Summer Shade ➳ Larry

Chapter thirteen

(Louis's POV)


"I can't believe you're leaving," Liam says for probably the millionth time as the four of us walk inside the ice cream shop. The bell rings over our heads as we step past the doorway.

Liam and Niall have decided to tag along with Harry and I for a double date. I'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon for London and we've all decided to have one last group hang out before my departure. We agreed to keep it casual and went to Harry and I's favorite ice cream parlor.

"I can't believe it either," I admit as we step up to the counter. I flicker my eyes over the multiple flavours of ice cream, biting my lip at all the colours and scents.

I feel Harry tighten his grip on my hand to get my attention.

"See anything you like?" he asks. He's wearing a snap back so his curls are out of his face and honestly he is the most beautiful creature in the whole world. I don't know how he does it.

"Yes, you," I smile. I peck his cheek and Harry just giggles. Niall and Liam both coo and flutter their eyelashes.

"Shut up," I say to them jokingly.

"Can I help you?" the girl finally speaks up behind the counter. Last time Harry and I were here a rude girl waited on us and gave Harry her number. I'm just happy it's not the same girl this time because nobody can flirt with my Harry except for me.

"Yes, um, I'll have a double scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough in a waffle cone, please," I ask, clearing my throat at the end.

She nods and digs the large silver spoon into the bucket of my favourite ice cream and plops it into a cone. She wraps a napkin around it before handing it to me and I thank her. Harry orders strawberry and Liam and Niall agree to share a banana split sundae.

Harry takes out his wallet to pay for it all, but I grab his wrist to stop him. He raises an eyebrow.

"No, no, no, let me pay," I tell him.

"But Lou--"

"Haz, please," I sigh.

"It's your last day here, let me pay."

"I'm paying and that's final," I say triumphantly. I stick out my tongue as I slide my credit card in the machine and punch in my number. It beeps and the lady, Lilly, according to her name tag, gives me my receipt.

I fold it up in my pocket and the four us walk over to a booth. We slide in, Harry and I on one side and Liam and Niall on the other. I've already eaten half of my ice cream so I kinda feel like a fatty but oh well. It's my last full day here in Doncaster, I can pig out if I want to.

"Have you told Alex and Zayn about you moving?" Niall wonders with an arched brow.

I nod, darting my tongue over some ice cream that dripped down my chin, "I called 'em. They're both proud of me."

"That's good then. How's your mum feel about all of this?" Liam wonders.

"She's a bit sad," I admit, "but she's happy for me. She knows how much this opportunity means to me."

"And your sisters?"

"They're . . . upset, to say the least. I don't think the twins quite understand why I'll be gone for so long. I've been living with them their entire lives, y'know? And just recently I've simply lived a few minutes away, but now I'll be living in London and I won't have any breaks to come back and visit for months," I say, drawling out the last word.

I feel Harry tense up beside me. He stares down at his lap and frowns.

By now, Liam and Niall have moved on from the conversation and are in their own little world, feeding each other spoonfuls of ice cream and giggling. I turn to Harry and rub my thumb over his hand but he refuses to look at me.

"Hey, love, what's wrong? What is it?"

He glances up, "Sorry, I'm just not feeling well," he mumbles.

"Tell me the truth."

"It's nothing."

"It's something obviously," I point out.

"I'm fine, we'll talk about it tonight, okay? I just want to enjoy our last double date," he says, giving me a smile that I know is fake. Anyone who knows him as well as I do could tell that this smile isn't genuine.

But I don't want to ruin our date, so I just nod and continue to eat my ice cream.

The rest of the evening is just mindless chatter about my new flat and the internship description. Harry's mood changed, though, since when I brought up how long I'll be gone. I don't question it since he said we'd talk about it later.

Finally, the night comes to an end. All of our ice creams are finished and we're full and complaining about stomach aches.

"Bye Louis," Niall and Liam both say at the same time as they give me a bear hug, squeezing me tightly and firmly. I laugh and embrace them back.

"We'll be seeing you soon, okay?" Liam smiles as him and Niall get into Liam's car.

"Yeah, bye lads."

I watch as they drive away from the ice cream shop. Niall sticks his head out of the window and gives me a toothy grin and waves me goodbye as they disappear down the street.

Harry is dead silent as he climbs in his car and drives me back to my parent's house. My previous apartment here is now completely empty and I don't own the rights to it anymore, so I'm staying at my parent's for my final night.

We stop in front of my old house. I think back to when my parents used to fight all the time, when my mum was an alcoholic and when my dad got into that car accident-- I think about how Harry saved me from all of that and I can't help but smile. Now my parents are better and our family is pieced back together and, in an odd sense, it's all thanks to him.

"Will you please tell me what's bothering you?" I ask Harry suddenly as he shuts off the engine.

He swallows thickly and turns to face me, "It's just . . . it's not that I don't trust you, because I do, but . . . I'm worried," he says in a whisper, I can barely hear him.

"About what?"

His breath shakes and he avoids my gaze, "I'm worried about you finding someone better than me. Someone that can be with you all the time. Someone who's--"

"Stop right there, Haz, because nobody besides you fits that description. You're my one and only, understand?" I tell him genuinely, lifting up his chin to look at me. "I can't imagine being with anyone else. We have bloody matching tattoos for crying out loud. I'm never leaving you, whether you like it or not."

Harry sighs, "But--"

"No buts."

"Except for your arse," Harry smirks. I smile because my Harry is back. I love it when he's himself-- cheeky and silly and childish.

"That joke was bad," I laugh.

"It was pretty bad, wasn't it? Sounded better in my head."

I chuckle, "Kiss me you fool."

I unbuckle my seat belt and his in a flash. I straddle his lap, which is difficult in this tight area, but I manage. I smash my lips onto his hurriedly. Every ounce of love that I have, I put into the kiss. I want to show him what we're fighting for.

I feel him slip his tongue into my mouth and messily moves it against mine. Then he takes my bottom lip into his mouth and moans, sending vibrations through my body that go straight down to my stomach. I feel a sizzle of excitement as the car windows begin to steam up a little bit.

Harry snakes his hands down to my hips and plays with the hem of my shirt, locking lips with mine the entire time. I laugh into the kiss before slipping off my top and tossing it on the ground. Harry squeezes my sides.

"Love your tummy so much," he says, looking up at me with half closed eyelids. He always tells me that, and every time it makes my heart flutter because I'm so damn insecure about it. It's one of the many, many things I love about him.

He crashes our lips together again and bites on my bottom lip, making me moan. I pull on his hair and let out a gasp as I feel him buck his lips up to rub our crotches together.

"Fuck, you're so pretty," he grumbles, making me blush even brighter. "So, so pretty," he repeats.

Suddenly, there's a tap on the car window.

"Shit," Harry swears, breaking the kiss. He shoves me off of his lap and back down into the passenger's seat. I'm about to yell at him but I look over to see the twins standing on their tip toes, looking through the ajar glass of the window. I forgot it was open. Oops.

"Caught red handed," Harry mutters under his breath.

I roll my eyes and step out of the car after I put my shirt back on. Harry climbs out and we both stand in front of the girls with red cheeks and shameless smiles.

"Um, hi girls," I say with a gentle wave.

"Was Harry hurting you?" Daisy asks me innocently.

I hold back a laugh, "No, girls, he wasn't."

"But Harry said a naughty word," Phoebe says, crossing her arms over his chest. She glares at Harry and he just bites his lip.

"I wasn't hurting him, I promise, I'd never hurt your brother," Harry tells the twins.

"Good," Daisy grins before giving Harry a tight hug around his legs. Harry giggles and ruffles through her blond hair.

"Listen, I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay Louis?" he says before giving me a very child-friendly peck on the cheek.

"Okay, bye, I love you," I tell him as he gets back into his car.

"Love you more!" he calls back. He tells the twins goodbye as well as he drives away. I stand there for a long time, watching as his car vanishes into the sun-setting horizon.

I feel one of the twins tug on the hem of my shirt to get my attention. I look down to see Phoebe.

"I like Harry, Louis. He's nice. I hope you and him get married some day," she grins cutely.

I sigh as I pick her up and attach her to my hip. I brush some of her hair out of her eyes and kiss her forehead as I walk up the steps of my old home.

"Yeah, I hope so too."



* * *



The next morning, I'm ready to leave and get out of this town. I've been so stressed about the move that I want to get this over with, so I decide to leave first thing in the morning. First thing in the morning ends up being 11 o'clock because my mum prepared a big breakfast with all my favourites. She also kept stalling my departure with dozens of questions that she already knows the answer to.

"I appreciate it all but I really should get going," I say, standing up from the table.

"So soon?" mum asks.

"Yeah, I have to go," I tell her.

"Jay, let him go," my dad laughs, "he's a grown man."

She frowns and stands up next to me. We all walk into the living room where there's more space for hugs and kisses and goodbyes.

My mum combs her fingers gently through my hair, muttering multiple praises and good luck wishes to me. She's a total mess-- a sappy, crying mess but I love her nonetheless. I don't know why she's so upset. I'll only be gone for the remainder of the Summer, and it's not like I'm moving to across the world. I guess it's because I've lived here my whole life. I think she's worried about how I'll handle myself outside of Doncaster.

"I love you mummy," I tell her with a gentle smile.

She pushes the fringe out of my eyes, "I love you too, love."

I embrace her in a tight hug, nuzzling my head into her shoulder. I love the scent of my mum, she smells like flowers and cinnamon. She holds onto my tight and I literally have to pry her arms off of me.

"Mum," I say, pulling away, "I should go. I'm going to Harry's house one last time to say goodbye and then I'll be on my way to London."

"Of course, drive safe, okay? Call me as soon as you're settled in."

I nod and give her one last side-ways hug and a peck on the cheek. I turn to my dad, who's remained mostly quiet this entire time. I give him a quick hug as well.

"Good luck, kid," he tells me, messing up my hair with his ginormous hands. I chuckle and tell him that I'll do my best.

Then I go over to the twins, kneeling down to match their height. They squeeze me in a tight bear hug and give me kisses. They hug onto my chest and almost suffocate me with their tiny little arms.

"Behave yourselves whilst I'm gone, alright?" I tell them as I stand up.

"We will!" Daisy giggles.

I turn to Fizzy and Lottie, who are both standing at the far end of the living room with smiles on their faces and their mobiles in their hands. Typical teenagers.

"If either of you ever get boyfriends," I start, "tell them that you have a big, strong brother that will kill them if they hurt you, okay?" I say, sort of joking. Sort of. What can I say? I'm a protective brother.

"You better get going, don't want to keep Harry waiting," Lottie says with a wink, glancing up from her phone quickly.

"You're probably right. I'll be seeing you all real soon, okay?" I promise. They all mumble final goodbyes and I wave to them as I leave.

But this isn't goodbye, it's just a pause. A quick pause from life-- a short break so I can get started on my dream. This isn't goodbye forever, just for a few months.

I keep having to remind myself that.

My truck is parked outside-- I brought it here a few days ago, and the bed of the truck is filled with multiple cardboard boxes and furniture. The remainder of my stuff is being brought over to London with moving vans.

I start up my truck and start driving towards Harry's house.



* * *



Minutes later, I'm at Harry's front door, knocking and impatiently waiting for someone to open the door. I bounce on my feet as I stand in the warm, blood-boiling heat. I really hope Harry's Dad doesn't open the door again. Can you say awkward?

The door opens and I'm thrilled when I see Jenna. Her brunette hair is tied up neatly in a pony tail and she's holding a feather duster in one hand. I'm swept in relief as she wraps me in a tight hug, the feather duster is tickling my back, but I don't complain.

"Hey Jen," I grin.

"I can't believe you're leaving!" she says, breaking the embrace.

"Yeah, me neither."

"Harry's really going to miss you. He was talking about it non stop last night," she says with a quick eye roll.

"Oh . . . uh, really?"

"He wouldn't shut up about it," she giggles.

I frown, "Oh."

"Don't feel bad though, Lou, you're living your dream. He's happy for you, he'll just miss you, 's all," she explains with a playful punch to my shoulder, but I have to admit it sorta hurt.

"I'll miss him too. Speaking of which, can I see him? I'll have to get going soon," I rush. She nods and steps aside, breathing out a quick apology.

"Where is he?" I wonder, glancing around the emptiness.

"In his room," she explains.

Fearing that I might see Mr. Styles soon, I skip up the metal spiral staircase to Harry's room. I don't bother knocking. There's no time for that none sense.

But I kind of wish that I had knocked, because I walk in to see a heart breaking sight. Harry's sitting on the edge of his bed with tears pooling out of his eyes and staining his cheeks. I feel sick to my stomach because he shouldn't be crying. He can't ruin his beautiful face with tears-- it should be illegal for Harry Styles to cry. It's an awful thing to witness.

"Harry," I breathe out.

He looks up at me and freezes, having not noticed me before.

"Louis, um, I--"

"Please don't cry, you'll make me cry," I promise, feeling that oh so familiar tingle in the back of my throat.

He shakes his head as I sit down next to him. I don't wait for him to explain himself. I press gentle pecks to his cheeks, making his tears go away. I kiss each and every one of his tears. I feel him shiver under my touch. He's fucking shaking and trembling.

He nudges me away, "Stop, don't do this, I'm just being ridiculous. You're going away for a few months, not to war, I'm overreacting."

"You're not," I promise, "I'm sad too. Don't explain yourself."

He gulps, "I- I made you something," he says. He reaches under his bed and into a box. He pulls out a giant yellow book, a scrap book, I assume. He sets it on my lap and I run my hand over the smooth cover, looking at the title that reads Our Journey.


"Open it," Harry encourages. I cautiously flip open the cover and my eyes widen at its contents. "It's all pictures of us," he explains.

I feel a smile creep on my face as I look over the countless photographs, flipping through the pages. It's like a time line. It starts with a few pictures of us in detention that Harry must've taken with his phone. The pages are colourful, covered in stickers and captions and words. It's beautiful.

One catches my attention in particular. It's of me with my head down on the desk, back when we were in detention, captioned with Louis stressed out. I laugh at the memory of when I was freaking out because of my musical duties.

Then there's selfies that we took near the waterfall. I point to the picture where Harry has his arm around me, his lips pressing into my cheek. My face is flushed red and I'm looking down at the ground, obviously embarrassed.

"That ones my favourite," I tell him.

"Mine too," he agrees.

"I can't believe you made this, Haz," I sigh, flipping the page.

There's more pictures, dozens more, some from the musical rehearsals, some from school, some from Christmas. My eyes dart to one that I remember Liam taking of us at the Halloween party-- me in my Peter Pan costume and Harry in his kitty costume. Harry is playing with my hat and smiling like an idiot and I'm just shooting him a cute glare. I laugh at the memory and feel my stomach bubble with happiness.

The next page has more recent photos from the past couple weeks. There's one of me holding up a pan of burnt chicken, captioned with Chef Louis!

And the final page is blank.

"There's room for more memories," Harry speaks up, making me look up at him, "there's blank pages so we can take pictures when you get back. So we can finish our time line together," he says shyly.

My heart swells, "Aw, Haz!" I say, not even caring that I'm crying now because, fuck, why does he have to be so romantic? Not that I'm complaining just . . . questioning how it's even bloody possible.

I can't take it any more and kiss him. I kiss him for all its worth, giggling like an idiot the entire time. I feel him cup his hands around my face and pull me in closer. I move his lips with mine, loving how they fit like a puzzle. I dart my tongue over his bruised and chapped lips, then slip my hands down to his sides.

I don't want this to end. Ever.

After several long minutes of messy and lustful and eager snogging, I force myself to pull away and steal a glance at the clock. It's getting late and I really should get going. I don't want to leave but . . . I have to.

"You have to leave, don't you?" Harry breathes sadly.

I nod and gulp, "Y-yeah. I should get going."

Harry frowns, "I'll-- I'll walk you out."

There's so much sadness in my voice, it hurts.

He holds my hand as he walks me down the steps. I carry the scrap book under my arm, holding onto it for dear life. Whenever I'm sad or missing him, I'll look at the pictures. I know it'll be helpful.

We step outside and over to my truck. I put the scrap book inside. I finally realize that this is it-- I'm leaving. I'm really moving. Just for the Summer but . . . I'm leaving the place I've grown up in. I'm leaving my family. I'm leaving . . . the love of my life. Harry Edward Styles.

I stand on my tip toes and peck him on the lips. Harry wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me in impossibly close, so our noses are brushing against each other. My breath catches in my throat as I look up and am met by a pair of emerald green eyes.

"I love you so much," he whispers. He kisses the tip of my nose.

"And I love you," I promise, "I'll call you when I arrive in London, okay?"

He nods, "Don't forget."

"I won't," I chuckle.

He pulls me even closer to his body so my head is pressed into the crook of his neck. I inhale his familiar scent, closing my eyes and fluttering them against his skin. I wrap my arms around his torso and hug him tighter than I ever have before.

"I don't want to let you go," I whimper, "I wish you could come with me."

"You know my Dad wouldn't let me--" Harry begins.

"I know, I know, I just . . . I wish things were different'."

"Me too," he huffs.

We stay like that for a long, beautiful moment. I listen to his beating heart and he plays with my hair, slipping strands in between his fingers. He's so warm, he's always warm and comforting and soft. He's absolutely positively perfect.



"I'll be seeing you soon, okay?" I promise before climbing into my truck. He nods and pecks my lips through the open window.

"Goodbye, my love," he mumbles cutely.

"Goodbye, my Romeo," I sniffle. I blink a few times before glancing away and sticking my key into the ignition. I force myself not to look at Harry as I drive away, fearful that I might see him in tears again, and I couldn't possibly leave him like that.

Five minutes later, as I approach the highway ramp, my mobile buzzes off. I pick it up and read the message quickly, because I am driving, after all. It's a text from Harry and I feel my heart sink as my eyes skim over the words.

Miss you already. xx

I quickly type a reply, saying that I feel the same. I put my phone away and focus on the road. I listen to random tunes faintly through the radio. I tighten my grip on the steering wheel.

I have a long journey ahead of me.


[ THIS SERIES IS MY CHILD AND IT'S ALL GROWN UP, UGH, MY EMOTIONS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE.  By the way, for those who keep asking, there are only three more chapters remaining.  I don't have any intentions of making a third book to the series, so this will be the final book.  No prequel, no trilogy, this is the final book.  ]