Fall into your gravity (larry AU by Zarah5)

11

Fall Into Your Gravity - XI.

The unfamiliar ringtone of a mobile phone jerks Louis awake, and for a glorious, miserably short moment, he expects Harry to utter a sleepy-rough swear word and roll over to turn it off, before slotting back against Louis' side. Then Louis remembers that Harry is in Germany, and that Harry asked for a break, and that the world sucks.

Louis lies motionless while the bed dips with Liam reaching over him. There's a second when the phone is still ringing and Liam doesn't pick it up, then he shakes Louis' shoulder and says, "For you."

Before Louis can ask what's going on, the phone is held against his ear and Charlotte asks, "Hi, is this Liam?"

"'s me," Louis mutters, taking the phone.

"Perfect." She sounds unreasonably awake and excited for the early hour.

"What---" Louis begins, and Charlotte interrupts the half-formed question with, "Shut up and listen."

An instant later, Harry's voice filters through the phone, floods Louis' body with adrenaline. He jerks into a sitting position.

"---to protect me," Harry finishes saying, and it sounds a bit tinny, distorted by more than only the phone connection, and then Nick's voice comes on and Louis understands that this is radio, Harry's on the radio talking to Nick, and why is Harry talking to Nick but not to Louis, why? Why, why,why? Also, is this a live conversation?

"So, Harry, let me get this straight," Nick begins, and then he snorts and adds, "No pun intended. Oh, wait. Yeah, pun intended."

Harry's self-conscious laugh curls around Louis' neck like a very fine piece of rope, threatening to choke him. "Yeah," Harry says, "okay, because talking about things being straight might, like, not fit so well right now."

"Actually, let me jump on that. Your boy, Louis Tomlinson, said you lads were only friends. Now you are telling me that he was lying, that he was protecting you, and that in fact, you're in love with him."

Louis' heart gives a sickening lurch because what? What is this?
"I'm going to boldly assume he returns the sentiment." Nick seems to be picking up speed, clearly enjoying himself. "After all, he did say he's in love with you, so do we have the romance of the decade here, or what? It's like Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers, and Louis' YouTube video---Which, by the way, even my dad has seen it. Anyway, so that video would then equal Juliet poisoning herself."

"That's a really disturbing image." Harry is laughing again, an edge of nervousness to his voice that Louis can't help but notice. Yet at the same time, Harry sounds determined, no tremor in his words. "And I think Louis would probably object to being made into a Juliet."

Actually, Louis is too stunned to think; words are clearly beyond him.

"Ah," Nick says, "good thing he's not on the line so he can't contradict me. I don't like it when people contradict me."

"I've noticed," Harry says, all wry, and Louis presses the phone closer to his ear and only now notices that both Zayn and Liam are watching him in the semi-darkness of the bedroom. Louis should put the phone on speaker, but that would make it less intimate, would---Not that this is intimate when Harry is chatting to Nick on live radio.

Harry is chatting to Nick on live radio. Chatting about how he's... About how he's in love with Louis?

If Louis weren't already sitting, he thinks he'd feel his legs go numb. As it is, he lies back down, the muscles in his arms quivering, his stomach trying to crawl up his throat.