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

forty-three

"You're antsy today," Liam commented to Harry as the four of them sat together at lunch. "What's up?"

"Not antsy, just nervous," Harry muttered. "No, I, um, I applied for a scholarship at Man U..."

"Why would you be nervous about that?" Zayn asked.

"I also applied for a scholarship at, um, Harvard."

Louis felt like he'd been shot, for a split second. He reeled but quickly recovered, biting his lip and listening.

"That's great!" Liam congratulated.

"Yeah, you're definitely going to get it. Especially if you get valedictorian like everyone thinks you're going to do."

Louis didn't say anything. Harvard? Harvard was in America. On another continent. Louis understood why, of course, but Harry wanted to leave them all, just like that? Wanted to leave him?

"I've got to go," Louis muttered, standing up and walking away, anywhere except there.

Harry looked down. So many thoughts were racing around his mind that he didn't even know where to start.

"I'll go see what's wrong with him," Harry murmured.

"No, I'll go," Liam said.

/ / / \ \ \

Liam finally found Louis after he'd left the cafeteria.

"Whatever you're about to say, don't say it," Louis said, before Liam even confronted him.

"I don't know what I would say," Liam told him. "Other than... why? Of all the ways to react to something like that, I didn't think that'd be the way you'd react."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Maybe not, but you should."

"It's just... how can he even think about something like that? How does he think I'm supposed to do this?"

"Supposed to do what? He hasn't been accepted yet."

"Exactly," Louis said. "Yet. He's going to be accepted and everyone knows it. If anyone could get accepted into that snotty school, it would be Harry, and everyone fucking knows it."

"You should talk to him about it. You guys haven't even been together that long. I don't see how—"

"It doesn't matter how long we've been together! It could be ten weeks or ten years! That doesn't mean shit! I need him!"

Liam raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Louis hid his face in his hands. "Nothing. Just— leave me alone. I said I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm going to go get Harry," Liam threatened.

"Go ahead. I won't talk to him any more than I'll talk to you."

"I bet you will."

/ / / \ \ \

"Lou? Lunch is almost over."

"Go away. I don't want to talk to you."

"Sure you do. I'm a delight."

Louis suppressed the smile growing on his face. God, Harry would be the death of him.

Harry sat next to him, trying to make eye contact with him. "I don't have to go, Lou. You know that. I haven't made any permanent decisions yet. I'm still here."

"Of course you have to go, H," Louis murmured. "If you get a scholarship to go to Harvard, you have to go. You don't just give up an opportunity like that. Your future is important to you."

"You're right. My future is important to me," Harry told him. "But you could also be part of my future. I wasn't going to tell you yet because I wanted to make sure you wouldn't freak out over something that might not even happen. I didn't want to worry you until you had something to worry about. I care about you, Louis. I care about you so much."

"I wish everything wasn't so damn complicated with us."

"I like that about us," Harry said, grinning and taking Louis's hand in his own. "We're very melodramatic. I like that. We may have off days, but that makes the good parts even better. The worse the fights or arguments or disagreements or misunderstandings, the better the kissing and making up. We're slowly getting better at this."

"Very slowly."

"Yes, babe." Harry smiled. "Very slowly. Now, lunch is almost over, and they're worried about us, so do you want to go back, or do you want to stay here, or do you want to go back to class?"

"I suppose we can go, either to class or to lunch. You pick." Louis stood up and followed Harry. "Hey, Liam didn't happen to tell you what I told him, did you?"

"No. Should he have?"

"No, no." Louis grimaced. He partly wanted Harry to know what Louis had said, that he needed him. Louis needed Harry, and that was dangerous. The thoughts were scary and unknown and everything. Louis felt so many emotions for Harry that it worried him. Louis glanced up at the back of Harry's head and smiled shyly. Louis ignored the next thought: I need you. I love you. The words repeated themselves in Louis's mind, but he just ignored them. They didn't matter.

"You want to come over tonight?" Harry asked suddenly, successfully distracting Louis from his thoughts. "Mum's making dinner, and it's your favorite."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"I don't know. For being there for me. Not a lot of people are, you know?"

"I'm here for you, Lou. Always. I don't have to be by your side to be there for you. Remember that, okay? No matter what happens."