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

Chapter Twenty-Four

A/N Couldn't keep you waiting too long, so I wrote this after work. Enjoy...

"Sit. Down!", Harry's manager's cold voice continues when Louis can't seem to move in the slightest, frozen in place by the lump of confusion and fright in his abdomen. His body seems to move without his consent, legs walking him to a chair across from Harry and his manager.

Harry hasn't said a thing, hasn't even raised his gaze from the wooden table between them.

When Louis is seated, he can see Harry's face more clearly, and even though Louis can't see his eyes, he can finally glimpse through the façade of indifference, and he doesn't like the pure disappointment he finds.

Louis has no idea what's going on, and all he wants to do is jump over the table, grab Harry's chin and force their eyes together, consoling the model until he tells Louis what's the matter, and who Louis needs to kill.

He wishes someone would tell him what's happening. He wishes Harry would look at him and smile a reassuring 'I love you'. But he doesn't.

"Harry", Louis tries to say, but no sound is coming out, as if the lump in his abdomen has moved to his throat, restricting his ability to speak.

Harry's manager is once again the one to break the uncomfortable silence in the room, but Louis doesn't even look at him, barely hears his words as first, eyes instead trained on Harry's face for any indication of what's happening.

"You're fired effect immediate for breaking contract". There's quiet for another straining second, Louis not registering the words. "Mister Tomlinson, do you hear me?" There's no emotion besides poorly hidden anger behind a professional surface. "You are fired!", he repeats, enunciating it clearly.

Only then does Louis move his eyes away from Harry, looking to his manager instead. "What?" Genuine confusion laces his words, but no one seems to care, and he's already continuing talking, Louis' heart turning to ice for every word that hits him.

"The annulment of your fake relationship shouldn't be a problem as you, mister Tomlinson, stopped accepting money for that a month ago but-".

This is the first time Harry looks up, instantly meeting Louis' eyes that are once again trained on the model. That was weeks before their dating turned undeniably real. A month before it became official. Louis had meant to tell Harry that he annulled his side of the contract, but somehow he never got around to it, at first scared that Harry would stop seeing him, then they weren't talking for a hot minute and then everything disappeared in bliss.

This is not how he wanted Harry to find out, despite the fact that it softens the look on the model's face for a split-second, confusion seeping through in a breath, but it's gone as fast as it came, Harry's face once again a cold façade of indifference, his eyes trained on the table once more, as his manager keeps talking.

"You're of course fired as a photographer for this agency as well, effective immediate, as Harry does not wish to work with you ever again, and he is our absolute priority, especially after your actions."

Harry doesn't want him here. It's not the words themselves that hurt, it's the lack of protest from Harry - Hell, he doesn't even seem surprised at his manager's words. And Louis still has no idea what's going on.

"You should be glad we're not suing you. You can leave". Louis couldn't give a flying fuck about being sued at the moment, desperate to get Harry alone, to figure all this out. His brain is working on high pressure, frustration making it hard to think straight, and he can't for the love of Harry figure out how they ended up in this situation.

"Harry-", Louis pleads and their eyes meet for a harrowing second when Harry actually looks up, the tears in Louis' eyes reflected in Harry's green ones where disappointment is more prominent than anger.