Another melancholy chapter and some right questions and unexpected answers are on your way. Get ready and be prepared. 

And you let him go ...

By the way: It's my birthday today, guys!!! I'm literally turning 25 and can't believe that. That also means this probably will be my only update today because I'm busy the whole day :)

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The small moving truck was standing in front of the Tomlinson's family home and the boys were carrying box after box into it. The truck belonged to Niall's brother Greg and he had lent it to Louis for the day. Like this, he could save some money and had two more helping hands until Greg has to leave for work. It felt surreal to Louis that he was actually moving out and he knew he wasn't the only one feeling like this.

Harry had been absolutely shocked when Louis had mentioned the moving day yesterday. Louis had forgotten that Harry didn't know about Louis' new flat and felt really bad. He didn't know why it never came up, if he was being honest. In all those weeks they had never talked about it. They barely talked about anything important in general at the moment and Louis wanted to change that.

"Those are a lot of boxes for one person" remarked Greg on the current sight in his truck.

"My Mum put a lot of stuff into boxes and insisted on me taking them with me and I couldn't say no to her. Not with that face" mimicked Louis his mother's face.

"Damn, like this I would give you the world" made Greg big eyes at him.

"I always knew you were in love with Louis, brother" appeared Niall next to them with another box in his hands.

"Who isn't?" laughed Greg unbothered and Louis forced out a chuckle. He knew someone.

"Touché" placed Niall the box in the truck.

"I'm gonna go and get the rest of them, so we can start with the furniture" announced Louis to get away from this conversation.

"Okay, Tommo" gave Niall him a thumbs up.

"Not sure it was a good idea to start with the boxes" mused Greg thoughtfully.

"Now we can't redo it. You don't have time for that" reminded Louis him before he went back inside.

On the way into his room, Louis was met with the rest of his friends. He was so thankful for every single one of them and would never want to miss them in his life. With that thought on his mind, he entered his almost empty room and spotted Harry looking out of the window. The sunlight was falling down on him and made him look like an angel. Louis was wondering why Harry looked so sad.

"You alright?" approached Louis him slowly.

Harry jumped a bit at the sound of his voice but faced him anyway. "Yeah, it just feels weird to empty the room like this. It feels like we're erasing every memory that was ever made in here. I don't know. Maybe I'm being stupid".

"You're not stupid, Harry. I feel weird about it as well and I had many moments already when I wanted to cry right there and then. But I don't feel like we're erasing the memories. We're taking them with us in our hearts. We just move on to make new ones and add them to the collection. How about that?" titled Louis his head aside with a smile on his lips.

"That sounds nice, Lou. We keep them in our hearts. Just like that one day you almost fell out of this window because you wanted to warn me. Do you remember that?" chuckled Harry to himself and Louis' whole chest filled with warmth at hearing that nickname again.

"Of course, I do. How could I ever forget that?! I almost broke my arm and my mother was about to nail-up the window for good and that all because of you" laughed Louis at the memory.

"Aye, that wasn't my fault" huffed Harry cutely.

"You weren't looking where you were going, so I had to lean out of a window to keep you from hurting your head. Definitely, your fault" reminded Louis him amusedly.

"I was stuck in my own world, Lou" whined Harry like a child.

"And I was left getting hurt over you again, Haz. Nothing new there. I always took the pain to save you" commented Louis thoughtlessly and cringed at his own words afterwards. That sounded very wrong.

"Guys, we're ready to load the shelves into the truck now. C'mon" barked Liam into the room and Louis wanted to kiss him. He saved the moment from getting weird.

Always two of them carried one of Louis' shelves down and into the truck. Like this, they were done pretty quickly and could all take a short break in the kitchen and drink something. When his friends were all talking to each other, Louis went back upstairs into his old bedroom. Everything was gone apart from his bed and the cupboard. One of the younger twins would get the room now as soon as Louis was actually gone.

With a sigh, Louis sat down on his bed. Memories were floating through his brain and he tried to keep the emotions in. In this room, Harry and Louis had had so many sleepovers where they had told each other everything. In this room, Louis had figured out his sexuality and in this room, Louis had officially given up on Harry. All of this came raining down on him now.

"Feels unreal, mh?" leaned Zayn in the door frame. "I know that feeling. Remember when I moved out?".

"You almost had a breakdown at your front door. I had to drag you away with me" remembered Louis the moment clearly.

"What can I say? I grew up in that house and felt sad leaving it behind. But I needed my own place to become independent" sat Zayn down next to him.

"You mean your own place with Liam. Not sure if you learn to be independent with him babying you every second of the day" chuckled Louis slightly.

"Aye, I'm not a baby. I do everything alone" protested Zayn sulky.

"Apart from the cooking" pointed Louis out.

"You're not any better. No idea how you plan on surviving without any kitchen skills" pushed Zayn him aside.

"I come over for dinner every day. Get ready to host me, Ziam" pushed Louis him back.

"That can be something" shook Zayn his head amusedly. "What were you thinking about earlier?".

"To be honest, I was thinking about Harry. About everything that happened in this room involving him" admitted Louis honestly. He couldn't lie to Zayn to save his life. He knew him way too good.

"I understand. We had so many talks about him in here. I still remember how you first told me about your crush or how you always complained about Sean or Jake or Niall being an oblivious idiot only making everything worse" giggled Zayn at the mere memory and Louis nudged him in the side. "What? It's true. Sometimes I wanted to slap him but it wasn't his fault that he didn't know anything. You never told him".

"Because I knew he would try to make Harry fall for me and I didn't want him to force anything on Harry that he didn't want. Niall just is like that. Always wanting the best for everyone but sometimes he goes too far" reasoned Louis his intentions.

"You're probably talking about Niall trying to convince Harry that he was into you and not Jake, right?" guessed Zayn and Louis only nodded. "That was a mess. I've never seen you like this. Not even after the party thing and damn, were you done that day. Broken fits better. And it was in this room where I comforted you afterwards. It's weird to leave that all behind".

"But maybe good. Like this, completely moving on will be easier. My new flat doesn't hold all those painful memories in every corner yet. I can make new ones" noted Louis confidently.

"With Luke" added Zayn and didn't sound convinced.

"Yeah, with Luke. And you and Liam and Niall, the girls and everyone else. Everyone who is important to me and is ...".

"And Harry?" asked Zayn again, clearly uncertainty lacing in his voice.

"Is my friend and will always be that. The last months proved that and I'm okay with it. I'm with Luke now. Giving Harry up was the best thing I could do. The only thing I could do. He has Josh now and I'm happy for him" clarified Louis once more. He was so over this topic.

"If you're sure ...". trailed Zayn off unsurely.

"I am".

"Um ... I don't wanna interrupt anything but Liam is looking for you. We wanna drive over to the flat now" cleared Harry his throat and both heads snapped into his direction. He was standing in the door frame and looked kinda pale. How much of their conversation did he hear?

"We're coming".

Arriving at the new flat, the guys carried every box and shelf upstairs. Luckily, Louis' flat was only on the first floor. He was a lazy bastard and had searched for a flat without too many stairs. He wasn't getting younger and didn't need to move more than necessary. His flat had two rooms and a small bathroom. Enough space for him and his friends.

The white and silver kitchen part was connected to the living room as one shared room. The kitchen counter with three chairs served as a partition together with a small round table by the window. He had a huge couch and an armchair in the living room part together with his still empty shelves now and one small table. Under one window was a space for his TV.

Together with Àmber and Aria, Louis moved the two armchairs his mother had bought him into the normal-sized bedroom where his new double bed was already waiting for him. His new cupboard was built into the wall with a mirror on the wall on the right side and the bathroom door on the left side. That was something he was looking forward to. His own bathroom without four sisters. It was small but had a bathtub. He could shower in that as well, so it was perfect for him.

A small beige cupboard was standing in his little hallway between his two rooms together with a coat-check on the wall and a spare chair. But the best part was his small balcony on the backside of the house. In the morning, he had a very nice view over the garden of the flat underneath him. It was Louis' little oasis. His safe place.

"I have to say, you have an amazing kitchen for someone who can't cook" pointed Liam out when he was arranging the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen.

"This kitchen is perfect for other activities as well" noted Zayn dirtily. "I'm sure Luke loves to come over and make use of it".

"He will because he can actually cook" ignored Louis the sexual jokes of his idiotic friends.

"Uh, you've got yourself a housewife" cooed Liam mockingly.

"That's the perfect example for why you're single" stated Louis dryly.

"Aye, not everyone can have a perfectboyfriend like Luke" huffed Liam offended.

Before Louis could reply anything they heard a smartphone ringing. They all turned towards the sound and saw Harry searching for his ringing phone. He let out a sigh of relief when he had finally found it. "Sorry, that's Josh. I'm gonna ...".

And with that, he was out of the room. Now Louis was alone with Zayn, Liam and Sean. Niall has gone to the supermarket with Àmber and Aria because he had realised Louis had no food here yet and he couldn't live with that. So, he sprinted off with the two girls to make sure they wouldn't starve when they were done. And they were mostly done now apart from Louis' boxes in the bedroom but he would unpack them alone.

"So, he is actually with that Josh guy, yeah?" checked Liam as he sat down on the couch.

"Yeah, it's pretty fresh but they're already disgusting. Josh is crushing on him for a while now and Harry finally decided to end his suffering" confirmed Sean, who was lounging on the armchair.

"Then we should meet him for real now. Have to make sure he is good for him" suggested Liam protectively.

"Good idea. And you, Louis? You're with Luke now?" shifted Sean his attention from Liam over to Louis.

"That I am. He's great and I thought, why not" nodded Louis simply.

"But is that enough of a reason, Tommo?" voiced Liam some concern. "Are you actually into him, like for real? Or are you just trying to forcefully forget Harry?".

"I really like Luke. He is funny and very caring and absolutely adorable. He has such a kind soul and only wants the best for everyone around him. It's impossible not to like Luke" cleared Louis up genuinely.

"And what about Harry?".

"Stop asking me this literally every day. Now you sound like Zayn" groaned Louis annoyed.

"We're just worried about you, Tommy. We're afraid you're only getting yourself into trouble and you will end up hurt again" explained Zayn himself softly.

"Zayn is right, Louis. We're only looking out for you. You've been in love with Harry for so long and we can't see how you got over him so fa ...".

"What do you want me to do? Mop around because of him forever?" cut Louis Liam off harshly. He was so done with this. "I can't keep going on like this. He is only a friend and I really need to finally accept that. Yes, I was in love with Harry and I will always love him in a way but he doesn't love me. That's a fact. He once loved the idea of us because I was a safe path but I don't wanna be a temporarily boyfriend who gets dropped as soon as he starts crushing on someone else. Do you think he would be still with me now that Josh is in the picture? I don't think so. And Luke likes me for real and only me. He wants to be with me and he is doing me good. He heals my heart with his presence and I now I can be the boyfriend he deserves. I can let my heart choose him but I need time and no questions about Harry every day".

"I actually agree with Louis on this one" spoke Sean up timidly. Flabbergasted, the other boys stared at him. "Don't look at me like this. I know Harry quite good and I've been here throughout the whole Jake and Louis thing. I had to hear him rambling about Jake day by day and that even though I was his boyfriend before. He completely ignored that fact. At some point it was okay but not the whole time. It hurt but I wanted him to be happy. For a long time, I thought you would make him happy, Louis. I always saw you married in the future but guess I was wrong. I was there when Harry tried to convince himself to like Louis instead of Jake and as soon as he had convinced himself and was already dreaming about a shared future in mere seconds, it was over again and he was sure he just made that up because you said so, Louis. And I think you were right but still. Harry didn't know what he wanted and I'm not sure he knows that now, what isn't a bad thing but not fair to Louis. Louis deserves to be happy and treated like a king every day. He deserves someone to love him wholeheartedly and only him without doubts. Right now, Harry couldn't give him that even if he'd be into him but we all know he is with Josh. Do you want Louis to just sit back and wait, be on hold until Harry maybe made up his mind in a few years, which could also mean he could decide against him and then Louis waisted all of his time and love for nothing? Or do you want him to give a boy that actually really cares about him a chance and he could be happy? I know what I want for him. Happiness".

Silence. Louis was speechless. Did Sean actually just say all of that? Was he really thinking that Louis deserved to be treated like a king and he only wanted him to be happy? After their years full of Louis' irrational hatred towards him? Damn, Louis felt so bad and really small now. They were good for a while now but he did not expect anything like this. Ever.

"I mean ... wow, Sean. You left me speechless" breathed Zayn out.

"Sorry" mumbled Sean quietly.

"No need to be sorry. I just wasn't expecting any of this" reassured Zayn him calmly.

"Me neither. Thank you for your words, Sean. I haven't looked at it like this and I don't know why. Maybe I'm to stuck on the idea of Louis and Harry together. I need to let that image go and focus on my best mate's happiness. Louis, I'm sorry for trying to ...".

"Don't, Lima" cut Louis him off again. "You only meant well and I see your point. You did nothing wrong. None of you. I love you all for caring so much. You two are the best. Oh, and um ... Sean, I wanna ...".

"Sorry, that it took me so long. Josh didn't want to hang up but now I'm back" came Harry back into the room, successfully silencing Louis and making him face the floor. "Did I miss something?".

"No, we just waited for everyone to come back. Where the fuck is Nialler? Did he rob the supermarket?" distracted Sean from the actual topic.

"Wouldn't surprise me" commented Zayn, rubbing over Louis' back and Louis knew he was doing that to settle Louis' mind down. He always did that and Louis was grateful for it.

"I'm gonna call that wanker" took Liam his phone out.

"Can we talk sometime?" mouthed Louis over to Sean when Liam was talking to Niall on the phone and Harry was texting Josh. Sean only nodded with a tiny smile.

When Niall and the girls were back, they all sat down together and chatted for a while, sinking into memories of old days and talking about Uni. They ate a lot of snacks and drank some beer but the good friends they were, they helped Louis with the cleaning up before going home pretty late.

All alone now, Louis turned the lights off in the living room and went into his bedroom. He got himself ready for bed and snuggled up underneath the covers. He tried to sleep but his mind was working overtime. He couldn't get Sean's words out of his head. Louis really wanted to talk to him and apologise for the way he treated him during their school time for no other reason than being jealous and that for nothing, in the end. With that thought in his head, Louis feel asleep for the first time in his new flat alone, dreaming of a better future without too much drama and confusing feelings. 

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Do you agree with Sean or are you more on Liam's side?

What will all of this bring Louis in the end?