The Suburbs

e l e v e n

c h a p t e r   e l e v e n

m o n d a y   n i g h t

h a r r y

Harry looked himself over once more in the mirror to make sure he looked good enough for Louis to see him. His hair was neater than it had been in a long time, and he'd opted to leave the flower crown out of his curls, something he hadn't done in years, and it felt more than a little weird not wearing it. He was wearing a dark dress shirt with a few of the top buttons undone and his neatest pair of dark jeans, and it took a bit of convincing, but he slipped on his boots.

Taking a deep breath, Harry left the bathroom and flicked off the light, closing up the cottage as he stepped into the warm early evening. Louis' play was starting at half past six, so Harry was leaving the cottage an hour and a half early in hopes that being early wouldn't fluster Louis too much.

Harry walked briskly to the high school, his hands in his pockets and his heart in his throat. He hadn't planned what he was going to say to Louis, or what he was even going to do when he saw him, considering it had been about a week since he'd actually seen the gorgeous man in the flesh.

As the high school started coming in to view, Harry felt butterflies in his stomach and the anticipation of seeing Louis was growing so strong that he couldn't keep his breathing steady. The last week seemed like a dream, like none of it had really happened but instead had been such a vivid dream that Harry was a little unsure of whether it was actually real or not, but he knew deep in his heart that it was.

The inside of the school was something still slightly foreign for Harry, seeing as he did so much travelling when he was younger he was mostly home schooled, but there was a strange sense of nostalgia as he walked through the empty halls and past the rows of lockers. The mix of emotions running through his veins made Harry's stomach churn as he grew closer to the drama room, and the sound of unruly teenagers was getting louder and louder.

Harry reached the door, and through the glass squares he could see into the room where there were kids in outrageous costuming running around, some laughing and talking while there were others looking up at the ceiling and muttering under their breath, probably going over their lines.

Standing a few feet in front of the door with his back to Harry stood Louis in his form fitting dress pants and royal blue shirt, a clipboard in his hands, and without even really thinking about it, Harry was opening the door and stepping into the room.

Louis was right there, a few steps away, and Harry's breathing was ragged as he gingerly reached out and touched the older man's shoulder.

"Unless it's super important I'm too busy to- Harry?" Louis hiccuped, looking up at Harry whose stomach dropped.

It'd been too long, far too long since he'd heard his voice and seen his beautiful eyes, and Harry's knees grew weak as he tried to think up something to say.

"It's important, Lou, I promise," Harry vowed, and took Louis by the elbow, leading him behind the audience's seats and into the storage cupboard which was a little crammed and Harry had a broom handle jabbing him in the back, but he didn't care as he stood so close to Louis, because he was finally near him again.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Louis asked quietly, looking up at the younger man through his thick black lashes, making Harry's heart drum a little faster.

"You kissed me, and . . wh-why did you run?" Harry murmured, unable to keep the hurt from his voice, and he saw Louis' eyes widen ever so slightly.