teeny tiny time skip in the last part. maybe like a week later?

---

louis couldn't stop looking at his tattoo and thinking about how much fun he had at the shop that night. even though harry didn't say a word to him, louis could tell how he felt and how happy he was to have his own drawing made into a permanent masterpiece. zayn picked on him for "love at first sight," but louis quickly shot that down. he ended up leaving zayn's room and went to his own, dimming his lights just enough to where it wasn't too dark but not too bright.

louis searched on his phone about sign language. he found information on different words, simple things and even cuss words. he snorted. maybe he and harry could have a cussing competition in sign.

his thoughts traveled to the tall boy. the way harry's eyes lit up as louis asked to be taught some sign made his heart flutter. the way harry couldn't resist smiling once louis successfully (but not verbally) talked to him made him full of joy. he's so adorable. was he swooning over someone too soon? definitely.

louis practiced some different things in hopes he could use them. he went over his alphabet countless times to make sure he had it down. he kept going over everything until at least one in the morning. he wanted to be harry's friend. he wanted to talk to him without making a fool out of himself. he hoped he wasn't creepy but there was something about that guy that louis couldn't just walk away from.

soon, he turned his lights completely off and stripped to his boxers, crawling back in his bed. for some reason, anytime louis thought of harry, he couldn't help but to smile. harry was sweet, he had such a pure soul and maybe, just maybe, harry wouldn't mind having another friend.

---

it happened again.

the memories flooded his mind once he sat up, breathing heavily. the torture, the cold, he hated it. it was awful.

kate sat beside harry and the younger boy collapsed into her chest, hot tears pooling onto her shirt. kate did nothing but rub his back and play with his hair, the main mechanisms that calmed him down. harry's sobs echoed through the room as his sister squeezed him and kissed his head.

kate turned harry's lamp on and pushed some of harry's hair out of his face. harry shivered and wiped his eyes, another choked sob leaving his lips. his sister's heart broke. she couldn't help him much except for what she was doing now. she couldn't just jump into harry's mind and make things stop. her heart ached for him, they were battling grief and harry was taking it the worst.

their aunt gently knocked on the door and poked her head in. harry looked up at her with teary eyes, noticing her entrance by the hallway light shining in the partially dark room. she sat on the other side of harry and began to stroke his back. harry leaned his head on her shoulder and let out pitiful whimpers, letting more tears fall as both women wrapped their arms around him in comfort. he knew he had support but it was hard not having parents, at least not anymore.

"aunt jean, i think we need to take him to go see them," kate said quietly, poking harry's tummy. the green eyed boy looked over and poked kate's temple in return, sniffling.

her aunt nods in agreement. "he needs to visit and things. maybe we can let him pick out flowers this time?"

"i think he would like that," kate says and tilts harry's head to where they were eye to eye. her baby brother blinked slowly, stray tears dropping off of his long lashes and onto her thigh. she pulled him into a hug, trying her best to wrap her arms around his shoulders. even sitting down, he was taller than her. harry got their father's height while kate was stuck with their mother's. there was a rough half-foot height difference between them.

harry clung to his big (yet little) sister, tucking his head under her chin. they ended up toppling onto the mattress with harry laying diagonal on top of his sister and the girl just laughed softly as she played with harry's hair. he seemed to be calming down a tad.

these episodes were common, and usually he was clingy afterwards because he was scared of his nightmares but his sister didn't mind. growing up they had a rough life so all they had was eachother. now that her baby brother is all grown up, she wishes he was little again so they could still play in the clubhouse outside and make mud pies.

"do you need me to grab anything for him?" their aunt asks, tracing harry's angel wings tattoo on the back of his neck.

"maybe some tea," kate murmurs.

"has he been taking his medicine lately?" jean quizzes. kate looked over at harry's nightstand and based on the look she had, she took it as a yes. he took daily medications for his anxiety and sleep problems but she figured maybe they weren't working.

"i'll grab his tea, keep him awake for me."

kate nods and rolls harry off of her, chuckling when the lad let out a whine that sounded a lot like "no." even though harry barely spoke, he still made noises, plus he knew how to say real words until his accident which caused his loss of hearing, so things are kind of mumbled and dragged on.

harry laid on his tummy, propping his cheek on his arms as he stared up at his sibling. the girl pulled some of harry's hair out of his face and kissed his forehead, staying with him until he finished his tea and was able to fall back asleep with no issues.

---

zayn and louis were servers at a diner downtown. their customers were mainly older people who wanted cups of coffee and breakfast platters. luckily they sold breakfast all day and it was quite the hit.

their restaurant was called lucky strike. they held little games on friday nights like bingo and poker, plus karaoke. they didn't serve alcohol because the place was kid friendly. lou and zayn were popular employees, known for their hard work and kindness to the customers. they made easy money by smiling and recommending foods, getting refills when needed and made sure their food was fresh because food that isn't fresh is gross.

louis adjusted his apron and stuck some straws in one of the pockets, grabbing his ticket book to take an order at a table full of people. he mainly got the big party groups who came in for celebrations or family gatherings. thursday night was their busiest night because their breakfast deals were half off. people would come in a little tipsy, order great food for cheap and laugh about someone getting egg yolk on their shirt.

zayn nudged the blue eyed boy when he noticed a familiar pair of lads walk through the door. "you wanna take it or me, lover boy?"

louis looked back at the door and smiled softly. "i got it. split that big table with me? just get their drinks and stuff."

zayn nods and grabs his book, making his way to the large square table. louis weaved inbetween customers to make his way to liam and harry, who had been led to louis' section by amber, louis' favorite host. she had soft brown eyes and bright blonde hair, with braces and a septum piercing. she was pregnant with her first baby.

"hi guys," louis greeted, nearly scaring liam. liam put a hand on his chest and chuckled, saying hello back.

"i didn't know you worked here!" he exclaims, grinning. "haz and i love this place. the pancakes are my favorite."

"ditto, especially the chocolate chip ones. drizzle some peanut butter on them and you'll have a food-gasm for sure," louis grabs a pen. "but i have been working here since uni started this semester. zayn got me the job. i used to babysit when i had free time but ya know, some jobs just don't pay enough and now i have more time for things. plus i like it here," he shrugs. "anyways, sorry for rambling, what can i get you lads to drink?"

liam signed the question to harry, who was sitting across from him, and harry ordered an orange juice with light ice. liam got a black coffee with cream and sugar on the side. louis wrote everything down and went ahead and took their order since the lads already knew what they wanted. liam's usual was blueberry pancakes with bacon and potatoes, while harry opted for over-medium eggs, sausage and toast.

louis rung the order up and got all of the drinks out, taking more orders and running around the building. he hip-checked zayn as his mate came out of the server alley and zayn gave him a five dollar bill that he owed the boy. louis stuffed it in his pants pocket so he wouldn't confuse it with his tips and went to the back to grab liam's creamer and sugar.

"aw, my lou is making moves," zayn teases.

louis snorts and shakes his head. "not so fast, buddy."

"admit it, you like him."

"zayn, i barely know the guy."

"so? come on! atleast admit he's pretty good looking," zayn insists.

louis blushes and bites his lip. "yeah, he's really cute."

"ha!"

harry grabbed an ink pen out of his backpack and scribbled something down on a napkin. he slid it over to liam, who read it curiously, and harry blushed when the boy began to tease him about what he had wrote.

liam wrote something back to him, adding a smiley face at the end and thanked louis for his accessories to his drink. harry shyly waved to the cute waiter and louis smiled, waving back.

zayn watched from the register, smirking to himself. he knew louis and harry would suddenly click. they were polar opposites, yet just alike. even though harry was covered in tattoos and had piercings here and there, he had a genuine soul and a kind heart. the lad had a passion for art and peace. zayn has only known him since their second year of uni but it was well worth it because he has never met someone like harry. don't get him wrong, louis is his best friend, but he was a little shit sometimes.

louis heard the bell ring and he checked to see if the food coming up was his. he loaded plates on a tray and took them to the party table, already having to fill up two drinks after that. soon the bell rang again and louis served the two inked boys their dishes, telling them that if they needed anything else to let him know.

since louis didn't have anymore tables full yet, he cleaned up his area as much as he could and re-organized things. on the tables were little games for kids to play, cards with their popular desserts on them and even review cards. some of the game pieces were scattered along the table and louis stocked them by color, pouting when he had an uneven number of red chips compared to the yellows and purples.

harry watched with fond eyes. he tried to make it not so obvious but liam caught him sneaking glances at the server. he picked on harry even more about it and harry ended up tossing a piece of ice out of his cup at him. liam squeaked from the sudden wave of coolness and harry laughed, covering his mouth. liam narrowed his eyes playfully and threw the ice cube back at him, returning to his meal.

harry and liam stayed longer than usual, taking their time to eat and play the little games next to them just so liam could be a wingman and let harry gawk at the pretty boy. one time louis and harry made eye contact and both boys looked away with cheeks redder than cherries. it caused zayn to shoot a straw wrapper at louis like a bow and arrow, pretending to be cupid and louis pulled on his ear to make him stop.

when harry decided he had enough food, he grabbed a few coins out of his pocket and went to the little arcade in the corner. it wasn't really an arcade, but it was coin machines that had options to get gumballs, temporary tattoos and little toys. harry went to the tattoos and put two coins in, pushing in the slot and pulling it back out to grab the white cardboard that covered the tattoo inside. he took it back to his table and showed liam that he got a sparkly cactus.

liam paid for their food at the register and harry gave louis a really good tip at the table. he even left his little fifty-cent tattoo on the table with the money. liam snuck the napkin with their conversation on it in the cardboard after writing something else down. louis was sad to watch the tattoo artists leave but he was quick to clean up their table and take his tip so his next round of customers could have a seat.

louis swiped up his money and the cardstock, opening it. he smiled at the tattoo and watched it glisten under the lights. the folded up napkin fell out and he picked it up, reading the words written on the thin paper.

louis is so cute :3

I KNEW YOU LIKED HIM! (:

shut up -.-

on the other side of the napkin was something else and louis blushed madly when he saw it.

xxx-xxx-xxxx < harry's number

p.s. tell zayn that i said he's a brat -liam

---

what do you think happened to harry to cause his loss of hearing? why does he have nightmares?

i like hearing your thoughts/questions/ideas, so theres a little quiz for ya.

i know we are only on chapter 3, but what would you want to see later on? it can involve larry, and it doesnt have to. it can involve other bromances, back stories, and even other romances if you want. although i do have another ship planned for this fic, wink wink cough cough it ends with "-iam"

thank you for 500 reads, plus your votes & comments! sorry for the long a/n, i love u all c: