I'm Not Fine At All

Chapter 15

"Harry! Come in and help me, Harry!" Louis screamed the second he walked through the door of the apartment. Harry was sitting in his room at his desk, working on his application for a summer job. Liam didn't want him working but Harry thought that he should help provide for the household, since he was living at the apartment rent-free and all. He felt like he was just mooching off of Liam. The boy laid his pen down on the desk and left the room, going to the kitchen to see what Louis needed.

"You know, Lou, you don't need to scream. The apartment is small and the walls are thin," Harry said as he walked into the kitchen, stopping when he found a sweat-soaked Louis tugging a keg across the threshold of the front door. "Whatcha doin' there, buddy?" Louis looked up at him and sighed in relief. "Oh, thank god, Haz. I thought I was going to rip my arms off. This thing is fucking heavy. Give me a hand?" Harry nodded at the boy and went through the door into the hallway, grabbing the bottom of the keg. "On three, okay? One...Two...Three!" Both boys groaned as they picked up the keg, shuffling it into the house where they set it in a corner of the kitchen.

The metal clanged loudly as it banged into the side of the trashcan, making Harry cover his ears. Louis cooed at the boy as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Fuck me, man. That thing is fucking heavy. Here, grab me a towel from the closet and we'll set the keg on top of it." Harry saluted the boy and ran out of the room, grabbing a ratty towel from the hall closet. He skipped back into the kitchen with it grasped in his hands. "Here you go, Lou." Louis smiled at the boy and took the towel from him, laying it on the ground next to the keg. "Do you think you could help me lift this thing again? I just need it on the towel so it doesn't ruin the floor."

Harry nodded at the older boy and moved to one side of the keg, grabbing onto the handles. Louis took the other side, both of them lifting it again on the count of three. They set it down, a little more gently this time, on the towel. "What's this for?" Harry asked, tapping the top of the metal barrel. Louis chuckled. "It's a keg. It's full of cheap beer." Harry furrowed his brows. "But what is it for?" The older lad knelt down on the ground and pulled the tap out of the plastic bag taped to the metal. "It's for the party. Didn't Liam tell you?" The younger lad shook his head. "Oh. Well, we're having a party here tonight. Starts at eight. I assume you're not allowed to come." Harry bit his lip and nodded. "Probably not. I'll just hang out with Ni in my room."

Louis smiled and stood up, laying the tap on top of the keg. "I'll tap that right before the party. Want to help me unload the rest of the car?" Louis motioned to the door. "Sure." Harry slid his Birkenstocks on at the door before following Louis down the steps (the elevator was out of service again) and out to his car. "Here, you can take the red solo cups, just to be those stereotypical college party kids, and I'll grab the ice. When Liam gets home he can help me with the heavy stuff. I should have probably left the keg in the car. I was on the stairs trying to carry that thing up for half an hour. I'm not even kidding."

Harry took the Costco size bag of solo cups while Louis took the two bags of ice, which were already starting to melt, and they headed back into the apartment building. "Just set the cups in front of the counter. And can you open the freezer for me?" The younger boy put the cups in front of the dishwasher and opened the freezer, which was mostly empty. He and Liam needed to take a trip to the grocery store."Thank you, love. Do you think you could help me put away all of the breakable stuff? Like all the pictures and stuff?" Louis led the boy into the living room and pulled a key out from his pocket. "Liam gave me this. It locks the door to his bedroom. He wants all of the stuff in there both to keep the stuff safe and to keep people out of his bedroom."

Louis took the vases of flowers off the coffee table, courtesy of Harry, and took them to Liam's room to set on his desk. Harry carefully took a few framed pictures off the wall, stacking them in his arms, and placed them on the bed in Liam's room. "Aww! Haz, is this you?" Louis called as Harry was about to leave the room. The boy turned around and saw Louis with a picture frame held in his hands. He went and looked over Louis's shoulder, seeing a picture of his three-year-old self rolling around in the backyard, completely naked. "Oh my fucking god, why does Li have that hanging up? I'm gonna kill him."

Harry reached around Louis to grab the picture from him but the boy just held it above his head, tsking in the younger lad's ear. "Nuh-uh, Hazza. I need to keep this for my personal collection of items to use as blackmail." The younger boy whined loudly and stood up on his tippy-toes, trying to reach for the picture, but Louis didn't let up. Harry finally just gave up and stomped out of the room to go get more pictures off the wall. Louis joined him a minute later, teasing him every now and then with quick remarks about how cute Harry's bum was. Harry blushed fiercely when Louis contemplated out loud whether the boy's bum was as cute as it used to be.

An hour later Liam came home, arms full of groceries and party supplies. "Boys! Get your asses in here and help me out or you're both going out on the street!" Louis and Harry dropped what they were doing to run into the kitchen, greeting Liam cheerfully. "Help me out, lads. My arms are killing me." Harry rushed to Liam's side and took a bag from his arm while Louis just watched, his hip resting against the counter. "Oh, great. You brought the keg up. I did not want to carry that thing up here, especially with the elevator out again. Here, Harry, put these in some bowls and set them out on the table."

Liam pointed at the monstrous bags of chips, which Harry started opening for him. "Use the plastic bowls above the microwave, but if you run out of those, use the big Tupperware containers under the sink. I'm gonna start setting up the speakers." Liam waved to the two boys and went into the living room, leaving Harry and Louis to work on the snacks. "So, have you asked Niall yet if he can come over and hang out here?" Louis asked as he filled a bowl with Doritos. "Yeah, I texted him earlier, but he says he already has plans." Harry sighed in annoyance as he ripped open another bag of chips. "Bummer. Did he say who he has plans with?"

Harry shook his head at the boy sadly. "No, he wouldn't tell me. He just said he had something he had to do alone. I wasn't allowed to come. I bet he's with another one of his asshole boy toys. He keeps 'em in a rotation." Louis chuckled. "Does he, like, keep a schedule hanging on his fridge for the times he sees all of them?" Harry giggled, stealing a Dorito from Louis's bowl and tossing it into his mouth. The older boy gasped and smacked his hand sharply. "Hey, no eating until the party. Which you won't be at. So no eating this stuff at all." The younger boy pouted and stomped his foot childishly. Louis just shook his head.

"Ah ah ah, Haz. Remember, I have the best picture that can fuel your complete downfall, so you have to be nice to me." Harry rolled his eyes and turned away from the boy, pouring the last of the salt and vinegar chips into a pink bowl. Liam came in a few moments later, a frazzled look on his face. "Lou, could you come help me with the sound system? It's not working but I have no fucking clue what I'm doing wrong." Louis nodded and licked his fingers teasingly in front of Harry. "Bye, Hazzy," He whispered hotly into the boy's ear before following Liam into the other room. Harry blushed as he watched the boy's back, feeling hot under his collar. Oh, the things Louis did to him.