More Than Just A Rendezvous || Larry AU

Chapter 22

Louis almost choked on the cupcake in his mouth. A plane ticket to Australia. To Brisbane. To Harry. He vaguely remembered one night when Harry had briefly mentioned how he would make sure that Louis would see a kangaroo out in the wild and not in a zoo. Never once did he ever think that it would ever amount to anything. 

"Harry-"

"Those sweets are better fresh, and the local rehabilitation center is releasing a group of baby kangaroos then. Also, under Australian law, you would be extradited to America and banned from re-entering the country, so this is the next best option."

"You can't do this. These tickets are like two thousand dollars."

"Think of it as Christmas in July- or rather August."

"Thank you."

Louis could barely get the words out without his voice breaking. Looking at his screen, he could see the dimpled smile that made him happy. He wanted nothing more than just to be able to hug him and thank him for the opportunity. But, another part of him wanted to ask why Harry had chosen him. Out of everyone in the world, out of every person he has met on vacation, he chose Louis. 

The boys were silent for a while until Ane walked into her son's room to get him ready for a rugby match. While Harry was dragged out of bed to change, Ane talked to Louis as if they had been planning his trip down under for months. She asked what his favorite sweets were so she could make sure she had the proper ingredients and what things he would be interested in while visiting. It was like talking to a long-lost second mother he didn't know about before. 

It wasn't until they hung up the phone that everything really settled in. Louis was sitting in his kitchen with a box of Australian baked goods and a plane ticket. Happiness mixed with a heavy amount of guilt. Louis would be lying to himself if he said he hadn't thought about wanting to talk to Harry in person again and not just through his phone screen, but the thought of him or his family spending that amount of money on him hurt. Even if they did own a billion-dollar company and two thousand dollars for a plane ticket was pocket change, it was the fact that the money could be used for something else, rugby training for Harry or new equipment for the bakery. Something more useful than himself. 

"What did the Styles' send you?"

"How did you know it's from them?"
"You're not the only one with a friend in Australia."

She kissed her son's forehead and stole a chocolate chip cookie from the box while she waited for the response she already knew."

"Obviously, these dangerously good cookies from Ane and Uhm, a plane ticket to Brisbane."

"When do you leave? Do I need to get you to travel toiletries tonight?"

"No, it's for July 31st through August 20th, so there's a bit of time."

"Two and a half weeks of not feeding or cleaning after you; I would say that's a vacation for me!"

"Wait, so you are really okay with me going across the world to visit a friend I met like three months ago?"

"You really think they would have sent you a ticket if I didn't approve of it first? Don't get me wrong, you will have to call me every day, but I am not going to keep you chained to this house all summer."

"Thank you!"

Louis hugged his mother tightly to shows just how grateful he was to have her as his mother. He was well aware that ninety-nine percent of parents would think of this trip as a death trip and would never allow it, but here he was, packing for an international trip by himself. 

A call from Mandi rang on Louis' phone, and he answered. Without saying a word, she began talking about the souvenirs she wanted from Australia- a sweatshirt and a kangaroo keychain- like she had been dreaming about it for years, which she kind of had, for at least the past two hours since reading her card from Harry anyways. 

"Just to be clear, this is completely crazy, right?"

"Yes and no. Online friends meet in person all of the time. Granted, it's not always across the globe, but you have technically already met him, so it's a little less sketchy."

"I mean, yeah, but as this seems, I don't know over the top?"

"Would you expect anything less from him?"

"No."

"If the shoe fits..."

"What am I going to do without you for two and half weeks? I'll be surrounded by Aussie strangers!"

"Want me to curate a list of Harry's friends and their interests?"

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh, but I will!"

Through his phone, Louis could see mandi pull out her serial killer board of Harry and a box of tape and strings. Then, she opened her computer and started rambling about people she had already linked to Harry, mainly just teammates provided by the rugby teams website and a few school peers also named by the school's accomplishment website.

"Girl, if the cops raid your phone, you are sooo going to jail for stalking."

"You want this information or not?"

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Let's be real; we are ALL Mandi!