About Time // Larry Stylinson

Chapter Nine

Louis walks in front of me, fumbling with the gate to the house's front garden before pushing it open. I hang back.

"What are you doing?" He gives me a reassuring look and grabs my hand. "It's okay, Haz."

We walked hand in hand down the garden. Louis raps on the door and takes a step back. The door opens and a blonde woman wearing a blue sundress answers the door.

"Hey," She smiles at Louis, before turning to me. "Briana."

"Harry," I reply, dropping Louis' hand and offering mine for her to shake. 

"Freddie's in the garden, come in."

We follow her through her home. The walls are a brilliant white, and all the floors are made of oak wood. I look around; the living room door is open and music comes from inside. We step out onto the sunbathed patio at the back of her house.

I breathe a sign of relief when the little boy recognises Louis. I feel Louis drop my hand as he runs towards Freddie, picking him up and whirling him around. 

"How's my little man, huh?" He asks. 

The small child laughs at his dad, and hugs him tight.

Louis turns to the woman. "Is it okay if we go out? We'll be back around two."

"Yeah, of course. You're his dad, Louis."

I watch as Louis walks through the house with Freddie attached to his hip, tiny hands wrapped around his shoulders. 

"Freddie, this is your Uncle Harry," Louis tells him, crouched down beside him.

"Hey, buddie," I look at the little boy, who is now stood beside the car. 

"Hi!" He laughs. "I'm Freddie!" He grabs a hold of my arm, hugging it. I ruffle his hair, and look up at Louis, who smiles back at me. 

After strapping Freddie in his chair on the backseat, Louis joins me in the front, grabbing hold of the wheel. 

"How about we go to the park, Freddie, huh?"

The boy claps his hands in return. Louis and I laugh in sync. "Sounds like a plan, then?" I say.

-

I watch Freddie run towards the park gate, Louis jogging after him. The sun catches his hair, creating a ring around his head. I follow after them. Opening the gate, I put the bag on a bench and sit down. I watch as Louis lifts Freddie into a swing; the little boy laughs as Louis pushes him gently. 

I watch them for a while, and it become incredibly evident that Louis had missed his son. He scoops him up every few minutes and plants kisses on top of his head, leaving the little boy shrieking playfully. After around half an hour, Louis sits down beside me seat. He looks at me and beams, before his eyes go back to following his son as he runs along the climbing frame.

"He keeps asking about you, you know?" He nudges me. "I think he really likes you."

I can't help but smile. "That's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, of course. You're family, Haz."

I don't know if he means that we're close friends, or more, but I take it anyway. I lean in and press a kiss onto his forehead. He puts his hand on my thigh, and looks back over to the little boy, who was now running towards us. The boy jumps onto his dad's lap, giggling.

"Should we get some lunch?" Louis asks the blue-eyed boy. 

Freddie claps and nods his head, making me and Louis laugh again.

-

After grabbing lunch in a nearby café, we drove back to Briana's house. 

When we got there, Louis went to open the back door of the car to let Freddie out. He holds him in his arms, and I could hear him whisper into his son's hair. Propping him up on his hip, Louis carries him to the front door. I wait in the car, letting them be together for every moment that they could. Louis knocks on the door, and after a short pause, the door opens. Briana greets him at the door, and takes Freddie in her arms. Louis leans in to kiss Freddie on the cheek, before waving at him and turning away from the door. 

Louis opens the door and slams it shut behind him. "Come on, let's go."

"Are you okay, Lou?" I put my hand on top of his on the gearstick. 

"Let's just go, yeah?"

"Lou, I - "

"Just wait until we're out of way of these houses, then I can pull over."

When Louis pulls over a few minutes later, his body starts shaking with violent sobs. 

"Hey, hey. It's okay, Lou."

"I'm going to miss him so much," He says through tears. "I only see him once a month anyway, and now we're going on tour so I don't know when I'll see him again."

"You'll be okay, I'll make sure you see him again," I pull him into a hug across the middle of the car. Using the pad of my thumb to wipe the tears from under his eyes, I whisper into his hair. "I'll always be here, Lou."

I feel him relax underneath me, wrapping his arms around my waist. 

"You want me to drive?" I ask, rubbing his back. I feel him nod into my shoulder.

-

"Did you have a good day, Haz?" Louis is sitting on his bed, cross-legged, wearing nothing but a pair of blue shorts. 

"Yeah, of course. Freddie's such a good kid."

I look over at Louis, who's smiling proudly at my comment. He walks over to me, and slides his arms around my neck, his fingers in my hair. Our faces were so close that our breath mixed together, I pull him in towards me, one hand on his lower back.

We both slept in my bed that night, our limbs intertwined.

******

Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying. I've got lots of chapter written already - thanks corona - so please keep updated to get the rest of my story soon. :)

Love everyone always. Kat. x