Always, Forever (Larry)

Chapter One

He lay on his side, his eyes fluttering open as his breathing grew softer. A stray hand ran through his long dark hair that had fallen into his eyes as he slept.

"I need a haircut." Louis muttered, gently pulling the duvet from his legs and standing up on two feet.

The sun was seeping through a small crack in the curtain, enlightening the opposing side of his double bed. The pillow sat perfectly in the light; a duvet led seamlessly inside the soft linin sheets. It hadn't been touched in years. Not since he left.

Louis shuffled his feet out of the bedroom door and down the stairs, thoughts consuming his mind to the point of a headache. "Where was he now?" Louis wondered as he poured fresh water into the kettle. His mind raced, pulling him in directions he didn't know were even possible.

The doorbell rung abruptly, startling a bare chest Louis as he snapped out of his thoughts. As he meandered towards the door, his mind still bursting and his hands tingling from the warmth of his tea, it rang again.

...

At the table sat a familiar face. Her long brunette hair fell comfortably below her shoulders; her petit frame being consumed by the wooden chair she was sat on. Around her neck hung a diamond stoned necklace in the shape of a butterfly, matching perfectly with a small silver ring around her index finger.

Her eyes raised from the table to the sound of footsteps as Louis came back from the kitchen with two mugs of steaming tea. He placed one in her open hands and took a seat at the table.

"Are you okay?" Eleanor asked, breaking the silence that had loomed over the two of them for a few minutes.

"Just been thinking...", Louis started, "... about how it's all my fault. I live every day knowing that I broke him. I made him trust me with everything he had, and I shattered the pieces of him that I knew were most vulnerable. I wish I hadn't left. I wish I had stayed and fought for him when he needed me most. I don't blame him for not loving me, I abandoned him, and everything's my fault and god why am I so fucked up?!"

Louis was practically shouting at Eleanor as he slammed his hand flat on the wood, sounding a loud thud. He was fighting hard against the tears that he could feel filling his throat as he plucked up the courage to look Eleanor in the eye.

"Louis, it wasn't your fault. We didn't have a choice", Eleanor said soothingly in an attempt to calm Louis down.

"There's always a choice." Louis couldn't help but let his chin drop to his chest as a warm moisture escaped the inside of his eyes, the ocean blue colour glistening like the waves in open water.

Eleanor didn't make Louis lock eye contact with her again. Instead, she asked a simple question. Something that she knew may make him smile but could equally hold the power to push him over the edge.

"Do you remember the first time you realised you were in love with him?"

Louis raised his head, stunned. Of course, he remembers; it was magical. He had propped himself casually against a wall, earphones blasting music as he allowed his gaze to sweep across the room. He eventually landed upon a tall, curly lad, stood shyly in the corner. His hands were secured firmly in the front pocket of his trousers and his vision lowered. He clearly stood at least three inches above everyone else in the room, yet Louis could see that he felt invisible. He had caught him earlier that day rehearing his song. Voice of an angel, Louis thought.

He walked towards the taller lad cautiously, as to not startle him. Uncomfortable at first, Harry didn't raise his eyeline, but forced a weak smile as Louis introduced himself. Determined to befriend this intriguing young boy, Louis waffled for five minutes straight. Absolute nonsense, but he eventually made Harry smile. That was Louis' moment to be shy. A sensation rushed throughout his chest, tightening his lungs and pumping his heart. That smile.