Underneath It All {l.s}

IV

Ten in the morning on a Sunday and Harry found himself with Louis at a cafe. It was accidental; they ran into each other in line and decided to catch up, as things got busy and they both hadn't really seen each other for a bit. Harry didn't mind, of course, as Louis seems to become less and less annoying every time they spent time together.

Soon they started talking about Christmas and the time off, both of them looking forward to the break. During the conversation, Louis invited Harry to Jay's New Year's Eve party, but Harry was hesitant, as it'd be quite a drive from Cheshire to Doncaster, and Harry's mum hoped Harry'd be home to start the new year off with his family.

Harry didn't even want to think about going to parties, as exam season was starting, so there was no slacking off allowed. Because of that, Harry made no promises.

"Can you please come?" Louis begged, "I need someone there to keep me from going mad..."

"I don't know, Louis. It just depends, and I have loads of time until then to figure out if I can come." Harry knew it wouldn't be smart to decide then and there, and he also knew he had to think about it.

Louis sighed and leaned back in his seat, tilted his head. "So you're going to let me suffer alone in this? I mean, my family's great and all, but by New Year's I know I'll just be aching to get away from them. I can only handle so much."

"I'm sorry, Lou," Harry replied, not sure if he really was sorry.

"Well, I suppose I can give you up until the day before to give me an answer, because I would love to have one of my mates there instead of being surrounded by my mum and sisters annoying friends." Louis remarked, and Harry was going to see what he can do.

Harry understood Louis' situation perfectly, as he too knew what it was like going to family and friend parties and events when everyone else in the world seemed to be able to show up, but his friends just couldn't, of course.

The mood in the cafe was light, and easy, and the place was half empty, probably because no one wanted to go out in the rain, unless of course they really had to. Because of this, it was more relaxing, and less noisy, a surprise to what Harry and the cafe were used to, since this spot was rather popular.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" Louis started taking Harry away from his thoughts about the fame of the cafe, "I hope you're free by chance." Louis grinned mischievously, suddenly sounding ready to propose a trip to the moon and back.

But oh great, what did Louis want now? Was grabbing coffee not enough? It was raining and chilly out, not the best night to hit the town or anything.

"Well, I have a date with a book in my nice warm bed," Harry explained, giving Louis a shy smile.

Louis kept grinning and shook his head. "You seriously don't surprise me." he laughed. "I was thinking that maybe-" Louis cut off by a chair screeching and Zayn popping down beside Louis.

"Hey, lads," Zayn announced, taking off his leather jacket and ruffling his damp hair. "I'm surprised you both are here together, never mind alone." Zayn commented.

"Oh it was coincidental, trust me." Harry breathed, never sounding more honest in his life, and not to mention the least enthusiastic about it.

"Hey," Louis frowned, not liking Harry's answer.

Harry shrugged and Zayn suddenly got busy again, pulling out his phone, but then he turned to Louis.

"What about you, Tommo? You're never up this early, even if it's for class."

Louis' eyes flicked up at Zayn, as if Zayn was thinking about this whole thing too much. "I can manage to get up early, thank you very much, and yes it may not happen every day but that does not mean it's not possible. Today was one of those days and this is where I ended up because of it."