louis and harry exchanged numbers that day at the coffee shop after getting to know more about the other, both promising one another that they'd be seeing each other again. besides, harry still made his daily visits to the town and louis on the side of the street.

the boy did feel bad for louis, knowing it must be hard for his mother to be going through stage four cancer. so each day, to be a little bit more of a help, he'd drop more than just a five bill in the case.

even louis felt bad himself, hating that harry was donating so much money for him towards the chemotherapy, but he couldn't bring himself to be mad about it. because he knew harry cared, and that was a feeling louis loved having.

it was december tenth, exactly fifteen days until christmas. harry smiled to himself when realizing that louis' birthday was coming up on christmas eve, remembering how louis mentioned it in the coffee shop awhile back.

he knew he was all shopped up for his family members and friends, the unwrapped gifts hiding away in his closet. he had gotten zayn the last harry potter book of the series, knowing zayn didn't have it himself. for niall, he just got the irish boy a gift-card to mcdonalds, knowing how much nialler loved his food. and for liam, harry bought a fancy fedora hat he knew the boy would love. harry still had yet to shop for louis, but he definitely planned on doing so.

once he got home that day and placed the bagged items on the bed, he pulled out his phone and dialed louis' number.

that was another thing louis struggled with; paying his phone bill every month.

within the third ring, harry heard a familiar angelic voice echo through the phone. "harry?"

"that's me," harry chuckled, looking into the separate bags with his friends and family's presents. "are you busy right now?"

louis shook his head, though remembered harry couldn't see him. "not at the moment. my mother's doctor just paid a visit but he's gone now."

"how is she?" he cautiously asked, chewing on his lower lip.

for once, on the subject of his mother, he smiled. "he said she's doing good. hasn't done an x-ray to see where the cancer's spread since she started the treatment but she's handling the side effects of the chemo pretty well."

"that's great, lou!" harry was practically grinning from ear to ear, happy to hear the tone of voice louis was using; relieved and content.

harry could hear a small giggle from louis' end, questioning if that was either louis himself or one of his sisters. "was that your sister?" he curiously asked, chuckling.

louis' cheeks turned pink. "y-yeah, totally."

harry let out a fake gasp. "louis tomlinson, did you really just giggle?"

"shut it, curly." louis turned on his bed to bury his face against his pillow, a smile enveloping his lips.

"you did!" harry laughed, before speaking in a more murmured tone that he didn't think louis heard, but he did. "adorable."

louis, smiling like an idiot, kept silent for a few moments before speaking, "why did you call, anyways?"

"oh, right!" harry had gotten completely side tracked of why he called louis to begin with. "well, i'm almost finished with my christmas shopping and need some help wrapping presents for my family and friends."

"i don't have a ride, or know where your house is." louis frowned, sitting up on his bed and crisscrossing his legs.

"i could borrow my mum's car and come pick you up. i have a license just not a car, but i'm sure she'd let me use it."

louis was hesitant, afraid of harry judging him and his family for the house they lived in. he knew it would be just a quick pick up and then they'd be back on the road, but he couldn't help but feel sheepish. their house wasn't too bad, but harry's was probably much more better and made louis' look like a complete junkyard. "okay," he whispered out, clearing his throat and speaking more clearly. "i'm gonna go tell my mum and sisters i'm leaving. i'll text you the address."

"okay, lou." harry said, and the conversation ended there, louis hanging up the phone and quickly texting harry the address. he was iffy on hitting the send button, but he did anyways and stood from his bed, heading into the other room to announce to his family he was heading out.

harry recognized the street louis' house was located on, heading downstairs and into the kitchen where his mum was preparing a cup of tea. "hey, mum?"

anne looked up from her mug, looking over at her son with a warm smile. "yeah, love?"

"could i borrow your car? i have to go pick up a friend and he has no way of getting here."

anne had a look of confusion across her face, knowing that zayn, niall, and liam all had their own cars to drive. "one of the lads?"

harry shook his head. "no, he's, uh, a new friend of mine." harry hasn't told his mother about louis just yet; only gemma.

anne nodded, stirring a spoon around in her tea a bit. "how did you meet this boy?"

"it's a long story." harry chuckled, scratching a bit at the back of his neck. anne nodded, not pressing the subject any further. "i suppose it's alright then. i wanna hear this story later, though."

"will do." harry smiled, anne tossing him the keys to her car. "thanks, mum."

"yeah, yeah." anne waved her hand aimlessly, shaking her head with a smile as harry walked out of the kitchen and headed outside, thankfully already having his shoes on.

harry drove towards louis' house, keeping a close eye out once he reached the street louis' house was located on. he glanced down at his phone screen for the number of the house, letting out a small "ah ha!" under his breath when seeing the small home.

he pulled up beside the sidewalk, letting the car engine run while texting louis and announcing his arrival. while waiting for the smaller, he looked over at the house, noticing it was much different compared to his.

unlike most of the surrounding houses, louis' didn't have any christmas lights or decorations hanging up outside, once again due to financial expenses. the house looked dull compared to all the brightened ones around town.

louis soon enough walked outside, still shrugging his jacket over his shoulders whilst walking to harry's mother's car. his feet padded all the way over to the car, pulling open the passenger side door and hopping up into the vehicle. shutting the door behind him, he shivered.

"cold?" harry asked with a chuckle, seeing louis quickly rubbing his palms together to create warmth between his hands. louis nodded, his beanie covering his hair and ears as he looked over at harry. it was the same beanie louis wore the day harry first dropped money into his guitar case, his brown feathery fringe peeking out of his beanie.

he was and is so beautiful.

harry found himself keeping his gaze on louis for a bit too long, just admiring his facial features. louis was rubbing his palms together still, and when he felt harry's gaze he looked over at him, the movements between his hands stopping.

louis' cheeks flushed, his lips turning into a soft and gentle smile while his gaze flickered down to his lap. "is there something on my face?" he asked sheepishly, his lower lip pulling between his teeth and nibbling at the skin.

harry snapped out of his trance, shaking his head to himself to bring himself back into reality. "no, no." he replied with his own flushing cheeks, putting his hands on the wheel and making a u-turn on the road to head back to harry's home.

the ride was a comforting silence, christmas music playing on the radio. snow began to fall from the clouds as harry pulled into his driveway, glancing up at the grey clouds.

the two boys stepped out, hurrying inside to prevent from getting cold again. warmth immediately hit them as they entered the house, and the smell of chocolate chip cookies filled the air.

"i'm back, mum." harry called out, hanging the car keys up on the hook screwed into the wall. anne walked into the hallway where the two were standing, louis looking around and taking in the new surroundings.

anne was holding a fresh tray of cookies, having oven mitts on her hands to prevent from getting burned from the freshly hot metal.

harry eyed the cookies in interest, perking up at the baked goods. he went to reach out for one of them, hissing in pain when he burnt his fingers, his hand instantly retracting. "well, they're hot, harry." she laughed, moving back into the kitchen to set the tray down on the counter before returning. "so who's your friend?"

louis had distracted himself by glancing around the room, his hands tucked deep into his jacket pockets. he jumped a bit at the mention of his presence, looking over at the son and mother.

harry smiled fondly. "this is louis."

louis gave the woman a smile, holding his hand out for her to shake until he was suddenly pulled in for a hug. "it's lovely to meet you, louis."

louis blushed, returning the hug before anne pulled back with a smile. "you, as well, mrs. styles." louis spoke.

"oh please, call me anne. all of harry's friends do."

"hey, anne can i borrow twenty bucks?" harry teased, holding back a laugh as anne gave her son a stern look. it was clear the two were messing around.

"harry, don't make me get out the baby pictures of you in the bathtub with your mini friend all shriveled up." anne warned, though she was holding back a laugh as well as louis' eyebrows shot up.

harry cleared his throat, glancing down with heated cheeks and taking louis' hand. "that won't be needed!" he spoke, before rushing off to his room with the other following behind.

the two heard anne laugh, harry shutting the bedroom door once they made it to the room. harry huffed and rolled his eyes, walking over to his closet to retrieve the wrapping paper, tape, and envelopes while all the presents were laid out on the bed in shopping bags.

louis looked through the bags, letting curiosity get the best of him. he giggled when seeing the fedora hat, taking his beanie off and setting it to the side and pulling on the fedora. he glanced over at himself in the mirror, harry spinning around and holding the wrapping paper and other supplies. an amused expression instantly covered his face, watching louis in the hat that he planned on giving to liam.

louis was positioning the fedora on his head, glancing in the stand up mirror and noticing harry watching him, blushing darkly and removing the hat from his head. "fits well." he cleared his throat, attempting to act casual as he placed the hat back onto the bed.

harry laughed, walking over to the bed and placing the roll of wrapping paper down onto it, along with the envelope and tape.

within about an hour, all of harry's friend's presents were wrapped, along with his mother's new pandora bracelet and gemma's hunger games movie. all the boxes and even the envelope containing niall's giftcard, were topped with little bows, courtesy of louis.

"what are you doing for christmas?" harry asked, placing the wrapped gifts into the closet until christmas eve, when he would set anne and gemma's gifts under the tree. he knew gemma would try to figure out what it was if he put it under the tree anytime beforehand.

louis shrugged, tossing the small scraps of wrapping paper into the small bin underneath harry's nightstand. "probably will sit at home with the girls and watch christmas movies all day."

"what about christmas dinner?"

"can't afford it this year." louis tried hiding the disappointment in his voice, though harry saw right through it.

then an idea hit him.

"come with me to liam's the day after christmas." he said with a hopeful tone, and a look of surprise crossed louis' face.

"really?"

"really," harry smiled, walking over to louis and reaching down to take his hands in his own. "we're friends, and i know the others will love you."

louis glanced down at their intertwined hands, a small smile forming on his lips at the gentle feeling. he lifted his gaze back up to look at harry. "are you sure?"

"a hundred percent." harry reassured, that goddamn dimpled cheeky grin forming, making louis' heart melt. but he wouldn't admit to that.

"okay." he whispered out, nodding his head in response just in case harry hadn't heard him clear enough.

harry's smile only widened, leaning down to kiss louis' cheek, having to pull away almost instantly when hearing his bedroom door opening.

anne walked in, looking down at her phone screen. she looked up to see the two standing boys with a worried look. "the television screen just flashed across with a weather warning. heavy snow fall for the rest of the day and even overnight, so it's not safe to drive louis home. would your mum be okay with you spending the night, love? i'm sure she would since it's your safety."

louis chewed on his lower lip, before nodding his head some. "i'm sure she'd be okay with it. i'll give her a call."

anne nodded, giving each of the boy's a smile. "dinner will be ready soon." she said, before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her.

until then, harry and louis decided on curling up on harry's bed underneath of the covers, watching christmas movies.

and they'd be lying if they said they didn't end up cuddling that night.

-

the story probably moves slightly fast, but it's supposed to, ahah.
-a