Under The Willow Tree • Louis Tomlinson

xxxv.

xxxv. deck the halls with cheer & horror [pt.2]

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"I know, I know. No gift giving until your actual birthday but I wanted to give this to you before your big day" Harry held a small present towards Louis while he wore a cheeky grin on his face. The five boys and myself were settled on the lounge covered in blankets. The night was chilly and even though we had central heating blasting through the apartment we all still felt cold.

"Why do I have a feeling that I shouldn't trust you and this gift?" Louis asked Harry wryly. If I was Louis I wouldn't trust Harry either. Especially not with the grin he had plastered on his face.

"C'mon buddy what harm can a present do to you?" Harry cocked his head to the side and gestured to his friend to take the gift.

Louis turned his head to face me. He was snuggled up right next to me so his face was mighty close. "Should I trust him?" He asked me with a lopsided smile.

"I'm going to quote Harry on this. 'What harm can a present do to you?'" I put on my best Harry voice to make it more humorous. This caused all the boys to laugh.

Louis then reached out to Harry and took the gift from his grasp. He then sat upright so he could open the small gift easier. It was not that hard to open, the wrapping paper fell away from the gift easily. It wasn't Louis who gave Harry the first reaction from the present. Instead it was me. I gasped before sinking below the protection of the blankets to help conceal my embarrassed chuckles.

"So what do you think Louis?" I heard Harry say. It sounded like he was trying to hold back laughter.

"Well..." Louis sighed. He paused for a few moments before clearing his throat and reading the packaging, "Four Seasons Glow N Dark Condoms. An exciting way to brighten up your love life. Turn off the lights and let it glow!" Laughter filled the whole room and I hid beneath the blankets more. My futile attempt of hiding failed when Louis pulled the blanked off my face to see my reaction. My face was probably as red as a cherry. He poked his tongue out at me and them cocked his head towards Harry, "I'll tell you what we think of them tomorrow" He then winked at Harry which caused the rest of the boys to break out into cackles. It didn't see what was funny about this situation.

"How thoughtful" I muttered though my words were not heard over the laughter. Louis paused and looked at me, his face was now also as red as a cherry from laughing so much.

"It might be interesting to have it glow." Louis shrugged before leaning in to kiss me. I turned down his kiss by punching his arm instead. Louis didn't mind my punch and instead of kissing me he enveloped me in a bear hug. "Cheer up darling!" He chuckled into my hair. His hug caused the boys to wolf whistle around us which in spite of my embarrassment, it did make the moment funny.

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Eight O'clock came not long after that incident and the six of us had started spreading out across the room a bit more. Harry had found his way into the kitchen so he could pick his own fridge clean of all food. Liam and Zayn were having a great old time debating about what songs should be put on the party playlist. Their debate caused the apartment to be filled with a different song every few seconds. And then there was Niall. He was still nestled on the armchair as he was before but now he was checking his phone every couple of seconds, a dark cloud of misery dampened his usual fun mood. I wasn't the only one who had noticed his bleak mood.  Louis and I were laying down on the lounge talking and being ignored by the others when next to me, Louis whispered in my ear, "Is it just me or is Niall worried?"

"I noticed that to." I whispered back, "Should I ask him?"

Louis thought for a few moments before gently shrugging, "May as well since it doesn't look like he's going to spill anytime soon."