The Admiration Project

Chapter 7

Spring was approaching at full tilt. Pollen was swirling in the air and the breeze wasn't as chilly. It was a particularly warm Thursday evening when Liam called Louis in absolute panic mode.

Louis had been in the middle of heating his T.V. dinner in the microwave, ready to spend the rest of his night curled up on the couch texting Harry, Netflix playing on the television for background noise.

"Louis I think I'm going to puke," Liam rushed out, his quick footsteps audible through the phone.

"Woah, chill out, Lima. What's wrong?" The microwaved sounded and Louis grabbed his dinner, burning his pinky in the process. He winced and ran it under cold water.

"I have a date tonight!"

"With Maya?" Louis asked.

"Yes, who else?"

"Okay..." He drawled. "You've been on a billion dates with Maya. Why are you so worked up?"

"Because I'm supposed to babysit Mrs. Sander's kids tonight and I totally forgot!"

Louis pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. This meant only one thing: Louis was babysitting Mrs. Sander's kids on this beautiful Thursday evening instead of curling up on the couch.

"You're lucky I love you, Liam."

***

"Where is it we're going, exactly?" Harry's sleepy voice questioned from the passenger seat. He was allegedly in the middle of his routine weekday nap when Louis called him from his driveway, telling him to wear something comfy and come outside because they were hanging out.

"Liam has a date with his new girlfriend and forgot he had to babysit tonight, so we're babysitting for him," Louis explained. He glanced over at Harry to see him beaming, grin so wide it probably hurt.

"You could have gotten me out of the house ten minutes quicker if you would've told me we're hanging out with babies, Louis!" He exclaimed. Louis giggled.

"Well, they're not necessarily babies, the youngest is five. But they're children."

"Doesn't matter. We're hanging out with children and I'm happy about it. I take back what I said about you waking me up from my nap."

"You mean when you called me a 'stupid fucking cu-'"

"Shh! You can't be speaking like that when children are around!" Harry interrupted.

Louis rolled his eyes as he pulled into the Sander's driveway. Potted plants decorated the pathway to their front door, which had a fancy 'S' anchored to it. White brick lined the entirety of the house, black wood door and shudders making it look modern and tasteful.

Harry was practically bouncing his way up to the door behind Louis, who found himself trying to contain his smile by sinking his teeth into his lower lip. Louis rang the doorbell, hyper aware of how close Harry was standing next to him. He heard laughter from inside and looked over at Harry, who looked back at him in complete delight.

Oh my god I like him a lot oh my god oh my god.

The door opened suddenly, yanking Louis out of his trance. He focused on the woman standing in the doorway, who was in the middle of putting an earring in her ear. She smiled confusedly.

"Hello, Louis, darling. I thought Liam was coming tonight?" Mrs. Sander questioned, glancing between Harry and Louis.

"He was supposed to, but something came up last minute and he called me to take over. Is it alright that I brought a friend?" Louis replied, gesturing to Harry.