you're cold and I burn (on hold)

Chapter 8
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
The near frigid draft is whispering around, gentle but persistent on Louis’ h<strong>and</strong>s, face <strong>and</strong> neck.
Any previous trace of the toasty sun is now completely vanished, leaving behind an unforgiving
dark. Louis, right now, at this very moment, is pacing back <strong>and</strong> forth on the sidewalk just outside
the flat, <strong>and</strong> hating himself for it. The time has continued to tick by since Zayn had left with Liam,
<strong>and</strong> Louis’ brain has done nothing but echo his words, over <strong>and</strong> over, <strong>and</strong> now Louis can almost
hear Zayn’s voice, crystal clear.
He wants to, in all honestly, take this entire thing lightly. He wants this fun, hot little secret to be
something he can walk right in <strong>and</strong> experiment with. He wants to walk over to Harry with a hard
chest, watch as all of Harry’s muscles relax <strong>and</strong> go weak, shrinking back because he’s allowing
the overpowering presence, a silent plea of permission <strong>and</strong> almost desire because in Zayn’s words,
‘he wants it.’ And Louis would just adore watching his body squirm beneath him.
But, there’s always a but.
He’s always been the type to think more into things <strong>and</strong> make them about two-thous<strong>and</strong> feet
deeper than they need to be. There has to be a reason that this whole submissive thing is
something Harry has hidden, either because he’s ashamed or embarrassed <strong>and</strong> that fact is causing
Louis’ stomach to flip around in disgusting ways. Because he knows just as well as anyone that
you begin to doubt yourself <strong>and</strong> want to change when you’re under the impression that you
should. Which, ultimately, leads Louis to believe someone has told Harry that, in the past, being
that way was.. wrong.
He really just wants more answers now. He wants to pry because it’s always been one of those
habits he hasn’t yet lost, <strong>and</strong> he’ll admit that. He’s nosey, but really only when it’s something he’s
really interested in. He’s not going to sit here <strong>and</strong> lie to himself, say that his (very) attractive
roommate, who comes off as cocky, who actually has this submissive side he doesn’t want anyone
to see, isn’t the most interesting thing going on in his life right now.
Louis’ not sure how to approach the situation, especially when dealing with someone’s insecurity
or secret. Would it be intrusive to just straight up ask him? Would it make Harry feel cornered? He
truthfully doesn’t have to tell Louis anything, so it might not be very productive. According to the
previous encounters with Harry, if he hears something he doesn’t like or something that kind of
hits him the wrong way, he tends to shut down <strong>and</strong> Louis can’t have that, not when he’s living
with him, that’s just awkward. So, the next best thing would be to pretend he has no idea, use that
to his own advantage <strong>and</strong> try to weasel it out of Harry. Make him see that there isn’t anything
wrong, encourage the submissive behavior. But, how’s that possible when Louis’ bones have this
habit of turning to jello when Harry holds the eye contact longer than a few seconds?
He hasn’t quite decided how to h<strong>and</strong>le this new information, but he’s glad that Zayn told him. It
brings more insight into Harry’s personality. It explains why, when Harry left him at the grocery
instead of picking him up like he had said, he recoiled <strong>and</strong> lost any fight that he had in him as soon
as Louis exploded. It explains Harry’s resistance to confrontation. What it doesn’t explain, is why
Harry was so ready to blunder someone with a baseball bat for loitering outside of Louis’
window, everything about that night screamed “dominant,” but of course you can’t always judge
someone based on their protective instinct. It’s all very confusing.
The whole situation has Louis' mind spinning <strong>and</strong> his thoughts a speeded blur that doesn't seem to