how to: steal someone's boyfriend. [larry stylinson] ✔️

twelve | dark paradise

"Harry, I would love it if you met my girlfriend. This is Jade, we have been together for about two years." said Perrie happily, gesturing towards her girlfriend with a huge grin on her face. She was really pretty and he could see why Perrie liked her so much because she could be some kind of model.

Jade had sleek black hair that was tipped off with an electric blue, which Harry found pretty unique because Perrie was the only person he knew with dyed hair. She stuck out her hand for him to shake, and he obliged graciously. "Hi Harry. That is a really nice name by the way."

"Jade is really pretty as well." responded Harry genuinely as they let go of one another's hand. "Where are you guys heading off to for free period?"

"We were thinking about going to the food court. Would you and Louis like to come with us?" asked Perrie suggestively, doing this exaggerated wink that made Harry roll his eyes. Jade giggled and tilted her head to the side, bumping her hip against her girlfriend's while looking Harry directly in the eye.

"Is that your boyfriend?"

"I wish." mumbled Harry, checking the watch sitting on his wrist with wide eyes. He was going to be late getting to where Louis was if he didn't hurry quickly enough, so he looked at the two apologetically and began to walk backwards. "I can't do it today, but maybe next time, yeah? I'll see you both later!"

He heard them say their goodbyes as he started to sprint down the hallway, his fingers wrapped around the strap of his book bag so that it didn't slip from his grip from how fast he was moving. Normally, if it was someone else, he wouldn't run through an entire campus to meet them, but since it was Louis, he was moving like lightning the entire time. Tonight they were suppose to have a study date because Harry had his algebra quiz tomorrow and he barely knew anything about the material they were learning about, so Louis so graciously offered to tutor Harry at the cost of them having a Netflix Marathon one day. Who was Harry to turn him down?

He was out of breath by the time he made it to the dorm room, coming into the room with aching legs and a dry throat, shutting the door and collapsing onto the floor when he got too lazy to stand. There was giggling from the other side of the room that belonged to none other than Louis, and he smiled unbelievably hard at the sound, standing up with dizzy eyes. He could be a track star from all that stamina he was carrying, but he didn't have the energy to do anything sports related anyways- he'll just stick to academics. "Did you run all the way here, Harry?"

"Maybe." breathed out Harry as he placed his book bag against the edge of Louis' bed, smiling and holding out his hands. "I'm just so excited to study."

"Aw darn, I was kind of hoping you were excited to see me, but I guess I was wrong." said Louis with a playful pout, and Harry thought he was melting, so he quickly grabbed onto his own arm to make sure he was still whole. He was definitely going insane with fond when it came to Louis, and he wished that he could do so many things right now, but there was a chance that Louis certainly did not see him that way. "How did your day go?"

Harry leaned over to take his algebra things out of his book bag, shrugging his shoulders before doing the more or less sign with his hand. "It was pretty decent, nothing to celebrate though. How was yours?"

"It sucked," said Louis bluntly, still managing to look joyful. "I saw Zayn and Liam making out in fields today when I was playing a little bit of footie. Absolutely heart wrenching if I do say so myself, but I guess we all have to get over things sometimes, right? Even if the other person hasn't suffered and doesn't need to, but I do. I'm sorry. This is getting upsetting, isn't it?"

"No, no, I don't mind at all. If you want to talk, I'm all ears, Louis."

"The thing is I want to talk about it, but I worry about tour reaction. I'll keep it to myself for now, and maybe we can have a talk when I start feeling a tad bit better. That way, I won't be an emotional trainwreck and you won't see me go cr-" Louis paused and ran a hand through his caramel hair before breathing out of his nose, crossing his legs. "Never mind me. Take out your algebra textbook and let's get started."

"Louis."

"Yes Harry?"

"I don't know much about...well, I don't know how to come about these kinds of things, but I promise that I'm here to listen and give half assed advice." replied Harry, giving each word out carefully so that he didn't stutter underneath the pressure. Louis was silent for a second and slowly a smile crept onto his face, and the world was spinning once again. Making the boy smile always felt like an accomplishment, and it made his heart flutter from the inside. "I sound dumb, don't I?"

"No. You don't. You're the only person who has been able to make me genuinely smile lately, hm." said Louis quietly, but Harry caught it of course because he always hang on to every word that Louis uttered; nothing he ever said was unimportant. He wondered if he came off to Louis as creepy when they first saw one another again, and what the boy had thought when they first looked each other in the eye. He wondered if Louis' heart pounded in his chest whenever Harry opened his mouth to say something, and he wondered if Louis knew that love felt like. "Harry, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes Louis?"

"Do you remember when we were kids and we went to that new playground one day to try out the new swing, and I ended up going really high and falling off?" asked Louis with a small laugh, and Harry laughed along with him while nodding, knowing exactly what he was referring to. Louis had to go to the hospital to get his wrist checked out and ended up having to wear a cast for at least a week, and he had only let Harry sign it because everyone else 'had the cooties'. "It reminds me of how I am now. I use to be so high up in the clouds, so carefree and happy, but then it all died out. I'm like a burnt out lightbulb."

"And I wouldn't trade it for a new one neither."

"That was lame, Harry."

"Yeah, well, so was your metaphor."