These High Walls

Chapter 18

Louis P.O.V.

While I'm eating the breakfast Harry made, I can't seem to stop thinking about what he yelled. Did that have anything to do with what happened earlier between us? But I guess now I know why he doesn't let me come close to him, he thinks I'll manipulate him. I'll just take things slowly and hope for the best.

"This breakfast is delicious, thank you," I say to Harry.

"No problem, I was awake and had nothing to do."

"Anyway, what are we going to do?" Liam asks.

Suddenly my mind has a great idea: "We can go paintballing with bows and arrows."

"Woah, that's possible?"

I nod at Niall and Zayn quickly adds: "Then we can officially see which one of us is the best in archery."

I take out my phone to see where we can do that and we immediately leave, since it takes a while to get there by train. We cannot fly there since it's too great of a risk to be seen.

Once we arrive Liam pays for the tickets even though I insist to pay my own.

"We are earning enough money from the bakery plus we owe you."

We change quickly in the outfits and we take the bows and arrows from the instructor.

"You know how to use a bow?" we nod and she continues: "The purpose of the game is to be hit the fewest times in your team. After an hour we will have a little lunch break and after that, you get another hour to beat the other team. Did you already make your teams?"

Liam nods. I frown at him and he grins back. Oh no. "Niall, Zayn and I are a team, and Louis and Harry."

"That's unfair," I say catching up with their plan.

"Didn't you say on the train that it was about having fun, not about winning?"

I give up not wanting to waste our time arguing: "Come on Harry, we will show them how great of a team we are."

We all run on the playground immediately seeking a hideout place. For the first forty minutes, Harry and I are able to gain a little head start.

While the others are in their hiding place I go back to ours and I see Harry already sitting there. I sit right next to him our knees almost touching. We are both out of breath from running so much so our chests go up and down quickly.

"You're pretty amazing out there. You seem to have learned a lot over the past weeks." Harry points out.

I smile at him and for a second I see his eyes looking at my lips. Is it possible he likes me too? Only one way to find out, right? I slowly lay my hand on top of his and he doesn't flinch. I start to lean closer while looking from his eyes to his lips. When our noses are almost touching, I see the panic in his eyes and he stands up.

Before I know it words spill over my lips: "Please don't go, I'm sorry. I won't do that ever again. I'm sorry."

Then he says something I never would've thought: "I am not leaving, you're just going too fast."

I'm not going the wrong way for him, I'm just going too fast. So, he does like me?

"I think we should get back out there before they start to think inappropriate things." Harry laughs.

I laugh too and together we kick their asses for the next quarter.

When the instructor calls us back in for lunch we have a decent advance and they're not happy about it.

"That's just beginners' luck, you're not really that good," Niall says angrily, though he cheers up when he sees the menu of the restaurant attached to the paintball building.