Amour

Chapter 5

Harry’s POV

I groaned and turned over in bed, willing myself to die. I barely slept at all last night, terrified about what tomorrow would bring. The thought of Louis walking into my house alone made me shudder. I pressed my hands against my eyes, trying to block out the bright sun that was streaming through my window, taunting me with the arrival of a horrible day. I couldn’t believe my father invited Louis without even consulting me. But like always, the pastor does as he pleases. I genuinely doubt it would have made a difference if I had protested anyways. In fact, he probably would’ve pushed the matter even further and invited him to move in just to piss me off.

Living with Louis. Now that would be the definition of hell on earth.

Knowing that any attempt to sleep would be useless at this point, I sat up in my bed with a sigh. I couldn’t decide which would be worse: the anticipation of Louis coming or Louis actually arriving. Maybe I’m just being overdramatic and working myself up over nothing. Maybe Louis will be polite and tolerable. I chuckle aloud at the thought. Yeah, and maybe hell will freeze over.

I stumble out of bed and toss a shirt and sweats on. I wouldn’t get ready for tonight until later. Perhaps if I was lucky, a lightning bolt would shoot out of the sky and hit me before then. I open my door and stumble down the stairs while rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I enter our small but endearing kitchen and see my mum furiously scrubbing away at everything and anything.

“Uh… mum?” I hesitantly ask while taking a step towards her. She dropped the sponge she was holding and wiped the hair out of her eyes before turning to look at me. “Harry, darling! Good morning!” She beamed. My mother was usually a happy person but this was extreme even for her. A beep sounded through the kitchen and she scurried over to the oven and took out a tray, revealing her decadent homemade cookies. “Morning” I mumbled before reaching for the desert. She quickly spun and slapped at my hand, making me drop the cookie. “Harold, no. Those are for our special guest later. Don’t touch them. And what did I tell you about mumbling? You better not mumble tonight.” She lectured as she began cleaning the already spotless kitchen again. So that’s what all this is about, Louis.

“You’re acting like we’ve never had a guest before.” I rolled my eyes as I grabbed a box of cereal from the cabinet and poured myself a bowl. “We’ve had plenty of business guests for your father, yes. But none of them have been for you Harry.” I began choking on my cereal at her words. After a minute of coughing and spewing milk all over the table, my breathing returned to normal. “What do you mean?” I glared at her. “Oh nothing it’s just nice to see you finally having a friend over.” She explained. I bit the inside of my cheek, fuming. I wanted nothing more than to tell my mom Louis was the furthest possible thing from a friend but I just couldn’t ruin this for her. She looked so thrilled that I was actually socializing and made a friend and I just couldn’t be the one to ruin her smile. I nodded in response and went back to my breakfast in silence.

After I ate my mother gave me a list of things to do before our “special guest” arrived. The afternoon went by in a surprisingly fast blur of cleaning and blasting music in my headphones to keep away the unwanted thoughts of tonight. Before I know it the clock strikes five and it’s time to start getting ready. I walk up to my room and take a hot shower in an attempt to calm my nerves. It doesn’t do much good as I step out with my anxiety levels as high as ever. I dry off and move to my closet, trying to decide what to wear. The sweatpants and hoodie on my shelf look so tempting but the vision of my mother strangling me encourages me reach to reach for some nice pants and a button down.

By the time I get ready it’s just a few minutes until six. I decide to hide in my room until my parents physically force me to come out. I sit at my small desk next to my window and nervously drum my fingers against the wood. I look at the clock on my wall and it’s already five past six. Why am I not surprised? Right when I begin to get my hopes up and believe he may not show up I see a car coming down our road.

I squint and look into the distance before shaking my head. No, that couldn’t be Louis. The oncoming car isn’t even close yet and I can tell the driver must be lost. A car like that wouldn’t be driving around a small, humble town like this, especially not on my road. Even from far away you can tell how fast and expensive it is.

My jaw drops when the car slows down and turns into our driveway. It’s a sleek, black sports car that just screams wealth and danger. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what type it was considering I’d only ever seen crappy used cars around here. I was quite afraid my jaw would break if it stooped any lower when the driver’s door opened and out stepped Louis, looking flawless as ever in dark pants and a blazer.

I was snapped out of my daze when I heard my father yell to me from downstairs. “Harry! Get down here now. Your guest has arrived.” I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat and ascended the stairs. I entered the room just in time to see my mother greeting Louis. His face holds that fake, charming smile he always uses to win over adults. I roll my eyes and scoff. Louis’s eyes flicker to me for a fraction of a second before returning to my mum and handing her something. She pulls an extravagant glass bowl out of the bag. The beautifully decorated piece looks far too elegant for our home. “A housewarming gift for the misses.” Louis coos. “Oh Louis, this is beautiful!” She half yells as she pulls him in for a hug. Louis looks somewhat uncomfortable but she doesn’t seem to notice. “Please, Anne, you’re suffocating the poor boy!” My father jokingly grumbles as he steps forward and shakes Louis’s hand.

I’m in complete awe at this exchange. I’ve never seen Louis be so friendly and polite. This had to be a joke. I stood waiting for the crew of punk’d to jump out and laugh at me.

It only adds to my confusion when Louis turns to me and reaches out to shake my hand with a grin. I hesitantly extend my hand, wondering if he was plotting my death. My parents start toward the kitchen and my mum calls over her shoulder, “Harry show him around. You two have a few minutes to chat while I set the table.”

Louis still hasn’t dropped my hand and his polite smile has morphed into a half smirk. His grip tightens on my hand and he pulls me in closer. “Hello, Harold.” He snickers. “How are you today?” I tense and quickly pull my hand out of his. “Fine.” At least he couldn’t assault me at my own house.

“Well let’s start this grand tour, shall we?” He chuckles. I avert my eyes and begin leading him around my home. It doesn’t take long considering how small it is. I don’t say much besides the occasional explanation of a room and Louis just follows close behind me silently. A little too close for comfort if you ask me. We make it to the upstairs hallway when Louis suddenly speaks up, “Can you point me to the bathroom?” He asks. “Uh yeah its right down there, first door.” I mutter. He just nods and walks away from me. I take a deep breath and slide down onto the floor, slumping against the wall. I let my head lean back and decide I can rest my eyes for just a moment.

I wake with a jump when my head hits the wall behind me. Shit, how long had I been sitting here? I stand in a hurry and rush to the bathroom hoping Louis was still there. Of course it’s empty. Where could he have gone? Dread runs through me when I realize where he probably went. I quickly hurry down the hallway and sure enough, my door is open a crack.

I enter my bedroom and find Louis sprawled across my bed. He’s leisurely flipping through the pages of something. Not just something, but my journal. What the hell.

A/N

Hello! Sorry this is kind of a boring filler chapter. I’ll be updating very soon with a much more exciting chapter hehe. Thanks for reading ily