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

Back To You

"Hey, I ... are you at work? I'm sorry to call like this, but... I saw your article. I just need to see you..." Harry stammered into the phone.

"Yeah, just finishing up now. I want to see you too.... Can I meet you at the flat in an hour?" Louis answered, trying to contain the bubbling mixture of surprise and excitement that was building up inside him.

"It can't wait. I'm outside your office. Can I come up?" Harry asked, tugging at his skinny jeans and he peered up at Louis' office building.

"Sure. Come to the cafe on the 3rd floor. I'll meet you there," Louis said, nearly jumping out of his seat. He made sure to leap over the office plants before sprinting to the elevator. His heart was beating double time -- and it wasn't just because he was overexerting himself.

When Louis reached the cafe a few minutes later, Harry was already inside. "Hey," he said softly. He was wearing a black beanie, black skinny jeans, and a black leather jacket with white converse. Louis bit his lip, and looked at the floor, trying to hide his rapidly dilating eyes. "Hi," he replied quietly.

Weaving through the white tables, the two boys headed to the back of the cafe and took a seat in a booth, sitting across from each other. It reminded Louis of their first date -- they had been sitting in a similar style booth in that fusion restaurant. Only that night, Harry had appeared much less frightened and timid then he did now.

"Listen... I. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you," Harry began, locking his green eyes with Louis' blue ones. His shoulders looked tense and his face was paler than usual. "I just didn't want to have to talk about everything all over again... it's just really painful. And honestly, I just want to forget about that stuff... I spoke to Zayn. He admitted to being manipulative -- and I'm not quite sure he's the friend I thought he was. Honestly, I don't know if I can forgive you for what you did with him... and I'm not sure you can forgive me either.... and I know we fought. And things got weird. But what do you say, we try to move on from this?"

Louis looked at Harry with bright eyes, a wide smile spreading across his lips. He nodded, running his hands through his sleek hair. "I... I agree. Yeah, I'd like to try," Louis said with an eager nod. Harry smiled, but he didn't feel better in the way he thought he would. Based on the fluttering feeling in his stomach, there was something else that was still bothering him.

"And um. The eating disorder. That has been a huge issue in the past, and I want you to know that I have been working really hard. I'm back at work now. I have my slip ups but I'm down to once a month at the hospital. I really can fight this on my own... I can... you know, prove it to you," he said, looking at Louis with wide eyes, a bit scared as to how he was going to react. "If we do this. If we try getting back together, I'd appreciate it if you just let me work on this on my own. I appreciate support, but I need my independence. I think you were trying to care for me in ways that you couldn't with your sister... maybe..."

Louis nodded. During the hours he had spent thinking about Harry and what went wrong, he realized that he often overstepped and tried to control Harry in ways he shouldn't have. He realized now that Harry had to make the choice to recover on his own -- that he couldn't always get someone to watch him in the bathroom or come and help him with portions. That Harry had to be responsible for himself most of the time.

"I... yeah. You're right. I'll always be there if you need help, but I won't overstep like I did before," Louis said with a slow nod. "I... I missed you Harry. I couldn't stop thinking about you...all this time..."

"I read your article," Harry said, interrupting him. "Honestly, I feel the same way. Sorry for not reaching out sooner. I... I'm not over you. I still love you, Lou."

Louis nodded, slowly getting up and walking to Harry's side of the booth. "Can I?" he asked quietly, staring fondly at Harry's soft curls and big eyes. "Yeah," Harry said, scooting over to make room for him."

"I don't know if things will ever be the same. But... I'm gonna try to make things work this time around. I love you, too, H. I never stopped loving you for a second," Louis said, stroking Harry's hair softly. Harry nodded, leaning forward and gripping Louis in a warm hug, his chest muscles hard against Louis' torso.

Louis breathed in Harry's shampoo, the world blurring around him as he closed his eyes and burrowed into Harry's hard shoulders. He felt home.