Brother

Ten

Harry's POV

I've been over at Louis' house everyday sense he got the letter. I've been helping prepare Ellie's room, and stocking the house for her arrival. Louis keeps questioning why I've been so helpful, because normally when I'm at his house, all I do is lay around and play video games. I'm genuinely happy to help, and every time his phone pings and says it's from Ellie, I can't help the congregation of butterflies rallying in my stomach.

I don't know why it's happening. Louis is my best mate, and I feel bad that I'm catching feelings for his little sister that neither of us have met. But something about it feels...right. Sure Louis has told me stories about her from when she was younger, and he had a few pictures of her around the house that his mom had sent him, but this feeling I have about her didn't start until he told me that he got in touch with her. I wish I knew why.

I want to ask him for her number. Blame it on a safety reason. That if she can't get ahold of him she has me. But I fear he'll see right through that. I mean he's already extremely suspicious of me lately.

"Harry mate. What are you thinking about? You've been sitting there zoning out of your coffee cup for like ten minutes." Louis' voice snaps me back down to his dinning table that I'm current seated at.

"What? Was I? Sorry. I didn't sleep much last night." I quickly thought up to say. It wasn't an entire lie, I hadn't gotten to bed till late last night. But the reason was because I'd been thinking of Ellie...

"Yeah. When I came out to use the bathroom around 2am you were still watching tv on the couch. You didn't even seem to notice me." Louis informs me. The truth was, I did notice him. I quickly turned my attention to the tv when I heard his bedroom door open so he wouldn't see me looking at the picture Ellie had sent him in her letter. Studying at her hand writing.

"I just couldn't sleep you know. And I don't wanna go home. It's so lonely there." I explain. That was true.

"I think you spend more time here then you do at your house!" Louis laughs out. "Honestly, it'd make a lot of sense for you to move in here. You have some of you stuff here anyways!"

I chuckle at the great through. "Hey yeah! Maybe I can! That'd be cool!"

"Yeah for sure. We'll have to talk about it more later, but right now, I need to run to the store and get a few more things for El's room." Louis tells me while pouring some coffee into a to go cup.

"For-sure! Do you mind if I tag along? Maybe I can help." I ask him.

"Sure! I'd love the company." Louis tells me and I mentally fist pump the air. I like helping pick out things for Ellie. It makes me seem closer to her.

We grabbed what we needed and headed out the door. We took Louis' car and made our way to target. The ride was pretty quiet. The radio was playing, a Twenty One Pilots CD that was in the disc reader, and we listened to it the whole way there. It was only a 15 minute drive. We got a parking spot right up from, which was surprising because it was around 10am and there were a lot of cars out front.

We got out of the car and I followed behind Louis into the building. I walked over to get a cart from the herd of them, then continued to follow Louis around the store. We finally stopped on an isle that had bedding and Louis looked around at all of it, completely confused.

"Would be she want cotton, or flannel sheets? What colors would she want? Do you think she wants some with cute designs on them, or not?" I think he was mainly talking to himself about the whole thing, but I pitched in my thoughts on it nonetheless.

"Mate, I think she'll be happy with whatever you pick out. Try to think of things you know about her and pick from there. For instance we know that she's always very cold, and you keep the house chilly, so flannel might be nice to keep her warmer at night." I stop and question where all that had come from, he just nodded slowly at me, while giving me a look that I'm not sure what the meaning behind it was.

After we chose the pink flannel sheets and a nice fluffy white comforter and some new soft pillows for her bed we walked around the store getting random goods. We bought some cookies, new games and we found ourselves on the toy isle where we both each picked out Ellie a stuffed friend for her new bed. We headed to checkout, and $124.34 dollars later we were packing the bags into the car.

• • •

After a 15minute car ride back to the house, and all the bags were loaded into the house, we went upstairs to put everything together. I started the laundry and washed Ellie's new sheets while Louis put away all the food we bought.

Louis must have been done with putting away the groceries, because while I was stuffing the sheets into the washing matching steadily filling with hot water, he came around the corner into the room looking rather stressed.

"Harry" He starts in a breathy way that I can't quiet read. "I need to confess something."

I nodded my head in acknowledgment and he continued.

"The closer it gets to Ellie flying out here, the more nervous I get. I don't know how to be alone with her. I fear everything will be awkward, or I'll do something wrong. I just don't know. I keep thinking of all these things that could go wrong, and I'm scared she's not gonna like me..." he just kept ranting on and on until I spoke up.

"Louis calm down. Take a deep breath mate. You're going to be just fine. She's your sister and she's beyond excited about this, and so are you. You can't do anything to screw it up." I tell him with a small smile.

He smiles back and takes a deep breath like I said to do. "Thank you for that Harry." A heavy sigh leaves his lips. "Do you think, that maybe, if you wanted, you could stay here? While she's visiting? I mean you totally don't have to, it's just..."

I cut him off before he had a chance to finish his sentence. "I would love to!" I sounded alittle too excited, so I made a comeback. "My house is too lonely, there's nothing to do there, plus I'd really like to meet your sister and get to know her."

He looks relived, and a bit skeptical. A small, closed lip smile picks up on his lips while he looks at me, then his eyes travel to the laundry I'm doing. "Hey thanks for doing that Harry." He nods towards it.

"No problem Louis. I'll holler when it's done and you can help me make her bed." I tell him. He nods an okay, then turns and walks away.

I can't help myself from jumping into the air with excitement. Louis asked me to stay here, while Ellie's visiting! I'll get to know her and spend time with her! There's a part of me wondering why I'm so excited for this, but there's another part that isn't. I know it's wrong that I have these feeling for her, and it's even worse that I hope she'll feel the same for me, but that doesn't stop the huge, dimpled cheek smile that's plastered on my face from going away.

"Maybe, just maybe there'll be something there." I think to myself, but I mentally facepalm when I remember the fact that she's my best friends little sister, whom I've never even met...