The Hibiscus Project

PROLOGUE

Fat.

“Having too much flabby tissue; corpulent; obese.”

Fat.

It was such a… a degrading word. A label that made others instantly judge you.

Fat.

The word made Harry Styles cringe, because his boyfriend overused the word way too much.

“I’m fat,” Louis Tomlinson would whine, shirt pulled up over his belly as he observed himself in the mirror. He’d push his tummy out the slightest bit in order to criticize himself further, and it simply broke Harry’s heart. Louis would then poke and prod at every part of him-- his stomach, cheeks, ribs (which were protruding abnormally from his torso), thighs and so on. Louis’ insecurities took over his entire life. He’d repeat the process of degrading his body in front of the reflective surface three times a day. One in the morning, as he got ready for school, one during gym, while he was changing into and out of his gym suit, and three at the end of the day, just before he ate (well, binged on and then threw up) his dinner. Louis thought he was, well, imperfect.

Harry thought differently.

Louis was beautiful, in every way possible. From his sparkling azure eyes, to his dainty, small hands, to his cute little feet. Everything about him, was, well, flawless.

And Louis had yet to see that.

It was just now, as Louis and Harry walked towards Harry’s range rover after school, that Louis piped up.

“I’m starting a new diet, Harry.”

Silence.

“It’s called detox something or another. It’s where you only drink water for a week. It’s, like, the ultimate cleansing,” Louis explained shortly, gesturing wildly as he spoke with such animation. Harry narrowed his eyes, digging in his back pocket and pulling out his keys. He unlocked the car and opened the passenger side door for Louis, who thanked him meekly. Harry stayed silent until they were both in the car, though he did not start it.

“I don’t support this, Louis,” Harry stated, grabbing Louis’ hand over the console and gripping it tightly. Louis’ head swayed to the side, blue eyes meeting green.

“What do you mean? You’re my boyfriend. You’re supposed to support everything I do.” Harry shook his head. “I’m your boyfriend, yes, but I’m supposed to support what’s healthy for you and what’s best for the both of us. And you starting another diet--”

“--because I’m fat,” Louis chimed in. Harry grunted and closed his eyes.

“”--is the last thing we need. You don’t need to lose anymore weight. You are not fat. How many times do I have to tell you that?” Harry inquired, looking ahead of him instead of maintaining eye contact with his lover. Louis inhaled sharply, a lump forming in his throat. His dainty hand slipped from Harry’s, and the sound of the car door opening met Harry’s ears.

“I’m getting a ride from Zayn, my supportive best friend who’s always there for me,” he choked out and slammed the car door, leaving Harry alone.

Alone.

Another word Harry hated.

Alone; separate, apart, or isolated from others; to the exclusion of all others or all else.

Harry shuddered, for he needed to fix Louis’ issues. But how? He brainstormed, right then and there in his range rover, thinking of how he could make Louis stop thinking so negatively about himself.

As Harry drove home, alone, he thought about all the ways he could make Louis feel beautiful.

And that’s when the Hibiscus Project started.