Louis opened his car door and got in. He sat in the frosty air, in Harry’s driveway, among the boxes of rusty scrap metal, and frozen rain, and the immensity of the indigo night. He thought about what he wanted to say. Finally, he tapped Liam’s phone number to call him.
“Hello?” a male voice answered.
“Hi, this is Louis Tomlinson,” Louis said. He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if Harry’s there?”
“Oh!” Louis heard a noise muffling the phone, and then some shuffling and crackling. “This is Liam. Just a sec, Louis.”
Louis waited patiently, tapping his knee. He heard the phone being covered, and soft voices in the background. The voices rose and sank like waves. After a pause, he heard the phone clear, and Liam got back on.
“Louis, I talked to Harry.” Liam said. Louis could sense his hesitation. “He doesn't… he thinks it's best not to talk. He wants to know if you got… a metal box? He said you would know.”
“Liam,” Louis asked, “can I please say a few words to him? It's important. It wouldn't take long.” Louis took a deep breath. “And tell him, yes, I got the box.”
This time, Louis waited longer and heard more talking and pauses in the background. The phone became more silent and muffled. Louis turned on the car engine and started the heater. Then he shrank his hands into his sleeves, and tucked them under his thighs to keep warm. His legs bounced up and down slightly.
“Louis?”
“Yeah,” Louis hurried to grab his phone. “I'm here.”
“I'm sorry, Louis,” Liam said, with a note of embarrassment. “Harry said no.”
Louis let this sink in. “Did he say why?”
“No,” Liam said. “He wouldn't say. He’s… a bit upset, actually. Distraught, even. It's probably not a great idea to see him right now.”
“Liam, I don't mean to be disrespectful,” Louis said. “I’m a nice person. Usually. It's just— you know he’s leaving.”
“Yeah, I know,” Liam said. “Quite broken up about it. Harry’s a good friend of mine. I'm going to miss him a lot.”
“I can't let him leave without seeing him one more time, Liam. We never said our goodbyes.” Louis swallowed. He calmed himself down and tried to control the shaking in his voice. He didn't know how much Harry had told Liam about their relationship. “Can I come by? Please.”
Liam covered the phone again. After another long pause, Louis heard a breath on the line, an exhalation.
“Hey, Little Bear,” Harry said. His voice was low and steady, both tender and sassy. In the midst of Louis's heart breaking, Harry was still teasing him.
“H,” Louis answered. He waited silently, unable, suddenly, to say anything.
Harry said, “I'm sorry I missed your game. Heard it was a huge success.”
“If you come to school Monday, you're going to see my ugly mug everywhere,” Louis answered. “It’ll be unbearable. People chanting my name. Cupcakes with me on it. Balloons. Louis Tomlinson monogrammed pencil sets.”
YOU ARE READING
Galileo - l.s
Fanfiction"Dangerous? Not haute?" Harry mused. "Why not haute?" "'Course you're haute, babe," Louis smiled. He reached out to fix a stray curl that had dropped down onto Harry's forehead. Harry stared at him with a dimpled smile, and Louis reared his head bac...
