waves || larry stylinson

II

The hardest part for Louis was explaining to his mother that he actually had a friend and needed to go back to the pool every day to see him or he'd make that pouty face he made when Louis' grandmother came over from Doncaster one day and he couldn't go to the pool.

Louis explained to Harry why he'd missed it and Harry understood but he was still upset and Louis never wanted to see him upset again. He'd get a pang in his gut and whenever Harry was upset, Louis was too. He didn't quite understand why though, so he pushed those feelings aside.

He'd been hanging out with him every day for the past few weeks and it felt like he'd known him for years. Louis found out that Harry was 16, could drive (apparently you can drive at 16 in America which he was not informed of), had an older sister named Gemma who was 18 and about to head into college, loved cats and singing, and worked in a bakery. Louis had basically shared his life story with Harry as well.

His mum thought he had a fancy for the lifeguard. "'S great to know that me own mum doesn't believe I can make any friends," he'd said. His mum had sighed. "It's not that I don't believe you Louis." His mum had been living in the UK longer than Louis had, and she still had a better grasp on the American language. More experience, she had said. "Then can I please go." Louis felt like he was 8 again. Then again, when it came to Harry, he seemed to always feel like he was 8. More feelings he pushed aside. "Fine," his mother had said, winking. "Then invite him to tea so I can be the judge of his animacy."

So that's what Louis was going to do right now. Or, at least, that's what he was planning to do. You know, once he like, finds him. Harry was always at the pool before Louis so he was a bit confused as to why he wasn't here. After splashing around a bit and glancing up every so often, Louis'd come to terms with the fact that he really had to pee and Harry probably wasn't coming anytime soon. Dragging himself up from the pool, he made his way to the bathroom.

Thinking he was the only one in the bathroom, he came out and the stall door banged on the wall.

"Oops." He heard someone mumble by the urinals after something wet and warm splashed on his leg.

Louis laughed at the bewildered look on the curly-haired, 16-year old. "Hi. God, we have got to stop meeting like this, Haz."

Harry blushed and Louis washed his hands and using the paper towel he used to dry his hands with, he wiped his leg off.

"Sorry about, like...," Harry blushed, scratching the back of his neck.

"Pissing on me?"

Harry buried his face in his hands and nodded while Louis put his hand on his shoulder, holding back a laugh.

"I'm just kidding. S'alright Haz."

Harry took his face out his hands and nodded but his cheeks stayed flushed. "Sorry I was late. My mom wanted me to help Gemma get ready for her BCU orientation."

Louis shook his head. "'S fine. If you feel like ditching again, my mum wants to know if you'll come over for tea." He spitefully used a posh accent at the end of the sentence. Harry noticed and smirked, continuing the posh accent.

"Tea? How lovely! I'll be right over, then."

"Good show."

➵

"So you're the famous Harry Styles that Louis just has to see every day." Louis' mum stated matter-of-factly. They were all in the kitchen, munching on cookies until the tea was done (the cookies weren't technically for them, they were for Fizz's bake sale but what she doesn't know won't kill her).

Harry smirked and waggled his eyebrows at Louis. Laughing, Louis shoved him lightly and Harry dramatically pretended to almost fall off the stool he was sat in. "Only because you'll get all pouty if I don't."

Harry gave a shit-eating grin. "Yeah, but you love my pouty face."

"A bit sure of yourself, aren't we curly?"

Louis' mum watched smirked at the exchange and turned back to the kettle.

Louis was just about to ask her what that was for when he noticed Harry was tapping his shoulder. "Hey Lou, where are your sisters?"

Louis looked around and frowned. Yeah, where are they. "Mum? Where are the girls? 'm surprised that they haven't jumped on young Harold here."

His mum spoke to them over her shoulder. "At a friend's house. Figured you guys might want the house to yourself."

It was Louis' turn to wiggle his eyebrows and Harry flushed red.

Louis grabbed a cookie off the tray and hopped off the stool, Harry following his actions.

"Mum, we're going up to my room. Yell if tea is ready."

"It was nice to meet you." Harry waved at her, following Louis up the stairs.

"Nice to meet you too, Harry," his mum said, shaking her head and smiling.

➵

"Welcome to my humble abode," Louis announced as they walked in.

Harry laid down on Louis' bed and groaned. "Your bed is so soft. Ugh. I hope you know I'm never getting up."

Louis sat in his desk chair and sighed dramatically. "Well, that's no good because you snore like hell, curls."

Louis wasn't just taking the piss, he knew Harry actually did snore. Like a bloody steamboat to be honest. He'd fallen asleep on one of the arm chairs on the side of the pool one day and Louis could've sworn the people on the other side of the country heard him. When Louis told him, he'd refused to admit it and he wasn't starting now.

Harry shook his head. "Do not."

"Do too. And you know what the only cure for snoring is."

Harry's eyes flew open at that and he attempted to sit up but Louis already was on top of him, having thrown his body on top of him.

"No no no, lou please n-"

His own laughter cut him off as he writhed and thrashed underneath Louis.

"Are the snores out yet?" Louis asked.

"They were never there t-" His laughs interrupted him. "To begin with."

Louis tsked and shook his head in mock sympathy. "Denial is the first step in recovery, Haz."

Louis paused for a moment to flick hair out of his eyes and Harry took this fleeting moment of weakness, to flip them around. Straddling Louis, Harry pinned his hands above his head and dangled his face in front of Louis'. Louis let out a whine and wiggled his hips in hopes to get Harry off him.

"No fair, Harold. You cheated," Louis said and crinkled up his nose in defense from Harry's curls.

Harry grinned and shook his hair in Louis' face purposefully and leaned into his face even the more. "Denial's the first step in recovery, Lou."

Louis opened his mouth to say something sarcastic back, but he froze when he realized how close Harry's face was to his. Harry must've realized around the same time Louis did, because his eyes widened and flew from his eyes to his lips.

Clearing his throat, Harry sat back on his thighs and ran a hand through his hair, looking at Louis like he was waiting for him to say something. Louis sat up and tried to say something, but his brain was complete mush. All words that his brain was trying to form, was mainly unintelligible words. After a pause long enough for Harry to look like a wounded deer, Louis stuttered out, "Uh." Mentally face-palming himself for the lack of somewhat useful words in this situation, Louis clambered up and kneeled near Harry.

He opened his mouth to attempt to tell him something - anything - but his mom's voice interrupted his sentence and the awkward tension in the room.

"Tea's ready boys!" his mom hollered from downstairs.

Something flashed across Harry's face for an instant but just as quickly as it came, it was gone.

"Well, we should probably head downstairs," he said, standing up and braving a smile. "I know you hate cold tea."

"Harry w-"

But Harry was already out the door.