almost // l.s

twenty eight

"get out!" liam yelled as niall passed him, once again, on his favourite 'crash team racing' level.

niall gave a whoop of victory as his character crossed the finish line, "what did i tell you, payno? i always choose crash- the character the whole game is based on- as my driver, and i always win! can't beat the bandicoot."

liam scoffed, "crash and cortex- the main villain, may i add- have exactly the same stats, meaning they drive the same. so stop with your petty little drama and race zayn- z! pick cortex and prove that he's just using the best character to his advantage."

"yeah," zayn smirked, taking the playstation controller from liam, "you aren't really that good, nialler."

"i'm the best!" he defended.

"harry hasn't played yet."

harry's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly, "not gonna happen."

"worth a shot, isn't it baby?" louis said.

"nope- i will not embarrass myself in front of you lot again," he seemed extremely reluctant, "remember what happened last time- with gta- god, that was a debacle."

"this game is entirely different," niall explained, "you just hold 'x' to drive, use the directional buttons to turn and, if you're good, there's some other extra for experts type controls. easy."

"i lost you at 'x'," harry said, "the rest was a load of garbage."

"he doesn't have to play," zayn laughed, "now get over here niall. it seems like you're stalling so you don't have to race me."

"cos you're trash," he shot zayn a threatening look, "it's a personal insult to have to race you."

"we'll see."

to put it simply, niall chose the hardest level in the game, thinking he could out-race his peer, but zayn overtook him on the line after a particularly nasty timing of a torpedo. niall stormed off in a huff as the other three boys celebrated zayn's win.

-

harry yawned loudly, the noise clear over the generic pop song playing on the radio. he was slumped against louis' chest, watching the way his lips parted with every soft breath he took. niall was laying back against the boys' shared bed, while liam and zayn slept amongst items strewn across the floor. 

harry smiled, feeling content with his life for the first time in weeks. he decided that this moment called for something that'd make him even happier- so he stood up and walked carefully, quietly down the hallway. the young boy found the door he'd been searching for; the one with the big sign which read 'music room.'

he hadn't tried it out yet, but, somehow, knew that the piano would sound incredible right now. since it was not yet 10 pm (closing time), harry waltzed straight into the room and was pleased to find it empty. the grinned and sat down in the nearest piano stool, fingers gracing the keys cautiously. a piece of art as wonderful as this deserved to be treated like a god, so harry made sure he was extremely soft on the ivory. 

he smiled and played a low f. then added in another f, an octave higher. harry played the two together and held the note for four beats, before adding in four crotchets- the a below middle c, and the f above it. 

after repeating the sequence four times he started to sing softly.

"if i could fly, i'd be coming right back home to you.
i think i might give up everything just ask me to.
pay attention, i hope that you listen,
because i let my guard down.
right now i'm completely defenceless.

for your eyes only, i show you my heart,
for when you're lonely and forget who you are,
i'm missing half of me when we're apart,
now you know me, for your eyes only."

from behind, harry heard clapping. his head whipped around and his eyes caught onto the sight of louis, tears streaming down his face, with a book clutched tightly in hand. 

"that was stunning harry."

"did you follow me?"

"i felt you get up," he confessed, "and i was curious as to where you were going. then i heard music and knew you must've been in here."

"so you liked it?" harry's eyes were shining now.

louis ducked his head down, "i loved it, darling."

"i wrote it when everything was going downhill. the song means so much to me, lou."

"what's it called?"

the younger boy shook his head, curls flowing beautifully, "not sure yet. maybe 'for your eyes only.'"

louis walked over and sat beside harry on the seat. he placed the book on the music shelf before positioning himself so his small hands hovered above the piano.

"i'm gonna play something for you- something i composed after we broke up," he said, eyes intent on the instrument before him, "it might change your mind about that song title."

he played a single chord- one that harry couldn't quite place by ear- before he began to sing.

"i was stumbling, looking in the dark,
with an empty heart.
but you say you feel the same,
could we ever be enough?
oh baby, we could be enough.

and it's alright,
calling out for somebody to hold tonight,
when you're lost i'll find a way and i'll be your light,
you will never feel like you're alone,
i'll make this feel like home."

harry was crying. louis was crying. they were both sobbing all over each other, "mine's called 'home,'" he said.

"it's perfect, lou. it's everything."

"what's the first line of your song, harry?"

he looked at louis, confused, "if i could fly?"

"home," louis said pointedly. 

harry gasped, "if i could fly home."

"yeah."

and then the younger boy collapsed into his boyfriend's side, teary and so, so in love that it almost hurt. louis sighed contentedly, wishing nothing more than to lay like this forever, just the two of them wrapped up in their exquisite little world.

"i love this," harry whispered.

"i love you," louis replied, quick, as if he knew what harry was going to say.

he looked up, lashes wet and stained a dark colour, "i love you too."

"the crack in your voice says it all," the older one said with a smile, "it means you're genuine."

harry snuggled in impossibly closer, nose nuzzling into louis' arm, "i'd never think of being anything but."

♡♡♡

so i brought in the iicf x home theory! i hope you enjoyed this chapter- i'm sorry it's taken so long to get up.

thank you so much for reading. vote and comment. treat people with kindness.

alyssa xx :)