My Adorable Baby L.S. [bxb]

8. Louis vs. Selena

Louis was on his way home now. He'd taken a walk around his neighbourhood to talk with Harry. Harry called just when Louis had been debating whether or not to expose Selena, because she was the woman who had shouted at him and Harry at the park when they'd kissed.

He knew that Niall, no matter how distracted he might get from Selena and her insatiable fingers, cared about him and would worry if he was gone too long without explanation. And besides, he had to tell him about Selena. He and Harry had talked about it, and they had decided that Niall would be the one to either break up or stay with Selena. It was Louis' moral  obligation to inform him. Due to that homophobic incident, there was a possibility Selena was capable of- at best- detrimental effects on Niall, and at worst, psychological damage and trauma to Niall and Louis.

To make it nicer, Harry was coming over, too! Louis smiled. He was glad Harry was so sweet and thoughtful, enough to drop what he was doing ("just some reading") and come over.  Louis had to admit, Harry certainly would make a good boyfriend. 

When he arrived at home, shivering a little from the cold, he saw Harry's car parked at the curb. Inside the house, he found Harry seated on the couch, across from Selena. Niall was puttering around the kitchen. 

"Louis!" said Harry and Niall in unison upon seeing him. He gulped. Selena set her gaze on him.

"And how are you two acquainted?" she asked, her tone polite but it trapped Louis against the wall. 

How dare she feel comfortable in Louis' home? He scowled. 

"Friends," Harry dropped the word in the air, as if giving such a simple answer would, in turn, deflate the question of its weight. 

"I see." Selena held out her hand, and Niall quickly pressed a mug into it. 

"Thank you, dear," she said, and sipped it. Niall nodded. Louis was baffled- Niall serving Selena like some kind of butler? Weren't they dating? 

Harry patted the space on the couch next to him, beckoning to Louis to come sit with him. Louis came over, Harry whispered, "Should I confront her?"

Louis sighed, and nodded.

"Selena," Harry said. He was calm and decisive, and spoke as if he had authority. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly toward him.

"Louis and I are going on a date this Friday. How do you feel about that?" Selena scoffed and smiled a little. 

"A date," she said mockingly. 

Harry stared at her.

Selena wrapped her arms around Niall and said, "What a coincidence! Jamie and I have a date then as well."

"Who's Jamie?" Louis asked. 

"Me," said Niall.

"I would've thought you'd known that," Selena said, "His middle name is James."

"I did," Louis said. "He just hates that name."

Niall frowned. "Lou, I never said I hated it."

"Yeah you did!"

"James is a fine name!"

"You said it made you feel like some business man of prestige!"

"Child," Selena cut in, "I call him Jamie. He likes it, don't you?" she nuzzled Niall's cheek. "End of story."

"I can't believe this," Louis muttered. 

Like statues in a Nativity scene, the four stayed in the living room stiffly. Selena seemed perfectly at ease, holding Niall's hand- relaxed, but ready. 

"Well, the other day, there was this woman at the park," Harry began, "And as Louis and I kissed, she drove by and yelled a slur at us. Was that you?"

Shocked, Niall exclaimed, "You didn't tell me you kissed!" Selena patted his hand.

"I don't yell, I project," she said.

"But was that you?"

"Why would it be me? I have far more important affairs than objecting to gay children."

"Like what?"

She raised her eyebrows at Harry. 

"Like protecting them."

"From what?"

"Danger. And very soon you, too, might need some protection. There certainly is a lot of danger in this world."

Louis pursed his lips. That sounded vaguely like a threat. And her answer, too, was ambiguous. 

"Well regardless of whether or not you did that," Louis said, "I still don't like you." He stood up and tugged on Harry. 

"Louis!" Niall protested. "Come on, she's done nothing wrong."

He pulled Louis in close and whispered, "I thought you said you were kind? She's important to me bro, you can't mess this up."

"I don't know if you should even be dating her. She's scum. You deserve better."

Niall's eyes widened. 

"You fucking bastard. Don't you dare insult her," he hissed. "Get out."

Louis stomped out the door, with Harry following. 

"Louis," Harry called after him, "Stay with me, where are you going?"

Louis glanced behind him. "I hate her."

"I know."

"Hate her, hate her, hate her."

"You have every reason to."

"And then Niall! Falling for her like a fucking fool." 

Harry nodded sympathetically. "Can we not have this conversation in your and Niall's driveway? Come over to my apartment, we can talk about it there. As I see it, maybe you should take a breather anyway."

"Niall might not let me back in the house," Louis grumbled. 

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

"There we go." 

When they were both in the car, Louis turned to Harry. He felt like a kitten teased by a bigger cat- hurt, and indignant. 

At the same time, he was excited to spend more time with Harry. As they drove away from his house, Louis felt his mood lift, bit by bit. Maybe it was the light rock station Harry had on, or the way Harry's eyes darted over to check on Louis every so often. Maybe it was just Harry.