The Parallels (Larry Stylinson+Niall Horan)

Chapter 17

Harry

I was making my bed even though it wasn't really messy but, it had a few creases and I liked my room to be perfectly tidy. It was one of my those habits that I needed to make sure, was taken care of. Any hindrance in my usual routine would make me spiral. As much as I wanted to be free of these patterns, they kept me calm and made me feel organised and that, in turn, made me feel useful. Having things sorted and in place was the one thing that I wished I could always manage to do. Not only the materialistic bits and pieces but also, my life. The latter, however, seemed like an impossible job to accomplish.

Niall had called me earlier to let me know that he would be picking me up in half an hour for a sleepover at Louis's house. When I first heard those words on the phone, I froze. I felt as if my body was made of concrete and I couldn't move. Why would Louis Tomlinson, of all people, want me to be at his house for a whole night? I thought about finding a way out of it but, the offer was too tempting. No matter how scared I was of Louis, I could not miss a chance of having a sleepover at his place. But, that did not change the fact that I was completely terrified of all the things that could possibly go downhill.

After I finished cleaning my room, I went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror above the sink. My hair were hanging down my forehead and my curls were messier than ever. My eyes looked a different shade of green today. They were brighter and shinier. Even the uncertainty of what might happen, couldn't take the excitement away. There was something about the fact that Louis had invited me over, that was like music to my ears. Niall had told me that his parents were out of town and he wanted to spend the night with some people and considering that we're Liam's best friends, he decided to call us over.

I knew that this was all because of Liam and I was not the only person who was invited but, I felt elated and I liked that feeling. I gave myself a smile in the mirror and walked out of the room. I closed the door behind me and went downstairs. There were still 10 minutes left for Niall to come pick me up so, I stuck a note on the fridge that read:

Hey mum,
I'm gonna be spending the night at Louis's with Niall, Zayn and Liam. Hope to see you soon.
Love you,
H

It was weird how my mum and I lived in the same house and yet, we barely saw each other. She worked late and usually slept all her way through the morning and was gone before I returned from school. That was another reason why, sometimes, I did not want to go to school. I just felt that if I could stay home, I could be there with her when she wakes up and we could spend some time together. She also spent some nights at her boyfriend's house, whom I had never met and that made me mad. I never told her this, though because I wanted her to be happy and as long as she liked what she was doing, I had no right to make her feel bad about it.

I tidied up the living room a little and then there was a knock at the front door. I assumed that it was Niall. My friends never rang the doorbell because for some reason, the sound of it made me anxious. It was just one of those silly, little details that had to be kept in mind. I walked up to the door and opened it. Niall greeted me with a huge smile and a hug that almost made me fall over.

"Ah! H! How are you?" he exclaimed, enthusiastically.

"I'm good. What about you? Why are you so happy?" I asked.

"What do you mean? I'm always extra happy, Harry. Or haven't you been paying attention to my nature all these years?" he eyed me, teasingly.

"Of course I have." I smiled.

"Alrighty then. Zayn's waiting in the car outside. We didn't wanna be late so, shall we leave now?"

"Yes. Just let me grab my keys."