what about us | l.s.

eighteen

October 19, 2011

Louis woke up to darkness and muffled snores. The man in the bed beside him was fast asleep as it was far too early in the morning for anybody to be functioning. In an attempt to be quiet, Louis rolled out of bed and took slow, silent steps towards his closet. It had become routine. Louis arose early to visit the sun, and Harry slept through his alarms before scrambling to his first lesson.

Usually, Louis would leave immediately after getting dressed, but it wasn't often that he saw Harry. So he stood in the doorframe and took in the artwork that was Harry Styles.

He looked relaxed. As his chest moved up and down with his breathing, his navy blanket moved with it. His breaths were slow and steady, unlike the way Louis' heart was beating. Louis wanted to be there with him. Their legs intertwined, and Harry's fingers in his hair. He wanted to run his fingers across Harry's frame, tracing patterns as they fell asleep.

Harry chose that moment to wake up. That wasn't routine, and it threw Louis out of his daze. What does one say to their roommate after watching them sleep?

"Oh. Good morning? I was just about to ask you to watch the sun with me?"

Not that. Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before rolling over and checking the time.

"It's five in the morning."

Louis plastered an awkward smile on his face before answering, "Perfect timing."

"It's five in the morning," Harry mumbled, "And we don't do that together."

Reaching for the door handle, Louis nodded and turned away from him.

"Wait, let me get dressed."

Louis whirled around as Harry was slowly pulling his clothes on. The two boys had barely spoken in months. Louis didn't understand what was happening, but he was going to embrace the moment. Harry haphazardly followed Louis outside into the crisp October weather and sat with him on the dew-covered grass.

"It's not dry."

"That's why I brought the blanket."

Harry looked over to Louis, who was sitting comfortably on a spread out sheet of green. He shuffled over silently and watched as the sun peaked up over the horizon. Louis knew Harry would look enchanting in the morning rays. He didn't dare look beside him for that reason. It would only hurt him more. So he kept his eyes fixated on the painting in the sky that was displaying shades of orange and blue.

"I can see why you come out here every day. It's beautiful."

Louis nodded and picked at his jeans. He was trying to restrain himself from dropping his head on Harry's shoulder. It was incredibly tempting, and his heart screamed at him to do it, but that would be illogical. Harry had a boyfriend, and they weren't best friends anymore. As blue took over the sky, Louis stood in relief before offering his hand to Harry. He took it, and Louis' body lit up. He yanked his hand away as Harry frowned at it and grabbed the blanket.

"Thanks for coming. It gets lonely sometimes."

"Yeah, no problem. It brought back some memories."

Blue eyes began to water as green eyes left him alone, standing with a green blanket in his arms. Maybe green just wasn't his colour.