Stolen Kisses; Larry Stylinson

Eight

Harry carries the last bag down the stairs in the early morning with a frown etched on his face. He watches Louis rushing around the house, making sure he has all of his stuff before he has to make his drive to London. Harry sets the bag next to the door and lets himself fall back onto the couch, thinking over the last few months.

With Zayn and Louis both leaving for London once school was out, the boys wanted to make the most of their summer. They ran around all day and all hours of the night crossing things off to do. They ate lunch at their favorite diner almost every day, took many lake trips, and tons of late-night drives. The five boys spent every single day together, rotating between each other's houses and spending time with each other's families. There wasn't a minute that Harry wasn't all over Louis. He would hang onto his shirt sleeves, get on his lap every time he sat down, sit up on the countertop while Louis brushed his teeth, and even give him a cheek kiss while supporting a frown every time the older boy went to the restroom. Although Harry always had fun with the boys, he couldn't help but feel a sadness in the pit of his stomach at the thought of his friends leaving.

He huffs and leans his head into the couch as Louis walks over and sits next to him.

"What's the frown for lad?"

Harry hesitates. He doesn't want to lie to Lou, but he knows that telling him the reason for him being upset could lead to Louis staying in Doncaster. Or running away forever. He can't ruin this for Louis. He can't mess anything up for him. He puts on a tight-lipped smile and sighs.

"I'm just going to miss you. Both of you." He lets out a laugh, although there's not very much emotion behind it. "You guys are going to have so much fun you'll forget about your little eleventh graders back at home." He attempts to say it as a joke, trying not to let Louis know that it's how he really feels.

"I could never forget about my eleventh graders! Especially not you." Louis leans his forehead against Harrys and smiles. "You guys are my babies. These two years will go by in no time, and then you'll all be joining me and Zayn in London."

Even though Louis said babies, plural, Harry can't help but turn red. Louis called him his baby. This makes Harry smile back at Louis as he nods. Louis holds onto his hand and suddenly pulls his eyebrows together, pursing his lips.

"Harry, there is something I need to talk to you about before we leave. Just you and I, we should talk now so we won't be worried about distractions when everyone else gets here."

Harry nods, confused, while Louis takes his hand and leads Harry to his bedroom. They sit next to each other on the bed and Louis lets out a shaky breath. He rubs his sweaty palms against his jeans and places all of his focus on a specific spot of the floor. Harry stares at him, waiting for him to speak. It's rare that Harry sees his best friend like this, if ever, so what comes next leaves him at a loss for words.

"Harry, I'm gay." Louis hesitantly looks up to see Harry's reaction. Harry's eyebrows are shot up and his lips are slightly parted, frozen as if he's trying to understand what he's hearing. Louis continues speaking, ignoring the bile piling up in his stomach.

"Liam and Zayn kind of just, knew. I guess. I never agreed with them, but I never denied it either. I think I always knew; I was just too afraid to admit it. I was too afraid to accept who I am. But I'm not now." He wipes his hands against his jeans again, starting to regret his decision but he keeps talking.

"Eleanor and I never actually dated. I just asked her if she would be my girlfriend until I was ready to come out and she agreed. We've always been just friends and honestly most of the time when we went on our dates, we would just hang out at her house for a couple of hours talking about boys, especially you. That's why we never kissed and-"