Chapter Text
"I never knew a better sound, than my name on your lips."
Exhaustion. The only thing pumping through Louis’ veins and running though his mind at the moment, is raw and pure painful exhaustion.
Plus a massive headache.
He could definitely sleep right now, he thinks as he waits for the line to move, he could just close his eyes and he probably would end up falling asleep within mere seconds.
He’d also crack his head open falling on the ground, so maybe he should force himself to stay awake.
"Hi, what can I help you with ?" the barista catches his attention and he snaps out of his daze, his eyes meeting her much more opened ones. He smiles weakly at her and looks down at her badge, "Lily", he reads.
Louis knows she’s new because he comes here so much that every barista that works here knows him very well. They don’t even ask what he wants anymore, they just make his drink. It also explains why the line was moving particularly slow this morning.
She seems nice, a bit stressed out by the rush of the early morning, but smile. Her smile is tight but it feels honest, and her beautiful blue eyes are filled with some kind of excitement that show she’s quite happy to be working here.
She'll probably feel very different in a couple weeks.
Louis rubs his own eyes, that are still very heavy from sleep, fighting against a yawn and trying to focus on making his brain work, his tongue move and answering the question.
Words, Louis. Words.
He only has a few minutes before he needs to get to the shop now, so he definitely needs to get his brain to start functioning soon.
He really could have used about ten more hours of sleep last night. He came home late, far too late, after spending the night out with Zayn and Ivy, drinking and partying and god he feels like utter shit today.
They usually never go out together during the week because both Ivy and Louis have to wake up pretty early to go to work, but Zayn just got a new job in a very nice tattoo shop so they obviously had to celebrate.
He was fired from his last job a few weeks ago, without any warning, the shop just told him to basically take his stuff and leave, so he had been looking for a new one since then. And he was both relieved and excited to have found such a good shop to work at.
So Louis met Ivy and Zayn at their flat early in the evening to drink and laugh and have some fun…and they ended up going to a club and dancing until over 2am.
And yeah, waking up at seven am to the most annoying alarm in the world definitely didn’t help his hangover.
Fuck Tequila, honestly.
Louis’ head is pounding, the light is burning his eyes and he feels like he could throw up at any moment.
He also really wishes that people in this small café would be a little more quiet, because it genuinely feels like they’re screaming right into his ears at the moment.
His suit feels a little too tight on his body, and he dreams of being alone at his flat, in only a pair of sweatpants, a dumb tv show (probably Love Island, always a safe choice) playing in the background while he eats chocolate and cookie dough ice cream.
Or popcorn. Popcorn sounds really nice.
He really doesn’t want to go to work right now, especially since he’s the one that has to close up he shop tonight, meaning he has to stay until at least eight pm. And standing around all day when your body is working on just a couple hours of sleep is far from easy.
So if he doesn’t get his coffee right now, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to get anything done today.
"Hey, I’m going to-" he starts, tongue finally agreeing to move but he gets cut off by an obnoxiously deep and low voice coming from his left.
"I’ll take a grande chai latte please."
Louis frowns as he looks up at the taller young man that is now standing next to him, sunglasses shielding his eyes as he looks towards the barista with a tight, almost cold smile.
He doesn’t seem to realize that he took Louis’ place, he doesn’t look at him or anything, but maybe he did and he just doesn’t care.
The guy keeps his gaze focused on the barista and Louis feels himself grow annoyed far too quickly.
He doesn’t exactly have the best temper when he’s running on barely four hours of sleep.
"Hey, um, I think she was asking me." he tells him, keeping his voice calm as much as he can and the man finally looks at him, his expression unreadable.
"Oh I’m sorry." he gives Louis a quick, definitely not honest closed lips smile, that feels like a bored polite gesture before he turns back to at the barista, who seems like she doesn’t know what to do.
She looks between the two guys but doesn’t say anything, just staring awkwardly as she waits for them to work things out. She looks scared, honestly, Louis would roll his eyes but he’s afraid it’ll hurt his head more.
"I’m running late so if I could just get my drink real quick." the painfully attractive man continues, shifting on his feet, his fingers turning one of the many rings on his hands.
Pretty hands.
Louis instantly mentally slaps himself for thinking this.
What kind of weirdo thinks that about a stranger’s hands ?
He blames it on the alcohol still running in his system.
"Well I’m late too, so you can just wait for your turn, like everybody else does." the words come out of Louis’ mouth just a little bit harsher than he intended, but the point is the same, this man just took his place and Louis’ really isn’t in the mood.
Well it’s not even eight in the morning yet, Louis is never in the mood for anything this early. Especially before he’s had his coffee.
"Please, just make me my drink and I’ll leave alright ?" the man exhales loudly, his voice just a bit strained as he fumbles into his pockets.
Louis doesn’t miss the way he chews on the inside of his cheek and it makes him frown just a little bit. Does the man really look sad or is Louis’ hungover brain imagining things ? The man does looks very tired, Louis is pretty sure of that. He has bags under his eyes that are even larger than Louis’, and his skin is pale, but maybe that’s just how it usually is.
When the man's pocket vibrates Louis shakes his head, forces himself to look away from his plump lips that he’s been staring out for far too long. The guy quickly slips his phone out, his face falling visibly when he sees whatever is on his screen.
Louis’ eyes dart back to the barista, who is sending him a questioning, still kind of terrified look and he just nods towards the guy, watching as she quickly walks away to prepare his fancy chai latte.
He still has about five minutes before he needs to be at the shop across the street, so yeah he can wait for just a little bit.
It’s annoying, but he’ll wait.
He can’t help but focus back on the man beside him, watching as he quickly click on his phone and brings it his ear, pushing his sunglasses in his curly hair, and blinking a few times.
And if Louis finds himself a bit amazed by the emerald color of his eyes, then nobody has to know.
"Hey mom," the man inhales a shaky breath, biting his bottom lip and Louis looks at the ground now, trying to make himself invisible. He feels like he’s intruding. He looks back up after just a few seconds, eyes dangerlously attracted to that man, that beautiful, weird, rude man.
"Yeah- no- mum- no, I’m sorry I-" he grimaces, Louis thinks he might be making the same face. "I’ll be here in ten minutes alright ? Just stay with Rose please."
He takes the phone away from his ear and types something again quickly, before slipping it in his back pocket and looking back down at Louis almost immediately.
"Can I help you with something ?" he asks, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head a bit, his tone cold and snappy, kind of annoyed. Louis huffs, shaking his head.
Fuck that guy, honestly.
"Are you not gonna say thank you or anything ?!" Louis asks, voice just as snappy and cold. He’s getting more and more annoyed by the attitude of the man, because really, he’s a fucking dickhead. Pretty dickhead.
Louis needs to get a grip.
"About what ?" the guy sighs, leaning his elbows onto the counter and fuck him, fuck him because he has tattoos and Louis has to force himself to look away from them before he can touch, before he can reach out and run his fingers over them.
Why the fuck is he acting like he did when he was a thirteen year old boy and he just saw David Beckham for the first time ?
"About me letting you get your drink even though it was my spot." Louis frowns. Does the man actually not realize he is being very fucking rude ? Is he that oblivious ?
"Thank you so much, you’re the nicest guy I’ve ever met." the guy puts his hand on his chest and pouts his bottom lip dramatically, and Louis could punch him right now.
"And you’re a real fucking dickhead," Louis spits back, looking away from the taller man with his hand clenching by his side. His blood is boiling. This is definitely not a good way to start his day.
"I could have made you go back to the end of the line and I didn’t."
"Such a gentleman, want me to suck you off as a thank you ?" the man squints his eyes, his tongue poking out to lick at his bottom lip. Louis’ blood is boiling for an entire different reason now.
"I’m sure we could do that in the bathroom real quick." he winks, pointing at the bathroom behind the counter and Louis mentally punches himself from actually turning to look at it.
"The fuck is your problem ?" Louis takes a step closer, and the man in front of him doesn’t bulge, doesn’t flinch from the proximity. He simply lets Louis get closer, too close, and does nothing, his hands clasped behind his back as Louis moves.
The man’s eyes dart down to Louis’s mouth for just a split moment, a smirk drawing on his own lips and Louis’s breath catches in his throat.
He is totally not affected, totally not.
Why would he be affected ? It’s not like their faces are just inches away and Louis can feel the heat coming from the guy’s body and he can see his Adam’s apple bop when he swallow.
And oh god he has more tattoos. When Louis’ eyes fall down to his chest he can see them, exposed by his shirt that is only buttoned hallway.
Okay. Maybe just a little affected.
He doesn’t think he’s ever been so sexually attracted to someone that makes him so angry at the same time.
He keeps clenching his fists by his sides, leaning just an inch closer and the other man still doesn’t pull away, Louis even thinks he might have even moved closer. He can feel his breath hit his skin and their eyes stay locked together.
Louis has to be still very drunk because he’s kind of feeling weak in the knees from the tension around them, and that’s definitely not who he is. He doesn’t get weak in the knees because a pretty curly headed boy is staring at him dead in the eyes and fucking smirking.
Louis flirts and teases and he’s the one that make people shy, thank you very much.
And the boy isn’t shy right now.
And weren’t they kind of fighting a minute ago too ? Why are they acting like they’re about to fuck each other now ?
"Here is your drink sir," the barista grabs their attention, pulling Louis out of whatever trance he was just in and he’s the one that looks away first.
He swallows, turns back towards the counter and moves away from the guy until it feels like he can finally breathe again.
He takes a step back and the man turns to the counter, grabbing his drink from and pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. "It’ll be five pounds please."
"There you go." he hands the woman the money, leaving her what looks like a nice tip and smiling brightly at her. When he turns back his eyes meet Louis’ for a moment, it’s short, fleating, but it’s enough to make Louis’ heart race a little bit.
The guy smirks and quickly looks up and down at him, not even bothering to hide that he’s checking Louis out before he walks towards the door. He gives Louis one last look behind his shoulder and disappears in the street, leaving Louis confused over everything that just happened.
Who on earth was that man ?
What on earth just happened ?
Is Louis still asleep ? Did his alarm never go off and this is the dream his obviously still very drunk brain created ?
Louis pinches his wrist, just to make sure. "Sir ? Sir ?" Lily asks, once again pulling Louis back to heart and he blinks a few times, snapping out of his daze and returning his attention to her, his mind a little hazy.
He’s not completely sure if he’s incredibly horny, or incredibly mad. Or both.
Probably both.
Definitely both.
That man looked like he’s from sixteen year old Louis’ wet dream, with his white button up and his long curls and his far too skinny jeans and fucking hell Louis needs to calm down. He needs his coffee, desperately.
"Yeah, um- sorry, I’ll take a black coffee please, no sugar." he asks the barista when the words finally make sense into his brain. She nods, moving to prepare his drink.
As he walks up to the shop his mind is playing and replaying everything that just happened, and even when Louis tries to shake the thoughts away they stay right there. Crossing the street has never felt so long and exhausting.
He runs a slightly sweaty hand though his hair and pushes the door open, his eyes falling on Chris as he’s standing at the counter, his head buried in what looks like hundreds of papers.
"Hi." Louis greats and Chris looks up, a tired smile on his lips as he adjusts his glasses on his nose.
"Hey Louis." he answers, his eyes quickly looking back to the stash of paper in front of him. And Louis is so glad he’s not the one doing the paperwork at their shop. He takes a large sip of his coffee and pats Chris’s shoulder as he walks past him, going to the private room in the back of the shop.
He puts his coat and phone on the chair, adjusts his tie and the bottom of his shirt before he walks back inside the main room.
"How are you doing this morning ?" Chris asks, his eyes still on his work as he sips his own cup of coffee.
"Not great," Louis grimaces and Chris gives him a questioning look. "I have a massive hangover and there was an asshole at the coffee shop, took my place, didn’t apologize, we ended up kind of fighting."
"Sounds like a dick." Chris says with a scrunch of his nose and Louis nods, walking up to him and looking at his work behind his shoulder. His eyes hurt as he looks at the numbers and random names and words on the page. He has to blink a few times so his eyes can properly focus on his friend again.
"Yep," Louis walks back to the other side of the counter, leaning his elbows on it and exhaling loudly.
"But then we were standing very close, too fucking close to each other, and he kept looking at my mouth. And now I’m confused."
He finishes his coffee in one go and throws it in the trash, doing his usual walk around the shop and checking for anything that could be wrong, checking that the clothes are all neatly put on the racks and shelves.
"Was he hot ?" Chris calls. Louis looks back at him as Chris puts his papers under the counter. He checks his phone quickly and looking at himself, running his fingers through his -as usual- perfectly styled hair.
"Oh yes, very, very hot," Louis nods, raising his eyebrows to make sure he gets his point across. "An asshole, but a very, very attractive asshole." he continues and Chris chuckles.
"Little crush darling ?"
"Fuck no." Louis grimaces, turning all the lights of the shop on.
Chris walks around the counter and quickly goes to the back room while Louis plugs their shared work phone onto the speakers, clicking on their quietest playlist which is mainly filled with slow rock and a bit of jazz.
"Sounds to me like you have a little crush… don’t lie to yourself." Chris wiggles his eyebrows, and Louis lets out a little groan.
He does not have a crush, he’s not a fucking teenager anymore. He’s probably just touch deprived.
To be fair, he hasn’t even kissed anyone in months, nine months, exactly.
"I don’t have a crush, the man was a dickhead, he was really fucking rude," he groans "I just have a pair of eyes, and he was really hot, that’s it."
"Whatever you say tough guy." Chris smiles, nodding sarcastically.
"Piss off, this conversation is over," Louis flips him off and checks his own watch.
He takes a deep breath before looking back towards Chris. "Ready ?" Chris nods, adjusting his suit, Louis rolls his head around and cracks his neck.
Louis walks back to the entrance, and unlocks the door before he turns the sign hanging from the door, going from ‘’closed’’ to ‘’open’’ and walks back to the counter, taking his previous place at the counter and waiting.
Ready to start another day of selling too expensive suits to annoying middle aged men.
✧ ✧ ✧
The hot sun of summer hits Louis’s skin as he walks down the street to his usual bar, and he’s so glad he decided to wear only shorts and a simple white shirt instead of the jeans he first picked out.
Despite it being seven pm in England, it’s still very hot outside, and the people walking around him are all dressed in shorts and dresses and crops tops, hair flowing in the wind and bright smiles on their faces. Some of them have their hands clasped together between them, and Louis is honestly kind of grossed out.
It’s far too hot to be holding hands right now.
He returns the smile a young man sends him and continues to walk, observing the scenery and the many people around him.
He’s always done this whenever he was alone or just bored, observe.
For as long as Louis can remember, he has been spending hours walking down the street or sitting at a some cafés, and just watched his surroundings, analyzed everything.
He likes to imagine the life people might have, why did they end up in the same place, at the same time as him.
There’s a young couple across the street from him that catches his attention, both of them looking like they’re about sixteen or seventeen, no more than that.
The guy has his arm around the smaller girl’s shoulders but they’re barely looking at each other, tiny smiles on their faces as they look around. And they seem so shy.
Louis remembers his first relationship, remembers the first butterflies, the first feelings and the first kisses and the first everything. It wasn’t the best, usually it was very embarrassing. Full of messy tongues and simple touches that made him far too hot, far too fast, that made his stomach swirl and jump and his heart race.
But it was all very new to him, he wasn’t any older that the couple walking across the street and if you compare everything to whatever Louis discovered later, it was definitely awkward and messy. But it was nice, it was fun.
He dated the boy for something like four months and he remembers he felt absolutely heartbroken after they broke up, he thought his life was over, that he would never found love again.
It makes him smile now, all of those memories.
It was simpler times.
As he keeps walking down the street Louis falls on a father with his son on his shoulders, and he smiles softly at the sight.
The child is laughing and pretending that his dad is a horse, yelling and throwing his arms into the air while the father holds an ice cream in his hand that he brings to his son’s mouth every once in a while.
The sight is quite adorable, honestly.
The buzz of his phone pulls Louis out of his thoughts and he looks away from the father and his son, raising his sunglasses into his hair and pulling his phone out of his pocket right as he arrives at the bar.
From: Z
Running late, I’ll be there in 20
Sorry
Louis frowns slightly at the words. Zayn is never late to their Friday night, it’s a tradition that they’re very big on keeping, meeting every single Friday at the exact same time in the same place.
He hopes that nothing is wrong. He quickly types his response as he walks inside of their favorite bar.
L: Everything alright ?
Z: Yeah Vi was a little sick so I stayed with her, but she’s feeling better now so I’m leaving
See you in a bit xx
He looks up and slips his phone back in his back pocket, swerving through the crowd of people and walking towards the bar. The loud chatting and old bristish rock music give him a nice sense of familiarity.
He flops down on the only empty stool and lays over the counter, resting his elbows on top of it.
"Evening Louis." Isabella greets, smiling brightly while she pours some tequila in a glass, handing it to a girl that’s waiting a few feet away from Louis and moving on to another drink.
"Hi honey," Louis smiles back, leaning over the counter to press a quick kiss to her cheek, and her smile widens a bit. "How are you doing ?"
"I’m good, lot of clients tonight so a little stressed out, but nothing unusual, you know the drill." she shrugs a shoulder, Louis nods.
Isabella has worked in this bar for as long as Louis can remember, and ever since he and Zayn started coming to this bar a few years ago she has been the one serving them.
The Friday night quickly became a thing with Zayn, who wasn’t even eighteen at the time, and they only have missed two since then.
Isabella and them quickly became friends, considering she’s about the same age as them and they always chat when they come. She’s always smiling and laughing, no matter how hard her work can be.
"Zayn’s not here ?" she asks with a small frown, taking a quick break from the dozens of clients around as she takes care of Louis’ drink. Of course he didn’t have to ask anything, she just did it without waiting.
"He’s gonna be there soon, was taking care of Ivy," Louis explains and Isabella smiles and simply nods, handing him his pint. "Thanks love."
She goes back to serving clients for a moment, and Louis looks at the football match on the tv above him, Liverpool against Manchester.
Liverpool is leading 1-0, but the Manchester team seems to have the ball a little more so Louis is pretty confident they’re gonna win. He hopes they will, he can’t stand the Liverpool team. He slowly sips his pint as he watches the players run around the field, eyes kind of unfocused, feeling kind of bored. He doesn’t know for how long before something very special snaps him out of his thoughts.
"Hi Bella." he hears a very, very familiar voice and chills instantly erupt on his arms, his eyes widening as he almost choke on his beer.
"Hey H," Isabella answers, Louis can hear the smile in her voice. He tries his best to ignore the interaction, but his stomach is turning and jumping dangerously and he doesn’t like that he even has a reaction to that voice.
"How are you ?" she continues. She sounds calmer than she did when she talked to Louis earlier.
Louis keeps his back to them, even turns around a bit so he’s sure nobody sees them, but he lays back just a little bit, so he can hear them better over the music. He feels like a teenager gossiping, but he just can’t stop himself.
"Been better." The guy -H- answers and Louis frowns a bit.
Okay maybe he feels a little intrusive listening to this.
"I’m sorry, do you want something to drink ?" Isabella asks, and Louis doesn’t hear an answer but after he can hear the sound of a glass being put down onto the counter behind him. "How’s your mom ? She getting better ?" she asks then, Louis swallows harshly.
"Definitely no-"
Louis spins around before café guy can finish his words, feeling like he’s definitely hearing something he shouldn’t and also... really just wanting to see his face again. The guy stops talking immediately, eyebrows raising up his forehead and eyes widening dramatically.
Their eyes lock and none of them talk for long seconds. They just stand there, staring, Louis feels like the bar just got ten degrees hotter.
Louis struggles to swallow and he fucking hates that. He hates the way he’s feeling, hates that he feels so…weird. Affected. But with those beautiful green eyes staring down at him, exhaustion written in them it’s kind of impossible to stay impassive.
"Hi." the man finally speaks, voice too deep and face too beautiful, and god Louis’ eyes fall to his lips before he can stop himself.
He wants to punch himself in the jaw again. That happens far too much when he’s around café guy.
"Hey." he answers simply, not trusting his voice to stay steady if he tries to speak any more.
"Do you two know each other ?" Isabella asks and Louis finally, finally looks away from the guy, fiddling with his hands on his lap. He doesn’t answer, and Isabella raises a questioning eyebrow.
"We’ve met before, couple days ago," café guy answers and Louis just nods dumbly.
God he’s ridiculous.
"Don’t think we’ve properly introduced each other though. I’m Harry." he extends his hand and Louis takes it without waiting, shivers running down his spine as soon as their skin come in contact.
He hates that his stomach his fluttering, hates that he doesn’t want to let go of Harry’s hand, that he actually wants him closer, a lot closer.
Hates that Chris was right, and he does have a crush.
Jesus. He wants to fucking throw up.
The truth is, Louis has been thinking about Harry for the last few days, has thought about his eyes, about his tattoos, his hands and his fucking smirk, about the tension between them.
At first he pretended that he was just mad, angry, and that was why he was so obsessed with everything. But after he went home the night they met and found himself sporting a semi at the thought of him, he figured that maybe he wasn’t just mad.
And now here they are, with their hands clasped and their eyes locked and the air feels heavy and hot and intense and god Louis doesn’t want to let go.
What is happening to him ?
"Louis." he answers, voice still low. Harry smiles down at him. He doesn’t smirk, he smiles, actually smiles, dimples popping out and all.
And of course, of fucking course he has fucking dimples.
"Well it’s nice to see you again Louis," Louis’s stomach does a dramatic flip when he hears the name rolling off Harry’s tongue. "Are you here alone ?" he asks, finally letting go of Louis’s hand and starting to fiddle with his rings.
He seems a lot nicer than the last time they met, more calm, Louis is incredibly intrigued.
"No, I’m waiting for a friend. You ?" Louis takes a long sip of his pint.
He’s in desperate need of some liquid luck.
"I live right above here," Harry nods towards the ceiling. "Was just coming for a quick drink and to say hi." he explains and Louis just nods, not quite finding his voice. "Alright well I’ll leave you alone now, not trying to bother you." he gives Louis a small smile that makes Louis frown a bit.
"You’re not bothering me." Louis hurries to say, shaking his head and Harry bites his lip a bit shyly, darting his eyes away. Louis is honestly very, very surprised by his reaction. Pleasantly surprised.
Harry seemed a lot more confident at the café than he is right now.
He was all cocky and smirky and teasing, and kind of insulting Louis, but now his cheeks are flushed and he doesn’t really look at Louis as he talks. But only a minute ago he was staring at him with an intensity that made Louis want to hide under the counter.
Confusing. That boy is confusing.
"No ?" he asks softly, quietly, Louis shakes his head.
"No."
"Tommo !" when Louis hears Zayn’s voice calling him he looks away from Harry for the first time since he got here, smiling as he watches his best friend run over to him.
He can feel Harry’s eyes boring into his face when Zayn reaches the bar and leans down to give Louis a tight hug. "Hi." he exhales and Louis smiles at his friend, squeezing his arm.
"Hey darling." Zayn leans across the counter and plants a kiss to Isabella’s cheek, exactly like Louis did only a few minutes ago.
"Hey Zayn." she answers, quickly making his drink and putting it in front of him, he stands next to Louis, his body shielding him from Harry’s.
And Louis just can’t have that.
"Z, this is Harry." Louis says, nodding towards Harry. Zayn turns around and smiles warmly at him, running his fingers through his black hair.
"Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Zayn."
"Nice to meet you too," Harry smiles back, a little more shyly before he looks at Isabella. "I’m gonna go outside, enjoy the weather before I go back up. Could you bring me a beer, please ?" Isabella nods, handing another customer their glass.
Harry looks at Louis, and for just a short moment the tension is back, thich, heavy. Before Louis can ask him to stay he walks away, staring down at the ground as he goes out the back door.
Louis forces himself to look away from him and instead focus on his best friend, that looks out of breath and incredibly tired.
"Is Ivy alright ?" Isabella asks, pouring some tequila in whatever cocktail she's making. Zayn nods slowly, leaning his elbows on the counter and exhaling a deep breath.
"Yeah, for now at least. She’s been sick for almost two days now, bad fever and everything, she even had to cancel a job today." he explains, concern obvious on his face.
Ivy is very, very serious about her job. Louis has seen her go to photoshoots with a pounding headache or even a broken leg before, so if she cancelled today, that means that she really is sick.
Louis isn’t exactly worried though, she’s a very strong and healthy woman and he’s sure she will be just fine.
"She convinced me to go out even though I honestly just wanted to stay home and take care of her." Zayn says, a hint of sadness in his voice and Louis reaches to rub his shoulder.
"She’s gonna be fine Z, she’s not dying. Probably just caught a nasty virus or something." he smiles softly, patting his best friend’s shoulder and Zayn nods, sighing heavily.
"I know, I’m sorry I’m so fucking dramatic. I just don’t like seeing her like that. She was throwing up and shaking all night, didn’t get any sleep."
"You’re not dramatic," Louis tries but Zayn sends him a look, calling his bullshit and Louis smiles, suppressing a laugh. "Okay you kinda are, but you’re just worried, it’s honestly really fucking cute. But she’s gonna be fine babe, she just needs some rest." Zayn nods again, taking a sip of his beer.
"I’ll come check on her tomorrow if that’s okay, wanna help my bestie feel better." Louis pouts his bottom lip and Zayn gasps in fake offend.
"Aren’t I supposed to be your bestie ?" he accuses and Louis shrugs, nodding.
"Definitely in my top five. Maybe six." Louis says with a serious look, holding Zayn’s gaze for a few seconds before he starts laughing.
"You fucking wanker." Zayn grunts indignantly, smacking the back of Louis’ head, but he quickly joins in to Louis’s laugh.
Of course he’s Louis’s best friend, he has been since they were children, since he helped Louis get back up after he fell from his bike and brought him to an ice cream place to make him feel better.
Louis doesn’t know where he’d be without him.
"So, who’s he ?" Zayn asks after a little while, nodding towards the outdoor terrace as he takes a sip of his beer.
And Louis founds himself smiling at the ground, his cheeks flushing slightly. He doesn’t know why the mere mention of Harry makes him shy, but apparently dear café boy has the power to turn him into a teenager again.
"The guy I met a few days ago, at the coffee shop," Zayn’s eyes widen in recognition. "Turns out he lives right above here." Louis scrunches his nose up when a small knowing smirk appears on Zayn’s lips.
"Well that’s a beautiful coincidence, how’d it go ?"
"Went pretty well, he seems a lot nicer tonight than he was when we first met, didn’t take my place this time."
For a couple hours the boys talk together like this. And of course the subject ends up being mostly about Louis’s crush, but Louis manages to talk about random stuff going on in their lives every once in a while too.
Zayn talks about a very drunk, probably very high guy that came into the shop today and asked Zayn to tattoo his girlfriend’s face on his ass. Louis snorts beer out of his nose at that and Zayn just shakes his head, telling Louis that seriously this was his first day in the shop and things like this are already happening.
Then Louis tells Zayn about some annoying clients he got that week too, and it’s a lot of complaining and laughing and bickering and teasing each other, as usual.
Louis drinks twice as much as Zayn, considering he only has to walk a little less than ten minutes to go home but Zayn has to drive.
Zayn’s phones starts ringing in the middle of a conversation about Louis’ mother, and Zayn frowns, looking down at his screen. His phone buzzes a second time, and he chugs the rest of his beer down before he shoots off his seat.
"Shit- Ivy’s not okay I need to go home, I’m sorr-" Louis cuts him off, waving a dismissive hand around.
"Don’t apologize love, go take care of your girlfriend." Louis smiles at him and nods towards the door.
Zayn wraps an arm around his shoulder and hugs him quickly, before waving at Isabella and running outside. "Give her a hug for me." Louis calls as Zayn passes through the door.
Louis looks back at the tv and sighs, wondering if he should go just home too. It’s only ten pm and he does’t have anything to do tomorrow, so he could definitely stay and get shit faced drunk, but he never really liked drinking alone.
Not even two minutes after Zayn leaves Louis’ phone rings, Louis smiles down at his screen as soon as he reads the text, biting on his bottom lip.
From: Z
Your pretty boy is still here, sitting outside
Looks a bit lonely…
It feels like the universe heard him thinking about drinking alone, and told him don’t worry, we've got someone for you.
He swallows the lump in his throat and the rest of his beer, and gestures to Isabella that he’s going outside.
When he gets there, Harry is sitting at a small table next to the wall of the bar, his eyes seemingly lost on the street in front of him and a cocktail in his hand.
"Hey." Louis says, clearing his throat and Harry blinks up at him with eyes that look even more tired than before. It makes Louis frown. "Can I sit here?"
"Of course," Harry nods without waiting. It makes Louis smile. He flops on the chair next to Harry. "Did your friend leave ?" Harry asks then, turning his head towards Louis.
"Yeah, his girlfriend is sick, had to go home to take care of her." Louis explains, leaning back into his chair. "Weren’t you supposed to go back to your place ?"
"I was," Harry nods, looking straight into Louis’ eyes for a short, painfully intense moment before he glances towards the street. "I’m just enjoying a little moment of peace." he exhales a deep breath and Louis’ stomach falls.
"I’m sorry, I should leave." he grimaces, shaking his head. He pushes his chair back and goes to stand up, but before his thighs can push off the seat Harry softly puts his hand on his on the table, keeping him right where he is.
Louis looks back at him, swallows harshly. "No, don’t go, please." Harry says softly, his voice a lot quieter than before, and Louis doesn’t need anything more to relax back into his chair.
As soon as he’s sure Louis isn’t gonna leave again Harry snatches his hand back and brings it to his lap, fiddling with his rings.
He does that a lot.
Louis leans further into his chair, watching Harry while Harry watches his pretty hands. Well, he’s apparently back to being shy.
"Um.. Louis I-" he starts, and Louis stays completely still as he waits for the next words to come. "I wanted to apologize, for last time at the coffee shop. I acted like a real dickhead that day."
"It’s alright," Louis says, and it really is. "You seemed like you were having a bit of a rough morning." he says lowly and Harry looks back at him, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips very slightly pursed. He looks kind of adorable, honestly.
"Sorry, I shouldn’t pry." Louis is quick to apologize.
"No, no it’s okay," Harry shakes his head. "It’s just that...people don’t usually notice." his voice grows quieter as he speaks and now Louis is the one that's frowning.
"Notice ?"
"That I’m having a bad day. People say I’m usually very good at… you know, hiding it. Apart from like my best friend and my family nobody really sees anything." Harry explains, twirling his beer in his hand.
"If I’m being honest, it was quite obvious, you looked like shit."
"Wow, thanks." Harry’s eyebrows almost shoot out of his head and Louis immediately feels guilty.
"No, wait no that’s no- that’s not what I meant," Harry smiles at Louis’ stuttering, and doesn’t do anything to help him "Don’t get me wrong, you’re hot- well- no not hot, you’re cute ? Pretty ? Fuck I don’t know." Harry starts to laugh and Louis huffs, running his hand down his face as he raises an eyebrow. "Funny huh ?"
"Very," Harry presses his palm on his mouth to stiffle another laugh. "It’s very interesting seeing you all stuttering and stressed out." he smiles, his eyes glowing and his fucking dimples popping out again.
"Yeah ? I’d love to see what would happen if it were the other way around." Louis huffs.
"You’re hot as fuck, there, not that hard is it ?" Harry says simply and Louis chokes on his own breath.
How does Harry go from a shy little boy to flirty and confident in a split second ? Jesus. It's giving Louis whiplash.
His eyes fall down to Harry’s lips when Harry slowly, very slowly slowly slides his tongue over them, very obviously trying to get Louis’ attention. Louis has to look away quickly, his heart feeling like it’s gonna burst out of his chest.
"You’re really fucking confusing." Louis says honestly, and just a little bit breathlessly. Harry takes a sip of his drink, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he looks at Louis.
"Why ?"
"One second you’re all shy, cheeks red," Louis raises and eyebrow, and Harry bites his lips and looks down at the table in front of them.
"Looking away from me, exactly like right now," Louis continues and Harry looks up, eyes immediately meeting Louis’. "And then next second you’re all sarcastic and teasing me and you tell me I’m hot without even blinking."
"I might be just a tiny bit drunk, definitely help saying that stuff," Louis chuckles and Harry smiles brightly. "And you’re confusing too, you know." he arches an eyebrow and Louis can’t help but huff.
"No I’m not, I’m very easy to read."
"Absolutely not," Harry shakes his head and takes another sip of his drink. "Last time I thought you were genuinely gonna punch me and scream at me, and then you just stared, moving closer and closer until it wasn’t very appropriate anymore." he purses his lips. "I wasn’t sure if you wanted to murder me or fuck me."
"Honestly I wasn’t sure either," Louis snorts. "Probably both at that point." he says with a smile, pulling his pack of cigarette out of his pocket.
"What about now ?" Harry asks, biting down on his bottom lip, and Louis can clearly see him look down at his mouth when he pushes his cigarette between his own lips.
"Murder is definitely out of the picture." he mumbles, putting his lighter to the edge of the paper and taking a big inhale, immediately feeling the familiar burn run down his throat.
"Pretty sure there was a second thing…" Harry asks, his tone lower than before, his eyes darker than before.
"Definitely not out of the picture." Louis looks away and blows the smoke into the air above them, his heart hammering against his chest
His stomach jumps when Harry suddenly reaches for his lips, his knuckles barely brushing against them as he takes the cigarette away from him.
He stares with slightly wide, slightly hungry eyes as Harry brings it to his own lips and inhales the smoke, blowing it right on Louis’ face and Louis just can’t look away from Harry’s perfect, perfec lips.
"Good to know." Harry murmurs quietly, smiling as he puts the cigarette back between Louis’s mouth.
They look back at each other, and Louis notices the slight glaze he can see in the other man’, the alcohol obviously having affected him a bit.
Louis is the one that looks away first, and he returns to his smoking without saying another thing, feeling Harry’s gaze stay on him as he blows the smoke in the air.
Harry reaches for the cigarette between his lips again after just a moment, and Louis looks back at him just in to see him inhaling a sharp breathe, his cheeks hollowing and his jaw clenching as the smoke travels down his throat.
He blows the smoke out with his eyes on Louis, and reaches for his chair, grabbing the back of it and easily pulling it closer to him. Louis lets out a small gasp and puts his cigarette down on the ashtray, looking down as the ashes spread around the paper.
Chills erupt on his arms when Harry reaches for his chin. He gently presses his pointer finger to his skin and turn Louis’ head to him. And Louis can’t breathe.
His hand slowly travels to the back of Louis’ head and he tangle his fingers in the short hair at the nape of his neck, his lips slightly parted as he searches his eyes around Louis’ face.
When they look back into each other’s eyes and Harry exhales a shaky breathe, leaning closer to Louis, whose entire body moves without him needing to think about it.
One hand comes to rest on Harry’s thigh while the other moves to the back of his chair. He inhales, looks up and down between Harry’s lips and eyes and his heart flutters dangerously.
Neither of them stop leaning closer, not even when Louis can feel Harry’s breath hit his skin, not even when they’re close enough that their noses brush together, not even when Louis’ eyes threaten to close-
Their moment of intimacy ends far too soon, far, far too soon, because Harry’s fucking phone buzzes.
He lets out a quiet groan, his head falling forward and onto Louis’ shoulder and Louis instinctively rubs his thigh, not missing the way Harry’s body tenses when the buzzing resonates again.
Harry sighs, pouting as he lets go of Louis’ face. He grabs his phone on the table, sending Louis a quick look before turning his eyes to the screen.
"Fuck, I’m sorry," Harry grimaces, shaking his head in what looks like frustration, or anger, maybe, and Louis feels his throat tighten a bit. "I’m sorry I have to go."
"It’s alright." Louis murmurs, shrugging a shoulder, and Harry chews on his lips as he slips his phone back into his back pocket.
"I- shit. I’m sorry, really. I’ll see you again yeah ?" he asks, his eyes almost pleading.
"Yeah, yeah you will." Louis nods quickly.
"Okay, okay good. That’s good." Harry stands up and turns towards the building, walking just a few steps before he stops abruptly and spins back around, quickly moving back towards Louis.
He doesn’t stop moving closer until his legs are almost bumping into Louis’ knees and then he leans down, reaching for Louis’ cheek and gently, so gently cradling it in his palm.
Louis feels himself start to breathe faster, feels his heart race as Harry’s eyes dart to his lips once more.
"Can I ?" he asks quietly and Louis can’t do anything except nods in response. He puts his hand on Harry’s side as he leans closer and closer. Louis’ eyes falling shut when he feels Harry’s warm breath hit his lips once more.
And Harry takes his sweet, sweet time, his bottom lip barely brushing Louis’ before he gently nips at it. Louis lets out a quiet, shaky but content hum at the feeling, grabbing Harry’s face and pulling him further down.
And then he finally, finally presses their lips together.
Harry’s hold tighten on Louis’ face and he moans a little too loudly as soon as they kiss, lips moving slowly together, calmly.
But it doesn’t take long before things get a lot more heated, and Louis’ tongue teases Harry’s lips. They both inhale a sharp breath when Harry opens his mouth for him, and their tongue start dancing and tangling together.
Harry kisses softly, but there’s a very obvious need and desire in his movements that makes Louis feel warm all over.
Their lips move in perfect unison, the faint taste of cigarette mixing with alcohol and mint as they kiss deeply. Louis’ hand travels down to Harry’s hips, fingers slipping under Harry’s shirt and the boy lets out a soft moan at the feeling, tilting Louis’ head back a bit so he can deepen the kiss even more.
So Louis pulls him in, goes to pull him fully onto his lap and he’s certain that Harry isn’t gonna protest.
But then his fucked phone buzzes again.
Harry groans against Louis’ mouth, pressing a few soft kisses to his lips and pulling away with a subtle bite on his bottom one.
Their eyes open slowly when Harry really pulls away, and Harry smiles tiredly, rubbing Louis’ cheekbone with gentle fingers and Louis’ eyes immediately fall down to Harry’ lips, swollen, red, perfect.
He already misses them.
"I’ll ask Bella for your number." Louis says, a little breathless and Harry nods quickly, smile growing a little.
"I’m sorry I have to leave," he pecks Louis’ lips again, obviously struggling to pull away already. He stays pressed to Louis for too long, and goes to add his tongue to the mix before he stops himself with a frustrated groan.
"Okay okay, I’m going now." he murmurs right against Louis’ lips, and Louis nods, but doesn’t make any effort to pull away.
Harry kisses his cheek before he finally moves away, reaching for his keys in his back pocket and standing up straight. Louis already misses the warmth of his body.
Harry smiles again, giving Louis a small wave before walking to the door right next to the terrace. He looks back at Louis as he opens his door, eyes bright and beautiful and then he’s disappearing inside the building.
Louis sighs heavily and founds himself smiling like an idiot as he goes back inside, blushing as Bella smiles and types Harry’s number into his phone.
He leaves right after that, walking back to his flat with his smile still on his lips.
He takes a quick shower, slips on some fresh boxers and lays in bed, music playing in his earbuds, all the lights in his bedroom turned off.
L- Hey, it’s Louis
H- Hey stranger
Sorry again for having to leave
L- Everything alright ?
H- Yeah, it’s okay
Tonight was very nice
L- It was
When can I see you again ?
H- Already missing me ? :)
L- Don’t get your hopes up
H- So you’re not missing me ? :(
L- Didn’t say that
When can I see you ?
H- Whenever you want
L- What are you doing tomorrow night ?
H- Going out with you apparently :D
L- It’s a date
H- Is it ?
L- Do you want it to be ?
H- Definitely
L- I’ll pick you up at 7
H- Can’t wait xx
Louis puts his phone down, releasing a shaky breath as he curls up around a pillow, a small smile on his lips.
He falls asleep quicker and more easily than ever, thinking of the curly boy with piercing green eyes and dimples that make his stomach flutter.