After (Larry Version)

~*Chapter 45*~

"I call out Harry's name, but he ignores me. When he gets halfway to the car, he spins around so quickly that I almost crash into him.
"What the hell, Louis! What the fook was that?" he screams at me. People walking by start to stare, but he continues. "What kind of game are you trying to play here?" He moves toward me. He is angry—beyond angry."

"There's no game here, Harry—didn't you see how much he wanted you to come over? He was trying to reach out to you, and you were so disrespectful!" I'm really not sure why I'm yelling, but I'm not going to just let him shout at me.
"Reach out to me? Are you fooking kidding me? Maybe he should have reached out to me back when he was abandoning his family!" The veins in his neck strain under his skin."

"Stop swearing at me! Maybe he is trying to make up for lost time! People make mistakes, Harry , and he obviously cares about you. He has that room for you at his house, full of clothes just in case—"
"You don't know shit about him, Louis !" he screams and shudders with anger. "He lives in a fucking mansion with his new family while my mum works her arse off, fifty hours a week to pay her bills! So don't try to lecture me—mind your own damn business!"

"He gets in the car, slamming his door closed. I scramble in, afraid that he might leave me here, he's so mad. So much for our argument-free day.
He's fuming mad but thankfully silent as we pull onto the main road. If I could keep it this quiet the rest of the ride, I'd be happy. But part of me insists that Harry needs to understand that I will not be yelled at,that is one redeeming quality I give my mother credit for. She showed me exactly how not to be treated by a man."

"Fine," I say, feigning calm. "I will mind my own business, but I'm accepting the invitation to dinner tonight whether you go or not."
Like a wild animal who's been riled up, he turns in my direction. "Oh no you're not!"
Retaining my fake calm, I say, "You have no say in what I do, Hardin, and in case you didn't notice, I was invited. Maybe I should see if Zayn wants to join me?"
"What did you just say!?" The dirt and dust start flying all over as Hardin jerks the steering wheel and pulls onto the shoulder of the busy road."

"I know I pushed him too far, but I really am just as angry as he is by this point and yell, "What the hell is wrong with you? Pulling off the road like this!"
"What the hell is wrong with you is the question! You tell my dad I will go to his house for dinner, then you have the audacity to mention bringing Zayn ?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry, your cool friends don't know that Liam is your stepbrother and you're afraid they will find out?" I say and laugh at how ridiculous he is.
"He is not my stepbrother, for one. And two, you know that isn't why I don't want Zayn there." His voice is much lower now, yet still thick with anger.
But through the chaos in the car, that bubble of hope grows again at Hardin's jealousy. I know his feelings are more of a competition thing than actual concern over my being with him, but it still makes my stomach flutter.
"Well, if you won't go with me, I will have to invite him." I would never actually do it, but Harry doesn't know that.
Harry stares straight out onto the street for a few seconds and then sighs, deflating some of the tension. "Louis, I really don't want to go. I don't want to sit around with my dad's perfect family. I avoid them for a reason."

"I lighten my tone as well. "Well, I don't want to force you to go if it will hurt you, but I would really like if you could come with me. I am going either way."
We went from eating yogurt to screaming at each other and now we are calm again. My head is spinning at least as much as my heart.
"Hurt me?" He sounds incredulous.
"Yeah, if it will bother you that much to be there, I won't try to make you come," I answer. I know that I could never make Harry do anything he doesn't want to do,he has no history of ever being cooperative.
"Why would you care if it hurt me?" His eyes meet mine and I try to look away, but once again I am under his spell."

"Of course I would care,why wouldn't I?"
"Why would you is the question."
The look in his eyes is a pleading one, like he wants me to say the words, but I can't. He will use them against me and then probably never want to hang out with me again. I will become the annoying guy who likes him, the kind of girls Nick told me about.
"I care about how you feel," I say and I hope this answer can be good enough for him.
Interrupting our moment in the car, my phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket and see it's Elijah. Without "thinking, I hit ignore before I realize what I'm doing.
"Who is it?" Harry is so nosy.
"Elijah."
"You're not going to answer?" He looks surprised.
"No, we're talking." And I would rather talk to you, my subconscious adds.
"Oh" is all he says, but his smile is evident.
"So are you going to come with me? It's been a while since I've had a home-cooked meal, so I am not passing it up." I smile, the mood in the car is lighter but tense all the same.