It's Difficult || Larry & Ziam - Book Two

twenty-four

"Damn it!"

"Hey. Everything okay?"

Louis ran a hand through his sweaty hair and turned to look at Harry. He hadn't been practicing his football skills during every free moment like others on the team had been, and he was pretty much suffering from the consequences now.

"I'm going to screw this up," Louis said, sighing. "I do the bare minimum I have to in order to keep my scholarship and stay on the team, but then I act surprised when I start sucking."

"You're only a freshman, Lou. It's not like the whole team is relying solely on you. And you don't even get to play that much. Don't put so much pressure on yourself."

"I need to be the best that I can be," Louis mumbled.

"You've got a lot going on. It'll be okay. Is there any way I can help?"

"If this ball would go where I wanted it to go, then there'd be no problem," Louis said, sarcastically cheerful.

Harry gave him a look. "If everyone's ball went where they wanted it to go, World Cups would be much easier to win."

"I need to sleep," Louis complained.

"Then let's go back to one of our dorms."

"But I need to practice."

Harry, annoyed, didn't say anything for a while. Louis looked guiltily down at the ball that was near them earlier and gently juggled it between his feet.

"You don't have to be an asshole about it," Harry finally said. "If you want to practice, fine. If you want to sleep, fine. I asked you multiple times what I could do, and you just complained the whole time. You knew that this was what you were in for when you came here for football."

"I know, god. I don't need a lecture, and especially not from you."

Harry bit back his equally as rude response before he said something he'd end up regretting. "Fine." He turned around to leave.

Louis watched Harry leave for about a minute, staring at the back of the boy he loved and wondering what he could possibly do or say to make Harry not mad at him anymore. He angrily kicked the ball, not caring where it went until he waited a second, sighed, and went to find it.

/ / / \ \ \

Louis knocked softly on Harry's dorm's door. When the door swung open, it revealed Niall.

"Someone's in trouble," the blond said, and Louis grimaced. Niall let him in with an, "I'll leave you two alone."

Louis faced Harry, who looked frustrated and pissed off. "Why are you here?"

"Um, to apologize?" Louis answered. What kind of question was that? He wasn't there to just say a quick hello and then leave.

"You're sure you won't end up getting pissed at me again for no reason?"

Louis sighed. "Harry, I'm sorry. You were just trying to help, and I got mad at you because I was overwhelmed with everything."

"Yeah, I figured that part out."

"Well, I'm here now. Apologizing. Trying not to be an asshole."

"So I see." Harry didn't sound very convinced. "Look, it's fine. I don't care."

"But you obviously do," Louis said uncertainly.

Harry glared at that, but didn't say anything more.

"Look, I'm just trying to apologize. I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

"Yeah, kind of."

"Can you stop being sarcastic about this? It's kind of a stupid thing not to forgive me about."

"That's not really your decision, is it?"

"Well, now you're the one who's being an asshole," Louis said, eyebrows scrunching in confusion. Why was Harry being like this? It wasn't like Louis was being insincere or mean about it, at least not until Harry started getting mean about it.

"So it's me now?" Harry nodded. "Yeah, okay, because that makes sense."

Louis sighed and chewed on his lip, refusing to say anything else about it if Harry was going to keep doing this. "I'm going back to my room."

When Louis had left, Harry let out an exasperated sigh and leaned his head back against the wall in anger. He was being an ass just then, but he couldn't help it. He'd had a horrible day, and then when he tried to talk to Louis to hopefully make his day at least slightly better, the older boy had only made it worse. And then Harry decided to do that.

Why was everything going wrong?

Harry let out another deep breath and stood up. He knocked softly on Louis's door. "Lou?"

"What? I thought you were pissed?"

"I'm sorry," Harry told him tiredly. "I had a horrible day."

"That doesn't mean you can take it out on me."

"You took it out on me!"

Louis ran a hand through his hair. "Is this why you came here?"

Harry felt tears prick in his eyes. "I need to talk to you."

"You're talking to me now."

"Somewhere not where the entire campus can hear us," Harry muttered.

Louis didn't reply, simply moving out of the threshold of the door so that Harry could enter.

"You know that kid, Connor?"

"That guy who told you that he's up for sex anytime?" Louis crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah."

"He, um, kissed me today."

Louis laughed humorlessly in disbelief. "Did you — did you kiss him back?"

"What? No. God, no. Why would I— you actually had to ask that?"

"You don't exactly look happy with me right now."

"You really think I'd cheat on you?"

Louis sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know you wouldn't. But why did he even...?"

"I don't know. He'd given me his stupid number a while back, as if I was single and wanted to get in his pants. He confronted me today and asked why I hadn't texted him — like I'd led him on or something — and got mad when I said I had a boyfriend, even though it was hardly new news. I guess he was just trying to get back at me for not wanting to sleep with him or whatever, but mostly it just freaked me out. I thought you'd be mad." His voice lowering to a soft volume, Harry asked, "Are you mad?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Louis told him, forgetting all about his anger and frustration as he sat down next to his boy and leaned his head on Harry's shoulder. "Though the idea that he was the last one who kissed you does bother me."

"Don't worry. I brushed my teeth for about ten minutes straight."

"Good." There was a pause between them, and Louis didn't say anything for a while, simply settling for holding Harry's hand in his. Eventually, he said, "I'm sorry I talked to you how I did."

"So am I," Harry murmured.

Louis leaned in to kiss Harry briefly before pulling away. "There. Now he's not the last one to kiss you anymore."