keep driving

13. yellow sunglasses

Song: perfect places by Lorde

Harry follows Louis outside, down the road and onto some sort or harbour front.

Louis sits at the edge of the pavement, legs dangling down and Harry is pretty sure that's illegal but he sits down next to him either way. Louis is wearing Harry's yellow sunglasses again, and Harry has to force his eyes away because he's sure he would smile wider than appropriate if he kept looking. They just look at the ships coming in and going back out, people behind them walking as they need to be somewhere.

The minutes pass in silence, the first one that Harry doesn't really appreciate. He feels like Louis' dramatic outburst about Harry buying condoms definitely faded away by now, but he's still quiet and sulky like that. He looks out at the horizon, breathing evenly. Harry watches him, every once in a while seeing something melancholic and emotional flash over the endless blue of his eyes.

He's just about to ask what's wrong, when Louis suddenly straightens his shoulders and turns his head, everything that was so deeply sad whipped from his face as if washed down a drain. Harry is lost for words for a second or two, not knowing how Louis does this. How he masks everything, puts on his smile that is so goddamn convincing. It almost upsets him.

Before he can say anything, Louis nudges his shoulder. "Tell me something about yourself, Harold."

Harry is taken aback by that. "What?"

"Tell me something." Louis repeats with a small smile, tilting his head back in the sun and closing his eyes. "I'm waiting." He adds after a few seconds that Harry spent looking at how his skin glows in the sunlight.

"I don't know what to tell you." Harry says slowly, still looking at Louis.

"Come on, Milky Way, it's not that difficult. Just share something with me."

Harry glares at Louis. "Alright, you tell me something then if it's that easy."

Louis only shrugs, turning his head again to look at the horizon. "I sometimes fart when I do sit-ups."

Harry stares at him. "What?"

"Not all the time." Louis adds. "Just sometimes. Your turn now."

"Hold on," Harry mumbles, closing his eyes shortly. "I'm trying to forget what you just said."

Louis only lets out a short laugh towards the sun, while Harry thinks.

"My tummy hurts." Harry eventually says. "But I'm being so brave about it."

"That's what you can tell me about yourself?" Louis asks, turning back to him. Harry only mods and Louis lets out a short, beautiful laugh. "Why does your tummy hurt?"

"I think it might have been the general lack of food over the last days. And then the occasional tons of fries and all the alcohol from yesterday."

Louis only hums, nodding along. "You're being really brave about it." Harry agrees with a hum, smiling slowly. "I bet we'll get good food at the party we will go to tonight." He adds, then purses his lips, clearly thinking. "Okay, my turn, hmmm... when I was younger I always thought the lights my family put up for christmas were for my birthday."

Harry is sure his lips part as he looks at Louis. There is a raging storm inside him, wanting to hurt everybody who hurts Louis. Wanting to build a wall of fire to keep Louis away from anything harmful. Harry almost feels like throwing up at the feeling.

What on earth is going on? Louis is just sitting there in the sunlight with a small smile on his lips, his eyes closed, and Harry's fingertips tingle with the need to touch him, to hold him and pull him close, as if Louis could save his life.