IM Surprised

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heyaaa. are you proud of me? updates two school nights in a row.

i'd just like to adress this really quick while i'm thinking of it; lately i've been getting a lot of people asking me to translate catfish. which is awesome, and i'm honored! but i already have four (two posted, two on the way) so i'm just going to tell you. (if you translate without my permission im going to kill you.)

so far i don't have translations/someone working on getting a translation up for anything other than french, spanish, portugese, and polish. please don't ask me to translate any of those. unless you've read those translations and for some reason think someone is doing a shitty job (in which case i'd like to know because i can only speak english, a little bit of french, and spanish, but i'm only fluent in english you feel).  

if you find my fireproof reference you get five extra credit points in life

SORRY FOR TYPOS ON SCHOOL NIGHTS I DONT HAVE TIME TO PROOF READ FOR HALF AN HOUR AND I ALWAYS MISS STUFF ANYWAY

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Louis and Harry are silent at first. Louis stumbles backward a bit, bumping into Harry's chest as all the breath leaves his lungs. Harry's hand grabs his hip instinctively, and as the blush spreads up Louis' neck Harry seems to realize his mistake. His hand slides down Louis' leg until it reaches his hand, and he gives it a small squeeze before Louis hears Harry clear his throat behind him.

"Harry," Colette squeaks, shoving Niall away from her and quickly shoving her dress back down her legs. She pushes her mussed hair behind her ear and wipes at her smeared lipstick hastily. "It's not what it looks like."

Harry doesn't even speak; Louis is in awe over how calm he's being; or, acting, rather. Louis' eyes flit over to Niall, who's got a shirt on now and is awkwardly standing in the corner. Niall toes at the rug with his shoe and stares back at Louis with wide eyes. Louis would probably be glaring if he wasn't so distracted by Harry and his chest, but, you know. It's solely for emotional support.

"Really? Because it looks like you and Niall were in the middle of somethin-" Louis decides to speak up instead, because standing in a room of silent tension is the second worst thing in the world to him. (The first is snakes, if you had been wondering; but now is not the time to ponder over such unrelated topics.)

"Shut up," Colette snaps, but her tone is too nice for it to have sounded natural. "No one is talking to you."

"Don't talk to him like that," Harry defends, and thank fuck, finally. For the first time in months, Harry is finally standing up for him. 

"Look, Harry. Mate. You 'ave to hear us out," Niall puts a hand out cautiously, almost as if he's halting Harry even though he hasn't said a word toward him. "Col and I, we just. We're in love."

Louis wants to vomit out both sick and more words, but he chooses to stay silent and bump his hand against Harry's along with the beat of his heart. 

"Love?" Louis really hopes Harry is smirking when he talks, because he secretly loves it when Harry's innocence fades away. As long as the anger isn't directed toward Louis himself, of course. "You don't know what love is." Louis realizes very quickly that Harry isn't smirking, because his voice is trembling. 

"Harry, let's just get out of here," Louis mutters quietly. 

"No one is going anywhere," Niall says. "We need to talk this out first."

"I don't want to talk to you," Harry huffs, and Louis supposes he meant for it to come out stronger than it had; instead he finds like an upset toddler pouting. It shouldn't be as cute as it is, given the circumstances, of course; but Louis can't help but roll his eyes. Fondly. "Either of of you."

"Harry, don't be silly. Nobody loves you the way I do," Colette tries, but Louis really has had enough of her and her bullshit lies. She's done nothing but be a nuisance in the past few hours. 

"You don't love him. You used him for money and for sex," Louis blurts, "And you're probably using Niall for the same reason!"

Something flashes in her eyes; Louis can't tell if it's anger or.. guilt? He stands his ground, though, and stares at the two people across the room with his mouth set in a hard line. It feels weird and normal at the same time, Louis and Harry against everyone else; but it's been so long that Louis had almost forgot the way Harry's shoe accidentally kicking into his when he tries to move forward felt. He had almost forgotten the way that Harry backing him up had made his heart swell and his mouth twitch with pride, he had almost forgotten what it felt like to not be so alone.

"She's not using me," Niall protests, but it's weak and he's staring at the ground. Louis isn't sure, but he thinks Niall may be crying.

"What about Harry, then?"

Silence.

"What makes you think she's not doing the same thing to you, Niall?" Louis hisses, but softens his tone when Niall flinches. "You're better than this."

"I know her, Louis, you don't understand," Niall's blue eyes are red, and he's trying to subtly move toward Colette. Louis definitely has noticed it, though. "She told me what she felt for me was real."

"She told me the same goddamn bullshit," Harry sounds more distant than usual, and Louis knows he's slowly slipping in and out of sanity. Harry doesn't often get angry, but when he does it tends to be sudden and very, very ugly. Louis isn't sure if he should cower behind Harry (as if that would help anyone) or drag him from the room before someone gets punched, but he feels as if it's not his job to step in. This is between Niall, Colette, and Harry.

Colette is still suspiciously quiet, and she's even had the audacity to inch behind Niall as if he could actually protect her from the words being fired at her. It makes Louis' teeth grind together, and he physically bites down on his tongue to keep himself from defending Harry's name or person.

"I just can't believe you of all people would do this to me," Harry says quietly, and it sounds defeated. Crushed. Done.

"I'm sorry," Niall says, but he's standing up straighter now. Niall is always so concerned about what other people think of him that it worries Louis. Much like Harry, he bottles up secrets and emotions. Both Louis and Niall know that you can only fit so much into a bottle until it spills over and eventually makes a mess.

"If you were that sorry you'd not have done it in the first place," Harry answers shakily, and he allows Louis to push him out of the room slowly with his hand pressed to Harry's chest. 

"Please, Harry, talk to me," Niall - or Colette, Louis is too focused on Harry to notice or care - pleas, but Louis has Harry out in the hallway now and he closes the door behind him on the way out. 

Harry doesn't even cry. He hangs his head and runs a hand through his hair once, twice, three times before he sighs and looks back at Louis.

"What do you say we get out of here?"

Louis cocks an eyebrow. "Um, what?"

"We get out of here. You know, like, we open the door, walk through it-"

"Yes, yes, I understand the phrase perfectly," Louis grunts, "But - are you sure? You don't look okay."

"I'm fine," Harry says shortly, and he takes Louis' arm in his hand and begins to quite literally drag him toward an elevator. "We should go somewhere where there won't be tons of people. Do you know your way around.. em, where are we?"

"Birmingham," Louis sighs as Harry stuffs him in the elevator. 

"Right, right."

"I just want to go home, to be honest," Louis bites his lip when Harry claps his hands together, because he already knows where this is going.

"Great, I'll come with you."

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