24 Hours

Part 16

I let out a shaky breath, looking at Louis with raised eyebrows. I had just told him about the offer Niall and Liam gave me. I was waiting for his response, not knowing what to expect.

"Are you going to agree to help them?" Louis asked, shifting his body so he was facing me. I searched his eyes before responding.

"I was going to ask you for your opinion before I said anything," I informed, suddenly feeling nervous. I don't know why I'm feeling this way, Louis wouldn't say or do anything bad. However, I shifted awkwardly on the soft mattress, awaiting Louis' response.

"Want to know my opinion?" Louis asked, a tiny smirk playing at his lips.

I gave a slight smile, "Yes, Lou. Your opinion is what matters most."

"Well, Harry," Louis said, his smirk growing wider, "my opinion is we leave. We go with the maniacs, as you called them, and escape this place."

I felt my eyes grow wide, my eyebrows raise on my forehead. "What?" was all I could make out.

"You heard me, love." Louis said, his voice smug.

"We can't just go with those criminals, Louis. We're not like them." I whispered, searching his eyes once more for some explanation for his nonsense.

"So what if we're not like them? We're still in Hell aren't we? Don't you hate it here?" Louis said, getting up on his knees.

"Of course I hate it here. But I'm not risking going with those guys," Louis made a big, fake frown, "I have you here. It's not as bad anymore." I added.

"Sadly, I don't feel the same way," I cocked my head to the side, confused, "I still hate it here, with or without you. So, I'm going to leave. Tonight. Are you coming or not?" Louis placed his hands on my knees, smirk still evident on his face.

"I don't get why you're going in the first place," I admitted.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because you love me?" I said, more as a question than a statement.

"What gave you that idea?" Louis asked, moving his face closer to mine.

Confusion struck again. Maybe the fact that you have told me countless times you love me, for one, I thought.

"Why would I love a pathetic, unwanted child like you?" Louis whispered. His lips were close to mine. I could feel the breath escaping them on my own. I looked down to his lips, then up to his eyes.

Didn't this happen one time before? Didn't Louis have a strange outburst like this before?

Realization hit. Yes, Louis did have a change in personality like this before. In a dream.

"This is a dream," I said my thoughts aloud.

"This may be a dream," Louis whispered, confirming my assumption, "but I still feel this way about you awake or not."

His face was still inches away from mine. Louis closed the gap with a soft, teasing kiss on my lips. I fought the urge to kiss back, reminding myself that this was a dream. This wasn't real. Louis wasn't real.

"You should wake up now," Louis whispered, pulling back.

With his smirk still clear in my mind, my eyes shot open and I gasped out for air. Slightly shaking, I unwrapped my arms from around Louis and sat up.

"Harry?" I heard his quiet, sleepy voice ask. The concern in his voice made me know this wasn't a dream. This was the real Louis, the caring Louis I fell in love with.

"Sorry I woke you up, Lou." I mumbled, placing my face in my hands. Louis lifted his head, pulling himself to sit up next to me.

"It's fine," Louis assured, "what's wrong?"

I let out a shaky breath, "I just had another bad dream."

"Oh," Louis said, thinking back to my previous bad dream I told him about. "Was I there again?"

"Yes," I pulled my face out of my hands, looking at Louis.

"Oh." Louis said again. It was obvious he was bothered that I was having bad dreams, with him being the main problem.

"I'm sorry, love." I whispered, pulling him into my arms.

"It's not your fault," Louis said, resting his head in the crook of my neck. "You can't control your dreams."

"I still feel bad about having them." I admitted. "I don't know why I'm having these types of dreams. This is the second one, who knows how many more there will be."

"Hopefully none." Louis said. I nodded in agreement. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yes, Lou."

"Good. Because it's true, I do."

"I know. I love you also. More than you could imagine." I kissed the top of his head, rubbing my hand up and down his arm.

"What time is it?" Louis questioned.

"We have thirty minutes until you have to go to Lucifer." I answered after looking at the wall clock.

"That's enough time to tell me about what happened yesterday, right?" Louis looked up at me, a small smile on his lips. I leaned my head down, connecting our lips for a few seconds.

"Yes, I suppose." I said, pulling back. Louis hummed in response. "Though you might not like what you hear."

"Tell me, then. You kept me waiting long enough." Louis said, sitting up more.

And so I did. I told him everything from the time I felt the elevator rising, to the moment where I felt it go back down.

"That's..." Louis stuttered, stunned, "that's a lot to take in."

"I know." I agreed.

"I don't know what to say," Louis admitted.

"Your opinion? What should I do." I said, hoping it wouldn't be the same as in the bad dream.

"I think you should do it." Louis answered. "This is a chance you will never get again. You can't let this pass up."

"What about you?" I asked, hugging him closer to my body.

"I'll find a way to get to you. I always do, right?" Louis said, giving a small chuckle.

"Yeah, but sometimes those ways aren't always the best."

Louis sighed, turning his head to look at me. I met his gaze, waiting for him to say something.

"When do you have to give the angels an answer?" He asked.

"Soon. In a few hours, at the least." I answered, looking from one blue eye to the next.

"Okay. You're going to say yes." Louis said in a demanding voice.

"If that's what you want," I sighed, looking down at our intertwined hands.

Louis put a finger under my chin, making me lift my head up. We locked eye contact, staring at each other for a moment. Louis then leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine. We kissed, no lust involved. The kiss was full of pure love.

"I love you." Louis whispered into the kiss.

"I love you also." I muttered, pecking him on the lips once more before pulling back.

"I better get going," Louis sighed, standing up. He walked over to where his shoes were placed, pulling one on at a time. "When I get back, though, you better still be here and not in Heaven."

I gave a small laugh, "Don't worry. I'm not leaving without you."

Louis turned around, giving me a small smile. He walked forward, kissing my temple one last time before leaving.

"I mean it," I said to no one in particular, "I'm not leaving without you."