Pride {l.s.}

1- Shameless

I stand on my very tippy toes to try to reach the hook with the painting. Zayn has no problems putting the paintings up high for me, but he's outside taking a smoke. I tell him that habit can kill him, but it's nothing he doesn't already know. My tank top brings itself up to expose my stomach as I reach as high as I can. I give up with a sigh and bring the painting to the ground. It's a beautiful one that I did. I headed over to a park and did a nice landscape of the bridge with water rushing under it. I like it quite a bit.

"Let me help you," a low slow voice says. I look up to see a tall boy walking towards me. He has this long brown hair that is now almost shoulder length. I wonder how long it took to grow out. As he comes closer, I can see his bright green eyes. They're almost the color of the trees in a painting that Zayn did last week. He's tall and lanky. He easily takes the painting from me and hangs it up with ease.

"I didn't ask for your help," I can't help but say. I never liked seeming needy to anyone. I've known Zayn for years, and I still have troubles letting him do favors for me.

"Consider it part of my payment."

"Payment for what?"

"The portrait. You are Louis Tomlinson, aren't you?" he asks. His eyebrows are scrunched together and confusion. I can't deny how cute he looks.

I nod my head. "Yes, I'm Louis. You must be Harry then."

Harry offers his hand to me with a smile. "Harry. Harry Styles."

"Well, let's get you started then."

Normally Zayn tells me when one of my appointments are here. I must not have seen Harry come in. He follows me as I lead him down a hallway that branches off from the main display room. There are two doors, and I take the one on the left. We enter the room, and Harry looks around.

There's a large sheet that hangs down as a background. There are lights set up at different points that all face the background for the right lighting. An easel and canvas is already out and ready.

"So what were you thinking for the portrait?"

A blush immediately comes to Harry's cheeks. "Um, it's a portrait for my sister. It's her birthday soon, and we do this thing where the gifts we send each other tend to be silly and funny. I thought it would be funny to send her a portrait of me."

I can't help but let out a laugh. "That's a great idea. Any idea for pose or clothes? We have a rack back here if you want to pick something."

Harry perks up at that mention. He seems excited to get out of the long sleeve shirt he's wearing. Even though we're in Florida, it is a decently cold day outside today with a cool breeze coming through the city.

"Do you mind? I usually dress better than this, but I ran from work."

"Where do you work?" I ask Harry as I walk over to the side of the room. There's a long rack with different shirts, dresses, and other accessories are.

"I'm a wedding photographer. I had a last minute call for wedding invitations this morning. Barely had time to down a coffee," Harry explains in that slow voice of his. Some people might find it annoying that he speaks so slowly, but I like it. It's like he is crafting a piece of art as he speaks. He takes his time, and it all comes out sounding beautiful.

"Nice. Well here's the men shirts section if you would like to pick from that," I say as I gesture to the section of the rack that would probably fit him. Most of this stuff is from thrift shops, but it still looks pretty good.

Harry nods his head before he begins shuffling through the clothes. I walk over to the table where all my paints are. I squirt some black and white onto the plate since I know I will need those colors. I glance back over at my subject, and I find it difficult to breathe.

Harry has no shame. He takes his long sleeve shirt off to reveal a tattooed chest. I see swallows across his upper chest and a butterfly just below it. His arms are covered also, and it's all so beautiful. It accents the muscles beneath it, and I find myself in awe at this walking piece of art.

Harry slides on a patterned shirt that easily matches his black skinny jeans. He doesn't bother to button, but he rather walks over to the accessories and pulls out a pair of red suspenders. As he clips in the suspenders, I watch as this piece of art carries himself. He is laid back with a smile constantly trying to pull onto his face.

Harry saunters over to me. "Does this work?"

I find myself struggling to speak. "Perfect."

"Any thoughts on poses? I want probably like waist up, and I don't want to look like some crappy model. I would rather look... like me."

"Stand in the middle," I tell Harry and he listens to me. I follow him and stand in front of him. "Cross your arms."

"I don't want to look mad," Harry comments.

"Shut up, Harry. You're not going to look mad. Now stand naturally. Not so stiff."

Harry does as I say. I like how he looks like this. The tattoos of the leaves that go just above his waist show since he left the shirt unbuttoned. The anchor on his wrist also shows with the crossed arms, but something is missing.

"Harry?"

"Yes, Louis?"

"Smile just like that big smile you showed me earlier."

"You think my smile is big?" Harry asks as he cocks his head to the side.

"Not big as in you have buck teeth or anything. It's big as in... Your smile is big enough to light up a room. It makes the darkness fade away," I say with trouble explaining it to him.

Harry looks surprised at my words. "I've been hit on by a lot of guys, but never so beautiful or poetic."

Now it's Louis's turn to blush. "I'm not gay. Sorry. I am also not hitting on you."

"You were so hitting on me."

"Shut up, Harry," I say, but I can't help but smile. "Now I can take a picture of you like that, and you can leave, or you can stand there and take breaks as necessary."

"I'd rather stay right here, pretty boy," Harry replies with another large smile on his face.

"Now you're the one hitting on me."

"Oh, I know. The only difference between you and me is that I'm not afraid to show it."

A/N

Hello! So this is my first Larry Stylinson fan fiction. I'll be publishing as often as I can, but no promises on consistency. I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 1 of Pride. Zayn will be in the next chapter. The other boys will soon trickle in. Don't forget to vote and comment!

Update: my first chapter has hit 1K. You guys are amazing.

xoxo raindropkiss1