Right By Your Side ~ Larry Stylinson

Chapter 8: Nightminds

"And in our honesty, together we will rise
out of our nightminds
and into the light at the end of the fight..."
Missy Higgins

Louis woke groggy on Sunday morning, sluggish with the heat and having slept too long. With Zayn out on his date with Niall, he'd been feeling a little sorry for himself and after staring at Harry's Facebook pictures for over an hour, he'd had an early night, sleeping like the dead for almost twelve hours.

It wasn't that he wasn't happy for Zayn – he was, and Niall was a great guy. But Louis couldn't help but feel a tiny bit jealous, even though he hated to admit it, because it made him feel so mean-spirited. He just envied the fact that there were no impediments to Zayn and Niall hooking up. It was grossly unfair and he felt the resentment creep in, bringing his mood down as he wandered downstairs to make himself a mug of tea.

The day was already steamy and the air was heavy with the scent of frangipanis from the tree in the backyard. Louis clicked on the air conditioner on his way to the kitchen, still not used to the humidity.

When Zayn wandered into the kitchen not long after him, Louis pulled out another cup and made him a cup of tea without needing to ask. Zayn smiled as he took it and Louis rolled his eyes.

"So I see I don't need to ask how the evening went – it's literally written all over your face."

Zayn grinned, his face lighting up as he answered. "He's so great, Lou. We had such a fantastic evening. We just talked and laughed all night, like we'd known each other forever, you know?"

Yes, yes I do know, Louis thought, that's how I feel with Harry.

He smiled at Zayn fondly. "I'm happy for you Z, I really am."

"Thanks Lou. Oh! By the way, Harry, Niall and Liam are heading to the beach today. They wanted to know if we'd like to go too – are you down?"

Louis' pulse quickened at the thought of spending the day with Harry. They hadn't spent any time outside SeaWorld since the BBQ the weekend before and he couldn't think of anything he'd like more. He kept his voice as casual as he could when he answered.

"Sure, sounds good" he replied lightly, busying himself making some toast so Zayn couldn't see how hard he had to work to keep the stupid grin off his face.

***

Niall and Harry came by to collect them at eleven thirty and the heat was stifling as they left the house and hopped in the car. When he slid into the backseat, Harry turned from his seat in the front and grinned at Louis, his smile pure sunshine.

"G'morning Lou" he drawled, eyes skipping down Louis' body, briefly dwelling on his pink swim shorts before returning to his eyes.

Louis beamed back at him. "Morning H."

They shared a fond look before Zayn crowded into the backseat next to Louis and they were on their way.

They passed the local beach without stopping, Niall explaining that it often got crowded with Gold Coast tourists. Instead, they drove a bit further to a smaller, lesser known beach, surrounded by sand dunes and sitting inside a protected cove, so the waves were only small. It was really picturesque and there were only a few other people around. Louis hopped out of the car, smiling at the pretty cove. He didn't hear Harry walking up behind him, so he jumped when Harry leant down to murmur in his ear.

"Pretty isn't it?" he said in a soft, low voice.

Louis started, but didn't turn around. Instead, he leaned backward into Harry's chest, Harry's arms immediately coming up to rest on his hips.