Mindreader (L.S.)

18.

Louis' eyes search through the park as his feet run over the grass, searching through the families scattered throughout on the playground. He's merely a few hundred metres from the ice cream shop Harry's location popped up at. He doesn't really want to be that kind of boyfriend who needs to know where his partner is all the time, Harry was just acting weird earlier and he needs to know if he's okay at least. As he gets closer, his eyes narrow in on the few people outside the ice cream shop, but he can't seem to find Harry, who usually stands out in a crowd in Louis' eyes.

He sighs defeatedly to himself and is about to text Harry again, even though he hasn't answered his last couple texts, when he sees the boy walk out from the small shop with an ice cream in his hand and another boy by his side. Louis is quick to step behind a tree to his left before he can be seen by any of them, and he squints slightly to see the two of them sitting down on a bench by the shop. Harry seems to have a small smile on his face, which creates a feeling in Louis' stomach that he doesn't like. And the fact that the boy he's talking to isn't ugly either, is not helping in the slightest.

He's not going to reveal himself yet though. He knows he'll probably regret it later, but without putting much thought into it, he focuses in on the boy sitting opposite Harry on the bench.

He promised Harry not to read his mind again and he wants to keep that promise, but he can't not know what's going on and just let it go, so he transports into the boy's mind, being just close enough to do so without having to come closer and ruin his cover. The first thing he hears in the boy's mind is a song. "I'm still standing" by Elton John is playing and Louis' eyebrows draw together but he tries to ignore the song and instead focuses in on the boy's actual thoughts. Luckily for Louis the boy is one of those people who think everything over in his head before saying them.

"How have you been? No, that's a weird question to ask right? He's obviously not been very good."

Louis frowns. Why wouldn't Harry have been good? But he can tell from the question it's not a boy Harry has seen in a long time, and he wonders what they are doing together then.

Louis' eyes focus on the boy's mouth and he kind of see him mouthing the question "How have you been?" anyway. Louis' eyes then drift to Harry, who shrugs in return and mutters something back that Louis couldn't catch.

"I'm sorry."

"Why is he sorry?" Louis whispers to himself. Who is this guy?

"That's not too bad. Maybe I can still fix it. He must know I didn't mean it."

Louis gets more confused by each thought and he sees the conversation taking a serious turn as neither of the boys are smiling anymore and Harry looks deeply into the boy's eyes, which makes Louis' heart falter a little.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry for everything. We ended terribly and I did some stuff I never thought I would be capable of doing to another person."

Louis' eyes widen as he hears the thought. He makes out the boy mouthing the words and suddenly Harry looks away. He looks partly in Louis' direction and Louis hides himself completely behind the tree, his heart beating fast against his chest. After a minute he carefully sticks his head out a little, just enough to see them again and Harry's looking back at the boy.

"It's your own fault! No, I can't say that. I didn't know it would hurt you that much! That's better."

As the words afterwards leave the boy's mouth Louis can actually hear Harry almost screaming back at the boy.

"Of course it hurt me!"

Everyone around them turns to look at them, and Harry's eyes widen and his eyes fall to the table in front of him as his face turns a little red from all the attention.

"Calm down."

Louis wants to go over and yell at the boy because he obviously did something bad to Harry if he's reacting the way he is.

"I miss you, okay? A lot."

Anger and jealously pass through Louis' veins as he sees the boy actually say the words. Harry looks stunned and speechless, and Louis' a little relieved to see him not say anything back but a cold "okay."

"I want us to be together again. We were good."

At that, Louis can't control his anger and he surges forward towards the bench the two boys are sitting at. When he comes a little closer Harry's eyes flicker to him and widen in surprise when he notices who it is. Louis plasters a bittersweet smile on his face as he gets to the table and the other boy looks confused up at him.

"We've already gotten our ice cream, thanks." The boy says, thinking Louis works at the shop, and Louis wants nothing more than to slap him across the face, but he keeps the fake smile on his face and blinks a couple times before speaking up.

"Congratulations on that mate, but that's not why I'm here."

The boy seems to get even more confused by that, and looks at Harry who just looks like he wants to be anywhere but at that table at that moment. He looks into Louis' eyes with an unreadable expression.

"Hi, Love." Louis says over exaggerated and the other boy's eyes widen.

"Love?" He questions to Harry and Louis acts surprised.

"Oh, I haven't met you before. I'm Louis, Harry's boyfriend." He says with too much power on the word boyfriend, sticking his hand out to greet the boy, even though he would rather not. "And you are?" He asks sweetly with a hint of anger.

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend." The boy mutters and meets Harry's eyes. Harry doesn't answer and seems completely lost for words as he sits there with wide eyes.

"Well he does." Louis smiles and sits down beside Harry, leaning a little too close to the boy for it to be natural. "Now, what was your name again?"

"Nick." The boy answers.

Louis thinks back a little because he remembers having heard the name before, he just can't remember exactly when. Suddenly it comes to him though and his mouths drops open a little. Nick. The one Harry had thought about those first couple times they were rehearsing their dance. Nick who "shattered him" and kept Harry from doing anything with Louis for a while before he overcame it. That Nick.

Rage surges through Louis and he's having trouble not reaching over the table and taking a grip of the boy's shirt to tell him to never even come near Harry again. He doesn't though, instead he looks at Nick with a look that screams "I hate you." and Nick's eyes flicker to Louis' a couple of times, but he's afraid to let them stay there because of the look in Louis' eyes.

Harry still sits shell-shocked besides Louis, not having said a word since Louis came up to them. "So what were you guys up to?" Louis tries with the calmest voice he can manage.

"Not much. Just talking about the old days." Nick answers quietly.

"You guys knew each other when you were younger?"

"Yup. We were-" Before Nick can finish his sentence and say the word Louis dreads hearing, Harry suddenly cuts in.

"We need to go!"

Both Louis and Nick turn to look at Harry who's staring into nothing with much too open eyes. "What?" Nick answers.

"We need to go now." Harry looks at Louis and pulls on his arm while he stands up. Louis stands up slowly with him, eyeing Nick all the while.

"Alright, love." Louis answers and takes a hold of Harry's hand. "Bye Nick. Nice to meet you." He says in a very fake tone. Harry drags Louis away from the table where Nick remains with confusion written all over him.