Young & Beautiful

Louis manages a smile. “As long as you don’t tell me I’m yesterday’s news over the first course.”
Harry’ face darkens, his steps fumbling. He looks down, ashamed, light color crawling up his
neck. “Louis—I know—I’m—I’m sorry—“
“I’ll come,” Louis interrupts calmly, gently, because he wasn’t trying to be a bastard, was trying to
make the mood light. Harry’s just so fucking sensitive… Like a newborn kitten or a dandelion.
The thought makes Louis’ chest warm.
Okay, he’s too in love.
“You will?” Harry says, lifting his head. Such a clear, beautiful face. Full of innocent hope and
sincerity. Worlds away from the boy he once knew.
“Always,” Louis hears his voice saying as he finds himself following Harry, as if ready to chase
him down and bring him back. To keep him in his room or his bed or his arms or…just anywhere
really. Just anywhere near him.
Harry smiles, that kiss of a dimple catching in the light pouring from the windows.
“Excellent. Until tomorrow, then? Yeah?” His voice is so sweet, so gentle.
Why does this hurt so much?
“Tomorrow then,” Louis promises, unable to blink, lost in the boy before him whose smile has
somehow become terrifyingly arresting overnight. (Louis hates being in love. He’s never doing
this again.)
The sun escapes from Harry’s lips.
“Oh, and Louis?”
Louis waits, suspended in midair.
“You were wonderful today. With your father. The way you handled it all…” He shakes his head
in awe. “I could never be like you. But.” Harry laughs lightly, nervously, his head bowed and
curls tumbling down from all sides as he paws at the ground with the toe of his boot. “You make
me…want to be. Like. You give me, like, hope, almost? You know?” And Harry actually flushes.
Louis wants to fucking pass out.
This is all too much.
And Louis opens his mouth to respond, to say something, but before he can, the door clicks and
Harry is gone.
And it’s all just too much.
Chapter End Notes
*finds a snow drift to collapse in* Ughhh this chapter gave me such a headache.
Wowza. I ended up splitting it in two because it was just taking too long and it was
so, so tedious. *rubs temples*