“Harry?” Niall wandered through the living room, searching for his boyfriend. The door had been open, so he had let himself in. He needed to talk to Harry.
“Niall?” Harry practically tripped down the stairs in surprise. Niall wasn’t supposed to be here. Niall told him he would be at Louis’ all day. The blonde said he felt bad about neglecting his best friend. “What are you doing here?”
Niall accepted the hug Harry wrapped him up in, but pulled back before Harry could kiss him. He knew once they started snogging he would completely forget why he had come here in the first place. And he needed to tell Harry.
“Where have you been lately?” Louis kicked the football in Niall’s direction, tossing a fake pout towards his friend. “You abandoned me.”
Niall just shrugged. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of Harry or their relationship it was just that, well, he’d never actually told anyone about his sexuality. No one except Harry, Liam, and the two guys Niall had dated briefly over a year ago knew. And Niall wasn’t really sure how to have that conversation.
“Just been busy,” he finally responded. “Hanging out with Liam and Harry, modeling for the art class, stuff like that.”
“That sucks,” Louis accepted the ball Niall kicked over to him.
“The modeling?” Niall drew his eyebrows together in confusion as he juggled the football from knee to knee. “I don’t mind it.”
“No hanging out with Liam and Harry. I mean Liam’s cool, but that Harry kid is a freak. Sucks that Liam won’t go anywhere without him.”
Niall tried to control the anger he felt bubbling towards the surface. “Harry is not a freak,” he managed to get out between clenched teeth.
Louis just laughed. “Seriously Niall? You’re defending him? That kid is the biggest loon I’ve ever met in my life. He’s stupid too. Can’t even carry out a conversation.”
The football was slamming into Louis’ face before Niall even realized what he had done.
“What the hell?” Louis glared at him as blood dripped through his fingers.
“Fuck you,” Niall spit out, his blue eyes narrowed slits. “Harry’s not weird or crazy or stupid. He’s beautiful and sweet and amazing. Don’t talk about him like that.”
“Why do you care?” Louis was confused. Why was Niall so upset?
“Because I love him!” Niall’s scream echoed through Louis’ backyard as the older boy stood in stunned silence. Loved him? Since when was Niall gay?
“You’re straight,” Louis clarified.
“No I’m not,” Niall hadn’t imagined coming out to his best friend quite like this, but he didn’t care. He was too angry to care.
“You had a girlfriend,” Louis pointed out. “For like a year.”
Niall remembered. Everything had been going great until she decided that waiting until marriage was stupid and her only goal became getting into Niall’s pants. He thought what they had was love. When he realized it wasn’t he was crushed. He dated two guys after that, but only very briefly, and he hadn’t told Louis. They were only rebounds. But what he had with Harry was real. He was sure of that.
“Yeah I did. Now I have a boyfriend. And I like him a whole lot better than I liked her. He likes me too.”
Louis actually laughed at that, a loud cackle that had Niall seeing red. “He doesn’t like you Niall, don’t be an idiot. He likes art, that’s it. I don’t think his tiny brain can handle much else.”
