roommates | l.s (unedited)

24 · scrabble

Louis

I'm silent as Harry and I step into the small space that is our dorm room. It's but a matter of seconds after the door clicks shut before I turn to Harry, a mix of anger, fear, and frustration coursing through my veins. "Please explain to me what just happened." My voice is cold and calm, sending Harry the right message.

"It's not a big deal," he grunts, shrugging off his jacket and throwing himself on his bed.

I take a deep breath before continuing. "We can't just pretend that this never happened," I point out.

"Yes, we can. And that is precisely what we will do." And just like that, Harry completely dismissed me.

So many questions are floating around in my mind, and I don't want any of them to remain unanswered. Regardless, I know that continuing to inquire on the "package" that Harry picked up will not get me anywhere. So, I settle on asking a different question. "Uhm, so who's the girl?"

This seems to grab Harry's attention since he immediately sits up and stares at me. An intense yet unreadable emotion flashes behind his eyes, but it's gone just as fast as it had appeared, and his green eyes have returned to being stone cold. "Someone I knew."

"Someone I knew"? I want to ask more follow up questions, but I have a feeling that they won't get answered. Instead, I change the topic. "Wanna do something?"

Harry's eyes quickly snap up to meet mine, and a smirk plays on his face. "Geez, Lou, we could at least get to know each other a little more before we go there."

The sarcasm in his tone is evident, yet it still brings a blush to my cheeks. "You know that's not what I meant," I mumble, trying to cover my face.

"Aw, such a shame. See, I was looking forward to-"

"Stop!" I cut him off, my face flushing an even deeper shade of red. "I meant, wanna play a game?"

Harry sits up now, tilting his head to the side. "What kind of game, hm?"

"No!" This time, I throw a pillow at Harry. "Does everything you say have to be dirty?"

"Pretty much," he replies, grinning.

I roll my eyes and try my best to suppress my smile. "We could play Scrabble?" I suggest.

"What college student brings Scrabble to their dorm room?" he asks, amused.

"Hey! Scrabble is fun and educational!" I protest, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Mhm."

I pout, making Harry sigh. "Alright, yeah, let's play Scrabble," he gives in, not bothering to fake enthusiasm. I ignore his lack of excitement, deciding that I'll take what I get.

"Yay!" I squeal, and start to rummage through my few unpacked boxes, trying to find the game. A few minutes later, I pull out the beaten-up box - it's my favourite game, okay? "Sit, sit!" I order, making us room on the floor between our two beds.

Harry lets out a grunt but complies nonetheless. "Do we really have to sit on the floor?" he complains, adjusting a pillow behind his back.

"You're not old enough to have that bad of a back, dad," I say sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Harry seems to perk up at my words, and I don't fully realize what I had said until he takes it way out of context. "Don't you mean 'daddy'?" A smirk plays onto his lips and he raises an eyebrow, my cheeks turning a shade of crimson.

"That's not what I said!" I protest.

"But it's what you meant," he counters, his smirk not faltering.

"No, it's not." I try to sound convincing, but my voice betrays me.

Harry lets out a low chuckle, shaking his head. "Sure."

I want to object, but I have a feeling that I'd just be digging an even deeper hole, so I don't respond. "So, Scrabble?" I pull the board out of its box in an attempt to change the subject. "Should I let you win?" I ask, looking up at Harry.

He snorts, shaking his head. "Should you let me win? You have this all wrong."

I bite my bottom lip in an effort to stop myself from smiling. "We'll see about that.

"I guess we will."

***

"That's not even a word!" I scream, frustration coursing through my veins.

"Sure is, look it up," Harry affirms, far too calmly. Does he not get that this is competitive! How is he so calm!?

I silently stand up and begin rummaging through one of my boxes, until I find what I'm looking for.

"A dictionary?" Harry asks in astonishment, as though searching the definition of a word in a book specifically designed for that is absurd.

"Yes, a dictionary," I clarify, though I'm not sure why that needed clarification.

"Why not just use your phone?" Even though I can't see him, I can hear the smirk in his voice.

I roll my eyes, not in the mood to argue the reliability of paper versus technology with him. To my amazement, the idiotic word is actually in the dictionary. BS. "You're kidding me!"

"Told ya," Harry smirks, making me glare at him.

"Well," I start, sure that I can find a loophole. "If you use a word, you have to know the definition of it." Ha, I think to myself.

"Easy," he answers. "'Muzjiks', a Russian peasant."

"What the- You cheated!" I scream. "There's no way you know that! You-"

"Cheated?" he asks, finishing my sentence for me. "Now tell me, Lou, how exactly could I have cheated?"

"You just did!" I screech, clenching my fists. I know it. I just know it.

"Alright, Lou. You can have the points, ok?"

"No, it's fine," I huff, pouting.

"You sure?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm fine," I half-lie. Maybe I'm being a little melodramatic, but who cares? "Good game," I mumble, though I don't sound very convincing.

Harry lets out a loud laugh, making my frown deepen. "You really get competitive, don't you?" he asks, smirking.

"Whatever." I roll my eyes, and Harry chuckles again.

"Alright. Well, winner buys dinner, so I guess it's my treat," Harry says, standing up and shrugging on his sweater.

"What? We never said that!" I protest.

"We didn't?" he frowns sarcastically. "Hm, I really thought we did."

"Nuh-uh, we didn't," I press as I stand.

"Whatever," he smiles. "Come on, I'll drop you off at your class when we're done."

Every single fibre in my being is telling me not to go with him, but his warm smile and his bright green eyes make it too hard to say no.

A/N: Do y'all ship Larry? I ship Larry! I really ship Larry...