Some things change. | l.s.

16

"Hello!" Madison announced when she burst into Louis' office who was sitting behind his desk typing away frantically with a wide grin on his lips.

"Hey, darling." He muttered abstinently.

"What's that?" Madison asked with a grimace as she threw her backpack on the couch, causing Louis to look up with a questioning smile.

"What do you mean?" He wondered.

"That on your face. That grin." Madison said expectantly and strolled over to him, climbing on the table and letting her legs dangle in the air.

"Maddie I work here, come down there." Louis tried and pulled on her hand, but Madison snatched it out of his grip and looked at him disbelieving.

"You're a liar. I can see that you're chatting with..." She leaned over and stared at the screen of his laptop scrunching up her nose when she saw the texts. "...Harry. How old are you sending each other gifs? Not even me and my friends do that anymore." She muttered with a crazy look on her face.

"Leave me alone. Don't you have homework to do?" Louis grumbled and shut his laptop close just as a new message from Harry popped up and it itched in his fingers to open it again to read it, but he resisted.

"No, all done already." Madison grinned proudly and waited for Louis to hum and nod in understanding. "Dad, why are you spending so much time with Harry?"

"What? I don't!" Louis said quickly without even thinking of why she was asking such a question in the first place.

"Yes, you do." Madison contradicted.

"We're friends...and friends spend time together." Louis reasoned carefully, feeling a strange but by now familiar prickling of comfort and relief inside of him when he spoke it out loud that they were friends which he never thought he would just a few weeks ago.

Nothing much changed apart from them spending more time together indeed, just like Madison addressed, but Louis was still torn between letting it happen and fighting against it with his doubts in the back of his mind and still being careful of what he confided to him.

"Mum said he makes you happy and that's why you spend so much time together. Is this true?" Madison wondered and Louis stiffened in his chair and his gaze turned cautious when he observed her curious face as she tilted her head waiting for an answer.

"Uh..." He broke off, not knowing how to answer her question. He tried to get around their short coversation until now, but no matter how hard he tried he understood nothing. What did Mallory tell Madison? What did she mean with that? He didn't even fully understand what was going on between him and Harry's friendship, how could she know? "You know, uhm..." He said forced when he noticed Madison getting impatient and closed his eyes for a second in hopes to get an idea on what to say. "...of course I am, that's what friends are for, right?" He tried and to his relief Madison nodded along with pursed lips deep in thought.

"I like that you're friends now." She said and Louis' eyebrows rose surprised.

"Really?"

"Yes. He is the reason for your happiness, so I like it. And I like him." Madison shrugged and Louis' chest tightened with emotions at her words.

"He's not the only reason, darling." He said softly and reached up his hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear with a smile.

"I know, dad!" Madison groaned and flung her arms around him exaggerating making Louis chuckle.

"Good." He mumbled and returned the hug squeezing her until she squirmed out of his grip and he let her go eventually.

He just got done with all of the tasks that needed to be done today in time to drive Madison to her volleyball practise and when he parked the car in the garage he sighed relieved to finally be home.