CHANGE

SEVEN

LOUIS

When Louis wakes in the morning he's stiff as a board, his body aching from spending the night on the sofa. He's unusually comfy though, his neck in Liam's arm and the lads toned body wrapped around him like a blanket.

For once he hasn't been woken by a nightmare, and he feels warm and sleepy in Liam's embrace. It's early, seven am, but that's nothing compared to two am, the time that he usually wakes up. He wriggles forward, cuddling into to Liam and burying his face in his chest before sighing, content.

"Lou" Liam says sleepily, stirring awake at the movement. Louis looks up at him slightly, a little embarrassed craning his neck only to get a view of Liam's light stubble covering his jaw. "Yeah?" He replies.

Liam doesn't say anything back, pulling Louis closer towards him and wrapping both arms around the smaller boys chest.

"I missed you".

Louis and Liam were always this way, and the truth is Louis missed Liam too. He missed their endless banter and nights spent together doing stupid things, away from the rest of the lads. He missed the water fights on stage, the way they'd just go for something, no thought put into it. No thinking about the consequences their actions would have. Honestly, he just missed his best mate.

"I missed you too Li"

...

3 DAYS LATER

Louis looks at Liam nervously as they take the lift up to Simons floor, bopping his leg as he pulls his cap further over his face. "Lou it'll be fine" Liam tries to reassure him as the doors ping. "You'll be fine"

All the lads had been called in for another meeting and Louis was nervous. Hell he was terrified! The last time they'd had a meeting he'd walked out, leaving the rest of the boys emotional and in tears. He was afraid of how they were going to treat him.

Were they going to hate him? Pity him? He didn't want any of that. Really he just wanted to pretend like nothing had happened, continue shutting everyone and everything out, and leave, go home and get drunk. But he can't do that, not now he had Liam on his back.

His thoughts take over his head as they make their way down the corridor, getting closer and closer to Simons office.
He gulps as Liam opens the door, and he sees the three other lads already sat around Simons desk. Simons not there though, yet to appear.

"Alright lads" Liam says quietly as he takes a seat next to Niall, leaving Louis to take the one between himself and Zayn. Awkward.

He slouches in his seat and fiddles with his cap nervously. He can feel Zayn's stare and turns to look at him, sighing.
He feels bad about the other night. Fuck, he feels fucking awful. He knows how hard that is to admit to someone, he knows how much courage it takes. Yet he still freaked out and made one of his best friends feel like utter shit.

He panicked, and blocking people out is his automatic response, his coping mechanism if you will. He still needs to apologise though, he remembers the fear he felt admitting his feelings for Harry, first to his mum, then to Harry himself. Coming out was no easy thing, even if he wasn't allowed to to do it properly or fully.

His mum had been the sweetest when he came out to her, admitting he liked boys too. She had held him while he cried over his best mate, convinced he would never feel the same. She had also held him when that same boy broke his heart, leaving him in pieces. She had even been there at the end, trying so hard to be strong for her still broken boy, devastated she would never see him fully happy again. Louis hates himself for letting her leave like that, thinking her son was unhappy, which he was, but still, he wishes she got to leave him on a happy note. That's why he had promised to make it up with Zayn, and messaged him that very day. Good thing she didn't get to see how that one turned out, she would have been ashamed.