Once Upon A Coffee Shop *Larry Stylinson AU*

Homier than Home - Harry's POV

***Harry's POV***

Well I finally figured out why Lou's so loud. He has four sisters, Lottie, Fizzy, Phoebe and Daisy. Everyone wanted to play Monopoly, which was fine by me, even though I've never played. It seemed pretty simple, roll the dice and move. And then something happens with fake money. I still don't get that part.

Phoebe and Daisy wanted to play on the ground, I guess that's how they normally do it, but the thought made me cringe. I wasn't sure how I was going to get on the ground without serious damage. I was pretty broken. And then I'd have to get off the ground too. That was sure to be a trip. Lou must've seen the look in my eye. It was kind of obvious. I was terrified. He suggested we play at the table, which sounded much more managable. We divided into teams, I was on Lou's.

We played for a little bit, but something seemed kind of off. We used four dice, which wasn't really the problem. Louis got competitve, very competitve. He was screaming and singing these odd songs that worked about half of the time. "Come on lucky seventeen!" he said to the dice. I hate to say it but he kind of has problems. I wasn't sure what it was, but he really wanted to land seventeen spaces from where we were. The Boardwalk is what he kept calling it. I didn't get what the big deal was, but whatever. If it makes Lou happy, I'm game for it.

After that, I kind of spaced out. I started thinking about everything that's happened today. It was a lot. Before work, I'd seen probably one of my only friends, Lian. We'd talked about school, mostly. She really didn't care if I was gay, we were still friends. We didn't get to see each other much at school, which was good for her, it was better not to get ridiculed. She sat on my bedroom floor while I stood in the corner. I was always afraid, of pretty much everything.

"Haz," Louis started, snapping me out of my trance. I tensed up at the word. It was like my worst nightmare. I seriously hated being called that. "er gosh sorry I'm really not trying to be mean." I relaxed a little, but not much. "Harry, do you want to roll on our turn for once?" I had to make up my mind, and kind of quickly.

"Uhh...sure, I guess," I responded, I calmed down a bit. Lou handed me the dice and I stared them down. I don't think I've rolled dice in my life. It was kind of intimidating. I tossed the dice and they landed four 6's. I was kind of impressed with myself. Louis explained that I could roll again, so I shook the dice, and quietly chanted, "Anything but 7, Anything but 7." Seven away was the Jail. I wasn't sure what that meant, but I was pretty sure it wasn't good. I tossed the dice for a second time, and I wasn't lucky. I let Louis down.

I kind of panicked, and let out a small whimper. I tried to control it, I didn't want anyone to know I was so weak. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. That's what I do to stop from crying. Lou let me roll and I let him down. No wonder nobody wanted to be my friend. No wonder I was always alone. I let everybody down. Always. I really didn't want to let him down. Something must've ticked in my brain, making me terrified of this guy. I was afraid he'd be mad and hurt me, I was afraid he'd expell me from him home. I just wasn't sure what would happen. I think that was the scariest part.

Louis spoke, which scared me a little, but he didn't sound angry, like my dad always does. "Hey, Harry." He started, kind of quietly and in a much softer tone. "Come're, love there's nothing to be sad about, it's just a game," he claimed. I saw how competitve he was, I think it was a bit more than just a game. "We can get out on our next turn, yeah?"

I nodded weakly, "M'sorry, I-I didn't m-mean to-o. I-I can't con-control w-what the d-dice do-o. I j-just-" I tried to explain.

He cut me off, "Hey, come on love. I'm not gonna hurt you if that's what you're afraid of. Harry, please look up at me?"

I looked up immediately. I didn't care if there were tear stains on my cheeks. It was alright, at least Lou always said it was alright. "M-kay," I told him, not too confidently.