For As Long As I Can Remember (It's Been December)

2 - Chapter 4

PART 2

When they arrived in London the next day, Harry felt nervous. He had made up his mind, but that didn't make seeing Louis again easier in any way. He could see him sit on the steps to Liam's flat, chatting with Niall. They hadn't noticed Liam parking the van a few hundred metres down the street yet, so Harry had enough time to make out every single emotion on Louis' face.

During the ride down to London, Liam had apologised.

"I know I didn't make things better for you, and I acted like a prick," he had said, eyes on the road. "I didn't know what to do."

Harry had nodded. "I get it now."

"I'm sorry, Haz," Liam had said. "Maybe it wouldn't have come this far if I hadn't tried to keep you away from Louis."

It would have. Harry would have pursued Louis anyway. He had told Liam as much, and with that, this whole thing had felt settled between him and Liam, at least. It had been a relief, actually, to feel some of the anger that had built up inside of Harry dissolve into thin air.

They left the car and Harry took one smaller box with him before Liam shut the car. He was carrying a bigger box than Harry, but Harry wanted to be able to concentrate on Louis when they approached.

He could tell the exact moment Louis noticed him. He smiled when he saw Liam, getting up from the stairs. The smile faltered when his eyes fell onto Harry, and instead, he looked like a bird in a cage, desperately checking for escape routes.

"Thanks for coming to help," Liam said when they reached Louis and Niall.

"Sure, mate." Niall helped Liam set the box down before he hugged him briefly. Then, he turned to Harry. "Weren't you supposed to stay with your family over the weekend?"

Harry shrugged and accepted Niall's hug. "I changed my mind."

For a moment, there was an awkward silence when Liam had greeted Louis, too. They stood across from each other and while Niall and Liam looked from Louis to Harry and back, Harry stared at Louis.

"Hi," he said tentatively, trying for a smile.

Louis smiled back shily, not meeting Harry's eye. "Hi."

The silence stretched uncomfortably, and Harry wondered who of them would run off first, but then Niall spoke up. "Zayn's late. Let's get started without him."

Liam had got himself a flat that wasn't ready-furnished. As an interior designer it was important to him to decorate the flat himself. He had bought a lot of things, but had also brought down a lot of stuff from his previous flat.

They started bringing everything inside first, and Harry realised that they'd need the whole weekend to set everything up. There was no way they'd get this done today. He was sure of that when he returned to the van to find they only unloaded half of the boxes in there.

On his way back to the flat, he couldn't see the steps leading to the entrance and promptly tripped over the last one. With a squeal, he tried to find his balance and not drop the box, when firm hands grabbed his waist from behind to steady him. Harry instinctively leaned into the touch, adjusting the box in his arms.

"You okay?" Louis asked quietly. "Should I take it?"

Harry felt himself blush and shook his head without turning to Louis. "I'm good. Thank you."

Louis pulled his hands away and Harry rushed inside. He set the box down with a groan and sat down on the floor.

"What is all that stuff? You'll never be able to store all of it away in this tiny flat."