My Life Is Worse Than Yours...

Chapter Three

Six years later. 

John F. Kennedy Airport was bustling as Louis Tomlinson strolled through it, leisurely. He was early for the first time in his life; it was an odd feeling but he had to admit it was nice not to have to sprint with his bags for once. He bought a coffee and sipped as he window shopped, laughing at the people who were running late as they pushed past him. He had come to enjoy silence much more in the recent years and craved moments in his life when he could be on his own. 

He passed a small cafe as he froze, his eye caught. He walked backwards and stared down at the two people sat at the outside table in front of him. One was a tall man with short, neatly cropped blonde hair, dressed in a smart blue suit and the other wore a crew cut hoodie and sweats, his brown hair hung just above his shoulders. The second man had his sleeves pushed up, revealing a number of tattoos and coughed at the first man when he noticed Louis staring. 

"Luke Heskin?" Louis asked, his voice uncertain but he knew this face. His suspicion was assured when the man in the suit gasped and stood up. 

"Louis Tomlinson!" Luke said, the over-excited American accent ever prominent as he took his hand and vigorously shook it. "How the hell are you?" 

"Doing good, got a promotion recently."

"Excellent! I always knew you would do well there." Luke laughed as the other man at the table shuffled awkwardly, he appeared to be hiding his face as subtly as he could. Luke jumped back to gesture to the man and smiled. "Sorry! I am so rude. Louis, this is Harry, my partner. Harry, this is Louis, he used to live in my building back in London." 

"Son of a bitch," Louis' face dropped as he finally placed the face sat at the table, his familiarity had pained him until it clicked. "Harry Styles." 

Harry sighed, stood awkwardly and extended his hand to Louis who took it smugly, neither of them said a word.

"You know each other?' Luke laughed as they separated. 

"Yes," Louis said, looking Harry up and down. He looked good, for a man dressed in sweats and he was bigger than Louis recalled. He had cut his hair, but that was probably expected as it had been over six years of not seeing each other. "Harry drove me from Edinburgh to London at the end of our final year at University."

"Oh, that's lovely," Luke exclaimed as he remarked on what a small world it was. "So you two are friends then? From University?" 

"Oh no," Harry said, the first words he has uttered since the conversation started. "We decided fiercely after that car ride that we were unlikely to ever be friends." 

"That's a pity." Luke began as an announcement over the PA system cut him off and Louis had to bid them goodbye. 

"It was nice to see you, Luke. You too, Harry." Louis said graciously as he finished his coffee and placed the paper cup in a bin before he made his way towards his gate. His company had awarded him first class seats, but he wouldn't admit that he was so eager to board and test it out. Harry and Luke waved him off. 

"That man was always strange." Harry chuckled as he sat back down with Luke at the table. 

"Good strange or bad strange?" Luke giggled at Harry's concerned face. 

"I'm not sure. He spent the whole journey talking about such inane things. Like the idea that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way. And that I can't support Manchester United because I am not from Manchester... What?" Harry's rant tapered off as he found Luke's gaze firmly on him.