I've Been Watching You All Night

Chapter 18

Harry and Louis met up one week later at the bakery Harry worked at. Harry sat at one of the tables by the window with a cappuccino in his hands, waiting for the feather-haired boy to show up. He was nervous, for some reason, and his hands were shaking like mad. The bell over the door dinged and Harry whipped around, nearly giving himself whiplash. "Louis." Louis turned toward the voice and smiled at Harry, walking toward the table the small boy was sitting at. "This is a nice place. What do you recommend?" Harry examined the board from his seat. "I'm having a cappuccino, but the mocha is really good. Susan makes a mean caramel swirl brownie, so I would suggest you get one of those, too."

Louis smiled and walked up to the counter. The woman behind the counter smiled at him broadly. "Harry's good folk. Keep him safe." Susan reached across and patted his hand. Louis nodded awkwardly. "I will. Umm, could I order?" Susan picked up her tongs and clacked them at him. "Of course, darling. Tell me what you want." Louis examined the menu one last time. "I would like a medium mocha and two caramel swirl brownies."

The woman nodded and grabbed the brownies from the case first. She handed those to him then went to make his mocha. Louis stood there with his debit card out, waiting for the woman. She came back to the counter a couple of minutes later with a steaming cup in her hands. "Your total will be," She squinted at the register. "£6.87." Louis handed her the card and she swiped it, handing it back to him with the receipt. "Here you go, love. Enjoy." She winked at Louis and he blushed furiously, then scurried back to the table.

"I got you a brownie as well. You said you liked them." Harry gasped as Louis set the plastic-wrapped treat in front of him. "Yummy! Thank you, Louis." Without even thinking, the smaller boy jumped up and planted a huge, sloppy kiss on the older boy's cheek. Louis made a small noise in the back of his throat. Harry realized what he did and backed away, hoping the boy wasn't mad at him.

"I should buy you brownies more often, then, huh?" Harry giggled and nudged the boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry if that was too forward. I'm just a really affectionate person." Louis smiled. "It's ok, love, the brownie made you excited and you wanted to show your appreciation. Never apologize for being yourself and showing me you care." Harry hummed and sat back down, digging into his brownie. Louis sat across from him and sipped his mocha, even though it was still too hot.

"So, are we still on for hanging out this week while Liam's gone?" Harry nodded, his mouth full of caramel brownie. "Yeah. He'll be in the Bahamas for a little over a week, which is great. He's been a little oppressive lately. I think he's jealous of you." Louis snorted. "You think? Harry, if he could have, he probably would have fucked you right in front of me to assert dominance. I know he doesn't like me, and I couldn't care less." Louis angrily picked at his brownie. "I know. I tried to talk to him about his temper but he just blamed it all on me. I'm sorry about him." Louis put a hand on Harry's soothingly. "Talk to me, yeah? I'll listen." Harry took a deep, shuddering breath.

"It's just...he's not what he used to be. I started dating him because he was sweet and gentle. He never held my arm too tight or ignored me when I told him something. We were so happy. Then it all changed. He met Zayn and he became a bit of an asshole. It's not Zayn's fault, I know. Liam was always an asshole, he just hid it well. I think he really wanted to impress Zayn. He kind of pressured me into having sex and he stopped caring about my pleasure. He just did it to do it. And whenever we would go out with Zayn or with the guys, he would always get really possessive and make me feel uncomfortable. I've tried confronting him, but I know he'll break up with me and I can't do that. My last breakup was the lowest point in my life and I don't want to go back there." Harry was crying as he spoke and Louis just watched him. This boy in front of him was much more than a cute kid with a good body. He was a damaged boy, with bruises and scars that were hidden well for so long.