I've Been Watching You All Night

Chapter 17

Harry watched his boyfriend and the new boy staring each other down. He had no fucking clue what was happening. Liam introduced himself to Louis and now the two wouldn't break eye contact. "Uh, Liam? Come sit down." Harry patted the cushion next to him and Liam made his way over to the boy, plopping down on the couch beside him. Harry smiled as Liam wrapped an arm around him possessively. Maybe he would make Louis jealous.

"So, Louis, I work at a bakery really close to that bookstore. Maybe we could hang out during our breaks." Louis eyed the bigger lad and cleared his throat. "Yeah, that sounds nice. As long as I won't distract you from your work." Harry giggled and rested a hand on the boy's thigh. "Don't worry, you won't bother me." Louis smiled. This boy was so sweet.

"Louis, do you have any special ones in your life? Because my friend Zayn thinks you're cute." Louis did a double-take. Zayn thought he was cute? He barely knew the boy. "I'm not really looking for a relationship right now, but tell Zayn I'm sorry." Harry visibly deflated beside Louis. He knew he was in a committed relationship, but he liked the possibility of being with Louis. He was just so cute.

"Kids, time for dinner," Anne called into the room. Louis and Harry stood up, each with a kid on their hip, and Liam wrapped his arm around Harry's waist, keeping him close. Jay and Dan took the twins from the boys and sat down with them in their laps. Harry and Liam sat next to each other, with Anne on Harry's other side, and Louis was directly across from Harry between Jay and Dan. Robin sat at the head of the table to Anne's left.

"Louis, I was thinking maybe I could give you a tour around town sometime. Liam is going to the Bahamas on vacation next week so I'm going to have a lot of free time." Louis nodded and took a bite of his chicken, trying not to make eye contact with the muscular boy next to Harry. "Anne, this is delicious. It's better than mum's." Anne smiled at the compliment and Jay smacked her son's arm. Harry snorted so hard he almost choked on his chicken. "Careful, baby, don't want to choke." Liam patted Harry on the back but didn't take his eyes off Louis.

"Thanks, Li. I'm fine." Liam nodded and went back to his chicken, moaning loudly. "Oh my God, Anne, you are such an amazing cook. Maybe my parents should consider hiring you as our new chef. I had to fire the old one for looking at Harry." Anne said a small "Thank you" and went back to her food, but Louis rolled his eyes at the privileged bullshit spewing out of his mouth.

"I told you not to fire him. You just overreacted." Liam pecked his cheek with a fake smile on his face. "Oh baby, always so nice, even to people who don't deserve it." Liam glared at Louis as he said that and Louis fake-gagged. The adults at the table exchanged confused looks over why their children were acting like this. "Hey, Lou, can you pass me the bread." Louis handed the bread to Harry and he took it graciously. "Thank you, Lou, you're so sweet." Liam tightened his grip on the curly-haired boy and the boy grinned to himself. He was going to cause so much chaos.

After the eventful and angsty dinner, everyone retired to the living room for dessert and conversation. Liam and Harry were curled up in the corner of the couch, the smaller lad tucked under the bigger one's arm, and Louis was on the floor playing with the twins. Harry watched in awe as the boy interacted with the kids. It made his heart hurt that he knew he would never have his own biological kids in the future. He would have to do adoption or surrogacy. Harry had cried himself to sleep on many occasions, knowing that pregnancy was not an option for him in the future.

Harry was taken out of his head when he saw Louis stand up. "I'm gonna go out for a little bit. I need some fresh air." Jay stopped him before he walked out the door. "Don't leave any cigarette butts on the porch. And make sure you air out before you come back in. I don't need the twins developing lung cancer because you exposed them to secondhand smoke." Louis saluted the woman and was about to leave when Harry spoke up. "I'll come with you. Liam, stay here." So Harry got up and walked out the door with Louis, their hands bumping with every couple of steps.

"D'you smoke?" Louis offered the pack to Harry but he refused. "No, I'm not big on smoking. I think it's hot that you do it, though. Gives you a good bad-boy image." Louis snorted. "I am not a bad boy. I read comics and play with kids all day. I'm a nerd." Harry touched his arm. "But a very cute nerd." Louis blushed from all of the compliments. "You really think I'm cute?" Louis's eyes were wide and questioning. He didn't believe Harry. "Of course I think you're cute. Look at your cheekbones. And your hair. And those thighs. Oh my gosh, I love your thighs." Louis couldn't have gotten any redder at that moment and he was glad it was dark outside. "Thanks."

Harry stroked his cheek. "Of course, love. Anything to make you feel good." Louis looked down at his feet, kicking them at the floor. Then he looked up, realizing something. "What are we doing? Harry, you have a boyfriend, what are you trying to get out of this?" Harry shrugged. "I don't know." Louis sighed loudly. "I should go back in. We need to leave soon, it's almost the twins' bedtime." Louis walked back in, leaving a dumbfounded Harry out on the porch. What just happened?