Unconventional (LT x TS)

Chapter 1

       As their lips parted, he looked into her eyes. They were like the sky, endless, vast, and beautiful. "Your eyes . . . ," he started to say, but his alarm clock jolted him awake.

       Louis sat up with a start, before flopping back down again and throwing his arm over his eyes. It was his third dream about her this week. Taylor Swift was quite literally all he could think about, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. Glaring at his alarm clock, he rolled out of bed and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

      —
         "...PR stunt!" Harry snapped into attention, noticing that everyone was looking at him. No one seemed aware that he had been asleep a mere four seconds ago.

       "Er- sure?" Harry guessed. That was his first mistake.

       —

         Harry hated this. He didn't understand why Taylor Swift of all people was the subject of his PR stunt. He also didn't understand why the love of his fucking life was staring at her like she held the key to the world. Swallowing his feelings, he refocused on the meeting. Some people were talking about royalties and contracts, but all he could think about was the way Louis kept stealing glances at Taylor. She sat in between them, nodding along and smiling sweetly when Louis looked at her. It was exhausting to watch.

       After what felt like hours, but was probably closer to ten minutes, Harry found himself next to Louis, on their way to their flat. He watched Louis drive, trying to read the other boy's mind. Louis looked over at him with raised eyebrows. Harry shrugged and focused his attention on his shoes.

      "She's beautiful, isn't she?" Louis asked no one in particular.

       Harry's gut wrenched.

      "Taylor?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

      "Yeah, mate. I should ask her out sometime, yeah?"

       And if Harry was going to spend the rest of his night binge watching Friends and eating ice cream, no one had to know but him.

      —

       If anything, Louis Tomlinson was decidedly not a coward. He really, really, really wasn't. Therefore, he had no real explanation as to why he was staring numbly at Taylor Swift. Sure, last night he had entertained the idea of asking out Taylor, but he knew that realistically, it wasn't going to happen. There was no way, he thought, as he watched her grasp Harry's hand, lightly swinging it in between them.

       "...and then Liam will turn around and pretend like he didn't know the cameras were there, and Harry, you'll walk faster, as if you're trying to get away from the cameras, and," and Louis didn't really care. He didn't care about their new PR manager who was currently not-so-subtly glaring at him. He didn't care about the stunt, and he didn't care about the money, either. Louis focused his attention mostly on Taylor, who, of course, was invested in the meeting. He couldn't stop staring at her, and it was crossing the line of creepy. He physically tore his gaze away the next time he caught himself, and he slouched slightly.

         It wasn't his fault that Taylor was quite literally captivating. She was the epitome of the sun, and everything that Louis had ever wanted. He thought he strictly liked boys, but now he was just confused. He'd admit that he had a fleeting crush on his curly-haired bandmate, but as he said, fleeting. Louis had snagged his fair share of males, and gone down on quite a few dicks — and enjoyed it all. So his new found interest in a certain blonde haired, red lipped girl had him almost writhing in confusion. Blinking one, twice, three times, he realized that everyone around him was moving.

      "OUTING TIME!" someone behind him shouted. Louis whipped around, and, how did their PR manager get there? He quickened his pace, following everyone into an unmarked white van. Not suspicious at all.

—

       As Louis flopped into bed that night, he felt physically drained. The outing had lasted well over four hours, and consisted of them all in various, 'natural' positions, and Taylor's hand never seemed to leave Harry's. Although he knew that there was no actual chemistry between the two, he couldn't help but feel jealous. Heaving a sigh, he turned over onto his side. Louis was asleep for all but two seconds before the door to his bedroom was pushed open. The sliver of light was enough to blind him, and he groaned slightly. "Alright, Harry?" he snapped.

       From his bed, Louis could see Harry shrink back slightly. "Y-yeah, 'm sorry. G'night, Lou..." Harry trailed off, moving to close the door again, before-

       "Wait, Harry, I'm sorry, just a little tired, is all. Come on in," Louis amended. He was glad he did, because as Harry approached, he could see faint tears glistening in the younger boy's eyes. "Harry!" he gasped slightly, scooting over and opening his arms. "C'mere, love. Tell me what's going on."

      Louis rocked them back and forth for a few moments before Harry started talking. "I don't feel right, Louis. I don't like lying. They explained it to me, and I understand, but," he took a breath. "It doesn't feel right, Louis, I don't feel good."

       And, well, shit. Louis had been so caught up in Taylor that he didn't even pay attention to his best friend. A quick glance at the clock told him that there was not enough time in the night left for this conversation, so he gently held Harry until he fell asleep, Louis following shortly after.