Let me tell you, I have only five chapters left to write for this story now and I'm really sad. I also don't know when I will be able to write the sequel because I have other stories/books to write and start a new job on the first of octobre, which means less time for writing. But I promise I will write it because I have a lot planned 

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On his way to the café, Louis grew irrationally nervous. His hands were shaking and his throat felt like a fucking desert, making it hard for him to breathe properly. He couldn't say why he was so scared of their friends' reaction but he was it anyway. Maybe they wouldn't approve and make a scene, causing Harry to overthink everything again. That though made Louis tense up and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Lou, breathe. I'm nervous, too. Maybe even more than you" stopped Harry him in his tracks and faced him.

"Why?" was all Louis was able to ask.

"Maybe because I hurt you multiple times and no one likes the idea of me hurting you again?!" tilted Harry his head aside. "Not that this is gonna happen but they can't know that and maybe won't be too happy about us. Let's face it, they're gonna be mad at me, not you".

"But I don't want them to be mad at you" pouted Louis at the mere thought of it.

"Naw, now don't look at me like this. We got this. It's you and me" booped Harry Louis' nose.

"I like the sound of that" crinkled Louis his nose.

"So, you're gonna tell them I'm your boyfriend?" gnawed Harry on his bottom lip insecurely.

"Nope, I'm gonna tell them our mothers secretly married and we are stepbrothers now, which means our love is forbidden" joked Louis idiotically.

"That sounds tempting. A forbidden love. Lots of sneaking around and secret rendezvouses. Maybe we shouldn't tell them and keep it to ourselves" pulled Harry him closer by the waist.

"You'd like that, mh?" wrapped Louis his arms around Harry's neck, playing with the little hairs there.

"A lot. It would be just you and me and no one else who could steal you away from me" breathed Harry out against Louis' lips.

"I think you got that wrong. No one would know but we wouldn't hide away in a cabin in the woods or something. Everybody could hit on me and you'd have to watch it because no one knows I'm yours" corrected Louis him playfully.

"Then I don't want it. No one else should even look at you the wrong away, let alone hit on you. No way. You're mine" tightened Harry his grip on Louis.

"Possessive much, huh?" raised Louis an eyebrow at him.

"Never. I just don't wanna lose you again. I'm lucky enough to have you now. I don't wanna risk anything" clarified Harry seriously.

"You won't lose me. I can't live without you, Haz" stated Louis surely.

They shared another sweet kiss before they finally walked the last meters to the café. Inside, they found their friends pretty fast and sat down at the table together, next to each other. Immediately, Louis felt everyone's eyes on him but he only glanced at Zayn because he was the only one who knew about what happened.

"Where is Bailey? She's never late" looked Niall around in search for their friend.

"She is with Liron and Maribel right now. They're working on something and can't make it today" informed Harry them.

"Uh, again? Do I smell a new ship?" cooed Niall exaggeratedly.

"Maybe but definitely not with one of them" muttered Sean under his breath but everyone had heard him.

"Wait, what did we miss?" stared Liam at him in shock.

"I um ... asked Bailey out" coughed Sean caught.

"Fucking finally!" exclaimed Liam and Niall at the same time in sheer joy.

"This is amazing, Sean. I'm so happy for you. It's gonna be great" smiled Aria happily at him.

"Today is a day full of great things and unexpected surprises" commented Zayn mysteriously, earning a glare from Louis.

"What are you on about?" cocked Àmber an eyebrow at him in question.

"Nothing. Just that sometimes things need time" leaned Zayn back into his chair with a smug grin.

"Is that related to the fact that those two exposed-looking lads came here together?" questioned Niall rightly.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell us?" stared Liam them down.

"Um ..." had Louis no clue on what to say and decided on being an idiot. "Our mums secretly married and we are stepbrothers now". 

"Bitch what?" squeaked Niall before he erupted into a fit of laughter.

"Tommy, c'mon. This wouldn't be too bad. Would just make things forbidden" noted Zayn nastily. 

"Huh?" stared Sean at them in pure confusion. 

"I finally had the balls to stand up for my mistakes" spoke Harry up with a heavy sigh, drawing everyone's attention on him.

"So, you actually ...".

"Yes, Nialler. I did" cut Harry his best friend off, earning a huge grin from Niall but four confused faces.

"What is going on?" was Liam hopelessly lost.

"I love Louis and I was brave enough to finally admit that to myself and to him. I apologised for everything and explained myself but didn't expect to be forgiven. I just wanted him to know. But whatever lucky star I have up there made a miracle happen. I was actually forgiven and got another chance to prove I am serious" let Harry them all know in a fond voice, ending up staring at Louis.

"I know you are now, Haz. You wouldn't do this again. I believe you and nothing else matters. Not the past and not those stupid bubbleheads here" caressed Louis Harry's cheek softly, getting lost in his eyes.

"Ey, we're not stupid" huffed Aria offended.

"Yes, we're very much smart" agreed Àmber with her girlfriend.

"Whatever. I was just trying to say that it doesn't matter ...".

"What we say because you already made up your mind and forgave him and none of us could ever change that. You would rather run away with him and ignore us for years than give him up, right?" finished Zayn his sentence sarcastically.

"Very much, yeah" nodded Louis unaffected.

"Good that I'm already convinced and on your side" shot Zayn him a certain look.

"And I'm very thankful for that, Zayn. Thank you for helping me with this. Without you it wouldn't have been possible. You've always been such a good friend for Louis and I have been nothing but mean to you and I wanna say sorry for that again. I could say I was jealous but that isn't it and I ...".

"It's okay, Harry" interrupted Zayn him friendly. "Over and done. It's in the past".

"Thank you" smiled Harry thankfully at him.

"And you never had a reason to be jealous anyway. Maybe you saw us kissing but there was never anything between us. He was just trying to help me, like always" added Louis relieved that his two boys made up.

"Do I even wanna know how kissing him could have helped you with anything?" looked Harry distraught.

"I was trying to make you jealous, dickhead" let Zayn him know playfully.

"Oh" grew Harry's eyes big. "Kinda worked, in the long run".

"Better late than never" shrugged Louis unbothered.

"You're not saying anything" faced Harry their other friends now. Apart from Niall, they all looked weird.

"I don't know what to say. I always thought you'd end up together but I did not expect this to actually happen anymore. I gave you up, to be honest. I'm happy you made up your mind, Harold" explained Sean his silence.

"Yeah, me too" murmured Harry sweetly.

"If Zayn forgave you and is on your side then you have to be serious. As long as you are sure and really love him and treat him right I'm not gonna be in the way of it. I always wanted this to happen" noted Àmber seriously.

"I love him more than anything" gazed Harry into Louis' eyes, making him blush.

"Good".

"Congrats, boys. I knew you were meant to be together" congratulated Liam them joyously.

"Yeah, my guess has always been that Louis is your soulmate. That's why I'm very happy for you" agreed Aria with Liam joyfully.

"My Lou" sighed Harry out dreamily.

"Great. We have to watch them being like this now every day" pointed Niall at them with a grimace but it was just a joke.

After this, they talked about everything that came to their mind while enjoying their drinks. The whole time Louis couldn't stop glancing at Harry, making sure he was still right next to him. It all still felt so surreal. He was over the moon because his friends were happy for him. Finally everything felt right.

"I'm gonna go and bring the empty cups back. You're gonna help me, Tommy?" stood Zayn up from the table after an hour.

"Yeah, sure" followed Louis suit, knowing Zayn wanted a moment to talk to him alone.

When they had put the empty cups down Zayn faced him. "I'm very happy for you, Tommy. When Harry told me about his plan I was furious at first because I didn't believe him that he was being serious this time. We had a long conversation and he was being completely honest with me. We needed that to start anew. I'm glad we did and I'm glad he finally discovered his true feelings but are you sure about this?".

"What do you mean?" knitted Louis his eyebrows together.

"I just wanna know if you're absolutely sure this is what you want. I've been with you through every painful day and have seen you completely broken because of him. Will you be able to leave this behind and trust him again?" asked Zayn worriedly.

"I know it will take some time to trust him again but he is all I ever wanted. I tried to get over him but it didn't work and now I'm happy about it. There's probably nothing he could ever do to make me really hate him for good" opened Louis up to him honestly. "I know this is not necessarily healthy but I can't change it. I have to learn to get better and he has a lot to learn as well but we can do this together".

"I think you can work through this, too. You will make it" smiled Zayn convinced at him. "And if there is nothing he could ever do to make you hate him you're gonna stay together forever. Means I can start planning the wedding".

"How funny" snorted Louis dryly." But no, there's nothing. Well, except if he cheats on me with Jake out of all people. Then I could never look at him again".

"Horrible thought. He might have been a douchebag and an idiot but he is not a cheater. We all know this" shuddered Zayn visibly.

"I don't think any of us is or do you wanna tell me anything, Javy?" nudged Louis his side.

"It has to come out not. I cheated on you ... with Àmber" choked Zayn dramatically out, faking tears.

"Oh my god! That means she ... Aria ... How could you, Javy?" played Louis along.

"I know I'm the worst. Please, forgive me, Tommy. I'm never gonna do it again" begged Zayn him.

"Nope, no way. Once a cheater, always a cheater. If you do it once you will do it again and I don't want a cheater in my life" shook Louis his head with a grin.

"Damn, you're very strong-willed. Guess, I'm never gonna cheat on you" clicked Zayn with his tongue.

"You make no fucking sense, Javy" laughed Louis exhilarated when they walked back over to their friends.

"Great, you're back. Now we can ...".

"No, wait!" exclaimed Liam suddenly, cutting Aria off.

"What's the matter, Li?" sat Zayn immediately down next to him.

"I um ... I wanna tell you something now that we're all here together. I'm ashamed but you need to know" murmured Liam quietly.

"Whatever it is you can tell us. We won't judge you" assured Àmber him softly.

"Okay, um ... you all know I've been partying a lot lately and um ... was drunk even more but that wasn't all of it. I um ... I've taken some drugs along the lines as well to ... you know, let loose and free my head. It just ended in me mostly not knowing what I'm doing. I stopped now and I feel bad for overtaking any of them" admitted Liam scared.

Louis wasn't really surprised. He had guessed that some time ago. Maybe not that it was a regular thing but at least sometimes. Zayn and he had been worried a lot but Louis was relieved to hear that Liam wanted to stop. It wouldn't be easy, presumably, but he had all of his friends by his side.

"You don't have to feel bad. I should because it's my fault. I introduced you to those guys" hung Niall his head low in shame.

"I could have denied the drugs, Nialler. Not your fault" took Liam all the blame on himself.

"I knew how you are with peer pressure. I should have known better. I'm really sorry" apologised Niall anyway.

"Do I wanna know what kind of drugs?" asked Sean hesitantly.

"No, not really. A lot of different drugs and even mixed up. Very dangerous. I know that now" answered Liam honestly.

"You stopped. That's all that matters" smiled Aria at him.

"But only because of Louis" confessed Liam surprisingly, making all of them look at him in confusion, especially Louis. "I realised what I could become when I heard about him being in the hospital and 'only' because of alcohol. Me and my drugs mixed with alcohol could have been so much worse. Seeing you there shook me awake, Tommo. Maybe a bit weird but it's the truth".

"I'm glad my excess had a positive side. You're welcome, Lima" joked Louis to lighten the mood.

"Anyone else who wants to admit something? Girls? Z ?" clapped Sean into his hands, making all of them laugh.

"Nah, nothing here. We're good" winked Àmber at them.

"Well, actually I wanted to ask Evan out and see where it leads me. Guess you're all the first ones to know. Sorry, Tommy" let Zayn them know nonchalantly.

"I'm outraged, Javy. How could you not tell me this first?" huffed Louis playfully.

"You were busy making up with Princess Harry. Didn't feel the need to get in between that" winked Zayn smugly at him.

"Fair point" grinned Louis brightly, feeling Harry's hand on his arm lightly.

All together, they left the café and went their separate ways home. Louis and Harry went back home to Louis to spend more time together, alone. On the way, their hands brushed against each other over and over again and Louis felt a tingle everywhere. Not knowing if Harry wanted this, Louis timidly intertwined their fingers between them. To his utter relief, he felt Harry squeezing his hand in reassurance. He wanted this as well.

Back in Louis' flat, Harry went directly into the kitchen. He was determined to cook them a nice meal and if Harry wanted something no one could stop him. He was pretty stubborn and could make this cute innocent face. Louis had no chance against that. So, he sat down on his counter and no, he did not need to jump up to there. He was huge.

From his place on the counter Louis just watched Harry do his thing and felt like he was in a dream but this was his life now. Harry was his boyfriend and it would be normal one day for them to spend their days like this. Just the two of them alone in Louis' flat, cooking or doing whatever. It sounded like something he always wanted and now had.

The meal tasted fantastic and Louis decided then and there that he needed to marry Harry. Without this food Louis would die and that couldn't happen. So, there was only one thing he could really do. But apart from that thought their dinner went by normally and they talked a lot. About their courses and random nothings and Louis was glad that they were able to go back to the way they had talked to each other before all of this happened. Before the fake-dating thing. Just that they were actually dating now.

Stubbornly, Louis insisted on doing the dishes. He could be stubborn as well. While he was busy in the kitchen Harry disappeared into the bedroom to check his phone. His mother had tried to call him a few times. This reminded Louis that he should tell his own mother what had happened but right now all he wanted was Harry. Outside it was getting darker by the second. Normally, Harry would leave now but today Louis could ask him to stay the night. This felt strange but in a good way.

When Louis entered his bedroom he found Harry sitting on the bed with an open box next to him. Louis immediately recognised this box and felt melancholy overcoming him. It was his box full of pictures of the two of them over the years. Carefully, Louis sat down close to Harry on the bed and picked one of the pictures up. It was taken on the playground in the snow. They had been too stubborn to play inside.

"I can still remember this. We wanted so badly to go to the playground but logically it was too cold. We still managed to convince our mums to let us go" recalled Louis fondly.

"Because we told them this is our special place and we need to go there or the world would go down. A bit dramatic but it worked" chuckled Harry cutely.

"Well, it is our place, Haz. Without it we wouldn't be here right now" put Louis the photo back into the box.

"Do you remember this day?" showed Harry him a picture they had taken of themselves in front of an old empty house.

"Oh yeah, of course. We got into so much trouble for going there. Sorry for making you do stupid things. I just couldn't resist" laughed Louis at the memory.

"When could you ever resist to explore a dangerous and abandoned place, Lou? No need to be sorry. I had a lot of fun, even though not being able to see you for two weeks after this was a nightmare" nudged Harry Louis' arm.

"They knew this would be the worst punishment ever. I felt so alone without you. It wasn't fair" placed Louis also this photo back into the box, remembering how lonely he had felt without his Haz by his side every day during the holidays.

"Me too. I felt really lon ... Oh" fell Harry suddenly silent with a picture in his hand.

"What is it, Haz?" checked Louis immediately.

"I just found this one" handed Harry him the picture. Louis looked at it and sighed when he saw it was his graduation picture. Without Harry.

"I think it's really sad that we don't have one together and I'm the only one to blame" sighed Harry out guiltily.

"Don't say that. Yeah, maybe at this time it was your fault but I could have stopped it from the start. I shouldn't even have offered you to ...".

"I could have rejected your offer, Lou" cut Harry him off surely. "Àmber did. I talked to her about it after you mentioned it at the bar to Josh. She was smarter than me and cared more about Aria. She cared in the way I was supposed to care about you but I didn't. I will regret this decision for the rest of my life".

"We left this in the past, Haz. It's over. In a few years maybe we can laugh about it. Give yourself some mercy. I did. I forgave you, Haz. We're doing this right this time" lifted Louis Harry's chin up and made him look at him.

"I really wanna do this right. Not rushing anything or going too fast too far. I wanna prove to you that you can trust me again and that I'm better now, Lou" whispered Harry out because they were so close.

"I know, Haz" smiled Louis lovingly at him but then started playing with his fingers nervously. "If you wanna take it all slow, what I want too, is it too much to ask you to stay right now and sleep over? You don't have to if you think it's too much too so ...".

Louis got cut off by Harry's lips on his own. It was only a short peck but it made Louis melt anyway. "Shut up, you beautiful idiot. I'd love to stay over. I did that yesterday, if you remember".

"But this was different. We had just made up and didn't really clarify what we were. Now I don't wanna do anything wrong" picked Louis at his trouser leg.

"I should be the one being worried about doing things wrong and not you. We got this, Lou" took Harry a hold of Louis' hand.

Before Louis could say anything, a phone started ringing. Immediately, he noticed it wasn't his. Like expected, Harry let go of his hand and grabbed for his phone. When he looked at the screen he let out a sigh and looked unsure on what to do. Louis glanced at Harry's phone and felt his body going cold when he read Jake Bafort on the screen. Of course. How could it be different?!

"Just answer it. It's okay. I um ... wait outside" stood Louis up from his bed defeated.

"No!" exclaimed Harry, grabbed for Louis' wrist and dragged him back down onto the bed. "Please, don't go".

"Haz, what ...?".

Harry lay his finger onto Louis' lips to silence him and then declined the call, throwing his phone away. "Jake had called a few times during the last couple of days. He just wants to chat and catch up but I don't feel like this right now. I'm with you and you're all that matters. No time and space for Jake, only you".

"Onlyme" mumbled Louis quietly, not quite believing it yet. Harry reallyofficially chose him over Jake. Wow.

"Louis, I love you. Not Jake or Josh or anyone else. You're the one that I want, the only one. You're the one that I love. You have nothing to worry about" clarified Harry and Louis could hear the guilt in his voice for making Louis feel so insecure in the first place.

Emotionally, Louis kissed Harry sweetly and then lay down with him on his bed under the covers. They cuddled up to each other with Harry's head resting on Louis' chest and Louis' arms wrapped safely around Harry's waist. Like this, they just enjoyed each other's presence and completely fell into the feeling of their love.

"I love you too, Haz".  

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No Jake, only Louis?! 

Their friends are happy for them and admitted some things along the line. Sean asked Bailey out, Zayn is gonna ask Evan out and Liam has a drug history. Saw that coming?