Young & Beautiful

Which only grows larger when Harry suddenly rises from Zayn’s piano (all the talk of Niall’s
goings-on inspired him, sending him into spiraling piano twirls of Christmas tunes that the boys
attempted to sing along with tipsily, mouths filled with meat pies) and assembles himself with a, “I
better be off. Burns’ll be here soon.”
Louis’ heart sinks. A tad.
“To take you home?” he asks from the table, attempting to camouflage the disappointment in his
voice.
Harry nods. “Yeah. I want to get back as soon as I can.”
And that doesn’t sit well with Louis, the idea of Harry returning to that home of his as soon as he
can, but Harry’s face is confident, not the least bit fearful or discomforted, so Louis leaves it alone
and instead just nods.
“I’ll see you all soon, of course,” Harry says with a smile. “Probably far sooner than we’d like.
Happy Christmas. Save the best sweets for me.” He winks at them all as Zayn rolls his eyes and
Liam and Niall chuckle fondly, but his eyes stray lingeringly on Louis for the briefest of moments
(or is that the eggnog talking?) before he turns away.
And no.
No.
Harry cannot just leave Zayn’s rooms like it’s nothing so he can go home for a month. He won’t
be seeing any of them—not one of them—and he cannot just walk away as if this is no big thing.
Because it’s practically an entire month, damn it--over thirty days--and that’s a long time, and if he
thinks that he can just waltz away like that then, well, he’s got another thing coming.
“I actually still need to pack,” Louis says before he knows what he’s doing, shooting up out of his
chair.
Harry pauses.
“Better get going myself. Mind if I join you?” he asks, and he feels Zayn, Liam, and Niall’s eyes
turn to look up at him.
Surprised, Harry turns around. “Join me?”
“Yes.”
Harry and Louis stare at each other as the other boys’ eyes flick between the two curiously.
“Yeah, all right. Come on then, Louis Tomlinson, hurry it up,” Harry says cheekily, but that
dimple’s flashing pleasantly and his face is sincere, so Louis smiles as he makes to stand and
accompanies him by the door.
“I’ll ring you lads later, yeah?” Louis says, grinning at the boys.
“Course,” Zayn says easily, as Liam smiles winningly.
“At your leisure, of course,” he says.
“I’ll see you at the flat, yeah?” Niall asks, leaning back in his chair casually. “You won’t leave
before I get back?”