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Chapter 5

It's day three. The third fucking day, and Louis is going insane. He doesn't get it. Doesn't understand why everyone feels the need to keep planning things with Harry. Why they feel the need to include him when they so clearly have seen the awkwardness between the two of them. They're not friends anymore. Not even acquaintances at this point. So why - why - why can't they just keep him out of their plans with Harry?

It's a disaster in the making. A storm that is brewing. A tidal wave of pent up anger and frustration that is seconds away from crashing into Harry and drowning him in all the emotions that Louis has built up over the years. He's held off so far, only being three days in. But with how often all their friends expect them to hang around each other, he's not so sure how long he can keep biting his tongue. It seems like as each day passes, things between them get worse.

Day one, and Louis makes a complete ass of himself in front of Harry. Not even bothering to look happy that he's home or making an attempt at small talk. He let his anger and bitterness get the best of him, and it's the first time that he's ever acted so coldly towards the boy. It's different when all he used to be was sweet and loving. So soft and gentle. Harry might have expected things to go back to how they once were, where the two of them could be friends. But Louis is stubborn. Always has been. He's not letting that boy off the hook so easily. Those pretty green eyes and pouty lips won't win him over this time. It's going to take a lot more than just his cute face to get past all this anger Louis has for him.

Then it's day two. The infamous dinner. Everything had been going pretty decently until Niall slipped the ball on Louis and Luke's secret hook up. Then add on to that, Louis continued to run his mouth about being single and not caring about Harry's feelings, so the entire evening had been a complete disaster in trying to be civil. He knew everything he spoke was the truth, and he doesn't necessarily regret reminding his friends that he's not the one at fault here. But again, having Harry hear it all doesn't help. He looked so broken and upset, so betrayed, and Louis ended up being the one who felt guilty about the whole thing. Harry has that effect on people, making them feel sorry for him, and it fucking sucks.

It sucks because Louis knows Harry. Knows him so fucking well. At one point, they were in love and inseparable. Louis could read Harry easily, probably better than the boy could read himself. He knew Harry struggled with finding his voice and being confident around others. He struggled with the way he looked and how others perceived him. His insecurities consumed him, and Louis had always been there to be his reassurance. To be the soft reminders in his ear that he's beautiful and his words matter. Their late night conversations always ended with Harry crying about all the things that would bother him, and Louis tried his best to be the most supportive boyfriend that he could be.

So, yeah. He knows how fragile Harry can be. Knows how in his head he can get and how that greatly impacts the way he acts around others. Louis' never been the person on the end making him feel bad. He's always been the one lifting him up and being that beacon of light for him. So now that he's on the other end of being the one to break Harry, he feels fucking guilty. Harry's no good when he's alone and upset. And Louis has made him upset more times than he can count within the last two days. It's stressful. Confusing. And it doesn't make Louis feel good about himself at all.

He has until the evening to get his mind right. Niall invited all the lads over for a movie and beer night. Louis will be on day three of seeing his ex-boyfriend. And somehow, he's supposed to act normal. Right.

It's been hours since Louis lost track of what he's supposed to be working on. He had been listening to a demo on an up and coming band, but his mind had started drifting away about a few hours shy from lunch. The text message threw him off, and he had been non stop thinking about Harry and this entire week of him being in town. It's affecting his life. Affecting his work. He can't even focus on his task without Harry somehow slipping in to his mind. Maybe he should try to be friendly and see where that gets him. All this guilt he feels is eating him up alive, and the more times he acts like an asshole to the boy, the longer it's going to weigh heavy on him.