Devil in Your Smile

Chapter 52, House Of Cards

update day! Happy Wednesday :) as usual, gold star any mistakes you find!

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3RD PERSON POV

Louis sits on the couch for a few minutes, trying to come up with a valid sane reason for why Harry wasn't listening or why he hung up like that. Clearly, he was busy. He tries to reason with himself, maybe he was helping another gang member, or maybe his reception was bad. The voice in the back of his mind thinks differently, screaming at him that the call was suspicious and that Harry is hiding something. No, Louis tells himself, but the more he thinks, the worse his mind comes up with. He picks everything apart, telling himself that the tone that Gemma used was different, and that Harry is going behind his back. Fuck, is he cheating? Would it even be cheating? Is he tired of me? Of this? Louis gets off of the couch and walks out of the room, heading towards the kitchen while trying to ignore his own thoughts. He looks at the microwave, remembering that Gemma said that Anne put food up for him, but his stomach churns at the thought of eating. Instead, he pats his pocket, wiggling his fingers inside of them and sighing when he realizes that his cigarettes aren't in them. He huffs and exits the kitchen, walking up the stairs quietly so that no one finds him in this mood. When he gets to his room, he finds Clifford in front of the door whining, sensing the emotions that Louis is feeling. The dog follows Louis around the room as he finds his Cigarettes and follows again when he goes out the door that leads to the patio.

LOUIS POV

I hold in a sigh when I see that the patio isn't empty, but being cooped up in my room with my thoughts sounds worse than having to dodge Zayn's questions. I walk to the edge and sit down on the fake grass carpet, putting my legs through the safety bars of the railing and letting them dangle as I get my lighter from my pocket and light a cigarette. Clifford lays next to me on my right, whining until I signal that I'm okay. When he quiets down, I only get a few seconds of silence before Zayn speaks up. "Can I borrow your light?" I nod, holding it out for him to take. I'm not surprised when he sits next to me and mirrors the way I'm sitting before grabbing the lighter from my hand, but I am surprised when that's all that he says or does.

For fifteen minutes, Zayn doesn't say anything. I kind of expected him to, but the silence is less comfortable and more eerie. I realize that it's probably not as uncomfortable as I think, but that I actually want to talk about it, and that I need someone to talk this out with, to confirm what I'm thinking. Before I can stop myself, I ask, "Do you think that you and Liam are endgame?" My eyes widen at my own question, but I don't look at him, even when he answers. "I do. At least, I hope so. I've accepted that Li is it for me, I know there won't be anyone after him. Why do you ask?" I take a breath and shrug, flicking the ashes from my cigarette as I say, "Just wondering. Thinking, I guess." I see him look at me from the corner of my eye, and he goes quiet for a moment before speaking up again. "Is this about H?" I look down at my hands, keeping my eyes in my lap as I nod. "I don't know what I'm doing here. I mean, obviously I know why I'm here, but I don't know why I'm here. And I'd like to think that once Damien is dead, I'll leave and go back to doing what I was, go back to where I was. But I don't think I can do that anymore." I stay quiet, even as Zayn clears his throat and starts talking.