You Can Hear It In The Silence

Chapter 29

"Hey," Louis said as he rushed through the kitchen. "Sorry, I just got called into work."

"Um, okay." It wasn't that Harry didn't appreciate Louis sharing his plans with him because he really did. It was just that it was the first time Louis had volunteered any information about himself or his life since Harry had been back.

"Fuck," he heard Louis yell.

Harry followed his voice and ended up in the utility room. "What's up?"

"Can't find any black shirts. Mine are all still in the dryer, and they're damp."

"I have one you can wear," Harry said. "I'll go grab it."

"Great, thanks. I'm just going to put my shoes on, so I'll meet you by the door."

Harry took the stairs two at a time and went into his room. He searched his suitcase until he found the shirt he wanted. He raced back downstairs and found Louis at the front door and handed it to Louis.

"Thanks." Louis ripped off his shirt, and Harry knew he shouldn't look, but he never got to see Louis shirtless anymore. Louis was standing so close to him, and Harry had somehow managed to position himself between Louis and the wall, so it wasn't entirely his fault. Louis didn't seem to notice anyway. Harry took the one Louis had been wearing out of Louis' hand, and their fingers grazed, but Louis hadn't seemed to notice that either.

After the shirt was on, Louis leaned into Harry and then froze a few centimetres away from his face. Harry's breath had gotten caught in his lungs as he was sure Louis had been about to kiss him. The confusion on Louis' face showed that he hadn't planned to, though. "Shit, sorry. I guess... just old habits or something. Can you forget that happened?"

"Erm, I mean, probably not."

Louis studied him, and Harry was expecting him to get annoyed. Instead, he shrugged and said, "Yeah, okay."

Before Harry could say anything else, Louis was out the door.

Harry had no idea how long he stood there looking at the closed door, but the only thing that pulled his eyes away from it was when he was startled by his phone ringing.

"Hey, Gemma," Harry said. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Hey. I've got the day off."

"What's up?"

"Nothing, just wanted to see how my favourite brother is doing."

Harry doubted it as she'd called him two days ago for his birthday. "Yeah, I'm doing okay." Harry gave the door a fleeting looking before stepping away from it, deciding he probably couldn't just stand there and stare at it all day, waiting for Louis to come back... even though that was the only thing he wanted to do. Instead he plunked himself on the lounge.

"How's Louis?"

And ah, the real reason for the call. "Fine."

"Going to need more than that."

"What do you want to know?"

"You know what I want to know."

Harry sighed because she wanted to know the same thing as everyone else, and he had to give her the same depressing answer he had to give them. "Nothing. Like nothing has happened."

"Nothing at all?"

"Not really." Harry bit his lip and then released it. He knew the one person he could really complain about it to was Gemma, as he'd told her almost everything from the start. "Everyone was so sure, like everyone had been like 'You just need to try. You just need to tell him how you feel.' But I have - repeatedly - to the point of seeming desperate, and I'm getting nothing in return."