Chapter Nineteen

628 46 33
                                    

Sorry for the wait, school killed me xoxo


He is sitting here, next to his sister with Eleanor on his lap. This is how everything used to be, how it should have stayed. But Louis was too stupid to just go with some fantasies he had, which created that he had to go. It's not going to happen now though. El has given him another chance only after ten minutes of sweet talking and he has to grab it, making sure he has a normal life.

Louis gets pulled out of his thoughts by Eleanor who starts kissing him, cupping his cheek while her tongue is licking his lip.

Okay this doesn't feel like it used to. He remembers that kissing El was alright, but her tongue is literally like a snake trying to slip into his mouth.

"Harry, there you are! I've got us a spot!" Lottie, who is sitting next to him, yells. Louis carefully pushes the girl away from him so he can make eye contact with the curly boy.

"Thanks, Lotts." He smiles at his fiancé but it doesn't meet his eyes. Louis knows Harry by now and he knows when he smiles genuinely. This is not it. He decides to not react to it though, not yet. When he makes his statement that he is with El, and really likes her, then he can be close friends with Harry again. It's impossible then to be more with him, wanting it or not.

Harry takes place in front of Lottie, diagonally facing Louis.

"Are our parents not coming?" Harry asks. Lottie shakes her head.

"They said it should be a night for, how they liked to call it, the youngsters." Lottie laughs as she quotes her mother. "They are out together and Fizz is watching the twins." Lottie explains.

"I can feel Fizz's mood from here." Louis laughs. "Poor girl, she should have been invited here too! She's almost an adult."

"She's sixteen, Louis." Lottie rolls her eyes.

"Almost seventeen. Do you remember yourself around that age? You were proper partying, Lottie."

"How do you know? You left." Lottie snaps and when she sees Louis' hurt face and Harry's angry glare, she quickly starts talking again. "Anyway, I made duos who are going to team up for the game." She talks like she didn't just hurt her older brother.

"So, obviously I'm going to play with Harry, Louis and Eleanor, Zayn and Perrie, Liam and Danielle, Niall and Gemma!" She announces.

"Great, I'm just going to the toilet first." Louis fakes a smile. "El, love could you please move?"

"Of course. Do you want something to drink, Louis?"

"Vodka coke, please."

Louis storms off to the bathroom and all the tears he has been trying to keep in, just roll down. Lottie's comment she just made was the final stab in his heart that he needed.

"Need a fucking cig." He mumbles to himself. He splashes some water in his face before going outside and lighting up a cigarette. He sits down against the wall of the bowling centre, watching the suns slowly go down.

"Louis?"

Louis doesn't have to look up to know who is there, he recognises that voice within a second. It's the one keeping him up at night, present in his mind, talking to his heart. He decides to ignore him, though. Things with El are still too fresh to trust himself completely alone with Harry. He has to be mentally ready to stay loyal to Eleanor this time, and he knows it's so easy with Harry to forget about that.

"Louis?" Harry repeats himself. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm fucking okay, Harry. Can't a guy have a smoke in peace?" Louis snaps, not facing the boy. He knows Harry's look without seeing his face. He can imagine the big bambi eyes and the pouty lips. The picture is burning in his head.

"You know, it's allowed to be nice to people you know?" Harry snap back. "I just came here because I was worried about you!"

"Why would you be worried about me?" Louis rolls his eyes, trying to act indifferent.

Ignore the butterflies, Louis. You are doing so well! You are back with El and that's the biggest step you could possibly make to your old life.

"Because I care about you, Louis." Harry exclaims, frustrated. How can Louis not see it? Not feel it how much Harry cares about him?

"Why?" Louis' eyes are still focused on the floor, not facing Harry once.

"Because you are my friend." Harry sounds tired and desperate. "That's what friends do, Louis. They care and I really care a lot about you. Just like friends share things like that they are randomly dating their ex again."

Louis stands up, throwing his cigarette away and destroying it with his foot. For the first time he looks into Harry's eyes and it takes every single muscle in his body to not gasp when he sees the colour that's greener than grass. It also takes all the courage in him to say the following words. They are going to hurt both Harry and himself, but he is going to do it anyway. When things are okay and Louis is normal again, not into guys and stuff, he can explain everything to Harry while laughing in a pub, drinking a beer while Lottie babysits both their kids. They will be fine, just not now.

So Louis bumps his shoulder into Harry's, making his blue eyes look like ice cones as he speaks the following words without any emotions:

"Well, guess we are not friends then Styles because one: I don't feel like sharing my love life with you and two: I don't care about you, not a single shit." 

Troublinson in paradise |Larry Stylinson|Where stories live. Discover now