The Bright and The Brave {l.s. au}

6- Bug Race

POV: Harry

"Hey," I looked up from my phone and saw Louis walking towards me.

"H-hey," I stuttered back as I shoved my phone into my pocket and stood up from the bench I was sitting at. Why am I nervous? This isn't a date. He's just my platonic soulmate. That's enough reason to be nervous, right?

"So, uh, this place is good?" He asked, hands deep in his jacket pockets. He rocked on the balls of his feet.

"Yeah, it's great. They have the best apple pastries." We started walking towards the entrance, keeping an appropriate distance from each other.

As a gay man, I don't think it's wrong of me to state the fact that, yes, he looked hot. He was hot. Very hot. Had he also been a gay man, I would lay on the charm. However, he's a straight man with a girlfriend who apparently has already been seeing colors.

"So um," he started after we'd been served and began eating, "this collab thing could be cool."

"Yeah, I think it's a great idea. Thank you, James." I said with a light laugh. He chuckled and took a sip of his tea.

"Well, I think our music is a little different but I definitely think we could find a middle ground and make something really cool."

We ended up talking about random things for almost an hour. Neither of us mentioned anything about colors. I felt like we should really talk about it but we didn't.

"Do you want to come over for a bit? We could sit down and maybe get started on that song." I suggested as we were walking out. I bit my lip nervously waiting for his answer. Why am I nervous? Jesus, calm down Harold.

"Yeah, I'd love to." I was half-expecting him to say no and so I looked at him with a little too much excitement. "Let me just call Eleanor. Just to make sure she knows where I am."

I snapped back to reality at the mention of his girlfriend. Right, he has a girlfriend, he is straight, you are his platonic soulmate.

"Okay, I'll call my driver." We both pulled our phones out, "Do you want to ride with me or...?"

"Sure." He smiled and walked a few steps away as we both completed our calls.

When the car pulled up, there was an awkward moment of both of us waiting for the other to get in. He got in first after I insisted. 

"That's a nice place. Beachwood Cafe. I'll have to come back sometime." He said a few minutes into the drive.

"Yeah, it's really lowkey so I don't really get recognized there. It's a good place to go if you want to be in public like a normal person." I laughed.

"Your house is so nice." Louis looked around admiring what I honestly thought was terribly decorated. 

"Oh, thanks." I walked over to the kitchen and he followed, still looking at everything. It was weird. The only people who ever come to my house are one-night stands and Niall. This was definitely a new experience. I grabbed a bottle of white wine from my cabinet. "Would you like some?" He looked at me and nodded politely.

"Sure."

Several bottles of wine later, we had scraps of paper scattered everywhere with lyrics that didn't really make sense. We should've consulted both of our managers and labels and everything first but after we finished the first bottle, we threw caution to the wind and got carried away with excitement. 

Louis was a funny drunk, he made jokes and did things purely for a laugh, and of course, it was all hilarious. That's why half of our lyrics didn't make any sense, we were tipsy and dumb at this point. All of the good lyrics came before the alcohol hit us. Louis was a really good songwriter. I found myself sitting still and intensely listening to every word he said. I felt like I could close my eyes and sail away listening to his voice.