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

Dilemmas

It was little past 8pm when Louis heard a knock on the door. Niall was with Sophie tonight, so he had called delivery for dinner and was fully expecting his steaming pad thai with peanut sauce when he answered the door. But instead of the delivery man -- who knew him a little too well after just a few months of living in the flat -- it was Liam who was standing that the door.

"Um, hey," Louis said awkwardly as he raised his eyebrows at Liam. He was doing a pretty bad job of hiding his surprise. "Hey, can we talk? Sorry to just show up... but it's about Harry," Liam said, his brown eyes connecting with Louis' blue ones. Louis was starving before, but now he was starting to feel nauseous at the thought that something might be wrong with Harry.

"Sure, is he okay?" Louis said, leading Liam inside and closing the door. He bit his lip nervously as the two boys walked to the living room. "He's okay," Liam said with a slight nod. "But... I don't know. He's still struggling and we're worried about him."

Louis nodded, folding his hands on his lap. He was so surprised by Liam showing up at his door that he had forgotten that he was wearing purple frayed pajama bottoms. "Yeah, that makes sense. So what did you want to talk about?" Louis asked, wishing Liam had at least texted first so he could change out of his lounge wear.

"Yeah. So first off, I wanted to thank you so much for recommending that treatment facility. You have no idea how much progress he made -- probably more than at any of the other centers combined," Liam began, trying to start off on a positive note before he got into the real reason he was here.

"Yeah, of course. If you ever need anything else, I'm always here. I'm glad it helped him," Louis said politely. It was obvious he didn't feel comfortable around Liam, as he was being overly courteous and cautious with his words, which was nothing like the loud mouthed personality he demonstrated in front of Niall and his coworkers.

"Thanks. But yeah, I just wanted to talk about Harry a bit. This whole transition back has been rough on him," he said tapping his leg impatiently. "I'm sure it is. Fizzy had a tough time readjusting too. Just takes time and patience. I'm sure you guys will help keep him on track," Louis said, reassuringly. He glanced over at Liam, who looked so tense and frustrated that he was afraid he might hit him if he said something wrong.

"That's the thing. We will... but I'm not sure it's such a good idea for... well for you to be involved with Harry right now. He told me you kissed... and that you were getting undressed. And normally, that kind of stuff would never concern me. But Harry is really fragile right now, and I don't want a relationship setting him back," Liam said, glaring at Louis. Louis nodded slowly, trying to process what Liam had just said to him. Both boys could be very fiesty if they wanted to be, and Louis didn't want to find out what would happen if he started to challenge Liam.

"I completely agree, Liam. Those things did happen, but I respect Harry's recovery and the minute he got uncomfortable, we stopped. The thing is, he initiated the hookup both times.... I just let him lead and followed his pace. I wasn't going to do a single thing he wasn't comfortable with," Louis said quickly. "And for the record, we're not in a relationship. We were going to go on a date. Harry asked to go on one. I'm letting him take charge here, Liam. I swear..."

Liam stood up quickly, balling his hands into fists. As Liam towered over Him, Liam started to wonder where Niall kept the baseball bat for intruders.... you know, just in case he had to whoop some businessman ass. Not that Louis had any experience with fighting. He had taken one self defense class a few years ago and spent over half of it hiding out at the water cooler while the other guys learned the moves. 

"Listen to me," Liam growled. "I don't care who started it. You need to end it. Harry can't be in a relationship right now. He was throwing up today and he said he did yesterday too. Because he felt weird about his body. Because you made him feel weird about his body."

Louis jumped up and stood next to Liam, pretending to size him up but secretly freaking out over how much taller and more muscular he was. Regardless of his size though, he wasn't scaring Louis. I'm done holding back, Louis thought. This guy's a prick.

"Alright, Mr. Payne. I think you're upset about Harry's lapse and you're looking for a scape goat here to take the blame. But here's a news flash. Harry isn't supposed to come back from rehab magically cured-- no matter how much weight he gained at the facility, no matter how much better he looks now. He's still sick in the head, Liam. And that's not your fault or Zayn's fault or my fault or even his fault. That's just how he is right now," Louis spat. "And to tell me that I gave him body image issues? That's bloody ridiculous. He had them before I even met him-- and for the record, I spend all my time telling Harry how god damn beautiful he looks and I never once made him feel 'weird about his body.' He has body dysmorphia, Liam. And if he didn't he would see that he looks like a god damn super model and I look like a piece of trash in comparison...."

Louis' face turned red at the last part, as he realized he was admitting his own insecurities to Liam. But he quickly kept going, secretly hoping Liam wouldn't notice. "If you don't think Harry should be in a relationship with me, I understand. But if your only reason that we shouldn't be together is because you think I'm impeding upon his recovery, then you're wrong. Because I'm not. And don't you think it would hurt him and break his heart more if I left now?"

Liam stared at Louis, grimacing with dark eyes. "You have some nerve, Tommo," he said as he shook his head. "Harry is my friend, my responsibility. You don't know what's best for him. You don't get to tell me what's best for him..." He prodded his index finger into Louis' chest as he spoke.

Louis jumped up and pushed Liam's hands away. "Don't put your hands on me in my home," he growled. "And for fuck's sake get over your jealousy issues. Just because you knew him longer doesn't mean you can help him better. Why do you think you know all the answers? Because you wear a suit and carry a brief case. Fuck off. Get out of my house."

"I have half a mind to--" Liam began, lunging towards him. But he was cut off by the sound of a knock on the door. Louis had never ran faster in his life, his purple pajama pants flapping as he arrived at the door and opened it. "Oh my god, Kevin. Thank god you're here," Louis called to the delivery man. "Can you just excuse me a second, my friend is on his way out, aren't you?"

Liam flashed Louis a smirk and nodded. "Yes, I'm headed out. We'll finish this conversation later. Have a lovely day," he said as he walked across the hallway, his muscular arms shaking as he tried to control his anger.