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The way the sun shines, the color the sky is, the smoothness the flowers dance; the aspects people want to capture. Life has these spectacular features everyone sees; everyone wants.
Harry was one of those people. When kids his age where going out, wanting to spend their parent's money on the newest video game, Harry was saving his allowance and paycheck for a camera. Not just any camera, one of those old Polaroid cameras; the ones that automatically gave you the picture after you take it.
Those are the true cameras. Because the point of taking a picture is to capture a moment the way it is, not to enhance it in any way. You would be surprised by the things you can see with pictures the way you take them, whether someone blinked or not.
Harry knew this was true and he spent his life trying to prove that was right. He bought his camera when he was 16 and took pictures of everything; his room, his parents, his friends. He wanted to get as much as he could in every picture. He would carry it around his neck everywhere he went and stop to take pictures of the cute kids, or pretty couples, or wonderful signs; anything he thought was worth it.
It started off as an accident, the day it happened.
--
Harry was walking down the street, about to meet up his sister at the coffee shop two blocks over. Like always, his camera was around his neck as he walked. He hadn't taken a single picture the whole week and it annoyed Harry to a big extent. He always found the simplest yet greatest pictures to take; something everyone always complimented him for. He could get inspiration by a simple, lopsided weed growing from the ground.
However, nothing had popped out this whole week and that was a major problem. He turned the corner when the light turned red, signaling him to wait. He stood there with his camera in hand, looking around for anything eye catching.
He looked across the street when a movement was seen from the corner of his eye. A young man was walking to the corner in front of him and stopped, waiting for the light to change as well. His hair was brown and a fringe was peeking out from underneath his red beanie. He had on a pair of black skinny jeans that hugged his legs greatly and a dark gray sweatshirt with red TOMS, matching his beanie. Some black sunshades were on his face, even though there was practically no sun out.
He looked like a hipster, something that Harry usually didn't go for, yet he couldn't take his eyes of him. He took hold of his camera and snapped a picture of the guy when he was turned to the side. After the first click, the guy turned around and reached up, pulling off his sunglasses. Even though Harry was feet away, he could catch a glimpse of the ocean blue eyes the man had. He took hold of his camera once again and took a picture of the man.
The light suddenly turned and just as soon as the guy took of his glasses, he was putting them back on and walking towards Harry. He walked passed him but Harry could see the curious and suspicious look he was getting from the beautiful creature.
Harry crossed the street and continued his walk towards the ice cream shop. He took the seat he regularly took, his friends Niall and Cher who worked here, waving hello from the counter. He took a seat and as he waited for his sister, he decided to look at the pictures he took.
He pulled the pictures out of the bag he carried and placed them on the table.
He picked up the one where the man was still wearing the glasses, his face towards the side. One of his hands was on his hip while the other laid down casually. Overall, it looked like one of those hipster pictures where they try to look normal yet people know it was planned.
Harry put it down, a soft smile on his face, and reached for the other one.
When Harry saw this picture, he gasped at the amount of detail and inspiration that oozed out of it.
The colors the guy was wearing made the picture pop out. The way his skinny jeans made his legs look incredibly thin and his TOMS made his feet look small made his whole body look short and soft. His sweater was a bit big and the laces coming out of the hood where tied in a bow in the middle of his chest like a cape.
But the eyes made Harry's breath stop.
The eyes, so blue they were almost crystal like, held so much raw emotion. From a far, they just looked soft and pretty like Harry had thought. Yet when he paid attention, he could see the actual pain that was visible through the man's eyes. A hint of sadness was there and once Harry noticed, the perspective of the picture change.
Instead of the sweet and petite creature Harry had thought he'd seen, he had actually seen a fragile and broken beautiful soul.
Harry knew no one would be able to see what he did and that if they did, nobody would blink or bat an eye at it. But Harry isn't like most people.
He made it a plan to find the sad human being and change the emotion he had so his eyes could tell a different story.
--
Louis groaned, rolling out of bed to turn off his damn alarm clock. It's 6 in the morning, about half an hour before Louis has to actually get out of bed, but if he doesn't do it now, he knows he will not be able to get up.
A thump on his wall tells him that Liam just got home from his run and is trying to make sure he is awake before he takes a shower.
"I'm up, Li!" Louis yells. He hears a laugh from Liam and a soft groan from Zayn, still asleep and not appreciative of the loudness.
Louis lays in bed for a bit longer, unsure on whether he should get up or not. He looks around his plain, boring room and sees his sketches on the desk. He forces himself to get up and walks over to them, picking up the ones he left there last night.
The first is simple, just the sunrise last week. He couldn't sleep, the nightmares reminding him they were all real. He tossed and turned all night, giving up when the beginning signs of light shone through his window. He reached over to close the drapes. When he looked out, he saw the outline of the sun coming up and the sky the most beautiful purple he'd ever seen. Suddenly, his body was moving without directions and before he knew it he was climbing up the ladder to sit on the roof. There he sketched as much accuracy he could while drowning down a cup of tea.
The overall outcome was actually pretty good.
The next drawing was of a man, the one he had seen at the walk stop the other day. He was a peculiar one. He was extremely attractive, with tight, black jeans, a low cut white tshirt that said 'lover' on the pocket, and a dark green beanie over his head. Brown curls were poking out of his head, but they just framed his face better than Louis thought possible. He had one of those old cameras around his neck and Louis wondered if he ever heard of digital ones.
He gave him a once over and turned around. When he faintly heard a click however, he turned back around. The man had the camera in his hand and it was faced towards Louis. Louis reached up and took of his sunglasses, looking right at the handsome lad when he heard another faint click. The lad dropped his camera and pulled out the picture given out, proving Louis right; he was taking a picture of him.
Louis put his glasses back on and crossed the street, looking at the lad as he passed him. He didn’t know how he should feel about a random person taking a picture of him but he couldn’t really stop to care.
He kept walking along, his mind running back and forth to the curly haired lad. He stopped and took a deep breath when he reached his destination.
He rang the doorbell and waited outside patiently, knowing the faster this went the faster it would be over.
The door opened and Louis looked up. He smiled tightly. "Hi mum."
His mom didn’t say anything, just nodded and walked inside, expecting Louis to follow. "You're late. You were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago."
"I know I got caught up at work."
His mom scoffed. "I think you can hardly call drawing at the park a job."
He scowled at her back. "I like to draw and people pay money to have me draw them. It's my job and I like to do it."
His mom turned and crossed her arms. "Of course you do. You love doing nothing with your life and disgracing the family. Have you finally found a girl to settle down with?"
Louis rolled his eyes. "When I decide to settle down, we both know it won't be with a girl."
"Yes, we sadly all know. But a mother can always hope her son will be normal for once."
Louis didn’t say anything, just took deep breaths and counted in his mind, trying to keep the angry tears in. "Mhhm okay, I'm just going to head upstairs and finish getting all my stuff."
"Yeah get that out before it contaminates the girls will ya?" His mother snapped as she walked to the kitchen, her hips swaying around sassily.
He took deep breaths as he walked upstairs and made his way to his room. He was picking up his boxes when a voice made him stop.
"Lou?"
He turns and sees Lottie standing in the doorway. "Hey Lotts. What's up?"
She looks at the boxes and sighs slowly. "So you are leaving?"
He looks down sadly. "Yeah. Mom wants my stuff out ASAP." He looks up and sees her teary eyes, which absolutely breaks him. Putting the box down, he turns to Lottie. "Hey don't cry! Come here." Lottie runs to him and hugs him. He kisses her forehead. "I know everything has been hard on you. I'm sorry Lotts. I wish it didn’t have to be like this. Life can be a pain in the butt, but you have my number and Zayn's and Liam's. And you are welcome anytime at our flat. I had the boys help me make a guest room for you and the girls whenever you come visit. Okay?"
Lottie nods her head against Louis' chest. "I know Lou, I know. It still won't be the same though."
Louis sighs sadly. "Yeah I know hun." They stay in the embrace for a while longer until Louis starts pulling back. He wipes Lottie's dried tears and kisses her cheek. "Hey, I'm still taking you guys for ice cream this weekend! You remember Gemma, the other artist who works in the park with me? Yeah she has a younger brother, around my age, and they're going to come with us. We'll have a good time okay?"
Lottie nods and smiles softly at him. "Okay Lou. Sounds like a plan." He smiles fondly at her and gives her another kiss before he sends her on her way.
He picks up his boxes and carries them downstairs. He's putting the last one away in the trunk when a voice calls his name.
"Louis!"
He looks up and gives a small smile. "Eleanor, hi. How are you love?"
She smiles up at him. "I'm great babe. How are you?"
"I could be better," he says, looking back towards his house. "Did mom call you up?"
Eleanor sighs softly. "Yeah. She told me you were coming up and I should come talk to you, see if you would finally take up my offer on a date."
Louis nods. "El, it's not that you're not great, because you are, but-"
"Louis, stop it's okay," she interrupts. "I know I'm not really the gender you are looking for." Louis blushes at Eleanor's chuckle. "I know it's tough for you with your parents and I guess I don't make it much better coming up here but if I don't your mom will literally come and drag me here."
Louis nods stiffly. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry you have to go through this."
Eleanor shakes her head slightly. "No worries love. Life sucks and I'm sorry you have to go through this. But if it makes you feel better, I'm actually seeing someone."
Louis smiles at her, an honest smile. "Wow, that's great honey! I'm so happy for you."
She smiles back. "Thanks." Her eyes turn to the side slightly as her smile fades down. "Umm, your mom is like watching us from the window."
Louis sighs and rubs his hand over his face. "I could imagine. I have to go anyways. Thanks for coming down hun. It was great seeing you again. Don't be a stranger and call me up later yeah? I'd love to meet the lucky man you're with."
Eleanor blushes and reaches over to kiss Louis' cheek. "Will do babe. Have a nice ride! Hopefully next time I'll meet the lucky man you'll be with."
"Same here." Louis laughs as he gets into his car and peels out, ignoring the death glances he knew his mom was giving him from the window.
--
"Hey Harry, who the hell is this mate?" Niall yelled out as Harry came out of the shower.
Harry came over and looked over his shoulder to the million pictures of Louis on his desk. After Gemma had come out of the bathroom the first day he saw Louis, she sneaked up behind Harry to see the picture in his hand. Her eyebrows furrowed and she asked him why he had pictures of her friend and co- worker.
After that, Harry spent his lunch going to the park and taking secret pictures of Louis. He had pictures of him doing everything; painting, talking, sighing, and simply just breathing.
Harry was a little obsessed.
"Oh, umm, he's Gemma's friend. The one we are going to meet today; her co-worker."
"Oh!" Niall says, "well at least I know what he looks like. Why do you have so many pictures of him though?"
Harry shrugs. "I saw him the other day and have seen him a couple times after that. He gives me inspiration?" Harry says, phrasing it like a question.
Niall just laughs and squishes Harry's cheeks. "Aww, Harry has a little crush how cute!"
Harry's cheeks warm and he swats Niall's hand away. He goes back to his room to pick up his wallet and keys. Niall is ready to go when he comes out and they head together to the park, where they were going to meet Gemma, Louis, and the rest of his friends.
--
"Phoebe! Stop running along and hold Uncle Liam's hand, will ya?" Phoebe chuckled and stepped back, taking Liam's outwards hand. Daisy was next to Liam, holding both he and Zayn's hand like a good girl. Lottie was behind them, talking along with Felicite. Louis was behind everyone, calling them in check when the girls decided to run on their own accord.
"Louis!"
Louis turns around and smiles when he sees Gemma sitting on the park bench. He runs towards her and sits in her lap like a child. "Hi Gemma!"
She chuckles but doesn’t make him move, just pats his head. "Hey Lou. What's up?"
"Nothing much."
"Did you finish getting all your stuff?" She asked softly, still petting his hair.
He nodded his head. “Yeah."
He felt her hum in acknowledgement. Louis wasn’t comfortable giving his sad story to everyone, but since the first day Louis met Gemma, she treated him like a younger brother. She was nice to him and looked like she was actually concerned with his problems. She forced his story out of him and she simply hugged him and gave him great advice on how to put that stuff behind and not get brought down by all the crap. She was an amazing person and an amazing artist.
“Hey,” Gemma’s voice cut through, “look Harry and Niall are here. Harry!”
Louis looked over and his jaw dropped. Waving hi with dimples on his cheek was the man he had seen at the crosswalk the other day. He had also seen him around the park after that, walking around. Harry was wearing black skinny jeans again, but with a green shirt that matched his eyes, and a black sweater over it. The blonde next to him, who he assumed to be Niall, was dressed in baggier jeans and a gray sweatshirt with a picture of Donald Duck in front of it.
“That’s your brother?” Louis asked quietly.
Gemma smirked. “Yes sir’. And he’s also single.” She gave him a wink and Louis blushed. He was going to say something when he felt someone sit next to them. He looked up to see Harry taking a seat on the bench and smiling big at him, his arm extended.
“Hi Louis, I’m Harry.” Louis was a little surprise but shook his hand anyways.
“And I’m Niall. Nice to meet ya’ mate.” Louis looked over when Niall spoke, a slight Irish accent noticeable.
“Nice to meet you Harry and Niall. I’m Louis and these here,” Louis says as he stands up when Zayn and Liam get here, “are my family. This is Lottie, Felicite, and the twins Daisy and Phoebe.” The girls all smile big and wave hi to Niall and Harry. “And these are my two best mates and lovebirds, Liam and Zayn.” Zayn blushes slightly but Liam is controlled, shaking both of their hands.
“Nice to meet you guys.” He says, retreating his arm and wrapping it around Zayn’s waist.
“Well,” Gemma says, “I’m happy you all could finally meet each other. But how about we start heading out yeah? I’m starving.” Gemma takes the lead, letting Phoebe and Daisy go in front while she talks with Felicite and Lottie. Zayn and Liam walk next with Niall, asking him about life and what not. Louis starts walking by himself until he realizes someone is next to him.
He looks over and sees Harry looking at him. He blushes. “So, your Gemma’s younger brother right?”
Harry nods. “Yeah, though not by much. I’m around your age.”
Louis nods. “Yeah she mentioned.” He looks at his feet when he says, “I like your camera by the way.”
Harry looks down and grazes his camera, which is around his neck, slightly. “Thanks. It’s my baby.”
Louis doesn’t say anything, just hums in acknowledgement. Harry decides to take the lead, asking him questions about his life and school, and Louis starts telling him the wonders of learning to teach high school kids drama.
“Seems like it could be a pain.” Harry comments, his nose scrunching up as he imagines it.
Louis shrugs. “Yeah, it can be a pain but there’s nothing I would rather be doing.” Taking time to think, Louis adds, “except maybe painting.”
“Why didn’t you go to art school then?” Harry asks. Louis is surprised he is still paying attention as he has his camera turned to the side and is taking pictures.
Louis scoffs. “I had to go to school and do something. Art school doesn’t really fit a career.”
Harry’s eyebrows furrow as he faces Louis. He looks at him for a beat before taking a picture of him, his eyebrows wide in surprise. Harry takes the picture and looks at it before handing it to Louis. Louis takes it and when he looks at Harry, Harry shrugs as if that’ll make Louis understand the interaction they just had.
“Art is a type of career, Lou. If you are good at it and enjoy it, there are definitely ways to get your money’s worth. You can be the next Leonardo Da Vinci!”
Louis scoffs again. “Don’t get too far along Harry. I doubt that would happen.”
“Well, I’m sure he doubted it would happen too. But look where he is now.”
Louis doesn’t respond, unsure how to. He hates to admit it, but this boy may have a point. He knows he couldn’t do it though. His mom would’ve kicked him out sooner if he had chosen art school over becoming a teacher. He would not have been able to pay for school or an apartment.
He’s sure he would’ve been homeless for a couple of months before he could do anything.
“I’m a professional photographer you know?” Harry mentions. Louis is about to respond when he adds, “photography is art.” Louis sighs and keeps his mouth shut, hoping Harry won’t bring it back up.
He doesn’t.
--
“If you don’t think drawing and painting is a career, why do you work at the park?” Harry asks suddenly.
They had arrived at the ice cream shop quickly. Daisy and Phoebe ran towards the counter, saying a cheerful hello to Cher before asking for their favorite. She smiled kindly at them and gave them each an extra scoop. She took Liam, Zayn, and Louis’ orders before giving Harry, Niall, and Gemma their usual. Their group was so big they had to pull two tables together so they could all fit. Luckily, it was humid out today, so everyone was either at an air-conditioned home or at the beach, so it wasn’t a problem.
The girls seemed to be in a serious conversation, each arguing over who their favorite member of some pop band Louis never bothered to pay attention to. Niall is trying to flirt as convincingly as possible with Gemma, his eyes catching Cher’s narrowed ones every so often. Gemma just laughs and goes along with it, even though she knows Cher and Niall are practically already dating so ‘there’s no need for jealousy games, Niall.’
Liam and Zayn seemed to be in their own little world, Zayn sitting on Liam’s lap while feeding him some of his ice cream after he takes a lick. Liam just smiles fondly at Zayn while interfering in the girls’ conversation when he thinks they are getting a little too into it. He tries to assure them that each member is great but he only gets pouts and whines from different girls, each claiming something else. ‘Eric is the best, he is so sweet!’ ‘But have you seen Colton?’ ‘Joey’s voice is the best though!’ ‘Nah ah, Thomas’ is!’ When Zayn interjects with a baffled and unexpected, ‘how are none of you mentioning Anthony? He is obviously the best, hands down; total package’, the girls just stare at him in wonder until Liam chuckles and Zayn realizes fuck, he’s screwed.
Louis looks at Harry, the latter looking him with a look that’s a mixture between serious and determined. Louis licks his ice cream, averting his eyes when he sees Harry follow the movement. “I do that for fun. It’s not a career.”
“But you get money don’t you?” Harry questions.
“Yes but it’s not a career. It’s not enough to make a living out of.”
“Gemma does.”
Louis sighs. “Yeah but that’s different. She has had other jobs before and has enough money saved up to be okay with not making as much as she deserves at the park. And all the people know her and love her, so she always gets tips and doesn’t have to worry about running out of stuff.”
“Well, can’t your parents help you if you needed it?” Louis doesn’t respond, and Harry inwardly kicks himself. “Oh, I get it. I’m sorry.”
Louis shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. We don’t really get along so no, they wouldn’t.”
Harry just nods and looks out the window afterwards. Louis feels like he should apologize, yet he doesn’t know why. He feels like he should say something at least because Harry didn’t mean to hit the soft spot and it isn’t his fault.
Louis just doesn’t know what to say.
Harry seems to sense his discomfort because he slumps a little farther in his seat and stretches his legs out, hooking one of his ankles with Louis. Louis looks at their tangled feet and then at Harry, who is joining the still ongoing argument to his side, but his cheeks seem a little rosier and he sends a wink to Louis.
Louis feels a smile overtake him and he turns to stare out the window this time, letting the sounds of cars passing by lull him to a pleasant feel.
--
“Hey Lou, you busy next Friday?” Gemma asks Louis the moment he takes a seat next to her.
He doesn’t look at her as he unpacks his utensils and sets them on the stand in front of him. “Not that I know of. Why?”
“Do you want to hang out with Harry?”
Louis sighs and looks at her smirked face. “Gemma, what are you doing?”
“Oh hush,” Gemma urges, “I can tell you guys were attracted to each other the moment you met so you can’t deny that. And I know I’m making it sound like something but I know your weird relationship crap, so if you don’t want to think about it that way then don’t. But, there’s this like underground art expo thing we go to every year and I can’t this year because I have plans I can’t cancel. Niall will go but, bless that boy’s heart, he will be so utterly bored and lost it would be stupid. Harry hinted he was going to ask you but I know Harry and he might not because he’s too shy. So I decided to take it into my own hands.” She looks at him and pouts. “Please, you wouldn’t want him to go alone now would you?”
“First of all,” Louis states, “I don’t have ‘weird relationship crap’. I’ve been fucked over by too many people, romantically and not, to just have a wall up. Simple and nothing weird about it. Second of all,” he sighs, “yeah I don’t want him to go alone.” Gemma doesn’t say anything, waiting for him to confirm it for sure. He rolls his eyes, “yeah okay fine, I’ll go with him.”
Gemma smiles huge and jumps out of her seat to attack Louis. She chants a whole lot of ‘thank you’s’ to his hair. He smiles at her but his stomach tugs uncomfortably and excitedly at what he knows is in fact going to be a date.
--
Friday night
Louis stares at himself in the mirror for what feels like the millionth time that day. His hair is slicked up in a messy do that he hopes doesn’t look too purposeful. He pats down his already ironed and crisp white button down shirt. Gemma never gave him the dress code of this event and neither did Harry so he opted for a nice shirt and black skinny jeans, a good choice for the ‘in between look”, and his suspenders hung down to his sides.
Louis sighed one more time and headed to the living room where Zayn and Liam were sitting, watching TV. Louis made his way over and stood in front of it, Liam and Zayn both groaning at him to move.
“What do you think boys?” Louis asked as he turned in all angles. “Do I like good?”
“Yes Louis you look great.” Liam said, fond annoyance in his voice.
“Yes Lou you look amazing; fancy but still fuckable. Now can you please move and let us watch Friends in peace?” Zayn groaned. He threw a chip at Louis, which Louis swiftly caught and put in his mouth. The doorbell rang before Zayn could complain again.
He winked at the boys as he walked to the door. He took a deep breath but as he opened the door, it was knocked right out of him. Harry was standing in front of him in an almost exact outfit as Louis, except with a black blazer instead of the suspenders. His hair was slicked back so the curls weren’t in his face but something resembling a quiff.
He smirked at Louis and looked him up and down knowingly. “You look great Lou. You ready to go?” Louis nodded, still standing breathless and motionless at the doorway. Harry just chuckled and poked his head far enough to catch a glimpse of Zayn and Liam, both giggling over Louis. “Hey boys. Hope you don’t mind me taking Louis away for a bit? I’ll bring him back later, yeah?”
Liam nodded. “Sounds good Harry. Keep an eye on our boy okay? Have fun.” Harry smiled at them and wrapped an arm around Louis’ waist, pulling him towards the hall. Harry shut the door and walked with Louis, his arm still around his waist.
--
“So what do you think?” Harry asks, hopefulness in his eyes and voice.
Louis looks around as they walk. They’re in an underground tunnel that seems to never end. People liter the sides, creating new pieces as they walk. There are railing and steps so people can sit, all covered in drawings and words and swirls and Louis is just overwhelmed.
“I’ve never seen anything like this.” He says a little breathless. Harry frowns slightly, and Louis is quick to continue. “Not in a bad way, but in the most spectacular way ever. I’ve never really been a fan of graffiti and street art because, well, I never really saw the point of it. But this whole idea of reversing the preconceived idea that it is only for hoodlums is quite beautiful actually. The fact that they aren’t doing damage to anything but actually cleaning and decorating is phenomenal.” He looks at Harry, whose smiling hugely at his side. Louis smiles and says once again, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Harry laughs and tightens his hold on Louis’ waist, the one that he hasn’t taken off except for while in the car. “I was a bit overwhelmed the first time I came across it as well. My closest friend as a child inspired me to get into this and photography.” Harry walks them over to the steps layered in different designs; there are trees with skulls and doves flying around them. Louis doesn’t think he would ever give something like that a second look but as they walk over, he can’t help but be mesmerized by the work and dedication the artists must have had.
Louis sits first and Harry follows after, retrieving his hand from Louis’ waist as he sits but placing on Louis lower thigh, slowly grazing it up and down. He looks at Louis to see his response. Louis just stares at his hand but doesn’t tell him to move it so Harry continues.
“I was over at his house once and we were drawing with chalk on his driveway. We had both always been artistically driven, so we could’ve drawn properly but we were pretty lazy and decided on just doodling around. Afterwards we went inside to eat and his mom told us to take the hose and wash off the drawings. The hose was dripping and not much came out at once so it took us a bit to even clean one side of it. We realized, after he washed some of it, that the water erased the edges that were unwanted and made the doddles look like something. We were so amazed and I ran inside and asked his mom if I could borrow their camera. I went from different angles and took some very good pictures. After we finished we went up to his dad’s car, which had dirt smudged in the windows. We took our fingers and slowly drew twirls around. We drew a tree, using the swirls as wacky branches. I took more pictures.” Harry smiles softly. “That’s kind of how it all started. Now, Mike is a big and famous artist. He told me about here, and I thank him every time I can for it.”
Louis nods, leaning to rest his side against Harry’s. He rests his head on Harry’s shoulder, peeking out of the top of his head to see if Harry does anything against it. However, Harry is looking ahead to one of the artist who is working still. The movement on Louis leg doesn’t stop though.
He thinks he kind of doesn’t want it to stop.
--
They stay there for more time, Louis not understanding if it’s longer or shorter than he thought. He realizes as they back to the car and head for a drive through that it’s later; already almost midnight.
“Sorry I didn’t bring you home earlier, time kind of got away from me.” Harry says as they park outside of Louis’ apartment. They get out and head inside, finding it quiet. Louis heads to Zayn and Liam’s room and finds them cuddled underneath the covers, the world dead to them.
He smiles as he heads back to the living room where Harry is chucking off his jacket and shoes. “Don’t worry about it, the lads are all asleep.” He goes to the kitchen and pulls out two Pepsis. He motions towards his room and Harry takes the hint, following him through the hallway and to Louis’ bedroom.
Louis shuts the door softly behind him and Harry’s about to take a seat on the bed when Louis gets an idea.
“Stop!” He shouts, startling Harry and making him jump up in confusion.
“What, what?” He asks, turning his head to the sides.
Louis smiles wide. “Follow me.”
He goes to his window and props it open, pulling up the safety slide as well. Used to it, he moves his body so he can reach the ladder and climbs up, reaching the roof safely. He sets the sodas down and holds himself so he’s safe enough to look over at Harry, who is poking his head out looking at Louis.
“Pass me the food, yeah?’ Louis says, reaching down and taking it from Harry’s outreached hand. “Now climb up. It might sound scary but it’s really easy and it’s only like five steps.” Harry nods and twists his body in the way Louis did, climbing up the stairs and landing on the roof gently. He pushes himself back until he can stretch his legs without them dangling from the ledge.
Louis takes the food out of the bag and passes Harry his, followed by one of the sodas. Then Louis copies Harry, pushing back until he’s sort of leaning on Harry in a way that might be uncomfortable, but Harry doesn’t seem to mind. Instead he angles his body a bit so Louis is slanted slightly on his chest.
They eat in silence for the most part. Harry finishes before Louis and as he waits for him to be done, he hums a tune quietly, Louis recognizing it almost right away.
“Ed Sheeran fan huh?”
Harry chuckles. “I don’t think there’s a way you can’tbe a fan.”
Louis hums in agreement as he puts his and Harry’s garbage in the bag the food had come in. As soon as he sets it aside, Harry’s hands are around his shoulders and push Louis down with him so they can lay down, Louis still on top of Harry.
Louis wants to argue but can’t do anything other than curl to Harry’s side and tangle their legs together. “I think it’s the hair,” Louis says, continuing the conversation as Harry laughs, “the ginger hair really gets you, you know?”
Harry nods. “It’s even wickeder in person.”
Louis looks at him wide eyes. “You’ve seen him? I thought you couldn’t see God?”
Harry laughs loudly, his chest moving in little motions and it makes Louis’ head follow. “Apparently you can,” Harry answers after he’s more controlled, “we have mutual friends so I went to his concert before and got to meet him; awesome lad, honestly. He doesn’t have that arrogant type of persona. He’s really down to earth.” He looks at Louis as he talks, carding his fingers through his hair and smiling when Louis lets out little mewls. “Want to come with me to his next concert? I’ll introduce you to him.”
Louis stares at him wide eyed. “You’re going to regret it when I make a fool of myself, but I am not letting you take down the offer now that you have.”
Harry smiles, his teeth shining in the darkness. He pushes Louis’ face towards him with a hand on his chin. “It’s a date then.” And then he’s leaning in and kissing Louis.
Louis doesn’t respond at first. He tries not to, knows he shouldn’t, but after a moment’s hesitation, he wraps his arms around Harry’s neck and deepens the kiss.
Harry doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into.
He doesn’t understand Louis is scared and might not be able to do this.
He doesn’t realize what he will have to deal with.
But Louis feels by the gentleness of the kiss and caressing of his face that maybe Harry does have a bit of an idea. Maybe he’s willing to deal with Louis and his whole emotional package.
And if he is, well, all Louis can say is bless this curly boy’s heart and camera.