nobody shines the way you do » l.s.

part six

When Louis woke up the next morning, he found the space beside him empty. He wondered where Harry went since Louis spent the night plastered to his back like a koala. Louis slowly got up and yawned before running his hand through his oily hair. He slowly climbed out of bed and walked into the living room, his eyes raising in surprise.

Harry was lying down on the couch and watching TV. He turned and looked at him, grinning cheekily. "Morning, sunshine. Had a nice sleep?"

"Yeah," Louis responded. "When did you wake up?"

"An hour ago. Come join me." He scooted over on the sofa and Louis crawled in and fit beside him. They were watching 21 Jump Street and Louis could feel Harry chuckle every now and then. He wondered if Peter had any idea where his boyfriend was all night. Whether he knew where he was at that moment. It brought some sick pleasure to Louis to be this close to Harry. "Does Peter know you're here?" Louis asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.

It took a while before Harry answered. "No."

Louis sighed, feeling agitated because it wasn't all that fun if Peter didn't know. "When is he going to let you come over here or hang out with me without making an issue? I'm just your best friend. Will he ever come to terms with that?"

"You know," Harry said slowly, not taking his eyes off the movie. "He's probably threatened by you. Besides, why does it matter? You hate him, too."

"You know I have reasons to hate him though, Harry. He isn't nice to you at all."

"I know how he is and I know how to deal with it," he said, eyes still glued to the screen. "I love him, Lou. Nobody said this was all going to be easy. You have to accept the good and the bad with the person you're with."

His words stung Louis for some reason. How could he not feel it when all Louis did was think about it? How could he not feel what Louis felt all the time? He knew that nothing was ever perfect, but when the two of them were lying on his ratty old couch and Harry fit his body so easily, Louis was allowed to say that they were pretty damn close. And if Harry couldn't see that and was settling for less, then the world is the cruelest place ever.

They let the topic drop, but after a while, Harry's phone started to buzz on the coffee table. Louis could clearly see Peter's picture and name pop up a few times, while Harry tried to ignore them. Eventually, he got irritated and handed it over to Harry. Harry slowly took it and typed something back to him before clearing his throat.

"You have to go?" Louis asked, knowing it was inevitable.

Harry sighed sadly. "I'm really sorry. You know I want to stay."

"It's fine," Louis said. "Just go. I'll be fine."

Harry shuffled around, grabbing his coat and things before waving to Louis on the couch and letting himself out. Louis groaned loudly when he was alone and put a pillow over his face to let out a not-so-quiet scream. This sucked. Everything sucked. Peter sucked.

He always wondered if Peter really did dislike him as much as he let on because it was all so cliche when Louis really thought about it. Harry told him that Peter didn't like how quickly they got close and how touchy they were. It bothered him and Harry never really listened to him when he told him to stop hanging out with Louis and chose to sneak around, instead. A part of Louis thought that Peter probably suspected Louis had feelings for Harry, too. That was why he wanted him far away from his boyfriend.

Harry always tried to remain neutral in the situation. Despite all of his friends not getting along with his boyfriend, he tried to find the good. Peter was apparently not always such a dick. Louis found that hard to believe but gave Harry the benefit of the doubt.