.

“Well, I just assumed,” he shrugs, playing it off as casually as possible. “You’re so fit, that’s all.”

Harry doesn’t mind the warm feeling in his cheeks when he sees Louis’ are burning red.

They move in silence after that, quiet as they get ready for their run, and quiet as they run Harry’s typical path. The wake-up horn sounds just as they arrive back at their cabin. Together, they wake the kids for the start of another week. Once they’re all up and getting dressed, Louis slips away for a shower.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take the kids to breakfast,” Harry offers, pushing Louis out the door.

“When are you going to shower?”

“Just meet us at the cafeteria as soon as you’re done and then I’ll go. I can be done before breakfast is over.”

“Are you going to eat?”

The concern laced in Louis’ voice is more than just a little bit endearing to Harry.

“You can grab me something, right?” Harry smiles.

“Of course. Okay. See you soon, Haz.”

Before Harry even has a chance to swirl the new nickname around in his mind, Louis is out the door.

**

Louis almost misses the moment Harry walks into his last art class of the day. He’s still getting the canvases set up for the older group and making sure they all have paint. He doesn’t hear the door open or close, but he senses the movement, and when he looks up, Harry is waving shyly at him.

It’s in that split second that his plans change completely.

To Louis, it’s so important that the kids have fun. And just as important as that is for him to be the one to make Harry laugh.

“Everyone has paint?”

They all nod, ready to learn what they’re doing for the day.

“Okay. You get one paintbrush each. Choose wisely.”

They look around at each other in confusion, but it doesn’t take long for everyone to have a paintbrush in hand. Louis looks up to see Harry sitting on the back counter.

Slowly and carefully, Louis dips his paintbrush into the nearest jar of paint. He pulls it out and turns towards Harry’s general direction. Without thinking twice, he flicks the paintbrush over, watching as paint flies off the end.

“Go,” he says for the kids to hear, still looking at Harry’s surprised face as he realizes he’s covered in splotches of purple.

The campers descend into chaos rather quickly, and it doesn’t take long for paint of all colours to be flying.

But Louis keeps his eyes on Harry. And Harry holds his stare as he slips off the counter and walks towards Louis, hand reaching out for a paintbrush of his own. He stops when their faces are only inches apart, dipping his paintbrush into the jar of paint next to them. It goes from the jar directly to Louis’ face, where Harry uses gentle strokes to paint delicately across his cheek.

“Harry,” his voice comes out in a whisper, but he can’t say anything else before they’re interrupted by paint splattering across the sides of their faces and the uncontrollable laughter that follows.

Harry pînches his lips together and nods as a signal they both understand. Together, they turn away to defend themselves and each other from paint attacks coming from all sides.

Louis picks up a jar of paint and tucks it beneath his arm as ammunition. Over and over, he dips his paintbrush inside and lets it fly. The kids are definitely having fun, and it’s good enough for Louis. He’s pretty sure he even hears some of them groan when the horn goes, telling them the class is over.

“Alright,” Louis claps his hands together. “Drop your paintbrushes in the bucket by the door and then go get cleaned up before dinner.”

They all file out one after the other, chatting loudly as they leave Harry and Louis behind. Once the room is empty, Louis finally turns to look at Harry, only to find him already smiling at him.

“What?” Louis laughs.

“Nothing,” Harry shakes his head, still smiling. “Just. Look at this room.”

Louis can admit it’s a mess; one that’s going to take a while to clean up. But he’s not done yet, either.

“Yeah,” Louis sighs, pulling his brush out of his jar one last time. “You’re right,” he flicks paint towards Harry, who reacts with a shocked face.

“Louis,” he says loudly. “We have to clean this up.”

Louis can tell he’s trying to be serious, but he’s still laughing.

“Oh, yeah?” Louis steps closer, flicking more paint with every step. “You’ve had enough fun for one day?”

Louis sees the change in Harry’s face; the hard swallow, the shifting of his jaw to match the avoidance of his eyes.

“I just,” he pauses, and Louis steps closer.

Their moment earlier was effectively ruined by the presence of the kids, but now they’re alone. Louis has been longing to feel Harry’s lips against his own, and he’s pretty sure Harry feels the same way. Even covered in paint, Louis wants nothing more than to kiss him.

And then Niall walks in.

“What the-”

“Niall!” Harry jumps away quickly and Louis feels stung, despite knowing he shouldn’t.

“What happened here?”

“Art,” Louis shrugs. “But don’t worry. We’re cleaning it up.”

“You better be,” Niall sighs. “Get to work.”

With the moment ruined again, Louis doesn’t bother trying to get it back. He smiles at Harry before going to get the mop and other cleaning supplies from the janitorial closet.

They work together in silence, and by the time the room looks even remotely clean again, they’ve long missed dinner. All the kids and the other counsellors are in the rec room for games already.

“Do you think there’s leftovers for us?”

“Maybe,” Louis shrugs, unsure. “If not, we’ll just go to the pantry and get some snack food.”

Their dinner consists of chips and granola bars, but Louis doesn’t regret any of it.

**

At the end of the week, Liam announces a campfire cookout for the evening. Everyone’s excited for a night outside with the added promise of a later curfew.

They get it going before dark so they can eat dinner not much later than their usual time. The kids take their turns roasting their hot dogs while the counsellors sit around watching in the grass, taking turns getting up to help the younger ones.

“I’m going to go help her,” Harry stands up quickly. “Looks like she’s having a hard time.”

He walks over to the fire and crouches down to help the girl with her roaster. When she finishes, he gives her a high five before returning to his spot next to Louis. He sits a little bit closer than he did before, but if Louis notices, he doesn’t say anything about it.

Zayn does, though.

“Harry, you might as well just be sitting in his lap.”

Embarrassed, Harry doesn’t want to look up. But then he hears Louis patting his thighs as if to welcome him into the space.

“Come on, curly. You heard Zayn,” he raises his eyebrows the second Harry meets his eyes. “You might as well.”

Harry figures he doesn’t have anything left to lose; his dignity was gone the second Zayn called him out for being so obvious.

So he crawls over Louis’ legs and allows himself to fit perfectly in the space, only leaning further back when Louis wraps his arms around Harry’s stomach.

“That’s better, isn’t it?” Louis whispers right next to Harry’s ear, sending a chill down his spine.

Harry keeps quiet and leans his head back into Louis’ shoulder. They stay like that until it’s their turn to go to the fire with their roasters.

“We’ll be back,” Louis pats Harry’s side to signal for him to get up.

“Mhm,” Zayn laughs, shaking his head secretly at Harry before turning to talk to another counsellor.

They cook their food in silence too, and it’s like the air between them is heavy. It almost feels like something has changed. Once they’re done and they head back, Harry takes his spot back on the ground, next to Louis. When he looks over, he almost thinks it’s a flash of disappointment he can see on Louis’ face. But Louis seems to shake it off, striking up a new conversation to pull Zayn back in.

It’s all just nice.

After everyone has finished their dinner, they’re allowed to start roasting marshmallows. The same way as before, the counsellors take turns supervising. When Zayn gets up and walks away, Louis turns to Harry.

“I’m sorry, Harry.”

“For what?”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“What?” Harry almost laughs. “Louis, no, you didn’t. Don’t worry. I just. I don’t know!” He actually laughs this time. “I’m just a little bit nervous around you, I guess.”

The look on Louis’ face tells Harry that might not be much better.

“Don’t think about that too hard,” Harry continues. “I really like hanging out with you.”

“Okay,” Louis smiles again. “Good.”

It doesn’t take long for things to fall back into their comfortable state. As they cook their marshmallows, they argue through laughter about the proper way to do it.

“You can’t just set it on fire, you maniac!”

“Yes I can, and I will. Watch me,” Louis sticks the roaster directly into the fire, watching as the marshmallow catches flame. He pulls it out slowly and holds it towards him, waiting for it to be evenly burnt to blow it out.

Harry just shakes his head and continues to spin his marshmallow, aiming for the perfect golden colour.

“Your way is too slow,” Louis shrugs, popping the whole thing into his mouth before grabbing another one.

“I’m able to delay my gratification, Louis.”

Louis scrunches his face in annoyance before mimicking Harry.

“Try one my way, and I’ll try one yours.”

“Fine,” Harry agrees.

Louis sets another marshmallow on fire, blowing it out right on time before giving it just a second to cool down. He pinches his fingers around the bottom and slides it off the roaster.

“Here.”

When Harry turns his head, the marshmallow is already moving towards his mouth, directly from Louis’ hand. He looks up at Louis from his crouched position, and Louis nods down at him, which is all the confirmation Harry needs that Louis is going to feed it to him. So Harry opens his mouth casually and just waits. He closes his lips around it and lets it sink into his tongue.

It’s not terrible.

But what is absolutely terrible is when he looks up at Louis again to see him with his thumb in his mouth, sucking off any of the marshmallow that stuck to him.

“See?” He says casually.

“Yeah,” Harry struggles to get out. “Yeah. It’s not bad.”

“Don’t lie. You know it’s incredible.”

“Okay, okay,” Harry laughs, desperate to scrub the image from his brain. “Here, mine now.”

With a copious amount of temporary courage, he pulls the marshmallow off the roaster and stands up, holding it out for Louis to take in his mouth, just as Louis did for him.

Louis smiles, a little bit smug, before taking the marshmallow into his mouth and practically moaning around it.

“You know what,” he says, mouth still full. “I don’t think it matters how you cook them. They’re just so good.”

Harry laughs before suggesting they do one more.

They end up doing two more each, so they can both have one in each of their ways. Louis teaches Harry what he jokingly calls the best strategy to catch fire, while Harry tries to teach Louis the importance of patience and precision.

And later that night, if Harry moves his bed just a little bit closer to Louis’ while Louis is out brushing his teeth, nobody has to know.

Except, of course, Louis does.

“Did you move our beds closer?”

“Um,” Harry stammers, knowing he’s caught.

“Well, if they’re gonna be closer, why stop there?” Louis asks, and suddenly he’s the one who looks nervous, pausing before he continues. “Can we just put them right together?”

Harry pinches his bottom lip between his thumb and his index finger. “Okay.”

They stand on the outside of each of their beds, pushing them together until they meet in the middle.

“There,” Louis sighs, crawling in. “Come on.”

“I still have to go brush my teeth,” Harry laughs.

“Right. Okay. See you in a few minutes.”

When Harry gets back, Louis is already asleep. So he crawls in next to him and faces the opposite direction, falling asleep quickly knowing Louis is finally right next to him.

**

“Harry,” Louis laughs late one night as they chat in bed. “Since you somehow get your legs all tangled up in the middle of the night anyway-”

“Heeey,” Harry drawls, but stops when Louis shoots him a teasing look.

“Could we just, um, I don’t know…”

Harry rolls away from Louis and Louis knows it's his fault for not being smooth enough to make sense. But then Harry lifts his head up to look over his shoulder.

“Well?”

And then Louis realizes; Harry knew what he meant and didn’t need him to finish the question. After many nights of what felt like torture, finally lying right next to Harry but without holding him, Louis finally slides closer, wrapping an arm around his waist and tucking his head into the back of Harry’s neck. He steadies his breathing to match Harry’s and falls asleep to the soft sounds of Harry snoring.

**

Days feel like they’re repeating. Everything becomes a routine with only the weekend group activities to break it up. Every day, they start their morning on a run together, and then Louis visits Harry during one of the softball classes and Harry visits Louis for an art class. They eat their meals with Zayn and Niall, and go to bed holding each other. They try to break it up and change things, but it’s not easy when their days are so structured.

“I saw you took a particular liking to one of the activities today,” Louis finds Harry at lunch after being separated for the morning.

“Oh,” Harry can feel his cheeks warming.

“Come on,” Louis grabs his wrist gently. “Let’s go.”

Harry lets himself be pulled away, content to skip lunch if it means getting to spend the time with Louis alone. Louis guides him back towards the field.

“Oh, we don’t have to-”

“Please,” Louis smiles. “I want to.”

Even if Harry could argue, he wouldn’t want to. So he sits next to Louis in the grass and reaches for the dandelions, plucking them carefully. Louis does the same and they both get to work evening out the stems and piercing holes with their nails to string them together.

“Summer is halfway over,” Louis sighs. “I don’t want to go back to school.”

“Believe me, if I could sit here and make flower crowns with you everyday instead of going back…” Harry trails off, noticing how Louis is looking at him. “What?”

“Nothing,” Louis shakes his head, shying away, but then looks up at Harry again. “Can I kiss you?”

Harry drops his gaze to Louis’ lips briefly before catching his eye again. He nods, and as nervous and desperate and excited and terrified as he is, he leans in slowly to meet Louis, who also moves with caution, as if Harry might change his mind at any second.

Harry knows he won’t.

When their lips finally connect, Louis adjusts so he can take hold of Harry’s waist. He doesn’t try to pull him or guide him anywhere, but there’s an image in Harry’s mind of him sitting in Louis’ lap by the fire and all he can think about is how nice that would be in this moment. Without detaching their lips, he crawls forward to straddle Louis’ hips, sinking his weight down only once they’re both still.

And then comes the absolute rush of addiction. Harry knows he’s gone, that this might ruin him, but he just can’t stop.

But apparently Louis can.

“Hey,” he smiles, squeezing Harry’s hips gently.

“Hi,” Harry breathes out, faces still just inches apart.

“I would really like to kiss you some more, but I also really want to finish this flower crown for you.”

“We have lots of time,” Harry says softly, voice coming out in a whisper.

“We only have about twenty minutes left in our break,” Louis answers begrudgingly, until he picks up on Harry’s slight head tilt. “But you meant camp. Right. Five weeks.”

Harry crawls off of Louis and swallows hard.

“Right,” he nods, trying to ignore the lump in his throat as he thinks about going back home and pretending not to know that he and Louis are in the same city; at the same school. “Five weeks.”

Neither of them say anything again until Louis finishes his crown. He leans forward to place it delicately on Harry’s head, swiping some of his hair to make it sit nicely on his curls. Harry reaches up to feel it, smiling at Louis the whole time.

“Thank you.”

“It’s really pretty,” Louis nods, praising his own work. “You’re really pretty.”

Harry doesn’t even have to move this time. Louis surges forward to kiss him again, lips connecting more urgently and messily this time.

He thinks about all the ways Louis’ mouth moves against his and how his hands find him so naturally and how familiar it feels already.

And that terrifies him.

**

Ever since Louis first kissed Harry, he feels like he can’t stop. So their days consist of stolen moments; time that shouldn’t really belong to them, and their nights lead to kissing lazily in bed when their time is their own. He loves discovering new little things that Harry really likes.

But the problem is that Louis likes more than just that; he really likes Harry. He wants to go home to his own bed and for Harry to wake up next to him there, too. And he wants to take Harry on a real date at night and do it all again. Only, he doesn’t really know how to say that. So for now, everything is as perfect as it can get.

“What are you thinking about?” Harry asks, body still hovering over Louis’.

Louis squeezes his hips gently. “You,” he says vaguely.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Harry leans down to kiss him again, and Louis can only hope he finds the courage before the end of summer.

Louis knows he’s running out of time; the second half of camp is slipping away quickly. He tries to make the most of every second he has left.

“Harry, come on,” he practically begs. “It’ll be fun.”

“We’ll get in so much trouble,” Harry shakes his head.

“Only if we get caught. Think about it,” Louis is doing his best here, but he’s arguing with a law student. “It’s movie night. That means everyone is going to be in the same room. That’s so many people, they won’t even notice if we slip away.”

“What about-”

“Luke and Ashton will take our kids back to their cabin when it’s done.”

“Why not Zayn?”

“Come on, curly,” Louis teases. “He bunks with Niall. We’re trying not to get caught, remember?”

When the first movie of the night is over, Harry and Louis slip out and head towards the water, hand in hand as they run quietly through the empty roads. Louis grabs them lifejackets to keep with them, just in case. Together, they manage to carry the canoe to the water and get in with no problem.

In a silent agreement, they row out to the middle of the lake and then stop.

“Isn’t this nice?” Louis asks, trying to make sure Harry is still on board with the whole thing.

“Yeah,” he nods, turning around to face Louis now that they’re stopped. “Look at the moon.”

“Mhm,” Louis looks over, but turns right back to Harry. “Not even the best part though.”

“No? Then what is it?”

Louis rolls his eyes and leans forward. Harry does the same, but loses his balance.

“Harry!” Louis sputters to grab on, but Harry is already in the water. “Here, here,” Louis tosses him the lifejacket.

Harry stops flailing around in the water to tell Louis that he’s fine. “It’s just really cold,” he puts his hands on the edge of the canoe to get back in.

Louis helps him back in and then holds him in his arms to warm him again.

“This,” he whispers in Harry’s ear.

Harry doesn’t say anything, but Louis thinks he knows.

And when they don’t get caught, Louis knows it was all worth it.

**

“No, no, no,” Louis whines, sitting up quickly on the beach.

“What’s the matter?” Zayn asks, but he’s already chuckling.

“Oh,” Harry notices and tries harder than Zayn to contain his amusement but still fails. “It’s okay.”

“No,” Louis whines again, and Harry is only a little bit endeared by his dramatics. “I hate being sunburnt.”

“Not sure I know anybody who doesn’t,” Harry laughs. “But it’s okay, I have some aloe gel back in the cabin.”

“You guys can go now if you want,” Niall offers, overhearing the conversation. “We’ve got enough counsellors here.”

“Okay,” Louis sighs. “Thanks.”

The two of them make the walk back to the cabin in silence. Along the way, Harry slips his hand in Louis’.

“Alright, let me just grab it.”

Louis sits on his bed and waits for Harry to bring it over for him as he rustles through his things.

“Want me to do it for you?”

“Huh?”

“Yeah,” Harry shrugs. “I don’t mind.”

Louis agrees and lies down on his stomach. He rests his head on his arms and turns it sideways to look over at Harry as he walks over with the bottle in his hands. Harry climbs onto the bed, careful not to touch Louis at all yet.

“Is this okay?”

“Yeah,” Louis smiles over his shoulder as Harry swings his leg over him, sinking his hips down to sit on his lower back.

He squeezes some aloe out of the tube beneath his neck and feels Louis shiver at the cold sensation. Harry knows it won’t last long though, as his hands immediately start working it into his skin, spreading it and rubbing gently so as not to anger the red areas on Louis’ back.

“Maybe you should drop out of law school, curly.”

“What?”

“Yeah,” Louis laughs into his arms. “You’d be a great massage therapist.”

Harry can’t contain the quick laugh that escapes his mouth.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think I would get very far if I sat on clients like this.”

Louis wiggles until he can roll over beneath Harry to look up at him.

“You might end up sued.”

“I’d need a good lawyer.”

“I know somebody who could help you out!”

“Really?”

“Well, he dropped out of law school actually, so maybe not.”

Harry giggles and leans over Louis, giving him a taste of the laughter in his mouth.

It’s all just a little bittersweet, because Harry knows he’s running out of time. He likes how things are with Louis, but with only three weeks left, he can’t stop finding himself hoping for more when it’s all over.

Truthfully, he couldn’t be more excited when the rain comes. It’s three whole days he gets to spend just hanging out in the cabin with Louis. Occasionally, they check on the boys and play games with them, but mostly, it’s just the two of them in bed, holding each other as they watch movies. They play cards and do puzzles and take naps and read, all to the tune of low rumbles of thunder and constant rain pattering against the roof and the window.

“Lou,” Harry whispers in the dark, the grey of the sky seeming to seep through the walls. “It’s time for the kids to wash up and brush their teeth.”

Louis groans but sits up anyways. He grabs the umbrellas from the corner of the room and takes a flashlight.

“Alright,” he puts a hand on the doorknob. “Let’s get them ready.”

Their group meets with Zayn and Niall’s at the washrooms. The kids all scurry inside but the four of them stay outside a little longer.

“This storm is like that one a few years ago,” Zayn says, speaking directly to Harry. “Remember how we couldn’t leave school until hours after it was over because it was so bad?”

“Attention students, due to the current weather outside, when the final bell goes in a few moments, you will not be able to leave just yet. We’re going to wait it out a little while longer. Everyone will remain inside until instructed otherwise. Thank you.”

The intercom goes silent and the groans begin.

“Well, we’re still good for practice then, right?”

Harry can hear Louis speaking to the gym teacher, who doubles as the boys’ basketball coach.

“Hey,” Zayn nudges Harry, drawing his attention away so he misses the rest of the conversation. “We should stay to watch their practice.”

“Are we even allowed to do that?”

“I don’t think they can say no.”

Everyone heads to the locker room to get changed before the bell, with the exception of the basketball players. When the bell goes, most of the students file out, heading to the library or just to sit near their lockers. But a few of them stay, grabbing a spot on the bleachers.

When the girls’ team files in, Harry watches as some of the boys turn to complain about sharing the gym. But when his eyes reach Louis, he finds him greeting them excitedly instead, welcoming them with energy and enthusiasm.

Practice officially begins as they start warming up. They jog before doing some conditioning, all before even touching a ball. Finally, they partner off and practice some passing before moving on to lay-ups.

“You should try out next year,” Zayn says without even looking over. “Seriously. You could take his place once he’s gone.”

“Maybe.”

Just as practice comes to an end a few hours later, an announcement is made that they’re free to leave.

“You could go talk to him.”

Harry just turns to look at Zayn.

“I said you could, not that you would.”

They both laugh and leave the gym as the one in question heads into the locker room.

“Our school did that too,” Louis says slowly. “I remember I had practice, anyways.”

Harry widens his eyes at Zayn briefly before turning back to Louis.

“Oh, what sport?”

“Basketball,” he nods. “So it really didn’t even matter. We were inside no matter what.”

“Speaking of inside,” Niall interrupts. “I’m getting out of this rain.”

“Same here,” Zayn steps towards the building with Niall.

Harry and Louis share a quick look.

“We’ll go after you,” Louis suggests. “Wait out here for now.”

Neither of them try to argue. They leave them standing alone in the rain and slip inside the door, closing their umbrellas.

“Well?” Louis asks.

“Well?” Harry echoes, not sure what he wants.

But then Louis is dropping his umbrella by the door and dashing away, leaving Harry with what he feels like is no choice but to follow him. Not that he minds. He would gladly follow Louis into the pouring rain any time.

“Come on!” Louis yells, fighting to be heard over the pounding of rain on the gravel.

Louis stops suddenly, forcing Harry to do the same, halting in his tracks. Louis spins around to face Harry, taking his hands quickly and pulling him close before separating them again.

“Woah,” Harry laughs, allowing Louis to guide him in whatever steps he wishes to take.

They dance and twirl and laugh, feeling like they’re the only ones around for miles.

“We should go get ready,” Harry whispers, just as Louis draws him close.

“Can I kiss you first?”

“We’re gonna catch a cold,” Harry answers, but he’s already leaning closer.

Their lips connect, and it’s wet and messy and soft and tender all at once, sending a warmth through Harry’s body. Harry melts against Louis, puddling just like the rain, using his hands for support as he clings to Louis’ arms.

Louis pulls away, leaving Harry feeling cold again.

“That’s a myth,” he tells Harry, but still pulls him back towards the washrooms so they can go inside and get ready.

**

Louis wakes up with a cold.

The rain has finally stopped, and activities are back in session, but Louis can’t even participate. And while Harry was reluctant to leave him in the morning, he’s still stuck alone in the cabin.

“Hey,” Louis sniffles. “What are you doing back here?”

Harry closes the door behind him.

“It’s my lunch break,” he shrugs. “Brought you some soup.”

Harry walks over to the bed and sits next to Louis’ legs. He insists on helping Louis eat, despite Louis being fully capable. And Louis isn’t going to argue. When he finishes, Harry pulls something out of his pocket.

“Brought you this, too.”

“Where did you get that?” Louis sits up quickly, taking the bottle between his hands.

“In town,” Harry laughs. “Convinced Zayn to let me borrow his car.”

“Thank you so much, Haz.”

He puts the bottle of cold medicine down on the nightstand beside him before turning back to Harry.

“Stop it,” Harry laughs, leaning away as Louis leans closer. “You’re sick!”

“So?” Louis laughs.

“So I can’t take care of both of us. I’m useless when I’m sick.”

Louis sighs dramatically and lies back down. “Thank you,” he repeats from before.

And then Harry is leaning over him and pressing his lips to his forehead. He starts to leave without another word, but Louis stops him.

“Wait,” he closes his eyes, knowing the conversation should be had but suddenly feeling extremely anxious about it.

Harry turns around. “Yeah?” He starts moving towards Louis again. “What’s up, Lou?”

“I just, um,” he stammers. “I wanted to, uh,” he feels himself mumbling, as if his mouth forgot how to articulate words.

“Hey,” Harry reassures him gently. “You can tell me. But you also don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Louis feels like that’s pretty on brand for Harry, and only makes him think even more about how Harry deserves to hear it all.

“Yeah,” Louis smiles. “Um, maybe later, actually?”

Harry just smiles right back. “Whenever. Bye, Lou.”

When Harry’s gone, he flops back down in bed and decides to sleep it off.

He still has two weeks.

And then suddenly he doesn’t. He gets better and goes back to participating in activities, and Harry doesn’t bring it up, because why would he, but Louis doesn’t either, because he’s still a little bit scared. Before he knows it, it’s the last weekend with the kids, heading into the last week of camp before their parents pick them up on Friday afternoon.

The counsellors will all stay until Sunday. Much like how they arrived early to celebrate together, they stay later to do the same. All that means to Louis is that he only has exactly one week left with Harry.

On Saturday night, they throw a party designed for the kids, meaning only fruit punch and no alcohol.

“What even goes in just a normal punch anyways?” Niall asks, walking with Louis towards his car.

“It’s literally just juice,” Louis opens his door. “I think. I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out.”

Niall looks over at Harry and then back to Louis.

“Don’t take too long,” he laughs. “The kids are excited.”

“Well the kids still have to eat dinner first so they can wait,” Harry quips.

Niall just rolls his eyes and walks away, leaving the two of them to head into town and pick up anything they think they might need,

“So, what’s on the list?” Harry asks as Louis pulls onto the gravel road.

“There is no list,” Louis shakes his head, glancing over at Harry. “Niall just told me we could pick out whatever.”

“Oh, so we’re in charge?”

“Basically, yeah.”

“Interesting.”

Louis doesn’t say anything after that, and they sit in silence for another moment before Harry fills it again.

“Thanks for inviting me to help.”

Louis pauses, thinking about the perfect response.

“You’re more than welcome for dragging you along.”

Harry laughs, and Louis knows he got it just right. He reaches his hand across the console and takes Harry’s, intertwining their fingers and only letting go when he needs to shift the gear into park.

They walk slowly down the streets, stopping at a dollar store for snacks first, before making their way to the grocery store to see what they have. They pick up a few more snack items before heading to get drinks. After grabbing a selection of juices they agree will probably make a good concoction, they check out and find themselves back outside.

“That’s probably all we need, right?”

“Wait, let’s stop in the liquor store.”

“Why?” Harry asks but still follows. “We definitely can’t drink tonight.”

“No,” Louis agrees, spinning around and walking backwards so he can face Harry. “But we can drink at our party next weekend. And I want to make sure you get your special drink this time, just in case Niall decides to send somebody else on the liquor run.”

“Right,” Harry nods. “And what is that special drink?”

“The peach iced tea?”

“You remembered,” Harry smiles, and Louis returns it, forcing himself to ignore the slight pain at the idea that Harry thought he didn’t.

“Of course I did, curly.”

“Well, it’s been a long nine weeks since then.”

Louis thinks about telling him that he’ll probably remember every tiny detail he’s learned about Harry for the rest of his life. Instead, he turns around and pushes open the door.

By the time they get back, the kids are finishing dinner. Louis and Harry meet Niall near the campfire pit where he’s clearly been waiting.

“Perfect timing,” he nods, pointing them towards the table he set up with bowls, plates, and cups. “They’re just about done eating. You guys can set up here and then go eat once they come out.”

“Sounds good.”

They get everything ready and head to the cafeteria to grab whatever they can find as leftovers to eat. In the fridge, they find some pre-made handheld wraps and they decide to take them and eat while going on a walk through the building.

Realistically, Louis knows this would be a good time to be a little bit open and vulnerable with Harry about how he’s feeling. But Harry is talking so excitedly about going back to school in general that Louis would feel selfish trying to insert himself into the conversation. The rapidly approaching fall is exactly what he wants to talk about, but he needs the right context, and this isn’t it.

By the time they get back outside, the party is in full swing; the kids are running around, the counsellors are chatting, the fire is burning.

“Let’s go get some punch,” Louis suggests.

Zayn is already standing there, ladling himself a cup. He doesn’t say anything until handing Louis the ladle for him to get some punch for himself and Harry.

“Hopefully this really is just juice, because Harry doesn’t have his car this time. And we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

Louis looks at Zayn, confused, and then turns to look at Harry, who doesn’t look so confused, but something else entirely. Louis can’t read the expression on his face, only adding to his uneasiness.

“Haz?”

“Oops,” he hears Zayn whisper under his breath.

“Lou, I-”

Louis didn’t want to come to this party in the first place. Truthfully, he’s uninterested in being surrounded by people who don’t really know him. Everyone from all the high school grades were invited, so not only is he dealing with his own classmates who have never made any effort at a relationship past just playing nice, but he’s also dealing with the ones below him who only see him as the sports star.

He can’t wait to graduate and leave it all behind.

As he wanders through the house, he realizes it’s also the crowd in general he’s not a fan of; there are definitely too many people for the size of the space. Everyone is drinking or smoking and he doesn’t particularly feel like taking part in those things, either.

He regrets showing up to his own graduation party. He doesn’t think anybody would even really notice if he hadn’t.

“Hey, Louis!”

Louis turns his head to find the voice, calling out to him over the steady thrum of the music, vibrating through the floor.

“Hey, Jenna! How’s it going?”

“Good, good,” she laughs, still moving towards him. “Can you believe we’re going to be out of here in a month? This is it!”

“This is it,” Louis repeats, sighing and hoping it comes across as lamenting while he’s actually relieved.

“I heard a rumour that you declined a scholarship.”

Louis was really hoping he could avoid all of this.

“I’m gonna go get a drink.”

He spins on his heels and walks away, and Jenna doesn’t bother trying to follow. Louis isn’t much of a drinker, not even in this setting, but now that he’s been slightly provoked and feeling overwhelmed, he thinks maybe a drink wouldn’t hurt. He finds the island in the kitchen stocked with a variety of beverages, and while he could easily grab a can of something to play it safe and easy, he opts to mix his own drink.

He grabs a plastic cup and the bottle of whisky, glancing around for a shot glass. When he doesn’t see one, he starts free pouring, watching the liquid grow higher and higher as he thinks about his entire high school experience. Realizing he definitely has more than enough, he puts it down and fills the rest of his cup with coke. He sips on it, wincing at the strong taste as it goes down.

It’s only when he finishes his drink that he realizes things are a little hazy. He decides to just watch the people around him as an outside observer rather than an active participant. He listens in on conversations, flitting from group to group, grabbing a can of some fruity rum drink just to have something in his hands. Something to blend in.

After drinking two cans, Louis realizes he’s definitely drunk. He wanders out to the front lawn and falls to the grass, putting his head in his hands. It’s out of his control when he starts to cry. This is not how he planned for his night to go. Such a minor interaction with someone he barely knows was all it took to set him off.

“Hey,” someone says from behind him. “Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?”

“Do you want to go home?”

“Kind of.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“Okay.”

The next thing Louis knows is that he’s back home, tucked in his bed, not quite entirely sure how he got here.

“That was you,” Louis shakes his head as he figures out what Zayn was referring to. He feels stupid, and somehow, betrayed. “You knew this whole time. You knew who I was and you didn’t say anything.”

Harry is just gaping at him, looking like he’s on the verge of tears. Beside him, Zayn just looks guilty.

“Louis, please-”

Even in the moment, Louis is pretty sure he’s probably overreacting. But there’s just something so deceiving about it all that it makes him question everything.

“I just need some time,” he puts a hand up, stepping away from Harry. And even though he’s upset, it still kills him to do it. “Okay?”

Harry just nods, teeth pulling at his bottom lip, tears finally slipping from his eyes and streaming down his cheeks.

Louis doesn’t watch any longer to see what happens next.

**

“Harry, I’m so sorry,” Zayn sputters. “I didn’t even think about it.”

“It’s okay,” Harry breathes out, still trying to compose himself. “Honestly, it’s probably better that he remembers now.”

“Do you want to go home?”

“Kind of.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“Okay.”

Harry guides Louis to his car, helping him into the front passenger seat before getting in himself. He pulls out his phone and sends a text to Zayn, letting him know he’s leaving but he’ll come back to pick him up after. After sliding his phone away, he starts his car and pulls his seatbelt across his body.

“Seatbelt?”

Louis reaches up to buckle himself in, but fumbles with the clip. Harry reaches over and helps him click the pieces together.

“So,” he puts the car in drive, pulling away from the curb. “Why are you sad tonight at your own graduation party?”

Louis doesn’t say anything. As they distance themselves further from the noise, Harry glances over.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Louis mumbles, still staring out the window.

Harry doesn’t respond. He doesn’t think there’s much to say after that.

“Actually,” Louis finally turns to look at him. “No, I’m not. But is anyone? I mean, everyone just wants to be known, right? But nobody knows me, not really. They know my name and my jersey number, and that’s it.”

Harry listens closely. He had no idea Louis felt that way. From the outside, he’s popular and it’s just assumed that he’s friends with everyone. But Harry supposes Zayn was right when he told him there was more to learn. And that’s exactly what Louis is talking about; what he’s wishing for.

“And then people act like your friends but they don’t really care about you. How can they? They don’t know you,” he pauses. “Why did you offer to drive me home?”

Harry glances over again, realizing Louis is now directing this philosophical idea towards him. And Harry realizes he doesn’t have an answer that would please him; because he’s just another person who doesn’t know him.

“You looked lonely,” he says.

“But you don’t know me.”

Harry knows that Louis is right, and while he wishes it weren’t true, he can’t say as much; not when Louis is in such a state of vulnerability.

“You’re right.”

“So why do you care if I’m lonely?”

“Because nobody should be.”

The conversation stops there, and Harry is pretty thankful for that. But they don’t sit in silence, either, because Louis has to navigate Harry to his house. When Harry pulls over, it doesn’t take him long to realize he’s going to need to help Louis to his door. So he shuts the car off and hops out, walking around to Louis’ side, opening the door and helping him out, wrapping an arm around his waist to support him. He swings the door shut and walks Louis up his front steps. Just as he’s about to ask for his keys, the front door swings open.

The girl standing there is one of Louis’ sisters; Harry doesn’t know her name but he recognizes her from sports games.

“Oh,” she says, surprised. “Hello.”

“Hi. He uh, he just wanted to come home.”

“Okay,” she shrugs, shaking her head. “Well, are you going to bring him upstairs to his room?”

Harry isn’t sure what to say. It definitely hadn’t been a thought that crossed his mind.

“Oh, um-”

“Oh, sorry,” she laughs. “I just thought maybe you were his boyfriend.”

“Lottie,” Louis whines suddenly, weight shifting in Harry’s arm.

“Sorry,” she repeats.

It doesn’t take Harry more than a second to realize what just happened. And for Louis’ sake, he thinks he should probably just move right past it.

“I can help him up, anyways, if that’s alright.”

“Sure,” she smiles, glancing at Louis. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. But I’m not sure he’ll remember it.”

“Right.”

Harry slips in the front door, still holding onto Louis as he helps him up the stairs. Louis points out which bedroom is his and Harry guides him over until he can put Louis into his bed.

“I guess now you know me,” Louis whispers.

Harry pauses, looking down at him. Louis looks even sadder than before and Harry feels terrible. He reaches out for Louis’ hand and Louis takes it with ease.

“No,” he shakes his head. “Not yet.”

Harry doesn’t know what he should do anymore. All he wants to do is talk to Louis and explain everything, but he can’t do that right now. His eyes dart around the party and he finds that Louis is gone. He can’t see him anywhere.

“I need to go talk to Niall.”

Harry walks away before Zayn can talk him out of it. He finds Niall and explains as vaguely as possible what just happened. He controls himself enough not to cry, but he knows it’s still written all over his face.

“Okay, okay,” Niall puts a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Harry. Listen, if that’s what you want to do, then it’s fine with me. And it will be fine with Liam, too. And don’t worry about next year,” he says, seeming to read Harry’s mind about his other concern. “We would love to have you again, no matter what.”

“Thanks, Niall,” Harry exhales.

Niall just nods sharply, squeezing Harry’s shoulder once before letting go.

“I hope it works out.”

Harry returns the nod before turning around and walking away, back towards his cabin, hoping Louis isn’t already there.

**

Louis looks out over the lake, watching as the sun goes down. The sky is a million colours but the only person he wants to point it out to isn’t around.

He’s not mad at Harry, not really, just a little bit confused about why he would pretend like they’ve never met. Louis spent so much time thinking about that night after it happened, trying to figure out who showed him such kindness, and who learned more about him in one night than anybody else ever has.

And now he’s thinking about what would have happened if he had figured it out; what would have happened if he went back to school on Monday morning and recognized Harry in the hallway. Maybe everything would have gone differently.

Or maybe this was supposed to be their second chance.

Maybe Louis spent so much time during high school concerned about not being known that he didn’t pay enough attention. Harry was right there.

Louis runs his hands through his hair, thinking about what to do next. He doesn’t know what he wants to say to Harry, but he thinks maybe he’ll figure it out when he sees him. So he stands up and brushes himself off, heading back to the party.

He’s been alone long enough now.

**

Harry knows he needs to move fast. Louis isn’t here now, but that doesn’t mean he has all night. He starts throwing all of his clothes from the dresser to the bed, where he’ll fold them and pack them up once he has everything. It only makes him feel worse as he has to dig through Louis’ things to find his own.

He goes through each drawer and then grabs everything off the top of the dresser, scrambling to hold it in his hands as he carries it over to the bed. He drops it all to the side and unzips his bag, opening it up and setting it out next to all of his stuff on the bed. Wanting to get all of his clothes inside first, he starts folding and squeezing them inside.

His attention is so focused on what he’s doing that he doesn’t hear it when the door opens.

“Harry?”

**

“Louis,” Harry spins around, seeming startled and also interrupted.

“What,” Louis tries to glance around Harry. “What are you doing?”

Louis thinks it’s pretty obvious, but he doesn’t want it to be true. Maybe Harry will have some other answer.

“I’m just packing up,” Harry looks at the ground. “I’m leaving tonight.”

“Harry,” Louis takes a step closer. “Please don’t.”

“Why not?” Harry flips his suitcase shut. “I ruined everything.”

“No,” Louis almost laughs. He would if Harry didn’t look so upset. “You didn’t, Haz. I overreacted. I guess I’m just confused. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Harry sighs, and Louis takes another small step closer again, not wanting to move too fast.

“It felt like my second chance, you know? Like you didn’t notice me in high school, but here, maybe everything would be different.”

“Harry,” Louis takes one more step forward and reaches slowly for Harry’s hand while Harry is looking down. “I’m so sorry I didn’t know who you are. I was so caught up in my own head in high school that I wasn’t paying enough attention. But I would have really liked it if we had known each other.”

Harry tilts his chin back up. “I don’t want to not know you again,” he whispers.

“You won’t,” Louis shakes his head. “No. When we go home, I want to keep getting to know you. I want to see your apartment and learn your class schedule and where you get your coffee. Since I’m sure you drink coffee because you’re in law school.”

Harry laughs, and Louis feels like everything is going to be alright.

“I want that, too.”

“Okay. So we’ll make it work. Now, let’s get you unpacked, yeah? We still have another week,” he goes to let go of Harry’s hand, but Harry pulls him closer and presses their lips together.

Louis feels himself go completely slack, melting into Harry’s movement. He rests his hands on Harry’s hips and pulls away slowly.

“Thank you,” he looks right into Harry’s eyes, so he knows he means it.

“For what?”

“Everything,” Louis smiles. “And I know I never thanked you specifically for that night.”

“It was never something I needed.”

“No, but it’s deserved,” Louis steps back with one final squeeze to Harry’s waist. “Even though you were going to leave without saying goodbye.”

“Didn’t want to say goodbye,” Harry shakes his head. “I couldn’t.”

“That’s why we’re not going to. At least not now. The end of summer will not be the end of us.”

**

Louis was right.

But Harry already knew he would be.