Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Kitchen Talks Or How I Found My Anchor

Hi everyone, I couldn't help myself and wrote another chapter already, which I hope you'll enjoy. All the love, Summer xxx 

Ps. I found this beautiful image on tumblr and it really seemed to fit the story quite well so I added it to the chapter for you to look at. :) 

Dinner was very quiet. I wasn't hungry and only pretended to eat while the other two seemed to have skipped at least a meal, which came in handy for me, because they weren't really paying any attention to how much I was eating. From time to time I felt their eyes on me, but for the most part they left me alone while they quietly talked among themselves, obviously trying to give me some space. "Where is my mum staying?" I suddenly asked, making their heads snap up. "She is staying with your grandma. They will be coming over tomorrow to organise everything for the funeral. They are trying to hold it as soon as possible, potentially even next week." Louis explained carefully, unsure of how much he could say without upsetting me.

"Okay." I said quietly and went back to poking my food a little bit. When the other two had finished I quickly carried my plate into the kitchen and disposed of the food before they could follow me. I started filling the sink with water to wash the dishes when I was gently pushed out of the way by Louis. "Here, let me do this, love. You can go upstairs and get ready for bed. And maybe you could show Harry where the spare sheets are so he can make himself a bed on the couch?" I only nodded and he pressed a light kiss to cheek, before shooing me out of the kitchen. 

Harry was already waiting at the bottom of the stairs and silently followed me into my bed room. I opened my closet and climbed inside, my legs sticking out of the closet in to the air, to get to the sheets at the very back. "Do you need any help, love?" came Harry's amused voice from behind me and he had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing, when he saw me emerge from my search inside the closet. My hair was sticking into every possible direction and I was tangled up into a few sheets and a spare blanket and pillow. I sent him a glare and dumped the pile into his arms. "Here, your sheets, my Lord." A smirk appeared on his face and he was clearly happy that I was feeling well enough to at least attempt to joke around. "Why, thank you, my Lady." He did a mock bow before he disappeared down the stairs again to make himself a bed on the couch.

I grabbed a pair of pyjamas and got ready for bed as soon as possible, desperately wanting to escape the pain for a couple of hours. After I was finished in the bathroom, returned to the living room to say goodnight and found the two boys, or should I say young man, sitting at the table hunched over a piece of paper from which they looked up when they saw me approach. "Hey, love." Louis gave me a wide smile, which I tried to return but I failed miserably and he opened his arms and pulled me onto his lab. "Good night, love. I'll join you in a bit if that's okay with you?" he asked me and I nodded into his chest. He pulled away a bit and after a glance in Harry's direction pressed a chased kiss to my lips before he let go of me. Harry pulled me into a tight hug, as well,  and I hugged him back just as tightly, really needing to be held tonight. Night, love." He pressed a kiss on top of my head, before letting go off me and I climbed off his lab and made my way to the door. At the door, I turned around one last time. "Please come soon." I said quietly in Louis' direction, before I quickly walked back up the stairs and closed the door behind me.

Not even bothering to turn on the lights, I climbed into my bed and snuggled into my warm blankets. The dark had something comforting about it but it also meant no distraction and without wanting it, I felt the hot tears silently running down my cheeks within seconds, damping my pillow. After what could have been anything between a few minutes and hours, I heard the door open and close again and a few seconds later the bed dipped down under Louis' weight. "Claire?" he whispered and I took a shaky breath. He shifted a bit and a few seconds later, his fingers gently caressed my cheek and wiped away the tears. "Hey, love, come here." He pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly and offering the comfort, I so desperately needed. "I'm here for you, love." He pressed a kiss to my forehead and gently stroked my hair to calm me down. "Try to get some sleep now, love, you'll need it tomorrow." He whispered into my ear, before he quietly started humming Little Things and a few seconds later I was asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night after a nightmare, feeling like I couldn't breathe. As carefully as possible, I snuck out of Louis' arms and quietly made my way downstairs into the kitchen where I filled myself a glass of water. Looking out of the window into the dark night, I leaned against the sink and tried to control my breathing, my hands gripping the edge of the sink. It felt like the room was closing up on me and a silent sob escaped my lips before my legs didn't seem to be able to hold my weight anymore, making me sink onto the cold kitchen floor.

The kitchen door opened and a few seconds later, I was pulled into a warm chest, strong arms wrapping themselves around me. "Shhhhh, it's okay. You will be okay, love." Harry's soothing voice whispered into my ear. I shook my head, my body still shaking violently like a leave in the wind. "I hate this, I hate being so weak." I managed to whisper into his neck. "I know you do, love, but you are not weak. None of this makes you weak, Claire. Everyone hurts in a different way and it's far better to let it all out than to bottle it all up like you normally do. You are not weak, okay? You are one of the strongest people I know and I will always be here for you when you need a shoulder to cry on, okay?" Nodding, I tried to concentrate on his breathing, my eyes focused on the left swallow on his chest, rising and falling with every breath he took.

"Are you still up for getting that tattoo?" I asked him out of the blue after a few minutes and I could hear the surprise, but also the smile in his voice when he replied. "How could I possibly forget about that? Why are you asking, do you want to get it now?" He shifted a bit and gently readjusted me on his lab. "Yes, do you think we could go sometime soon?" I asked him timidly and hid my face in his chest. "I'll call the artist I wanted to get it done by tomorrow if you like to and you could check out his designs or the ones of his colleague and see if you like the style. If not, we'll look for someone else until you find the one you are looking for. I'd still accompany you, of course." He reassured me and I smiled a bit at the thought. "That sounds great, thank you." A light kiss was pressed to the top of my head, making my heart flutter. "No problem, Claire."

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until I felt myself getting tired again, the comfortableness of Harry's lap and chest not really helping the situation. "I think I should go back to bed." I said quietly and he hummed and helped me get up. Shivering in the kitchen without the warmth of Harry's body, I wrapped my arms around me and watched him stand up as well. "Thank you for, well, you know..." My voices turning into a mumble by the end of the sentence, my cheeks burning up. The kitchen floor had suddenly become really fascinating and I kept my eyes focused on it until I felt Harry's breath fanning over my face.

Looking up, I realised how close our faces were, our noses nearly touching, his green eyes staring down into my own with a fond smile on his face. I let out a breath, I didn't know I was holding, and closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again, I saw Harry's eyes briefly wandering down to my lips before he cleared his throat and took a step back. "You know I'll always be there for you, love." I smiled at him, this time a real smile, and after a moment of silence, I turned around and quickly walked back upstairs into my room. 

Before I shut the door behind me, I threw one last look over my shoulder down the stairs where I was met with a pair of green eyes staring back up at me. "Good night, Harry." I whispered into the darkness and waved a bit, which he returned before I shut the door behind me and climbed back into my bed. Louis stirred in his sleep and groggily opened his eyes, shooting me a concerned look. "Are you okay, love?" I nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before I snuggled closer into his chest, falling asleep within seconds.

However, downstairs in the living room, Harry Styles lay awake until the early hours of the next morning, his mind occupied with contradicting thoughts about love and friendship and the other half taken up by his worry for the girl who was sleeping upstairs in the arms of his best friend.