the year 2110...

8

ardent: very enthusiastic or passionate.

april 22nd, 2110

louis woke up to the blaring screech of his alarm - up at 6am sharp. he rolled over with a groan and checked his phone, seeing a recent notification from harry?

h: would you like to hang out today ?? - h:)

that brought an immediate smile to his face. hanging out with harry was always adventurous so louis was more than up for it.

louis: of course, be at yours in 20 mins if ur dad isn't home? :)

h: he's off doing some sort of promo so its safe here:) be careful & see u soon !! - h:)

with that, he got up & took a quick shower. showers were something louis weirdly loved, the feel of being clean after a long day or just that push to start a new, fresh day. call him cheesy but it was refreshing. anyway, he put a plain white t-shirt on followed by a pair of jogging bottoms which said 'more joy' on them - don't ask him what that means, he doesn't know, then put on his favourite trainers (a boring, very worn, black adidas).

he brushed his fingers over his fringe, sweeping it neatly to the side whilst checking over his appearance in the mirror - choosing to ignore his under eyes for the sake of his sanity.

louis grabbed his keys after quickly brushing his teeth & he made sure to take a safe & hidden route to harry's house. ( ha ha see what i did )

***

ding. a cheerful harry opened the door. "so...what are we doing today?" louis questioned with a smile. "watching something at the cinema." suddenly he panicked. no, they couldn't. he's- "but har-" "i rented us a cinema out it's all alright, i promise. i'd never compromise your trust." "you didn't have to do this H." "i wanted to." with that, they made their way to the cinema (a short fifteen minute walk) without getting spotted as it was around 9am, most people are usually still asleep at that time - especially on a sunday.

"we're seeing a horror film?" louis questioned with amusement but with a hint of fear. horrors were definitely not his thing - nor did harry look the type to find copious amounts of joy in watching a horror film..."yep" harry replied, also seeming amused. they walked into the seventh screen in order to watch "electric" and grabbed some popcorn on the way (a good old cliché).

"least the seats are comfy..." louis muttered - not intending for harry to hear him. "not like horrors?" he responded but luckily for louis, the movie started then and the lights dimmed which created a rather fearful, tense atmosphere. it was at this moment that he questioned his poker face, is he able to hide his fear? hopefully.

accepting no answer, harry sat back in his seat gazing at louis for a split second, seemingly trying to read how he's feeling. was he frightened? happy? ...harry deeply regretted picking a horror film, he had thought that it might have been fun for them to do - he's not ever had a friend like louis who is so charismatic, easy going and witty, in the best way possible of course.

***

an hour in and they were both gripping at the arm rests, both trying desperately to maintain a straight face. these types of scenes were petrifying. the main character, in the film, was down in the basement (a cliché) attempting to figure out the source of the peculiar events occurring in her family house (even more unnerving). it was in the middle of the night and the ceiling light was of poor quality and flickering. the suspenseful music rose, their grips growing tighter, their knuckles becoming whiter. a sudden jump scare within the film elicited a blood-curdling shriek from the woman, louis immediately latched onto harry's side as a form of protection, his shaking increasing into tremors. "i h-hate horrors" he muttered into harry's bicep, teeth chattering. immediately, harry ran his fingers through his hair, muttering a reassuring "shh, it's all alright lou" into his hair, which was oddly comforting. louis' hair was soft - harry noted, deeming himself as weird as an afterthought.

"H" louis whined, gripping on even tighter, his voice becoming unmuffled as he left the comfort of harry's bicep and looked him in the eyes, his own eyes full of trepidation and silent pleading. his eyes were blue, harry noted, the purest blue, his hair, his hair the perfect mix of neat and scruffy, his eyelashes, his eyelashes were beautifully long, his nose, his nose was structured so unique...but before he could make sense of it all, time froze. 

harry subconsciously felt his body inch closer and his lips meet louis'. just a sweet - almost bittersweet - barely there press of the lips. shit. what did he just do? fuck fuck fuck. he jumped back as if sparked by an electric shock, everything became normal again, the haze washing away like the dirt on your body in the shower after a long day - the screams of horror blaring through the speakers, louis' now frozen face - ironically as if he's now the one stuck in that haze harry had just came out of.
fuck.

"i-uh...yeah" louis says as he gets up and leaves, leaving harry to stay frozen in place as if they'd switched roles yet again.

***

louis' keys jingled in the door as he rushed to open it. "ash" he called down his phone, desperation clear in his voice. "a boy kissed me...?" on the other end he could hear the sound of muffled laughter which resulted in a more urgent plea of "ash!". "sorry...sorry. who? give me some context" he whined, "someone.", "that's not going to narrow it down." "don't judge but...harry...styles" "lou he's" ashton tried but louis interrupted him with a stern "i trust him, he's not like his dad." "lou, be careful. you aren't in the higher class for a start and if you get caught..." ashton trails off, "advice on the kiss ash not over our reputations" a loud sigh sounded through the phone. "trying to avoid sounding like a teenager but, do you like him?" the front door finally clicked open - damn that rustic key hole - he finally stepped foot into his home, going to sit on the couch, his index finger and thumb pinching the bridge of his nose. "he...i-i don't know?!" louis exclaims distraughtly. "tell me a bit about him louis" "well, he- he's pretty? i mean i don't normally call men pretty but...he's nice too as he's never once judged me but i don't think i see him as more than a friend or a good friend." at the end of his rant he sighs frustratedly, laying back on the worn couch. "think it over and if you don't like him then that's also fine, it's more than normal. go rest lou and give me a text later. i'm always here for you. good luck" "thanks ash" ashton always helped calm him down in stressful situations. it's like he clears his mind of all the shit and makes louis think clearly. ashton's voice has a reassuring tone to it. "anytime".

and with that, the line went dead. louis began to take deep breaths - what the fuck has happened to his life recently? fucking hell. the thing is, he doesn't want to take all of this for granted, take the kiss- take harry and his genuine kindness for granted.

he put on some crap tv show and let the hours fly by. and louis dreamt of the 'what if' that night and it felt okay - it felt good.