A Rose By Another Name

Chapter Six

Unedited
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   The last month had been that of awkward interactions and hearts fluttering restlessly. Louis wasn't sure what was wrong with him. He and the boys were headed to Minneapolis, Minnesota for their next show and Louis was anxious.

Today was July 17th and his girlfriend's twenty-first birthday. She would be at at the show tomorrow and he wanted to make sure she enjoyed it. Zayn had agreed to help him go to the store and get flowers with him when they arrived in the city. Louis was bouncing his leg up and down, he needed to make Eleanor happy in the last moments of the relationship. He knew he needed to call it quits before his feelings for Harry got in the way of his judgement. He feared he may already be there.

   "Hey, Lou," said Harry, sitting next to his friend.

   He handed Louis a beer, of which Louis had bought for the boys to drink and they kept hidden in a secret cooler, and smiled. Legally, the other boys shouldn't be drinking in America, but Louis could careless about the drinking laws in a country he wasn't born in. If they were old enough to drink at home, they should be old enough here as well.

"You've seemed pretty tense the past few days," said Harry softly. "Alright?"

   Louis didn't like lying to Harry and because he knew Harry would be asking him a lot of questions about his behavior, Louis decided that he probably shouldn't drink. He didn't want to say something he would regret when he was sober. So, Louis set the glass bottle down and looked at Harry with a lazy smile.

   "Nothing's wrong, Haz."

   Louis could see the arch in Harry's eyebrow. He knew his friend wasn't believing what he said, but he couldn't tell Harry about his feelings. He never could. He was sure Harry was straight.

"Are you excited for the show tomorrow? El's going to be there?"

   Louis forced a smile on his face. "Yeah. She's coming to the show tomorrow. I'm really nervous, if I'm honest."

   "Oh," mumbled Harry softly. "W-well, I'm sure you'll do great. I mean you always do great and I, umm, I think your voice is pretty- I mean it sounds good."

"Harry, you're rambling," laughed Louis. He couldn't believe that he was in love with the dorkiest man in the planet, but at the same time he would never have it another way. "I need your opinion on something..."

   "Anything," answered Harry quickly.

   He gave his utmost attention to Louis and they looked into each other's eyes. If this were a romantic comedy he was watching with Harry, Louis would have pretended to gag and would have thrown popcorn at the cliche scene, but he finally understood why those scenes were used so often. They were raw and emotional. Louis finally understood why just a simple staring contest lead to so much in movies. Louis wanted to rest his lips on Harry's and feel the chapped skin mold against his own, but he knew he couldn't. Louis realized how close he and Harry had gotten and he could feel Harry's rapid breathing against his cheek. He quickly pushed himself away and gulped.

   "I- I was, um. I was thinking of asking Eleanor for a break." Louis knew that he couldn't lead Eleanor on any longer. He hoped that she would understand and allow him the time he needed.

   "Really?" asked Harry, a bit too happy. Realizing his mood, Harry quickly forced a frown to his face. He should be upset. His friend is thinking of getting out of a relationship, he shouldn't be happy. "I'm sorry."

   Louis didn't seem to notice. "I love her, I really do, but something's changed with me. I'm still trying to figure it out, but I just don't want to string her along, y'know? It's not fair to her." Louis paused and was glad that Harry hadn't tried to say anything just yet. He was trying to gather his thoughts and he supposed that maybe Harry knew that. "I'm a shitty person, aren't I? Breaking up with her the day after her birthday?"