for angels to fly | lwt + hes.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

They were sitting side by side on Louis’ couch in an achingly familiar set up, TV on, boxes of half-empty Chinese food sitting on the coffee table in front of them, and an invisible, impenetrable wall between their bodies. 

Harry had kicked Louis out of his flat that morning as soon as he’d started to get so sleepy he couldn’t hold his head up and had claimed that Louis would be bored shitless just hanging around while Harry slept. Louis hadn’t thought it appropriate to tell him that he wasn’t really bothered what they were doing, as long as he was within a ten metre radius of the younger boy. So he had left reluctantly, ordering Harry to take another couple of painkillers when he woke up. Harry had rolled his eyes and Louis had a split second of knowing exactly what it felt like to be his mother. Harry’s flippancy about his own health hadn’t stopped Louis from leaving a very firmly written message on the kitchen bench along with thirty pounds demanding that he catch a cab to Louis’ as soon as he was ready. It also said that if Harry didn’t show up Louis was going to call him and text him until he did. 

Louis had then spent the rest of the day alternating between cleaning his flat and checking the time constantly. He was wound so tightly that he jumped at the softest sounds and found himself wiping down the kitchen bench more than once. He wasn’t really worried about Harry judging the state of the flat, despite the state Louis had let it fall into, it was more that he needed to do something with himself and if that meant scrubbing the bathroom tiles with a toothbrush then so be it. 

Zayn had called him just as he’d given up on finding something else to tidy, and so he had picked up the phone with probably more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary. Zayn had excused him of being on something at least three times throughout the conversation and Louis found himself explaining that Harry was coming over and it was just nervous energy making his voice shake. His friend had laughed for a good thirty seconds before calming down and becoming serious, asking if Harry was alright and if everything had gone smoothly. Louis had marvelled over Zayn’s multiple personalities for the rest of the call, before Zayn hung up because he had ‘a date of his own’ and Louis was once again left with his empty apartment and the nerves that made his stomach turn.

When it was nearing seven Louis called the nearest Chinese place and ordered way too much, but figured that he could probably live off it for at least a week and it was a point in favour of the poor uni student budget. He had considered texting Harry but thankfully the knock at his door came just after the food arrived. 

The first thing Louis had noticed after he had opened his front door was, of course, that Harry looked unbelievably good. Good in a way that had Louis pausing, his heart fluttering. The second thing was that he also looked absolutely freezing and Louis’ eyes had narrowed suspiciously. He had planned that the first words out of his mouth would be something along the lines of ‘How are you feeling?’ Or at least some sort of greeting but instead he had found himself demanding accusatorily, ‘You didn’t take a cab, did you?’

Harry had just rolled his eyes, mimicking himself from the last time Louis had seen him and swept past Louis into the flat. ‘I caught a bus, chill out,’ He said, handing over the thirty pounds Louis had left on his kitchen bench, but his teeth were chattering and it had been Louis’ turn to roll his eyes, steering the boy to the couch where the food was sitting and ordering him to eat, before he went to his bedroom and grabbed his duvet off of his bed. Harry had protested as he threw it over him but Louis felt that he was the more logical person in the situation and hadn’t listened to a word. Harry had grudgingly thanked him before piling a ridiculous amount of food onto his plate and settling back into the couch, toeing off his shoes and tucking his legs up under the duvet as well.