Misadventure

16

Louis' POV

"Go away, he's sleeping," I whispered. The alarm clock on the nightstand was lit up with the time, reading 2:35 AM.

Will stood in the doorway of the guest bedroom, frowning at me where I sat next to a cozy, tucked-in Harry Styles.

Will scoffed. "Are you gonna stay in here the rest of the night? He isn't five, you know. He doesn't need a fucking baby sitter."

"Keep your voice down." I held my finger to my lips and glared at him, annoyed. "I'm not his baby sitter, I'm his friend. What's it to you anyways?"

"Is this the way it's gonna be now? You choosing me over him?" Will sounded irritated. "I've been your best friend long before you even met him."

I sighed. "Look, I really don't want to have this argument right now. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. I can have more than one friend. Besides, you and I both know he's not just a friend to me. It's... different."

"Right. Cause you're secretly gay now." Will's voice was thick with sarcasm. "You know, that's the sort of thing you're supposed to tell your best friend. But I had to find out junior year through the rumor mill."

"Because, I couldn't tell anyone!" I winced at the loudness of my own voice, pausing for a moment to see if Harry would stir. He didn't. I continued talking in a much lower volume. "You know how my parents are."

"I feel like that's just an excuse. You used to tell me everything. It hurts me when you don't."

"Look, we can talk about this in the morning when we're both sober, but I'm not doing this right now."

"Cause you'd rather spend time with him." Will gestured towards the sleeping boy laying curled up beside me, eyes closed and lips parted as he breathed. "He acts all sweet, but he'd probably judge you if he new the truth, Louis. Do you actually think he'd be cool with you doing drugs now?"

I looked up at him, suddenly nervous. "You're not gonna tell him, are you?"

"No, because I'm actually a good friend. Even though you haven't been one lately."

"Goodnight." I said flatly. "Go. Close the door."

Thankfully he didn't argue any further.

A little while later, Harry woke up. His eyes went wide as he scanned his surroundings. I frowned. He was disoriented and shaking like a leaf.

"Hey hey hey, shh..." I was still sitting on the bed, and I started petting his curls to soothe him the way I used to when we were kids. This seemed to relax him some, but he was still shaking. "Are you cold? I can try to find you another blanket..."

I tried getting up to check the closet, but he caught my wrist. I froze.

"I'm okay, Lou." He went quiet for a moment. His face reflected sheer disbelief. "You stayed."

"I told you I would. I wanted to make sure nobody bothered you."

"You didn't have to do that," he told me.

"I know," I told him.

A small, shy smile crossed his lips. "Thanks."

"Liam's been looking for you."

Harry looked panicked again. "Oh no. He probably wanted to head out. I must have kept him waiting."

"Hey, relax. I told him you were laying down. He didn't mind," I said. "I think he was worried about you."

"Why would he be worried?"

"It's your first party. Plus, word got back to him that you'd been looking for him rather frantically early," I answered, slowly carding my hands through his curls again. They were shiny, and it always amazed me that they were somehow even softer than they looked.