Summer Love - l.s.

Chapter 2

"We're here!" Anne shouted excitedly as the car pulled into the driveway of a familiar house. Harry knew he had been here before; he just couldn't remember who had lived here. It had been many years since he last came to this house, and he could not figure out how he recognised the place.

"Anne!" A woman around the same age as Harry's mum ran out of the house and embraced his mum in a hug. "It's so good to see you, Jay." Anne replied.

Jay? Jay Tomlinson? The realisation of where he was quickly overwhelmed Harry.

"Oh Harry! You've grown so much!" Jay said as she pulled Harry in for a hug. "Haven't you become a handsome young man." She smiled.

"I got it from my Mumma." Harry smiled sheepishly, winking in his mum's direction.

"So how have you been? We missed you when you moved away." Anne interrupted, smiling knowingly between Jay and Harry.

"We've been good, very glad to have moved back home. It's definitely been quiet since Lou went off to uni, but he's back for the summer, just like you, Harry." Jay said with a smile.

Louis is here. For the whole summer.

Harry felt his cheeks becoming hot as he heard the boy's name. Harry and Louis met in primary school and they had been best friends, despite Louis being a year older than Harry. They spent countless hours together playing imaginary games in the backyard, exploring their hometown and causing lots of trouble. Then, during high school, Louis' family moved away to Doncaster as his step-father needed to move for work and the two boys lost contact. Every now and then, Harry would see pictures of Louis on social media and he would get butterflies in his stomach, simply by looking at the boy's face. Louis was beautiful in Harry's eyes. His brown, feathery hair was always soft, and his bright blue eyes were absolutely irresistible. It was hard for Harry to admit, but he used to have a massive crush on Louis, yet he never told the boy because he was too ashamed to be rejected. When Louis moved away, it was as if the stress of having a secret crush on him was washed away and his heart was shattered into a million pieces. Louis had made new friends and had even gotten a girlfriend not long after leaving so Harry cut all contact, hoping he would never have to see the boy again.

"Let's go inside, I'll make you guys a cup of tea." Jay said as they walked into the house. Harry looked at the photos hung on the wall in the hallway as they walked to the kitchen. He stopped when he noticed a picture of him and Louis. They were about 8 years old and both had large sticks, pretending they were swords and they were in a medieval battle. He giggled quietly at the photo and walked in the kitchen, Gemma noticing the smirk on his face. She was the only person Harry had admitted his crush to, so she was excited to see the boy's reunion just as much as Harry was excited to see Louis.

He wondered how much Louis had changed and if they would still be friends after all these years. He grew more and more nervous about seeing the boy as he waited patiently for his tea. They all moved outside to sit on the patio, Jay and Anne catching up after many years apart. The mums had developed a close friendship with each other as the boys spent all their time together as kids.

"So, Harry, I hear you've started at Oxford University." Jay turns to him as she speaks, "what are you studying?"

"Uh, I'm studying psychology." Harry said, "I think I want to be a paediatric psychologist."
Jay's eyes widened as she heard his future goals. "You'd be fantastic at that. You were always great with the girls when you were younger." She said fondly, referring to Louis' many younger sisters.

"Speaking of, is Lottie here?" Gemma asked. Jay nodded as Gemma excused herself from the conversation to go and find her. Lottie was quite a few years younger than Gemma, but they had always had a sisterly bond. Gemma had missed her when they moved away so she was excited to see her. Faint screams were heard through the house as the girls reunited. I hope Louis and I have the same reaction Harry thought to himself.

The faint sound of a door opening interrupted Harry's thoughts. "Is that you, Lou?" Jay shouted through the house. Harry could hear light footsteps growing louder as he eagerly awaited seeing his best friend again after all this time. He stared at the door until he saw Louis' dreamy blue eyes. He felt his stomach flip as he saw the boy's feathery brown hair, messily styled, now shorter and covered by a black cap. His tanned arms, now covered in tattoos. He was wearing a white t-shirt, some black sweatpants, and black vans. His style had changed. Harry could not take his eyes off him. Louis eyes quickly met Harry's before rushing away to look elsewhere.

"Good to see you Anne, good to see you." Louis' cheeks crinkled as he smiled, pulling Anne into a big hug and patting her lightly on the back. He hesitated for a minute before turning to face Harry, avoiding looking in Harry's eyes at all costs.

"Harry." Louis said firmly, reaching to shake Harry's hand.

"Louis." Harry shook his hand nervously. Louis barely looking at Harry through the quick exchange.

"Gotta run to the loo." Louis said quickly before rushing back inside. "I'll be back."

That was weird Harry thought as Jay said, "That didn't go how I expected."

Me too, Jay. Me too.