Once in a Lifetime

Twenty-Five.

When Louis woke up the next morning, Harry was still next to him. His curls flowed past his shoulders, landing on the pillow beneath his head. Louis couldn't help but stare for a while, until his stomach rumbled, and he dragged himself out of bed and towards the kitchen.

"Hey, are you alright?" Liam asked, instantly standing up to embrace Louis. He nodded, sighing into Liam's shoulder as the memories of last night took over his mind. "Okay, well why don't you sit down, and I'll make us something to eat?" he offered, Louis agreeing straight away. They hummed along to the radio as the frying pan sizzled, the calmness of the late morning ruined when Niall came bounding into the kitchen.

"You know that girl from last night? She just text me to say her brother's wedding singer has pulled out last minute and whether I'd like to step in!" Louis and Liam congratulated him before he left the room, banging coming from upstairs as he frantically got himself ready for his new gig. Music had always been important to Niall, and the fact he was so good at it was a huge bonus. Liam then brought Louis' sausage and egg sandwich to the table, sitting opposite him as they took a bite of their food.

"So, what's going on with you and Harry? He seems to be spending a lot of time here lately," Liam questioned, Louis blushing in response.

"We're just friends, dating, but friends. I don't know, it's been a month since we first kissed but he hasn't made a move to progress things, so maybe he doesn't want to?" Louis shrugged, taking another bite from his sandwich.

"Why don't you make the move? Have you done anything with him?" Louis shook his head, awkwardly looking away from Liam's gaze.

"Nah, nothing, it just feels different with him. I really like him, Li, and usually I'd talk to Zayn about these things, and I guess it feels strange figuring it out alone."

"You're not alone, though, you've got me and Niall to have these chats with. Promise you won't forget we're here for you?" Louis nodded, smiling slightly towards Liam. "So, you said it's different with him, how?"

"After Zayn died, I'd go to the club and hook up with complete strangers. I felt so numb, and I wanted to punish myself for what I thought I did to Zayn, so I used all these guys to make myself feel even worse. I hated it, but it felt good to hate it. That's how the guy from last night knew me, he was the last one I used before Harry properly came into my life. I've never been a relationship type of guy, the thought of settling down and being someone's boyfriend scared me, but Harry makes me think about that. I can't help it. I literally sat in bed this morning and thought about waking up to him every day and kissing him good night, I think about holding his hand in uni and always doing everything together, I want to take him home and tell my mum he's my boyfriend, I want him to take me back to Cheshire and do the same, I dream about graduating with him and planning a future together, but I've never done this before and Zayn isn't here to tell me to quit acting like a child and do something about it, and I'm worried he won't feel the same way. Like what if he doesn't think about those things with me? What if he just feels sorry for me and that's why he's always so nice, he can't actually like me, can he?" Liam could see the nervous look darting through Louis' eyes, the frown lines forming on his face as he talked about his feelings for the boy upstairs, and Liam knew that Louis was overthinking everything.

"Louis, stop being a child and do something about it. If Harry didn't like you, he wouldn't kiss you, take you on dates, invite you to his birthday, introduce you to his family on New Year's, travel for a few hours to surprise you on your birthday, he wouldn't put up with our strange friendship group, help you through your worries or try so hard to make you happy. If Zayn were here, he'd be playing matchmaker about now, because he'd be able to see how adorable you two are together. So please, no matter what concerns you may have, promise me you'll at least think about the next step?" Louis nodded, opening his mouth to say something else when he heard Harry shuffle into the room.