Ignorantly, Alexa flopped down on Louis' lap as soon as he had sat down on Àmber's couch. She nudged his hand with her nose and Louis started to pet her with a shaking head but a smile on his lips.

"Your dog is one of a kind. Such an attention whore" said Louis with a chuckle when Àmber came into the room followed by Harry and Aria.

"I told you that before. She's the worst" laughed Àmber amused.

"No, she's the best. I'm gonna steal her from you" hugged Louis the dog.

"Wouldn't it have been smarter not to tell her beforehand?" smirked Aria at him.

"You're the devil in disguise. You spend too much time with your nasty girlfriend" huffed Louis jokingly.

"This can only come from a single person" shot Àmber back.

"Haz, help me" whined Louis like a child over dramatically.

"What am I supposed to do?" suppressed Harry his smile.

"Be on my side" gave Louis him the puppy eyes.

"Damn it, fine" gave Harry in and sat down next to Louis on the couch.

"That was easy" pointed Aria out.

"I have him wrapped around my little finger" grinned Louis sheepishly.

"Or something else" muttered Àmber under her breath, earning a slap from Aria.

"Louis" gave Harry him a stern look.

"I meant, Haz is just a nice and loyal person doing the right thing" corrected Louis himself.

"That's better" started Harry to pet Alexa on Louis' lap.

"Tell me again, who's the worst?" threw Aria Louis a look and he just warned her with her eyes.

"I'm gonna go and open the door" coughed Aria when the doorbell rang but the boys didn't pay her any attention.

"I don't even ask if you're gonna help me with the snacks" waved Àmber both boys off and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Naw, she's so cute with that little nose and those brown eyes. Adorable. The love of my life is Alexa" cooed Louis at the cute dog.

"Weren't you gay?" raised Harry an eyebrow at him.

"She's my exception. Just look at her. This girl owns my heart" sighed Louis out dramatically.

"Since when do you have a heart?" sounded Zayn's voice from behind the couch.

"How funny you are, Malik" snorted Louis without even looking at him.

"You're getting cosy already, huh?" referred Zayn to their close position on the couch with the dog now on top of both of them, making them be pressed together.

Louis immediately noticed that undertone in Zayn's voice. It was pure concern. Since he knew about the mark and he had told him about what had happened with Jacob and Harry, Zayn was even more protective than before. He was afraid Louis would get his heart broken by Harry.

"It's Alexa's fault" answered Louis childishly.

"The dog is not at fault for your laziness" noted Zayn and sat down next to Louis on the other side.

"You're good?" checked Louis, sensing something was off.

"Yeah. Just need a smoke later" replied Zayn, emphasizing the later. Louis got the hint.

"Thanks for your help, you three heroes" placed Àmber the bowls full of snacks on the table.

"Sorry, but your dog literally trapped me underneath her" pointed Harry at Alexa.

"Wasn't she on top of Louis?" wondered Aria exhilarated.

"She loves both of us".

"Or wants you together" murmured Aria quietly to herself, knowing that dog's tricks.

"What are we gonna watch?" Liam wanted to know, sitting down with Shawn and Niall.

"Once in a lifetime" announced Aria and put the movie in.

"Isn't that a very cheesy romance movie?" groaned Niall.

"Yes. You're at my house and she wants to watch it. So, keep it to yourself or leave" glared Àmber at him defensively.

"Gosh, couples" rolled Niall his eyes but stayed quiet afterwards.

The movie was better than expected. Even Niall was into the story after a short while. The two protagonists had been friends for a lifetime but never bonded as more than as friends. Well, it turned out the boy was in love with the girl and was one-sidedly bonded to her for years now without her knowing about it. He just couldn't tell her and ruin her life potentially.

That situation felt way too familiar to Louis and hit straight home but he tried to block that out. Zayn's worried and sad glances weren't helping though. The thing that distracted him the most howbeit was Harry. After Alexa had jumped off their laps to beg for food or their snacks, the two boys didn't move further apart from each other. More the contrary. They had leaned down against the couch with Harry against Louis' side, all snuggled up. Having Harry this close to him felt right and put his heart and soul at ease for that short amount of time. He wished they could stay like this forever.

"Why is he not telling her about his feelings?" wondered Niall close to the end of the movie.

"They're not bonded" dead-panned Liam.

"And?" Niall didn't understand.

"Gosh, Niall. He doesn't want to ruin her life" groaned Louis out, making everyone look at him, especially Zayn, Àmber and Harry. "Maybe he is bonded to her, but she isn't to him, which means her soulmate is still out there. He doesn't want to take that away from her just because he is selfish".

"I wouldn't say it's selfish if he'd tell her. He is hurting every second of the day. Telling her shouldn't be the problem. It doesn't have to change anything" noted Zayn pointedly.

"I agree with, Z. They should talk about it. It's better for him and she has the chance to make a choice herself" agreed Liam with Zayn.

"What choice? He's not her soulmate. He's one-sided bonded. End of story. A life full of misery and loneliness and cats" said Louis weirdly.

"But she could still love him anyway, Lou" spoke Harry up. "If she loves him too and wants to be with him, it shouldn't matter if she has the mark or not".

"Are you feeling alright?" leaned Niall over to Harry and felt his forehead.

"I'm good, Nialler. I just thought about it a lot and seeing this movie made me change my view of some things" explained Harry shortly.

Louis just stared totally openly at him in pure shock. He couldn't believe Harry had really said that and was thinking this way now. Harry, who has been a fighter for bonds and marks and soulmates and only being with them for as long as he knew him and now it was over. Louis didn't know how to feel right now.

"I hope we don't have to watch her find that freaking soulmate. I don't wanna see him suffer" came Shawn back to the movie.

"Me neither. No one deserves that" said Zayn simply but surely.

"Damn, she really met someone while we were talking, boys" cussed Àmber in shock.

"Please, don't be her soulmate" begged Niall desperately.

"Shit, he is her soulmate" moaned Shawn out.

"Get ready to see a broken soul suffer" commented Louis on the scene bitterly, seeing his future.

"You might be surprised" marked Liam mysteriously.

Everyone's attention was back on the screen and they held them breathes. That hurting boy was down at the beach while it was storming, thinking he lost her forever. To his surprise, she came running down to him and fell into his arms. Feeling the tension, Louis pulled Harry closer, grabbing his waist tightly. She told him that she doesn't want anyone else, only him. She had loved him for years but was too afraid to tell him, knowing she wasn't bonded to him. Shocked but happy, he confessed everything to her and they kissed. Cliché but dramatic until the very end.

"I'm so happy they got together" sighed Niall out in relief at the end.

"Me too, but it's a pretty controversial topic, don't ya think?" asked Shawn his friends.

"It is. The movie was criticised a lot, but many people loved it. It gives people hope" informed Aria them.

"Hope for what?" Harry wanted to know.

"Hope to not stay alone even though you're one-sided bonded" answered Aria shortly.

"Until today I didn't even know that was possible" admitted Harry ashamed.

"That you can be one-sided bonded?" blinked Àmber at him.

Harry nodded timidly. "Yes. I mean, how does that make sense with all this soulmate stuff? How can you be halfly bonded but not completely? How can you be someone's soulmate without them being yours too?".

"To be fair, this is a good question" pointed Liam out.

"It really is" Louis had to admit. He had never understood the logical part about this either, but it happened all the time. Some things simply couldn't be explained.

"Who's in for a second one?" clapped Àmber into her hands to awake everyone out of their trance.

"Hell yes" cheered Shawn overjoyed.

"But not without pizza this time" complained Niall.

"Let me guess? You can't even make it?" cocked Àmber an eyebrow at him.

"Not if you wanna keep your flat" laughed Niall unimpressed.

"Well, I guess I'm gonna take Liam and Aria with me" chuckled Àmber.

"Don't forget about me" jumped Shawn up to follow them.

"I'm gonna take a smoke" walked Zayn outside the balcony.

Louis looked over to the kitchen, then back at Harry and Niall and lastly over to Zayn. He decided to join him and find out what was going on. "I'll be back in a second".

Unwrapping himself from Harry, Louis walked outside onto the balcony too. He was met with a smoke-surrounded Zayn. Wordlessly, Louis took the offered cigarette and lit it up, taking a long drag. Sometimes there were moments he did it again, like today.

"I'm gonna tell Liam how I feel" broke Zayn the silence.

"You sure?" checked Louis worriedly. Zayn had never said out loud that he liked Liam but for Louis, it has been obvious for a while now. The two of them never needed to ask the other one who they were crushing on. They just knew without comment.

"I thought a lot about it. I wanna tell him everything and I'm gonna ask if he wants to try it out and see if we're meant to be or not. And if not, we'll talk it out afterwards. See where it leads us" was Zayn sure of it.

"So, you'd risk everything and try without the bond?" hooked Louis surprised but proud at the same time.

"Yes, but only if he wants to. If not, I'm okay with it, too. I just want to have some clarity and know where we stand. It's not good for me to just admire him from afar. I need answers, no matter how I feel afterwards. Better than now anyway" nodded Zayn in confirmation, sure of his plan.

"I think that's really brave of you. I really hope it goes well and you're meant to be. It's so obvious you like each other" wished Louis him the best.

"You mean as obvious as you liking Harry?" grinned Zayn at him.

"We're talking about you and Liam here. No Harry" dodged Louis the whole topic.

"Fine, you win. This time" gave Zayn in, putting out his cigarette.

"When are you gonna tell him?" Louis wanted to know inquisitively.

"I planned on doing it later tonight. Let's see if we find a moment" admitted Zayn shyly.

"Woah, I did not expect that" was Louis taken back.

"I know but I want to know and it's better for the both of us if we talk soon. Better now than in a few weeks. Cuts the suffering" explained Zayn his reasons.

"I understand and I'm here for you no matter what will happen between you two" smiled Louis at his best friend.

"Thanks, Tommy" hugged Zayn him thankfully.

"Always, Joey" patted Louis his back.

"Ready to go back inside?" asked Zayn as they broke away from the hug.

"To see you drool over Lima? Never" joked Louis sassily.

"Aye" pushed Zayn him through the balcony door.

"Come on, Ed. Give it to me" whined Niall on the couch and Louis froze in his tracks. Did he say Ed?

"Don't call me that" said Harry sternly.

"Why? Isn't that your name, Edward?" mocked Niall him playfully.

"You know I hate it. Stay with the first one. Besides, no one knows that one apart from you" slapped Harry his best friend.

"Okay, Edward. I shut up. Your mum did a good job in giving you such a good first name, H" poked Niall Harry's cheek.

Pissed off, Louis watched their conversation and grew angrier with the second. Harry had a freaking second name and didn't tell him about it. When they first met maybe it was understandable. Even though Louis didn't understand due to Harry knowing his from the very start, obviously. But after everything Harry knew now about Louis and the trust Louis had given to that boy, he would've never expected Harry to keep something that important from him. He felt fucking betrayed.

Betrayed by someone that called himself his 'best friend' and had told him he would always be there for him. Apparently not enough to trust him completely. After their day in town and that moment at the piano and Harry taking care of him, Louis really had the feeling Harry might feel something for him. More than friendship. That weird and pathetic bit of hope came through that day but was now destroyed by Harry himself, who seemingly didn't trust Louis one bit. That really hurt.

"I smell pizza" sniffed Niall the air.

"And smoke" added Àmber as they came back into the room.

"Did you smoke too, Louis?" looked Harry at him with big eyes.

"Why do you care, Harry?" asked Louis coldly, feeling Zayn's hand on his lower back.

"It's not good for your health" mumbled Harry hurt.

"Other things are also not good for my health" replied Louis darkly and sat down next to Shawn, far away from Harry and he stayed there for the rest of the night, not even looking at him. 

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Question of the Chapter: Looks like Harry was keeping something from our boy Louis. What does that mean for them now?