nobody shines the way you do » l.s.

part eleven

Harry and Louis stood outside Peter's door, waiting for him to open it once they knocked. Harry looked at Louis, his arms locked tight around his waist, with a concerned expression. "You feeling alright? You okay?"

"A bit queasy, to tell you the truth, but I'll just drink lots of water. Don't worry," Louis told him, honestly with a shrug.

His stomach had been turning since breakfast that morning and he blamed it all on his stupid idea to drink all that beer yesterday on an empty stomach. It could also be the fact that he hadn't been eating properly as of late because of work and his lack of balancing his time. Louis failed at adulthood and he was not too big to admit it.

"Do you want to leave?" Harry asked, looking at Louis with furrowed brows. Louis shook his head and smiled at him. He curled into Harry's arms and nosed at his t-shirt, making him laugh. Harry's fingers curled and started tickling Louis' waist, making him giggle and squirm, trying to push him away.

"Stop, oh my God," Louis said, laughing and heaving as he tried to breathe. The door flew open then and Peter stood there, watching them with a not-so-amused expression.

"Hi Peter," Louis said with a grin, happy to see the tables turning.

"Hello," he greeted politely, letting them inside. He smiled at Harry in a much more genuine way before pulling him into a hug, separating the two. Louis tried hard not to scowl because this was what Peter did and Louis just had to somehow one-up him by the end of the evening. "So glad you could make it. Wasn't aware that Louis was coming, though. You mentioned he wasn't feeling well?"

"Last minute decision," Louis replied when Peter finally let go of Harry and smiled warmly at the pair. Louis gave Harry a look and Harry sidled up beside the older boy, taking his hand and smiling at him before leading him into the living room behind Peter. Peter's apartment was quite spacious with a lot of room and modern furniture, but Louis figured with a salary of a lawyer, he couldn't expect anything less. It was also very neat and organized from what Louis could tell, noticing his DVD collection all stacked up on the spot and at least two bookshelves that looked to be color-coordinated by the binds.

"I'm so glad you're here, though. I've made a lot of food, so no need to worry," Peter said, stopping in the living room.

"Thanks for inviting us," Louis replied. "It was very nice of you."

"Of course," Peter said, putting his hand in his pocket. "Well, I'm going to get dinner out. Rob should be here soon. Harry, do you want to help me?"

"No, I'm fine," Harry replied. "I'll think I'll keep Louis company out here."

Louis tried not to look as shocked as he felt, but the look on Peter's face was worth everything that had happened these past few days. A smiled formed on Louis' lips and he instinctively leaned up and kissed Harry's cheek.

"Oh...okay," Peter said stiffly before walking to the kitchen and leaving the two of them alone. Harry turned to look at Louis and smiled.

"I did well," he said proudly. "Like, that was very cold, right? I was super cold."

"It was. Is it killing you inside?" Louis asked him dramatically.

"Nope." He put his other arm around Louis and he snuggled up beside him.

Harry stuck by Louis like glue throughout the rest of the evening. Louis was very impressed and he was waiting for him to crack at some point and leave him all alone just to hang out with Peter, but that didn't happen. It was a nice change and Louis felt like he was on cloud nine. He liked holding Harry's hand obnoxiously under the table even though they didn't really need to. He liked Harry taking care of him and looking after him to see if he was okay every few minutes, asking him if he needed another glass of water or more chicken. It made him feel so special and he felt he could burst with how much affection he was being given.