Let Me Show You How to Love Yourself (Larry Stylinson) ✅

Neighbors

Harry was doing sit-ups in his room when he heard a knock at the door. It was odd because it was only 12pm and he wasn't expecting Zayn and Liam to come back home for lunch until 1:30pm.

Harry decided to ignore the knock, assuming it was just someone delivering a package to the flat. Zayn was always ordering useless items off of Amazon... But the person continued to bang on the door persistently, so Harry knew he should probably get it.

He slowly stood up from the floor, holding onto his desk for support as his arms shook and he experienced another dizzy spell— an issue which was becoming all too common these days.

Once he regained his vision, he made his way to the front door and looked out the peep hole. Standing outside his flat door was a man with brown hair and blue eyes— and a small layer of stubble lacing his sharp jawline. Harry wondered what this handsome stranger was doing at his apartment. He opened the door slowly.

"Hi, can I help you?" he asked poking his head out. He didn't want the stranger to see his whole body.

"Hey, I'm Louis. New to the neighborhood," he said, extending a hand. Harry reached out and offered a weak handshake, smiling awkwardly.

"Damn your hand is cold," Louis said, raising an eyebrow and smirking at Harry with his soft lips. "Well, anyways, my mate Niall and I just moved in across the hall. He's out now but I figured I would stop by and introduce myself."

Harry nodded, delighted to find out that new tenants had finally moved in across the hall. The old ones had been rather noisy. It was an older couple who always seemed to be screaming early in the morning and had four dogs that were constantly barking. In comparison, Louis, and whoever his roommate Niall was, seemed like a refreshing change of pace.

Harry caught himself staring into space thinking about the old neighbors and realized he should probably respond to what Louis had told him. "Nice to meet you," he said quietly as he bit his lip. "I'm Harry. I live here with Zayn and Liam, my roommates..."

"Oh I met them today in the lift," Louis said interrupting. "That liam lad is a character. He ended up taking the stairs because he didn't want to be late and all my boxes were in the way."

Harry laughed softly, a genuine smile flickering across his lips for the first time in weeks. "Yeah," he replied. "Liam is very anal about being on time... Zayn just goes with it. They work together..."

"And are they together?" Louis said, raising an eyebrow. His persistent gaze gave Harry the shivers.

"Umm..." Harry felt his cheeks turn red. "Well not officially but from what I can tell it might be headed in that direction." He instantly regretted telling Louis that... why was he telling a stranger about his best friends personal life?

The answer was obvious, though. There was something about Louis' sharp blue eyes and his tousled brown hair that made Harry want to trust him. In fact, as Louis stood in front of the flat door in dark skinny jeans and a white tank top, Harry wanted to do more than just trust him....

"Oh..." Louis said, smirking again, his blue eyes widening. "And you?"

Harry stared at him. "I'm.. I'm um single. Have been for a while," he said flatly. Suddenly, his interest in His new neighbor began to wane. Perhaps he wasn't going to like this Louis fellow so much after all. Good looks are great, but being polite and understanding are even more essential, especially for someone so sensitive as Harry.

Louis sensed that he had upset Harry based on his body language — he was staring blankly and had taken a step back from Louis — so did his best to reverse the damage. "Oh no I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly. "I just think with looks as good as yours, a lad like you doesn't seem like he'd be single for long." Louis shot Harry a flirty smile and looked his lips before looking down at his black  converse.

Louis was a total flirt and he knew it. But he usually didn't get this nervous when he was around a cute guy. The minute he saw Harry staring at him with those big green eyes and long brown tresses, his heart beat started speeding up and he felt himself at a loss for words — which almost never happened with loud-mouthed Louis.

Now, as he waited for Harry respond to his not so subtle comment, Louis felt his stomach twist into knots. Good job Lou, he thought. It's the first day and you flirt with your god damn neighbor.

Harry looked Louis up and down and smiled politely. "Well thanks, I guess," he said, taking another step further back into his flat. He was sensing some strange vibes and didn't want to be apart of it. Louis had implied that he was handsome, which was absolutely ridiculous considering how fat he had gotten. Harry wasn't buying it and began to close the door further, hiding his body even more.

Louis cringed internally at Harry's reaction and decided it was time to change the subject. "Oh hey," he said, leaning against the wall with one hand. "So Niall and I got pies for a bunch of the neighbors. It's a weird fucking thing to do but we wanted to get treats from our favorite bakery before we left. And spread the love to our neighbors." Louis laughed and made an  imaginary rainbow with his hands as he explained the story.

Harry smiled weakly. "That's great. Thank you, but we don't really eat sweets much." Louis furrowed his brow, his bright eyes examining Harry's thin face. "Oh come on, at least one of your roommates will want it. Please take it. We have too many anyways," he insisted.

Without waiting for a response, he jogged back to his room, grabbing two pies from the kitchen and holding them out for Harry to see. "Which do You prefer? Cherry or raspberry?" Louis asked with a smile.

Harry didn't respond. He had been a baker for years before he moved to London, but once he started getting sick he couldn't be around sweets anymore. He remembered cherry pie being his absolute favorite — he used to make it a special way, glazing the pie crust with fruit juice for extra flavor. Now he could hardly look at the pie without wanting to vomit.

"That's really alright," he said absentmindedly, trying to shift his thoughts away from the fattening, sugary treat. He began thinking about how jealous he was of Louis for having the energy to run to his fridge and back so quickly. Harry could hardly do his exercises anymore without feeling lightheaded or sluggish. If only I could exercise as efficiently as he can... Harry thought.

"Cherry it is," Louis said handing it to Harry with a smile. Harry felt his hands fill with the weight of the pie and nearly dropped the entire thing. In fact, he would have, if Louis hadn't dove down beneath his arms and caught it. "Good save," Harry said, leaning down to grab the pie from Louis. Their fingers brushed against each other and Louis felt his blue eyes connect with Harry's green ones, a tingling sensation creeping through his whole body.

"I, um, well thanks," Harry said, rushing inside.

"You're welcome, neighbor," Louis said cheerily.  "Hope at least one of you enjoys it."

"They will," Harry replied with fake enthusiasm.

They? Louis thought to himself. So Harry was the one who had a problem with dessert....

"Harry... your hands were cold just now. Are you alright?" Louis asked suspiciously. As he looked at him again, he still found Harry extremely gorgeous, but there were obvious signs that something was wrong. His skin was a bit too pale and his pants looked a bit too baggy on him.... and the cold hands....

"Yeah, I just had a bit of a cold this past week. But listen, Louis, thanks for the pie. It was great to meet you. I just have a Skype call I have to make soon so..." Harry said almost too quickly.

Louis nodded and turned towards his own flat. "Sure, no problem. Feel better," he called over his shoulder.

Harry closed the door to his flat. Then he took the pie and immediately threw it in the trash.