Pride {l.s.}

36- In The Zone

The Story So Far:

Zayn and Liam are dating. Harry and Louis are dating in secret. Louis is recovering from the fire that Eleanor caused and has moved in with Harry. An anonymous person has ordered many paintings from Louis, and he begins to work on them on his first day back.

Spanish Version Available: Pride | l.s. [Traducción al español] by InLarryLove

I don't touch the food that Zayn brings in. There are about 10 paintings I need to make for the anonymous man that weren't in the gallery. The list is odd, but I immediately know exactly what I want to paint for him. Something about the words he wrote just makes me know exactly what he wants.

Paintings to be done

-A window looking out over an Italian city

-Romantic scene on a canal in Italy

-Naples

-Tuscany

-Winery

-Your choice

The list goes on for a bit longer. The descriptions are vague for most. I can tell he's apparently aiming for an Italian theme for wherever he is putting them. He put sizes and how much he is paying for each of them. It's more than enough money for me to get by for awhile. The weirdest request for a painting is one that just says 'your choice'. Does this anonymous man just want me to make one based on the other ones that I think would look good?

I make the paintings soft in color. There's a lot of tan in the buildings with a nice reddish brown color for the roofs. It's almost a burnt red color. The skies I paint are a soft shade of blue that makes me feel like they're real.

I crank through as many paintings as I can. I surround myself with the colors. My arms have tiny stripes of paint on them that somehow got there. I can feel a streak on my cheek from when I wiped my face with the back of my hand. It reminds me of the night I met Harry at the pride parade, and we were both surrounded and covered in colors.

After a couple are nearly done, I decide to tackle the one that he is leaving up to me to decide. It starts as a view of the canals at night. There's a gondola floating down the canal underneath a stone bridge in the distant. The view is from someone sitting on the sidewalk that runs parallel to the canal. The stars in the sky look nice, but the painting looks lonely. I decide to paint a person sitting on the sidewalk with their feet hanging down off the stone walkway down into the canal. I find myself so involved in the painting that the soft long brown hair appears with curls, the arms have tattoos on them, and the hands that hold the person up have some silver rings on them.

"Is that me?" someone asks from behind me. I know who it is without looking. As I sit back and look at the painting, it couldn't be anyone but him.

"I think it is," I reply. I spin around in my chair. Harry is wandering away from the doorway. His red jacket with the floral design on it is flung over his shoulder as he circles the room. I set the paintings that I finished on the floor leaning against the wall. Harry calming walks around the room examining them. I'm almost scared to hear what he has to say. I seek for his approval.

"These are beautiful, Lou," Harry says in a soft voice before walking over to me. I turn around to face the painting I just finished. Harry wraps his arms around my waist. I lean into him. "This one is amazing. What are these all for?"

"Some secretive guy commissioned me for all of these paintings. One of his descriptions just said your choice, so I painted this," I reply. I contently tilt my head up so that I can see his face.

"I love it," Harry replies. He leans down and gives me a quick peck on my lips. Kissing him upside down like this should feel weird, but it doesn't. Kissing him will never feel weird.

We tear apart when we hear the door open. I look around Harry to see Zayn. From his look of surprise and where he is looking, I can tell that he didn't see the kiss. He's looking surprised as examines the paintings that are done.

"How many are done, Lou?" Zayn asks. I can still hear the surprise in his voice.

"Just finished my fourth. I'll probably go back and make minor corrections because I still see some spots-"

"Louis, we talked about this."

It finally hits me what he's talking about and why I hear command in his voice. In embarrassment, I look away from Zayn and at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Z. I forgot."

"Forgot what?" Harry asks in confusion. "What is Zayn talking about?"

Harry's eyebrows are scrunched in that cute fashion that he does when he's confused. I just want to take my thumb and smooth his wrinkles over, but this isn't the time.

Zayn looks over to the plate with the food still on it that sits on the table. "Did you even eat?!"

"Someone tell me what's going on," Harry requests in small voice. He's never really seen Zayn yell before, and I can tell that his confusion is making him nervous about what is happening.

Zayn sighs and runs a hand through his dark hair. "Louis does this thing. He traps himself in here and paints all day. He used to just fall asleep on the floor instead of going back to his room. He gets in this zone, and he doesn't even eat or do anything else. You promised me that you would stop doing this."

"It just happened," I reply quietly. I feel tears pricking my eyes. I've let him down. "I'm sorry."

Zayn walks over to me. Harry takes a step back since he knows this is a moment for Zayn and me. Zayn pulls me off of the chair and into a big hug. He's been really into hugs since the fire incident.

"I just want you to be careful. We're just worried about you." Zayn releases me and turns to face Harry. "Get him home. Make him eat, take a shower, and get to bed. It's already getting late."

Harry nods his head. He gestures for me to come with him, and I do. His hand gently rests on the small of my back. He guides me to the car that's parked at the curb. We both climb in the car in silence.

A/N

I'm off of hiatus early! I'm so sorry about leaving you all hanging for about a month. I've been having some personal issues with my mental health; I've been doing better, and that is why I am back. Thank you for all of your kind messages during this hard time. I'll hopefully be back for awhile. Thank you all for waiting. I hope you all enjoy the new chapters that will be posted every 3 days.

xoxo raindropkiss1