He stopped abruptly, the words that were meant to leave his lips somehow ended up trailing into silence as the door swung open, Louis with a wide grin on his face and Harry’s green eyes widened in shock.
“You can help me if you let me in,” Louis broke the stunned silence first, tilting his head to the side questioningly. “Or are you going to let your best friend stand out here the whole day?”
“Oh my god, Lou, what are you doing here?!” Louis’ face was that of amusement as he watched Harry’s shock slowly morph into happiness and probably more shock.
“I’m here on behalf of Santa to deliver you your Christmas present, since you’ve been a great child this year!” Louis joked, and the curly-haired boy laughed. His laughter was a melodious sound that Louis hadn’t realized he’d missed so much. He hadn’t seen Harry in two whole years, but he never forgot how his green eyes would sparkle when he laughed, or how the corners of his eyes would crinkle up.
“Oh my goodness Lou, this is absolutely amazing! You’re amazing!” Harry exclaimed in joy as he reached out to wrap his arms tightly around Louis, nuzzling his face into the crook of Louis’ neck. The latter smiled as he returned the embrace without hesitation; he’d missed the hugs that Harry gave too.
Louis pulled away from the hug first. “I know thanks. I took an entire day to get here, and I had to surprise you in the most amazing way ever and I’m literally freezing my ass off, so please, let me in and make me a cup of hot cocoa, Styles.”
~*~
Louis had a long conversation with Harry’s mother, Anne. Despite him being awfully exhausted, he didn’t mind. This lady was like a second mother to him before, and she still was. It was amazing how he could still talk to her so freely even after nine years had gone by and he’d grown nine years older.
Anne had fixed Louis a scrumptious lunch of spaghetti bolognaise with meatballs, and Louis gobbled the food down while Harry sat, watching him. “What are you staring at? Is there something on my face?! My god, my face!” Louis asked, horror taking over his facial features. Harry shook his head vigorously. “Nothing, nothing, don’t worry, you vain little arse!” Harry laughed.
But the truth was that it wasn’t nothing. Harry was watching Louis. It wasn’t as if he enjoyed observing people eat or anything, it was just because it was Louis eating. Everything about that feather-haired boy seemed to be fascinating to Harry, and the latter honestly wouldn’t mind just sitting there all day watching him.
Anne watched the both of them fondly, glad that the two of them were still such great friends. “Anyway, Louis, it’s so nice of you to come and visit Harry. You must be tired,” she spoke, “Harry, bring Louis to the guest room and let him have some rest.” Harry nodded happily.
“Thanks, Mrs. Styles,” Louis replied sincerely, although he wasn’t sure what to call her anymore. “After you, Tomlinson,” Harry grinned playfully as he held out his right hand as if to direct Louis out of the dining area and up the stairs to his room.
They walked up the steps in silence with Louis feeling all the effects of jetlag as he dragged himself up the steps, silently eager to just plop down on the bed and sleep the day away.
“Here’s your room, so I guess I’ll leave you to unpack and rest yeah? I’ll see you tomorrow morning or something. Have a good afternoon-night, Lou,” Harry pushed Louis into the room and shut the door before retreating to his own room to idle the time away on the internet.
Just then, a soft “ding” sound caught his attention; a new message.
2:11PM Louis says:
Sorry for succumbing to exhaustion before we even got to catch up!
2:11PM Louis says:
I’ll go talk to you later tonight, promise! :)
Harry smiled fondly at his laptop screen before constructing a reply.
2:12PM Harry says:
Alright, now go to sleep, sleepyhead, ‘night. :)
~*~
Louis slept the entire afternoon and evening away, missing Anne's wonderful cooking, and Harry couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed and maybe sad too. He'd been looking forward to having dinner with his family and Louis, because he just wanted to relive those times when they were children. Okay, maybe he also just wanted to be able to talk to Louis sooner. But Harry wasn't going to barge into Louis' room and drag him out of bed, not yet anyway. He wasn’t that desperate.
So after dinner, Harry and Gemma ended up watching the rerun of the X Factor on TV, with Harry still feeling extremely bored and disappointed. Then finally at 9PM, Harry decided to go back to his room and lie in bed like a lazy sloth, scrolling idly on his phone.
After he'd finished scrolling through his entire timeline on Facebook and Twitter, he dragged himself out of bed and to his study desk. He pulled out his books from his book bag and began to study. It wasn't as if he needed to, or that he wanted to, he just wasn't willing to sleep just in case Louis did come to look for him for a chat. He was only going to sleep if Louis didn’t come around by eleven.
Harry sat at his desk, re-reading the laws and whatever business regulations he'd already read a thousand times. Studying law was pretty boring. He was only a law student because his parents wanted him to make big money. But okay, he was interested in it, and he just wanted to be able to go to court one day and fight for his clients; it wasn't all for the cash.
At 10:55PM, Harry was already tucked under his covers, his sock-covered feet peeking out of them. Wearing socks when he slept during the winter had been a habit since young. He remembered when he and Louis used to spend the night together at one of their rooms and sleep in each other's bed, colourful toe socks on their feet.
A quiet knock sounded on his door and Harry sat up. "Come in," he called out, secretly hoping it was Louis, and indeed it was.
Louis took a look at Harry, who was in his jumper and track pants. "Were you about to sleep? If you were then I'll leave, and we can talk tomorrow," Louis proposed, still standing by the door.
The last thing Harry wanted was for Louis to leave, so he shook his head. "It's okay, I'm not tired yet," Harry said as he shuffled over to his left to make space. He held up the covers and patted the space beside him, as if beckoning Louis to sit by him. Louis obliged, crawling under the warm covers; they smelt like Harry.
"So, still wearing socks to sleep huh?" Louis chuckled as he, too, remembered the times when they slept together as children with adorable childish socks on their feet. Harry laughed, nodding. "Yeah, me too, it feels nice to sleep with warm feet."
"How have you been? I've missed you for two years now," Louis admitted. The both of them sat in comfortable silence. In the darkness, everything seemed so safe, like they could talk about anything and the other would know that he meant it at the time. It was as if the night was magical, and they'd just forget about whatever happened the night prior the next morning.
To Louis, the darkness was his shield, and he was glad, because then Harry wouldn't be able to see his embarrassment or reddening cheeks because he'd just said something so cheesy like that. And to Harry, the darkness gave him more courage; courage he'd need in order to bring up that note Louis had given to him just before he left New South Wales.
"I love you", the note had said. Till now Harry had no idea what it meant. He'd liked to believe that it just meant "You're my best friend", but something told him that that wasn't all. He wished Louis would talk about it soon, because he didn't want to be the one to do it. Harry was always a more introverted and quiet person, whereas Louis was more sociable and almost boisterous, even.
Harry was almost prepared to ask about that note when Louis spoke. "You still awake?" he asked quietly, turning his head to look at Harry. And with that little action, Harry lost the nerve to say what he'd wanted to. And so he kept the words in him, as he had kept that note in his wallet since that day.
"Yeah, and I missed you too. I've been alright, happy to finally be graduating after working so hard for so long," Harry replied, silently cursing at himself for being such a wimp.
"Me too. And I remember what course I was majoring in. I think it was some kind of a literature drama thing," Louis spoke as if he'd just found a new element to put on the Periodic Table. "Oh! You remember my old teacher, Mr. Evans? Well, for the first time in three years, on graduation day, he actually called me and Zayn by our names and congratulated us! Maybe he didn't hate us all that much after all!"
Seeing Louis so happy made Harry decide to just drop the topic of that note entirely. He wasn’t going to make it all awkward between them. "Of course he didn't, Lou. How could anyone dislike you?" Harry laughed.
"That's a good point there, Hazza," Louis said as he ruffled Harry's curls and pinched his cheek. "I'm great aren't I? I was always good at his module and I could always answer all his questions in class," he bragged.
"I'm sure you were great," Harry patronised and Louis gasped in mock offence. "Excuse me, Styles, but did you use the past tense?!" Louis cried dramatically. After all, he was a drama student just days ago.
"Oh good God, pardon my sin! I should've learnt my tenses well back in grade school! Sorry, sir, forgive me will you?" Harry played along, grinning. Louis could always bring out the cheekiest and most playful side of Harry, and that was what the latter loved about his best friend.
"Now that's more like it, young grasshopper, be good," Louis continued on with his little one-man show, and Harry could practically hear his triumphant grin in his voice.
"Nah, it’s not as if I want to. It’s just that you have my present, so I have to be good. What if you don't give it to me?"
"Oh my, now wouldn't that be the worst thing in the world!" Louis teased. "Can't let that happen now can we?" He shook his head, as if to answer his own question.
"Nope!" Harry responded, popping the "p". "So where's my present, Santa?" Harry asked cheekily, holding his hands out in front of Louis.
"You are such a greedy child! Santa travelled 10000 miles to talk to you but presents are all you care about? Shame on you, Harry Styles," Louis joked, clucking his tongue disapprovingly.
"You said you came to deliver my present, so give it to me!" Harry cried out. He was just interested to see what Louis had gotten him. Was it handmade; was it some kind of a scrapbook? Or maybe it was like a watch or something. Harry honestly had no idea what Louis would get him, so no doubt was he excited.
"Fine, Santa will drag his jet-lagged self out of your warm and snug bed to get your present from his room now," Louis let out an over dramatic sigh as he made a big show of climbing out of Harry's bed.
"The things I do for you, Styles. And before you ask, yes, getting out of bed to get your gift is a big deal."
"You love me." Harry replied playfully, wanting to tease Louis and to get his long overdue Christmas present.
Louis laughed as he walked out of Harry's room and into his own, and he hoped that that laugh sounded like a real one instead of like he was being strangled. Louis wasn't going to lie; his heart literally skipped a beat when Harry said that. Louis, too, thought of the note then, and he wished that he never wrote it in the first place because he didn't even know what it was supposed to mean. He still didn't know what it meant, and he wasn't even sure that Harry still remembered it. For all he knew, the curly-haired boy could have lost it before he even read it.
Sighing quietly to himself, he put those thoughts and uncertainties at the back of his mind and grabbed the cardboard box containing that glass bottle, their glass bottle.
Louis had chosen that bottle because of all the memories it held in it. He’d decided to fill the bottle up with sand and shells from the beach near his home back in Australia because that was where he’d found it in the first place. This bottle was no doubt very significant to the both of them. It was what started that whole series of fateful events, and Louis was glad that they were smart enough to write those messages and put them in it. He honestly had never thought that either of them would find the bottle. When he did, he cherished it greatly. And since it meant the world to him, he decided that giving it to Harry would be apt.
"Here you go, you demanding-" Louis' words faded away as he saw Harry asleep, still sitting up. And then he was reminded of that time when Harry fell sick in New South Wales. As strange as it sounded, it was only the second time he'd seen the grown-up Harry sleeping. For some strange reason that even Louis didn’t know, the soft light from the corridor falling on Harry’s pretty features made him even more fascinated at the boy’s sleeping.
After Louis put the bottle on Harry's desk, he couldn't help but sit himself back down beside Harry. This way, Harry could lean on his shoulder when he fell asleep.
Soon enough, Louis fell asleep to the soft, regular breathing of Harry and that was how they spent the entire night, with the curly-haired boy curled into Louis' side.
~*~
YOU ARE READING
Chances - Larry Stylinson
Fanfiction(Sequel to A Twist of Fate) Two years have passed since Harry met Louis in New South Wales on an exchange program. Now they've both graduated from university, and Louis decides that maybe it's time to take a chance and do something about those last...
