The Serpent and the Lion [L.S]

Chapter 12

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"I'm still confused."

Louis rolls his eyes in the mirror. Flipping the green tie over his hand, he loops it back through to complete the knot, tightening it up towards his neck.

There's an underground satisfaction that quickly rises to the surface as Louis finishes dressing for the day. From the weight of his black robes settling familiarly on his shoulders, all the way down to his shoes that pinch his toes a bit. Louis sighs contentedly.

It's good to be back.

"What do you not understand that we haven't already talked about a hundred times, Liam?"

Liam, in his position on Louis's bed, has furrowed brows and arms crossed over his chest, looking like the proper picture of stubbornness. Liam had gotten a haircut over holiday, and it looks rather nice how he's styled it today, but Louis won't tell him that because he's a little annoyed with his best friend right now.

Instead, he stares tiredly at Liam in the reflection of the mirror and waits for whatever Liam is going to say.

"Confused isn't the right word," Liam amends. "I'm still looking for clarification."

"Naturally."

Louis hears some shifting from Liam on the bed, and the next thing he knows, he's getting a pillow thrown at the back of his head.

"Oi!"

"Excuse me for wanting clarity on a very confusing story!"

Louis whips around, facing Liam. This feels like a rerun of a sitcom episode Louis has seen one too many times. The first time he told Liam the story, he'd humoured all of his hundreds of questions, but now, three days later, he's a bit tired of it.

"I've told you the story a million times now, arsehole!"

"I'm an arseho—you're the arsehole. Who doesn't tell their best mate when something like this happens?"

"I was busy!"

Liam scoffs. "I'm sure."

"Oh, Godric, Liam," Louis's face scrunches up. "Don't be gross. It wasn't like that."

"What was it like, then?"

"It was like having a guest in my house for a week and trying to make sure things between us didn't get worse before I could make it better. Also," Louis adds, "Like I've already said before, I didn't know that we'd be getting back together. I didn't even know if that was something he wanted."

"Fine, but let me just paint you this picture: You leave school without having said a word to Harry for weeks, then you hardly return any of my calls while you're home, and then you show up to King's Cross holding his bloody hand like nothing ever happened. I'm supposed to do what, exactly, with all that information? Make an assumption?"

Louis stops.

When Liam had called him on his birthday, with Harry in the other room, Louis had half a mind to tell him everything—partially because he needed someone to talk to that wasn't his sister or mum, and partially because he wanted to avoid this—but he knew Liam would have more questions than Louis had answers to, and he was short on time.

So he didn't.

Yes, he is currently paying the price for that decision.

Louis pinches the bridge of his nose with his left hand, and sighs.

"Liam, I am sorry I didn't tell you. I know I should've, and I'm an arse."

This answer doesn't satiate Liam because it isn't the answer he's looking for. He waves his hand.