"You're gonna have that tattoo next to your mark?" asked Zayn after Louis had told him about his tattoo plans, both lying on Louis' bed just chilling.

"Not sure yet. I could make it less obvious though with the tattoo around it or something" mused Louis absent-mindedly.

"True. Just get something that makes sense with that rope. Maybe a dead stickman" joked Zayn.

"You're so funny, Joey" slapped Louis him against the back of his head. "You think it's possible to have a tattoo across the soulmate mark?".

"You mean like directly over it?" checked Zayn curiously.

"Yeah".

"Like covering it up?" raised Zayn an eyebrow at him.

"Why would you cover up a soulmate mark?" startled Harry both boys by standing in the doorframe.

"Who said something about a soulmate mark? We were talking about tattoos, right Zayn?" cleared Louis his throat.

"Exactly. He wants a third one" lied Zayn not very convincingly.

"I heard you loud and clear. You said soulmate mark. I didn't know you had one, Louis. Why did you lie to me?" came Harry now fully into the room.

Louis was just silent. He didn't know what to say to Harry at that moment. Meanwhile, Zayn stood up from the bed and crept over to the door, passing a glaring Harry on the way.

"I guess I'm gonna leave you with this" said Zayn before he left the room.

"No! Zayn!" tried Louis to stop him but it was too late. He was alone with Harry now.

"Care to explain" looked Harry expectantly at him. Louis hated that behaviour.

"I don't have to explain myself. Just a mark. No big deal. You're not my father" replied Louis tried unbothered, but his mark was burning right now.

"No, but your friend. I asked you about it and you lied straight to my face. That's not really friend-like behaviour" Harry didn't let up.

"Pressuring me into telling you isn't either. It's my mark and my decision. Deal with it" countered Louis annoyed.

"Come on, Louis. I thought we were best friends. Why don't you just tell me now?" niggled Harry exasperatedly.

"Best friends, huh? You didn't even tell me your second name, Edward" shot Louis back, visibly shaken.

For a second Harry fell silent and just stared at Louis, guilt written across his face. Then something flashed through his eyes and he broke the eye contact. "That is something completely different. My second name is holy and very precious and you know that. I can't just tell everyone".

"I know that, but you didn't care about that preciousness when you read mine out loud the second we met. A bit hypocritical, don't ya think?" huffed Louis definitely hurt that Harry didn't trust him enough and he was just considered as a random someone to Harry.

"I'm not a hypocrite. It wasn't on purpose. I didn't mean to ...".

"I know, Harold. But you never gave me the chance to tell you on my own. You know how special it is to know someone's full name and you just took this away from me, like everyone else is always taking away things from me. Well, is no problem anymore. I'm over it. I also thought we were best friends but apparently, I'm just anyone who isn't worthy enough of knowing your second name" cut Louis him off, hurt and broken.

"No, no, no, Louis. You're not anyone. You are my best friend. I was just stupid and mean and I don't know ... But I'm not the only one not trusting my best friend enough" crossed Harry his arms over his chest.

"Oh no, don't even start this again" warned Louis him. He wasn't ready to tell Harry about this soulmate bullshit and get his heart crushed even more.

"Why not? Because it just shows that you're the hypocrite? You talk about worth and trust, but you didn't tell me you had a soulmate mark. You said it was a simple tattoo! Why did you tell Zayn but not me?" Harry wanted to know distressed.

"I've known Zayn for years. Of course, he knows. And it wasn't necessarily on purpose. It just happened. He's smart. He felt the difference. He's a tattoo expert after all" scratched Louis his neck awkwardly.

"I'm not even gonna ask how he felt the difference" snorted Harry disgusted.

"Don't give me that attitude, Harold. What Zayn and I do is simply for us to know! He stroked over it with his thumb, if you really wanna know, because I was devastated. We're that close and you know that. No reason to get all bitchy about it or shall I start with Niall and you?" became Louis pissed off now.

"That's something completely different. We're just brotherly best friends. We never got each other off" pointed Harry out and well, he had him there.

"Why are we even fighting about this now?" groaned Louis desperately.

"Because you don't wanna tell me why you lied to me about your soulmate mark" stated Harry stubbornly. Louis just rolled his eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me, Mister. Supposed best friends tell each other everything but you decided on lying to me about the most important thing in this world".

"It's not that important" tried Louis to play it off.

"It's totally important. You have a soulmate. A simple soulmate but anyway. That's amazing" said Harry excitedly.

"Not really" mumbled Louis quietly.

"Oh, come on! Why are you like this? Why don't you just tell me? What is so bad about it that you can't tell me? Is he that ...?".

"For Fuck's sake, it's you" exploded Louis, successfully shutting Harry up.

"What?" blinked Harry at him.

"You heard me. That stupid shit of a soulmate mark is yours, Harry Edward Styles. From the day we met. But guess what? You never got one. That's why I never told you. Happy now?" tried Louis to sound indifferent but he was sure the hurt was noticeable in his voice.

To his utter surprise, Harry didn't say anything and just stumbled backwards a bit and clutched his left arm. Due to him only wearing a stupid sexy t-shirt, Louis could see something appearing on his arm. Black inked lines were forming a symbol. After a few seconds, Harry took his hand away and both boys stared at the new fresh anchor on Harry's arm.

That just couldn't be true. Louis was completely and utterly overwhelmed, but not necessarily only in a good way. He was shocked and couldn't handle his feelings. Now Harry really was his soulmate in a way, but he just knew for a fact that it wasn't in the way Louis wanted it. And that hurt even more than before. Having Harry but not really having him at the same time.

"Lou" breathed Harry out with a stunned smile.

"No, Harry. That doesn't mean anything" shook Louis his head and took a few steps backwards. He didn't need that right now. He wanted to run away.

"What do you mean with it doesn't mean anything? We're soulmates" furrowed Harry his eyebrows together in confusion and Louis had to stop himself from fonding over Harry's cuteness.

"Simple Soulmates, Harry. That doesn't change anything. It's still the same. Now we just know what kind of friends we are" corrected Louis him weirdly.

"What? Friends? We're supposed to be more than friends. Our marks just proved that" said Harry confused.

"No, they don't. Simple soulmates don't have to be romantically involved and you know that. It's a very fragile bond and doesn't define the way you feel about me, Harry. Soulmate marks fade, especially simple ones. Just because fate tells us were connected in a way, it doesn't mean you suddenly have to be in love with me just because I am in love with you and the mark showed up today" noted Louis, hoping Harry didn't hear his slip up, but looking at his face Louis knew Harry had heard it. Today was his lucky day.

"You're in love with me?" hooked Harry visibly shocked by that piece of information.

"That's beside the point now. I was trying to make you see that a mark means nothing. A mark doesn't make you feel a certain kind of way just because of its existence. A mark doesn't stop people from hurting their soulmate, cheating on them, leaving them and breaking their heart and soul. I've seen it all and I don't want that. That's why no one was supposed to know my middle name" came Louis back to his original point.

"So, you prefer not bonding at all and staying alone forever to avoid getting hurt instead of allowing yourself some happiness?" asked Harry without understanding.

"It's no happiness when you get left anyway" shrugged Louis.

"You don't know that for sure, Louis. Why do you think everyone would leave you? I thought you never had a boyfriend" Harry wanted to know.

"Wow, thanks for reminding me" snorted Louis sassily.

"Louis, I'm serious here," said Harry angrily.

"I am too. I don't need a fucking boyfriend to know that people just ... leave" countered Louis and literally choked out the last word.

Harry eyed him up and down for a second before he stepped a bit closer to him. "Lou, what is it? What are you so afraid of? We could work it out. It's meant to be and we ...".

"Nothing is meant to be, Harold" cut Louis him off and walked past him to the other side of the room. "Soulmate marks mean nothing. They only cause you heartbreak and sorrow, okay? I know you see this whole thing through rose-coloured glasses, but not me. I've seen the hurt it can cause you day by day, my whole life. I'm not naïve enough to believe in fate anymore".

"I'm not naïve. I'm optimistic and ...".

"And that's good. Be optimistic and happy and carefree. Enjoy your life, Harold. But don't expect everyone else to share your optimism. That's just another point that proves destiny fucked up here. You should bond with someone else, but you can still do that. Marks fade anyway, someday" cut Louis him off again with a sad voice.

"Fade? What are you even talking about?" was Harry utterly lost.

"I've seen it every day with my Mum, Harry. She was bonded to my father by not only a simple but a romantic soulmate mark. They have been together for two years before I was on the way. My mum was overly happy and thought this would last forever. But it didn't. My bastard of a father left when I was barely two years old. He simply left after cheating on her for months and didn't even care enough about her or us to say something. We've never seen him again. Not even the mark held him back. The mark wasn't enough to keep them together. When I was a bit older, I started to notice her pain even though I was so young. The mark was still there as a constant reminder of the pain and the loss and later my Mum told me it hurt horribly, emotionally and physically. Like her soul was crushed every second of the day for as long as she was separated from my father, but he never came back and never eased the pain" started Louis finally to tell Harry why he stopped believing in love and soulmates.

"Lou, I'm so ...".

"Don't say it. We don't need any pity and I'm not done yet" interrupted Louis him with a faked smile. Harry just fell silent again and waited for Louis to continue.

"A few years later when I was around six, my mother met another man. She tried to resist him because of her mark but he never gave up. It seemed to be a new start. They dated for a while and my Mum accidentally got pregnant again. Afraid he would leave her, she didn't tell him at first but of course, it came out. But to our big surprise, he stayed and was even excited about the twins. For a couple of years, everything seemed to be going good for my mother. He loved the twins and was actually there for my Mum. I never told her how he treated me because I wanted her to be happy, but it was horrible, to be honest" continued Louis and his voice got shakier by the end.

"What did he do?" asked Harry in barely a whisper.

"At first, he just ignored me completely because I wasn't his real son. He never wanted me, to begin with. After Lottie and Fizzy were born, he started to treat me like I was some menial or would be bad for the girls. When I came out, he started to call me names and hit me because I was worthless in his eyes. He never wanted a nasty faggot as his son. It was horrible for me, but I couldn't tell my Mum. She was finally close to being happy. Or so I thought".

"It turned out she wasn't fully happy. Her old mark hurt even more than before for the first years and she tried really hard to love the twins' Dad, but she just couldn't. Around the time she was pregnant with the younger twins, something unexpected happened. Her old mark started to fade away and the pain subsided. Right before the birth, a new mark showed up. A simple soulmate mark after that asshole read out her name in the hospital. She was so overwhelmed that she kissed him and said his name too, but he didn't even care and no mark showed up. The bond was one-sided. Before the younger twins, Daisy and Phoebe, turned one year old, my Mum caught him cheating with some bitch. She was devastated and absolutely broken. He just screamed at her and named all the things that were wrong with her and her family and why he cheated. For example the old mark or me. He didn't even notice that the mark had changed. After that fight, he left too and started something new with an unbonded bitch in America. My mum was again left heartbroken and in pain. Now with five children and no one else" finished Louis his story and a few tears rolled down his cheeks, but he didn't care. He always felt so sorry for his mum when he thought about her life and those two bastards that were supposed to be her soulmates.

Harry had tears in his eyes as well as he walked over to Louis. Carefully, he took both of Louis' hands in his own and looked him into the eyes. Louis felt a tingle run through his whole body. And oh, those eyes.

"I'm really sorry this happened to your mum and you. To be honest with you, I never knew marks could fade away or people would really do that when they're romantically bonded because my parents are happily married. But Louis, I understand now why you're so sceptical and I see what you're afraid of" told Harry him sincerely.

"Thanks, means a lot to me. I really didn't want to ruin your view of the world though. I just really can't see anything positive in bonding because it means nothing at the end of the day" sniffled Louis a bit.

"I see where you're coming from but not everybody is like that, Louis. Not everyone just leaves or cheats. I'm not like that. You can't close yourself off completely for the rest of your life. You're so brave in every other situation. Why can't you take a risk now too?" became Harry a bit frustrated.

Louis tore his hands out of Harry's hold and just stared perplexed at him. "Are you serious? I just told you everything and you're still trying to change me? I never told anyone except for Zayn. Why are you like this out of the sudden? I thought you were more understanding. Just because that mark showed up?".

"Just? Louis, this means were bonded. Connected by fate. We're meant to be" tried Harry to move closer but Louis just backed away.

"We're not meant to be. Simple means nothing. That shitty mark doesn't just change your feelings for me. You didn't like me before, so why now? The mark can't fake that. It just ends in me being hurt, just like my mother. And did you even look at those stupid marks? They're not even identical. Aren't they supposed to be matching marks? Why a rope and an anchor then? Fate is simply mocking me with that. You don't just suddenly like ..." rambled Louis anxiously but was cut off by soft lips touching his own.

Shocked, Louis froze in place. At first, he didn't register what was happening but after a few seconds of shock, he realised that Harry was kissing him. Or well, had his lips on Louis' lips but no one was doing anything about it. Louis couldn't believe this was happening to him right now. His mind told him to be mad at Harry for just kissing him although he had told him there was no chance for them. But his heart and soul were longing for it like he needed it to live. That's why he hesitantly started to move his lips against Harry's. To his relief, he felt Harry kissing him back timidly. Shyly, their lips moved together for a few seconds and Louis felt warm all over. His whole body felt like he was in heaven.

When they broke apart, they slowly opened their eyes and looked timidly at each other. Before Louis could say anything, he felt a warm feeling on the inside of his left arm near his elbow. The feeling spread through his veins and dumbfounded he looked at the spot. Black tattoo ink-like lines appeared on the skin and created another mark. It was some kind of a knife when Louis first tried to find out what it was. After a second look, he realised it was a short dagger. What was that supposed to mean now?

"What? Why? How ...?" was Louis lost for words.

Harry just showed him his arm, which was decorated now with a beautiful rose. Completely stunned, Louis looked up into Harry's sparkling eyes like they held every answer he needed right now.

"I had feelings for you the whole time, Louis. The mark didn't change anything" revealed Harry to him.

"Really? You're not just saying that because ...".

"Really, Lou. I was gone for you the second I met you when I knocked you over. I was hoping every day that you were my soulmate, but I thought I was just desperate because I knew I already said your name and nothing happened. Well, now I know it did" cut Harry him off and reached for Louis' hand but then stopped himself from touching Louis.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just thought it was one-sided" mumbled Louis ashamed.

"I know, Lou. And this is partly my fault because I made you believe I don't have a second name and I'm sorry for that. I understand why you were so afraid, but I hope I can change that" took Harry now bravely Louis' hand.

"You mean ...".

"Yes, I am in love with you too, Lou. And I hope you give us a chance" confirmed Harry visibly scared.

"I'd love to, but I don't wanna lose you just because fate is fucked up" voiced Louis concern.

"But you do realise we just got another soulmate mark, right? A romantic one. We're meant to be, Louis. And I'm not letting you go without a fight" pointed Harry out resolutely.

"Yeah, I felt that. And I can see it bright and clear. Those marks are weird. They're not even identical. What's that all about?" doubted Louis fate's real intentions.

"They are complementary, Louis. They complete each other and are even more meaningful than matching ones because ours tell a story. They symbolize something" explained Harry to him like it was obvious.

"And what?" hooked Louis unconvinced. He had never heard about that possibility before. But now that he thought about it, Àmber and Aria's were complementary too.

"Us, Lou. They symbolize us. An anchor and rope can't be without each other to fulfil their purpose. The rose and the dagger symbolize human life. Or more the duality of it. They are clear opposites but complete each other. It stands for life and love. No love is easy, but you can work through it. Our marks tell us that we can make it, Lou" unbosomed Harry the true meaning to him.

Looking down at his marks and stroking over them gently, Louis could feel that Harry was right. Something powerful was what he felt between them. "And you really think we can make it? You think it's worth it?" asked Louis insecurely.

"Yes, I think you're worth it" understood Harry the real question behind Louis' words. That made Louis look up at him again. "I think you're a beautiful person inside and outside and you deserve only the best in this world. A world that was cruel to you and your family. I will try everything I can to make you see that love and fate are not just a myth. I'm gonna show you that soulmates stay because you are my soulmate, Lou. You are the right and only one for me. You know why? Because I want to be with no one else. Only with you. My soulmate".

Harry's words made Louis tear up. No one has ever said something like this to him and he was simply overwhelmed with emotions. He was also a bit embarrassed that he was so emotional right now. As he wanted to hide his tears and look away, Harry cupped Louis' face with his big soft hands and made him look back at him.

"Don't hide from me, Louis. Please, give me a chance. I'm deeply in love with you" begged Harry him.

"I'm madly in love with you too, Haz. I really am and it hurt so much when I thought I'd never have you. I couldn't deny you anything even if I wanted to. My heart longs for you more than I wanna admit" confessed Louis honestly.

"Are you saying ...".

"Yes, Love. I wanna give this a chance. We have three marks now after all" tried Louis to crack a joke but he was deadly serious.

"You won't regret it" fell Harry happily around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"I know" whispered Louis as he gently stroked over Harry's back.

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Question of the Chapter: What do you think of Jay's backstory?