carpe diem. • l. stylinson (BoyxBoy)

iii

A/N: Thank you so much for reading this so far! I'm happy to hear your feedback. Have a great day!

['Hangout' Set, November 9, 2014, 4:40 pm, 'FOUR' Hangout]

BEN: (eyebrows raised) "Larry?" (leans forward in interest) "The ship name that you boys have?"

LOUIS: "Yeah. That's it."

HARRY: (tries to hide his tension, speaks casually) "What about it, Lou?"

BEN: "I'm guessing that the fans out there have their ears pressed close to their speakers. You said that there are things that still kind of ruin or affect you two in any way, and you said Larry. What's it about, Louis?"

LOUIS: (shrugs) "I don't know, it's just that, people tend to take it over the top, you know? Making all these silly things about me and Harry that we're more than just friends and we've stepped it up to the status of being lovers and such."

BEN: "Yeah, I'm sure we've all heard about those rumors, and what's your reaction when you keep on hearing those who are making things up about you two?"

LOUIS: "At first, when the five of us were still young ..."

LIAM: "We still are."

NIALL: (clears throat) "Twenty-three."

(Whole crew laughs, LOUIS tries to hold his snicker)

LOUIS: "Right, thanks, Niall, appreciate it. Um, anyway, when we were still young, you know, back in The X-Factor, we've clicked pretty much easily and we had this bond that we instantly formed as ... brothers. We're comfortable with one another and such, hugging, giving motherly kisses on each other's foreheads whenever we do something good or move on to the next round. And Harry's been like my first brother back in the day and for me, I just don't like our friendship to be tainted with something that's quite ... absurd, you know what I'm sayin'? I was like his mother back at the camp!"

ZAYN: "And Liam was your husband." (Everyone laughed again)

LIAM: "Lou, you were like my eldest, rebel son runnin' around those doors like a five-year old with these two." (points at HARRY and NIALL)

LOUIS: (mocks in defense) "I don't remember any of that, Liam. I was a responsible guardian." (pauses, his expression suddenly grim) "Anyway, the point is, we're like family and it's not appropriate to hear those things about us. That's what I think."

BEN: "Right. Got it, Louis. So because of all this fuss that you two are having, did it ... okay, not only you two, but let's go with the whole band, did it affect you in any way?"(NIALL, LIAM, ZAYN and HARRY shake their heads except LOUIS). "Louis is always opposing you, boys. What's in your head?"

LOUIS: (bites his lip and exhales, a little displeased) "It just feels awkward to me. People won't even find their time to shut it for a while and just learn to let that thing go."

LIAM: "No, what I think about it is that it's really interesting that people are taking their time to get these things in their head and take it to the level we couldn't even imagine, but speaking in behalf of these two, it's really nothing serious and I see them just laugh about it."

LOUIS: "Sure, we laugh about it, Liam, but there are certain things that needed to stop because it's like, the friendship that Harry and I have are being put with enough malice that frustrates me, you know? No matter how many times we say it, people continue to insist that it's real. There would be awkward times when we'd be together and I would hear the Press or girls that they want us to hold hands. My girlfriend was there and it's ... it's not cool."

BEN: "I didn't know that people would-" (HARRY raises his hand) "Yes, Harry? Go on."

(ALL eyes on HARRY except LOUIS)

HARRY: (tries to joke, anxious and peeved) "So that's why we're not sitting beside each other today? Because you feel awkward being with me, Lou?"

LOUIS: (scoffs) "No ... no, you know that's not what I'm saying, Harry. That's not my point."

HARRY: (looks at BEN, shrugs) "I never thought that my best bud, Louis would feel that way."

(The boys speak all at the same time, words indistinct)

LOUIS: "Okay, just to get this done. The world knows how much I love these boys. I love Harry. I just don't want our friendship to be laid on the line over a silly belief and I don't want our fans to fight about it, saying that the Larry thing as lovers is real. I hope you understand. And we're here to talk about our album!"

LIAM: "Larry is real." (puts HARRY'S hand on top of LOUIS') "Larry as friends."

HARRY: "I-it is. Right, Lou?" (anxiously waits for his answer, looks at him intently)

LOUIS: (looks back and smiles at him, lightly pats his hand) "Yeah. My best friend, everybody!"

NIALL: (shouts) "Alrighty boys, give ourselves a hand!" (Whole crew applauds, LIAM gives HARRY and LOUIS a hand).

HARRY: (whispers through the applause) "Thanks for backing me up, Liam." (LIAM nods and smiles at him)

LIAM: (nudges HARRY, whispers quickly) "Smile, man. I know it hurts, but you have to smile."