drowning on a dry land [ls]

Chapter 2 : lonesome

Harry had always been the first to sense when love begins dying out in his relationships, just like he had a very apt estimation of where things were headed and if the person he's barring his heart out to, is just in it for a few fucks. He had feared that if they entered a relationship just after the night, it would probably end as hastily as it started. There, for the lack of better words- fling might end only a few months into their new semester. In his head, he had already pictured himself rotting in his unchanged bed sheets once Louis stopped laying his body on them.

Louis had never had a serious relationship before him. Not in a ruthless-heartbreaker-who-fucks-and-leaves way, but someone who made sure to lay down his intentions and make sure that both parties were on the same page before a hookup. He had briefly heard about Louis also being interested in men only a few weeks before the party.

'When a boy's out of the closet, the first ever serious relationship is the one in which they jump in just for the sake of being with another boy- hardly lasts' Till day, Harry wondered how much of veracity this statement he had heard in the corridors holds.

Harry couldn't afford to taste the feather-haired boy's skin only to yearn for it for the rest of his life. If he doesn't get loved back the same way he loved Louis, then what's the point of it all?

For these very reasons, when they woke up, cuddled into each other on the same bean bag the next morning and Louis let him decide what they should do- he thought it through before meeting his eyes to the blue ones that twinkled at him.

"I promise I would be okay with whatever you want," he gave Harry an assuring smile. His eyes, however-

Guarding his heart, Harry stood tall and boldly proposed the idea of casual dating to Louis. "Let's just not put a label on what we're doing and see where it leads us." He said in a single breath, hoping his voice doesn't come off shaky.

In hindsight, the way Louis audibly gulped at the statement and took a few minutes before agreeing- was a give-away that Harry had thrust a small spike in the heart of the boy he loved much before he got a chance to speak with him.

"Alright darling," he nodded with his arms crossed around his chest.

It had been a full semester of Harry tricking himself into thinking that he wasn't absolutely gone for the boy, when Louis- at each chance he got, sat in his lap and kept asking him how his day had gone, helped him with studies and peppered kisses all over his face when Harry was stressed.

The rumors about a jock senior willing to do anything and everything to get a chance with Louis surfaced, the boy simply shrugged it off and buried his face in Harry's neck and purred in contentment. He trailed the kisses further down until he reached his pants. Louis was quick to undo the buckle and get his mouth on him. Harry's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he couldn't help but let out a hiss at the pleasure elicited by Louis' mouth. After he had come so hard that his vision blurred, Harry plopped him on the bed and whispered all the pet names in the book in Louis' ears as he pounded into him until Louis was a babbling mess.

"You're so good for me," he whispered into Louis' ears when he cleaned their releases off his tummy. The half-asleep boy simply hummed.

People had been whispering about them, they never cared about it. Ignoring his friends' concerns wasn't as easy though but he managed it just fine. He kept telling them that they were casually dating, not ready to give in all it took for an established relationship.

One Friday night, there was a knock on Harry's door. When he twisted the knob, he was met with the face he was least expecting to see.

Evan really had some guts to even show up in Harry's dorm. Not only that, he picked the most ungodly hour to knock on his door. Harry grumbled, "Go away asshole!" and shut the door on his face.

Evan caught the door midway and invited himself inside. He raked his eyes over a half-naked Louis on the bed and smirked predatorily. Louis just raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"What do you want?" Harry's stern tone snapped Evan out of the trance and he coughed before meeting his eyes.

"I know you must miss me, you always do." He passed a toothy grin that made both Harry and Louis snort in unison. "I figured out a way you wouldn't have to." He crossed his hands in front of his chest. "Us three, we can have a threesome. We can start right now, if you're both not drained from-" he gestured at Louis' boxers lying at the foot of his bed.

It took everything in him not to fling the jackass out of their window. It's a shame they lived on the third floor

Louis on the other hand, seemed amused by the proposal. He could see him tilt his head in a way he always did when he thought something through. For a minute, Harry was afraid that he was going to nod his head in affirmation. He wouldn't be able to take that.

Louis cleared his throat before speaking. "You should just stick to having a lonesome with Fistella Palmson." He giggled adorably.

But Evan's new boyfriend was named Felix- Oh! It took Harry a solid one minute before he understood the joke. Hearty laughter soon echoed through the room. They high-fived right in front of Evan's face. Louis ushered the blond boy out of their room, making a show of avoiding letting their hands touch. "Sticky fingers!" He yelled at his retreating silhouette.

Louis boldly pulled Harry towards the dancefloor after seeing Evan eye them with the corner of his eyes, at a party the following day. It made Harry's heart skip a beat. He tightened his grip on the boy's waist and they purposely danced circled around Evan- the man in the equation was fuming as much as he was embarrassed.