That Sounds Fake But Okay

Chapter 6

"Niall, will you please ask Harry to pass me the SkyMall magazine?"

Niall glances nervously from Louis on his right to Harry on his left.

"Harry, will you pass Louis the..."

Harry sighs and removes the magazine from the seat pocket in front of him, handing it to Niall without even looking.

Louis snatches the magazine out of Niall's hand in a huff, looking over at Harry to see if he's reacting. But Harry already has his eyes closed and his head tipped back against his seat. He looks like he's about to fall asleep. That's just unacceptable.

"Wait, this is the same issue as I have over here, will you ask Harry to put it back?" Louis thrusts the magazine across Niall's lap, pushing the corner of it sharply into Harry's arm.

"Ouch!" Harry yelps, jerking forward and snatching the magazine back. "They're all the same issue, Louis. Listen, I know you're mad at me, but I'm fucking tired right now. I got no sleep last night. So save it until we get to St. Louis."

"Niall, would you kindly remind Harold here that none of us slept last night?!" Louis responds, the volume of his voice rising. "I know I personally didn't because I spent the whole night keeping his ass out of jail."

Harry just shakes his head. "Not now."

Niall clamps his hand over Louis' mouth before the inevitable string of curses can start streaming out. "Louis, he's got a point," he says firmly, lowering his voice to a whisper. "There are other people on this airplane. We don't need you two publicly fighting and having it splashed across the tabloids."

Niall holds his hand steady until he can feel Louis start to relax a little. "Are you gonna stay quiet if I let you go?" he asks skeptically.

Louis nods.

Niall cautiously removes his hand, and Louis lets out a long breath. "Isn't the Dalai Lama a pacifist?" he hisses loud enough for Harry to hear. "He would be so disappointed in you."

Harry reacts by putting on his headphones and closing his eyes again.

Infuriating.

"Niall, order me a gin and tonic, will you?" Louis snaps.

"It's not even 8:00 a.m."

"With lime," Louis adds, shuffling furiously through his carry-on bag for nothing in particular. His entire body is humming with nervous energy even though he's exhausted.

They should have postponed this trip, they really should have. But the Sams considered it important damage control to keep their travel plans intact, including the commercial flight. The news about the scuffle at the club was going to get out no matter what, but they wanted to spin it as Harry defending Louis from a potential threat to his personal safety. Harry the hero.

To spin it, though, they'd first had to get Aiden on board. Sam Clayton had enlisted security to rush Louis, Aiden, and Liam out of the club through the side exit and into a waiting car. At Louis' apartment, Aiden had clutched a bag of frozen peas to his jaw while Louis had practically begged him not to press assault charges against Harry, Sam chiming in with all kinds of offers of professional favors, while Liam sat stunned and silent in the background.

In the end, Aiden had acquiesced. Louis wasn't sure what had tipped him in the right direction- Sam's promises, or his obvious hope that there would be something left for him and Louis when Harry was finally out of the picture. Frankly, Louis hadn't really cared what the reason was. He'd walked Aiden out to a hired car sometime around 3:00 a.m. and begrudgingly accepted a kiss on the cheek before his presumptuous ex-boyfriend was whisked away back to L.A.