WARNING! This chapter is highly unedited. By the time I finish each chapter I have little to no time to read through it and edit it. I really should start looking for a beta. Oops. Haha. Well, I bring you chapter ten. This chapter, as well as the next, are going to be... sort of cute. The next one will have lots of fluff in it. And I have already laid out the next few chapters, so I thought I would let you guys know that before we reach the 20 chapter mark, they will be done with High school and already making plans for college and their rooms. This story has had a slow beginning, and I apologize for that, but within the next few chapters things will start moving more quickly and by the end of the book, I promise you will not be able to wait for book three! Well, now that I have said what I needed to, I will let you get to reading!

(Just a quick note. THANK YOU to everyone who takes the time to read, comment, and leave stars on my work. I honestly LOVE you ALL. It means soo much to me!)

Much love, Xx

Louis stared up at the ceiling, his hand absentmindedly rubbing along his stomach, fingers just barely ghosting. Thoughts whirled around in his mind; Harry, college, tuition, and Harry again. Fighting hasn't been a new thing to them, but this fight, if it could even be called that, seemed to leave the air around them tense when they were alone. The words that needed to be said hovered over both of them like a suffocating black cloud, waiting for the right moment to combust.

Louis already felt as if he was drowning from guilt. He had acted irrationally before; said things he would never say in his right mind and did something he knew had hurt Harry more than the words spoken. After Harry had picked him up at the bus stop, Louis remembered what Harry had told him and made it a point to remember all the times he had stormed out of a room. Rather it be from anger, jealousy, or simply because he was being a child and annoyed Harry, so he left the room laughing his ass off and tried to run as far away from Harry as he could.

Each and every memory he recalled, always ended the same. Harry would run out of the room after Louis and he would either be hefted up over his shoulder, grabbed around the waist and hauled backwards into a hard, firm chest, or shoved into a wall and pinned in place with hips. He never let him walk away, and Louis had to swallow back the string of apologies that danced on his tongue.

Harry didn't want an apology. He needed to see that Louis was sorry. Louis could easily lie with his words, and although that has never really been a problem with their relationship, he knew that Harry responded better to physical apologizes, to words that never once were spoken out loud, but were instead said through a simple brush of his small hand, or even a few small kisses or some other small gesture.

So that's exactly what Louis did when Harry entered the room after taking a shower. His heart jumped and a wave of fear lapped at his feet, threatening to pull him under if he didn't act quickly. So, as soon as Harry got dressed, Louis having a hard time keeping his eyes pinned on the ceiling rather than Harry's small bum, and set down on the bed, the smaller of the two boys didn't give the larger one a chance to react before he was throwing his leg over his torso and pulling himself up, his bum resting in Harry's lap and his hands fisting the shirt on Harry's chest.

Funny, he thought, Harry usually never wears shirts to bed. Shoving off the thought, Louis squoze his thighs tightly, trapping Harry's hips, and grabbed Harry's arms and pinned them above Harry's head, his grip tight but both knew if Harry so much as flexed his hand, Louis' hands would lose their grip and Harry would be set free.

But he didn't. He choose to freeze instead, his entire body becoming a board beneath Louis'. "Hazza?" Louis asked softly, eyes trying to lock with Harry's but Harry looked everywhere, green eyes refusing to meet his.

Louis swallowed back the hurt he felt and inhaled deeply. "If you don't want to talk, that's fine, but listen," when Harry didn't do anything but grunt softly, Louis took that as he was listening and squirmed a little, his heels hooking beneath the crook of Harry's knees and his arse scooting so it now rested on Harry's belly. And don't think he missed the way Harry's nostrils flared and his jaw clench.

"I've been alone all my life. N-Nobody has ever wanted to help me. I used to think I-I.... that there was something wrong with me. I wasn't like everybody else. I was... I was different. And it wasn't until I met you that I realized that different doesn't necessarily mean bad. It means that you're unique, and in a world like the one we live in today, that is a hard thing to find... ugh... argh," Louis let go of Harry's hand long enough to scrub at his eye with the palm of his hand. He was getting off track. He exhaled slowly and closed his eyes, imagining the words that were slamming around in his skull.

"What i'm trying to say is; help isn't something I accept easily. If not for the simple fact that it is foreign for me, then for the fact that nothing is ever free. Everything you do, you choose, has a consequence. And I didn't want to risk letting your mum pay for my tuition because everything always blows up in my face and I didn't want to lose what I have here," then, added in a small breath, "with you,"

For some reason unknown to Louis, Harry's head slowly turned, green orbs instantly finding Louis' like they were magnets. "You wouldn't lose me over some stupid bullshit," he snarked, chin jutting out in a way that said I-dare-you-to-argue-with-me.

But like always, Louis' rational side seemed to be missing and he leaned down ever so slightly, just enough that Harry noticed, but not enough to make it so their chests were touching. Here, though, their breathes twirled and mixed, strawberry with mint. "Wouldn't it have been stupid of me to risk it, though?" he asked, "I'm the good boy, remember? The one who follows the rules. You're the bad boy who breaks them and takes risks others wouldn't, the instigator who is never up to any good,"

Harry wrinkled his nose a little, but didn't disagree. "Whatever," he sighed, irritated. "Can you move?" Harry began to squirm beneath Louis, jostling the boy's body as he tried to get free. Louis smiled smugly because it wasn't working. He was dead weight right now, and unless Harry grabbed his arms or waist and flipped them over, he wasn't going anywhere.

As if Harry could read Louis' thoughts, he broke Louis' hold on his hands and just as his hands were about to close around Louis' hips, the boy quickly grabbed his wrists and dug his fingernails into the soft part on the underside of his wrist. "Wait, I'm not finished," Louis pleaded, hips instinctively shoving down harder on Harry's stomach.

"I am," he tried once again to shake Louis' hands off, but hissed when the fingernails dug deeper. Realizing it was a worthless attempt, he sunk back into the mattress and glared up at Louis, his eyes black in the nearly dark room. "If you're going to talk, get on with it," he made a hand gesture with both of their hands, telling him to continue.

"What I'm trying to tell you," Louis hissed, leaning down a tad more so his nose almost touched Harry's. He could feel Harry's chest beneath his, closer and closer with every breath he took. If he just leaned down a little more.. Like that.. Oops. Their chests collided and Harry hissed, eyes going into slits as he stared at Louis, trying to read between the lines in Louis' eyes and see if he was up to anything. "Is that I am tired of fighting. That's all we've been doing," he snorted, "at least we know we're good at it."

Harry didn't respond, but his glare was enough to let on that he didn't find any of this amusing in the slightest. Sobering up quickly, the last giggle dying on his lips, Louis straightened his back, way too aware of how his butt nudged against Harry's dick from the movement, and quickly spoke to hide his small gasp. "If I agree to let you... I don't know... urm..." he broke off, at a loss for what Harry could possibly want him to do that would make this problem go away. Then the idea came and Louis smiled brightly, proudly. "If I let you talk to the Dean and make it so we are roommates, can we forget about today?" Harry pursed his lips, and just for good measures, Louis added, "Please?" to soften him up further.

He didn't mind being roomies with Harry, honestly. It meant hot college sex whenever he wanted it without having to worry about their roommate waking up. Who wouldn't love it? But then again, it wasn't just that reason he agreed to bunk with Harry. He hasn't been away from him since they moved in together. He hasn't slept in a separate bed, even when they were fighting, and he could already feel how hollow he was becoming at just the thought, at how lonely he would quickly become.

Admitting that to Harry is an entirely different conversation.

He gulped, adams apple visibly bobbing, when he looked down and seen Harry was lost in thought, lips pursed thoughtfully and eyes staring up at him, but unseeing. The look gave him this unsettling feeling, and his stomach tied itself into knots with worry. Harry could decline his offer, and still make it so they were roommates. He didn't need Louis' approval, and that scared Louis because he honestly had no leverage. Harry could go either way right now, and he feared that he was leaning more towards the 'no' side. It wasn't like Harry ever did anything that didn't benefit himself.

A few seconds later, Harry came back and blinked a few times, then shrugged. "Nope," he murmured, his dimple popping out a few seconds later when he felt Louis tense above him. "Buttt," he began, "I will think about what I want, and whatever that may be, you have to agree to it no matter what it is. But, in the meantime, we can..." he froze at the word and gestured at the room once again, like that was all that needed to be said, "move on,"

Louis suddenly kissed him- pressed him back into the bed and crashed their mouths together. Harry resisted at first, because he was taken off guard by the passion behind the kiss, but he surrendered as soon as Louis let go of his wrists in favor of grabbing hand fulls of his damp hair. Hands slid down Louis' back and stopped at his hips, fingers curling there with his thumb slipping underneath the waistband of Louis' sweatpants. They both shivered, and Louis pulled back long enough to whisper "I love you," before he ducked his head back down.

Tugging Harry's head off to the side a little, Louis licked a small line from Harry's adam apple, up to the shell of his ear, then he began to place small kisses and nips along his jaw. The fear of what Harry could possibly want him to do was forgotten and all he was focused on now was the way Harry's body reacted to his, the way his skin tasted of soap and the familiar sweet taste Louis could only explain as Harry. Hips were pressed up against his butt, Harry's head was thrown back, and a small, barely audible whimper left Harry's lips.

That surged Louis' to go further, to do more even though he has never really been the dominant one, aside from a very rare few times. Doing as Harry has done to him, he nipped at Harry's pulse point before his teeth closed around it, followed by his lips. He sucked hard for a second, Harry groaning in response and rocking his hips, and then ran his tongue over the trapped skin, soothing it before he moved up a fraction of an inch and began to process all over again.

All the while, Harry's hands were roaming Louis' body. His hands slid beneath the cotton shirt and his finger's eagerly moved over the smooth skin. The territory that he has already become more than familiar with was explored all over again, feeling as if this was the first time he has ever touched Louis, like this body belonged to a complete stranger and it turned Harry on even more.

Louis kept one hand laced in Harry's hair, fingers firmly tugging at the strands but not hard enough to hurt him, though he did extract whimpers and moans, and moved his other down the length of Harry's body. His hand moved to hover over his groin, and it took him only a second on deciding if Harry really wanted this before he began to palm the already hard length.

Through the loose fitting pajama pants Harry wore, he could feel the veins throbbing, feel as his length seemed to thicken even further. Harry moaned loudly at the friction and thrust his hips up further, then repeated the process and whimpered. Louis marveled at how Harry was coming undone, at how Harry only trusted Louis enough to do this, to give him complete access to his body without having control of what he was to do. Then Louis suddenly pulled back, licking his red, swollen lips and looked down at Harry, the blues in his eyes just a small, barely visible ring around the black of his pupil. "Harry?"

"Not this again," Harry groaned, throwing his head back against the pillows. He took a deep breath and his face contorted for a second as he tried to hide the annoyance he felt right now. "What?"

Louis bit his lip, the tips of his ears burning bright red, before he shook his head. "Nevermind." He wiggled his way down Harry's body, then fit one knee between Harry's thighs and bumped them open far enough so he could slot himself between them. He ignored the warmth that began to pool in the bottom of his stomach. He could feel himself already becoming hard, despite having little to no contact down there, but he didn't want to get any sort of release. It was his own way of punishing himself, almost. He didn't want to feel good after making two people feel bad today, even if he had already been forgiven for the most part.

Kneeling in place, with Harry's legs on either side of his body; stretched far enough his toes almost reached the end of the bed, Louis ignored Harry asking him, "What the hell were you going to say?" and instead dipped his hand below the waistband of Harry's pajama bottoms and with a deep breath, wrapped his hand around Harry's cock.

Anything Harry wanted to say after that, was gone. The irritation he felt over the fact that Louis wouldn't talk to him vanished and in it's place was the sound of ocean's crashing against the shore as his body bowed off the bed, searching for more, eager for the small hand to move.

Louis licked his lips and swallowed thickly before bowing his head. He pushed what he wanted to ask Harry out of his head, deciding it would best to speak about it in a less... intimate setting, and bowed his head. Harry grunted and his hips jerked when Louis popped the tip of his cock into his mouth, nose wrinkling at the bitter taste of the precum. He wasn't a big fan of it, and Harry knew that, but Louis pressed down his gag reflex and in one swallow, Harry's entire length was down his throat.

"Argh, jesus Louis," Harry moaned, hands finding the soft nest of chestnut hair. He tugged at it harshly, but managed to resist the urge to thrust up.

Louis adjusted to his length for only a second, eyes pricking with tears, before he dared move. And when he pulled back before swallowing the length again, his eyes flickered up and he found Harry's blackened eyes fixed on him, just staring. Embarrassment flared his cheeks. He probably looked ridiculous right now. His hair a mess with two hands fisting it, eyes bright blue with tears trickling down the sides of his cheek, the saline mixture leaving a trail in it's wake, and swollen red lips wrapped around Harry's dick. It had never occurred to him that he would look hot, so his heart thumped in surprise against his chest when he heard a soft thump.

Curious, he let his eyes move up the length of Harry's body and land on the face slack with pleasure. Harry had let his head fall back and from moving too much, he had slid up a little so the top of his head hit the wall. Snorting, and thankful that his mouth was too preoccupied right now to make fun of Harry, he closed his eyes and focused on the task at hand.

He hollowed his cheeks and pulled up, his tongue swirling around the tip carefully before he pushed back down. This time when he pulled up, he dipped his tongue into Harry's tip, then pushed back down, letting his tongue trace the underside of Harry's cock. He knew he must be doing something incredibly right because Harry, who was usually so quiet and composed, was whimpering and moaning, his body withering at the smallest of touches. The sounds were so strange, so foreign coming from Harry, but they all sounded so hot to Louis.

Pulling up for a quick breath, Louis' hand began to pump Harry's length while his other one began to tug at the pants. Getting the hint, Harry loosened his hold on Louis' hair long enough to help push his pants down to the crook of his knees. Louis let go of Harry's cock long enough to stand up, step over the pants, then he pushed them off the rest of the way and took his original place once again.

Sliding down just a little more, Louis braced his right elbow on the side of Harry's body, near his hip, and used his other hand to stroke him slowly, but fast enough to get those delicious moans from Harry again. Louis began to place gentle kisses on the inside of Harry's thighs, his lips scraping against the rough hair. He enjoyed the feeling and nuzzled his cheek against it before he slipped over to the other thigh, teeth nipping and lips sucking their way up to the place that really counted.

He mustered up as much courage as he could and with one last deep breath, he leaned forward and sucked one of Harry's balls into his mouth. The reaction he got wasn't one he expected, but it was enjoyed. Harry moaned loudly, the noise broken, and his back arched just before he thrust his cock up into Louis' hand. Grinning, Louis sucked it testingly, pleased that it tasted like soap. He swirled his tongue around it, trying to duplicate some of the things he has seen on the porn website he stumbled upon a while ago. Harry's explosive exhale signaled success, and he let the ball drop from his mouth so that he could treat the other testicle to the same teasing.

Harry made a low sound in the back of his throat, something needy that had blood flowing to the wrong areas of Louis' body. Knowing damn well that he would have blue balls tonight, but not caring because he thought he deserved it, Louis pulled up from his previous position and scooted back up. He leaned up the length of Harry's body, finding it magnificent and arousing the way his chest heaved as he forced oxygen into his lungs, all because of Louis, and he slipped his hand behind Harry's head, pulling him up. Harry grunted at the sudden movement, but then his lips eagerly crashed against Louis' when he realized why he was moved. Both tongues fought for dominance, but Louis eventually won and he ran his teeth along the inside of Harry's cheeks, then over his gums before repeating the process, his hand never once stopping the faster paced rhythm he had picked up.

Louis tasted mint from his toothpaste and nothing else. Harry suddenly arched and threw his head back, a low pitched moan falling from his lips. His eyes were shut tightly, and Louis tipped his head to the side before he furrowed his eyebrows and, not exactly knowing if he was doing it right or if it was even to right place, Louis ran the fingernail on his thumb underneath the head of Harry's cock, where the sweet spot was supposed to be.

A gasp, followed by hips sloppily thrusting up, made Louis grin and do it again. An uncensored "Oh my fucking god, Louis," fell from Harry's lips, and Louis replied by dipping his finger in the slit, collecting the small droplets of precum, and spreading it over Harry's shaft before he picked up speed. He squoze when he thought was necessary and kept the pace fast, but not too quick. He could feel the pressure building, spread out in searing heat all through his groin and abdomen despite the fact that his cock hasn't been paid attention to all night. The build up was torturous, because he knew he would never get the satisfaction of release. He wouldn't allow himself to, even if his cock was aching painfully in the confined cotton of his sweatpants, the material becoming slick with his own precum.

He tried shaking off his own arousal, tried pushing it back down and focusing on the task at hand once again, but his cock was angry and it was making sure he knew it. Louis gritted his teeth and picked up speed, his wrist jerking and twisting every few seconds that made pleasure shoot throughout Harry's body, searing all the nerves and leaving him with only the faintest feeling of touch.

Louis watched Harry's face the last few seconds before he came undone. His mouth feel open, his eyebrows furrowed and his face scrunched like he was in pain, but the arch of Harry's back, the ridiculously loud moan, and the spurts of semen that splattered across the back of Louis' hand and Harry's stomach were obvious signs that looks can be deceiving. Louis tucked his head in Harry's neck, nosing at the soft space and inhaling the fresh scent. He continued pumping Harry, riding him through his orgasm and only let go of his soft cock when he felt Harry's body become boneless beneath his.

Harry had no want nor intention of moving. His entire body was glowing with the aftereffects of an orgasm, so Louis took it upon himself to get him cleaned up. He adjusted himself as he walked into the bathroom, and splashed cold water on his pale face before he returned to the bedroom with a damp washcloth in hand. He wiped the semen off of his hand before he cleaned up Harry, though the shirt was a goner so he simply made Harry sit up so he could take it off, then he threw it, and the towel, in the dirty laundry basket in the bathroom.

When all that was taken care of, Louis maneuvered Harry's legs and pulled the blanket out from underneath him, then covered his body with it, tucking the corners around his shoulders. It was amusing that for once he was taking care of Harry. The roles were usually switched, but it felt nice and Louis filed this feeling off in a locked cabinet in his head, then climbed into bed with Harry.

He ignored to urge to have a furious wank, and instead curled his hands under his head, his body curling in the same manner. He was left lying in a fetal position, knees crushed against his chest and his forehead grazing his knees. His cock was sandwiched between his body, making him hiss because it was some sort of friction.

"What 'bout you," Harry slurred, drunk on the aftermath of a great orgasm.

Louis shrugged, internally kicking himself because Harry couldn't see him, then offered, "I'm fine, go to sleep," and that was all Harry needed. He didn't even put up an argument. Not even a minute later Louis heard soft snores escaping Harry's lips, and it wasn't until then that he let his body relax. Harry had been tired, the bags under his eyes were obvious, and Louis was thankful he helped him fall into a peaceful sleep.

Harry did too much for Louis. It was about time the other boy did something in return.

With one last, lingering gaze on Harry's face, his mouth slightly open, his hair fanned out around him, and his eyebrows smoothed down, Louis rolled onto his other side and sighed. The question he had wanted to ask Harry resurfaced, and with it rolling around in his mind, as well as possible things he could do, or get him, Louis drifted off into a fitful sleep full of a displeased Harry opening Louis' horrible present.

Ahh, birthday's are always fun.

~~~~~

January 31 was always a lovely day. Ha! Yeah, and so is December 23. Louis snorted and rolled his eyes, not at all happy with the situation he was in. He had forgot completely what day it was until his phone, the stupid thing, reminded him that in twenty four hours, it was Harry's birthday. It had, so very kindly, reminded him just before Louis had attacked Harry and coaxed an orgasm out of him.

He didn't understand how he had forgotten. He has been excited about it considering last year he didn't get to celebrate Harry's birthday with him.. He had plans, too. But all of them were no good now because they all needed at least a week ahead for planning. Which, go figure, he couldn't do.

"We can do a party," Louis suggested to the woman sitting across from him, a cup of tea in her hands as well. They had both been up for at least an hour and decided the problem at hand was best discussed over a warm cup of tea. Louis had been nursing his, afraid to drink more than a sip at a time because he had an upset stomach. "We could invite Niall and some of your family."

Anne looked around the room, to make sure Harry wasn't anywhere near even though he hasn't even woken up yet, then rolled her eyes. "Harry agreeing to a party is like Harry agreeing to a haircut; never going to happen." That was beyond true, but Anne knew the party was the only good idea they had come up with. They have thrown ideas out there, many that were great, but with so little timing, they had all been shot down.

Louis pondered over her response and bit back the remark that he could get Harry to agree to a party because well, he could be very persuasive if he wanted to be. Anne was his mother, and she obviously knew more about Harry than Louis did, even if Harry would disagree. "Then let's do a surprise one! Harry can't throw a fit about it with all those people there," even as he said it, Louis knew how ridiculous he sounded. Harry could, and would, make a scene anywhere, in front of anyone, if he was tempted enough.

Anne shrugged. "It's worth it, isn't it?"

Louis looked up at her, then back down at his cup of murky water. "I guess," he sighed. "I had wanted to do something he would want but I just.. I forgot. A party is at least something, and if he wants to get pissed off about it, then he can." Louis had already decided what they were going to do, no matter to repercussions. Harry would get pissed, yell, cause a scene, then he would become putty in Louis' hands later that night and all would be forgiven.

He tried to hide the guilt he felt over forgetting how close Harry's birthday actually was. The stress of school and college was the only constant thing in his mind right now. Well, it had been. At least now that he got into the college he wanted, he could focus on his social life more. Which meant his life with Harry, because that's the only person he really socializes with.

Anne nodded, lips pursed as she thought for a second. "I'll give you my credit card and you could go out and get the decorations in a few hours, then we can set them up later tonight or even tomorrow morning. I'll excuse you both from school, like I do Harry every year." At the curious look Louis gave her, Anne sighed and took a sip of her tea before explaining, "Harry always skips school on his birthday, and the day before, so he can go out and.." Anne paused and her hand rubbed the back of her neck. "I actually don't know what he does. But i'm sure he isn't up to any good,"

Louis' body deflated at the comment on Harry skipping school, but he hid his disappointment behind a well put together fake smile. "Isn't he always?" he joked, then he figured he needed to be serious and jumped into the plan he suddenly had. Anne listened eagerly and nodded when needed, but didn't say anything unless she needed to.

Ten minutes later, the two had come up with the perfect party, and guest list, that would be small enough to not upset Harry, but big enough to let him know people cared.

Louis then excused himself from the table, seeing as it was nearly seven thirty in the morning, and wandered upstairs to wake up Mr. I-don't-like-mornings-and-will-murder-you. He debated on whether or not he wanted to wake Harry up and deal with him complaining about not being able to sleep in, especially since they were skipping school. But then the idea of spending another three hours without any company didn't seem too appealing to him, so he set down on the bed, right next to Harry's hips, and leaned forward, eyes tracing the strong features on Harry's sleeping face. Even in his sleep, he was dominating the room.

Smiling softly at his sleeping... beauty? Harry would strangle him if Louis ever called him that out loud, but it fit him. A secret smile tugging at his lips because, yeah, Harry definitely was his sleeping beauty, Louis braced his arm by Harry's shoulder for support. He placed a soft kiss on Harry's nose, then each eyelid, then his cheeks and forehead and chin before he let their lips meet. Harry was stirring by then and when his sleepy green eyes fluttered opened, he smiled against Louis' mouth and deepened the kiss for a second before pulling back and yawning.

"What time is it?" he asked, palming at his eyes to try and get rid of the sleepiness that still tugged at his eyelids.

"Seven thirty," Louis said softly, fingers absentmindedly brushing a loose curl off of Harry's forehead. His eyes are so pretty in the morning when they're glossed over from sleep. They looked like a mossy rock hidden beneath the water, reflecting the person's face in the glossy waves. Clearing his throat and scooting back to create some distance because he really didn't need Harry to ask him what the hell was going on, because he would definitely crumble beneath the weight, Louis let his eyes fall to Harry's chin. The only place he could look on Harry's face without thinking nasty things, or sappy things. "Anne is excusing us from school," at the widening of Harry's eyes, followed by a bright flare of anger, Louis quickly added, "But, I need to go shopping for some things and was wondering if you wanted to go," he lied, the real reason he woke Harry up hidden behind his droopy eyes. He cringed when he realized how stupid he was, though, for not admitting the truth. Harry wouldn't have cared if he said he just wanted to spend time with him. However, Harry would care when he seen all the birthday shit Louis was buying. He just needed to be sneaky today while playing it cool so Harry didn't figure out what was going on.

Yeah. Louis and sneaky in the same sentence. Nothing can go wrong.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "What kind of things?"

Louis swallowed thickly and shrugged, hand waving at something in the distance as he stumbled over the words in his brain, trying to put enough in a sentence to form a good excuse. "Urm," he bit his lip and clamped his hands in his lap. Shit. He was going to get caught. "Panties. I need more panties and some shampoo and stuff,"

He smiled smugly. That was actually a good excuse, if Harry didn't check the shower for Louis' half full bottle of shampoo. The panties weren't necessarily an excuse. He really did need some new ones, because all of his other ones were dirty and he refused to wash them with all their other clothes. Well, he didn't actually refuse to wash them, because he would. He just didn't want Anne to. And every time he tried to wash his own laundry, the woman took the basket from him and insisted he let her wash them. Note to self; wash clothes when Anne is at work.

Harry's eyes continued to scrutinize Louis, eyes prying past the layer of skin to dig deeper. Then he smiled, dimples popping out. Apparently he didn't see anything behind the poorly concealed mask. "I get to get as many as I want," Harry said, teeth making an appearance. "And, I get to pick out the designs,"

Rolling his eyes, Louis dug his chin into his chest to hide the smile that began to tug at his lips. Harry was such a child when it came to these things. He got all excited and it was hard to keep him away from the panty aisle, much like the struggle a mother went through when trying to drag her child away from a toy aisle. It was adorable, really. But Louis would never admit that. "Fine,"

"I also want a doughnut."

"It's not even eight in the morning!"

Harry shrugged. "No fried fat covered in sugary, teeth rotting chocolate, then no store,"

Louis gaped at him, mouth opening and closing, mirroring a fish out of water. Finally, he clamped his mouth shut and smirked. "Fine. Get your damn doughnuts. Shove as many as you can down your throat, but remember, you won't have abs for much longer,"

Harry glared and threw a pillow at Louis, which hit the boy right in the face. "Shut it! You love my handles. What else would you hold on to?"

Louis snorted, throwing the pillow onto his side of the bed, and didn't justify Harry's comment with a response. Harry and handles in the same sentence? Yeah. And pigs can fly and unicorns aren't real. There wasn't an ounce of fat on Harry's body. Louis, on the other hand, could afford to lose a few pounds. Maybe he could start skipping out on meals again.

Shaking the thoughts off, Louis hopped up from the bed and busied himself by grabbing Harry a pair of boxers and socks. He didn't like the idea of starving himself.. Before, it wasn't really an option. No money equals no food and no food equals losing weight. But now, he was fed more than the freaking queen of england. "Shower. Now," Louis turned around, Harry's boxers and socks tucked in the crook of his arm, and pointed towards the open bathroom door.

Harry frowned at him, and mumbled a few things under his breath that sounded a lot like insults and a couple of threats, but climbed out of the bed and went into the bathroom nonetheless, leaving a blushing Louis behind. He had morning wood, yet didn't move to cover it up.

Sighing, Louis followed after him and quickly disposed the items in his arms on the counter and went into the closet to get their clothes for the day. Earlier this morning, after he had woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep, he took a quick shower and put on an old pair of sweatpants and a oversized t-shirt that was shoved in the back of Harry's dresser. It would be too short lengthwise for Harry now, but it fit Louis perfectly, and he didn't plan on returning it.

Ignoring the temptation to go and join Harry when he heard the water turn on, Louis quickly became engrossed in the clothes. He picked him out a loose fitting blue sweatshirt, with a simple white shirt underneath, paired with grey skinny jeans and his white converse. He got dressed, and even pulled on his shoes, then picked out Harry's outfit. He grabbed a blue and red flannel button up shirt, with a white undershirt, and a pair of his black skinny jeans. He had a bit of trouble picking out shoes, but eventually decided on a plain black pair of vans.

When he entered the steamy bathroom, Harry was just stepping out of the shower. Scurrying over to the counter, Louis handed him the white fluffy towel. "Clothes, shoes, hairbrush, toothbrush," Louis pointed at each individual pile, like Harry didn't know what they were.

"Yeah, yeah, and there's a dweeb," Harry pointed at him, a lazy smirk on his lips that had Louis' heart fluttering. Louis swatted Harry's hand away and took a step towards him. He leaned up on his tippy toes, lips ghosting over Harry's and when the taller of the two leaned down to press their lips together, Louis pulled back with a laugh.

"Nice try, Styles, but you're not getting handsy with this dweeb," Louis said, smirking devilishly up at him before he walked out of the bathroom and just set on the edge of the bed, feet dangling inches off the floor. Not going to school meant that he really didn't have anything to prepare for. Their school stuff was thrown carelessly in the corner of their room, Louis' black bag open. Sticking out of the top was a worn out old book he had stole from Jen's classroom.

Eyeing the bathroom door, and ears straining to hear of any sign of Harry coming out soon, Louis stood up off the bed and walked over to his bag to grab the book. Harry would take at least another half an hour in the bathroom combing out his hair and shaving, and Anne was downstairs making breakfast, so the book was the best option he had at keeping himself entertained. There was always the option of Gemma, but there was no doubt she was asleep and she was almost as joyful as Harry in the morning.

Relaxing back on the bed, book now in hand, Louis eyed the familiar cover. Pride and Prejudice. It was an old favorite of his, and he hated to think about all the shit he would get from Harry for reading such a book. Ignoring the Harry sounding voice in his head that was shooting out jab after jab about being a hopeless romantic, Louis flipped the book open and began reading.

He had already made a large dent in the book when the sound of a camera going off filled the room. His eyes widening, his head jerked up and he seen Harry standing there, phone held up with a grin on his face. "Wha... How lon.... When did you come out of the bathroom?" Louis asked, cheeks flaring. "And did you take a picture!?!"

"Sure did," Harry waved the phone at him, screen facing Louis, but he quickly looked away. His sister has told his countless of times how big of a dork he looked like when he read. Apparently his eyebrows furrowed, forming a small 'v' on his forehead, his nose scrunched in a ridiculously cute way, and his tongue poked past his lips. "Did you kno...."

"Don't say anything," Louis rushed to say, cutting him off. He wedged his bookmark between the two pages and closed the book, then set it off to the side. "I don't care how I look, or what I do when I read. And I don't care what you have to say about it. Drop it, please," if someone else had said that, it would have sounded rude. But Louis, when he had spoke, his voice was soft, clipped, like he was forcing the words past his throat that was slowly closing off his airway.

"Okay, okay," Harry shoved his phone into his pocket, then held his hands up in surrender, obviously knowing when to pry and when to drop it. "Let's go. My fatass needs a doughnut,"

As the two made their way down the stairs, Louis decided today would be an interesting day... He couldn't wait to see what shit fest they were going to walk into.

--

After sneakily getting the gold card from Anne, the two left and Louis kept his promise to Harry. They stopped to get Harry's dozen doughnuts, which he managed to eat five of, then they went to the mall to do some shopping. They both hit a few stores and got some things, like clothes and such, then Louis seen is opportunity when he seen the pet store not too far away from the birthday store. After he told Harry he was going to the animal pet shop to get somethings for Zoey, Harry told him he would meet him in the panty store, and the two split ways.

Louis had been uncomfortable at first walking through the crowded mall alone, but he found if he kept his head ducked he didn't draw too much attention to himself and he could easily move through the hoard of people. He stopped at the pet store and got a few things, like new cat litter and cat food, then all but ran across the store to the party store.

It was like a rainbow clown maze in there. He found a ton of decorations for childrens birthday party's and stuff. None of the stuff in the store really scream Harry, but then he walked further into the store and got into the section of party supplies for more... Well, not adult parties because even these decorations looked like a unicorn vomited on them. Picking out a large banner that said "Happy birthday," and some other things like streamers and other childish shit, he moved to the balloon section. He grabbed ten packages of different colored balloons, then went up to the counter.

While he was checking out, he couldn't stop glancing over his shoulder, looking like a paranoid freak. He was paranoid, though. He couldn't shake this feeling that he was going to get caught. Even though Harry was probably face first in a bin of panties, Louis still couldn't stop himself from worrying. He was doing something behind Harry's back, and even though it was a good thing, it still made him feel bad.

The guy at the register noticed Louis' odd behavior, but didn't comment. "Will this be all for you?" he asked, arms crossing over his chest. Louis nodded and dug through his pockets for the card, then paused. He needed a freaking helium tank! The damn balloons weren't going to float by magic.

Smiling sheepishly, Louis adjusted to heavy bag full of Zoey's stuff and peaked up at the guy from underneath his eyelashes. "Do you.. Urm... Sell helium tanks?" he asked, biting his lip. It wasn't until the guy nodded and went to the back of the store, then returned a few minutes later with a cart full of different sized cans of helium that Louis realized he wasn't going to be able to get a tank, not even the smallest one, without Harry noticing it.

Blushing, and once again shifting uncomfortably, Louis tapped the card on the counter and sighed. "Is there.. I mean, do you guys deliver?"

"Of course. We'll just need your name and address," the guy said, smiling warmly at him. "You'll have to pay here, of course,"

Sighing in relief, Louis let his body slump against the counter and he nodded furiously. "Of course, of course!" He waved the gold card, then eyed the different sized tanks. What size would he honestly need? He got a shit ton of balloons, yeah, but he doubted they would fill them all.

As if the guy had read his thoughts, he picked up the largest can and set it on the counter. "This is our 14.9 cubic foot timed helium tank. It will fill up to 50 of the balloons you have," he gestured towards one of the bags on the counter, "or it will fill about 30, 19 inch foil balloons,"

Louis nodded and scratched the top of his head, messing up his once flat fringe. Fifty balloons. That would be enough, right? Then Anne's voice appeared in his mind and reminded him that this was Harry's birthday, and whatever they bought would never be enough. "How much are they?" he asked, brushing Anne off with an invisible shrug.

"This tank is 56 dollars,"

Huffing, Louis nodded and set the card on the counter in favor of folding one arm across his chest while his other hand pinched the bridge of his nose. Jesus Christ. Who knew birthday shopping would be so damn hard! "Who's the party for? Your girlfriend?" The guy suddenly asked, startling Louis.

Blinking a few times as his eyes slowly came into focus on the guy, Louis rubbed at his eye and blushed. Why did people always assume his sexual orientation? "Boyfriend, actually," he clarified, smiling proudly.

The guy smiled and nodded. "Lucky guy," he fiddled with the top of the tank, then sighed. "Listen, I don't know him, but I'm sure he'd like having floating balloons, right?" Louis snorted. The only thing Harry would use the balloons for was to suck the helium out of them, then yell profanities at people while sounding like a chipmunk. Who knows? He might even chase after a few random strangers on the street and pretend to be a savage chipmunk.

Smiling widely at his own thoughts, Louis shook his head. "Yeah, yeah," he agreed, figuring it was easier than explaining Harry and his odd actions. "I'll need three, then," Three wasn't too much, was it? That was roughly a hundred and fifty balloons, and knowing Harry, there would be less than half of that before the party was over.

Making some odd noises of agreement, the guy finished ringing Louis up, then had him fill out a delivery sheet, which had him include full name, address, cell phone number and all that good stuff. He just hoped the dude wasn't a stalker on his days off, or else Louis would have a problem on his hands.

Bidding a farewell to Austin, whose name Louis didn't learn until he was getting ready to leave, Louis shoved the party supplies into his black pet store bag, making sure that Harry couldn't see any of the party shit, then he made his way to the lingerie store.

He hesitated outside the door, eyes scanning the rows upon rows of different lingerie that hung up on the racks. There was silky looking short nightgowns, prostitute looking fishnet leggings connected to a pair of black panties, and a lot of other things that would take months of therapy to rid Louis of the trauma.

Biting his lip until he tasted blood, Louis sucked in a deep breath and walked into the store looking like a freaking tomato. It didn't take too long until he found Harry, but when he did, he just stood back, hidden behind a shelf, and watched as the older man talked to a rather attractive looking woman as they both went through the bin of panties.

Sitting off to the side of Harry was a hand basket that was already nearly full, but from the looks of it, he wasn't even close to being finished. Louis smiled softly as he watched Harry. Harry was grinning like an imp as he dug through the bin, but every few seconds he would turn to the woman, who Louis realized was an employee, and say something, which Louis couldn't hear because he was too far away, followed by a loud laugh, then return back to the panties.

Most people would get jealous when watching their significant other practically flirting with another woman, but Louis wasn't too worried. Harry didn't like the opposite sex. Of course he's fooled around with one to assure that he was gay, but nothing else has happened in that area of his sexual experiences. Well, there was that nonsense with Nicole, but Louis choose to ignore it, much like he did everything else the skanky bitch said.

Harry was gay, he was in love with Louis, and that was that.

Figuring that he's been enough of a creep for a day, he stepped out from behind the shelf and walked to the edge of the bin, standing right across from Harry. "Looks like you've got quite the collection," Louis giggled, eyeing the basket that was now a few underwear away from being overfilled.

At the sound of his voice, Harry jerked his head up and his entire face lit up, eyes included. "LOOK!" he lifted up the basket for Louis to see, then began to pull out handfuls. "They have so many options here! Karly showed me where they hide the good stuff!"

Louis' eyes flickered to the blonde woman standing off to Harry and nodded in acknowledgement, then looked back at Harry. "You can't be serious about buying all of that,"

Harry looked a little wounded at first, but he quickly recovered and nodded his head, chest puffing out and eyebrow raising in a cocky way. Here we go, Louis thought fondly when he seen Harry take a deep breath, preparing himself for a rant. "You bet yer arse I am!" he held up a pink pair that was crotchless and waved it at him. "Do you know how easy it would be to have sex when you wear these? I wouldn't have to fight with your damn boxers! I could just pull down your pants and get..."

"Harry, stop," Louis cut him off, blushing and not daring to let his eyes stray to the woman who was now bouncing uncomfortably on the balls of her feet. "You can get that entire basket if we can leave now," then, going against the embarrassment that flared his cheeks, Louis turned to the woman. "I'm sorry," He didn't even know why he was apologizing, he just felt like he needed to. Before, he would have apologized profusely for the way Harry acted, but now he's gotten used to it and even if he didn't think it was at the moment, he would later find it amusing.

Shaking her head, the woman forced a smile, which fell into a grimace, and shrugged. "I've had worse," she admitted with a casual shrug of her shoulders. "I once had a guy come in here and rub multiple pair of panties on his face before he came over and asked me to try them on,"

Louis stared at her, bewildered and slightly disturbed. "He...ugh. Harry, you are washing these at least five times when we get home!" Louis said, face twisting in disgust. He didn't care if Anne knew at this point. He would rather have the mother of his boyfriend know of their weird choices of clothing, then to have some guys sweat rubbing against his butt. He shuddered at the idea and repressed his urge to vomit. Now was not the time.

Now that the contents of his stomach came to mind, he actually realized he had nothing to puke up. He hadn't ate today. The only thing in his stomach right now was the few sips of his tea. His eyebrows furrowed and he ran a hand across his stomach, shocked that he wasn't even hungry... Then the idea came. DINNER! He could take Harry dinner tonight! But that still left the problem of his birthday present.

Louis had maybe a hundred and fifty dollars, which Lottie had gave to him a while ago without really giving him a reason, so something extravagant just wasn't in the picture. Ignoring Harry and the woman, who were now talking about god knows what, Louis followed them up to the counter, his eyes tracing over Harry. He could always get him a new outfit, but who in their right mind would want a damn outfit for their birthday? Besides, Harry has more clothes and shoes than he'll ever need.

And that's pretty much how it went for the next ten minutes. As Harry was checking out, Louis was checking Harry out, trying to be subtle but probably failing miserably. The only thing he knew Harry had, that he could get more of, was tattoos. But he couldn't exactly take Harry to a tattoo shop, with no explanation, and make him get a tattoo.

So his birthday present might not be as big of a surprise as Harry's had been for him. And Louis knew his would be nowhere near as sentimental as Harry's was, but what could you buy a man who has access to everything, who has everything?

Huffing, Louis pulled out his phones and searched up the closest tattoo shops near them. Turns out, there was one two blocks from here. Louis grinned evilly, the sight terrifying on his innocent face. This might be able to work. He had the money in the car, which is where he had left his wallet, and they didn't have anything to do today. They were, after all, skipping school.

When Harry grabbed his three pink bags off the counter, Louis walked out of the store without waiting for him. "Lou!" Harry yelled after him, but Louis didn't bother stopping because he knew in a few seconds Harry would catch up to him.. And there he is. "Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked, nose crinkling as he gently bumped Louis with his shoulder, making the younger boy giggle.

He shrugged nonchalantly, not wanting to give anything away just yet. "I'm taking you to get your birthday present," he said, making it sound like it wasn't any big thing.

Harry's footsteps faltered. "What are you getting me?" he asked, and Louis could tell he was anxious, but excited, just from his tone of voice.

He shrugged once again and unlocked the car. "Get in and you'll find out," in all of his life, he has never seen a person move as fast. He didn't even know how it was humanly possible, but within the blink of an eye, Harry was sitting in the passenger side with his seatbelt already done up. Louis chuckled and shook his head, taking his own seat in the car after he put his bags in the trunk.

Ahhh, this is going to be fun.

A/N: I hope I haven't disappointed any of you with the chapters I've been posting lately. I've been shitty to you guys and I am so sorry. I promise to clean up my act and start updating more frequently and with chapters worthy of reading. I've just been in a... slump lately and haven't really had the chance to sit down and write what I actually want to write. Instead, I rush through a chapter and the end results are wacky and not what I wanted. BUTTTT, I no longer work as many hours so I will have plenty of time to give this story the tlc it deserves!!

Also, if any of you would like to be my beta, comment down below and let me know!

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter! If it's not too much, I would love to hear your thoughts and I'm not one to get whiny when I get some criticism, so if you would like, just comment down below and tell me!! :) Any feedback is welcomed!