It's Complicated || Larry & Ziam [COMPLETED]

nineteen

"Hey," Louis greeted sweetly as he walked into the bakery. What he loved about this place was that no one was there right after school let out except him and Harry and sometimes Liam. There wasn't anyone to bother him about talking to Harry as much as he wanted to. At least the other customers didn't care how much they spoke.

"Hey, Lou," Harry said back. "The usual?"

"Yes, please."

"You're going to become an addict, sooner or later. I hope you know that."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Louis told him with a laugh. "But it's better than being addicted to alcohol or drugs or crystal meth."

"That's true." Harry grinned, handing Louis the cup of tea. He glanced up when the door opened, revealing a nervous-looking Liam and a seemingly emotionless Zayn. Liam gave Harry a worried smile, and Harry sent him a sympathetic one. He could only guess what this meant, but Zayn never came in here. That had to be a clue.

"Oh, hey, guys," Louis said to them, following Harry's gaze. Their smile-less faces made his smile fade into a look of worry. "Something wrong?"

"No, just..." Liam's voice trailed off as he sat on the stool by Louis's and Zayn sat on the one next to him. He glanced between Harry and Zayn, looking for any help at all. "Do you... remember when you were asking me about the fight between Zayn and me and I told you that you'd know why I didn't tell you then when you knew?"

Louis gave a puzzled look. "Yeah. Is the reason something bad?"

"No, not bad. It's something big, though, which is why it's really hard to tell you, so be patient with us."

Zayn gave Louis a grimace. "Don't think I've ever seen you so worried, Li."

"You can tell me," the oldest boy told them, glancing to Harry to see his own impassive expression. This must be what they told Harry but not him. "Why do you all look like someone's just been murdered?"

Harry let out a laugh. Louis was so cute. "No murders, Lou. Promise."

Zayn nearly snorted at that. Harry did seem like he was acting oddly towards Louis. The blue-eyed boy didn't seem to react much to the words, only looking at the pair with worry that reflected Zayn's own. His best friend was concerned. At least he had that.

"Um..." the raven-haired boy began. He wanted to prove to Liam that he could be of more help than just sitting there while Liam did all the talking. "Don't be mad." It sounded stupid, but it was all he had.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Nice, Z."

"Well, sorry that I'm not good at this. I've never done this before."

"What is 'this'?" Louis asked in exasperation. "Just say it."

"Shh," Harry said to him, and Zayn appreciated that for once. If he was going to tell Louis about this, he couldn't be hurried. He numbly realized that Harry had come out before, and he couldn't help but wish he'd had some guidance beforehand. This was more difficult than it seemed.

"Lou," Liam took a deep breath, glancing at Harry and Zayn once again for any sign of hesitance. His gaze lingered a little on Zayn, biting his lip and hoping that Louis would be okay with them for the sake of their relationship. "Zayn and I... we, um..."

"We're together," Zayn finished bravely, knowing that Liam would never actually say anything. Liam let out the breath he was holding in and searched Louis's face desperately. He hoped that their friendship wouldn't be over because of something like this.

"Oh?" Louis didn't seem angry, just bewildered, and maybe a little shocked. A couple seconds later, he murmured, "Oh," like it was all clicking into place. "And you told Harry because he..."

"I've come out before," Harry said softly, gazing at Louis's head even though he wasn't looking straight at him. It clicked for Zayn right then — Harry liked Louis, and Louis might even like Harry. That thought, whether true or not, relaxed Zayn in a way that didn't make sense.

"And you couldn't tell me before," Louis said, like he was thinking out loud. "Because you weren't ready."

"No," Liam answered, worriedly. "Are you mad that we didn't tell you earlier?"

"Of course not, just... how could I not have seen it before? You two do nothing but flirt with each other and I never even noticed."

That made the other three laugh, releasing most of the tension in the air. Liam sighed deeply in relief and smiled at Zayn.

"I told you."

"Yeah, you did," Zayn responded with a matching smile. God, he had so many feelings for Liam. He turned to Harry. "Is the tea here any good?"

"Ask the tea addict here." Harry motioned to Louis. "He does nothing but demand it as soon as he walks in."

"I do not demand it!" Louis said. "I say please and thank you."

"Sometimes."

Louis huffed. "Well, shit. It's a big day, so you've got to get me another one."

"And more after that?"

"It's better than going to a bar and taking celebratory shots."

"You're seventeen. Good luck getting into a bar."

Louis ignored him fondly, hoping that his idiotic smile wasn't completely obvious as he turned to a much more relaxed Liam and Zayn. "How long have you guys waited to tell me?"

"We kind of, um, were unofficial for a while. We only started using the boyfriend title a few days ago."

"So at least it's not been a year or something," Louis said with an accepting nod. "Alright, that's fine. I don't know how easily I'd forgive you guys for not telling me if it was a year."

"I wouldn't be able to survive waiting that long. Li wouldn't get off my arse about telling you even when it was new," Zayn told him with a chuckle.

"You people make me sad about being single," Harry said childishly with a pout. "I want a boyfriend."

Louis ignored the nagging thoughts in his mind and chose to admire the way boyfriend sounded coming from his mouth. "You poor thing."

Liam laughed. "You'll find someone."