mirrors (larry stylinson au)

2: 'cause your shine is something like a mirror

Louis was there when Harry asked his first girlfriend out. Well, it's not like he was lurking. He was calmly playing FIFA when he heard a loud shriek from the other side of the mirror. Afraid that something bad had happened to Harry, he saw a really excited blonde quite literally jumping on top of Harry and start kissing him, so he guessed he had asked her out and she had said yes quite enthusiastically.

About two minutes into the kiss, when Harry leant his back on the floor with the blonde all over him, Louis decided that, although being there while Harry did his homework was like the green-eyed boy had an invisible flatmate, being there watching him make out with his girlfriend was not so ok. He grabbed a spare blanket and hanged it from the top of the mirror, giving Harry some privacy. And yeah, giving him some peace of mind. What was that knot in his stomach?

Next morning, he took the blanket down. Harry didn't look old enough to keep a girl in his room at night, but he had left the mirror covered throughout the night. He needed to feel alone.

Harry had no company anymore. He was still in bed, which was uncommon. Harry was not too much of someone who stayed in bed for long, like Louis was. Even on weekends and during the rest of Christmas, he had got up earlier than Louis. This time he was still there, lying on his unmade bed, with a white pyjama T-shirt on, staring at the ceiling like he could break it just by looking at it. He was frowning in that focused glance he had when he was reading or playing a hard part of a video game, and he seemed a little worried. Louis wanted more than ever to actually know Harry, so he could go there and ask him what had happened.

Instead, he got up, put his jeans on, trying not to make too much of a deal of it and left the house to meet his boyfriend for some party supply shopping for their new Years' Eve party.

...

Harry and the blonde didn't last too long. Felicity was her name, soon discovered Louis. She came in one day, while Louis was walking round the bed practising his role of Oberon, king of fairies, and being distracted by Harry, who seemed quite nervous in his own side. Harry pecked her lips and pushed her away quite fast, making her look somewhat surprised.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Harry said. Felicity nodded, and they left. Harry came back, alone, when Louis had already arrived from Drama practise, three hours later. He looked disappointed, sad and somehow determined. Louis felt lost: he usually knew what was going on in the other boy's life, but this time, he had no idea. Again, he wished he knew the boy in real life. Or was it real life?

...

Louis tried going to the bakery again when Christmas vacation ended. It didn't work. There was still no Harry working there, and he received the same strange look at the question, from a different worker this time.

He even dared to invite Stan to his room to play FIFA, watching his reactions carefully to see if he saw anything weird in the looking glass. That very same day Harry had left to visit his grandparents, and was away for three days, so it didn't work. Louis decided to just let it be. In reality, he didn't want Harry to stop being his very own secret.

He found out Harry's birthday was the 1st of February because his entire family came in his bedroom that morning singing Happy Birthday before Harry woke up. Harry always woke up early, so Louis was certain the end of the world had just started when he started hearing some distorted voices singing at what felt like two in the morning. That day, when he was coming back from school, he passed by a nice bookshop. Something pulled him in, and before he realised it, he was waiting in the queue, a leather journal clasped in his hands, about to ask the salesperson to wrap it for a present.

That same day was when he realised how madly in love with Harry he was, and in how much trouble he was. Because he could never be with him, right? For God's sake, Harry didn't even exist. Or did he?