The Admiration Project

Chapter 9

The beginning of May was warmer than it'd been since Louis was ten. Because of this, Louis had suggested that the boys do something interesting with their lives that didn't involve eating or football. As usual, Niall had an idea.

Hence why Louis was standing in his boxers atop a vacant bridge an hour from home beside four other idiots who were also only in their boxers.

Originally, the plan was to take a road trip into Elizabethtown because there was a shop in the center that sold Liam's favorite chocolates. Once the chocolates were acquired, however, their plan was altered. Somewhere on the outskirts, Zayn made a wrong turn, which led them to an abandoned bridge that crossed low over a lake.

There were probably about twenty signs that pointed to it being a bad idea, but they had gone through with it anyway. Niall dared Harry to jump in, and Harry dared the rest of the boys to jump in with him.

"If I die, you're all dying with me."

So they stripped of their clothes, making separate piles on the sidewalk, and now Louis was shivering a bit while staring directly at the bulge in Harry's briefs as the boy spoke.

"Why can't we all just go together?" Harry was asking, a nervous tinge in his voice that Louis reluctantly found slightly adorable.

"Because you were dared first, Harry," Niall argued, popping his hip out dramatically and sticking his hand on it. "If you go first, we'll all go alone, how about that?"

Harry chewed on his bottom lip and furrowed his eyebrows. He began fiddling with the waistband of his black briefs and turned to look down at the brown water below the bridge.

"What if it's too shallow?" Harry turned back around and asked. "I could break my legs!"

Niall groaned and massaged between his eyes, his hip still popped. Louis, Liam and Zayn traded glances and looked back at them. Harry looked genuinely scared, now, so Louis gave in.

"Alright, Haz, come on." When Harry still looked confused, he rolled his eyes and explained further. "I'll jump with you."

Although it didn't totally appease Harry, he seemed slightly more content after the offer. Niall protested at first, but eventually let it slide.

Harry sidled up next to Louis at the edge of the bridge and they both stared down. The water was still and murky. There was some seaweed lining the shore and maybe some guppies, but that was the only sign of life in eye-range. Harry's arm brushed against Louis', sending a static shock down his spine.

"Can we hold hands?" Harry whispered apprehensively for just the two of them to hear, only peering at Louis through his peripheral.

Louis nodded and laced his fingers with Harry's, who gripped tight. Louis took a few steps back, dragging Harry with him.

"Are one of you dickheads going to count, or what?" He called over his shoulder. Zayn began the count at five and Louis looked over at Harry. Harry looked back, fear in his eyes, and Louis frowned. "We'll be fine, angel."

Harry tried to give him a closed-lipped smile, he could tell, but it didn't pull through. At two, Louis squeezed his hand in reassurance. At one, Harry squeezed back. Then Louis stepped forward and Harry followed, and before they knew it they were sailing through the air, screaming. The bridge wasn't nearly as high as it looked. They breached the surface within seconds, hands still clasped together in a death grip. When they came back up, Louis could hear the rest of the boys cheering.

He let go of Harry's hand to push his hair out of his face. Looking back at Harry was a huge mistake. His curls were flattened across his forehead and he was positively beaming. The smile on his face was bright and his eyes were the prettiest shade of green that Louis had ever seen before. Like emerald glass, valiantly hypnotizing. His wet lashes clung together and water droplets were rolling down from his hairline. They stared at each other in awe until the moment was interrupted by a large splash behind them. They both turned in time to see Niall swimming to the surface and Liam crashing down into the water, Zayn following soon after. Louis and Harry turned to each other and laughed.