what about us | l.s.

thirteen

April 13, 2011

Harry was late. For the second time that week, Louis was waiting alone in their room. They had to reschedule, last-minute, movie night because there was a play Harry insisted Leeroy would appreciate. So Louis made Harry promise to show up at the new date. April 13th.

Louis knew Harry was with Leeroy again. The two had been inseparable ever since that day in March, much to Louis' dismay. It wasn't like he was jealous. He just wanted to watch lousy horror movies with his best friend, who just happened to be the person he loved.

"Hey, it's not my fault! The floor is slippery!"

Harry stumbled into the room and pouted at Leeroy, who had paused outside the door. He looked between Louis and Harry, the former, was glaring at his phone. With caution, he stepped into the room and sat on Harry's bed. The tension was thick, Louis made no effort to disguise his distaste for the blond, and Leeroy avoided him when he could.

Louis, who was aggressively tapping at his phone, glared at Harry when he walked out of the bathroom. Harry, unaware of the tension, beamed at Louis before sidling up to Leeroy.

"H? I feel like you have something to be doing right now."

Harry let his lips quirk down before checking his phone.

movie night with lou, 6 pm

With wide eyes, Harry checked the time. 9 pm. Louis seemed to sense Harry's panic and glanced up at him, sending daggers his way. Harry shot out of his bed and pulled Leeroy outside.

Louis could hear Leeroy's warm voice telling Harry everything was fine, he said he understood. He frowned at how kind Leeroy was. Compared to him, Louis seemed cruel.

The door opened again, and he was met with a red-eyed Harry. The sight hurt Louis, he hadn't intended to make him cry. Louis sighed and got up to hug Harry. The two embraced in the awkward silence and tried to hold back their tears.

Change is inevitable. People go in and out of your life all the time. Some will stay permanently, others slip away when you need them most. You try to remind yourself that no one belongs to you, your friends have other friends that aren't you. But it's hard. The interactions begin to die down, and you can tell something has changed. You convince yourself that they're busy, but deep down, you think they're getting tired of you.

Louis thought this friendship would be different. It had been two years, and he loved every conversation he had with Harry. He always felt like he could be himself, something he wasn't around other people. In a way, Harry was his safe place. He listened to his endless rambles and never once made fun of him. He used to mess with his hair when he was feeling anxious. He was the one person Louis assumed he would always have in his corner.

He never thought Harry would leave him. Everyone seemed to leave him. His closest friends had all left him before he finished primary school. Any friends he may have kept before then lost contact after he moved to Doncaster. Zayn moved and left him alone in secondary. But then he met Harry. Harry pulled him out of the rut he was in, he became his best friend.

Harry was his rock and the single person he couldn't live without. He had a permanent place in Louis' head. Whenever he saw something fun, he made a mental note to text Harry about it. Louis knew he had a spot in Harry's head as well, but he was slowly being replaced.

Now Leeroy was Harry's go-to. They would go on walks through the forest together and laugh whenever Harry would stumble over his feet. Louis used to do that with him. He doesn't get to see him enough to let that happen. Louis only sees Harry when he locks himself out of the room and needs the former to open the door.

Louis still thought of Harry as his best friend, but he could tell by the way the Polaroid of them had been replaced on Harry's corkboard that he wasn't Harry's.