Redemption (L.S)

7

Louis' birthday was now tomorrow, and he was a bit scared because he was almost 30. To be completely honest-he wasn't ready at all for his 30s, because then there would be 40s, and that scared him even more. He wasn't ready at all to get older.

"So I called the restaurant a few weeks ago for reservations, and thankfully it's still opened." His mum told him.

"You alright darling? you look bummed." He nodded in response, not wanting to tell her what he was thinking.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" She asked, and she was right.

He sighed. "Just scared of getting old, I guess."

"Oh honey, it's okay." She pulled him in for a comforting hug. "I've been there as well; As soon as I turned 29, I almost forgot about 30s until the next day it decided to horrifyingly remind me." She laughed. Louis laughed along with her, starting to feel a bit better.

He later went to work, and served a few customers. One of which he was familiar with.

"Thought your birthday was today." He reminded.

"It's tomorrow, actually." Louis stated.

Harry nodded, and as usual, ordered his regular coffee. He thought on asking him if he wanted anything else, like a pastry but thought he would decline. He decided to ask anyway.

"Do you want anything else? it's still morning, have you eaten breakfast?"

He shook his head. "I don't really eat breakfast."

Louis gave him a confused look. Who doesn't eat breakfast? there were so many surprises with him, but this one he was mostly confused about.

"Well, do you at least want to try something? you always just seem to get coffee." Harry looked like he was thinking, making Louis give him some time. It seemed like forever, until he finally opened his mouth.

"I'll have a morning bun." That made Louis smile a bit. He took three out, putting them into a bag, and handed it to him.

"Thank you." He smiled back. He got up, and made his way towards the door. Louis thought for a moment, on whether or not to ask him if he would like to join him and his family tomorrow. They've met all his friends, but not Harry, Gemma included.

"Wait!" Harry stopped and turned to him.

"Uhm....do you want to come tomorrow with me and my family? we're going to The Ledbury."

"For your birthday?"

"Yeah, do you?" Harry stood there for a moment, not really sure about if he should go or not. He was a bit close to Louis as a friend, so he didn't see anything wrong with going.

"Sure, I'd love to."

• • •

The restaurant wasn't as crowded as Louis thought it would be. There were few people coming in and going, making the place less crowded with people.

He'd been there for about half an hour, but he couldn't really concentrate, as a certain someone was on his mind. He probably shouldn't have asked, knowing he wouldn't show up. He kept looking at the door, hoping to see him; but as minutes pass by, there was just no sign of him.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" His mum asked, a worried look on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied. He didn't like lying, and knew he wouldn't gotten away with it. His mum gave him a look, as if she knew he wasn't telling the truth, but let it slide.

A minute turned into an hour, and still no sign of Harry. He almost regretted inviting him, until he saw a familiar curly head of hair, walking in alongside a familiar brunette.

"Hey, Louis! haven't seen you in while." Gemma said, and brought him in for a hug even though he was sitting.

"I didn't think you would've shown up." He said as they pulled away.

"Nonsense, as soon as Harry told me, I knew I just had to come. It's your special day after all, I would look like a bad friend if I didn't show up." She explained, and took seat. They introduced themselves to his family, them immediately liking the two. After ordering their food, a conversation was started.

"So Harry, how comes we've never heard of you before? especially you, Gemma." His father asked, setting down his drink.

When Harry didn't answer, Gemma jumped in to help. "We haven't really known Louis for that long. Him and Harry met before, but it was almost a month before I met him."

"How old are you two? If you don't mind me asking." He asked, curiously.

"I'm twenty eight, and Harry here is twenty three." She answered. "Even though I'm older, he used to always be protective of me when he was younger." Harry looked down, playing with his food. He didn't seem too interested, which made Louis feel some kind of way.

"Oh wow, he must have been hell growing up." His mum laughed, Gemma nodding and laughing along with her.

"You're really cute." A voice said, him recognising it to be Lottie's.

He realised she was talking about Harry, the lad blushing a bit at the compliment. He felt a little weird for some reason, but shrugged it off and continued to eat as they continued to talk. The dinner went on for a few hours, everyone just chatting.

"Louis, I know you don't really like a celebration, but you still like cake, right?" His mum asked. "And please say yes, I spent fifty pounds on it."

"Of course! I love cake." He replied with a smile.

"It's not a birthday cake, but everyone loves chocolate, so I figured you'd like it as well." She said as she got up.

"I'll be right back, they have it up front." She said, and walked away.

"So Harry, do you have a girlfriend?" Lottie asked, looking Harry up and down which by the looks of it, made him a little uncomfortable.

"No, I don't." And that made Lottie smile happily.

"Okay Lottie, don't weird him out now." His dad said, and Lottie frowned, before continuing to eat.

His mum finally came back with the cake, everyone immediately digging in. An hour later, they all finished eating and decided to take home a few deserts.

"Happy birthday, lad! see you soon." Liam said, and gave him a quick hug goodbye.

"Happy birthday, Louis! make sure to call me so we can hang out again, alright?" Said, Gemma as she hugged him.

"Alright, see you soon, love." Louis replied, hugging her back.

They pulled away, and Louis looked over at Harry, who looked like he was thinking about hugging him as well.

"Come here." He put his arms out, and Harry hesitated, before walking over to him and hugging him quickly.

"Well uhh, see ya soon." Louis nodded, and they all went home.

Hope you liked this chapter!.xX❤