There's A Reason - A Larry Stylinson Love Story

Chapter 1 - I'll Get You For That, Styles

I woke up soaked and about to fall off the bed. Rubbing my eyes, I jumped to my feet with a growl. “LOUIS!” I shouted, running out of the room.

About halfway down the hall he stood, frozen with a guilty look on his face. “Did you really have to wake me up with water again? Really? It’s getting kind of old, Lou!” I darted over to him, tackling him against the wall. “Don’t hurt me! Please, Hazza, you weren’t waking up and Liam says we need to be ready to go meet with management in half an hour!” He dramatically flailed his arms, smacking me in the face in the process, and rolled out from under me.

“So you thought soaking me was a good idea? Why couldn’t you just shake me or sing or something?” He laughed, “’Cause this way is more fun!” With that, I jumped on top of him and dug my fingers into his sides. Louis rolled around, trying to kick me off him, but I held him tightly and continued to tickle him.

“Haz… Can’t breathe… Ah… HAZZA!...” He choked on his words as his face turned red from lack of oxygen. I got off and sat next to him, holding my stomach as I laughed. He slowly sat up, glaring at me murderously. “Ah, right, know what? I think it’s time for us to get ready, so yeah, bye Lou!” I scrambled to my feet and ran to my room, shutting the door behind me and turning the lock. I heard a loud thumping noise, then a groan. “I’ll get you for that, Styles, just you wait!” Then footsteps retreating down the hall.

I threw on my usual shirt and blazer combination and flipped my curls in the mirror before deciding it was probably safe to go downstairs without Louis attacking. I cautiously opened my bedroom door, peeking down the hall to see it empty. Hurrying down the steps, I plopped down in the kitchen where Niall was already busy eating.

“Morning, Niall. Any food left?” I greeted him.

“Check the fridge, oh wait I ate everything in there, check the cabinets. Lou up yet?”

“Yeah, but he’s on a mission to kill me as usual. He woke me up by pouring water on me and trying to push me off the bed, so I can’t be blamed for starting a tickle-fest.” I groaned, remembering the interview. “Who are we doing the interview with today?”

Niall finished his pancakes and got up. “Can’t remember, ask Liam. I’m going to check on Zayn and see how his hair’s doing, see you in a few.” He walked up the stairs.

As I was finishing my breakfast, Louis popped into the kitchen. Uh oh. “Harry?” he asked innocently. “Yeah?” His face seemed to grow even more innocent. Aww. Suddenly he jumped on me, knocking me backward onto the couch. “YOU’RE DEAD!” I felt his fingers in my sides; I guess this was his revenge.

“LIAM! LIAM! BOO IS TRYING TO KILL ME! HELP!” I screamed. Liam came charging down the stairs, sighing when he saw my situation. “Louis, let him go. Harry, what did you do to him this time? And have either of you guys seen Zayn?”

“Niall went up a little while ago to check on him. And he woke me up by soaking me and pushing me off the bed, so I tickled him and made him choke, and this was his revenge…” I trailed off guiltily, realizing it was my fault.

“God, do I ever get a break? Stop fooling around and finish getting ready, we leave in five. I’m going to get Ni and Zayn, and when I get back you better be in the car or so help me I will-“

“Alright! We get it!” I cut him off, walking to the door. “Lou? You coming?”

“Yeah, give me a second, I’ll be right out.” Getting in the van, the other boys soon joined me and we were on our way to the meeting.

I wonder what they’re going to tell us this time? See, we do talk to them over the phone a lot, but when they need us in person for a meeting it’s normally something big. Something we need to do to gain popularity or please the fans. Generally speaking, something none of us want to do but we have to or else we’re done. Tell me again why we agreed to sign over our lives to a group of people who have no idea what we want and feel?

“Liam, do you know what they need us for this time? And why so early in the morning?” Zayn yawned, resting his head on Louis’ shoulder sleepily. I felt a pang in my chest, though I’m not sure what it was for.

“No, no idea,” Liam replied, “but we’ll be finding out soon. We’re here.” We climbed out of the van, walking inside.

“Hi, boys! Simon and the crew are waiting for you in the meeting room. I’m surprised; you all managed to get here on time for once.” Rachel, the receptionist, greeted us.

“Thanks, Rach. I made sure we were on time, aren’t you proud?” Liam grinned at her, leading us to the elevators.

As we entered the meeting, Simon smiled. “Boys! Thank you for coming! Sit down and make yourselves comfortable, we’ve got a lot to discuss.” Great, a long, boring, meeting that only Liam will even bother to try and remember. It took some effort not to roll my eyes. Next time he has a meeting, can he please not have it in the morning? I yawned, taking my usual seat between Louis and Niall.

“As you boys know, everything you do in public is watched, recorded, and reported on by the media. Therefore, we try to have you doing things that will excite and please the fans, so you can sell more tickets and gain fame worldwide.” We all nodded, nothing new here. “Your management team and I have decided something big. It will affect all of you, not just the two directly involved in our decision. However, it is not up to you to decide whether or not to participate. You will have an interview tomorrow afternoon to announce this. I expect it to look real, not faked, and I expect you to look natural and relaxed. You all know your fans ship you guys together in ‘bromances’, correct?” Oh no, I think I see where this is heading, and it is not good at all. All I can hope is I’m not one of the two involved. We nod again.

“Good. And you all know the most popular ones are ‘Larry Stylinson’, which is Louis and Harry, and ‘Niam Horayne’, which is Liam and Niall?” Another nod. I relax, thinking that he’s going to say Liam and Niall have to pretend to date. What a relief, I don’t think I can act well enough to pull off-

“So management and I have decided that you will be announcing that Larry Stylinson is real. It is the most popular bromance, and most likely to be real, according to all the polls we have taken. Liam, Niall, we may have you two do the same sometime in the future, but for now we will just need Louis and Harry.” Oh. My. God. My jaw feels numb, my hands are clenched, and I can’t breathe. What is he saying I have to do? “You will need to be dating, at least to the public eye. This will gain the support of the homosexual and bisexual communities, and most of your fans will love that you guys are together. Basically, we need you to be seen as in love.”

I glance around at the other boys, who seem to be shocked as well. We had never even considered being gay and dating each other before; we always thought the bromances were fun and had a good laugh about them.

My gaze fell on Louis, who was already looking back at me. Our eyes locked, and it was like we could see right through each other. We were scared, nervous, overwhelmed, and confused. This wasn’t supposed to happen. We were supposed to be working on our next album, touring the world, finding our perfect girls.

We weren’t supposed to be starting a relationship with our best friend.