WITHIN THE PAGES

epilogue;

harry walked into the coffee shop alone, after sleeping off the hurting pang in his chest, he needed some steaming hot tea. that book had done a number on him. jesus. he asked zayn if he could invite niall to coffee to discuss the book with him, and zayn said sure, because niall said he didn't want a boyfriend right now. and actually, zayn seemed pretty sad about it. harry simply apologized and asked for nialls number, in order to text him and invite him to discuss it.

he sat in the corner, like they had discussed in their correspondence, and held his tea in his hands. he didn't drink it, he just looked at it, the scalding liquid steaming. he inhaled deeply, the chamomile soothing his almost raw throat from the crying. he sighed and took a sip, not caring if it burned his tongue, which it did, but he was so used to hot tea by now, that it didn't really even matter anymore.

he looked towards the door every time that he heard it open. and at one point, he spotted a pair of azure, crystalline eyes. harry blinked several times and the man went and sat in a booth on the other side of the cafe. harry's eyes widened and he quickly turned around, breathing funny. 

this was when niall actually made his entrance, sitting across from harry with a smile on his face. harry breathes in deeply, believing it now to be a trick of the eye, and ignored the small voice in his head screaming 'THAT'S LOUIS!' he smiled back at niall, and he wondered why he wasn't having the same reaction to the man on the other side of the cafe.. weird. wouldn't he recognize the color?

"hey harry." niall says warmly, "did you like the book?" the smile on his lips was sad, and his voice sounded wet.

harry laughed, but his smile was also sad.

"i did, i really did." he looks niall in the eyes, they are pretty.

"tell me about it, what you thought, go into detail!" niall giggles a little bit, stealing a sip of harry's tea.

"well, the character, louis, was-"

"louis?"

"yeah, louis, he was the main character?" harry questions.

"but, when i read it, the main character was liam." niall says, emphasizing the characters name. 

"why would it be different each time we read it though?" harry quips, completely curious.

"do you have the book with you?" niall asks, he cocks an eyebrow at harry.  

"uh, yeah, i do actually." harry says, reaching into his satchel bag which is located on the seat beside of him. 

niall comes over to his side and harry opens the book to the last page, where it says, obviously, 'i love you harry'. 

the two boys exclaim the same sentence but with one difference, the names were their own. 

"what?" they say, once again, in unison. 

"but it says my name..." harry says, pointing at the ink on the page. 

"nah, it says my name harry..." niall says after. 

"what's the title of this book?" harry asks blatantly, his eyes scanning niall's face. 

"liam." he replies almost immediately. 

harry glances back at the man that he believed to be louis, and he was leaving. 

"the book... this is not a normal book, is it?" niall asks, shock and realization evident in his pretty eyes. 

"no, it's not. but i have to go, like, now. take the book, look at it. and get back to me, okay?" harry smiles, but he really needed to go. 

"o-okay?" niall asks as harry gets up from the table and scampers out the door. leaving the book on the table. niall simply shrugs and takes another sip of harry's now room temperature tea. 

harry runs out the door, looking desperately down the sidewalk each way, spotting the man to the left, he runs after him. 

"sir! wait!" he exclaims, trying to think of something to say to excuse his, well, in his opinion, rudeness. 

"what?" he turns around, his beautiful eyes shimmering lightly. 

"i-is your name louis?" harry asks nervously. 

there's this moment where there are no words exchanged, just harry looking at louis, or who he believed to be louis in awe. he had been right, words could not immortalize what louis was. he was even more beautiful than he could ever imagine. 

and he was right there.

"of all people harry, i would expect you to know that." the other man smiles, taking harry's hand in his own and putting it to his cheek. 

"wha-" 

"i guess this is what happens after you close the book." he whispers quietly. kissing harry's knuckles.

their eyes meet and all harry can do is smile, because louis is here. 

louis is real. he wasn't confined to the pages, he was here, right in front of him.

tears were running down his face as he pulls louis to him, putting his lips to his forehead and then his nose and down to his lips. and it was the best thing he had ever experienced, electricity was coursing through his body. there was nothing that he could say that would describe the feeling he had. when they part, they rest their foreheads together, eyelashes brushing cheeks and they're both just smiling. and harry can't believe it.

louis is here. 

louis is his. 

fin.