There's Nothing Holding Me Back | L.S.

Four: Parties & Kisses

Word Count: 3,450

After preparing quite a bit more for the party, people finally start to arrive at Harry's place. The first ones to ring the doorbell are Gemma and her boyfriend, but Harry assumes it's the pizza guy so he leaves Louis to snack on M&Ms in the yard.

However, as soon as Louis hears Harry yell sarcastically, "Gemma! It's been such a long time!" he runs to where they're standing at the door.

"Hi Gemma!" Louis yells, hugging her as if they're besties which, after earlier that day, they pretty much are.

"Hi guys," Gemma says. "Harry, you know Kevin." Harry pulls the boy next to Gemma into a hug. "Kevin, this is Louis, Harry's boy. Louis, this is my boyfriend, Kevin." Louis notices her almost use of the word boyfriend about him and Harry but shakes Kevin's hand with a polite greeting and ignores it.

"You guys can head out to the yard," Harry tells Louis and Kevin. "Gem, could you help me with something in the kitchen?"

Louis throws him a questioning glance because he thought they'd gotten everything from the kitchen, but doesn't say anything and instead leads Kevin into the backyard obediently, making kind small talk about his and Gemma's relationship.

Harry pulls Gemma by her sleeve into the small kitchen and whisper-yells at her, "Gem! You do not, under any circumstance, call Louis my--that! What you were about to say!"

"What about when you're actually boyfriends?" Gemma asks smugly. Harry hits her arm and glares again. Before he can say anything, a knock comes from the door.

Harry calls, "come in!" but gives Gemma a look to say that their conversation isn't over.

"Harry! Gemma! Hello!" Niall yells from the entryway. "I've brought Chloe and Skittles. I'm not taking my shoes off."

Louis, hearing this from the back door, walks back in a bit until he can see the blonde kid to say, "okay, fine, not like I spent hours cleaning that floor or anything."

Niall laughs, looking to Harry and asking, "this is the newbie you've invited? Good on ya, mate."

Looking between a smiling Niall and a Louis who's leaning casually against a wall, Harry grins. He motions for Niall to take his girlfriend and introduce themselves properly to Louis, who seems to be waiting for it.

Niall rolls his eyes but complies, holding his hand out to Louis. "I'm Niall. I've known Harry for the longest, no matter what Zayn says. Zayn lies. And this is my girlfriend, Chloe."

Face cracking into a smile, Louis shakes Niall's hand and then Chloe's before saying, "Louis Tomlinson. I'd argue that I've known Harry longest, though it'd sound quite fake seeing as we only met last night."

Chloe lets out a laugh at this, Niall smiling as well before spotting Kevin over Louis' shoulder talking to Gemma and excusing himself to chat with them.

"Your friends are nice," Louis comments to Harry after Chloe and Niall exit.

"Just wait for Liam, he's the nicest," Harry says, only slightly joking. The bell rings then, and Harry says to Louis while walking to the door, "speak of the devil. See? He even rings the bell!"

He pulls open the door and a black haired boy immedately barrels in, straight past Harry and to right in front of Louis, whose eyes widen at the sight. "Louis? I'm Zayn! We spoke on the phone earlier!"

Harry's caught up in speaking to the other boy who came with Zayn at the door so Louis doesn't have an escape from the tight hug Zayn pulls him into. It's okay, though, because afterwards he's able to exclaim, "geez, feels like we're married already. Oh wait! That's you and-"