TORN

Chapter 5: Disrupted Balance

Harry sat in his office, his gaze nervously flicking to the phone on his desk. The minutes passed, and although he didn't want to admit it, he was anxious. A few moments ago, he'd sent a message to Louis, and now he was waiting for a reply – unsure if reaching out had been the right choice.

His thoughts were all over the place. The past few weeks with Y/N had been filled with passion, yet Louis had somehow crept into his mind. Harry had tried to push these feelings aside, but the more he resisted, the stronger they became. He'd hoped that maybe Louis wouldn't reply at all – then the decision would be out of his hands.

But suddenly, his phone buzzed on the table. Harry's heart skipped a beat as he glanced at the screen. A new message from Louis.

"Who the fuck is this?"

Harry's stomach tightened. He stared at the message, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and unsure. Should he respond? It felt like he'd been thrown out of his comfort zone, and Louis' directness caught him off guard. After a moment of hesitation, he began to type:

"Uh, this is Harry. We met at the bar, remember? I owe you a drink. 😅"

He stared at the screen, his heart racing as he waited for a reply. It took only a few seconds before Louis responded again.

"Took you long enough. Drinks? Same bar, this weekend?"

Harry stared at the message, his mind swirling with thoughts and emotions. Louis was so playful, so direct – and it unnerved him. He hesitated, then took a deep breath and typed a reply:

"Sure. Same time?"

The message was sent, and suddenly everything felt real. Harry set the phone down and leaned back in his chair, his mind racing with thoughts about the upcoming meeting. What had he just done? What was this all going to mean?

In the days following the exchange with Louis, Harry tried to focus fully on Y/N again. She was the logical choice in his life, the person who understood him, with whom he shared so much. But it was harder than expected to keep his thoughts away from Louis.

Y/N and Harry continued spending time together, their secret relationship growing stronger. During lectures, the tension between them was palpable. Y/N would give him knowing looks, and Harry could feel the desire in every touch they shared. Their meetings after lectures were intense, passionate – everything seemed perfect.

But something was different. Harry couldn't deny that he was distracted. While he tried to be fully present in the moments with Y/N, his thoughts kept drifting back to Louis. The feeling that Louis had stirred in him lingered, unresolved.

Y/N noticed that something was off. One evening, after they had spent time in his office, she looked him in the eyes and asked, "Is everything okay, Harry? You seem... distracted."

Harry avoided her gaze. "Yeah, of course. It's just... there's a lot going on right now."

She nodded, though she didn't seem convinced. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Harry said quickly, forcing a smile. "It's really nothing."

But as Y/N gathered her things and left the office, Harry could feel that the tension between them wasn't just fueled by passion. There was something else – a distance he couldn't quite explain.

As the weekend approached, Harry became more and more unsettled. The meeting with Louis loomed over him like an inevitable decision. He kept telling himself it was just a harmless meeting. They'd talk, maybe have a drink, and that would be it.

But deep down, Harry knew it was more than that. The thoughts of Louis wouldn't leave him. He was curious, even fascinated by Louis' bold and cheeky nature. But at the same time, he felt guilty – guilty about Y/N, guilty about the feelings he couldn't fully understand.

The nights leading up to the meeting were restless. Harry lay awake, staring at the ceiling, trying to make sense of the chaos in his mind.

On the evening before the meeting, Harry sat alone in his apartment. The silence felt heavy, and his eyes kept drifting to his phone. He opened Louis' message again, reading it as if it might offer some kind of answer to the questions that plagued him. "Took you long enough. Drinks? Same bar, this weekend?"

Harry took a deep breath and set his phone down. He knew this meeting could change everything – whatever happened between him and Louis, it wouldn't just be a casual drink.