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

Drinks

"Welcome, welcome!" said Louis as he answered the door his trio of neighbors. Zayn was wearing black ripped skinny jeans and a grey T-shirt and Liam was dressed similarly, in blue joggers and a black muscle tank. Louis tried not to laugh at how different they looked out of their suits and ties— he was not expecting this uber-casual wear to be their style of choice. 

Harry stood nervously behind Zayn, twisting his curls in his fingers as he looked at the floor. He had changed out of his sweatpants and was now wearing a pair of baggy black jeans— which looked like they may have been skinny jeans at one point, but were now too big for his shrinking frame. On top, he wore a grey long sleeved T-shirt, which was also baggy, and had a tiny blue pocket square on the front that complimented his green eyes.

As the boys followed Louis inside, he paid careful attention to Harry, watching for signs of any odd behaviors.

"This is a nice place!" Zayn said excitedly, taking a look at the spacious hardwood floors and modern furniture. In the corner, there was a wire table made of geometric shapes, and the coffee table consisted of a bunch of red metal squares welded together.

"Thanks," Louis replied, his blue eyes twinkling. "That's really all Niall's doing. Mr. Real Estate likes to dabble in interior design too," he admitted with a flashy smile as he thought of his talented best friend. "Ni, where are you?"

Suddenly, Niall emerged from the kitchen, struggling to hold several different bottles in his arms as he walked out to the common room. "So I have Prosecco," he said excitedly. "But I wasn't sure if everyone likes that. So I also have about -- I don't know -- 10 other drinks."

Zayn, who had grown to adore Niall after their conversation in the doorway, jogged over to help him. "Easy, Niall," he said, laughing. "Tons of drinks. Typical Irishman, right?" He said to Liam over his shoulder. Liam laughed politely, but shot Zayn a skeptical look when he turned back around. Something about their friendship seemed a bit too friendly, especially considering they had just met a few hours ago... Liam folded his hands and refocused his attention on Harry, trying to quell his jealous tendencies. 

"Hi, I'm Niall. Nice to meet you," he said, extending a hand to Liam after setting the bottles down the coffee table. "Liam," he replied, firmly gripping Niall's hand. Niall smiled awkwardly and then quickly pulled his hand away, as it was now throbbing.

"And this is Harry," Zayn said, pointing to Harry, who was unlikely to introduce himself. Harry nodded weakly and extended a hand to Niall. "I -- I really like the furniture. I took an architecture class in uni, and those geometric shapes were always my favorite," he said quietly with a small smile. Niall grinned warmly at Harry, flattered by the compliment that the timid lad had given him.

Louis, who was pouring drinks, watched carefully as Harry conversed with Niall -- it seemed like he was beginning to come out of his shell a bit. "Yeah It's mine too. Hard to get your hands on though. I had to go to eight different shops before I found this," Niall replied with wide eyes. "Then I had to barter like a mother fucker to get the price down. Can you believe he wanted 800 pounds?"

Harry laughed at Niall, surprised by how easy it was to talk with him. Harry usually tried to stay away from high energy people because they often overwhelmed him with their extroversion. But Niall was just as mellow as he was energetic, an odd combination that Harry found particularly inviting.

"You lads want to sit?" Louis asked, making eye contact with Zayn, who had just finished whispering something to Liam.

"Sure," Zayn relied, motioning for Liam to sit down next to him on the couch. Niall and Harry followed suit, with Harry purposefully choosing a seat between Louis and Liam. Liam for support if he needed it, and Louis for if he was feeling brave.