Ghost Be Gone!

4

While Zayn examined his walk-in closet closer Louis took a seat on his bed. Harry came and sat next to him. Suddenly Louis started to laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" Harry asked.

"This is absurd! I have the ghost of Simon Cowell hiding in me closet. I mean, I feel bad for the guy for being dead, but considering how homophobic he is even after death, the symbolism of him in me closet is pretty funny, you know what I mean?" Louis explained.

Harry began to laugh as well.
"Yeah."

Their laughter died out when Zayn shouted.
"Guys! I think there's something behind this wall!"

They all got in the closet. Zayn was knocking on a wall at the end of the closet.
"Do you hear that?" He said and knocked on the wall to the left. It sounded different.

Niall and Zayn started to search the wall and it was Niall who found a small button. He pressed it and the wall disappeared to the side. Louis looked over their shoulders.
"What the fuck?"

They stepped into a hidden room. Louis looked around.
"What in the Fifty Shades of Grey is this?"

The room was almost empty but it was pretty obvious what it had been used for. The walls were dark red and there was still some stuff left, like a bench in the middle and some hanging devices from the roof and wall.
"This just gets better and better." Louis snorted.

"Like you're the one to judge!" A voice growled in his left ear.

Louis spun around but of course, he didn't see anything.

"Simon, no one in this room will ever tell anyone about this room. Right, guys?" Zayn said.

"I mean, I might use it myself." Louis joked. Zayn gave him a look. "No, of course, I won't tell anyone that you had it before me, Simon!"

"Guys?" Zayn asked the others.

"Cross my heart and swear to die if I tell anyone." Niall answered. "Sorry, maybe not the right thing to say. I'm sorry you're dead."

"I won't tell." Harry said.

"Me neither." Liam agreed.

"And I won't either. Now, can you leave me and Simon alone for a minute?" Zayn asked.

They headed to the dining room.
"What happens now?" Louis asked.

"Zayn helps him cross over. We don't really know how." Niall answered.

"Right... Can I buy you some dinner? I can order takeouts." Louis offered.

"Sure." Niall immediately agreed.

Louis fetched his laptop in the living room. He heard Zayn from the room of pain.
"You need to cross over!"

He really hoped that Zayn would be able to convince the ghost. He had it with the snarky comments and being haunted in his own home.

He found his favorite Chinese restaurant online and asked Harry, Liam, and Niall what they wanted. They ordered for Zayn as well.

The food arrived and Louis paid for it. They brought it to the kitchen and started to unpack the dishes. Zayn joined them.
"Simon has crossed over. He won't be bothering you anymore."

"I'm impressed! How did you do that?" Louis asked curiously.

"I talked to him and helped him get to the other side." Zayn shrugged.

"You make it sound easy!" Harry commented.

"Sometimes it is, other times not so much." Zayn smirked.

They took a seat and started eating. Louis liked all of them. They were different and they all had diverse personalities. Zayn was quiet and thoughtful. Niall was chatty and outgoing. Liam was calm and seemed to be the one who held them all together. Harry? Louis would like to get to know him on a deeper level.

When they were done eating the guys thanked him for the meal and helped him clear the table before they started to pack up their things. Niall handed him a bill.
"If you need our help again call us."

"Yeah. Thanks for helping me out with me ghost problem." Louis smiled.

He followed them to the door. He needed to make a move. He pulled Harry to the side.
"I would like to take you out on a date."

Harry immediately broke out in a dimpled smile.
"I'd like that. I'll give you my number."

Louis picked out his phone from his pocket and handed it over. Harry wrote down his number and called himself so he would have Louus' number as well.
"I'll call you tomorrow." Louis said.

"Great." Harry beamed.

Louis waved goodbye and watched them leave. He could hear Niall teasing Harry about being asked out before he closed the door.

He walked around the apartment and shouted "Hello?" when he entered a new room but it was quiet. No more homophobic ghost!

He spent the evening in front of the tv before he headed to bed. He got a good night's sleep and woke up at ten. He took a long shower without anyone watching and ate breakfast. At noon he grabbed his phone and found Harry's number. He went through what he wanted to say in his head before he called.

"Harry."

"Hi, it's Louis."

"Hi! How are you?"

"I'm good. Ghost free. How are you?"

"I'm well."

"Do you have plans later today or can I take you out for dinner?"

"I'm free. Time?"

"Six?"

"Sure."

"I can pick you up. Just text me your address."

"Alright."

"Anything you don't eat?"

"Red meat."

"Oh, okay. So no steak house then?"

"I'm sure I can find something on the menu at a steak house."

"I'll think of something else. I'll pick you up at six then."

"Alright. Looking forward to it. Bye."

"Bye."

Louis was sweating when they hung up. Calls like that always made him nervous. Now he just had to find a suitable restaurant. He had no idea where to go. He didn't think this through.

He fetched his laptop and googled restaurants and read the reviews. All the popular ones were fully booked. He was starting to freak out when he found an Italian place. It looked cozy if the pictures on the website were accurate. He managed to book a table for two.

Now he needed to shower again. He was looking forward to the date.