I'm back :) I had to figure out what should happen in this part of the story and how to get to some major events without it being too fast. 

And sorry if the notifications are a little bit weird in the next two days. I re-edited the first chapers because wattpad messed up a little bit without me noticing it....-.- 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a big smile, Louis watched his kids. He had spent the entire three weeks with them, teaching them everything he could. Teaching children to play football was a lot of fun and it made him very happy. But today was the last day of the holiday program and that would be a bittersweet farewell. Only about twenty minutes, then the last training was over.

At the moment the kids were practising shots and they were really good. When Louis stood there and sank in admiration for his kids, he didn't notice how someone approached him.

"Louis?". The sound of that much too familiar voice made him flinch. For three full weeks, he had pushed all thoughts of him away and distracted himself as best as he could. And right here and today he would see him again. Luck was as always on his side.

As uninterested and bored as possible, he turned to face him. "Hi" he said simply and turned back to the kids.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked in surprise.

"What does it look like? I'm working" Louis replied monotonously, but already realized how much he would like to disappear.

"Oh, you work here?" Harry marvelled.

"No shit Sherlock" snorted Louis but didn't look at Harry.

"I didn't know you were working here, otherwise I wouldn't have come in. Honestly" Harry ignored the comment.

"Honestly" Louis mocked him silently, but Harry heard it.

"I'm just here to pick up James' sister, but believe whatever you want" snorted Harry.

Louis simply ignored Harry. He didn't want to talk to him, especially not as if nothing had ever happened. Did he really think they would just leave it all behind and welcome him with open arms just to get ripped off again? Nice try.

Annoyed by Harry, Louis ran to the pitch and called the kids together. "Well, we still have about fifteen minutes, so I say we're going to play a free game now. Alec and Ruth, you pick the teams" Louis announced, and immediately the kids put his orders to work.

Louis loved children. He loved working with them, making them happy, playing with them, listening to their stories about their adventures. Just everything. In the future he also wanted to have children. That was his biggest wish. Even if he moved away from this wish with each passing day, month and year alone. Maybe he just wasn't loveable enough.

"Can you play in our team, Louis?" Ruth asked, tugging lightly on the corner of Louis' shirt.

"Sure, sweetheart" he gave her an open smile and let himself drag along with her by hand.

They started the game and Louis pretended to make an effort while actually trying to hold himself back. It was about the children and not about him. He was still able to play football and exhaust himself later.

One of the guys from his team played the ball to Louis, close to the goal. With ease, he scored a goal. With cheers and beaming faces the kids ran towards him. All at once. Louis landed on the floor with the children on top of him.

"Has that suddenly turned into wrestling?" called a voice he knew too well.

"Just because you're jealous, you don't have to let that out on us, Steve" Louis countered cheekily.

Slowly the kids crawled off him again and Louis could breathe properly again.

"Do you need a helping hand?" smirked Steve down at him. Louis took his hand and let Steve pull him up until he stood on two legs again.

"May Steve play along, Louis? Please" the kids begged him with big sparkling eyes.

"They want me".

"Don't fool yourself" Louis grinned, nudging Steve's shoulder.

They continued the game, but now with Steve in the adversary team. While the kids were still playing fairly, Steve and Louis had a playful battle. Whenever one of them had the ball, the other one knocked him over or fouled him or tickled him to death. The kids thought it was funny and forgot to play ever so often. But hey it was the last day and it was just for fun anyway.

As Steve knocked down Louis once more and he lay on top of him, Louis' eyes fell on Harry, who was still standing there watching the whole thing. Louis had completely forgotten that he was there waiting for the end to finally be able to leave. Steve seemed to notice that.

"By the way, who is that?" he asked, pointing with his head to Harry while he was still lying on Louis.

"No one important. He's here to pick up Ruth instead of James" Louis replied shortly.

"So you know him?" Steve asked and Louis didn't like that.

"At least that's what I thought" Louis grumbled, throwing Steve offt o get up.

"I thought so, as he looks over all the time" said Steve and Louis abruptly stopped.

"What?".

"Did you not notice that? He doesn't take his eyes off you for a second, especially not since I'm here" Steve told him.

"You have to imagine that. If anything he observes Ruth, although even this would require an interest in people" Louis denied everything.

"Doesn't sound like you're good friends" Steve noted.

"Far from it" murmured Louis but couldn't turn his gaze away from Harry.

"Anyway, he looks at you all the time and I think he'd like to kill me, judging by the look" Steve shrugged and went back to his team.

Louis stood stunned and looked at Harry. Their eyes met and immediately Louis looked away, turned around and also went to his team. He didn't want to think about it. Steve had to imagine that. Harry would never watch him all the time. And Louis didn't want that either.

Yes, he had a crush on Harry, but that's over. The remains of his ridiculous crush, which had vanished in the moment Harry had betrayed them all, had Louis buried deep within. So deep that no spark of light will ever touch it again. He was done with it.

That didn't mean that Harry's piercing gaze didn't make him uncomfortable. He felt watched, judged.

They played the last minutes and Louis managed to fade Harry out and have fun. Little by little the parents came in and Louis closed the training. Everyone came together again for a big and solid group hug and then the children were allowed to change clothes. While the parents went in after thanking Louis and showering him with praise, Louis put back the goals with Steve. Then Steve said goodbye and went his own way.

Louis was awfully warm. At such moments, he missed the time when he could just dump water over his head to cool off. He decided to take off his shirt and then he ran his hands through his hair to get his sweaty hair off of his forehead. The training sweat beaded his face and glittered on his chest. Due to the extra training with the kids and daily swimming, Louis had built up a good deal of muscle, which he now tensed shirtless as he stretched. The sun felt good on the bare skin but it was still too hot.

He was about to leave the field to get his water bottle when he saw how Harry was obviously staring at him. He hadn't gone in like the other parents or the friends with the children. No, he had stayed outside and decided to get bored. Even more than before.

Louis simply tried to ignore this fact and not get nervous under his gaze, because Harry judged everyone and he knew what Harry was up to. He didn't need to see that again in his wonderful eyes.  

You little worthless piece of shit.

Somewhat uncertain, he went to the bench in front of the dressing rooms, put his shirt on it and took his bottle. He brought it to his mouth and drank it slowly. The cool water was really good, so Louis closed his eyes. Who would have thought that just normal water would almost make him moan. God, Louis was exhausted due to training.

The first parents came out again and said goodbye to Louis. A girl who was clearly the sister of one of his little girls, Sarah, stopped in front of him and gave him a friendly smile. Louis pretended that he didn't noticed how she openly checked him out.

"Thanks for everything. Sarah always raved about the training and you. Would be nice if we see each other again" she said expectantly.

"I would be very happy to see Sarah again, maybe she can join the core team" Louis suggested, completely ignoring the flirting. The disappointment was written on her face, but what should Louis do? He was gay. It didn't help that he could say how pretty she was.

"Do you also train this team?" she asked.

"From Next week on, yeah" he told her. Due to the holiday training program that he had volunteered, he had been offered to train the girls team. In addition to the boys team, of course.

"We'll remember that" she grinned before leaving with Sarah.

Louis seriously considered tattooing the word gay on his forehead. That way he could avoid such situations and wouldn't disappoint or hurt anyone.

"And that was a perfect example on how NOT to do it. She totally checked you out and you screwed it up" Harry shook his head, laughing slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, King Harry, master of the hook ups, that I'm not a male bitch, but consider the feelings of people" Louis snorted sarcastically and annoyed.

"Hook ups are without feelings, smart ass" Harry corrected him.

"You would know" Louis rolled his eyes and took another sip from his bottle.

"What is your problem with me?" Harry asked angrily.

"Do you really not know?" Louis laughed half-heartedly.

"Look, I'm really sorry for what I said and how it all went down, but you can't be still mad at me" Harry said blankly.

"Oh no?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"No, that's silly," Harry asserted.

"Silly? I'll tell you what's silly. It's silly to think everything would be good between us and we would just forget it and pretend that nothing ever happened. As if you hadn't fooled us all, used and deceived us. So I am sorry that we don't just snap our fingers and everything is forgotten. We aren't mad Harry. We're disappointed. That's a difference" Louis clarified once and for all.

"Don't behave like you're my mother, Louis. Put your disappointment somewhere else. It happened. I said it with full awareness and knowledge of my words. Can we finish it now. Forgive and forget" Harry said bored.

"Just unbelievable. You will never understand it. If it was all so harmless and so insignificant why are you even trying to put up with us? What do you really want?" questioned Louis Harry's motives.

"You always think the worst about me."

"I wonder why".

"Well, as you want. Then be stubborn. This toddler behavior will not get you anywhere. I just wanted to make sure that ... "

"Let me guess. Make sure I shut up and don't blurt out this little inciedent from the full moon night? Are you worried someone might call you gay, Harold?" Louis cut him off and approached him.

"As if someone would believe you" Harry spat.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. There are enough people at the school who are not completely fogged by you. In addition, rumors about the cool guys always spread around very fast. What do you think how long it would take until the whole school knows about it?" countered Louis, trying to appear as condescending as possible.

"You wouldn't do that. You're way too disgustingly kind-hearted for that" Harry said weakly.

"Sure about that? People change. Incidents change people. Being nice doesn't help you in life. That's what I learned from you" Louis pointed to him and came even closer.

"You're just bluffing. Nobody changes so radically because of a few words" Harry answered.

"A few words? Believe me, drastic experiences can destroy people and you will never see their true self again. Everything can break you. Even only a few words. You never know what someone has already experienced and what this little word could trigger" Louis told him, noticing that his voice was becoming more definite and that he sounded more vulnerable. Great Louis, so much to being strong.

"I haven't thought about ....I.... can you maybe put your shirt back on? Would be helpful" Harry stammered breathless as he realized how close Louis, still shirtless, stood in front of him.

"Why? Is that distracting you?" smirked Louis and came one step closer.

"Pfft, no, certainly not. Small children are running around here. Shouldn't you be a good role model instead of running around half naked?" Harry cleared his throat and tried to find an excuse that was believable.

"And since when do you care about what's right?" Louis returned.

"Since I pick up one of these kids" Harry replied.

"Wow, that sounds very believable" Louis laughed and walked away from Harry again. A little bit.

"Just shut up and don't ruin my reputation in school. I can do that alone. That would only hurt you. That's all I want" Harry returned to the original topic.

Now Louis turned back to him. "Since when do you care how it affects me? Have you even for a second thought about how I am with this shit? How I feel about the unfortunately completely existing memories of this crappy full moon? How damn hurtfull your oh-so-insignificant words were? Did you think about it instead of just worrying that I or the other three could tell everyone about it, ruining your perfect little life? Not everyone is like you and uses every little chance or every weak moment to put someone down even more" Louis snapped disappointed and realized how his voice began to shake. He had really believed that he had processed that over the three weeks and left it behind. But seeing Harry and hearing him say those words and realizing how little he regrets it, hurt a lot.

"Louis, I'm sorry. I did not ...... I didn't mean to ..." Harry stammered, struggling for words.

"Save it Harry. I'm done with that, done with you. Actually, even good to hear today how less you care about it, saves us the drama at school. You don't know remorse, that's what I've understood now. Maybe it's really stupid of me to tell you that, but two of us really thought there was just a touch of something good inside you. They were sure to have seen it, but then you dropped them. Whatever they saw it doesn't exist any more" Louis told him sadly, packing his things together.

"For a brief moment, even I thought you might be different than everyone else, unlike Shawn or Nick. But apparently I had a weak moment. Thankfully, Shawn quickly enlightened me coldly, otherwise I would have gone through with my plan and really entrusted you my biggest weakness. I suppose I should thank him, don't you think? Could have been embarrassing for me" Louis tried to joke, but the pain was written in his face.

"Shawn and I are no longer friends so I don't know if you should do that. No idea" Harry told him.

"What?" Louis asked in surprise.

"We're not friends any more. Probably never were. After I avoided him during holidays and later told him that I miss you, he has given me the choice and I've decided against him" Harry told him shortly.

Louis didn't know what to say, that came unexpectedly, but could he believe that? "I'm sorry for you, if it's true, but that doesn't change anything" he finally said

"How many times should I say I'm sorry?" Harry asked him horrified.

"Until you are serious. If I remember correctly you've just said how little you really feel sorry. You can say a lot, but it doesn't mean anything until you mean it. You've been lying a lot Harry. Why should I believe you now?" Louis wanted to know, desperate.

"Because I'm telling the truth. Come on, dickhead, just forgive me and then everything's fine" snorted Harry annoyed.

"And that's exactly why I can't. You will never understand that. Maybe you shouldn't have decided against Shawn. After all, he is just as unfeeling and heartless as you are. That suited quite well" Louis answered, turning away from him.

"Unbelievable that I had a crush on you" he mumbled to himself as he took his remaining things and wanted to leave.

"What!" Harry exclaimed.

Oh shit, did he really hear that? Well done, Louis! He really had to learn how to shut up. Haltingly, he turned around again, pulling his shirt back on. "I don't know what you mean. I didn't say anything else" Louis shrugged.

"You have a crush on me?" Harry asked, startled with shock and horror written on his face. And yep, he had heard it. Brilliant.

"Had, if so. And I'm not sure if you could call it that, more like a kind of emotional aberration in the moments when I thought you weren't a complete asshole, but as we know now that's not the case so I can only say: Nope, no crush, just pure imagination" Louis said, noticing that it was the truth. Every word was correct.

"And now I finally want to go home and take a shower, but most of all, I don't want to see your face any more, which has caused me enough trouble" Louis added wearily.

Before Harry could answer, Louis heard a familliar voice behind him. "Coach Louis".

"Hey, what's up, Ruth?" he asked, leaning down to her.

"Where is James? I can't find him" she said as she looked around.

"He's not here, but Harry will take you home" he explained to her gently.

She looked up at Harry intently and almost intimidated and swallowed hard. Louis frowned when he saw this reaction.

"Come on, Ruth, your parents are waiting. It took you quite a long time" Harry now turned to her.

She shook her head and hid behind Louis' legs. "It doesn't look like she wants to come with you" said Louis.

"That's her problem. She has to, that's why I'm here, so she'll have to live with it" Harry replied coolly.

"Why did James even ask you? I didn't know you were friends" Louis wondered.

"We're not really, but our families. Actually, that's none of your business at all. She's coming with me now. I'm not a stranger to her" Harry said recklessly, taking Ruth by the hand.

"Careful, don't hurt her" exclaimed Louis as Harry dragged Ruth to him.

"I'll take care, Mom" Harry mocked him. Louis just shook his head in disbelief, picking up his things and walking past Harry.

"Bye Coach Louis" she said goodbye.

He stopped one last time and knelt down to her. "Goodbye, little Ruth. I'm sure we'll see each other again, sweetheart" he said goodbye and hugged her. He noticed how Harry watched the two, but paid no attention to it.

"Come on" Harry ordered as the two let go.

"Yeah, definitely, emotional aberration" Louis shook his head as he passed Harry.

"Louis, I'm not ...".

"Forget it Harry. I'm over it. Wasn't that hard" Louis waved him off and finally headed home.

Dreamily Zayn looked out to the sea, lost in thoughts. He didn't notice someone creeping up from behind. Suddenly someone put two hands over his eyes. "Who am I?".

Zayn tried to suppress his grin. "Mh let me think, maybe Niall?" Zayn fake thought simply to annoy him.

"Do you not recognize me after three weeks?" he asked disappointed and took his hands from Zayn's eyes.

"Of course, Liam. I recognize you everywhere. I was just kidding" laughed Zayn and finally got to see Liam. Three weeks without Liam was just too long.

As Liam sat down next to him, Zayn happily fell into his arms. Immediately Liam returned the hug and hugged Zayn tightly.

"I missed you" Zayn whispered against Liam's neck.

"I missed you too, very much" Liam whispered, his breath giving Zayn goose bumps. He inhaled Liam's fragrance as if his life depended on it. Yes, three weeks were definitely too long.

Slowly Liam broke away from the embrace and looked at Zayn. His eyes sparkled in the slowly rising moonlight, and Zayn had to muster all his ever-present willpower to not kiss Liam directly on the spot. He had hoped the three weeks without him would help his crush to disappear so that everything could return to normal. But exactly the opposite happened. With each passing day without Liam, Zayn realized how badly he could live without him. In the simplest little things his presence was missing. He was incomplete without Liam. Just stupid that this wasn't based on reciprocity.

"What are you thinking about?" Liam asked, pulling Zayn out of his thoughts. He quickly needed a good excuse, otherwise he would be fucked.

"I was just thinking that school starts tomorrow and that we'll see him again ..." Zayn replied, relieved that something had occurred to him so quickly. It wasn't really lied either. Zayn had thought a lot about Harry and everything that had happened. He was afraid of what school would be like now. He would like to forget the first term and start over. Without Harry.

"I thought about it a lot too. It can't be much worse, so I think we should try to make the best of it and just ignore any comments" Liam suggested thoughtfully.

"That will be the best. Could you distract yourself from that?" Zayn wanted to know worried. He remembered their conversation in the cinema too well. So downcast, Zayn had never experienced Liam and if he still believed Harry's words, Zayn would make Harry pay for that.

"Somehow, but it's not so easy to forget that. It wasn't just anyone who said it, but someone who spent a lot of time with us. So he knows us pretty well, and when he says that, you start thinking. Whether you like it or not" confessed Liam, facing the sea.

"Liam" Zayn sighed and put his hand on Liam's shoulder.

"I know Zayn. You don't have to say anything. Every time I had doubts or I had to think about it again, I immediately thought of your words and then I felt better" he assured him, which made Zayn smile.

"For real?". Now Liam turned back to Zayn and looked him straight in the eye.

"Yeah, for real. Those were the nicest words anyone ever said to me and do you know why?" Zayn shook his head unknowingly, but didn't break eye contact.

"Because they were from you. Every word was filled with one hundred percent honesty. That you think that about me and always be there for me means a lot to me Zayn - my life would be incomplete without you" Liam let him know. Every single word made Zayn's heart beat faster.

"And my life would be meaningless without you, Liam" Zayn said, hugging Liam again. The two wanted to never let go again.

"We should go home slowly, it's getting late" Liam said softly, and they both broke the hug and headed home.

On Monday morning, Niall, Liam, Louis and Zayn met in front of the English room. First day of school, second term. Nervous didn't fit quite well. Yesterday, the boys had received a message from Louis, in which he reported on his meeting with Harry. It hadn't really made their nervousness better. But when the four entered the room they were overwhelmed by confusion. Instead of sitting with Shawn and countless girls in the back of the classroom as usual, Harry was sitting in the corner at the window. Way too close to them for their liking.

( Red is Shawn. Yellow is Ziam. Blue is Nouis and Green is Harry )

Slightly hesitant, they sat down on their seats and tried, as the teacher came in, to focus on the lessons. But that was easier said than done. The fact that Harry was so close to them and Shawn glared over at them the whole time made the situation not easier. Added to that was Harry's almost sad look. No, they stayed strong. He couldn't elicit a bad conscience or pity from them. After all, they hadn't done anything wrong. That was his fault alone. His fault. But why did they all feel so bad seeing how alone and lonely Harry sat there?  Probably because the sad truth was that they knew the feeling just too well.

Luckily the lesson didn't last forever. Quickly they disappeared from the room and split up to go to their different courses. Zayn was looking forward to losing his thoughts in his art while Niall was already eagerly awaiting to build down his frustration on the golf balls. Liam sank into his tech things while Louis sank into self-pity, having drama now with Harry. How he would like to have a course without him.

As always, he sat down next to Eleanor in the second row, out of three. But stupidly, next to him was still an empty seat. He prayed that Harry would not sit there. For the first time in an eternity, his prayers were answered.

Harry sat down in the first row, despite the many empty seats in the last row, on the other side of the room. There were three rows in a kind of U-shape so that the teacher could see everyone and because drama liked to contradict the norms. So Louis could perfectly see Harry from his seat if he wanted. What he didn't. Of Course.

You'd think Louis would be glad Harry was dead silent for the whole lesson. That wasn't the case. Harry didn't say a word. No stupid saying, no condescending comment. Just silence. 

When Louis tried with Eleanor the today learned strategy in front of the class no sharp side comment was heard. Nothing. Who would have thought that Harry's silence could unsettle one more than his insults ...

For lunch, the four met at their table as usual.

"Hey, how was golf?" Liam asked Niall as he sat down. 

"Deliberating" Niall grinned, pouncing into his food. Giggling, Zayn, Liam and Louis shook their heads.

"Zayn, you still have colour on your face. How does that always happen? Do you put yourself in the paint?" Louis asked, wiping the colour of Zayn's cheek with a napkin.

"How funny" Zayn snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, there's something left over by the dustbins, loser" they heard Shawn saying hatefully. Even if Shawn kind of bullied everyone who crossed his way, they just knew out of a feeling who he was talking to. They didn't even needed to turn around. After a few seconds Harry passed their table with his head down and took a seat at an empty table, alone. A very not welcomed feeling grew in their stomachs.

"Apparently, Harry was serious about what he said to you" Liam said quietly, his eyes still fixed on Harry.

"Or that's his new plan, pretending that he learned something and let himself get insulted by Shawn so we're dumb enough to let him get back to us" Zayn pointed out.

"Zayn, you don't know that" Liam said sternly.

"But I still remember exactly how three weeks ago he just exposed each of us here and told things that nobody knew. Because of him you have doubted yourself, have you forgotten?" Zayn reminded him.

"What if he realized how wrong that was over the holidays?" Niall thought.

"I was hoping that, but yesterday I realized that wasn't the case. He just wanted me to forgive him and admitted that he doesn't understand why we're still disappointed" Louis had to disappoint him.

"Maybe he just didn't want to admit it, show no weakness because it's all new to him" Liam mused.

"You two are just incredible. How can you think about pitying him for just a second ?! He's still Harry. He had his chance, even if he didn't deserved it. How could you believe him one word?" Zayn asked in horror.

"I'm with Zayn. Harry was just fooling and playing with us all the time, not even thinking about it for a second, not caring for other people's feelings and having only his own benefit in his mind. It was all fun for him, he admitted that. Why are we even talking about it? If he decides to sit alone then he should do it. There are more people than Shawn at this school, countless girls are definitely happy now. He sits on his own, so they can have him all to theirselfe. Just look over there" Louis sided with Zayn and nodded to Harry, who was surrounded by several girls, who checked him out openly and couldn't look more eager.

"Well, the lonely boy is not so lonely anymore. Topic finished" Zayn said and finally started to eat.

Liam and Niall looked at each other helplessly. The situation was very strange.

When they arrived in the music room, Liam sat next to Sophia as usual. Zayn next to Liam, Louis next to Zayn and Niall next to Louis. By the time Harry entered the room, almost all the seats were taken. The only free seat was either next to Shawn or next to Niall. Slowly, Harry approached Niall and tried to get his attention.

"May I?" he asked carefully. Niall looked up at him and nodded slightly.

"Loser" Shawn coughed quite inconspicuously as Harry sat down.

For the fact that the two were best friends, Shawn behaved really terrible. Niall just didn't understand how that could easily change from one day to the next. Even if the two were terrible humans, it always seemed to Niall that Harry and Shawn had really been friends. Well, that's how you can be wrong. He didn't want to know how Harry felt with this realization.

Throughout the lesson, Niall heard Shawn and Nick constantly say nasty things about Harry and laughing at him. Harry might not be his friend, but any kind of bullying made him incredibly angry. Especially if victims and perpetrators were best friends before. Such a betrayal hurts. The thought that this was karma crept silently into Niall's subconscious. Harry had completely destroyed their confidence and hurt them deeply. And now Shawn had just dropped him and he will probably blurt out so much knowledge about him. The universe was quit with Harry. Wasn't that punishment enough? Should they ignore him then?

On the other hand, Niall had to admit that he still hadn't processed Harry's words. At that moment, for example, he heard them back in his head. The half of the holidays Zayn spent with bringing Niall back to normal eating and making sure at every opportunity to tell him that they took him seriously and that he was not an appendage.

Louis and Zayn had then also inaugurated him in the Harry and the full moon mystery, which totally shocked Niall. Then he was overcome by sympathy for Louis, that just had to happen to him. The topic was already difficult enough without the effect of the moon. Yes, Niall was torn.

"Now, At the end of the lesson, I have to tell you something sad" started Mrs. Flack and Niall finally started to listen.

"I got an offer at a music school in Sydney that I can't refuse, which unfortunately means that I'm leaving school, by the end of this week" she told the class.

"We are happy for you".

"Even if we miss you".

"Thanks, that's nice of you. The other teachers are giving a farewell party on Friday night in the auditorium for all my students and me. So I would be happy to see you all there" she announced with hope in her eyes.

"We'll all be there" Shawn assured her with a vicious sparkle in his eyes.

While the others clarified the further details, Liam turned to his friends.  "Did she say Friday?" he asked frightened.

"That's really bad timing" Louis sighed desperately.

"Luck is on our side as always" Zayn sniffed in disbelief.

"And if I could voice a wish, the other teachers asked me if I knew someone I could ask if they would perform at the party, so of course I immediately thought of my Camila" Ms. Flack announced and Camila immediately agreed.

"And of course you guys" she added, looking at Liam, Niall, Harry, Zayn and Louis.

"We?" Niall asked in horror, pointing to them all five.

"Yes you. It's your credit that I got this offer. Would you do that for me? One last time?" she asked and how could one say no.

"Of course we will" Liam assured her and she immediately started beaming. Sometimes Niall forgot how young she still was.

"Well, that could be funny. Five failures in concert" Shawn taunted them and made his friends laugh.

"Why were we ever friends with Harry? He's just as weird as that!" laughed Aidan nastily.

"At some point, his true nature had to come out. He couldn't hide his filthiness forever" Nick added.

Niall was fed up. "Do you even breathe? Just leave him alone" Niall grunted as he turned to face them.

"Since when do you have something to say, dumbass?" Shawn shot back.

Shaking his head, Niall sat back down normal and was punished with a glare from Zayn.

"What?" Niall just shrugged.

"He for sure can defend himself. He's been practising insults" hissed Zayn.

"Guys, shut up. What are we supposed to do now? How on earth should we play on Friday?" Louis interrupted his friends helplessly.

"I don't know, but there has to be a way without it going wrong" Liam mused.

"Did I miss anything? What's Friday?" Harry asked, confused.

"Oh just the next full moon, smarty" Zayn snorted annoyed.

"How should I know that?" Harry returned.

"Maybe try and use your brain for once and think" Zayn mocked him.

"Zayn, it's enough" Liam admonished him and Zayn fell back, his arms crossed, pouting on his chair.

"We could ask Camila if she wants to perform after us, the party starts before the moon rises. It's still in school after all" suggested Louis.

"That might work" Liam said. "It's best you talk to her after class." Louis nodded in agreement. And that was the end of the lesson.

Louis went with Zayn directly to Camila and tried to convince her of his suggestion. At the same time, Liam and Niall left the class, but not without a low-key "thank you" from Harry in Niall's direction. Liam seemed to have heard that too, because he looked at Niall with that look that clearly screamed 'we have to talk to him alone'.

When Shawn and Nick, but also Zayn and Louis were out of sight, Liam and Niall dragged Harry into a corner. "We have to talk" came Liam straight to the point.

"I thought so" Harry replied, then waited for someone to say something.

"As you can guess, we're not thrilled with how it all ended, but we can't change that any more. Of course we have to rehearse for the gig and probably add more songs, because two aren't enough, which means we have to spend time with you and you probably know that we don't like it that much, but we'll have to do it for her "Niall summed up.

"No idea what's going to happen with Zayn and Louis, but we'll probably have to rehearse every free minute this week, so please, no drama. We both will try to deal with you normally because, for my part, I think Shawn's behavior is punishment enough. I can't speak for the others" Liam told him.

"They're still pissed for a reason, it will not be an easy week" Niall added.

"Don't you want to say anything Harry?" Liam asked him as he still didn't say anything.

"I don't know what I could say" Harry replied bored.

"Maybe how you see this?" Niall said annoyed.

"I didn't think that would interest anyone" Harry admitted.

"It shouldn't..."

"Does that mean you care, Niall?" Harry asked.

"I did not say that".

"You don't make it very easy for us to understand your behaviour Harry, so don't expect too much from us" Liam came to the rescue.

"I don't expect anything from you" Harry confessed.

"That sounded different yesterday. Don't try to fool us" warned Niall.

"Louis told you about it?" Harry asked horrified.

"We tell each other everything, especially something so important" Niall clarified. Slowly he lost patience.

"I didn't mean it like that ... I..... doesn't matter ..." Harry waved it off.

"If this is going to work this week, take this chance and explain everything to us both, if there is something to explain. We give you at least the chance and would listen. Zayn would rather die than listen to you. He just doesn't trust you any more. He never did that anyway. So, did you have anything to say? "Liam challenged him.

Niall saw Harry think for a second and hold back. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear what Harry had to say, as far as he knew, all this could only happen again to be a trick and they would once again ridiculed by giving him a chance.

"First of all, I want to tell you how sorry I am for what I said. You didn't deserve that. The worst thing is that at the time I meant everything seriously and knew exactly what I was doing. I didn't do that because Shawn wanted it or to prove that I was still me. I just did it out of sheer joy and fun. This is cruel and I understood that much too late.

During the holidays I tried to lead my life as normal. My father's meetings, parties, lots of alcohol and lots of sex. Especially the last one. I thought that would make me come back. But that didn't happen. Something in me has changed. Something I didn't know existed. Until now. Nothing satisfied me. I had to think about that day and your faces all the time. In disappointment. Something in me has missed you every day and that still sounds totally crazy to me, I will not lie to you on this one.

I don't understand it and not where that comes from. I don't know what's so special about you that it somehow changed me slightly, but there was something there. The whole time. I've tried to suppress it, to talk myself out of it, but that doesn't work any more. I'm not like you, but that doesn't mean we have to hate each other. I was cruell to you out of sheer joy and I understand why that is incomprehensible to many people. I'm still learning. Whatever I learn.

Shawn noticed that and gave me the choice and although my first reaction was of course to decide for him, because that would be logical, I chose you for some reason. And I'll pay the price every day now. Shawn hates me and will do anything to expose me, but presumably you think I deserve it" Harry told them his view of things.

"Well, are you surprised we could think that? "Niall asked.

"No, not really" Harry admitted.

"I think it's bad what Shawn is doing. Nobody deserves that. Thank you for telling us your side. I appreciate that. I can definitely work with that. I hope for you you tell the truth, because I forgive you, Harry" Liam told him and Niall looked at him in surprise, that was so typical of Liam to forgive someone so quickly.

"Really? Oh thanks Liam" Harry was amazed.

"But that doesn't mean it will be easy for you. It's a long way to go back to the way it was before".

"If that ever happens" Niall objected. Liam and Harry both looked at him in confusion.

"Don't look at me like that. It may be that I even believe your story. It is so desperate that it can only be true. Maybe I'll forgive you even, but that doesn't mean that I'll trust you again immediately. You have to earn the trust back and you have pretty much destroyed mine. On top of that, Zayn never liked you anyway. Now this is almost impossible to change, especially if you aren't really honest. And Louis ... no idea what else to say. It's going to be difficult. So I hope for you that you really want that and don't expect that everything is going to be all right now" Niall said.

"Wow, that was honest" Harry marvelled.

"That's the only way to make friends last forever" Niall said, shrugging.

Before anyone could say anything more, Louis and Zayn finally found the three.

"There you are. Camila agreed" Louis told them, completely ignoring Harry's presence.

"That's great. Then we can go straight to practice" said Liam, clappinghis hands. Reluctantly they went to Louis' for rehearsals. That could be something.

The five of them sat in Louis' living room and thought about how they should plan the performance for Mrs. Flack. They already had two songs, but according to Camila, they needed about ten because that was going to be a real concert. A farewell with special effect.

"Well, first of all, I'll say that we sing 'Rock Me' and 'Best Song Ever' because they're perfect without any rehearsals - one of you didn't wrote a song during the holidays?" Liam asked into the room.

"Don't underestimate our lyrical genius here. He didn't write one song but several new ones and finished older ones" Niall bragged about Louis' new songs.

"Niall, don't exaggerate this way" Louis pleaded.

"But Tommo, your songs are great and everyone should know that already. No one can handle words as well as you do" Niall said.

"Maybe on paper" murmured Louis softly. Harry looked kinda sad at Louis hearing these words.

"Can you show us the songs, Louis?" Liam asked pleadingly.

After a brief battle with himself, Louis gave in and took out his lyrics.  "I finished 'Moments' as well as 'Why don't we go there' and in addition me and Niall have ...".

"Niall and me" Harry corrected Louis.

"Me and Niall wrote on a song together while you were away" Louis repeated with particular emphasis on Me and Niall. He handed Liam the lyrics and waited anxiously what he has to say.

"Don't forget where you belong? How did you come up with that?" Liam asked as he continued to read the text.

"Well, there was such a moment when we both lay on Louis' bed and had some ice cream, so we just talked about how difficult it is, not to forget your roots nowadays. You were away in Sydney, I wasn't in Ireland forever , Louis moved in no time five times and none of us was born here, but it is still somehow home because our family is here. No idea, that then brought us the idea for the first lines and so the whole Song was created "Niall reported.

"That was so romantic Niall" Louis sighed dramatically, placing a hand over his heart.

"Not as romantic as our unbelievably unhealthy Candle Light Dinner afterwards" said Niall, forming a kiss.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. How could I forget that?" Louis moaned and threw Niall a kiss in the air.

"One time. I have to work longer for one day and you already cheated on me Louis? I'm terribly disappointed" pouted Zayn.

"Somethings never change. Why can't you two argue about another love?" Liam shook his head, grinning.

"No one is better than Tommo" Niall claimed proudly.

"Niall, forget it. Louis and I are as well as married and our plans for the desert Island are also ready. So, sorry not sorry" Zayn had to fakely disappoint Niall.

"Desert island? Did I miss something?" Niall asked, puzzled.

"Zayn and I decided to just marry fraternally and leave our problems here behind by moving to a lonely island" Louis enlightened his Irish friend.

"You just want to leave me?" groaned Niall.

"I'm sorry, Nialler" Louis said, holding his hands up defensively.

"I understand, you just don't want me".

"It's nothing personal, but the plan is already done for a while" Zayn continued jokingly.

"A while then? What can be so bad that you just want to leave me?" Niall wanted to know and regretted that question the second he spoke. You could really misinterpret that and it could hurt somebody.

"How about if we focus on the song again and you can beat each other over Louis later?" Liam changed the subject and Louis couldn't shake away the feeling that Liam had intervened not only because of Harry, who kept his eye on Louis the entire time. This confused Louis very much and he just tried to not pay attention. He didn't need Harry's belated pity.

"The song is great and I like the arrangement" Liam rejoiced.

"Thanks" Louis thanked shyly.

"Then we just have to think about who sings what".

"I'd suggest you start, Liam" Niall suggested.

"For sure?" he checked. Niall nodded to him.

"Alright, but then you sing afterwards" Liam suggested as a compromise.

"I can live with that" Niall giggled.

"Harry, I would say you take the second verse, then we get some Zouis action after the second refrain. Just as I had it in mind all the time" Niall continued.

"I thought you wanted Louis all to yourself?" Zayn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm defeated. I'm not going in the way of your future plans, but I have a condition".

"And that would be?".

"His butt belongs to me! I never wanted anything more, you two are made for one another. I will not stand in the way of your love if we share him physically" Niall offered him.

"Deal, you crazy chicken" Zayn said, shaking hands with Niall.

"And what about me, will I not be asked? After all it's about me" Louis protested playfully. But also cause he had seen Liam's face at the word love and noticed how Harry's expression also changes. He was probably disgusted, but he didn't want to say anything so as not to ruin everything on the first day.

"Shut up Bitch. It's not always about you" Niall silenced him.

"Ey" Louis complained and jumped on Niall, which led to both of them falling off the couch and on the floor, hurting their heads. But they didn't care. They just kept rolling around and punching each other playfully until Niall gasped out.

"Okay you win. I take it back".

"That's what I wanted to here. I'm maybe smol, but still stronger then you" laughed Louis triumphantly as he stood up and sat back down on the couch opposite from Liam and Zayn. 

"That's right. Don't underestimate him. Look at those arms. He's stronger than us both in one" Zayn supported Louis.

"More and more, I feel like a bit of fair game. Maybe I should just dump you both and stay alone or convert to women" said Louis, questioning.

"They would all jump on you immediately. Leave it as it is" Zayn told him directly again.

"So you can jump me? "Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Psst Louis. Do you have to tell them what we're going to do later?" Zayn wanted to silence Louis.

"Maybe someone has objection" Louis said innocently.

"Yes, Me" Liam interjected.

Zayn and Louis both looked at him in astonishment. Also Niall and Harry hadn't expected this answer.

"Um, I mean. We really should focus on the music. The gig is already on Friday and we only have three songs. We need to keep our focus" Liam cleared his throat and turned the conversation back to the songs.

Louis and Zayn looked at each other and understood without words that both thought Liam's response sounded like an excuse, no matter how right he was.

"Well, you party pooper. What are you suggesting how we proceed?" Niall asked amused.

"Louis, you said you've finished two songs" Liam now addressed Louis, who nodded in agreement. "Did you write anything else?".

"Um yes. I have two more songs. They are not like that ....... maybe something ..... urgh here" stammered Louis and handed the lyrics to Liam.

"Right Now and Tell me a Lie? Louis, where do you get your inspiration for such great lyrics?" Liam asked enthusiastically as he passed the lyrics.

"No idea. I just write what I feel. I'll see later if it's good or bad".

"They're awesome. Ever thought about doing that for a living?" Liam suddenly asked.

"Who? Me? Forget it " Louis dismissed the thing.

"Why not? You're super talented" Liam didn't let go.

"He's right. They are really great, shorty" Harry agreed with him, holding the passed-on text in his hand. Louis was very surprised to hear Harry acknowledging that he was supposedly talented. Louis didn't knew what to think about that. This Harry was really suspicious to him.

"Thank you, but you exaggerate. Anyone else has written something or have an idea?" Louis changed the subject.

Zayn shifted nervously back and forth and played with his shoes. After a short time, he finally gave in.

"Maybe I have something" he said barely audible. All turned surprised to Zayn, who just got more nervous under their gaze.

"However, it isn't quite finished yet. Maybe you can help me finish it" added Zayn and looked at Louis.

"If you want me to" said Louis unsure. He isn't used to people believing in him like that. He can't handle that pretty well.

"Of course. I wrote it yesterday night when I couldn't sleep, maybe it's complete bullshit" admitted Zayn sheepishly.

"We get this, Zayn".

"If we can suggest unfinished Songs then maybe I have something too and before you say something, no it's not as bad as the last one" tried Harry to suggest something.

"That's good. So maybe you two work on Zayn's Song while Harry can finish his song. Niall, any ideas what we could do?".

"Maybe you can go through the songs we already have and part them and think about how to get the best out of the song. I mean you said you're better with melodies anyway" suggested Niall thoughtfully.

"Great Idea" said Liam in surprise.

"Why are you so surprised? Should I be offended?" asked Niall playfully offended. "So, then its only me left. What can I do?" thought Niall out loud.

"You could help me with my song" suggested Harry surprisingly and everybody turned to him, shook on their faces.

"Are you serious?".

"Two work better together. Last time I worked with Louis we wrote a completely new Song in one evening. Two is better then alone" explained Harry as monotonously as possible.

The memory of that day flashed back into Louis' head. He felt an unwanted connection on that day which caused his crush to grow. The crush that didn't exist any more, but hearing Harry talk about that, and not in a bad way, felt strange. Louis really wanted to forget that.

"Okay, then it's settled. That's what we'll do now. Louis, are you and Zayn going in your room to work and Harry and Niall staying here while I will work in the kitchen?" asked Liam finally.

"Sounds good" agreed Louis shortly.

And with that they all went their separate ways to work on the songs. That will be an exhausting evening.

"So Harry, how did you even get the idea for your song?" Niall wanted to know first.

"Why do you want to know that?".

"If I should help you, I need to know what you want to say with the song" Niall told him.

"Oh, Yeah, right. When I met Louis yesterday, he said that sometimes words are not enough. That's what haunted me all day, and when I got home I came up with the song, which is pure irony, because the song has nothing to do with it. Not directly at least" Harry explained, getting softer towards the end.

"Okay, show me. 'Better than Words'?" Niall asked him and Harry handed him the text.

Better than words
More than a feeling
Crazy in love
Dancing on the ceiling

Every time we touch
I'm all shook up
You make me wanna
How deep is your love
God only knows, baby

Woo

I don't know how else to sum it up
'Cause words ain't good enough, ow
There's no way I can explain your love, no
I don't know how else to sum it up
'Cause words ain't good enough, ow
I can't explain your love, no
It's better than words
Better than words

"That sounds good, but what exactly do you need my help with?" Niall wanted to know.

"Well as you can see I have nothing but the chorus and the first verse so..." Harry trailed off.

Niall tried to imagine the song on stage, who could sing the already existing part and how it might sound. He absolutely wanted to help Harry. If he ever accepts help Niall didn't want to mess it up directly. Otherwise he might think twice about it. Suddenly Niall had a brainstorm and grabbed paper and pen. Harry watched him attentively. When Niall finished, Harry red the done writing.

Better than words
Drive ya crazy
Someone like you
Always be my baby

Best I ever had
Hips don't lie
You make me wanna
One more night
Irreplaceable (yeah), crazy (crazy)

"That's really good. What did you think of?" Harry wanted to know curiously.

"Louis" Niall said simply. Confused, Harry looked at him and Niall noticed that he had to explain it.

"Not like that. I imagined how he would sing that song, what the song could mean to him and then it just came out of it. The rest came all by himself" Niall explained his thought process.

"You imagined how he sings?" Harry hooked.

"I know that sounds weird, but that helped me. He's my best friend. I wanted to write something that suits him. He has such a special voice, he should trust himself more" Niall went into more detail and noticed how he deviated from the subject and said things that he should never say to Harry. He for sure wil..

"Yes, he has" Harry agreed.

Niall left that statement uncommented and turned back to the text. He revised something here and there and then shoved it over to Harry. He read through it and gave Niall a satisfied thumbs up. As Niall pulled out his cell phone, Harry glanced over to Liam in the kitchen to see if he could hear them.

"Tell me ...... you don't happen to know who Louis' song is about? Tell me a lie. Does this happen to be about me? " Harry asked Niall, who just looked at him, stunned.

"What? Why do you think that?".

"Well, the title and the lyrics. When I read it, I felt somehow addressed, as if he had processed certain things in it" Harry explained himself.

"I don't know what he wrote the song about, but If I were you I wouldn't think he'd spend the time writing anything about you" Niall replied, protective and harsher than planned.

"I know what you mean. He has no reason whatsoever to think about me. Yesterday, he involuntarily told me something that I can't handle well. I can't shake away the feeling of hurting him the most, but I don't know why. What is the difference between your situation and his own, what makes his so much worse?" admitted Harry honestly.

He had clearly already thought about it too much but came to no solution. That Zayn hated him was clear as day to him. Because of their past, because of the words he had thrown at his head. But it seems to Harry that Zayn was particularly angry because he hurt Louis. Even Liam, but since he forgave him only Louis remained. The looks that Zayn threw him screamed murder threats, just when Harry dared to look at Louis. He simply didn't understand why. He hadn't offended him so badly, right?

"Harry, I can't tell you much about that, that's not my right. And besides, I'm not trusting you just because I forgave you. I suppose I'm just too naive for this world, but I have to live with that. Louis should explain this to you himself, but it's unlikely to happen. But yes, you hurt him the most and I won't say much more" Niall admitted, though he wasn't sure if that was such a good idea.

Niall's words left Harry thoughtfully. Was there something that Harry overlooked? Then it occurred to him that Louis had mentioned a weakness he had almost confided to him. Did Niall speak of that? And what could that be? What could be so bad that nobody wanted to tell him? And was that the reason why it hit Louis the most what he said? What did he say exactly again?

Lost in thoughts, Harry sat down again on the couch, throwing down something small. The sound ripped him from his thoughts and he looked down to what had fallen. It was Louis' notebook. Apparently he forgot it here. There was one side open due to the fall. There were scribbled sentences or phrases. A kind of idea collection. As Harry was about to close it, his gaze fell on a sentence that made his blood freeze.

I've got scars even though they can't always be seen. And pain gets hard...

The words felt like knife-cuts in his heart. There was a feeling in him that he had never felt before. A terrible thought crept into his consciousness. Was he also a reason for one of Louis' scars?

"Zayn, is it possible that the song is about Liam?" asked Louis his friend curious after they finished the song called 'I should have kissed you'.

"What makes you think that?" Zayn asked, startled.

Louis just shot him an omniscient look and Zayn breathed out, defeated. "Is it so obvious?".

"Not compulsory, only if you know what to look for, which is pretty clear to me" Louis replied.

"Oh God, what if he realizes it too? He was there yesterday ..." Zayn panicked.

"So, this situation was really yesterday?" Louis inquired. Zayn nodded shyly.

"I wouldn't be worried. It's still Liam. He doesn't even notice it when you're holding it right under his nose, oblivious as always" Louis calmed Zayn down.

"There's something in it" Zayn muttered.

"Just because it is far too obvious for yourself doesn't mean that the person gets that too" said Louis absentmindedly.

"Why do I feel like we're not talking about Liam any more?" smirked Zayn and wiggled his eyebrows.

"You look stupid when you do that" laughed Louis.

"Did you see his face when he read your lyrics?" bypassed Zayn Louis' distraction attempt.

"He probably thought it was shit and didn't want to say it, because he knows you'd fuck him off with a kick" Louis grumbled, staring at the floor.

"That's what I would have done" Zayn grinned, making Louis smile. "But I think he may have felt addressed. I don't look like that if I want to puke" Zayn said.

"I don't think so. He would have to be aware of what he did" Louis waved the matter off.

"If you think so".

"Okay, to make this clear. Yay, I had a really inexplicable crush on him, but it doesn't exist any more, luckily he destroyed it on his own. Can we just pretend it never happened and push it on desperate hormones?" Louis begged him pleadingly. Louis really had enough and didn't want to talk about it any more.

"Sure. I'm glad when you're alright and Harry is no longer a regular topic of conversation" Zayn said, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, I'll go down in the kitchen and see how far Liam has come. You're okay here?" Louis asked as he got up and walked to the door. Zayn nodded in agreement and Louis made his way downstairs.

"Leeyuum, how's it going? Already produced number 1 hits?" Louis came joyously into the kitchen and jumped Liam on the back.

"Sure, several,  you crazy bum" Liam laughed, supporting Louis' legs.

"You're a sweetheart" Louis grinned, kissing Liam on the cheek.

"I suppose it went well judging by your temper, Armor" Liam asked amused.

"Easy Peasy, Pretty well" sing - songed Louis happy.

He sprang off Liam's back and ran to the fridge in search of food.

"That's brilliant" Liam rejoiced.

When Louis looked through the fridge, he wished he could cook without setting the kitchen on fire. He was really hungry but his mother would come home very late and then nobody would have to cook any more. Behind him, Liam nervously shifted his foot over the floor.

"And the wedding planning is going well?" Liam asked him and Louis turned to him slightly confused.

"Sure, everything's planned and ready for implementation. We thought about the end of the year" he replied, waiting for Liam's reaction.

Liam looked away and fixed his gaze on the computer. "That's fantastic" he said, trying joyfully, but it sounded rather disappointed.

So Louis was right. Something about this joke disturbed Liam enormously.

"You know we're not really going to marry. Right Liam?" Louis asked him calmly as he walked up to him.

"Not?".

"Of course not, this is just fun. Just like when Niall claims ownership on my ass" chuckled Louis.

"I'm not so sure it's just fun with him. His obsession worries me" Liam pointed out.

"Now that you say it" Louis mused, seriously doubting Niall's mind.

"But besides this. Zayn and I are just kidding. We make a lot of shit together and talk about the most intimate things, but that's about it. We get along pretty well. Just because we're the two gays in this circle of friends doesn't mean we're ending up together. He's like a brother to me. Just because it might be logical for some people, which it isn't, doesn't mean it happens. Sometimes the heart wants things that the mind doesn't understand" Louis explained to Liam.

Instead of answering, Liam hugged Louis firmly and held him close. The relief was clearly felt and it was their first real hug. Pretty strange.

"You know I'm always there for you" Liam whispered and Louis just nodded.

As the two let go, Louis' gaze fell directly on Harry, who was sitting on the couch looking into the kitchen while Niall was jumping towards them.

"Nawww, did Lilo just had a bromance moment?" cooed Niall.

"Way to ruin a moment" Liam shook his head.

Louis still looked at Harry, who looked at him with an unreadable look. Louis assumed that Harry must have heard what he said to Liam. This was the first time that Louis has spoken of the two as gay. So far, it has always been assumed, but this was the first time that Harry had heard the words out of his mouth. This undeniable realization probably shocked him.

Or was it because of the heart and mind thing? Hopefully Harry didn't think now Louis still has a crush on him. That was the last thing he needed now. Harry without that knowledge was bad enough.

"I'm starving, give me something to eat, or I'll eat Harry" Niall ordered with a growling stomach.

"You know how wrong that sounds" chuckled Louis. Now Harry came to them in the kitchen too.

"Only if you think wrong" countered Niall. "But doesn't matter. I'm hungry, cook me something" Niall grunted like a small child.

"Sorry, Niall. Daddy can't cook you anything. We need to think about something else, unless you want me to burn down the kitchen" Louis had to disappoint Niall.

"That's true though. He couldn't even cook to save his life" laughed Lottie, who now came into the kitchen.

"Ey" Louis complained and pouted.

"Only the truth" she said defensively.

"You have to be Louis' sister" Liam stated.

"One of them" she grinned.

"Lottie, this is Liam" introduced Louis Liam to his sister.

"You already know Niall" he said and Niall waved at her with an excessive exaggeration, which Lottie replied with a laugh.

"And that's Harry" Louis added reluctantly.

"Mh, I've never heard of you. Have you been friends for a long time?" she asked aimlessly.

"Can't say that, no" Harry replied shortly.

Louis was surprised how honest and unconcerning this answer was, but instead of thinking about it, he tried to suppress the need to puke when he saw his sister staring at Harry and Harry returning the look. Just the idea ....

"Where is your boyfriend?" Lottie asked as she finally released her eyes from Harry.

"Which boyfriend?" Louis didn't understand.

"The Greek god with the great eyes. Why? Do you have more than one?" Lottie told him.

"Oh, you mean Zayn" it fell like scales from Louis' eyes.

"Who speaks of me?" Zayn's voice came from the hall and a few seconds later he was in the kitchen.

"Boyfriend, then?" grinned Niall.

"Didn't you feel hungry?" Louis growled at him.

"Louis, when is Mum coming home?" Lottie asked him.

"Very late" he answered.

"Are Daisy and Pheebs with their babysitter?" Lottie checked.

"Yeah, and Fizzy's with a friend" Louis told her.

"So only us" she stated.

"And those chaotic ones" added Louis.

"I'm sooo lucky" she sighed, looking back and forth between them.

"After all, you three are here too, so maybe they aren't that loud today" Lottie said, then left the kitchen. Louis watched her open-mouthed while Zayn sat down on one of the squatting chairs in front of the kitchen counter.

"Loud? Did I miss something or why is this poor girl so traumatized?" Liam asked horrified.

"Well, when Zayn was here more often during the holidays ...".

"Spare us the details of your bed stories. If I don't get something to eat right now I have to eat Harry" interrupted Niall Louis nagging.

"Woah Niall. I didn't know you were swinging this way" Zayn laughed.

"Louis' influence is easy to spot" Niall said.

"So, food, any ideas?" Liam wanted to stay factual.

"That takes too long. Sorry Harry, but I'll probably eat you" Niall grinned cheekily.

"But I don't want to be eaten, not by you" Harry chuckled.

"Uhhh, is that supposed to mean by someone else?" Niall wiggled his eyebrows and nudged Harry against the shoulder.

"Eww Niall, nobody wants to know that" Zayn squeaks in disgust.

"Are you sure?" Niall asked quietly and sat back down normally.

Louis looked everywhere except to Harry. His intimation and Niall's stupidity had rekindled the memories and now Louis felt slightly uncomfortable and watched.

"Can we for once discuss something without you talking about sex? That would be great" Liam sighed helplessly.

"But sex is great, isn't it?" Harry interjected and no, Louis did not notice how he looked at him. Nope.

"Jesus Christ, help me!" exclaimed Liam.

"So let's let Jesus out of this. This is not kosha!" Niall joked, making Liam even more insane.

"Jesus or not, the problem remains the same. I can't help you with the food... As far as I know, Niall is not capable of decent cooking, at least not for more people than himself. And Zayn is Zayn" Louis came back to the original topic, because he was uncomfortable with this talk about sex, especially with Harry in the room.

"I could cook something" Harry suggested. They looked at him, puzzled.

"You cook?" Louis asked stunned.

"Why are you so surprised, Boobear? Yes, I can cook. Just because I'm rich doesn't mean I can't do anything" explained Harry himself. 

"I didn't mean it like that" mumbled Louis softly.

"What do you wanna make? Then I can help you while the children are waiting. Apparently we are the only viable ones here" Liam now turned to Harry, who turned his gaze away from Louis.

"For that I have to know what's there" said Harry.

"Feel at home" Louis said, giving them the permission to rummage through the kitchen.

While Liam and Harry agreed to a meal and started cooking, Niall, Louis and Zayn sat at the kitchen counter and watched them. At least Louis did that. He never thought Harry could cook. Hadn't he boasted that he had employees for everything? Based on what he had heard about his father so far, it surprised Louis very much that Harry was allowed to dirty his hands. He looked so focused as he prepared the food. The tongue slightly outside, eyes focused on the food. He looked almost innocent.

Louis shook himself once and looked away. He wasn't allowed to think like that. He couldn't afford his crush to come back. That would never go well and in the end Louis would only be more broken than he was already.

"Food is ready" Liam announced after a while and Niall sprang immediately with wide eyes to him and reached for the food. Liam shooed him back and sent him to the table. Grumbling, he sat down and waited for the food. Zayn and Louis had set the table and told Lottie.

When they all sat at the table Harry and Liam put the food on the table. They had made noodles with vegetables and some gravy. Simple but effective.

When Louis took the first bite and tried the food he really had to try not to moan with happiness. Fuck, the food was good. Harry had magical hands and Louis wanted to eat only his food. But he would have to like Harry, however, so that could be a problem.

"Harry, that's awesome. You wanna marry me?" Niall moaned with his mouthfull. 

"Ha, thanks. If that comes from you that has to mean something" Harry gurgled.

"That's really good, Harold" Louis agreed with Niall.

"That's nice to hear, thanks shorty, especially from you" Harry said thankfully, seeking eye contact with Louis, who tried not to look at him.

Now that Harry knew he had a crush on him, Louis couldn't shake the feeling that Harry was behaving differently. Imagine it and made Louis flustered, just for fun, because he could. Louis couldn't do that. This humiliation he could get somewhere else.

"So, will we meet here again tomorrow to rehearse or will we go to someone else?" Liam cleared his throat and started a conversation.

But Louis didn't listen. He was trying hard to focus on the food. He just heard the others decide on meeting here tomorrow because they had the most peace here. Of course, Niall had to make it clear that Harry had to cook again and immediately expressed a few wishes.

"They really pretend that nothing ever happened. Just because he can cook doesn't mean everything's good" whispered Zayn to Louis.

"You're right" Louis agreed in a whisper and looked briefly at Harry. Startled, he realized that Harry had heard them. What Zayn had said was the truth, why did Louis have to feel so bad anyway? Sometimes it was really cursing to be a compassionate person with a conscience.

Just as they were clearing the table, Louis' mother came in. "Mum, you're back" Lottie greeted cheerfully.

"It's very late I'm sorry, but the hospital was full today. What smells so good here. Don't tell me you cooked?" Johanna asked in surprise.

"Why don't you ask if it was me?" Louis protested.

"Should I really answer that?" Johanna raised an eyebrow and kissed Louis on the forehead. He just grumbled to himself.

"Harry cooked and it was really tasty" Lottie answered her mother's question.

"Harry?" she asked in confusion.

"That's me then, Mrs. Tomlinson" Harry introduced himself and held out his hand.

"Call me Jay, sweetheart" she offered and pulled him into a short hug. Louis didn't like that familiarity.

"There's still something to eat, if you want" Harry told her happily. 

"Thanks, it's weird to get home to cooked food" Jay chuckled.

"Hey" Louis exclaimed insulted.

"Don't be snapped, honey".

"It could be a habit this week. We need to prepare a performance for Ms.Flack, so we have to rehearse here every day and Niall insists that Harry cooks" Liam told her.

"A real performance? That's fantastic, I'm glad for you" she  beamed.

"But that also means a lot of work and that in the first week. Fortunately we have hardly any homework" Louis grumbled at the thought of the rest of the days.

"Yes, thanks to the Australian school system" Jay noted.

"Isn't that the same everywhere?" Harry asked, confused.

"No, in America everything is different and in England it is something else again" Jay explained while eating.

"You lived in America?".

"Didn't Louis tell you that?" Jay wondered and looked at her son.

"We're not friends for that long, mum" Louis wanted to finish the topic and his mother took the hint.

"Okay, it's very late, what do you think of staying here tonight. I can't let you out alone in this darkness ... except Zayn, you have a way too long way home, especially Niall, that's too risky" offered Jay openly.

"That's very kind of you" Liam thanked in everyone's name. Yawning, Niall was already up the stairs, followed by Liam.

"You never told her?" Zayn asked Louis in a whisper as they walked up the stairs. Louis said no by shaking his head. 

"I didn't mean to worry her. She's my mother, imagine her reaction".

"Maybe that would have been good, then he would have gotten what he deserves. I still want to throw the bastard in front of a train" Zayn told him angrily.

"That is very noble of you, but not necessary, if nothing had changed" said Louis and entered his room.

"Still, I'll kill him" Zayn insisted, completely ignoring the fact that Harry was behind them all the time. They had talked so quietly, he certainly didn't hear that.

"You can just grab something to sleep out of the closet if you want. Could be a bit short, but that's your problem" Louis offered as he threw himself on the bed.

"And that's for sure our problem?" Niall replied.

"I hate you, you annoying Irish goblin" snarled Louis.

"I love you too, Tommo".

"Knock knock, here are some air mattresses if you want to sleep in here" Jay said as she entered the room with three large air mattresses.

"Can I help you?" Harry asked, coming directly to her for help.

"Thank you, nice of you" she said thank you.

When she left, the boys agreed that Harry, Zayn and Liam were sleeping on the floor and Niall with in bed, though they could have just as well slept in his sisters' rooms. Idiots.

Louis lay awake for a while, staring at the ceiling. The calm breathing of Zayn and Liam made him sleepy.

"What are you thinking about?" Niall asked him softly.

"Sorry, I thought you were already sleeping".

"That was not an answer".

"It's nothing, just a bit confused" Louis said.

"And why? Is that the matter with Harry?" Niall wanted to know.

"Could be. I don't know. How could you forget all this so quickly? Liam doesn't surprise me, but you do" Louis asked, turning to look at Niall.

"That's hard to explain. Forgiving and forgetting are two different things. You should forgive everyone, I think. I know that's often difficult, depending on what happened, but in that case, I found that somehow it worked, but that doesn't mean I fully trust him. Believe me, I hear his words more often thanI like in my head, especially now that we see him so often, but we can do better than him, we can deal with it on an adult scale. Just because he hurt us, we don't have to do that either. We can deal with him and take the situation as it is.

I'm not Liam, he would forgive Gozilla and invite him to his house. But I can handle it reasonably and I can, I think, tell when Harry is lying and when he told us his point of view today after school, there was nothing but truth in his eyes. The explanation wasn't the best in the world and doesn't make it any better because he conceded he has consciously done it, but he feels a little bit bad after all. That is a beginning. We can't expect more from him. Today he was quite ok and it's for a higher matter after all" Niall explained his point of view. Louis tried to process all of his words, but that was quite a lot, it was still unusual to hear Niall say so much without a joke in between

"I understand what you mean. I see it the same way. Forgiveness is always something that is important to me. I forgave HIM too, but that doesn't make the aftermath any better. I only lock myself up now. I can't do anything about it. To be honest, I would like to forgive Harry and forget everything and believe that something is about to change, but I just can't. That doesn't allow my head. Since I let everything out yesterday what had accumulated I am doing better and I thought maybe I could leave it behind now. But it doesn't work" Louis confessed.

"Don't expect too much from you. You are already a burnt child. It gets better with time. You said yourself that it got better" Niall wanted to cheer him up.

"But that was before Harry said all these things. Thanks to his rudeness, this haunts me again into my dreams. It just got better, but now it's worse than ever" Louis admitted.

"I don't want to defend him, but he didn't knew what he was doing".

"Maybe not with his words directly, but he's done so many things deliberately just to make me feel uncomfortable and flinch and you know that's true. You've seen it, so don't tell me it wasn't on purpose. He knew exactly what he was doing, but it doesn't matter now. I forgot that, but I just can't treat him normally and pretend nothing happened. Whenever I see him, everything comes back up.

His insults, this nice little incident that led me to tell you everything, his remarks about my voice and the songs, how he pretended he wanted to be with us just to take advantage of it. And from the full moon night to this great speech in which he insulted me as worthless. I see all this when I look at him, so if you have an idea how to stop this, I'm always here for it" countered Louis and felt his despair rise.

"You're right, but you know me. Just like you, I always see the good in people, whether I like it or not. But I would never confide him the things you already know, even if he doesn't hang around with Shawn any more or insults us, he is not suddenly a saint. For him money and power and sex without feelings are still more important than everything else. I see this. But we can deal with him, no one has ever said best friends forever" Niall confessed more to himself.

"I do my best. I just want peace and silence" Louis sighed thoughtfully.

"And just that you know, if anything should happen again, with Harry or anyone else that you don't want, Zayn and I will kill that person on the spot. We're still planning our trip to Malibu to throw a certain person in front of a train" Niall let him know. 

"You're crazy, but thanks. You're the best" Louis said, finally feeling like sleeping. After a few minutes, he had fallen asleep and Niall crawled to his side of the bed when a rustle sounded. 

"Harry, are you awake?" he asked carefully.

"All the time" Harry's voice sounded in the darkness.

"Damn it. Did you hear everything?" Niall wanted to know, cursing.

"Just because you're whispering doesn't mean no one is listening to you. I heard so much today that wasn't meant for my ears" Harry let him know.

"Harry, we ...".

"Drop it, Niall. It's okay" Harry cut him off, and with that, there was finally total silence in the room, and sleep came over them.

--------------------------------A/N--------------------------

New Record: 13634 Words.........that's pretty much. Fuck it wasn't supposed to be that long. This was supposed to be the next full monn, but nope no moon at all. Oops. 

So what do you think about it ? 

Should they just forgive him for good? 

Should they trust him again? So early?

Do you understand why Louis can't do it or is he being a drama Queen? 

Zouis' Marriage Joke? 

Niall's Point?

Thanks for reading my story. This really means a lot to me. Let me know what you think down in the comments :)