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

thirty-seven

"I'm dating Harry. Go ahead and get your shock and shit out of the way, because I just wanted to tell you guys and it's driving me crazy."

Zayn only looked mildly surprised, since Louis had told him that he liked Harry, but he didn't know how fast it'd progress, especially with Louis's hesitance when it came to big stuff like that.

But Liam, however...

"And neither of you thought to mention this at all to me?"

"I'm mentioning it now, aren't I?"

"We told you about ours. Why'd you wait to tell us?"

"You waited to tell me until you were officially boyfriends, so why are you getting mad at me?"

"That was different. We had no idea how you would react. With this, you knew we'd support you and understand it. Come on, Louis."

"Alright, just because you got in a relationship before I did, it doesn't mean that yours is like mine. And I had no idea what you'd say about it. You don't have to love all gay relationships just because you're a part of one."

Liam rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Li, come on," Zayn said, softly. Louis seemed a little defensive about it, but Zayn could see that he just didn't want a lecture or a warning or an are you sure about this? All he wanted was the support of his best friends, and Zayn knew this, and he wanted Liam to know it, too.

"Did he tell you before this?" Liam asked him, almost accusingly. Zayn glanced at Louis before he said anything he wasn't supposed to.

"I told him that I liked Harry a little while ago. We only got together officially a couple of days ago. I honestly don't see why this is such a big deal."

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Got held up in math," Harry greeted them with a smile new to the conversation.

Liam rolled his eyes again. "When were you going to tell us?"

"Tell you what?"

Louis scoffed. "I told them. Li's making a big deal out of it. I honestly don't know why it's so important to you."

Liam didn't answer, completely ignoring Louis for the rest of lunch and only speaking to Harry a little bit.

/ / / \ \ \

"What the fuck was that about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Z," Liam replied, even though he knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You're lying about that. Why do you think you can just bash him for this? You think it's not new to him?"

"He told you before he told me. That should say something."

"He confided in me because I know what it's like to be scared about this type of thing. You act like it's barely anything, like having a boyfriend when everyone expects you to have a girlfriend isn't all that difficult. News flash, Liam: it is that difficult. Don't act like he's not your best friend. Don't act like he hasn't been there for you. He's been through a lot, and if Harry makes him happy, we shouldn't try to make him feel bad about it. Now give me the real reason you're acting like this, because I know you already know all this shit."

Liam sighed in exasperation. "It's nothing!"

"It's obviously something, since you're being like this."

"I don't want to talk about it. It's stupid."

"You honestly think that I'm going to call you or whatever you say stupid?"

Liam hesitated before sighing again in defeat. "I know we're close to Harry now, but we've been close to Louis longer. I don't want him to ditch us just because he's got Harry."

"You don't think he feels like he's being ditched by us?" Zayn asked softly.

"Has he told you that he feels like that?"

"No, but it's pretty easy to tell. When you're in a group of three best friends and two of them start dating, it's like the other one is a constant third wheel by default. That can't feel too good on him. Because there are times when you and I hang out when Louis isn't there, just like how Harry and Louis hang out when we aren't there. You can't blame them for doing the same thing you're doing."

"I just want not to feel like I'm being left behind," Liam said, burying his head in Zayn's shoulder.

Zayn comfortingly rubbed his boyfriend's back. "Talk to him. Talk to Harry. Don't sit back and let us slip away from each other."

/ / / \ \ \

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Louis answered shortly. He didn't want to talk, even to Harry.

"No, you're not."

"If you already knew the answer, why'd you ask the damn question?"

"Alright, hold on." Harry moved so Louis had no choice but to look him in the eye. "What's the big deal, Lou?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters. Answer me."

"Liam doesn't understand how difficult it is for me to get used to something like this," Louis said finally.

Harry sighed. "You guys are so dumb sometimes. He knows how difficult it is; he just doesn't relate. The whole 'I'm emotionally stable and happy with my sexuality' thing came easier and quicker to him than to you or Zayn. And that's fine. You take as much or as little time as you need to let it mentally sink in. But don't use it against each other. You're best friends. This is the stuff you guys need to be able to talk about together. There will be times when you need to talk to them about something you can't or don't want to tell me, and you'll have to go to them, depending on which one pisses you off the most then. It's not an easy thing, love, and you can't rush it or play around with it. It's delicate. And you've got to be careful."

"I'm scared to mention you to people," Louis told him, guiltily. "And not even in the," he lowered his voice shamefully, "boyfriend way. It can be something like telling someone something you said to me, and then I'd avoid saying your name and say 'my friend' or something instead. I hate that. But, at the same time, I want to kiss you and hug you and even be stupidly cliché and hold hands with you in the hallway. But when I think about actually doing any of that, I become too worried about what other people see to do anything about it. The worst thing is that I still want to, though. And I'm not so dumb to think that people haven't seen us talking in the hallways and at lunch and in class, but I don't like knowing that I'm ashamed of you. It makes me feel horrible, like I'm a horrible boyfriend. I just want to be confident enough to show you off, you know?"

Harry blinked and paused before answering, "Of course I know, Lou. You act like I've never been through this before. I know what you're talking about. And you aren't actually ashamed of me and being seen with me, because you're talking to me now, in the middle of the hallway. You're just worried about how people will see you after they find out you're dating the gay kid. They already know you're friends with me, so they still like to make fun of you — I've heard it — but they don't mean anything. Fuck them. Who cares if they talk, because I've got you and you've got me and Zayn and, yes, even Liam, support us, and we're doing okay for the first several days. Don't worry."

"Okay," Louis murmured, letting Harry's words sink in. "Okay. Yeah. We're doing fine. What I'm feeling is totally normal."

Harry didn't say anything after that, only smiling with his heart pounding in his chest. I love you, he thought, not surprisingly. Louis was just new to this, but he was eager to improve, and Harry was happy to help whenever he could.

"Thank you," Louis said, after a while. "A lot. For everything."

"Thank you," Harry replied.