This chapter is a bit longer than usual, hope you enjoy it! xx

When Harry parks his car in front of the café the next day, his fingers shake slightly. He is a bit too early, so he takes his time to lock his car and enter the small building. The barista greets him with a friendly wave and tells him to sit wherever he pleases.

He chooses a table in the back of the room, which provides enough privacy but is still not so isolated that Louis might get uncomfortable. Harry isn't even sure if he will come. Actually, he hopes for the best but expects the worst, so he won't be too disappointed if Louis really doesn't show up.

Talking to him last night was odd. They acted like strangers – which they probably are, after ten years of not speaking – and Louis seemed like he would have preferred to be anywhere but here, in Harry's presence. Harry has played the scene over and over again in his head, repeating every word Louis had said. When stumbling into this bathroom, he had felt like the rug was pulled from under his feet.

His first thought had been that he had interrupted a heavy make out session of some drunk dudes. Then his gaze had fallen on this guy with blue eyes and a fringe covering his forehead – and he had a massive déjà-vu, even though every cell of his brain told him that this was impossible.

~Flashback~

It was one of these Monday mornings where Harry was incredibly late for school. He teared around the corner of the school gates with his bike and skidded to a halt in front of the main entrance. He quickly locked his bike and sprinted into the building. There were only about five minutes left and it was nearly impossible for him to make it to his first lesson in time.

His feet led him to his locker, which he ripped open, and he gripped his books for the day. Harry started running again, skilfully evading students that were also bustling through the hallways. Three minutes left.

After taking another corner, he threw himself against a door with the small image of a peeing boy on it. His school had always been very creative in indicating its toilets. Instead of swinging open, the door stopped after an arm's length and crashed right into something, causing Harry to slam against it and drop all his books.

Holding his elbow, he peeked around the door to see what had stopped his way in such a painful manner. With dismay he had to notice that it was rather someone than something. This person – a boy – was still standing straight, frowning at him and rubbing his shoulder.

"Oops," Harry said sheepishly, still peering down at the boy with baby blue eyes and giving him an apologising smile.

The frown disappeared from the boy's face and he started smiling instead. He reached out and offered Harry his hand.

"Hi!"

Harry stared at the outstretched hand for a second before shaking it firmly and daring to smile as well.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Harry. Sorry for..."

"Never mind," the boy replied with a shrug, "I was in your way. I'm Louis!"

Harry took in the boy's appearance. He was wearing a beanie over a long, messy fringe that covered all of his forehead. A half-done tie was wrapped around his neck and Harry assumed, that he had just been fixing it when the door bumped into his back. Harry had never seen him before.

"You should better take this off," Harry mumbled, pointing at Louis' beanie.

The boy gave him a confused look but obliged.

"They're quite strict here when it comes to clothing," Harry shrugged. "You're new, right?"

Louis nodded, biting his bottom lip.

"First day today..."

This was the moment the bell went off. Dammit! Harry bent down quickly to pick up his books. He had already been late three times last week; his teacher would definitely kill him this time.

"It was nice meeting you, Louis, but I gotta hurry now... Sorry again!" Harry rambled, already about to leave the bathroom.

"Wait!" The other boy whisper shouted. "I have no idea where I have to go! Please tell me at least how to find room 27!"

Harry immediately stopped in his tracks and an idea formed in his head.

"Room 27? This is where I have to go as well. Come on!"

He grabbed the sleeve of Louis' jacket and pulled him out of the bathroom.

"And my tie?" he asked desperately, while following Harry through the empty corridor.

"We'll fix it on the way," the boy answered and took a corner towards the staircase.

Shortly after, they stopped in front of a closed classroom door. Louis was panting a little, but Harry was used to morning sprints.

"Just play along, okay?" he said and handed Louis his books, who took them with a perplex facial expression. Harry lifted his hands to Louis' tie and fixed it with a few practised movements. Louis held his breath for a moment when Harry adjusted it one last time, probably scared that he would wrap it too tightly around his neck. "Good, now come on."

Confidently, Harry tapped his knuckles against the door and knocked loudly. He pushed it open without waiting for a reply and stepped into the classroom, dragging Louis along.

"Good morning Ms Turner," he cheered and gave her his brightest smile. "I'm incredibly sorry for being late, but I'm bringing you a new student, Louis."

The teacher raised an eyebrow at Harry and seemed anything else than impressed.

"I can see that, Harry, but what I don't see is why this justifies your tardiness," she states and Harry's smile falls immediately. He hadn't expected that his excuse needs a detailed explanation.

Before he could start stammering, Louis suddenly stepped in.

"Mrs Morris asked him to help me with the paperwork, since it is my first day today, and it took longer than expected. I'm endlessly sorry, Ms Turner," Louis exclaimed persuasively and with so much confidence, that Harry would have believed him instantly. It actually seemed to work.

Ms Turners face softened a little and she nodded understandingly.

"Well, in that case, it was very nice of Harry to help you with these things. Your tardiness shall be excused for today. But don't let it become a habit, Louis, like other students unfortunately did," she said with a sigh and darted a disapproving look at Harry, who ducked his head instantly and made his way to his seat.

"Alright, Louis, you can sit in the back next to Lydia."

The girl waved friendly at the new student. Louis nodded and began strolling over to her but didn't miss to show Harry a shrewd smile when passing by. Harry grinned back at him and hoped that Louis could see his thankfulness for saving him today.

Harry couldn't help glancing over his shoulder every once in a while to check in on Louis. He didn't know why but he felt the strange urge to make sure he's doing okay. Louis seemed to be fine, though, and he obviously was good at quickly making new friends. Lydia broke down in a fit of laughter already ten minutes after the lesson had started.

At the end of class, Harry hurried to stuff his things into his backpack and turned around to see how far Louis was. He was already making small talk with some other classmates and Harry could feel a stitch in his chest. Obviously, the new boy didn't need any further help to get along today, so Harry shouldered his backpack and made his way towards the door.

"Hey, Harry," a voice suddenly called from behind him.

The boy twirled around, and his face automatically lit up when he saw Louis coming towards him, smiling.

"Do you have a biology lesson in room...," he looked on the timetable in his hands, "in room 13 now?"

"No, physics, room 5," Harry replied with an eye-roll. "But I can walk you there if you want...," he offered sheepishly.

Louis' grin got even wider.

"That would be cool, thanks man!"

Harry smiled softly, an undeniable feeling of satisfaction in his chest, what he would never admit of course.

Before saying their goodbyes in front of Louis' classroom, Harry promised to pick him up at lunchbreak so they could walk to the canteen together and he could show Louis the rest of the school building.

During his maths lesson, Harry was constantly checking the time, and barely listened to the teacher. Not that paying attention would have helped, he was a hopeless case when it came to maths. Fortunately, they were released a bit earlier from class because the teacher had an appointment. So, Harry had enough time to make his way to Louis' room and stop by at the bathroom to check on his fringe. Of course, he didn't want to look like a complete idiot in front of his new friend.

This lunchbreak was the funniest Harry had ever spent. Louis had a natural talent of making people laugh, and he didn't care if he made a fool out of himself when doing so. His jokes where so stupid that Harry cracked into a fit of laughter every time. He had to stop eating his sandwich, so he didn't choke on it while holding his stomach and trying to control his giggles.

A few minutes later, Harry's cousin Liam joined them, and Louis gave him his best, eye-crinkling sunshine smile to show he doesn't bite. Even though Harry found Louis' smile absolutely endearing, he couldn't blame Liam for being a bit taken aback by so much cheerfulness. It only made Harry laugh more.

Louis even invited Liam and him over to come visit his new home and meet his family. Liam had to go to a revision group in the afternoon, but Harry agreed to go with Louis. He was actually excited to spend more time with his new friend. He learnt that Louis had moved from Doncaster to Holmes Chapel with his mum and his sisters to live here with his stepdad.

Louis also came to school by bike so they could easily cruise around town a bit before driving to Louis' house. Harry silently made a plan of showing Louis all of his favourite spots in the next time.

At first, the older boy proudly presented Harry his new home. The house was large enough for a big family, but it was not completely furnished yet, and in some rooms wallpapers and curtains were still missing. The kitchen, however, was already quite presentable and it was where they found Louis' mum, who immediately pulled the new friend of her son into a hug and introduced herself as Johannah Tomlinson.

"Call me Jay," she said and smiled at the curly-haired boy, and Harry knew where Louis had his sunshine smile from.

It didn't take long to find Louis' sisters either. The twins, Phoebe and Daisy, were playing in the backyard and seemed rather uninterested in their brother's friend. Lottie, on the other hand, was completely stunned when the two boys walked into her room and she blushed horribly, when Harry introduced himself and gave her a shy wave. She was only 11 but looked like she just met her Prince Charming and was about to faint. Louis grabbed Harry's sleeve and pulled him out of the room.

They spent the afternoon discussing how Louis should set up his room, playing video games, strolling around in the neighbourhood and cracking lame jokes that sent both of them into fits of laughter regularly.

Harry had never bonded with someone that quickly in his whole life. He didn't know if this was what people called meeting your soulmate, but it somehow felt like it. With Louis, everything was easy. They shared the same sense of humour, and he didn't have the urge to play-act at all. In front of Louis, he could be himself.

He shared things with him on the first day of knowing him that he had never told anyone before. Nothing dramatic, but still things that he considered private. He didn't have to fear Louis judging him. The other boy just seemed to be interested in every bit of Harry's life and incredibly thankful for Harry's openness. He wasn't usually like this. But again, with Louis, it was different than with anyone he had met before.

In the following months, they spent every free minute together. They convinced their teachers to be allowed to sit next to each other in class. They always went to one of their houses after school and could hang out without getting bored for hours. They usually stayed over for dinner and were soon seen as part of each other's family.

When they wanted to be alone, they went into the woods or strolled around on the endless green meadows of Holmes Chapel. One day, they discovered an old hut on a hill. When the weather was good, they sat down on the roof and swung their feet over the rim. It took a whole day to clean the inside of the hut, but in the end, they set up some armchairs, bookshelves and a camping cooker for a cosy atmosphere. It became their hiding spot.

So... how did you like this chapter? Do you want me to do flashbacks more often?