Ghost | L.S

nine

louis grew to become a large part of harry's life. he would smile way more frequently and he had something to look forward to every day.

louis was... an escape from the hell that was his life.

he didn't know if harry's happiness relying on someone who scientifically shouldn't even exist was a good thing. but hey, it put a smile on his face, so why should he complain?

"where are you taking me!" harry giggled when the ghost was leading him a little farther away from the house than usual. they were running, and harry was all out of breath, his curls consistently falling in his face. it was a brisk evening.

"just this place i wanna show you," the dead boy replied. "away from the mess that is your life. no offense"

"none taken."

they were in a strawberry field. it was nice. it was just the two of them, and the sun was about to set.

"you know this place? or..."

"i used to come here all the time, yeah," louis said and he sat down. he picked one of the many red strawberries and devoured it in one bite. harry sat down cross legged beside him.

louis handed him a strawberry without meeting his eyes. the other boy accepted it and ate it.

the strawberry was very sweet and exploded in his mouth with a subtle but delicious crunch.

"they beat you again," louis commented after a while. harry automatically looked down at his bare legs. usually he would feel embarrassed. but lately he'd gotten closer with louis, and he knew he wasn't going to get judged.

"oh well," harry shrugged. "what can ya do," he joked. louis finally looked at him. with his fingers, he traced the colorful bruise that crossed harry's thigh. harry winced and took louis' hand.

louis retracted his hand. ate another strawberry. the sun was long gone by now and it was the moon's time to shine. the stars assisting.

"tell me about your life."

"what?" louis looked at the boy.

"if you want to, of course," harry added.

louis lied down in the field, harry following his lead. it was peaceful. breezy. his curls were all over the place but he didn't care at all. he felt more energetic now than he'd felt in a long time.

"i was born here, in this town." he cleared his throat.

harry scooted closer to louis, encouraging him to keep going.

"i was actually a pretty happy child," he continued. "had a bunch of sisters. love them to death. well-" he cleared his throat again.

"actually it's not that interesting." he looked down at harry who was giving him all of his attention, looking curious. he smiled. "there was this candy shop. me and my ex would get candy from there every day after school as teenagers. i actually spent the first year after my death stalking him. he found someone else."

harry looked at him with pity.

"i'm over it, though. i'm glad he moved on. that's why i didn't try to interact with him after i died. sorry i'm really bad at story telling, everything is so randoml-"

"no, you're fine," harry said.

listening to louis talk about his life as a human was weirdly refreshing. he got to see this new side of him. it was a reminder that louis had actually had a life, a relationship, a family and valued memories of his own. he had been vulnerable and insecure. hadn't always been this hardcore ghost who was 'too cool for school. and life'.

"i loved my mom more than anything. she was so devastated when she got the news. i hate seeing her like this. it's why i don't visit anymore," louis croaked. the other boy took his hand and squeezed it lightly.

"um, okay. so i was actually incredible at math. i just would rather spend my last years being stupid as fuck," he laughed. "i hadn't even gotten my license yet, but i was an impatient little shit when i was seventeen. i, okay, i stole a car and drove it 'cause i was angry for whatever stupid reason i don't even remember. and i crashed into this fucking building."

"did-"

"no, no one other than me was killed, thank god. i wouldn't be able to live with myself if that was the case."

a moment of silence passed before harry asked why he used to come to the strawbery fields so often. louis told him that whenever his parents would have another fight, he'd take his sisters to the fields since it was so peaceful. and they would eat strawberries all night up until their stomaches couldn't take any more.

harry was smiling. "that sounds wonderful. your life seemed so lovely."

"it was."

harry checked his phone. 3am. he yawned.

"are you cold?" louis then asked him, gesturing to his bare legs.

harry nodded tiredly. "we should get home now. my mom is probably worried to death right now." he got up, legs quivering slightly. louis got up too, still as a rock.

"you really can't feel the cold, can you?" harry said, both amused and jealous.

"not the slightest," louis confirmed with a proud smile.

harry was doing his best not to step on the strawberries and squish them when he was trying to move out of the field. but it was dark, and he was clumsy. once again, louis had a benefit. he practically danced his way out of the field.

when harry finally reached the dirt path, he was shivering uncontrollably. louis giggled, "damn, i almost forgot what it's like to be cold but that can't feel nice."

"asshole," harry muttered, but secretly he smiled. because even when louis was being annoying, he still managed to put a smile to his lips.

they slowly walked home.

"can you at least hold me or something?" harry complained, though he knew how rare it was to feel the warmth on the ghost's skin.

he smiled in surprise when he then was engulfed in the warmness of louis' two arms around him.

"twice in a day. must be a record," harry said, blushing for some reason.

"what can i say, you make me feel alive, harry," louis joked. harry went more red even though it was a cringey line.

they were standing right in front of the mansion now. he felt his breath on his face. his heart was beating faster than usual. louis' face seemed to come closer. his eyes went down to glance at his dry lips.

harry didn't think he'd ever been this close to someone before. it was overwhelming and exciting and he was leaning in too. he wanted to close the gap between them completely.

louis smiled, clearing his throat. suddenly it felt cold again. harry realized louis was untouchable again. he never felt this weird disappointment before.

"thank you for tonight, was nice to share this with you," louis said low.

"yeah, um, it was nice." harry scratched his neck and looked away for a second.

he felt odd. he didn't know if it was good or bad, but there was... tension.

harry walked away from the ghost and as quiet as possible he entered the mansion. his parents were definitely asleep. he heard them snore.

when be lied in bed, he thought about today. he'd spent the entire weekend with louis. tomorrow was monday, though. but the weird feeling in his stomachs was still there.

whenever he thought of louis, which was a lot lately, it was a mixture between nervousness, nausea and excitement and whatever else that could get you butterflies in your belly.

did he... like louis?