That's Me In The Spotlight {The Jesus Fic}.

Chapter 3

Sure enough, Louis could see from inside the cab that there were paparazzi waiting outside the Christian bookshop. Louis suspected they hadn't been so much tipped off as flat-out paid to be there.

He turned to Harry to explain that, but Harry had headphones in and his eyes fixed on his phone, playing some game. Harry was acting strange – actually, Harry was acting normal for once, like the sixteen year olds Louis was used to working with: aloof and not quite present. But he didn't seem to be acting like Harry. Then again, Louis had only known him for three days.

They exited the cab. Louis pulled Harry's headphones out. He didn't react. They stood for a minute in front of the photographers. Louis went to put an arm around the smaller boy, but at the last minute he pulled back again, just clasping his hands in front of himself instead.

That line from the producer's email had flashed through his mind; having an out homosexual man working on a Christian show is not conducive to- Louis probably should read the rest of that email properly. He'd do it on the plane home. He couldn't help but smirk when he walked into the shop, feeling a small victory over Jeremy.

Sure, they had to make this awful staged appearance at a Christian bookshop, but they weren't in Texas any more, and it wasn't surprising to see displayed on the shop's glass door was a small rainbow sticker, that telltale gay-friendly sign.

Louis did see a small 'Gay & Lesbian' section inside, but the paps were still shooting them from the street – Jeremy must be paying them well. He approached one of the salesgirls instead, quietly asking her if she could pick out a few good titles for teens from that section.

Harry was happily flicking through the music section. Louis approached him, but the boy was deep in concentration. Louis swayed just slightly to the side, giving Harry a small nudge. Harry yelped, looking up at Louis with – what was that in his eyes? He spun around and walked off to a different section, and Louis was sure he heard him say, “Sorry, I can't-”.

____________________________

They would be leaving New York tomorrow. The trip had gone way too fast. Harry still thanked God for the opportunity, remembering that he'd be back here to film a few episodes of the TV show in no time. Louis had gone out again after they got back from the bookshop.

He apologised to Harry, saying Jeremy's rule that he couldn't be seen anywhere but the bookshop was stupid. Harry was glad though, to have an excuse to not be around Louis. He said goodbye before Louis had even tied up his shoelaces. Harry sat on his bed – luckily a maid had come when they were at the bookshop, and he didn't have to face the shame of seeing his bedsheets with the small crusty splatter he'd left on them. He cast his eyes over to the books that Louis had bought him. The one at the top of the pile was titled The Greatest of These Is Love. The blurb on the back said it was a true story about a Christian minister, a woman, who had to hide her true self while leading a small-town church. She found the courage to move to San Francisco, where she started her own congregation and met her wife. God Loves All His Childrenseemed a bit less heavy, Quotes and inspiration for LGBT teens.

Harry picked up the hotel phone, deciding heavy thinking definitely
required food. “Can I get room service, please? A burger and fries, please?” “Yes sir, we can
bring that up to you in about ten minutes.” “And a cup of red wine,” escaped his mouth. It was the
same as communion, right, just in a slightly bigger size? He liked the way it made him feel. “A
glass of wine?” Glass. Right. “Yes please. Thank you, God bless.” “Er – you too, sir.” When

Harry answered the door he called out over his shoulder, “Wine's here!” It wasn't a lie exactly, the
wine really was there. If the room service guy thought that Harry was telling an adult that wine for
them was there, well, that was his assumption.