coffee stains ; larry stylinson

chapter eighteen

"i'm not going ice-skating, louis."

"yes you are."

"i am not," harry says passionately and crosses his arms over his chest. 

"harry, it's ice-skating. you're not going to die."

"i might."

louis sighed and set down the book he was reading. harry could be so impossible at times. "how?"

"i could slip, for instance, and crack my skull open against the ice and spill my brains all over your shoes."

"charming," louis says. "that's the key to my heart."

harry blinks at louis then merrily gives him the finger. 

"look, harry, i'll call eleanor and it'll be just the three of us and it'll be great!"

harry's eyes widened. "no! i'd love to meet your friend eleanor and i'm sure she's a lovely girl. but i'd like to meet her in a more....dignified circumstance." 

"stop talking like it's the fucking eighteen hundreds. and i really don't see why you don't want to go." 

"i don't know how to ice-skate," harry said in a small voice. 

louis could feel himself smile. harry really was quite adorable when he was all worked up. 

"and that's alright! i'll help you!"

"i don't want to make a fool out of myself."

"everyone makes a fool out of themselves at the fucking ice rink, harry. look, we can go and try it for like half an hour and if you don't like it, we'll go to the movies or whatever. deal?"

harry hesitated before finally giving in. "fine."

which is how, two hours later, louis and harry found themselves at the ice rink with harry sputtering and cursing as harry struggled to stand properly in his skates. 

"this is fucking impossible," harry swears as he wobbles on his knees. "impossible," he says as louis gracefully skates past him. louis goes over to harry and holds out his hands, urging harry to take them. 

"come on. hold my hands. it'll be fun."

harry tentatively places his hands in louis' and louis tries not to swoon over how his small hands were completely lost in harry's large ones. he gently begins to skate backwards, bringing harry with him and going around the whole rink. he watched the reluctance go out of harry's eyes and posture as he gained more confidence and soon enough, harry had let go of one of louis' hands and was increasing speed. 

he'd invited eleanor, too. he'd texted her and then called her a bunch of times but she wasn't picking up or responding to texts. she hadn't even been in school for the past two days. louis could feel uneasiness swirling in his belly and he felt immensely worried for her. he decided that after they were done, louis would go to eleanor's house just to check.

"fun, isn't it?" louis asks harry as they skate past a couple.

"no," harry claims. "this is boring. i hate it."

louis snorts and rolls his eyes. "yeah, mister, i can see how much you hate it. you hate it so much you can barely contain the joy that is emitting from you right now."

"perhaps, tomlinson, you should revisit your definitions of the human emotions. maybe take a psychology class or two."

"i do take psychology and- look! you're skating without holding my hand!"

in the midst of their banter, harry had let go of louis' hand to cross his arms over his chest and he was drifting across the ice, graceful like a wintry prince. 

harry looked surprised, and an unmistakable look of pride flashed across his face. "hell yeah i am." 

as if a cruel irony of sorts, someone came crashing into harry's back and harry, too startled, lost balance and slipped a great distance before falling down, followed by a groan of pain.

"harry!" louis yells and quickly skates towards him. he was sitting on the ice with his ankle bent in an unnatural way and louis felt fear spark in his chest. "fuck. are you alright?"

when harry looked at him, it was clear he was in pain. his eyes were bright and he was biting his lips. "i..." he says. "my ankle. i think i sprained it. badly."

"shit, i'm so sorry, harry," louis whispers as he removed the skate on harry's left foot. he winced as he saw the redness and swelling on his ankle. 

"it's not your fault," says harry gently but louis still felt horrible. he called a worker who assisted him in taking harry back to the changing rooms where he removed harry's skates and gear before helping him to harry's car and driving to the hospital --- with louis behind the wheel, of course. 

louis waited in the waiting room as the doctors in the er examined him. he felt horrible. he was the one who had dragged harry to skate, and look where that got him. to divert his thoughts, he opened his phone and his chat with eleanor and sent another text for the millionth time. 

lou: el i'm really getting worried pls tell me you're okay

a nurse came from the er and informed him that harry was asking for him. louis jumped to his feet and quickly followed her to harry's bed. he was lying down with his leg propped up and ankle bandaged. when he saw louis, his shoulders sagged with relief. 

"lou," he says and smiles and urges louis to sit on the chair beside his bed. 

"how is it?" louis asks nervously. 

"sprained ankle, as i guessed," harry informs him. "it'll take about 2-3 weeks to completely heal."

"2-3 weeks?" louis echoes in horror. "gosh, harry- i'm so so sorry this is all my fault-"

"louis," harry cuts in, "stop it. it's not your fault. if anything, it was the asshole behind me. or my own fault, even, for just standing there support-less when i can't even skate properly."

louis really didn't know what to say so he just asked, "how long do you have to stay here?"

"two to three days, at best. until the swelling stops. the doctor told me."

"i wish i could stay with you," louis blurts out suddenly.

harry grins. "you are more than welcome to-"

"but i'm not family or-"

"i already fought the doctors on that one. guilt tripped them, basically."

"you're such a little shit," louis says but he was smiling and then nothing mattered anymore, because harry was smiling back.

a/n: i've decided to cut down the sad shit in this book because the lord knows we larry ff readers need something that's j cute and won't scar and traumatize us forever

and if any of yous think this is an allusion to the night changes mv u're absolutely correct pussy-popper kween 💋

anygays. i feel like i'm forgetting smth in this chapter but whatevs

how d'you learn, how, how did your pussy game come up? yEEzy tAUghT mE

all the love, niya xx