Chapter 23

All my bags were packed and waiting for me in the hallway. The only thing keeping me from leaving was that Harry wasn't home yet. He had been out yet another night, and I hadn't seen a trace of him since this morning, which wasn't very unusual these days.

I was sitting at the kitchen table, my feathery hair messy from running my hands through it too many times. Even if I had thought about this for a while now, I still wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing. I had tried to tell myself that it was for the best, that I would be even more heartbroken if I waited even longer, yet I couldn't help but want to take my bags up to our room and throw myself into Harry's arms when he got back home again.

Staring at the surface of the table, I could feel tears brimming my eyes. Fuck, I couldn't cry. It would ruin everything. I had to be strong. I had to keep my head up and do this. Then I could cry as much as I wanted.

A few minutes later, the sound of the door swinging open was heard in the hallway, and it didn't take long until Harry entered the kitchen, his long, brown curls looking a little disheveled from his night out. He also seemed rather out of it, if the red in his eyes was anything to go by.

"What are your bags doing in the hallway?" He asked, his voice sounding alarmed.

I swallowed hard, watching his features. I couldn't answer him right away, but I could see in his eyes that he was slowly realizing what was going on every second that went by. He started shaking his head, his eyes narrowing at me.

"Harry," I sighed, getting up from my seat to be at the same height as him. "You know as well as I that things haven't been good between us lately. We never spend time together, we barely talk to each other. Hell, we barely even see each other anymore."

He pinched the skin between his eyebrows while closing his eyes, his jaw starting to clench. "But that's because of you. You always refuse to tell me what the fuck is wrong."

I inhaled a large breath. "It's not just that, though. There are other things too," I disagreed.

"So, what?" He asked, opening his eyes to stare at me. "You're breaking up with me?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, biting my bottom lip. "You know that this was never going to work, Harry. Ever since the start, when we were told we couldn't come out, we were bound to go our separate ways. We both knew it deep down. I know that you don't want to live like this, and I don't want to keep living like this either. It was stupid of us to think that we were going to last. I mean, it's been five years, and things haven't changed. What makes us think things will have changed in five more years? It's time that we realize you and I aren't meant to be."

I was pretty sure that was the most difficult thing I'd ever had to say in my entire life. I was surprised that the words even left my mouth without a stutter because my heart was breaking inside, telling me not to do this to myself or him.

The look Harry sent me was impossible to read. So many emotions flashed by his features that I didn't have time to register any of them. Then he turned his head away from me. "You're giving up on us," he stated, his voice emotionless.

I opened my mouth to explain, but I didn't trust my voice anymore, so I just let out a sigh. This made him clench his hands into fists, and the next thing I knew, he let out a loud scoff. "You know, it's not like I really care," he chuckled, making me furrow my eyebrows as my heart clenched uncomfortably in my chest.

He didn't care?

"What?" I asked in confusion.

A smile was now playing on his lips, and he let out a breathy laugh. "I don't know if you've seen it, but I've been out with a girl lately."

My heart was now beating frantically in my chest because, yes, I had seen the girl in too many pictures with him than I would have preferred. "What... What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, feeling so weak that I would probably fall to the floor if he so much as tried to touch me.

The smile remained on his face as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I slept with her a few weeks ago," he confessed. "Thought you should know before you run off."

It felt like he had just slapped me across the face. No, it was worse than that. No physical pain could even compare to how much it hurt hearing him say those words. Out of everything he could ever do, I never thought he would cheat on me. I thought we loved each other too much for that.

Feeling new tears well up in my eyes, I bit my lip harshly as I walked past him, almost running to the hallway in a hurry to get out of here. I slipped my Vans on with shaky hands as the tears started running down my cheeks, new ones forming at the same time, blurring my vision so that I could barely see where my bags were.

I frantically wiped them away so that he wouldn't see how hurt and affected I was by his words when I turned around. He was standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking at my feet. "Fuck, I can't believe how you could do that. Out of all things, how could you cheat?" I asked, my hands on the handles of my suitcases.

He looked up to meet my gaze, his jaw still clenched. "Are you really saying that after what you just told me? The fact that I cheated shouldn't even affect you," he said coldly, making me tighten my hold on the handles.

"Well, if you even thought of sleeping with someone else while still being in a relationship with me, then what I said shouldn't affect you either," I retorted, trying to seem strong although I wasn't.

"Didn't I just say that I don't care you're giving up on us?"

Another slap. Slap after slap after slap. Couldn't he just hit me? It would be less painful. If I were honest, I wanted him to hit me, knock some sense into my brain because how could I have ever thought we were going to last?

I turned around to leave then, but before I could do so, I could hear his emotionless voice say one last thing to me.

"Have the time of your life, Louis Tomlinson."

-----

"Liam, did you just hear what I said? He still lives in our house!"

A large inhale was heard on the other end. "Yes, I heard you, Louis. He still lives in the house you shared. So, what? You moved out. It was up to him if he wanted to keep living there or not," Liam replied in a calm voice.

I let out a groan, running my hand through my fringe. "I can't fucking go there. It's going to make me feel like shit. I wouldn't be able to hold it back. I would cry my fucking eyes out," I rambled, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Calm down, Louis," he sighed. "Don't get worked up over this. You don't have to stay there the entire night. It's just dinner."

I sat down on the edge of my bed, burying my face in my hand. "But why? Why is he doing this? Why would he want me there?"

"I don't know, Lou, but maybe it doesn't have to do with you. Maybe he just wants you all to spend some time together. Or, who knows? Maybe he's missed being around you just as much as you've missed being around him?" He tried to reason, making me furrow my eyebrows.

Or maybe he just came up with a quick idea after turning Leah down, but he must have been desperate if the thought of inviting me even crossed his mind.

"So he decides to invite me over to our house? Does he want me to break down in front of his fucking eyes, or what?" I huffed.

Liam hummed on the other end. "I'm sure that's not it. I mean, you were the one who moved out from him. Maybe he doesn't think the house means as much to you as it does?"

Sure, I was the one who left him, and I was the one who gave up on us, but he cheated on me. Did he want me to come over just to mock me? Throw it into my face that he could still live there without being reminded of our past?

"That's just stupid," I muttered.

He let out another sigh. "Look, I don't know why he's doing this, but whether there is a reason behind it or not, I think you should go for the sake of the show. Yes, it's going to be tough for you to be there, but just try not to think about it, alright?"

"Just try not to think about it?" I scoffed. "That is easy for you to say, Liam. I bet you would love to go over to Cheryl's place where you used to live and have a nice dinner with her and a few other people."

"Actually, Cheryl and I are on pretty good terms. We do co-parent our child after all, and our breakup was mutual, so I wouldn't have too much of a problem with that."

I let out a loud groan. "Try putting yourself in my situation then. It's not easy for me to eat dinner at that house because Harry and I used to live there, and we aren't on good terms. Also, I'm still fucking in love with him! Are you still in love with Cheryl? No, and you're even dating another girl right now!"

After that, he stayed quiet for a long time, and I hoped he finally understood just how hard this was for me. I couldn't even picture myself going there on Saturday. Just thinking about facing that house again made me want to wrap my arms around my body and cry.

"Okay," he said after a while, sounding more sympathetic. "I worded that wrong. I know you won't be able to not think about it when you're there. It's obviously going to be a tough situation for you. I just... I just don't think you should drop out. It could actually help you, even if you don't think so."

I knitted my eyebrows. "Help me with what exactly?" I asked.

"Get over what happened between you. I've tried to tell you this before, but you wouldn't realize that it's still bugging you. We both know that your and Harry's breakup is still a sensitive subject for you both, so I think that it might help break the barrier between you a bit if you go there. I know you've told me you don't feel ready to talk to him yet, but you might not even have to. Just spending time together at a place where you share memories might be enough to ease things."

His words made me think about that time when we had both been in the bathroom at Wembley Arena a few months ago. That was a place where we had shared memories, and the atmosphere between us that time had been different than it was otherwise. I was pretty sure he had almost smiled at me, like a real, genuine smile, and that hadn't happened any other time.

Swallowing, I pulled at my fringe. "So, let's say I go there on Saturday. What do I do if I can't handle it?" I wondered, feeling panic well up inside me just thinking about it. It would be embarrassing if I just started bawling my eyes out in front of them. Nick would most definitely remind me of it for at least a couple of weeks.

"I know you, Louis," he started, sounding serious. "After everything you have been through over the last few years with public relationships, your mum passing away, and handling your and Harry's breakup the way you did when we both know how bad you felt about it, I know that you can do this. You're a real fighter, so don't put yourself down by saying you can't do it because we both know you can," he finished, making a faint smile form on my face.

"I'm glad you think that highly of me, but I just... I'm not sure about this. If I go, will you promise me that you'll pick up if I call you?"

I could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, "Of course, Lou. I'll always be here for you. If things get too tough, excuse yourself to the bathroom and dial my number, yeah?"

I nodded even if he couldn't see me. "Yeah, alright. Thank you for... listening again, I guess. I'm glad I can talk to you about this," I mumbled, fiddling with the end of my t-shirt.

"Of course, Louis. I'm all ears, always."

A smile broke out on my face, and I realized that even if Liam had tried to push me to talk to Harry, I did have the best friend you could ask for.

-----

Saturday arrived before I knew it. I had texted Perrie the address yesterday since Harry apparently couldn't do it himself, and she replied, saying she was happy I would be there. She knew this would be difficult for me, and I was glad she would be there by my side the whole evening.

As I got dressed in a beige, white, red and black checkered short-sleeved Burberry shirt and a pair of light blue jeans, I tried to motivate myself to go because, in all honesty, I just wanted to stay at home and watch a great movie. But I was doing this for the sake of the show, and if Liam were right about the fact that it could make things better between me and Harry, I wouldn't mind that either.

So with a lot of willpower, I trudged down the stairs and entered the hallway where Clifford was lying on the doormat. He looked up at me as I passed by and let out a bark. Tilting my head to the side, I couldn't help but smile at him. "You want to go out? I'm just going to put my shoes on, alright?"

He let out another bark in reply, making me chuckle. After slipping my Adidas sneakers on, I put the leash on him before opening the door and exiting the house. It was pretty warm outside, being the middle of August, so a jacket wasn't necessary to wear. At least not during the day, but the nights could get pretty cold, so I would have to bring something with me for the ride home tonight.

As soon as Clifford had finished doing his necessities, I brought him back inside. I then ran up to my room to fetch a red sweatshirt before exiting the house again, locking the door behind me. It wasn't until I was sitting in my black Audi, the radio playing at a low volume, that I could feel myself getting nervous. I was surprised it hadn't hit me earlier, seeing as I hadn't been able to stop thinking about this dinner since Harry first brought it up, but I was happy that my body hadn't reacted to it yet.

I drummed my thumbs against the wheel, biting my bottom lip as I drove to the other side of London. A large knot had started forming in my stomach, making me want to pull over and throw up, but I swallowed the sickness down and forced myself to continue driving towards my destination, hoping things wouldn't turn out as bad as I thought.

The second I drove into the street I recognized so well but had avoided the last two and a half years, I could feel my breathing starting to get uneven. The trees, the houses and the street itself were all the same. Nothing had changed since I was last here. Even the little playground further down the road looked the same, and I couldn't help the tears that started pricking my eyes.

If I couldn't even handle being in the street, how would I be able to see the house and spend time inside it?

I made sure to drive at a slow pace since I wanted to calm down a bit before I had to face the real thing, but I realized I couldn't drag it out any longer when I was only one house away. So I drove up to the gate I had driven through a thousand times before, stopping at the security alarm.

I tried the code Harry and I had back in the days, and to my surprise, the gates instantly opened up in front of me. My eyes widened as I took in the sight. The big, white house with so many windows that it used to annoy me, the large garden that Harry had always taken care of perfectly because I had been too much of a lazy arse myself, and the swimming pool that was mostly for decoration since London was so cold most time of the year. It was all there, right in front of me.

Every memory Harry and I shared here came back to me in a second, and I had to bury my face in my hands not to get emotional. I could remember how one morning in June a few years ago, I had dragged Harry out in the rain to swim with me. He had always been a water pot, so it wasn't willingly he followed me out in the cold weather. I remembered how we had been standing there, at the edge of the pool, shaking his head while trying to tell me he wanted to go back inside. But instead of listening, I had grabbed his hand and pulled him with me as I jumped into the cold water.

Once we resurfaced, he had started yelling at me while splashing water on my face. "I can't believe you did that, Louis," he had huffed, his face in a scowl.

In return, I had laughed at him and tried to make him stop splashing water on me. "Oh, come on, babe," I had replied as I finally managed to get close enough to take his hands in my own. "Admit it. It's nicer than you thought it would be."

He had looked away from me with a pout on his pink lips, but a smile was threatening to take over his features. "No, I'm freezing."

I looked up towards the sky, where the rain was still pouring down before turning back to look at him with a grin. "Come closer then, you big oaf," I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his waist as he curled his around my neck.

After a while of just looking each other in the eyes, he leaned in to seal our lips together in a deep kiss, and that later came to be one of my favorite memories from that swimming pool. Thinking back to it now made a faint smile form on my lips, and I couldn't help but drop my hands from my face to look over at the pool again. I would do anything to bring those days back.

Once I forced myself back to reality, I noticed that my car was the only one parked in the driveway apart from Harry's. I hoped that meant Nick and Perrie had taken a cab here so that I wasn't the first to arrive. I had made sure to be a bit late for that specific situation not to happen.

I climbed out of the car quite ungracefully but managed to keep myself upright as I shut the door behind me and started heading towards the front door of the house. My hands began to shake as I reached up to the doorbell, the doorbell I had never had to ring before.

Only a second later, the door swung open, and to my relief, Perrie was the one who had opened it. "Hi, Louis, come on in. Nick and I just arrived," she smiled.

Swallowing, I managed to send her something between a smile and a grimace before taking a step forward to stand on the doormat in the hallway. Nick was there as well, and Harry was standing a bit further into the house, his arms crossed over his chest while leaning against the wall. He was dressed in a dark red-colored Gucci suit tonight, and a black button-up underneath. The ends of the sleeves and legs were clad in silver details, which made it look as expensive as it most likely was.

Nevertheless, he looked beautiful. He was always beautiful. It didn't matter what he was wearing, he would always be the man I was in love with and had been in love with for the last eight years of my life.

Nick and Perrie had already managed to take their shoes off, so I did the same after placing my sweatshirt on the chair next to the door as the two of them started talking to each other. Harry remained silent where he was standing, a blank expression on his face as his eyes were directed in our direction. It wasn't until I had managed to slip off my sneakers and looked back up to meet his gaze that I realized he was staring directly at me.

I wished I could read his face. I wished I could read his mind because I wanted to know what he was thinking right now. Did it hurt him as much as it hurt me that I was here? Did all those memories that had flashed by my mind in the driveway well up in his head now too?

Before I could think more about it, Nick broke our eye contact by clapping his hands together. "Alright, shall we go inside?"

Harry pushed himself off the wall and nodded. "Sure. Do you want me to show you around or...?" He asked hesitantly, and I knew he must be hesitating because of me. There was no other explanation.

"If you don't mind," Perrie said, flashing him a genuine smile.

He returned it half-heartedly. "Of course not."

The first thing I noticed already in the hallway was that he had changed a lot of stuff since I was last here. The shelf next to the door wasn't there anymore. Instead, a full-length mirror was on the wall. He had also gotten rid of the hanger we used to have and replaced it with a closet against the opposite wall instead. I realized that the fact that it was so different made it easier for me to be here than it would have been if everything was exactly the same.

I wasn't as lucky when we came to the living room, though, because the same white couch was still there along with the flatscreen that took up most of the opposite wall. But in addition, there was now a big, white piano placed on the other side of the room, which hadn't been there before. The worst thing about it all was that there were no pictures on the walls anymore. No pictures of us, to be specific.

When this fact hit me, I could feel my heart twisting in my chest. It still hurt even though I knew that the pictures would be gone. It was as if I had been completely erased from the house, as if I had never lived here.

And the further we got into the house, the more I realized how true that was since most of the things that were different were things I had bought or decided should be there when we first moved in. Therefore, I couldn't help but leave the three of them to head to the bathroom when Harry started walking up the stairs, because there was no way I would let him show me our bedroom or his bedroom now. The thing was, I didn't know if I wanted it to have changed or not, so it was better not to know.

The second I had locked the door behind me, I sat down on the toilet seat, burying my face in my hands. I knew things would be challenging, but I didn't expect them to be this tough. I didn't want to go back out there. I didn't want to face yet another thing that he had exchanged for something that wasn't mine. Fuck, I didn't want to see anything at all.

After a few minutes, I got up to walk over to the sink, looking at myself in the mirror. I looked tired, as though I hadn't gotten any sleep in weeks, and I knew that was partly true because I hadn't slept very well the last couple of days.

With a sigh, I opened one of the cabinets. I didn't know why, but maybe it was because I wanted to see if there was any trace of me left at all or if I was erased from the place completely.

The first thing my eyes caught sight of made my breath hitch in my throat. My perfume. I knew it was mine since we had never used the same one, even if he had claimed so many times that he loved the way I smelled.

I picked up the glass bottle, noticing that it was about half full. If I remembered correctly, I hadn't brought my perfume with me when I left the house that evening, so this could very well be mine. Either way, it was the brand I had always used, and that at least meant something.

I placed it back in the cabinet before closing it, suddenly feeling a little better. All traces of me weren't gone, and if I looked closely, I had a vague feeling I would find more things that hadn't entirely changed since I moved out.

When I left the bathroom, the three of them were already seated at the kitchen table. Thankfully, they didn't say anything as I settled down next to Perrie and opposite Harry. I just shot them an apologetic smile before trying to catch up with their conversation.

It turned out Nick was talking about his Judges' house trip to Mallorca, where he had gone to this fancy club where the bartenders came over to the booths to ask what drinks they wanted to order. "You should have been there, I'm telling you," he told us, a smug smile playing on his lips as he leaned back on his chair, only the two back legs touching the floor.

Harry rolled his eyes as he got up from his seat to walk over to the stove. "I'm not disagreeing with you, mate, but Ibiza was pretty cool too."

Nick snorted, shaking his head while Perrie put her palm under her chin and placed her elbow on the surface of the table. "So, were there any fancy clubs in Ibiza then?" She asked curiously, making me swallow. She knew just as well as everyone in the room that both Harry and I had been there.

Harry didn't say anything as he picked up the pot he had just been stirring in to place it on the table. "Yeah, one of them was really great," he replied curtly, his lips barely forming a smile.

I looked down at my lap, fiddling with the end of my shirt. It wasn't hard to tell he was thinking about what had happened towards the end of that night because the way he said it made it sound like he wasn't telling the complete truth, and it saddened me even though I knew it shouldn't.

"So, what have you made for us tonight, H?" Nick butted in, breaking the tension that had filled the air, and leaned over to get a glimpse of what was in the pot.

The look on Harry's face changed immediately, a wide smile now forming on his lips. "Risotto ai Funghi. You know, since I've become a pescetarian and all, I thought I should serve something that's become one of my favorite dishes," he said proudly. "I hope you'll like it."

I had no idea Harry had become a pescetarian, but I didn't say anything about it as I plated my food. Nick's eyes lit up the second he had brought his fork to his mouth and tasted the dish. "Oh my God, this is amazing, H," he gasped.

Harry's lips twitched as he tasted the food himself. "Thanks, Nick. I'm glad you like it."

"Like?" He said incredulously. "This is the best Risotto I've ever eaten. You should become my personal chef."

The curly-haired man rolled his eyes as he let out a chuckle. Meanwhile, I stared at my plate, trying to ignore the jealousy that blossomed up inside me. It was stupid, but Harry had always been the one who cooked our food when we lived together, so if he had been anyone's personal chef, he had been mine. And of course, the Risotto was good. Everything Harry had ever cooked was delicious.

"It really is delicious, Harry. What's your secret?" Perrie asked, bringing another forkful of food to her mouth.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, the smile never leaving his face. "Thank you. I don't really have one, and I never follow a recipe," he explained, his gaze flicking to me.

Was he expecting me to compliment him as well?

Clearing my throat, I reached out to take a sip of water. Everyone else was drinking alcohol, but water would do just fine for me since I decided to drive here and didn't feel like drinking. "Yeah, it's really good," I mumbled, making the smile on his face widen.

If that were the only thing I had to say to make him smile, I wouldn't hesitate to compliment his food or something else more often because I had missed him smiling at me so much. If I were honest, I didn't know just how I had missed it until now. It made my heart flutter uncontrollably in my chest.

Once we had finished eating and cleaned the table from the dirty dishes, Harry walked away to fetch a pack of cards. By now, I could tell that Perrie and Nick were getting a bit tipsy by the way their mouths were moving non-stop. They wouldn't even shut up when Harry had left, and they were talking at the same time as each other.

"I'm sure one of the girls is going to win this year. They are all so talented, and their voices are just amazing. Can you believe..."

"... This guy has the best voice I've ever heard. Eric, do you remember him? He's definitely going to win this year, and--"

"For fuck's sake, can you please shut up for a second?" I groaned, flicking my gaze between them to glare at them both.

Nick raised his eyebrows at me. "Just because you're not drinking, you don't have to act like an ass," he fired back, making me narrow my eyes at him.

"I'm not acting like an ass. You're just breaking my eardrums with all your bullshit," I retorted.

Perrie let out a sigh. "Alright, calm down. There's no need for you to start arguing about this. Louis' right anyway. We're acting like three-year-olds," she interrupted.

"Thank you, Pez." I smiled appreciatingly at her, thankful that at least one of them had some sense left. Nick just let out a huff and bitterly crossed his arms over his chest.

Thirty seconds later, Harry came back with a pack of cards in his hands, and he sat down in his seat without knowing anything about our argument. Since we didn't bring it up, he didn't find out about it either. Instead, we started playing a game of Poker.

Much to Harry's delight, he won the first two rounds, and when he was about to win the third one, Perrie shook her head. "Something isn't right. Harry, what have you done to the cards?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

He blinked at her, bringing his hand to his chest offensively. "Why would you think I've done something to them?"

"Because," she said, still suspicious. "There's no way you can win two rounds in a row and be in the process of winning the third one too. What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything, Perrie. I just happen to be very good at Poker," he huffed in defense.

She narrowed her eyes at him again, her lips pursed. "I still think you're cheating," she muttered, and it wasn't hard to tell that the alcohol was adding to her grumpiness. No one else really cared that Harry was winning.

He pouted his lips, looking incredibly cute as he looked away from her. "I can't believe you would accuse me of that. I would never cheat."

I didn't know if he thought of the double meaning behind his words, but I did, and it made me turn my eyes to the surface of the table, my heart sinking in my chest. He would never cheat, he said? How come it was so easy to cheat on me then?

After another ten minutes, I was sure the other three people had caught up with my change of moods. They were all playing the game enthusiastically, and they were dramatic as well, but I couldn't bring myself to join them, and it had nothing to do with the fact that I wasn't drinking.

Another ten minutes went by until I excused myself to the toilets. I just couldn't bring myself to be around them when they were so happy and laughing as if nothing was wrong. Everything was wrong. Not only was I in the house I had once lived in that barely had any trace of me left, but I had also just been harshly reminded of what Harry had done to me when we broke up.

I didn't know how long I sat on the toilet seat in the bathroom, but I was pretty sure it was more than half an hour. I even contemplated calling Liam since the feelings that were welling up in me started becoming a little too much, but I stopped myself when my thumb hovered over his name. I could do this without his help. I just needed to man up and go out there, pretend as though all this didn't mean anything to me.

Inhaling a large breath, I gathered all my willpower and exited the bathroom to walk back to the kitchen. To my great surprise, it was empty. There weren't even any glasses on the kitchen table anymore. It looked just like it should do when no one was sitting at it.

Feeling a lump form in my throat, I started thinking about how long I had been sitting in the bathroom. Was there any chance that Nick and Perrie had gone home? But it couldn't possibly be that late yet. It felt like we had just arrived here.

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind me made me turn around. Harry was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he inspected me closely, just like he had done when I arrived here. Had he been standing there all along?

"Where's Perrie and Nick?" I asked, feeling my heart starting to race in my chest at the possibility that Harry and I might be here alone.

He pointed towards the front door, his eyebrows pulled together. "They left just a minute ago. It's eleven in the evening."

My mouth formed the shape of an 'o'. I must have stayed in the bathroom longer than I thought. "I should... I should probably leave too," I rushed out, my legs instantly moving towards the hallway.

I didn't know if I was surprised that Harry followed me there or not, but once I had slipped my sneakers on and looked back up, he was standing there, just a few feet away. He was staring at me in the same intense way he had done when I walked through the door earlier, and it almost made chills run through my body because it was so fierce yet impossible to read.

"I'm sorry I came here. I should have probably stayed home. I just..." I trailed off, biting my bottom lip. I just, what? I just wanted to make things better between us? I just didn't want to be disrespectful?

Instead of answering me, he took a step forward. Even if he was still standing a fair distance away from me, I couldn't help the racing of my heart. The fact that he was still staring at me like that didn't make things easier. If anything, it only made me feel even more worked up.

"Right there..." He whispered so quietly I barely heard it.

He then looked away with a pained expression on his face and pinched the skin between his eyebrows before looking back at me, this time with so many emotions flashing by his features that I could barely register them. "Fuck," he breathed, his eyes filling with tears.

"What are you talking about?" I managed to ask, feeling a bit stunned about what was going on because what was going on?

He took another step forward so that his face was only a foot away from mine. I didn't know how long his beautiful green eyes stared into mine, searching for something I didn't know, but I knew that my body was reacting to it, if the goosebumps on my skin and the thumping of my heart were anything to go by. The pained expression remained on his face when he eventually looked away from me, his following words coming out in barely a whisper.

"I never cheated on you, Louis."

He then took a step back, and then another one until he left me alone in the hallway.

-----

This is such a long damn chapter, but wow, it was worth it. It turned out almost exactly as I wanted it to, and if you couldn't tell, 'Meet me in the hallway' is a huge inspiration for this chapter.

Also (even if you don't entirely know what happened yet) do you think Harry cheated on Louis or not? Is he lying or is he telling the truth?

If you're confused about why Louis felt the way he did in the flashback, you're going to get more info about that later. You'll just have to wait a bit longer haha x

Again, sorry about yet another cliffhanger. I hope you'll forgive me for them one day haha. Love you guys, thank you for reading <3

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter if you want to: @ Larrys_Girl98!

Edited by: butterflies151

Pauline .xx