BLUSHING//L.S.

Chapter X

The days had been dragging slowly, and by the time it was Friday, Harry felt like weeks had passed since what happened with Louis. All he did was following lessons, moved only by the guilt he would have felt if he had skipped them. He didn't dare to go to the canteen at all, not wanting to meet anyone; so, he had barely eaten. Everything felt so hard to do, even just brushing his teeth in the morning was a task that required so much strength.

Zayn tried to talk with him, to ask him what happened: that night Harry had stormed in the room still in tears, alcohol making his head spin. But he had been dismissing all of the questions with bland answers like 'I just had an argument'.

He tried to shake himself up, trying to convince himself that Louis didn't own him anything and the things that they had been doing meant nothing. But he couldn't ignore the fact that for him they meant everything, and he had never felt that way before. Harry felt so silly for letting Louis touch him in such intimate ways, and he was blaming it all on himself.

The only time they saw each other during those days was when Louis had been waiting for Zayn in front of the dorm and Harry was going back to his room. They had just ignored each other: Louis turned his back and Harry bowed his head down to not let him see tears filling his eyes.

-Hey Haz- Zayn said, entering the room followed by Liam. Even if they didn't know what happened, they were avoiding inviting Louis in the room, and Harry was grateful that they understood even if he didn't explain.

-Hey..- Harry whispered, hidden under the covers. That had been his favourite spot since Monday.

He couldn't see Zayn, but he felt his weight on the bed, so he uncovered his face slightly. His eyes were puffy, and his hair was a complete mess.

-Harry... is there a chance you are going to leave this bed tonight? Just for a little walk around here? - Zayn asked, concern clear in his voice. Harry just whined in response.

-C'mon mate- Liam tried to resonate with him –Just a couple hours. We can have a pizza and then you can come back here -.

-Not hungry – Harry muttered, obviously lying.

The boys tried and tried, but Harry had no intention of giving in and letting them drag him out of the only comfortable place he could think of.

-We won't meet Louis if that's what you are scared of- Liam dared to say at one point. That was the first time they found the courage to mention him. Harry almost broke in tears.

-I'm not scared of meeting Louis- Harry lied. That was the only reason actually.

-Well, I'm just saying that, but in case that's why you refuse to leave the room, there's no chance we can meet him now. He's home celebrating his brother's birthday; he won't be going out -.

There were some seconds of silence, Harry pondering on what to do.

-Okay, I'm coming. But not because of what you said, I just want pizza -.

----

By eleven in the night Harry was back in bed, feeling slightly better after some pizza and a walk around the campus. Zayn and Liam hadn't mentioned Louis anymore, understanding that it would just upset the little boy more, instead they just told him tons of funny stories. By the time they walked back to the room, Harry's belly was aching for how much he had been laughing.

As he lied in his bed, he kept questioning Zayn and Liam's relationship. From a distracted point of view, they looked just like pals. But Harry was a huge fan of details: he was able to notice the slight hand brushings and the loving stares between them two. He had no way to confirm his suspicions, but he was hoping that one day Zayn would be comfortable enough to tell him the truth.

It had only been ten minutes since Harry was in his room, when a loud knock on the door made him jump to his feet.

-Zayn can you stop forget..- he started saying while opening the door. But he soon noticed that it wasn't Zayn knocking: in front of him stood Louis, with messy hair and red eyes. Under his left eye there was a huge bruise that Harry couldn't help but notice: its purplish shades countering deeply with his blue eyes.

Harry gulped loudly. Louis' eyes weren't red because of tears: he was so drunk that he could barely stand up.

-Hi princess... - he blurted out, his accent smudged by alcohol. Harry felt sick at the smell of it. He felt sick at the mere sight of Louis; suddenly the pain in his chest was back. He almost slammed the door but decided against it.

-What are you doing here? - Harry asked.

-Just came to check if you were being a good boy... - Louis said, a smirk on his face. But Harry couldn't focus on that: his eyes were too sad to care about anything else.

-Lou... there's people... - Harry whispered. Louis shrugged, but entered the room, pushing Harry inside and closing the door behind him. -Louis... why are you here? - the curly asked.

Louis didn't answer, he just got closer to the little boy. Too close. The alcohol was blurring all his thoughts and all he could focus on was Harry's plump pink lips.

-God honey stop giving me that puppy stare... - he mumbled, now mouth on Harry's neck.

The little boy was frozen: he didn't know what to think, much less what to say. He had missed Louis so much and just wanted to get lost in his touch, but he couldn't deny that he was still hurt.

-Lou stop it... you can't just swoop in here and pretend that everything is fine... -

-Shut up. Don't pretend you are not worked up Harry... I can see it...- he said sternly. And he was right: Harry was starting to get flustered. But that didn't mean anything, so he lightly pushed Louis away from himself.

-What happened to your eye? - Harry asked. He wasn't really hoping for an answer but tried anyway.

-That's none of your business baby- Louis said.

-Okay, then you can go. I won't stand here and be your little puppy while you treat me like trash- Harry said. He was shocked by his own words: he couldn't believe he had the courage to say that out loud.

-Oh, are we playing hard to get tonight, Harry? - Louis asked him, getting close once again. Harry was cornered right now and didn't know exactly what to do. He desperately wanted to give in and just let Louis play.

The older boy started caressing his cheek while his other hand wondered around Harry's body, teasing him here and there.

-Lou... stop... -

-Try saying it without moaning honey- Louis remarked. -Try to tell me you don't need my lips...- he said, starting to lick and suck on the little boy's neck. -Or my hands...- he added, grabbing Harry's bum. A loud moan filled the silence. -Yeah that's what I thought... -.

Harry felt shame wash over himself. Louis was all over him: his hands were everywhere and even though he wanted to stop him, his mouth couldn't let those words leave. Before he could realize, he started pressing his hips against Louis' in a desperate need of some friction.

-Please Lou... - he found himself saying instead of 'stop this'.

-C'mon baby, you can ask better than that... - Louis encouraged him, pressing harder into Harry.

-Please... please make me feel good- Harry cried in his shoulder. Louis kissed him hard and wet, grabbing him harshly by his face. He started licking and biting his lips, earing small moans.

Soon Harry found himself on the bed, Louis on top of him. He felt euphoric again, unable to understand where he ended, and Louis started. Louis' mouth was everywhere: on his lips, neck, cheeks: it was getting hard to differentiate between kisses and hickies and bites.

-Tell me what you want Harry... - Louis teased, his hand going lower and lower at that point.

Harry was ready to scream and beg, when Louis' phone rang, stopping them both.