800 Days of Remembering You ➳ l.s.

chapter one.

He crinkles the list in his hand and blinks up to the cookies. He takes them with one swift, eyes shifting side to side as he collects them in his basket. They weren't written down on the grocery necessities but you never know. There could be that one day there's nothing in the cupboard but the packet of oreos that spares their lives during a blizzard. And Harry would be the hero, for once maybe.

But it's the middle of Autumn, March 15th, and even then the worst that could happen is the wind knocking over the tallest oak tree north of Province and shutting their electrical supply for seven months. Despite the cerulean coloured skies and lack of cloud, it still remains very cold to the point Harry's warmly sporting a mummy's made knitted beanie and a Burberry jacket he had just happened to find in some Salvation Army store while doing his, Louis' and Zayn's weekly shopping. 

He's passing aisle five, glaring back down at his scribble of tube of toothpaste and wild berry scented shampoo. Harry finds them both and chucks them into his basket of probably what is 60% off the list items. This is probably why Louis never lets him do the shopping. Or why Harry had almost been taken away into a beating dungeon for not paying his rent on time back in the University dorm days.

So it's why Harry has settled into the dwelling of the Tomlinson's. And it's nice. It has two bathrooms and four bedrooms, one of each Harry had taken over even before officially moving in. It's all modern, all freshly designed and intriguing to look at. There's a park across the road, a lovely park it is. It's the definition of Spring during all times of the year. It's around five minutes from Province University, and that walk in itself is content and picturesque.

But he lives with Louis and Zayn. Louis and Zayn. His best friends. And that shouldn't be so much of a problem. They kiss in front of Harry. They babble on about their married lives and new ways to spice up their kinks in the bedroom. They don't have limits. They've spread themselves even further than Harry. Harry can't sit on the chaise lounge anymore without thinking about how many times they've fucked on that thing while Harry's away. Heck, he's sure he's seen a dog toy go up Louis' arse one time when he arrived one day too early. And maybe if he didn't love Louis so much he'd move out, give them the space.

But Harry's too afraid to do so. Harry still has the undeniable figure in his mind, that endless playing scenario, that Louis will give up on Zayn one day and Harry will be there to catch his tears, hold his heart and repair it. And Louis will finally see Harry's the one for him, but that hasn't happened. Yet. He's loved him since he was 18, and now at 23, Harry still thinks this unrequited love will one day work out for him. That Louis will throw away his wedding ring, his promises, just to be with Harry.

To Harry, the game just wasn't fair. It still isn't fair. Zayn thinks he's won. He isn't terrified to bag Harry out, tell him Louis loves him, and to shove the 1 carat diamond wedding ring in his face and to say "He's taken, bebz, sorry!" Like Zayn is a fucking twat sometimes and it leaves Harry to question why the fuck Louis decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. Zayn knows about Harry's forever long crush on Louis, and for some reason it amuses Zayn more than it pisses him off. And that twists up Harry's stomach a bit.. Zayn's villainous, maybe a little diabolic. Louis doesn't deserve him. Harry deserves Louis. Why the fuck did Louis marry Zayn.

They've been married for two years. Louis can't get enough of how deeply in love he is with Zayn, and he obviously doesn't have a fucking problem saying that every ten seconds in front of Harry. He doesn't have a problem to say that Zayn is his bestest friend, while Harry's been there since he stumbled over and chipped his tooth on the school's concrete stairs. They've been married for two years and been together for four. And every day, for four years, Harry has had that hole in his heart dig deeper to rot his entire system of heartbreak.