Under Coloured Trees || Larry Stylinson

20

TW: mentions of suicide and self-harm (none of which are very descriptive like at all so dw) 

***

They get to the dining room Louis saw earlier, where Anne is already setting the table. Louis also sees the back of a man sitting at the table, a bottle of wine open by his side. He feels Harry tense up in front of him at the sight, but he keeps walking nonetheless. He sits down in one of the chairs and Louis takes the seat next to him, finally getting to see the face of the man he assumes is Harry's dad.

He is not at all as good looking as Harry's mum... or as Harry himself. He's not ugly either. But his features are just rougher and he looks like he's always angry. Judging by the half-empty bottle next to him, he probably is.

"Hi, dad" Harry says with a low voice. The man looks up at him and nods briefly.

"Hello, Harry. Who's your friend?" the man says. And Louis decides he doesn't necessarily sound angry. He sounds sad.

"I'm Louis" he says, lifting himself a bit from the chair to shake the man's hand.

"Des" he says before sitting back again. "Are you two classmates or...?" he asks, although he doesn't really sound very interested in what the answer may be.

"No... Well- we do go to the same university, but I'm majoring in visual arts..." Louis awkwardly answers as Des slowly nods.

"We have to do a project together" Harry intervenes, saving Louis from having to talk any longer.

Dinner goes by pretty smoothly, all things considered. But it's really distant. Harry's parents don't really ask him anything if he doesn't talk first. It all feels more like a business meeting than a family dinner. They don't mention Harry's birthday, they don't actually mention anything about Harry. They do talk to Louis, though. And they're very polite, too. But Louis doesn't feel comfortable, and judging by Harry's shifting in the chair, neither does he.

"So, Louis, what do your parents do?" Des suddenly asks. And shit. Louis wasn't counting on this question. Although he should've. It's a common question that Louis usually avoids gracefully. But he doesn't know how he's going to do it right now, when he's so under the spotlight.

"Oh... Well... My- my stepfather... he's a labourer in construction..." and that's all he's able to say, so he stops himself there, under everyone's curious gaze.

"What about your mum?" Anne asks, lifting her fork up to her mouth.

"Umm... well she- she's..."

"I think we should bring out dessert, don't you think?" Harry says getting up and looking at his mum, who gives him a confused look and shrugs, getting up to take all the plates from the table. Louis looks at Harry and the boy looks back at him and all Louis can do is let out the breath he'd been holding and feel the most grateful he's felt in a long time.

"I'll help you with that" Louis says relieved as he gets up and grabs a few glasses and plates.

Anne looks at him with a soft smile that doesn't really reach her crystal green eyes. "Thank you, darling"

As Louis heads to the kitchen with Harry's mum, he hears Des clear his throat as he directs his next question to Harry.

"So, are you still sure about the acting thing?" he says bored. Like the answer doesn't really matter to him, but it's his duty to ask. And Louis suddenly understands that by saving him from being in the spotlight and having to answer an uncomfortable question, Harry sacrificed himself by taking Louis' place.

"Dad, I've been sure about it my whole life" Harry answers tired, as if talking to his father about himself is the most exhausting thing he's ever had to do.