Rumors, Rumors, Nothing But Rumors (L.S)

Chapter Ten

A/N This chapter will kind of be split into two, because the first part was done and then I got distracted and ate an entire tub of ice cream with my cat instead of writing the second part now. Whoopsie.

"Can we not talk about it?" The voice is nothing more than a breathy whisper and so god damn vulnerable that it physically hurts in Louis' chest. Louis only hums in response, hoping it conveys the 'of course, love' he doesn't trust his voice to say out loud.

They don't talk about their entangled bodies either, Harry's back pressed to Louis' chest and their fingers intertwined across Harry's tummy. In these early morning hours normal rules are abolished and they can lay like this, no questions asked.

Louis buries his nose into the curls in front of him, slowly breathing and trying to convince himself that they're fine. It's fine. Harry doesn't have to talk about it if he doesn't want to.

Louis kind of wished they could talk about yesterday though, but he doesn't pursue the matter, instead nuzzling his face further into Harry's hair and trying to get a bit more sleep before the real world's rules once again apply and Harry can't stand him.

Cuddling is nice, but Louis doesn't like Harry either, not in the real world.

***

When Louis awakes a couple hours later, the bed next to him is empty and he has to physically suppress the sigh rising in his throat. He doesn't like Harry, Louis reminds himself. Maybe he doesn't quite despise Harry anymore, but he doesn't like him - doesn't even understand him, and Harry apparently has no intention of changing the last fact.

Louis stays still for another fifteen minutes, and then Harry returns to the bed from the bathroom in nothing but sweats, and Louis thinks Harry might have been crying. They don't talk about it though, Harry just climbs under the duvet again - on the opposite side of where he slept, meaning both of them are now pressed together on barely half of the bed.

Louis moves over a bit and Harry follows - they're not touching, but they're facing each other, and for some reason Louis' breath seems to be stuck in his throat and he fumbles for words to distract himself from their closeness.

He ends up asking Harry to pass him his phone from the bedstand, and surprisingly Harry obeys without the usual complaints. It doesn't take long for an article about him and Harry to pop up on Louis' Twitter feed, and he can't help but laugh at the picture displayed at the top.

It shows Louis from behind, looking down at Harry who is mid-fall, and the expression on Harry's face is priceless. When Harry pries Louis' phone from his hands, he frowns, Louis rolling over on his back and shaking with laughter. It really is a great angle for a photo of Harry.

The News Flash: Bambi on ice: See the pictures from a dangerous-looking date!

Harry hits him, as Louis keeps laughing, but suddenly it's Harry's turn to erupt in a fit of laughter, and Louis turns around in a hurry, almost ending on top of Harry as he rolls over to see what prompted the model to laugh.

Apparently, Harry kept scrolling and found another article - this one sporting a very non-flattering picture of Louis on skates while he probably was trying to stand up after a particularly bad fall, and this one is possibly even worse than Harry's photo.

ALL INCLUSIVE: Date on slippery ground: Harry Styles and supposed boyfriend in trouble on the ice!

"That's enough phone-time, princess", Louis laughs, stealing his phone back from a protesting Harry, and they end up play-fighting over it, which somehow leaves Louis straddling Harry's lap while holding the model's wrists against the bed, both of their breath a bit too strained to be entirely causal.