Delinquent - L.S.

Thirty Eight

This is the final chapter of Delinquent. It's a look into how Louis and Harry moved on after Ty's arrest and how everything ended up playing out. I might do another additional epilogue of the more distant future if you guys want! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you loved reading this story as much as I loved writing it. xoxo

It had been nearly two months since Ty was arrested. He'd been sentenced to twenty five years in a penitentiary with possibility for parole if he maintained good behavior. It had certainly taken a toll on Louis, he was upset for weeks and spent a lot of time at the jail visiting Ty. But, eventually, he was able to return to his old self. Harry was too, shocked, but it was different for him since Ty wasn't his brother.

He and Harry both returned to school, Louis was excelling in all of his classes and he was actually moving up in his class rank. He was giving Harry a run for his title as the smart, goody two shoes one in the relationship. At first, there was some push back from the other students. No one wanted them around. But, it didn't take long for everyone to come around and move on from the ordeal; the crowds of rich preppy kids were back to their usual bullshit and no one hated the couple anymore.

He'd been working on his art a lot more, ir had even been displayed in a few galleries.  He'd spending a lot of time with his boyfriend, going on cute dates and fun adventures. He was also meeting Zayn for weekly lunches (where Louis may or may not slip his best mate some of his allowance from Des so Zayn didn't have to do dodgy deals anymore). Louis attended therapy to learn to cope with his family problems and his past anxiety, he was on the road to moving beyond all of his old trauma.

Louis was happy. And so was Harry. Things were good.

Louis held tightly onto Harry's hand as they strolled down the hallways of London Preparatory Academy. They were laughing and talking about nothing that really mattered, just filling the air with light conversation.

"So, the switch went well," Harry mused cheerfully. "Me back with my mum, you living with my father."

Louis smiled, nodding eagerly. He loved living with Des and Cate and the new baby. Sure, he loved Anne too and he still sometimes felt a judgmental air from Des, but they truly made him feel welcome and treated him as their own. "Yeah," he grinned. "It's really going well."

"Cate keeps sending me pictures of you and the baby. Who would've thought you'd be a sucker for little ones, huh?" Harry teased, leaning into Louis' side. He couldn't believe how sweet Louis had been with his new little sibling, it made him love the boy even more. His heart swelled every time his phone buzzed with a message from Cate sending pictures.

"I love kids," Louis exclaimed. He'd always had a soft spot for pretty much anyone younger and smaller and cuter than him. He was weak for big dimples and wide eyes and loud laughs, which now that he thought about it was probably part of the reason he was so gone for Harry. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Princess, don't forget that." Louis winked playfully and let out a soft laugh.

Harry reached over to press a light kiss to Louis' cheek. "Well, either way, it's nice to have a family. Everything seems perfect again," he hummed blissfully.

"Best thing in the world," Louis added with a nod. With his free hand, he tilted Harry's chin to look at him once again, pressing his lips to the taller lad's gently in a sweet, loving kiss. As they pulled apart, he smiled widely. "Okay, maybe second best thing."

"Hey there, lovebirds," a happy Irish accent called out. Niall was waving at them, flanked by Nick. "Study group at my flat tomorrow?"

"I'm in," Nick said with a nod. He'd made amends with Harry and Niall and somehow formed a weird friendly bond with Louis.

Harry smiled, throwing out his free arm to wrap it around Niall's shoulder tightly. "My turn to buy the pizza," he exclaimed.

"Great!" Niall cheered, giving Harry a sideways hug before wiggling out of his best mate's grip to skip off with Nick. "See you later!"

Louis glanced at the Rolex on his wrist, this one was actually paid for (by Des, but still). "Hey, H, baby, I gotta run. I have class, got a big presentation today," he said, pressing a kiss to Harry's knuckles before letting go of the boy's hand.

"Okay, genius," Harry teased, sticking his tongue out. "See you next period."

-

Louis was sitting on the couch in Des and Cate's flat. They were both gone; Des working and Cate was picking up the little one from daycare. He had his feet propped up on the coffee table and was scrolling through his text messages when suddenly, his ringer started annoyingly blaring out.

He answered excitedly, smiling as he greeted the caller. "Hey! I got your message. Did he like it?" he asked, a little bit nervous. "Really? Wow. Okay, I'll think about it. Thanks for putting it up on display."

Harry walked into the room just as Louis ended the call. He skipped over to sink into the couch beside his boyfriend, nuzzling himself into Louis' side. He noticed that Louis' cell phone was open on a photo of one of Louis' paintings, it brought a smile to Harry's face. "I love that one," he said softly, pointing at the screen. "Your mum, right?"

Louis nodded, lips pursed. "Yep. Somebody wants to buy it," he announced.

"That's amazing, Louis! Your first sale!" Harry cheered, gently shaking his boyfriend in excitement.

Louis shrugged, cracking a nervous smile. "I don't know, maybe," he said. "I don't know if I'm ready to sell stuff from that part of my life."

"Sentimental value?" Harry asked, one eyebrow quirked upwards.

Louis moved to place his hand on Harry's thigh, running his thumb along the boy's leg. "Yeah, something like that," he mumbled thoughtfully, gazing upwards into Harry's green eyes. "Maybe I just don't want to forget where I came from. I don't want to give up my past, H. Even though it's dark and painful, it's what led me to you."

"That's understandable," Harry said with a soft smile.

"I'm completely and totally in love with you."

Harry pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss that seemed to last forever.

The End.