Young & Beautiful

“Well, Harry’s the…friend. And Niall’s my flatmate. You’d love him. You’d absolutely love him.
He’s hilarious and a fucking idiot and he’s got more money than he knows what to do with. He’s
nice, too—probably the nicest kid I’ve ever met—and he has a fucking assistant.”
Stan looks successfully impressed.
“So I’m going to meet these blokes, yeah?”
“Of course,” Louis says happily, without hesitation. “You need to visit next term. They’d love
you.”
“Even Harry?”
Louis pauses. Harry.
“I think so,” he says, unsure, and Stan laughs.
“I dunno, mate. You sound like you’ve got a bit of a head case on your hands.”
“No, no, no,” Louis rushes, “he’s not like that. He’s wonderful. Always. He’s just…got a lot to
deal with. But he’s trying! And he’s different, Zayn even said. But he doesn’t even need to be
different because he’s fine the way he is. He’s good. He’s sweet and stupid and intelligent and
moody and fucking exhausting and ridiculous and charming and strong and there’s just so much
inside of him. So, so much, Stan.”
By the time Louis is done with his speech (which he really hadn’t meant to happen), Stan is just
looking at him with open, flaunted amusement.
“What?” Louis asks defensively, skin flushing.
“No special someone, you said?” he asks with eyebrows that claim to know too much.
“No!” Louis replies hotly, and his skin flushes more which is irritating and unbecoming and he
just really, really wishes he could control the emotions of his skin more. Because Harry is
absolutely just a friend. There’s never been any other option. It’s never been like that between
them. Harry’s just a friend. A new friend.
“Anyways,” Louis says, still feeling the warmth of his neck radiating within the collar of his shirt,
“let’s play Mario. I’m in the mood to be Italian.”
And the subject is dropped from there despite Stan’s impish grin and smirking eyes, and, slowly,
Louis’ skin returns to its normal temperature.
**
It’s Louis’ birthday. Therefore, it’s also Christmas Eve.
And it’s a good day, actually.
He’s spent it with his family, his sisters sticking tiaras atop his head and coloring him pictures as
presents. He accepts each one with the biggest of smiles, clutching them to his chest reverently
and making them giggle.
Stan stops by, has tea with them all and has Louis open his present—a football jersey, a wheel of
cheese, a bottle of beer, and a ball of duct tape—before slapping him on the back with an
embrace.