everything we felt on that day

"louis?" harry asked again, this time more frantically. "you there?"

a long pause, but he could hear the boy breathing. "yeah. i'm here."

"what's up?" he said, carefully. "i just got back from work-"

"sorry," louis responded quickly, barely letting harry finish his sentence. "i meant to get in contact with you earlier. it's just- i've had a busy week."

really? harry thought, so busy i wasn't worth even a text? but he didn't let the words come out this time—louis' voice was already shaking like a leaf. when things were calmer though, they would. "yeah, no problem. you good right now, though?" harry dropped his bag to unbutton the first couple of buttons on his shirt while taking off his beanie, plopping down on the smelly couch. he was ready for a long rant from the shaken boy.

there was none, though. "nothing. jus' wanted to hear your voice is all." his breathing was still ragged and harry could tell he was trying to hold himself together. he wanted to see what was really wrong, he wanted to know everything about the boy, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. he knew it was too much to pry from a boy he'd known for just a bit over a week, most of which they hadn't even spoken.

"okay, well… hi." he forced out, awkwardly. "we should uh, we should hang out sometime."

"when do you have work this week?" louis sounded a little better, still not himself, but more grounded. "we could do something after classes one day."

"how about we grab lunch tomorrow? i'm pretty free around that time most days."

louis' breath hitched a little bit before he scolded himself and gathered his bearings. "yeah. yeah, that would be nice."

"okay," harry smiled, forgetting his stress, forgetting his fatigue, forgetting his anger at louis for dropping off the face of the earth for over a week. "tomorrow, then. it's a date."

"alright, harry… goodnight, see you tomorrow." louis' sighed, and sounded much more stable after, almost like a reset, to harry's relief.

"you sure you don't need anything right now, lou?" harry quickly added, before louis hung up. "i'm here."

"i'm fine, harry. thanks. don't worry about it."

but he couldn't help but worry, not when the ocean boy sounded so distraught. "louis…"

"i'll see you tomorrow, okay? now finish the homework i know you're definitely drowning in and get your ass to bed, haz." he chuckled weakly, "i don't want to keep you for any longer."

harry wanted to protest, but he knew louis was right and didn't want to keep fighting a losing battle. "okay, i will. night, lou."

"sleep tight."

and the line cut, causing harry to deflate deeper in the sofa cushion. despite the worry, despite everything, he was suddenly resisting a dopey smile. he was going to see the beautiful boy again.

when it was time to get ready for their outing, harry had already been awake for several hours. he'd laughed at himself dryly, because what is he? some grade schooler who can't sleep the night before christmas? by 8 in the morning, he decided that it was finally okay to text louis to check in.

harry (sent at 08:01): heyyy we up for noon today? H

a few minutes passed before he got a response, which is quicker than he originally anticipated. he wasn't sure what it was, but louis had not struck him as an early riser.

louis: of course if you're still down x (sent at 08:08)

harry: ok, my house at noon? x (sent at 08:08)

harry: i'll drive us somewhere, it'll be easier .x (sent at 08:09)

louis: ok, see you then xx (sent at 08:10)

to say that harry was excited would be an understatement. suddenly, he forgot all about his past problems—the shit from work, from school, family, anything. all he could think about was louislouislouis.

the hours passed much more slowly than he would have liked. all harry could do was sit, dig away the omelet he made, and sip his tea, which he had drowned in sugar and milk, in a way that louis would have criticized for no longer tasting like tea anymore. but harry liked it, so that's how he had always taken his tea.

the time he awaited came around; and slowly he felt his excitement fizzle out into nervousness and worry. remembering louis' state last night made harry fear what he would find today—the skinny boy who was wasting away? empty eyes, empty cheeks, hollow words? pure, total rejection?

funnily enough, time passed much faster when he let those thoughts consume him—this happened quite often, more so than he would like to admit. harry was a worrier, after all. when it came to others, the tasks he had to complete, whether his actions right now are positively affecting his future or not.

luckily, the sound of the doorbell resonating throughout his apartment snapped him out of the mess of thoughts. some nights, when the unrelenting worry would become too much, harry had to call liam or niall, and they would speak to him softly to comfort him (or normally, to ground him, depending on the type of worry), until things were okay again. and he was endlessly grateful for that.

when harry went to get the door and was met by blue eyes yet again, he felt it all come flowing back to him. or out of him, to put it more accurately—the wind was knocked out of him, and all it took was a glance from the boy. it made him want to throw up a little bit, but somehow the feeling was so addicting; he didn't want to let this go.

"hi," louis smiled lightly, "where to next?"

"uh, right. right, i- let me just grab my keys," harry fumbled through his words, his thoughts mudding up his ability to talk coherently, "then we can leave. i have a place in mind that i'd like to show you. had to be today."

louis found the younger boy's breathlessness endearing, and couldn't help but giggle. "take your time, styles. we got all day, that is, if you don't have work or anything. all my classes were in the morning today."

harry stored that bit of information into one of the files in his brained labeled louis william "ocean boy" tomlinson. so far, it had everything he's been told, and a few quirks that even the blue-eyed boy didn't know he possessed. man, he realizes, he is whipped.

both gather their bearings, and harry leads the other out of his apartment to the garage, where the smell of skunk spray and dampness in the air attacked whoever went in at all angles. louis wasn't paying attention the day they had met, but harry's car was so decorated and so harry. pale pink mini cooper with a pride-themed air freshener. it smelled of delicate flowers, exactly how harry would smell if he were a scent. a little bit different from the body wash and shampoo he uses, but nevertheless, still very harry. this time, sober, louis was able to digest it all. and he was glad to.

calmer, harry revved up the engine after buckling his seatbelt. "let's get going, shall we?"

the smaller boy only nodded, but he felt more cocoons transfigure into fully-fledged butterflies. if harry was whipped, louis was absolutely gone.