Hi! This one was inspired by a line from a Drarry fic. I don't remember who's so I am really sorry I can't tag you, though I am not using the exact line, just parts of it.

I hope you enjoy!

Prompt: "My dear," she whispered. "There is a very thin line between love and hate. There is a saying where you can't hate someone too much or else you'll end up loving them. And that goes vise versa."

Word Count: 1,978

Trigger Warnings: None

Harry stood talking to Niall in front of their lockers. "Styles," he heard a voice. He turned around. "Talking to your baby friends?" Louis says.

Ever since the first day of middle school, Louis had taken it upon himself to make Harry's life miserable. He hated him.

Harry couldn't see why as he hadn't done anything to offend the boy. At least he was pretty sure he hadn't.

"Niall's not a baby. Please just leave us alone."

Louis smirked. "As if. Why should I listen to you?"

"Go away Louis," Niall said.

"Aww are your little baby friends protecting you," Louis mocked.

The bell rang. Louis turned to go, looking at them over his shoulder. "Better hurry up," he said. "Would want the babies to be late to class."

...

Harry managed to avoid Louis most of the school day. He only had one class left. Unfortunately, he remembered with a groan, Louis was in that class. And they sat next to each other. Just his luck.

He walked into class, his head down, sitting quietly at his desk. Maybe Louis would leave him alone. It was a small hope.

"Nerd," Louis sneered when he sat down. 

"Moved on from 'baby' now, I see," Harry mumbled under his breath.

"What's that nerd? I couldn't hear you."

"Nothing," Harry said.

"It better have been nothing. I would hate if anything happened to you after school in the parking lot."

"Louis, please sit down," the teacher said.

Louis looked over at Harry and rolled his eyes.

...

"Styles," Louis said as he did every morning. "I see your nerd friends aren't here to protect you today. Aww how sad."

"Why do you hate me so much?" Harry asked.

Louis scoffed and rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He never actually answered whenever Harry asked him that question. He turned and stalked off.

He always seemed... regretful almost whenever Harry asked him that question.

...

Louis sat at his kitchen table, studying the grain of the wood.

"Are you alright?" his mother asked him.

"I-" he said. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine, love. You've been staring down at the table for the past twenty minutes. Something's definitely up."

Louis sighed. "I tried so hard to make it go away," he said. "But every time I look at him, it gets worse. I've fallen in love with him, Mama, and I don't know what to do."

"With who, baby?"

"Harry," he said softly.

"You can't make it go away," she said. "You can't help who you fall in love with, Louis."

"But I'm supposed to hate him," Louis whispered.

She pulled him to her, cradling his head against her chest. "My Dear," she said. "There is a very thin line between love and hate. You can only hate something so much before you begin to love it. If you hated him so much, then maybe it wasn't really hate at all, but love."

"But Father-"

"Your father hates him because what happened when he was in high school. He expects you to do the same, but you are not your father. He doesn't know Harry. He blames him for what his parents did. You don't have to hate him too, Louis. It's okay to love him."

"I don't want to disappoint Father. I want him to be proud of me."

"My dear, in time you will learn that true love is far more important than past disagreements. It is far more important than pleasing him, love. Don't live in fear of loving someone, because your father wouldn't be proud of you."

"I'm scared, Mama. I'm scared of loving him."

"I know, sweetheart," she said, "I know."

...

Harry was confused the next day in school, when Louis didn't call him any names or shove him aside.

He only briefly glimpsed at Harry, before turning away.

"Hey!" Niall said running over. He looked in Louis' direction. "What's up with him."

"I don't know. He barely even looked at me."

"I bet a teacher told him to lay off," Niall said.

"You think that would stop him? Hasn't stopped him in the past."

"True." Niall looked over to Louis for a second. "You should go talk to him."

"Talk to him? That'd be like setting myself up to walk right into a death trap!"

"Maybe," Niall said dismissively.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?"

"You seem kind of distant."

"Just... tired."

Harry eyed him, but left it.

...

"I've been doing some thinking," Niall said running up to Harry at lunch.

"That's new."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, shoving Harry.

Harry laughed. "Continue," he said.

"Well, I was talking to Liam and Zayn, and we have come to the conclusion that Louis is in love with you."

Harry burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, WHAT? You think he's in love with me? Oh please, we both know he hates my guts....... You're serious aren't you?" Harry asked, when Niall he noticed Niall hadn't been laughing.

"I mean, think about it. It makes sense."

"I-"

"His dad hated your parents, so he was expected to hate you. He didn't, but he was so scared of his father finding out he was in love with you, or even that he was gay at all, that he did every thing he could to convince himself he hated you. It didn't work though, obviously. So now he's taken to ignoring you instead."

"I mean... I guess..."

"And didn't you ever notice, he never actually has an answer as to why he hates you so much, because he doesn't."

Harry didn't say anything for a bit.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"You have been waiting for this for years!"

"I just need time to process this, Niall, I'm not going to run up to him and ask him out."

"Why not?"

Harry facepalmed. "Because, Niall. You don't just run up to your arch enemy of 5 years and ask them out."

"You should at least talk to him."

"I will."

"I mean like right now."

"Niall no, I- NIALL!" Niall pushed him in Louis' direction, and now he was standing in front of Louis, Louis waiting for him to say something. Definitely to late to turn back around.

Louis looked at him expectantly.

"Um hi?"

"Hi. Do you need something?"

"No. Yes. Um..."

"He wants to ask you on a date!" Niall yelled gleefully.

"Niall! Sorry, that's not what I meant to do. Ignore him."

"It's fine," Louis said with a little laugh.

"I do think maybe we could try better at being friends?"

"I could work with that," Louis said.

"Great! I uh- I should go. Niall won't go to class unless I make him."

Louis laughed again. "Right. Well, see you around."

Harry was already out of the room, halfway down the hallway.

"Niall, what were you thinking!?" he whisper-yelled to him once they were in class.

"Harry, please focus on your work."

"Sorry Ms. Hytner."

"Sorry mate," Niall said. "You are going to ask him out though, right?"

"I don't know, maybe after we've been friends for more than ten minutes. Besides, I don't really like asking people out. It's just not my thing. If someone wants to ask me, then fine, but I'm not doing the asking. You know this, Niall."

"You should get out of your comfort zone once in a while."

"Harry and Niall! Do I need to write you up?"

"No, sorry Miss."

...

It had been about a week, and Harry and Louis were getting along much better. Harry had gone to one of Louis' football games with Niall, Liam, and Zayn. Louis came over to Harry's house twice, though his parents didn't know, so they had to be careful.

One day after school, Louis came over to Harry as he was packing up after class. "Can I maybe talk to you for a minute?" he asked shyly. Not a word Harry every thought he would use to describe Louis.

"Yeah sure." He grabbed his bag, slinging it over one shoulder, stand up to face Louis. Niall was making kissy faces over Louis' shoulder. Harry glared at him. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Do you-" Louis looked down at his feet. "Doyoumaybewanttogoonadatewithmeonfriday?"

"What?"

"Do you-"

"Do I..."

"Want to go... on a date. With me. On Friday."

"I um." Harry seemed taken aback. "Yeah," he said finally. "I'd love that."

"Great," Louis said, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sure," Harry said. "I'll have to tell my mom..." he said, trailing off. He knew how Louis felt about people finding out they were friends.

Louis sighed. He knew Harry wasn't going to lie to her. He couldn't ask that of him. "Just please- please tell her not to tell anyone for now."

"Okay," Harry said. "I mean, no promises, but she's probably understand."

"Well um, guess I see you tomorrow then."

"See you," Harry whispered.

Niall came jumping over. "OH MY GOSH DID HE ASK YOU OUT??? HE ASKED YOU OUT I KNEW IT!!! OH MY GOSH MY SHIP IS SAILING!!!!"

Harry flushed. "Quiet down," he whispered urgently. "People are staring."

Niall stopped screaming. "Oops," not looking the least bit guilty. "Sorry."

Harry rolled his eyes.

...

When Friday finally rolled around, Harry could barely contain his nerves. What if it went terrible? What if Louis never wanted to see him again? What if he wasn't even going to show up in the first place?

He showered and got dressed with trembling fingers.

It seemed like hours until door bell finally rang. 

He heard his mom squeal like a school girl, then run to get the door. "Louis, dear," she said opening the door. "Come in, come in. Harry's just upstairs."

Harry reluctantly made his way downstairs and into the living room. 

"You guys are just too cute," his mom squealed. "Let me take a picture real quick."

Harry thought he might sink into the floor of embarrassment.

"Okay, just one more...." 

After his mom had taken, not one, not two, not three, but ten more pictures, they finally insisted they had to go or they would be late for their dinner reservation.

As soon as they were in the car, Harry groaned. "Sorry about my mum," he said, his face in his hands.

Louis laughed and Harry felt thousands of butterflies explode within him. "She's really sweet," Louis said.

"Really?" Harry said. "I thought I was going to die." There was that stupidly cute laugh again.

... 

"Harry," Louis whispered. "Harry wake up."

Harry stirred, rubbing his eyes. He let out a little squeak at the bright lights, and buried his face farther into Louis' shoulder. The credits were now scrolling down the screen. "How long did I sleep for?" he mumbled.

"You fell asleep like twenty minutes in."

"Oh," he said with a pout.

"Don't worry, love, you didn't miss much. It wasn't that great."

Harry felt his heart speed up. Louis had called him love. He didn't even seem to notice.

Harry let out a yawn and a squeak of protest as Louis stood up.

"Come on," Louis said, smiling. "Let's get you home."

He tried so hard not to fall asleep on the car ride home. He didn't think he did. Until Louis was gently shaking him awake in the driveway.

He held his arms out, wide eyes expectantly looking up at Louis. He expected Louis to roll his eyes or make some sarcastic comment, but he simply bent to lift the boy into his arms.

And for once, Harry was grateful for his mom's spying, because she saw Louis carrying Harry up the walk and opened the door for him. "First door on the right," she said, pointing Louis in the direction of the stairs.

Louis gently set Harry on the bed, pulling of his shoes and socks, and pulling the covers over him. He pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, turning to go. 

"Stay," Harry whispered, catching his sleeve.

"I wish I could," Louis said, smiling down at him, "but I told my parents I'd be home by midnight. I'll call you in the morning, alright?"

Harry nodded sleepily, turning over on his side. "Night Louis."

"Good night, Harry." He stepped quietly over the carpeted floor, stopping in the doorway to look back at the already sleeping form. He watched for a minute, following the steady rise and fall of his breathing. "Good night," he whispered again. "I love you."

I am so so so sorry. This took FOREVER to get out. Luckily I hope the longer one shot made up for it. If you would like a Part 2, let me know. (:

Also this had about zero editing, and I wanted to get the actual fluff part in, so sorry if it seems rushed. I also didn't feel like writing out the whole dinner thing, so please don't hate me fore leaving that out.

To be able to get one out to you faster, unless I get any requests, I will probably use one I have already (sorta) written. SO, for the next one shot, would you guys rather a Royalty AU or a Hybrid AU? I will post them both eventually, but which would you guys like next, assuming I don't get any requests.

Don't forget to take care of yourselves. I love you all so much. <333

-Addie