Play Pretend, Find a Friend? (Larry Stylinson)

13

XIII.

October passed in the same blur as always, a whirlwind of fallen leaves and electric energy, a million different things demanding the attention all at once. The weekends before and after Halloween were dedicated to costume parties and autumn-themed events, so by the time it was over, after his fourth event that required a costume, Louis was officially Halloweened out. The work in his classes picked up, and the days got shorter and colder, and the agreement with Harry continued. As did the friendship.

That Thursday night, the same week as the intimate dream that changed everything, Louis brought Harry to his first Prism meeting. After that, it became a regular occurence, and Louis had to remind himself that the pride he felt at seeing Harry quickly become a part of the on-campus community, already taking on multiple service projects after only being a part of the organization for a few days, was unfounded. By the third week, Harry was talking animatedly with everyone at the meetings, almost more present than Louis himself, who was the literal president of the organization. Each meeting consisted of a short presentation about a specific topic to educate the group, then there was time designated to planning events and working on their current projects, and finally they always left at least fifteen minutes to discuss their lives and rant if they needed to. The meetings often turned into impromptu group therapy sessions and Louis loved it, loved how strong the community was on campus and how much they felt like a family.

In other news, ever since that first night at Phi Kapp, helping Rickie with the assignment for his Japanese class, Harry had taken to calling Louis "satsumaimo" or variations of the term. At first he did it because it bugged Louis, who wasn't a fan of being made fun of, and also wasn't a fan of being called "sweet potato" in any language. However, he eventually became desensitized to it, and Harry started saying it less as a joke and more out of habit, and it stuck. So was the business of nicknames.

It had the dual purpose of serving as an inside joke, and all Harry had to do was call Louis "satsumaimo" or "my little sweet potato" in a sickly sweet voice for Landon to turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Which was to say, it served its purpose.

So Louis kept hanging out around Harry, and Harry kept kissing him chastely whenever Landon was around, like he was proving a point. They did have a fake relationship to act out, after all, but sometimes it felt uncomfortably like Harry was marking his territory. There was definitely a pissing contest between Harry and Landon to determine who was the manlier man, or whatever, which made Louis roll his eyes every time he was reminded of it.

Pissing contest aside, Louis really liked Harry. Not just in a romantic way, as his dream forced him to realize, but in every way. He was so funny and stupid and kind. And genuine. Achingly genuine.

After a few weeks, they got into the groove of getting lunch together between classes, or studying in the library together when their schedules matched up. It wasn't that they planned these times to hang out, but rather that Harry would already have a table in the dining hall when Louis arrived, and he would wave him over to join him, or Louis would find Harry in the library and take the seat next to him. The only activities they planned were the evenings Louis would spend at the Phi Kapp house, when Harry knew for a fact that Landon would also be there.

It was always at least a little awkward due to the high tensions within the fraternity ever since Harry came out. That, mixed with Landon's standoffish behavior, and Harry's defiant insistence to kiss Louis at every turn, made the casual gatherings much more volatile. It was always lowkey, with Louis hanging around the kitchen as Harry tried to perfect his brownie recipe, or the two of them watching a movie together on the couch. Harry's position as president made it so that he sometimes had to leave abruptly to resolve an argument between brothers or hold impromptu meetings that delegated new tasks and set new rules. Whenever Harry left him alone, Louis took it upon himself to get to know the other members of Phi Kappa Alpha. They weren't the people he would gravitate towards in a crowded room, but he was quickly finding that a lot of them were good people, and it was a shame he would've overlooked them.