the treehouse | larry stylinson

two

after that, niall just held me. he held me until i had stopped crying, he always does.

we sat there for an hour, just hugging while niall whispered words as "you're okay, it's fine, deep breaths louis.", he knew exactly how to calm me down.

after a while when i had recollected myself, niall stood up and i watched him with fearful eyes. he must've noticed because he gave me another hug and said, "i'm not leaving you, i'm just going to see where zayn and liam went. you can come with if you want to."

i nodded carefully and stood up. he grabbed my hand and together we walked out of the ice cream parlor.

it took me a few weeks to warm up to liam, and a couple more to warm up to zayn, but i got there. i had learned that zayn had some anger issues that he'd been working on, and that he was truly sorry for how he had behaved that night at the ice cream parlor.

and it was actually nice, just the four of us. we were inseparable from that moment on. liam and zayn had quickly learned that i wasn't very talkative unless someone spoke to me first, so they just accepted that and kept that in mind.

it wasn't until around a year later, when i was 18, that i met him.

"hey mate, wanna come over and play some mario kart?" niall's voice sounded through my phone. i was sitting in my treehouse calming myself down after waking up from yet another terrible nightmare.

"i don't know... i'm not feeling very-" i began.

"come on louis! liam and zayn couldn't make it today, and i have breakfast!" he said enthusiastically. i couldn't help but smile, that boy was far too in love with food.

"sure. i'll be there in 20 minutes." i gave in.

"hurry! we miss you!" he said laughing, dragging out the 'you'. i hung up after that, and slowly made my way down the almost-broken ladder.

the ladder made a creaking noise as i climbed down, and i made a mental note to fix it later. i wasn't exactly handy with wood tech, but i'd rather try to fix it than getting hurt if it were to break.

i dragged my feet across the small pathway that lead up to my house. it was a five minute walk, three if you ran, which felt oddly long today.

my mum was still asleep when i got inside, so i quickly grabbed my backpack and locked the front door on my way out.

when i arrived at niall's house i was greeted by his mum, who was standing in the front garden and watering som plants or something. i just waved in response, to which she smiled. pretty much everyone around me knew that i wasn't very talkative, so they'd just be happy if i acknowledged them at all.

since i'd already met niall's mum, i just walked in without knocking. it wasn't weird at all, i usually spent most of my weekends here, so his family was pretty used to me being around.

i walked up the stairs and then down the hallway to niall's room.

i stopped right outside his door, where i heard niall and someone else talking on the other side of it. i didn't recognize the voice, and i didn't think anyone would be here. i immediately felt my nerves and anxiety threaten to make a visit, so i decided to eavesdrop before walking in.

i stepped closer and put my head against the door, it sounded like... like fighting?

"you can't be here right now mate, it's not a good time." niall said to the other person.

"well where the fuck am i supposed to go then?" the other person said.

the voice belonged to a boy, i could tell. it was dark and mysterious, but at the same time it was the most sweetest sound i'd ever heard.

"i don't know, okay? just not here, i don't think it's a good idea..." niall responded to the boy. i could tell that he was trying to calm himself down, to not get mad at the other boy.

"just please, i'll stay out of your way. i promise." the other boy begged.

"fine. but you'll have to go now, louis is going to be here any second now, i don't want him to be uncomfortable." niall responded.

i panicked when i heard footsteps coming closer to the door. i backed away quickly and managed to fall backwards on my butt, and seeing as niall didn't want this person to meet me, i had no way to escape. i was going to meet this person, the boy with the dark, mysterious, angelic voice.

the door opened forcefully, and out came an absolutely gorgeous boy, with brown, wild curls and eyes as green as the grass on a hot summer day. he was the definition of beautiful.

our eyes met and for the first time, i didn't look away. i didn't have to. somehow this person made me feel safe and comfortable, while making me blush and feeling shy at the same time.

he smiled at me. probably not for the reason you'd think, no. probably for the reason that i was a total stranger sitting on the floor outside of niall's room, with my mouth parted slightly due to shock. but that smile. whatever the reason behind it was, it was definitely worth it.

"yeah, niall? i think louis is here already." he said smirkingly, and i wanted to disappear in embarrassment. niall was quick to walk towards me to check on me, he was very overprotective in situations like this one.

"louis... i didn't think you'd be here so soon." he said while dragging his hand across his hair. i could feel the way he just waited for me to have a reaction to all this, but i stayed quiet.

"okay uh... this is harry." he gestured at the angelic boy, harry, and continued. "he'll be staying here for a few weeks..."

harry smiled at me, showing of his adorable dimples that could make any bad day turn around. he held out his hand and i was quick to stand up, but he just kept it there. there was a slightly awkward silence before i realized that he wanted to shake my hand, something i knew would be far too much to handle for me.

niall realized this too, because he was very to place a hand on harry's shoulder, which caused harry's smile to fade.

"he doesn't really like to shake hands." niall explained. it wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. but it was better to say that, than to say "oh here's my friend louis, who just happens to not like to be touched in any shape or form by people that haven't gained his trust." yeah, no. what niall said was way better.

harry nodded in response before turning to me again.

"it's fine, i get it. i'm harry, nice to meet you." he said and flashed his million dollar smile again, and i found myself giving a weak smile too, because that's how much he affected me right from the start.

i stayed silent again, and hadn't it been for niall standing there beside harry, this conversation would've been even more awkward. then again, it can't really get any worse.

"he's a little shy." niall said, which was also partly true. harry frowned at first, but nodded calmly and gave me a comforting smile.

"it's alright. uh, it was nice meeting you louis, i'll see you around i guess." he said confidently, before turning to niall. "i'll be in my room." and then he just walked off. just like that.

after that it was kind of fuzzy. niall was talking about something while i just sat there on his bed pretending to listen, occasionally humming in agreement or nodding slightly. i couldn't make out exactly what it was that he was saying, i was too lost in my own mind.

my mind, which was being occupied by a couple of bright green eyes and a dimpled smile.