Dare || L.S

16

Louis stomps towards the bathroom. He doesn't think too much before he rips the door open. The lock has been broken for weeks, so that's that. His eyes widen.

Harry is frozen in place, his bare feet on the seemingly cold bathroom tiles. He's in his pajamas, striped, red. He looks ridiculous with his rolled up sleeves. It's freezing. Why are they rolled up anyway? Louis eyes fall to the needle on the floor, thin and silver.

"What on earth are you doing?" Louis groans, dead tired.

Harry blushes, fiddling with his sleeves. "Piercing my nose?" He bends down to clumsily pick up the needle. He holds it up for Louis to see.

Louis goggles at him. "Yourself?" Louis takes a step inside and closes the door behind himself.

"Yeah!" Harry nods enthusiastically.

Louis snatches the needle and rounds Harry to wash it. "Does it not hurt?"

"No. It's alright." Harry shrugs, sitting down on the edge of the bathtub. "I can't get it through, though."

"Well," Louis turns to face him, "Obviously."

"You could do it." Harry suggests. Seeing as Louis is already holding the needle, it might look like he would be up to it. Newsflash! He isn't. The issue is simple. He can not, under any circumstances, see blood. It makes his skin crawl. He might throw up at the idea even. The sound and the feeling.

"Absolutely not." Louis protests. "What if I hurt you or damaged your nose permanently?!"

Harry, once again, shrugs. "I don't care."

"Oh, you should! It's your body."

"And?" Harry yawns, seemingly unbothered and totally ready to get a needle pierced through the flesh of his nose. His doe eyes glance around the room, distracted. His tiny pupils are surrounded by an endless ocean of deep green. "I can do it myself if you don't want to."

Louis senses the disaster that would cause. The very obvious disaster.

"You're sure about this?" Louis asks meekly, taking a step forward to carefully tilt Harry's chin up under the luminous light.

Harry stiffles a laugh, "Jesus, it's just a piercing. You're not about to take my virginity, are you?"

Louis' concerned expression falters. He coughs. A soft pink creeps over his cheek, his blood boiling while his heart erupts in fast beatings. "You're a virgin?" Is the only thing that makes it out of his deserted mouth. He blurts it out almost. He can't fathom the idea that Harry of all gorgeous people has never fucked at least one person.

Harry grins, "Yeah." He tilts his head slightly. "I'm a romantic. Absolutely hopeless."

Louis drenches a washcloth in alcohol and wipes it over Harry's nose. He notices his long lashes, framing his glazed eyes. His bone structure is mesmerizing. High cheekbones and sharp jawline. His lips. Louis' eyes are captivated. He takes a step back to wipe the needle clean, cocking an eyebrow, "You're bluffing."

Harry gasps in shock, "I would never lie!" He laughs. There's something cheeky about the way he licks his lips right after. He must've chewed miny gum because his lips are puffy and so crimson.

"Oh you would." Louis takes a step forward and moves his thumb underneath Harry's chin. He tilts it up, Harry obeys so easily it makes Louis mind wander. He watches him, his lips slightly parted.

"I'm going to count to three." Louis warns, moving the needle slowly against Harry's skin. He glances down and sees Harry's hands clawing his thighs. Poor thing.

"One," Louis lifts the needle and Harry closes his eyes. "Two!" He pierces the needle through.

Harry winces. "You said you'd count to three!"

"It would've been more painful if you knew when I'd do it." Louis explain, putting the sanitary hoop in. He doesn't even want to know why Harry keeps them in his washbag. "All ready." Louis rubs his shoulder encouragingly. "Go look."

Harry stands up on wobbly legs and critically exams his face in the mirror, then he turns around to face Louis with a frown. "Do you think it looks stupid?"

Louis smiles, "I think it looks great." He yawns loudly without covering his mouth. "But I might go back to sleep, I've got work tomorrow."

Harry looks like he's just been personally insulted. "Alright then. Night."

-

Louis cuddles back into his warm, comfortable bed. The soft matress and the five pillows around him create the perfect nest. He hugs one pillow to his chest and rests his chin on top of it. He likes sleeping completely bombarded by blankets and pillows. It makes him feel safe and secure. When he first moved to London, he lived alone in a dodgy street. Occasionally, his front door would crack in the middle of the night, or something would crash to the floor and wake him.

To his astonishment, he hears the water running in the kitchen. He groans. Probably Niall, he had a late shift today.

Louis puts his pajamas back on and slowly, half asleep, makes his way to the kitchen.

Harry is sitting dead silent on the counter with a wine bottle in his hand, his legs dangling. Cliff is right beside him, with its head on Harry's thigh.

"Does the piercing hurt?" Louis asks, carefully approaching so he doesn't startle Harry.

Harry looks at him with a weary expression. Deep circles underline his eyes. Or maybe it's the light. He does look tired, though. "No. Couldn't sleep."

Louis nods, awkwardly moving towards Harry. "Why?"

"I get really bad dreams sometimes." He explains, not lifting his eyes as if he's embarrassed. "It'll pass."

"You can sleep in my room." Louis says quietly. "My sister used to have a lot of nightmares during full moon. So when it happened, she'd go to my mothers room and sleep in her bed. I promise you it helps."

Louis' hand had wandered to Harry's knee, rubbing gently up and down. "There's nothing to be ashamed of." He adds.

Harry chuckles a little, "I'm not ashamed. Only tired." He catches Louis hand, "Don't tell Niall about it, yeah?"

Louis nods, and so they go to his room.

It may have been the first thing he dismissed, the first so obvious detail he should've noticed.