No judgement

7

Amelia had to work on Saturday and Harry went into town with her. He had been thinking about getting a part-time job and Tom had called a friend of his that owned a bakery.

He met up with Bethany, a sweet middle-aged lady, and walked out of there forty minutes later with a part-time job. He would start next weekend.

He strolled around in town aimlessly for a while. He had no distinct plan where he was heading but he came closer and closer to his old neighborhood. He found himself standing in front of their old house eventually. It looked different but it brought back some unpleasant memories.

He turned around and headed towards the lake instead. He was curious to see if the old treehouse was still there. Ten minutes later he had reached the familiar place and to his surprise, the treehouse was still there and it looked like it was in a good condition.

He stared at it for a while before he climbed the ladder and poked his head inside. He immediately furrowed his eyebrows. It looked like a crackhouse. Or how he would imagine a crackhouse would look like. He hadn't actually seen one in real life. Only in movies.

Okay, crackhouse was maybe an overstatement but someone clearly used the treehouse to get high. A mattress was laying in a corner with some pillows and blankets. On a wooden crate, an ashtray was positioned and it was filled with what looked like the remains of marijuana joints. Harry felt violated. He built this treehouse with Louis as a child and they spent a lot of time making it so they could have a secret hideout. It made him sad to see that someone else used it as a place to get high.

He got angry and grabbed the blankets and threw them outside. He was just about to get rid of the mattress as well when someone shouted:
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Harry turned around and was surprised to see that boy Tommo on his way into the treehouse.
"You! Are you the one getting high in here? Why am I not surprised?" He snorted accusingly.

"You're trespassing. Get out and leave my stuff alone!" Tommo shouted.

"I'm trespassing? This is my treehouse!" Harry shouted back.

"Don't be ridiculous! It's my treehouse." Tommo yelled back.

What? It couldn't be. Harry stared at the smaller boy with his mouth hanging open.
"Louis?"

"How the hell do you know my name? Fucking stalker!" Louis growled. He clenched his fist and looked ready to punch him.

"It's me! Harry!" Harry hurried to say.

Louis stared at him in disbelief.
"That's not possible." He whispered. He looked pale. 

Harry reached for the necklace underneath his sweatshirt and pulled it out.
"Look, I'm still wearing the paper plane necklace you gave me."

Louis immediately put a hand underneath his ruff and pulled out his necklace too. Harry couldn't believe he was wearing it as well. They stayed silent, just staring at each other.
"Why are you back?" Louis finally asked.

"I was bullied in school so my mum thought it would be a great idea if I would come here and live with my aunt now when my dad has died." Harry answered.

"Oh." Louis said.

"You've changed." Harry stated.

"So have you." Louis retorted.

"Not really. I still like my bright colors." Harry said and made a hand gesture at his clothes. He was wearing a multicolored knitted sweatshirt and some purple trousers.

That actually brought a smile to Louis's lips but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"This was a lovely reunion and all but I have things to do now so you should get going." He said dismissively.

"Getting high?" Harry asked.

"Yep." Louis smirked.

"What happened to you," Harry questioned, sounding sad.

"Like you care. We were friends a long time ago, there's no need for this. Just leave me alone." Louis sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

Harry stared at him pensively.
"No."

Louis rolled his eyes at him and huffed.
"I've been polite enough. I don't want you back in my life Harry. Just fuck off."

He picked up the blankets and walked over to the mattress and sat down. Harry watched him roll a joint.  
"No." He said again before he turned around and climbed down from the treehouse.

He ran through the small forest. He had to digest this. He was in a little bit of a shock. That was Louis? His childhood best friend that he 'married' up in that treehouse? His first crush? The boys he had cried over for months when he moved to Ireland?  

The sweet, kind, and happy boy he once knew had turned into an angry loner who smoked pot. Why? There was no way in hell that he would just fuck off as Louis had suggested. He had told him that he would come back for him and here he was even if Louis clearly wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

He walked into town again and headed for the shop where his aunt worked.
"Hi sweetie, how did the job interview go?" Amelia asked as soon as he stepped inside.

"What? Oh, good. I got the job." Harry answered absent-mindedly.

"Okay, what happened?" Amelia asked in concern.

"It's nothing really, I just ran into an old friend and he wasn't exactly happy to see me." Harry sighed.

"Louis?" Amelia questioned with a smile.

"Yeah, how did you know that?" Harry asked and stared at his aunt.

"You two were inseparable back then. Why wasn't he happy to see you?" Amelia wondered.

"I don't know really." Harry answered.

"Just give him some time. He was probably shocked." Amelia suggested.

"Yeah, probably."
They went back to the farm an hour later and Harry went to his room after he had helped Amelia get ready for her date with Troy. He had a lot to think about. Or one thing really, Louis. He wanted to make up for the fact that he left him behind even if he hadn't had a choice. They couldn't tell anyone back home where they moved because of his dad so he couldn't keep in touch. He wished he had anyway.