Parallel Lines » Larry Stylinson

Chapter 45 - Harry

Louis comes back to the hotel half an hour after me. He pounds at my room door, and I open it. He doesn't look me in the eyes as he collapses in my arms. 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so terribly sorry, Harry," he sobs. 

"It's... it's alright," I say, cradling him into my arms. I lift him up and carry him, towards the bed. 

I knew I shouldn't have done it. I knew I shouldn't have kissed him on stage like that. I'm only putting our relationship at risk by doing this. I just wanted to prove to them, to show those bastards that they can't control us. I just wanted to show them that Louis's mine and the both of us are free. But unfortunately, we're not.

I look at Louis, crippled in my arms, his head buried in my chest, getting my shirt wet. His breathes are uneven, and he hiccups between them. I try to sooth him down by rubbing circles onto his back, but it doesn't seem to work. 

He grips onto my shirt tightly with his fists and continues to sob. "I'm so sorry. I really am. I'm sorry." 

"It... it's my fault," I say after awhile. 

Louis shakes his head and looks me in the eye. "They have no rights to control what we can or cannot do." 

"Actually, they do-" I cut him off. "We signed a contract-" 

"We're human beings, Harry!" he pushes me away from him, crossing his arms. "I know that they're our management, I know that they're in charged of our public image, but that doesn't mean they can't stop us from loving! They think our love is a game. They use it to their advantage to get the right amount of  attention from the media, then crushing us and making us deny ourselves. They strategize, they plan, they say what we can or cannot do.  We're they're puppets, can't you see? We're they're puppets."

Louis's knees gives way and he crumples onto the floor. He wails, literally, a horrible and heart wrenching sound, and it just breaks my heart. 

"I can't do this anymore!" he cries out, curling into a ball at my legs. "Everything is so fucked up. I'm so done with this. How could I be so stupid? How could I think loving you would be the best thing in the world? Loving you hurts, Harry! Loving you kills me!" 

I am astonished by his words. He is crying, something I rarely see Louis do. He's usually so strong, defending us. I'm usually the weak one. He's curled into a tight ball, at my feet, his head in his hands, his nails digging into his scalp. 

"It... it's not that bad, is it?" I say in a small voice, my shoulders tensed, my muscles tensed. 

Louis doesn't even look up at me. He continues sobbing at my feet, crippled and broken. 

What am I saying? Louis is breaking down right before my eyes. That's not okay. This... this isn't okay. We aren't okay. 

"Alright," I say, kneeling down beside me. "If... if it really h-hurts you this m-much... do... do you w-want to end it?" 

"What? No!" Louis teary eyes meet mine. "Please. That's the last thing I want to do. I l-love you. I need you." 

"But you're hurting Louis. You're in pain because of me." 

Louis shivers as I place my index finger under his chin. "I'm just so tired of them controlling us, Haz." 

"I know, love. I know." I gather him into my arms and wrap them around his petite body, shielding him from the world. He is a precious gem, an angel, and he needs to be protected from anyone that would hurt him, that would damage his pure soul, that would rip away his smile. I can't bear to see him like this, being tortured by the world and the people who controls us. 

"I don't want you seeing Sarah again," Louis mutters. 

"Why's that?" I ask. "You know that she supports us and that she's a fan." 

"It's not that," Louis says in a small voice. 

"Then what is it? You can tell me," I cradle him and he presses a kiss to my shoulder. 

"Every time you go out with her, the media write articles about the two of you. It's everywhere, and I just can't avoid it, you know? Even if I know it's not true, that it's just some bullshit rumor, a cover up. And when I  see those articles, those pictures, I think for a moment, that what if I hadn't declared my love to you, that if we never dated, would you be with her? She's a decent girl, a genuinely nice person, and she's good for you, Harry. Would you have date her instead? She adores you, Haz, considering that she's a fan. W-when I see the both of you in pictures, it looks like you guys belong together. Don't you ever see couples in movies or pictures and you just get that feeling, you just know that they will be a great couple and that they belong together? That's what goes through my thoughts whenever I see you with her, and I fucking hate it." 

"You know that that will never be true, Louis," I say, taking his hands in mine, our fingers lacing with one another. "I love you. Only you." 

"Will you say that in fifty years time? When the band breaks up? When I'm older, when I'm probably less attractive, when I can't satisfy you anymore?" 

"Louis..." I say, bring my face close to his. "I love you. I sincerely do. Love isn't about satisfying your partner. It's about yourself too. It's simple. If you love me, and I love you, it doesn't matter if we're old and wrinkly," I chuckle. "It doesn't matter if we're both men. It doesn't matter if we're two worlds apart, two galaxies, even. All that doesn't matter as long as you are in my heart and I am in yours." 

Louis's eyes become glassy again. "What if you fall out of love with me?" he asks in a timid whisper. 

"Oh Louis, baby," I tuck him into my arms again and he rests his head on my shoulder. I place one hand flat on his upper back, and the other around his waist, holding me tightly against me. Our tattoos align. All of them, complimentary, each one of them completing the other, as how his heart completes mine. "Always in my heart. Always in yours. I promise you that."

"People sometimes break promises," Louis murmurs, his voice cracking. 

"But some people keep them too. I just so happen to be one of those people." 

Louis nods, his hair rustling, tickling my cheek. "I love you." 

"I loved you, I love you, and I will love you," I say softly, rubbing circles on the small of his back. His sniffs die down and he pulls away, looking at me with huge blue eyes. They reflect the green in mine and I see the world. I see the world in his eyes. 

"Do you promise?" he squeaks. 

I smile and trace a cross over my heart. 

a/n: I realise that I'm not getting as much support on this fic compared to before. Maybe that's why I'm so demotivated to update. )))):