"right from the start, you were a thief, you stole my heart."

-

"come on, haz, we have to go pick up a friend of mine. he just got back from some trip with his family in america and i promised we'd hang out the moment he returned." niall called out to his boyfriend. harry hopped off of the kitchen counter he had found a comfy seat on, ruffling out his curls with a sigh as he walked into the living room and slipped his shoes on.

niall opened the front door for harry, a cheeky grin plastered across his lips as usual. harry playfully rolled his eyes with a chuckle, making sure to give niall a peck on the cheek before walking out into the crisp, october air with niall following suite.

the two had still not had their first kiss as a couple yet, believe it or not. they were one to take things slow, and both of them respected that from each other. they wanted their first kiss together to be...special.

the couple got into the car niall's parents had bought him for his sixteenth birthday, both buckling up their seat belts. safety first, eh?

even though niall has had the car for the past two years, it was still in mint condition like the day his parents picked it up at the dealership, much to niall's parents' relief.

niall and harry both had their hands intertwined and resting on the center consul between them, niall humming along softly to the radio that was playing throughout the speakers of the car. out of pure curiosity, harry asked, "what friend are we going to pick up?"

niall's hums ceased for a moment once his boyfriend spoke, glancing over at harry for a moment before fixing his gaze back on the road ahead. "his name is louis. i don't think you two have met before. he went to school with us though."

"the name sounds familiar, but i don't think we've met, yeah." harry nodded, leaning his head against the glass window as niall directed the car to make a left turn after a red-light.

just minutes later, niall turned into a driveway that was unfamiliar to harry, of course. he put the car in park, releasing harry's hand in his own, which resulted in a small pout to form on harry's lips from the loss of contact. niall couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed harry's expression, poking his side with the hand that was once resting on the steering wheel. "cheer up, buttercup."

"i'll be back." he smiled over at his boyfriend before getting out of the driver's side of the car, shutting it behind him and walking up the sidewalk that led to the front door of louis' home.

niall knocked a couple times, and an oh-so-familiar face appeared in the doorway. "niall! so good to see you, lad."

niall chuckled, "you too, dan. how've you been?"

"excellent. jay and i just had our wedding over in america. we spent the past two weeks in florida, got married in miami. beautiful, it was." dan explained with such admiration in his eyes, causing niall to smile. "congratulations, you two!"

"thank you! come in, yeah? i'm assuming you're here for louis?" niall nodded in response as dan stepped to the side, allowing niall to step inside the lovely english home.

"niall! what a lovely surprise!" jay beamed happily, her hair curled in ringlets that draped over her shoulders beautifully. niall smiled over at the woman, waving a bit as a greeting. "hello, jay. nice to see you, as well." he chuckled softly to himself.

"i'll go get louis, love." jay smiled and walked out of the room, down the hallway where she would retrieve her son from his bedroom.

"louis, love. niall is here." jay informed louis, who was just finishing up on unpacking from the two week vacation. he looked up from his suitcase, his fringe falling in front of his eyes lazily. "tell him i'll be out in a second."

jay nodded, but stayed lingering in the doorway. louis continued on with unpacking, eventually feeling his mum's intense stare. he slowly turned and looked over at her, clearing his throat to catch her attention.

jay jumped a bit in surprise, before speaking again, "oh, almost forgot to ask. do you have your medication with you? since i guarantee you'll end up spending the night at niall's toni-"

"yes, mum. i have my medication. can't forget it, really, since you're always here to remind me." he cut her off, a sheepish smile on his lips as he pushed his glasses further up more on the bridge of his nose as they slid down a bit. jay nodded, giving her son a tiny smile before walking away from the doorway and back into the living room to join niall and dan once again. the two had been catching up, and talking in more depth about the florida vacation trip.

louis eventually joined the three, his deep red colored backpack slinging over his shoulders, where a few change of clothes were stored inside, along with some typical, everyday necessities. "ready to go, ni?" louis spoke up, causing niall to look away from dan and over at the feathered haired boy. "yep!"

"it was lovely seeing you again, niall." jay spoke happily, pulling niall into a quick hug and planting a kiss onto his cheek. once the two broke the hug, jay walked over to her son, repeating the process but whispering into his ear, "i love you, lou. don't forget to take your meds."

"i won't." he murmured quietly, his arms around his mother's waist as he inhaled her familiar floral scent that seemed oh-so natural. "i love you too."

she smiled, kissing his cheek once more before the two pulled back from the hug. louis and niall headed out of the house with their final goodbyes to louis' parents, walking down the sidewalk towards the car.

harry looked up from the failed game of temple run on his phone, a strand of curls falling in front of his face as he noticed his boyfriend and an unfamiliar face heading back towards the car, laughter bubbling from each of their lips.

"harry, this is louis. louis, harry." niall introduced as he got into the driver's seat once again, louis climbing into the backseat on the driver's side.

"nice to meet you, mate." louis spoke with a smile, leaning back in his seat after taking his backpack off of his shoulders, setting it beside him. he unzipped the front compartment, pulling out a box of cigarettes and removing one from the plastic wrapped paper carton.

"you too." he spoke timidly, and niall rejoined their hands on the center consul, intertwined once again. harry winced a bit as he saw louis pull out a lighter, placing the cigarette in between his lips and setting a flame to the end of the cancer stick. he was never a fan of smoking, although he knew niall and the rest of their group of friends smoked as well.

louis didn't bother opening the side window for ventilation, and harry knew if he opened his own window the smoke would only travel further up towards the front of the car for him to breathe in. niall must've noticed harry's discomfort, for he spoke up, "lou, open your window, yeah?"

louis hummed in response as he took a drag of the cigarette, pushing down on the control switch to put the window down. most of the smoke directed out of the window and into the air, much to harry's relief. he released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in to prevent any intoxications to his lungs.

louis chuckled at the boy in the passenger seat. "not a smoker, huh?"

harry could already feel the older lad judging him, and he looked down in his lap as he texted back his older sister, gemma, who was in her second year of college off in america; new york city, to be exact.

niall drew reassuring circles with his thumb on the back of harry's hand, a small sigh escaping his lips. niall was always protective over harry, no matter what, even though niall didn't deserve the curly haired lad whatsoever. and he knew that for a fact.

the ride back to niall's place was quite awkward, if harry may say so himself. louis sat and chilled in the backseat with his cigarette as the smoke continued to travel out the window. the music played quietly throughout the car as niall drove, and harry minded his own business as he texted gemma about when he would get to see her next.

definitely this upcoming christmas break, i'll catch a flight out to see you and mum. promise, haz. xx -gemma

okay. :( i miss you, gems. haven't seen or talked to you in what feels like forever. xx -harry

classes had me stressing out lately, and i can only afford flights out around the holidays, which is usually the busiest time of the year, so y'know, delayed flights and such. -gemma

it's okay, i understand. skype call soon? x -harry

of course! how about this weekend? since i won't have classes. x -gemma

sounds good to me, gems. love ya. x -harry

love you as well. i'll see you soon. x -gemma

harry smiled down at his phone screen. he sure did miss his sister, ever since she moved away for college about two years ago.

the car eventually pulled up along the side of the street, parking outside of niall's house. niall huffed and took the keys out of the ignition, all three boys filing out of the vehicle.

louis grabbed his bag, holding his second cigarette between his lips as he slung the bag back over his shoulder. he got out of the car, shutting the door behind him and following the couple inside of the house where so many memories, good and bad, were built.

"call the rest of the guys over, yeah?" louis suggested, placing his bag down on the soft couch in the corner of the living room. niall gave louis a knowing look, causing grins to form on each of their faces. harry, on the other hand, was confused.

-

harry sat by the corner of the bridge, away from the group of teenagers he called his friends. they were all sat in a circle, passing around a bowl that would help send them into a world of oblivion.

harry wasn't one to smoke cigarettes, better yet weed. he hated that his boyfriend did such a thing, but he wouldn't try to stop him. he wasn't niall's father, he couldn't tell him what to do.

"curly! come join, yeah?" louis called out, earning a few shh's from his friends. they were on a closed off bridge at midnight, if they got caught all five of them would be done for. niall, louis, liam, josh, and even harry would pay a visit to the police station. after all, this shit was illegal.

harry shook his head, a small spotlight making it visible enough for louis to see the boy's response. "oh come on, harry. don't be a party pooper." louis spoke more quietly this time, a small giggle bubbling from his throat. nothing about the situation was even funny, it was just the high effect taking it's toll.

"lou, if he doesn't want to smoke he doesn't have to." niall defended his boyfriend. niall knew that harry hated his actions and drug hobbies, but getting high was just too much of a relief for him to give up because of a relationship.

"whatever." louis scoffed, rolling his eyes as he was passed the bowl again, lifting the glass item to his lips. he set a flame to the crushed up plant, inhaling it's smokey contents before blowing it out into the cool air.

harry knew, and has known for awhile, that he would never fit in with this group of friends.

*

it took ages to write this up, but i finally did.
zayn will come in later throughout the story, also.
thoughts?
vote for chapter two.
-allie x