“This is our room?” Louis looks around incredulously.
I have to admit that it is kind of small for five teenage boys. I sigh at the mess this room’s most probably going to be in a couple of days, and move towards one of the bunk beds.
“I’ll take the single bed if that’s okay.” Zayn says.
“I pick the top!” I wince at Louis’ loud voice. It’s too early for this.
“I guess I’ll take the bottom, then.” I settle my bags in the bunk below Louis’. Niall takes the bunk below Liam’s.
“I’m gonna go walk around.” I say after a few silent moments. Louis looks up from his phone and smiles, “I’ll come with you.”
We make our way down the hall and past the other contestants’ rooms.
“Oh look their room’s much bigger than ours, and we’re five.” Louis points at the room to our left. It’s Belle Amie’s room.
“Yeah, but they’re girls. They need space and stuff.” I try to reason with him.
He just scoffs and takes my hand. I grin at the contact and lace our fingers.
After going through every single room in the house and chatting with almost all the other contestants, we reach the front room.
“Wanna go out to the back yard?” I ask Louis.
“Sure.” He replies.
“But it’s cold. Maybe we should go get your sweater.” I say, eyeing his thin T-shirt. The weather had gotten noticeably colder here in the UK, during our week in Spain. It’s already October and it should start snowing in a month or so.
“I’m fine, harry.” Louis rolls his eyes.
“Fine. But don’t think I’m going to be giving you my sweater when you’re freezing your balls off.”
But that’s exactly what happens. Everyone saw it coming anyway.
“Thanks again for giving me your sweater, Haz.” I can see the sarcastic glint in his eyes but let him take my hand nonetheless. The back yard is quite spacious with dried up grass and trees with browned leaves.
Louis lets go of my hand before walking up to a bench that sits between two big oak trees. I follow him there and sit down next to him. We sit back for a few minutes just looking up at the clouds with Louis’ arm around my shoulder before he speaks up.
“You know, I never really understood why you agreed to share that hotel room with me so quickly.”
I blush at the memory; I was so eager to have an x factor friend that I hadn’t really noticed how weird the whole situation was.
“Well, umm—I didn’t—you know, I still can’t believe that you’d asked me, a stranger, to share a room with you.” I try to divert the attention away from my embarrassing tendencies.
“Harold, I am eighteen, a legal adult, so I don’t think anything is really wrong about that. As for you...”
He lets the sentence hang between us. Oh screw it.
“Fine,” I sigh. “I just really wanted a friend, okay?” he smirks at me. “I just felt like I could trust you and I’m not used to being alone because my mom babies me too much and I thought that in a way you’d look after me.” I let out an exasperated breath and turn to him. His smile’s gone soft and he’s rubbing my neck gently.
“I know,” He starts. “ you just looked so young—well you still do—and I was thinking of that extra bed and poor wittle harry who has to get a room all by himself or possibly worse; with Wagner.”
