it's not a walk in the park to love each other {l.s.}

part 1

Harry is counting the minutes down to the very millisecond until his watch tells him it's 3:00 pm. At this time, his god-awful nuisance of a flatmate will finally be vacating their flat to fly back to England for spring break.

Harry will then be free to embark on two, uninterrupted, precious weeks of freedom in his flat to do whatever he fancies. However, even with this gift from above, he still can't quite shake the undercurrent of anger he possesses at even having to have a time constraint for his solo activities, when the flat is quite literally in his name.

His grandmother was something of a mysterious legend in the Styles family. She was extraordinarily wealthy and had amassed several properties all over the world. When she had passed, the will had left the enormous New York loft to Harry and his sister, Gemma. Lucky for Harry, Gemma had just graduated from uni in London and received a local job offer right out of the gate. Pair that with her fiancé who didn't wish to relocate across the pond, she graciously ceded the property to Harry. He figured the hefty inheritance they'd both received didn't hinder Gemma's decision as well.

Harry's childhood best mate Zayn had resided in the flat with him through their freshman year at NYU and Harry can confidently say it had been the best year of his life. The two had both applied and been accepted, moving all the way across the pond together. They bonded over being timid freshmen who'd both never set foot in the States until bam! Suddenly they were smack dab in the middle of one of the busiest cities there.

They'd embarked on late-night strolls through the West Village, found the best cheap coffee to accompany their studies, partied at clubs filled with bougie locals, and began to cultivate a group of close friends.

And then suddenly, the summer before they were set to start their sophomore year, Zayn had broken the news that he was transferring. Thankfully it was to FIT and so he wouldn't be far from Harry at all, but the exclusive arts program that he'd been accepted to required him to live in the fancy student housing.

Harry had been devastated, while he was grateful Zayn was still only a subway ride away, they would no longer see each other as often as they'd like. Harry had considered living by himself at that point, but the thought of living alone during what were supposedly the best years of his life just didn't sit right with him. He also didn't want his fellow classmates to think he was just another pretentious snob who hogged up living space.

Zayn had tried to appease his friend by offering up a roommate to take his place.

"He's bloody amazing H, you will love him," Zayn had gushed when describing Louis. And Zayn never gushed.

Apparently, this Louis was an upperclassman who Zayn had met in one of his philosophy lectures and Zayn was completely enamored.

"He's just so witty and wicked smart. And he has the sharpest sense of humor," Zayn had promised. Aside from that, Louis was also from England and Zayn thought Harry might appreciate the familiarity.

So, Harry had begrudgingly agreed to meet him. He wasn't one for judging people right off the bat, and he did trust Zayn's opinion implicitly.

The two had met over coffee. Harry couldn't help but slightly wrinkle his nose when he had overheard Louis ordering an Earl Grey tea, black. Harry had fully immersed himself in the US coffee culture, loving to add embellishments to the bitter liquid based on his mood. Today it was a splash of coconut milk and two pumps of sugar-free vanilla.

When they sat down with their beverages, Harry took a moment to examine the man sitting across from him. Admittedly, he was quite attractive. Maybe the most attractive man Harry had ever seen. Harry had never seen such smooth, tanned skin on someone who came from the UK. Sure, the summers were annoyingly bright, but all they ever did was burn Harry's complexion.