mostly ghostly

2001

#2001

The stars are out but you shine brighter than all of them.

Louis smiled and quietly said, "no. You do."

Harry rolled his eyes and squeezed the boy's hand affectionately.

They were walking in the back of the group so that Louis' cousins (they came for the Thanksgiving holiday but stretched their visit to three weeks before it) and Jay were in front of them to keep an eye out if they were paying any attention to Louis and saw that he was speaking to someone not around.

An hour passed since they began their Halloween hunt.

They were stopping by their seventeenth house, two blocks away from Louis' street.

The six boys and girls that were Louis' cousins ran to the doorbell and recited trick-or-treat to receive their candy.

Louis didn't follow since he was pretty much occupied by Harry.

Jay gave him a questioning look but didn't hold onto the strangeness.

The boys came back, their bags slightly heavier and smiled wider.

"Let's go to that house! I heard from other people that the people there would give us double the candy if we ask nicely." suggested Sam, Louis' cousin who lives in London, and at the words double the candy, the others went running down the street.

With another weary sigh, Jay bounded after them, calling them in the dark.

Louis laughed, jogging a bit to catch up.

Slow down, babe, so we can talk a little.

Louis slowed down to a paced walk and nodded.

Harry looked around before turning visible.

"Now we can talk." he said with a smile.

Louis nodded slowly and took in Harry's appearance.

He was the same as ever, clothes and all, but something was different.

Harry's aura changed to a more happier one.

Louis could feel it vibrating off the smile.

"Lou? hello?"

"Sorry..." muttered Louis, shying away from Harry's curious gaze.

Harry shook his head, "what were you thinking about? And don't say that it's nothing."

Louis shrugged and stayed quiet for some time, before asking an entirely different subject.

"Haz?" he called.

"Yes?"

There was pause that both of them felt with intensity and dramatic crescendo.

"Can you tell me now? The answers?" Louis asked, his eyes elsewhere.

Harry didn't say anything, quite taken aback for he didn't expect that.

He thought of what the harm it was to tell Louis everything and then the answer to that question stopped him from doing so.

He sighed, "not just yet... I'm sorry."

Harry was grateful when Louis dropped the subject and returned smiling though it was less vibrant and energetic as before.

But what could he do?

How could he tell Louis what his mother did to him that resulted in his unfair death and eternity of remaining on Earth as a bitter ghost.

The boy was barely ten and the information couldn't be handled by a eighteen year old.

No way was he going to reveal everything anytime soon.

"Mum's coming." warned Louis and Harry vanished again even though he wished he didn't have to.

"We have to stick together, Sammy. Don't run off again!" scolded Jay, leading the down casted group back to where Louis stood.

She smiled at her son and turned back to her nieces and nephews.

"Since Louis listened, he gets to choose which house to go to next."

Seeing his cousins lingering look back and his little interest in candy hunting, Louis shrugged and suggested that they go to the house that Sam was talking about.

Louis earned chants of agreement and thank you's from around.

Jay nodded, "alright but we stick together!"

A bunch of 'yes Auntie Jay' and 'we will' were mumbled before they calmly fast-walked, following sam to the promised house.

Again, Louis stayed in the back to have a little bit of privacy he could get.

He looked around for a second.

His mum was occupied and stressed to keep everyone in her vision, his cousins were keen on arriving at the house and getting double the amount of the candy portion as their greedy hearts desired.

"Harry?" Louis whispered to his left where Harry last was before he became invisible.

First time hearing you say my name, Louis. Feels a bit strange from 'Haz'.

Louis laughed but stopped when his older cousin, James, turned to look at him.

He coughed it off and it worked.

The old coughing excuse, hm?

"Yeah..." Louis admitted embarrassingly, noticing the teasing tone.

No need to be shy, Louis... Oh, look we're here.

Louis looked up and Harry was right.

The group came to a stop in front of a skeletal-decorated house and Sam looking eager to run up and ring the doorbell.

Let's go get some candy, yeah?

Louis discreetly nodded and his mum gave the approval for all of them to go up the porch.

He stood behind Sam and her sister, Mary, to the door.

Harry was still beside him, Louis knew that for Harry was holding his hand and managed to still while they were jogging up the stairs.

The door opened, revealing a girl in a witch's costume and a massive bowl of assortments of name-brand candy.

All seven of them took a turn at grabbing two fistfuls of candy from the bowl and into their own bags.

Once they were back with Jay and did a head-count and decided to go back home, did Louis start talking back to Harry.

"So much candy..." Louis muttered under breath as he looked inside his heavy bag.

Harry chuckled in his mind.

You're going to get diabetes, Lou. But I don't care. I'll still love you no matter what.

Louis closed his bag, "really?"

Of course. Remember promise number one?

Without hesitation, Louis nodded, fairly remembering since he always thought about it and Harry having reminding him every time.

"Forever and always."

Harry swayed on his feet, almost stumbling back as an emotional warmth passed over him.

There wasn't one thing that he didn't love to death about Louis.

Not a single damn one.

Harry held Louis' hand in both of his, pressing to the small spot on the left side of his chest.

He wasn't sure if Louis could feel him properly but he hoped that he knew what he was doing.

True to my heart, Louis.

[A/N: Cute af but can't say the same for the next chapter...]