Part two of the final chapter guys!!!
I know this has taken extremely long to post, but I’ve been away on holiday in greece and didn’t have time to write. I hope you enjoy anyway:) (also, this isn’t edited because it would take forever for me to go read through it all again hahah)
PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR NOTES AT THE END!!!
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Flashback, Mid August, X Factor:
“Harry!” Niall shouted from his, Zayn and Liam’s room after unpacking their suitcases.
“What?” Harry replied, poking his head out the door to see what the boy wanted.
“Could we go in the pool? We thought it could be fun” Niall asked hopefully, a huge grin on his face.
“Sure, I’ll just tell Louis and we will meet you out there” Harry agreed with a nod before turning back into his and Louis’ room.
“We’re going in the pool, did you bring any swim wear?” He asked Lou as he was finishing up with his unpacking.
“Uh, no actually, I didn’t. Shit” Louis said with wide eyes. “I could just go in with my boxers on?” He asked, unsure.
“I’ve got a pair you can wear and I’ll wear my boxers instead. I’ll probably just end up taking them off for a skinny dip anyways” Harry offered nonchalantly, smirking at Louis shocked face.
“Mate, you’re that comfortable already are you?” Louis teased, shaking his head at the younger lad.
“Well, there’s something you should know about me if we’re going to be in a band together” Harry said with a cheeky smile, shrugging.
“And what is that dear Harold? Do tell”
“I get naked, a lot, so you lot better suck it up as you’ll be seeing plenty of me” Harry stated, grinning once again.
“Well then, guess I could get used to that” Louis said sarcastically, winking at harry who laughed in return and shoved his shoulder playfully.
Harry walked over to the wardrobe where he had unpacked all his clothes and pulled out a pair of black swimming shorts, handing them over to Louis who thanked him in return as harry turned away for him to get changed.
Once ready, Louis in Harrys shorts and Harry in his white and black striped boxers, they walked outside to meet the lads by the pool.
It was only when harry stepped out the door that he realised he didn’t have shoes on, and it would be a pain in the ass trying to walk on the gravel pathway.
“Shit this hurts!” Harry exclaimed, tip toeing his way around the side of the bungalow as Louis walked casually ahead of him, actually wearing a pair of shoes.
“Oh don’t be a baby, you should’ve worn shoes. Don’t you know your own house?” Louis joked, laughing as harry stumbled away behind him.
“I’m not a baby, and I forgot my shoes not the bloody path!” Harry argued, wincing as he stepped on a particularly sharp stone.
“Yes you are Haz, you’re the youngest, there fore making you the baby of the group” Louis said fondly, finally putting an arm around Harrys shoulders to help him along the final patch of gravel before he finally reached the smooth tiled flooring.
“Yeah yeah, whatever” Harry grumbled, rolling his eyes although he was smiling, the feeling of Louis hands on his bare shoulders making his skin tingle.
“Finally! What took youse both so long?” Zayn asked from the side of the pool where he was dangling his feet in the water.
“We were trying to find swim wear, harry lent me his” Louis replied with a shrug, releasing harry from his grip and running towards the pool before canon-balling into the cold water.
“Holy shit it’s freezing!” He exclaimed as he breached the surface of the water, panting aggressively as he felt the icy substance consume him.
“It’s fine after a while, what did you expect anyway? It’s a pool in the fucking uk” Harry laughed, walking over to the side of the pool and dipping his toes in the water to test the temperature; sure enough, it was in fact freezing.
“Well you bloody get in then you twat” Louis retorted, smirking as he made his way over to Harry.
“I don’t wanna get in yet” The curly haired boy said, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest, shivering at the cold air.
“Oh come on, thought you said it was fine after a while?” Louis sassed, tilting his head to the side as he mocked him.
“Yeah, once you’re in. But that’s the hard part”
“Help me out then, I’m not staying in here alone, that’s no fun” Louis whined, holding his hand up to harry at the edge of the pool.
And of course, harry was naive enough to actually take the boys hand; missing the smirk on Louis face.
“Gotcha!” Louis yelled as he tugged harshly on Harrys hand, causing the boy to tumble into the water with a large splash and yelp.
Louis laughed manically as he watched harry splutter once he had come up from the water, along with the other boys who were watching from the side.
“You tricked me!” Harry yelled, a pout forming on his cold lips.
“No harry, I simply forgot to push instead of pull. Funny how gravity works ey?” Louis argues sarcastically, grinning at the drenched boy.
“Ha ha very funny” Harry replied before splashing Louis with a large amount of water, right into Louis face.
“Oi!”
“You deserved that” Harry said with a smirk.
“Oh so you wanna play that game huh? It’s on Styles!” Louis exclaimed dramatically before splashing a wave of water at harry, it soon turning into a plain old water fight.
“Canon ball!” Niall exclaimed before jumping into the water right by the other two lads, creating a large splash over the two who laughed at the action.
“Come on, Liam, Zayn? Get in already!” Louis called, gesturing with a wave of his hand for the two to join them.
“It’s too cold” Liam whined, standing away from the pool.
“It’s fine once you’re in, like we said. Don’t be spoil sports” Harry replied, attempting to slash water at them from his position in the pool.
“Alright alright fine” Liam sighed before slipping into the water carefully, hissing at the cold temperature.
“Zayn?” Niall said with a raise of his eyebrows, nodding for him to get into the pool.
“Ugh, Alright” He agreed, and then there were all five of them splashing about in the water.
About ten minutes in, harry decided it was time to free his manhood.
“Harry, What the fuck are you doing mate. Put your clothes on Jesus!” Liam called, looking away as harry pulled his soaking wet boxers out from the water.
“What? None of you into skinny dipping?” Harry replied casually, a smirk playing on his lips.
“No harry, we’re not. Fucking hell” Zayn said, scrunching up his face and looking away.
“Well, I happen to like being naked, a lot. So you better get used to it, or leave the band” Harry said sarcastically, causing Louis to laugh at his sass, thinking he’ll use that sometime in the future.
“Let the guy do what he wants, not like we can stop him” Louis stated, winking over at harry who grinned in return.
“How the fuck are you both so comfortable already? Are you secretly dating or some shit?” Liam asked, raising his eyebrows at the two.
Louis was taken back by the question at first, but quickly re composed himself as he swam over to harry and put an arm around his shoulders, not caring if the boy was naked or not.
“Yes, in fact Liam we are. Isn’t that right Harry?” Louis joked, looking at harry and patting his shoulder.
“Yup, I proposed to him at the X factor and everything” Harry said cheekily, laughing along with Louis.
“Oh, perfect, we’ve got an old married couple in the band guys! Won’t that be a good headline” Niall shouted, smiling over at the lads.
“We are not old, Niall. Just married, thank you very much” Louis said, putting his free hand on his hip.
“Mate, you’re the oldest in the group. Funny coming from you isn’t it” Zayn said with a laugh, making Louis roll his eyes.
“By like a year! It’s not that much difference” Louis shrugged, finally taking his arm off harry.
“Whatever, you don’t act like it anyway” Zayn retorted, earning a slap from Louis on the arm.
“I think the better way to put that is I’m more fun than you Zayn” Louis replied with a smirk before splashing more water into the mans face.
“My hair! You- you wanker! Fuck you tommo” Zayn screeched, after spending about ten minutes prior desperately trying to keep his locks dry.
“Oh get over yourself. Who you trying to impress anyway, it’s only us lads” Louis replied, scoffing at the insult thrown his way.
“Nobody, especially not you” Zayn retorted, earning a fake gasp of shock from Louis in which he rolled his eyes at.
They spend another half an hour in the pool before deciding it was time to head back inside, their now pruny skin being the big indicator.
And as harry pulled himself out of the pool, stark naked, Louis got an eye full of the boys ass. And if he slightly enjoyed the sight, nobody needed to know but himself.
End of flashback.
–
Present day, filming the video.
“And that my friends, was the first time I even saw Harry styles naked” Louis said as he finished explaining the memory, sending a cheeky wink to the camera.
“Bet you loved it” Harry stated, grinning at his boyfriend.
“Maybe a little” Louis admitted with a smirk, shrugging the comment off.
“Um, sorry, but I do recall catching you eyeing me up at least five times while in that pool. ‘A little’ is a bloody understatement, I know you were fucking enjoying yourself the entire time” Harry sassed back, looking offended when in reality he found the entire situation funny.
“Do keep in mind though that at that point in my life I considered myself straight. So obviously any thoughts I may have had were pushed away just as quickly. It was confusing as hell Harold” Louis quipped, looking pointedly at harry.
“I guess you’re right. Neither of us had had any experience with boys at that point in our lives so we were pretty much in denial of any feelings towards one another” Harry explained with a shrug, Louis agreeing as he nodded his head along.
“Hm, your ass was good back then, fucking pale though” Louis stated while in thought, earning a smack on the shoulder from harry as everyone behind the camera began laughing.
“Well I’m sorry I didn’t go on holiday much back then. Hard to get a tan in the fucking uk” Harry argued, crossing his arms over his chest as he faked a pout.
“Yeh, shame there weren’t orange girls and fake tan back then. They could’ve taught you how to be a cheese puff” Louis said with a huge grin, instantly lightening the mood as harry cracked a smile.
“God, you’re so right. Teens nowadays may as well be orange highlighters” Harry said as he shook his head, laughing with Louis.
“Oi! We’re not orange!” Phoebe shouted from the back of the room, daisy agreeing with her.
“Maybe not anymore, all your fake tan has washed off now” Louis teased, only to have a pillow thrown at his head from where they were sitting on the couches.
“Alright alright enough! You’ll end up knocking over the camera equipment” Louis shouted, but smiled at them before getting back on track with filming.
“Okay, soo, then what?” Harry asked, thinking back to what else they did at the bungalow.
“Oh shit! Remember when we played truth or dare round the fire pit” Louis suddenly exclaimed with a smile, the lads behind the camera instantly peeking up, knowing exactly what had happened.
Flashback, mid August, X factor.
“Okay, so we need to get to know each other properly and make sure we all get along well before we head to judges houses. I think now’s the best time to do that. Anyone got any suggestions on how we do this, cuz in my opinion I think it’ll just be boring if we sit and ask shitty questions like ‘what do you do in spare time'”
Louis asked as they all got comfy around the fire pit, each seated on deck chairs and pillows, with blankets each. They had marshmallows and sticks to roast over the fire, and Harrys dad had stocked up the fridge with beer for them, knowing they needed to have as much fun as possible before heading to Simons house.
Of course though, if they ran out, Louis could always run to the shop near by and get more alcohol, seeming as he was 18.
“How about we play a game then? Truth or dare, we can have a laugh and get to know each other at the same time” Niall suggested, smiling widely when all the lads agreed.
“Alright, Niall can go first then, seeming as he came up with the idea” Harry stated as he snuggled further under his blanket.
Louis looked over at the boy and couldn’t help but think how adorable he looked, with his knees tucked under his chin, a blanket cocooning him and a marshmallow stuffed in his rosy cheek. God help him.
“Alright. Liam, truth or dare?”
“I go with truth first, start off easy” Liam shrugged, earning a groan from Louis.
“Boring!” Louis exclaimed, earning a scowl from Liam.
“Whatever” Liam muttered, focusing back on Niall.
“Okay, hmm, if you had to get rid of one of us, who would it be?” Niall asked with a smirk, the rest of the lads all ‘ooo’ing at the question.
“I barely know any of you” Liam said, furrowing his brows.
“From first impressions then” Zayn negotiated, smiling over at Liam as he tried to help him out.
“Okay, based on first impressions, I’d say Louis”
“What the fuck? Why?” Louis spat out, giving Liam the bitch face.
“Chill mate, it’s only cause I think we’re very different. You’re too loud for someone like me” Liam explained with a shrug, rolling his eyes slightly.
“Nah, you’re just a bore” Louis sassed, taking a sip from his beer smugly as he heard harry tey to muffle a laugh.
“Fuck off you know nothing about me” Liam replied in a much firmer tone, slowly losing his patience with the sassy boy in front of him.
“I know you well enough to gather that you’re a goody two shoes bore with zero personality”
“Oh yeh? Mate, you’re the fucking oldest here and act like a bloody seven year old. Grow the fuck up”
“Grow the fuck up? You’re telling me to-“
“Alright! Fucking stop the both of you!” Harry suddenly exclaimed, finally growing tired of the back and forth arguing.
Everyone suddenly became quiet, shocked at the small outburst from harry who always seemed so calm and put together, who was now on the edge of his seat, shaking his head at the two lads with piercing eyes.
“We’re meant to be fucking getting along! Not arguing for fucks sake. I didn’t ask my dad to set all this shit up for us just so you two can bicker like two year olds, both of you grow up or fuck off for all I care” Harry seethed, rolling his eyes at them before standing up and walking back into the house on the verge of tears.
It was silent once again as the remaining boys sat in shock over what had just happened. The game had barely even started and there was already an argument. Guilt washed over both Liam and Louis as they heard Harry crying from the living room, knowing it was their fault that the boys plans were ruined.
“You guys really fucked up there. The poor boy planned all this for us to get to know each other and you two are at each other’s throats not even one day in. He’s the youngest, we need to be here for him the most, he’s not used to all this shit. You’d better get your asses in there and apologise” Zayn said calmly, disappointment written across his face.
“Yeah, yeah you’re right. I’m sorry guys, and you Louis” Liam said in a sad tone, before realising that Louis’ gaze was fixed to the floor.
“Louis, mate? You alright?” Niall asked the boy, confused at his behaviour.
“Fuck, I just made my best mate cry” Louis whispered, but the boys all heard it.
“Lou it’s alright mate-“
“No it’s fucking not! I just made my best mate here cry all because I couldn’t bite my fucking tongue” Louis exclaimed, biting his bottom lip and willing himself not to let any tears fall.
“Look, Louis I’m sure he will understand. I haven’t known you long but I know that harry loves your friendship just as much as you do and if anyone here can cheer him up it’s you.
Go in there, make him feel better, then come back out and we can start the game over” Zayn said soothingly, smiling over at the boy sadly.
Louis nodded and without another word he got up and raced into the house. He instantly saw harry tucked up into the corner of the couch, hugging his knees to himself as he tried to dry his tears.
Louis sighed at the sight and shook his head, feeling even more guilty, but he put on a brave face and crouched down besides harry so he was at eye level with his best friend, smiling softly up at him.
“Haz?” Louis timidly asked, but the boy was ignoring him.
“Harry, babe, are you okay?” He tried again, and this time he was successful as Harry whipped his head over to look at Louis with wide eyes.
“Babe?” Harry asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion, causing Louis to blush as he realise what he had called his best mate.
“Oh, shit I’m sorry, it just slipped. I won’t say it again if you don’t want-“
“It’s fine lou, I liked it” Harry cut him off quietly, now having his own cheeks turn rosy.
“Okay. Um, anyway, I just wanted to come check you were okay. I was bang out of order out there and I’m really sorry, I’m just not good at biting my tongue. Probably get it off me mum to be honest” Louis said, causing an adorable giggle to escape Harrys lips.
“It’s fine I guess. It’s just- I don’t know. I was so excited for this, and planned it all out thinking we were all gonna get on so well, but then that happened. And I guess it just made me feel like it was a bit of a waste” Harry said with a shrug, feeling small and vulnerable.
“It wasn’t a waste babe, I’m so glad we all came here because apart from what just happened out there it’s been amazing. I think me and Liam’s-“
“Liam and I’s” Harry corrected with a smirk.
“Okay, Liam and I’s personalities just clash a bit, you know? Like, im all energetic and loud, he’s sensible and quiet. An argument was bound to happen at some point, at least it’s over with” Louis said with a smile, bushing Harrys fringe away from his eyes.
“Y-yeh, you’re right. I accept your apology” Harry stuttered out, never taking his state away from those gorgeous blue eyes.
“Thank you” Louis whispered, in a trance of his own as he too looked into Harrys emerald green eyes.
It felt like this moment was going on forever, neither one of the two wanting to break the contact; that was until a loud cough came from the door.
“Am I interrupting something or?” Niall trailed off, giving the two boys a funny look as they practically threw themselves away from each other.
“No, I Uh, was just making sure Harold here was okay. He’s good. Um, wanna come back outside now? We’re gonna re start the game” Louis stuttered out, turning back to ask harry the question.
“Yeah, s-sure” harry said, gulping loudly and shaking his head from the tornado of thoughts racing around his mind.
The two boys smiled awkwardly at each other as they followed a smirking Niall out of the glass door and round the fire pit once again, seating themselves down and re encasing themselves in the fluffy blankets.
“Ready to start again?” Zayn asked, smiling over at harry who was now in a much better mood.
“Are you guys sure it’s best to play this game again? After the last time?” Harry asked nervously, biting his nails.
“It’ll be fine Haz, I know to bite me tongue now” Louis reassured with a wink, patting harry on the shoulder.
Harry just nodded and waited for the game to begin.
“Okay, well Liam should ask now, seeming as he has just been asked” Zayn said, referring to the last question that had started all that drama.
“Alright, Louis, truth or dare?” Liam asked with a smirk.
“Dare” Louis replied casually, always being up for one.
“I dare you to skinny dip for 10 seconds” Liam said with a grin, causing Louis to groan.
“Fuck sake, it’s gonna be freezing, there’s no sunlight!” Louis whined, but stood up none the less.
“Too bad tommo, you asked for it” Liam said as he laughed along with the other lads.
“Fine then, but don’t stare at my ass too long, I’ve been told it’s great” Louis said with a wink before stripping off in front of them all, not caring one bit about anything other than the freezing wind.
“Fucking hell its freezing” Louis said as he stood in just his boxers, harry trying his hardest not to glance at the boys bum. How could he not take a peak after the lad had mentioned it for crying out loud.
“Skinny dip Lou, that means butt naked” Niall stated, laughing at the scowl thrown his way.
“Whatever, you asked for it” Louis said before tugging down his boxers and throwing them to the side, only taking a moment before running off to the pool and jumping in, screaming along the way.
And Louis was right, harry thought. He did have a nice ass.
Harry furrowed his brows at the thought he had just had, silently asking himself what the fuck was going on with him. He had never in his life experienced any feelings towards guys, until now, and it was confusing as hell to him.
He shook the thought off, thinking he probably just envied the older boys amazing figure and wanted himself to look like that. He wasn’t interested in guys.
“I think my dick has caught hypothermia, thanks Liam” Louis said sarcastically as he ran back over to the fire pit, grabbing his blanket to dry himself off before throwing on his clothes as quickly as possible.
“No problem mate, your turn” Liam replied with a chuckle, shaking his head.
“Okay, Zayn, truth or dare?” Louis asked, taking a seat again and grimacing as he felt the wet blanket touch his skin.
“Um, truth” He answered hesitantly.
“Fuck sake, I can’t be the only person doing dares” Louis huffed, but asked a question anyway. “Fine, who’s the fittest lad here?”
“Fuck that mate, I’m not gay” Zayn scoffed, thinking the question was ridiculous.
“You can think a guy is good looking without being gay Zayn, fucking hell, just answer the damn question” Louis sassed back.
“Fine. Liam” Zayn answered with a shrug, seeing Louis smirk at his answer. He didn’t dare look at Liam though.
Liam’s breath caught in his throat for a second, surprised at the answer, but gathered himself quickly.
“Thanks mate” He said with a smile at the black haired boy, who smiled shyly in return.
“Okay, Niall, truth or dare?” Zayn quickly asked the blonde, desperately wanting the attention off him.
“Dare” Niall replied with a confident grin.
“Alright, I dare you to Irish dance to no music whilst downing a beer”
“It’s gonna be awkward but alright” Niall said as he grabbed a new can of beer and began to dance, kicking his legs out as he jumped on the spot, trying his best to not let any of the alcohol escape his mouth with the rough movements he was making.
The lads watched in amusement, laughing loudly as Niall jerked his hand too much and the beer spilled down his face, choking on some of the liquid that went down his throat the wrong way.
Niall spluttered and coughed, breathing heavily as he dropped the beer can to the floor. The lads continued laughing whilst he wiped his face from the beer and took a seat again, finally laughing at his own mistake.
“That was bloody awful, some went up me nose” Niall said as he laughed to himself.
“It was fucking funny though” Louis replied, finally calming down from his own laughter.
“Okay, harry, truth or dare?” Niall asked with a sly grin, knowing exactly what he would ask.
“Dare, I guess” Harry replied cautiously, biting his lips from nerves.
“Well, seeming as you and Louis are so close. I dare you to kiss lou” Niall said with a grin, watching as Harrys face fell and Louis spat out his beer.
“You want me to what?” Harry exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock at the dare.
“You heard me. It’s only a dare anyway, it doesn’t mean anything” Niall replied nonchalantly, shrugging.
“I’m not gonna kiss my best mate, I’m not even gay!” Harry said with a frown, his hands emphasising the words.
“Like Niall said, it’s a dare, it doesn’t mean anything” Liam cut in, agreeing with the Irish man.
“Lou might not even want to” Harry said quietly, looking over to his best friend as he fiddled with his beer can, avoiding eye contact with harry.
“Look, if I was ever going to kiss Harry i sure as hell won’t be doing it just for a dare” Louis finally spoke up, gaining some confidence back.
“So you would kiss harry if it weren’t a dare?” Zayn asked smugly, tailoring his head at the boy.
“No! I didn’t- you know I didn’t mean it like that” Louis rushed out, only to feel guilty when he saw Harrys frown. But why on Earth was he frowning?
“Fucks sake, just kiss him in the cheek then” Niall compromised, sighing in defeat.
“Fine. Lou?” Harry said in a questioning tone, making sure it was okay with his friend.
“Yeh, go on then” Louis said with a playful roll to his eyes, turning his cheek in the direction of harry.
Harry hesitated for a moment before leaning over and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, falling back into his seat immediately afterwards.
Harry blushed at his own actions and stared at the floor, thinking about how his lips tingled from even the quickest of kisses.
Louis felt the same feeling ignite on his own cheek, that was now burning with redness from the peck. But again, he brushed it off as nothing.
“There, wasn’t so bad now was it?” Niall quipped, smirking at the two blushing boys.
“No” harry mumbled whilst Louis stayed silent.
“I Uh, I’m gonna head to bed. ‘m feeling tired. I’ll see you guys in the morning Alright” Louis suddenly said, averting eye contact as he smiled to the lads and walked back inside the house.
“Shit” Harry muttered, his eyes following Louis from inside the living room.
“What?” Liam asked, wondering why the lad suddenly seemed panicked.
“Why the fuck did I do that? He probably thinks I’m so weird now, he wouldn’t even look at me” Harry replied in a rushed voice, his heart rate slowly picking up. “It’s gonna be so awkward now. Why the fuck did you dare me to do that Niall?”
“Harry calm down. It was only a peck on the cheek, no biggie. Like he said, he’s probably just tired” Niall said comfortingly, scratching the back of his neck.
“Like fuck he’s tired. Lou always stays up with me on the phone either texting or calling late at night. He wouldn’t fucking go to sleep at half ten” Harry stated, his voice rising slightly.
“It’s been a long day mate, to be honest I’m even getting quite tired and I stay up late all the time. He’s your best friend, he’s not going to think any less of you just because you kissed him on the cheek for a dare” Zayn cut in, smiling reassuringly over at harry who was again biting at his nails.
“How do you know that. He could be bloody homophobic for all we know” Harry argued, shaking his head.
“Louis? Homophobic? You’ve got to be kidding Haz. He’s one of the most accepting people I know, like fuck would he be homophobic” Liam said with a shocked face.
“Liam’s right, Lou wouldn’t be homophobic. Plus, he did slip up a bit during the game” Niall said with a smirk.
“What do you mean?” Harry asked in confusion.
“He hinted that he would kiss you if it weren’t a dare, like, in the future or somet” Niall explained as the rest of the lads caught on and grinned at the realisation; harry was still in disbelief.
“As if. Louis is straight, he wouldn’t kiss any boy, let alone me” Harry huffed, rolling his eyes at the thought.
“I bet he would, you and him seemed quite cosy in the living room before” Niall replied, Liam and Zayn furrowing their brows.
“What’re you talking about?” Zayn asked, Liam nodding.
“I don’t even know, they were staring into each other’s eyes or some shit. Looked a bit too close for friends to me”
“I’m right here!” Harry shouted, arms thrown out as he pointed to himself.
“Oh yeh. Hi Haz” Niall replied with a smile, waving over enthusiastically at the boy who sighed in return.
“Anyway, I don’t know what you think but I don’t care either. There’s nothing going on and it’s gonna stay like that. Me and Lou are just best mates and he was making sure I was okay. Now I’m going to bed, come in when you want to” Harry said calmly before putting his beer can on the floor and walking back into the house, leaving behind three confused boys.
Harry tiredly walked down the corridor towards his room, thoughts racing about what he might say to Louis if he is still awake.
He sighed as he reached the door, gently pushing it open and peering inside. The lights were off, but he could faintly make out a figure laying in their double bed.
Once he walked into the room he quietly shut the door and began to undress himself, leaving just his boxers on as he’s sure Louis wouldn’t care; he has already seen him naked.
He tiptoed around the other side of the bed and gently got under the covers, finally relaxing once he was snuggled under the soft duvet.
“Haz?” Louis suddenly whispered, breaking the silence and startling harry who jumped in his spot.
“Fuck, I thought you were asleep” Harry groaned, keeping his voice down for no particular reason.
“No, I’m sorry for scaring you” Louis replied in a shy tone, and harry could faintly make out the smile the boy sent his way through the dark.
“It’s alright lou, why aren’t you asleep?”
“Couldn’t sleep”
“Why not?”
“I dunno, just, thinking I guess” Louis replied with a shrug, averting eye contact.
“What were you thinking about?” Harry asked, intrigued.
“You are very nosy during the night aren’t you?” Louis teased, smirking, but it was obvious he was avoiding the question.
“Don’t change the subject, what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
And harry wanted to shoot himself right then and there. The words had just slipped from his mouth without realising it. And now, Louis is probably even more uncomfortable than before, harry thought.
“Shit, I’m sorry, it just slipped” Harry rushed to redeem himself, shaking his head and closing his eyes tight.
A warm hand suddenly caressed his cheek, causing harry to shoot his eyes back open in shock.
“It’s alright hazza, I’m flattered” Louis said with a blush, biting his lip. “And I was just thinking about the game” he continued hesitantly.
“What about it?”
Louis sighed loudly before running a hand through his fringe, not answering the question for a couple of moments. He looked towards the ceiling and thought about how to go about the question.
“Would it be weird if I said I liked the kiss?”
Harry took a sharp intake of breath, not at all expecting that kind of answer; he thought he had scared the boy off with the dare.
“What?” Harry replied, just to check he hadn’t been hearing things.
“Fuck, I don’t know. I mean- it was only on the cheek. It should have had that much of an effect on me, but it did. And I don’t know why” Louis answered, stumbling over his words as he tried his hardest to get them out without it sounding like utter nonsense.
“Well, what if I told you I felt the same way?” Harry nervously replied, trying to reassure the boy.
“You liked it?” Louis asked, surprised.
“Yeah. Gave me tingles. That’s some movie shit right there” Harry joked to ease the tension, and it worked, because a second later both lads were laughing about the situation.
Louis calmed down and sighed again, shaking his head and finally looking back at harry.
“I mean, it doesn’t mean anything though, right? It was just a stupid dare” Louis said with a shrug, still smiling, but harry felt the complete opposite way.
Harry didn’t know why, but he felt like Louis had just crushed all the hope inside of him. He shouldn’t even be feeling this way, it’s his best friend for god sake. By this point he didn’t even know what he was feeling; he was too confused.
“Yeah. Just a stupid dare” Harry said slowly, his voice quiet and vulnerable, though Louis didn’t notice.
“Alright then, I am actually quite tired now, I’m gonna try get to sleep. Question first though” Louis said with a smirk, raising his brows at the younger boy.
“Shoot”
“Big spoon or little spoon?”
“Little spoon” Harry replied with a blush, his heart practically doing flips at the thought of cuddling with Louis all night.
“Good answer” Louis replied with a grin before gesturing for harry to turn onto his side.
Harry complied and rolled over, seconds later feeling Louis chest press up against his back and one of his arms sneak under his own, lying gently on his stomach.
“Goodnight Haz”
“Night lou”
And with smiles on both their faces, they fell into a blissful sleep.
End of flashback.
Interview,
“That night had me really confused. Like, at that point I considered myself straight, so I had no fucking clue why I liked the kiss or why I wanted it to happen again. It made me think a lot about myself after that” Harry said as he fiddled with the fabric of the couch, smiling to himself at the memory.
“Same. I had to leave because I literally thought I was about to have a panic attack right then and there. Because before I met harry, I couldn’t even picture myself with another lad, I’d always been interested in girls. So it really threw me off I guess” Louis explained, turning to look at harry with a smile on his face as their eyes met.
“Exactly. Afterwards I just kept trying to dismiss the situation, kept telling myself to think nothing of it because it was probably just a new experience I wasn’t used to” Harry continued with a shrug.
“But, it was the first of many more kisses to come. We just didn’t know it yet” Harry added, smirking at Louis once more before they continued telling their story.
Flashback, X factor, judges houses, late August:
“Holy shit, this place is amazing” Louis said with a gasp as he looked at the mansion of which was Simon cowells home.
It was absolutely huge. The building stood tall and covered acres of ground surrounded by the most beautiful scenery the boys had ever seen. Inside it was crisp and clean, marble flooring covered the entire house and lavish furniture was dotted about in perfect position. There had to be at least ten bedrooms, two kitchens, 12 bathrooms, four living rooms, a cinema room and many more. Outside was a large pool with a hot tub connected to it, right beside a patio with comfy chairs and a fire pit.
It was simply the most amazing place they had ever been to.
“You got that right tommo, could you imagine having a house like this? I bloody can’t” Liam said in amazement, looking around the mansion.
“You never know. The band could become big and win the show” Niall argued with a shrug, already trying to imagine himself owning a place like this.
“I hope so. I’d love to have a mansion one day” Zayn said in a dazed like state, trying to take everything in.
“I’d live with Lou in one” Harry said with a grin, pulling Louis to his side as they laughed with each other.
“Already planning on moving in are we?” Louis asked teasingly, raising his eyebrows at his best friend.
“Of course, were so gonna live together lou. You just wait” Harry stated confidently, knowing that if he had the chance he would move in with Louis in a heartbeat.
“I’ll hold that to you then” Louis replied, smiling at harry.
All the groups were gathered together in the main entrance of the house, holding their suitcases to their sides as they waited for Simon to arrive. And not a minute later he did.
“Hi everyone, welcome to my home. Now, I understand that you’re all probably very tired after your trip, but before i let you go to your rooms I need to explain the rules and what’s going to happen whilst you’re here” Simon began, everyone nodding their heads in agreement.
“Okay, so some of you will need to share rooms whilst here but you can sort that out yourselves and decide who you want to share with. Later this evening my personal chef will be making you all some food, so make your way down to the dining room at 6 o clock. You can stay up as late as you want, however I recommend that you get to sleep early as you need to be up early certain mornings for your session with the vocal coaches. That being said you need to keep the noise down by at least 10 o clock so that you don’t disturb any other contestants. My producers will come round each group individually to let you know when and where you need to be for the vocal coaching and preparation for your performance at the end of the week” Simon finally paused after explaining all the main information.
“Thats basically all you need to know as of now. You’re all free to explore but if you’re leaving the grounds you need to inform a member of the team. If you need any assistance with anything there are maids round the house and the producers can also help you. I hope you all have a great week here, now off you go and pick your rooms, please don’t fight over it though”
When Simon finally finished he smiled and gestures for everyone to head upstairs to find their rooms. As they all passed Simon they greeted him and thanked him for this opportunity, in which he replied to politely.
“I’m sharing with Hazza!” Louis exclaimed as he grabbed Harrys hand and pulled him along quickly to the stairs “come on, we’ve got to get the best room!”
Harry laughed at the older boy and followed along like a lost puppy, not realising that Simon was following their moves carefully with squinted eyes.
“Lou, slow down, there’s plenty rooms to chose from” Harry squeaked out with a chuckle, shaking his head.
“But we need the best Harold! You deserve the best” Louis said with a wink, causing harry to blush, but shake the comment off.
They finally made it to the top of the grand staircase with the lads and many more groups following behind them. Louis looked left and right down both hallways, trying to figure out which way to go.
“Right, I think this way!” Louis shouted before sprinting off again down the right hallway, passing many doors to rooms that he didn’t bother to look in. Harry sighed before running after the boy once Louis shouted “come on Harry!”
Louis suddenly came to a stop, causing harry to bump into his back and almost fall over. “Sorry lou” harry mumbled before confusion took over his head. “Why did you stop?”
“Hi, I’m Louis, sorry but do you know which is the nicest room down here?” Louis asked, confusing harry further until he poked his head around and saw a maid smiling kindly.
“Of course, go straight to the end of the hallway and it’s your first door on the left. Have fun” She replied with a small wink before getting back to work.
“Thank you so much, we will” Louis said excitedly, turning to grin at harry before pulling him once again down the hallway.
“Think it’s this one” Louis muttered before opening the door, gasping at what he saw.
The room was huge and the two outer walls were made completely out of glass, giving an amazing view of the ocean and the beach. There was a huge double bed opposite the window, adorned in blankets and pillows. The floor was heated and soft to the touch, making it feel as if you were walking on clouds. And probably the best part, they had their own private bathroom connected.
“Fucking hell, she was right. This must be the best room. Well, other than Simons, he obviously has the best room” Louis said as he walked over to the window, taking in the view.
“I know right, it’s beautiful” Harry agreed, walking up behind Louis and wrapping his arms around his chest, causing Louis to smile brightly.
“This is gonna be the best week ever, I’m telling you” Louis stated, looking over his shoulder at harry, not realising how close their faces were.
“Well, that’s if we don’t get kicked out the competition” Harry said with a small frown.
“We won’t, I’m sure of it, all of you were great as soloists, never mind with your voices combined together. You sound amazing” Louis replied confidently.
“What do you mean us? Louis you’re a part of the band too, you’re just as good as the rest of us. It wouldn’t be right without you” Harry argued with a sad look, shocked that Louis feels so insecure about his voice that he can’t even include himself in the band.
“Harry, I’m no where near as good a singer as the rest of you, don’t be silly” Louis said with a sigh, looking back out into the distance.
Harry furrowed his brows and walked to stand in front of Louis, placing his hands on his shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes.
“Take That back” Harry said firmly, a serious look across his face.
“Wha-“
“You heard me, take it back”
Louis looked dumbfounded, confusion written across his face. He shook his head and tried to speak, but nothing came out other than a small voice crack which he coughed to cover it up.
“Hm? I’m waiting. Haven’t got all day” Harry said teasingly, tilting his face to the side.
“But I’d be lying” Louis whispered, looking back at the floor.
Harry sighed in frustration before delicately placing a finger under Louis chin and tilting his head back up towards his own.
“I’m not having any of that. You wouldn’t be lying. Lou, you’ve got a fucking fantastic voice, you sound like a bloody angel when you sing, I can’t get enough of it. This band wouldn’t even work without you, it’s your higher pitch that balances the rest of ours out. If you disagree? Well, you’re clearly in need of a hearing aid. Now take it back before I make you” Harry said seriously, not taking his eyes off louis’ for even a second.
“Like you could make me do anything” Louis scoffed, rolling his eyes. But his heart was warmed by the loving words harry had just said to him.
“Oh really? You wanna bet?” Harry asked with a cocky grin, challenging the boy.
“In fact I do” Louis replied, placing his hands on his hips as he stared harry down.
“Alright, you asked for it” Harry said with a shrug before lunging at Louis and picking him up before throwing him over his shoulder, laughing as he squirmed and punched at his back.
“Let me down! I swear to god harry!”
“Take it backkk!” Harry said in a singing tone, purposefully jumping around to jolts Louis about.
“No!” Louis whined, his head beginning to hurt from the blood that rushed towards it.
“Guess you’ll have to stay up there then” Harry replied casually, walking around the room.
“Ugh, Fine, I fucking take it back you big oaf!” Louis finally said, huffing in defeat.
“Well done” harry replied with a grin before throwing Louis onto the bed softly, climbing on it with him.
“Happy now?” Louis groaned, looking at the ceiling.
“Very” Harry smirked, laying on his side to look at his friend.
“If you ever do that again styles, I’ll hit you so hard on the ass that you won’t be able to sit for a week” Louis warned, scowling at harry who just smiled in return.
“No you won’t, you love me too much” Harry cheekily replied, knowing he was right.
“I-true” Louis admitted, laughing with harry for a moment before the calmed down and laid on silence.
“Your hair is so curly” Louis said after about five minutes of silence, reaching over and gently moving some hair out of Harry’s face, caressing the skin on his forehead. “I bet you perm it”
“Oh fuck off, as if” Harry whined whilst Louis laughed, imagining harry with curlers in his hair. “I bet you straighten yours”
“I’ll have you know my hair is naturally straight thank you very much” Louis sassed back, loving his own fringe away from his eyes.
“Your eyes are so blue. They look like the ocean out there” Harry said when he noticed the bright shade of them in the current lighting of the room.
“Well, mum gave me them, can’t complain. Oh, speaking of me mum, she wants to see you again sometime properly. Think she likes you more than I do to be honest” Louis said, smiling at harry who looked surprised.
“Oh, well I’d love to see her again. You know, I bet our mums would get along so well. They’re pretty similar” Harry replied, thinking about getting all their family’s to meet.
“We should have a get together once the competition is over. You could meet my sisters as well. Only thing is, they live in Donny and yours live in Cheshire” Louis said excitedly, before frowning at the distance.
“If it were a big get together I’m sure my family wouldn’t mind coming down to Doncaster. My mum would love it I’m sure” Harry offered with a shrug.
“Well, that’s if you really want them coming to Doncaster, it’s not the brightest place in the uk lets just say that” Louis joked, though he believed every word he was saying. He loved his home town, but it does have a reputation.
“It would be fine. It better than Cheshire anyway. Sure, it has beautiful scenery, but it’s boring as fuck. There’s nothing to do there” Harry said with a chuckle.
“We can figure it out next time we speak with our parents yeh, for now let’s just enjoy this” Louis dismisses the conversation and pulled harry closer to him, snaking his arm around his waist.
Harry giggled and let Louis pull him closer, snuggling his face into the crook of his neck and enjoying the moment. “I love cuddling with you” He mumbled into his neck and closed his eyes.
“Me too. It’s nice you know, I’ve never been this close with any of my other mates back home, not even Stan” Louis replied, breathing Harrys scent in and sighing in bliss.
“Who’s Stan?” Harry asked with furrowed brows.
“My best mate, well, apart from you. I’ve known him my whole life, we get on so well. But I could never have moments like this with him, he would probably find it weird”
“Why is this weird?”
“It’s not, but I guess it’s just not that type of friendship with him”
“What type of friendship is this then?” Harry asked, confused.
“We’re closer than friends harry. You mean more to me than just a friend. Your the person I can share anything with, I can be myself around you no matter what. You never mind us practically being attached at the hip, neither do I. Where as normal friends need space. I don’t know, you’re just special to me Haz”
Harry was lost for words once Louis finished. He had never in his life felt so close to a person more than he did with Lou. But that’s the thing that confused him. They were just friends, and to his knowledge both of them were straight. But if they’re more than friends then what are they? Brothers? That just didn’t seem right.
“You’re special to me too. I’ve never connected with someone in such short space of time as I have with you lou. You’re my best friend and you always will be” Harry said truthfully, however he could help but feel unsure when labelling him as his best friend. It didn’t sit right with him.
“You’re my person Haz” Louis whispered, smiling into his curly hair.
“And you’re mine lou” Harry agreed, feeling giddy. They couldn’t feel more content.
Later that week (still flashback) :
“Harry stop!” Louis screeched as more sea water was splashed in his face, some getting into his eyes, causing him to shit them tightly from the stinging feeling.
“You started it. Don’t begin something you can’t handle lou” Harry teased, grinning as Louis stumbled about, rubbing his eyes.
“Oh fuck off, I didn’t expect you to get salt water into my- FUCK!” Louis stopped kid sentence as he cried out in pain, startling harry as he swam over to him as fast as possible.
“Lou? Louis! What the fuck? Are you okay?” Harry exclaimed, looking over Louis as he struggled to tread water because of the amount of pain he was in.
“No, fuck. Help me Haz!” Louis managed to get out before he accidentally got a mouthful of sea water.
“Shit, alright. Liam! Guys, help!” Harry shouted over his shoulder to the boys who were messing around in the water a few metres away.
“Come on lou, I got you” Harry shushed as Louis yelped again. He gently gripped Louis waist and pulled Louis into his arms.
“My foot harry, fucking hurts” Louis whined our, hissing when it made contact with Harrys shin.
“Sorry, can you walk?” Harry asked, careful now of his foot.
“Like fuck can I walk, it’s killing” Louis replied sassily, but it was all in good nature, it obviously wasn’t Harrys fault.
“Alright alright, keep your pants on” harry replied with a chuckle.
“I should be saying that to you-ow!” Louis hissed again, his foot banging against the other.
“Karmas a bitch huh?” Harry joked, but immediately shut up when Louis flared at him.
“What the fuck happened?” Liam asked as he saw Louis in pain, immediately panicking.
“I’m not sure, my foot fucking kills though. I must have stood on something” Louis whined, clenching his fists tightly around Harrys arms.
Harry continued to carefully carry Louis out the water, the rest of the lads following behind with a look of worry and confusion on their faces.
Once they reached the sand harry placed louis down on a beach towel, being careful of the foot that he could now see was red and swollen, some parts even turning a shade of purple.
“Fucking hell lou, What the fuck did you stand on?” Harry asked in shock as he sat down next to Louis and placed his own shirt under louis’ foot to keep it away from any sand and to cushion it as best as possible. He wanted the boy to be comfy.
“I dunno, I wasn’t looking. Maybe it was one of those sand fish or something? Or some poisonous coral?” Louis replied, now laying on his back as he held a hand over his face, trying to calm himself down and not think of the pain. “Distract me harry, please”
“Uh, Okay. How?” Harry replied with a sheepish look, biting his lip.
“Really harry? If anyone can distract him it’s you, just do what you normally do with him whilst I call an ambulance!” Liam scolded, walking away to call for help.
“Fuck okay. Um, wanna hear a joke?”
“God no. But go on then” Louis groaned, knowing a terrible joke was to come, but it was better than having to deal with the pain.
“Knock knock”
“Who’s there”
“Voodoo”
“Voodoo who?”
“Voodoo you think you are, asking so many questions?”
And it was so silent, you could hear the non existent crickets chirping.
“Harry”
“Yeah”
“Do us a favour, never tell me a joke again”
“I- okay”
“Louis”
“What”
“Knock knock”
“God damn it harry!” Louis groaned but couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the boy. He was just too adorable for his own good.
“What? You said to distract you, I bet it worked didn’t it” Harry retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No” Louis mumbled, but looked to see harry was giving him a pointed look. “Okay fine, it did, so what? Doesn’t make the joke any better”
“Still, the point was to distract you, not tell a good joke” Harry argued, leaning back on the palm of his hands.
“Shit, it’s starting to hurt really bad. Where the fuck is Liam?” Louis groaned, his smile leaving his face once again.
“He’s coming now don’t worry” Niall said as he and Zayn made their way over, followed by Liam who was a little further behind.
“Thank fuck for that”
“Right, an ambulance is on its way and I’ve also informed the producers of what happened. They’re gonna meet us at the hospital because they need to know if you’re gonna be back on time to perform or not” Liam explained, pocketing his phone.
“Holy shit! The fucking performance! No no no, oh my god what if I can’t perform? What if I’m not back in time! It’s literally today!” Louis suddenly exclaimed, bolting upright but wincing when he tensed his foot.
“Calm down lou, I’m sure you’ll be back in time and if not the producers will figure something out, we can’t perform without you” Harry said soothingly, rubbing Louis thigh.
Louis blushed for a second but brushed it off, he had other things to worry about.
“But what if I’m not. You guys better go ahead and sing without me if it comes to it or I swear to god I will fucking beat your arses. You’re not giving up this chance just because I bloody got injured” Louis said sternly, looking them each dead in the eye to show that he meant every word.
“But lou-“
“No, you’re gonna have to sing without me if it comes to it Haz, I can just sing next time if I don’t make it back” Louis said in a softer tone this time, not wanting to upset harry.
Harry sighed but nodded his head slowly, patting Louis leg to show he meant it. He would do what Louis told him to if that’s what he really wanted.
“Good” Louis said before the ambulance pulled up onto the sand, a team rushing out with a stretcher.
“What happened? Do you know what he may have stepped on?” A woman asked as soon as she got out the ambulance, crouching down to inspect louis’ foot.
“Um, no I’m not sure. It was spikey though” Louis answered, wincing as the woman put too much pressure in one particular spot on his foot.
“Okay I’m thinking it may have been a sea urchin but you’ll need to go to the hospital for further treatment. Are any of you lads coming?” The woman asked, finally standing back up again.
“Yeh-”
“No, harry we cant, the producers want us back at the mansion to prepare for our performance” Liam said, shaking his head sadly.
Harry looked conflicted as he watched a frown appear on Louis’ face, he desperately wanted to go with him, to make sure he was okay. But if the producers said no then he can’t really do anything about it.
“Go on Haz, I’ll be alright. If I can I’ll text you to keep you updated okay?” Louis said after noticing Harrys silence, smiling up at his friend.
“You sure?” Harry asked, double checking.
“Positive”
Harry gave louis one last hug goodbye before he was taken into the ambulance.
End of flashback
Interview:
“You don’t even understand how nervous I was that day. When I got back to the mansion I could barely even focus on rehearsing during vocals because I was just worried about lou the entire time. I think by the end of it the lads were sick of telling me to calm down” Harry explained with a chuckle, shaking his head.
“I did text you though, I was telling you I was alright but you wouldn’t listen to me” Louis teased, ruffling up Harrys hair.
“Well my best mate was in hospital and we had a performance coming up, how was I supposed to react?” Harry defended, putting his arms out at Louis.
“True but it worked out in the end just like I told you it would. You’re just a little drama queen” Louis replied with a wink, sticking his tongue out at the man.
“You’re the biggest drama queen out of the group lou” Harry retorted, looking behind the camera to see all the lads nodding in agreement.
“Oh shush, you’ve got to have one dramatic bitch in the band” Louis joked, causing the lads to laugh.
“But yeh, anyway, I guess that was the day I properly realised how much you meant to me. I mean, I literally nearly had a panic attack just from you standing on sea urchin” Harry concluded, looking back at the camera.
“Awww harry!” Louis said in a high pitched voice, causing harry to groan and roll his eyes sarcastically. “But yeh you’re right, that week we got a lot closer, I think that was kind of the turning point when we began to properly develop feelings for one another, even if we didn’t realise we were” Louis agreed.
“Yeah, that week was confusing as fuck to say the least” Harry added, shrugging.
“But there’s a lot left to the story, so I think we should continue or we will be here all night” Louis said with a smile, and harry agreed, the two of them trying to remember what happened next.
Author notes:
Okayyyy, so, I got a lot to say right now so bare with me and please read this…
First of all, I am soo fucking sorry that this took forever to get out. Some of you may know but I went on holiday to Greece and had no time to write anything whilst there, so that set me back on time. And these last chapters I’m doing take a hell of a lot of effort, I’m not exaggerating, I have to research dates and everything to get the timeline right and then figure out a way to word it all. So I’m sorry, I know it sucks but o really hope that the long chapters can make up for it 🙂
I understand if this whole “last chapter” thing is a bit confusing, but basically like I’ve said, I’m writing the last chapter in parts because otherwise it’s gonna be too much for you guys to read at once. I didn’t want to leave this chapter where I did but it’s already at 10,000 words so I thought I’m just gonna have to do another part after this chapter.
Plus, you guys have waited long enough and if I tried to continue writing to get it finished before posting this then it would probs be even a couple days before you get to read anything, and I’m guessing you would prefer me posting this now whilst I go and write the rest of the chapter.
With that said, I hope you enjoyed, and there will be another part coming ASAP (and I mean it this time cuz I’m trying to get this story finished before I go back to school on Wednesday, ugh)Â so be ready 🙂
Love you all xxx
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