"You kissed him?"

Edward barely reacts to the screaming, excited pair of 'children' yelling at him while he sits in his chair. Liam is standing at the corner of the room, giggling at the antics of two third of the Styles. Niall pays them no attention as he browses through the magazine he's laid out on the table, sitting perched on top of Edward's lap while he reads.

"Stop being so excited. It's not you he kissed." He drawls, supporting his face by his fist that he's propped up on the arm rest.

"Come on, Edward. Tell me everything." Harry says eagerly, shamelessly trying to peel Niall off of his brother so he could take the Omega's place.

Edward holds on to his blond friend while he throws a glare in the direction of his brother. "Don't."

Niall yawns, squirming on the Alpha's lap for better comfort before he leans back and flips the magazine again. "Go away, Harry. It's too comfy for me to move."

"Liam, your Omega is bullying me." Harry makes a sad face, only prompting an annoyed sound from Liam. Harry's face falls at that and he pouts. "Nobody in this house loves me, I'm going to leave."

"And then you'll come back crying within two days because you accidentally bit your lip too hard and there's nobody there to kiss it better for you." Marcel says snidely, pressing a fist onto his mouth.

Liam and Niall start cackling while Harry gawks at such betrayal.

"That was one time! And I came back because... because..." He stammers, trying to recall why exactly he returned that one time he tried to run away and leave his brothers because he felt unappreciated. The memory that comes up isn't exactly for him to voice out so Harry just settles for silence.

Marcel sighs, pulling at Harry's arm so he could slowly drag his brother into an embrace. Harry's attempt to get away isn't even half-hearted so Marcel easily wraps him into a hug, one that Harry huffs and struggles to release himself from. "Come on, babe. You know we're just kidding. It's okay if you came back just because you miss us." He reassures, running his fingers through Harry's curly locks.

"I did not." Harry grumbles, crossing his arms. He still looks upset when Marcel drops a kiss on his head.

"You admitted yourself that you were staring at our photo the whole time you were in the train. Where did you even intend to go?" Edward taunts from his seat, slowly toying with the strands of Niall's hair.

Marcel shoots his eldest brother a warning look. "That happened two years ago, Edward. Cut it."

"I was going to go home." Harry has loosened his arms, instead choosing to pick and poke at the fabric of the sweater on Marcel's biceps that wraps around his neck.

They can feel the moment everybody in the room tenses up.

"This is your home." Edward snarls lowly. At the distraction, Liam silently urges his Omega to get up and get away from the Alpha. Niall nods stiffly, scurrying off of his lap and rushing to Liam's side. "We promised not to go back."

"I know. But he's not there anymore. She's alone. She has to be lonely." Harry sags against Marcel, his face falling.

"Harry, she's not alone. She has Robin now." Edward groans. "You know what it does to you to go back, what it does to all of us."

"It happened years before, Edward. Let it go. You're making Harry upset." Marcel says in a tensed voice, his face stoic.

Liam and Niall hold their breath, nervously waiting for Edward's reply. They really fear that Edward would just say something and ruin it. They were having such a good time.

"Alright, okay." Edward mutters and the rest exhale in relief. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Come here, baby." He says softly, addressing Harry while he opens his arms wide.

Harry peels Marcel off of him so he could quickly get to his older brother, the one he's always looked up to all these years. And when he's settled on Edward's lap, he buried his face at the crook of his neck. Harry fits his nose at the spot against Edward's throat that hold his scent the strongest, one that clouds his head and overwhelms him with calm euphoria.

Edward's hand rubbing down his back is soothing as always. "Don't be upset."

"'M not." Harry's reply is muffled. "You could never upset me."

Liam turns to Marcel, scratching the back of his neck. "No wonder the Betas enjoy the drama in this house. It's almost as good as those in the telly."

Niall nods in agreement.

While the three talk, Edward awards Harry with a kiss on his forehead, making his brother preen and curl tighter on his lap. "Louis said yes, by the way." He starts.

"Really?" The bright smile on Harry's face is enough to make Edward smile, if only by a little. "He wants us?"

Edward nods. "He does, all of us. I didn't expect him to say yes." He admits carefully, stroking his brother's hand.

"Do you think it's a good idea?" Harry suddenly asks, voice so timid Edward had to strain his ears to deem his words audible.

"What?"

"I don't know, the whole Omega thing. Would it be a good idea?"

"Harry.." Edward brushes a strand of hair back and tucks it behind Harry's ear. "I thought you were excited to get an Omega. I thought you like Louis." He frowns, a little hint of bewilderment forming a crease on his forehead.

"Yeah, I am. I do. I like him so much. I've never felt so affectionate towards any Omega before. And we don't even know him yet." Harry's face warms up.

"Then what's the problem?" Edward urges softly.

Harry lifts his face up, looking Edward in the eye. "It's been just the three of us for so long. What if an Omega messes up our dynamic? What if it's not a good idea?"

"Hey, hey." Edward cups both sides of his face, triggering the calming in his nerves. "Breathe." He says when Harry looks like he's going to panic.

"Okay." Harry obeys, sucking in a huge breath before he attempts to voice his thoughts. "I don't want an Omega to be the thing that drives us apart."

Edward is quiet for a moment, his eyes adverting away but he still has Harry's face in his grasp. "You're afraid that we're not going to be as close as we are now when we get an Omega?"

Harry nods. "And, what if we grow to be like him? I don't want-"

"Shh.. Hush, okay? We are never, were never and never will be what he was. We got rid of him and he won't influence us even a little bit. I won't let that happen. Ever." Edward promises. "Okay?" He raises his eyebrows expectantly, using one hand to brush Harry's hair back. It reminds him of how he used to do it when Harry would fall when playing because he's a clumsy fuck since they were little and it's always Edward he would go to crying like a mess with red, tear stained face and bleeding knee or a sprained ankle. Every single time, Edward would scold him before he'd kiss his forehead, wipe his tears away and tell him it would be fine. The memory floods his chest with warmth for his little sibling and he can't deny the urge to leave another lingering kiss on Harry's forehead.

"Okay." Harry nods again.

"And I would die before I let an Omega be the reason that drives you or Marcel away from me." Edward continues, releasing Harry's face and content to just brush his hair back, as if Harry's a child.

Harry makes a sound of disagreement. "People always say that Alphas' behaviour tends to change once they're mated. Especially the possessive ones."

"Then we just need each other to keep ourselves grounded, don't we?" At that, Harry cracks a small smile.

"Yeah." He murmurs softly.

Edward pulls Harry to his chest, cradling him close and pecking the side of his head. "You better be ready to take Louis out on a date and charm the pants off of him."

"A date?" Harry perks up, pulling back to stare questioningly at him.

"Yeah, he's expecting us to take him out. Each of us. So you better be prepared to impress him because I have a feeling that he'd put a high expectation." Edward purses his lips, making Harry grin. "Not that I say he doesn't deserve to do so."

Harry lets his eyes trail away, trying to come up with a good idea. Then he looks at Edward again. "Where are you taking him?"

The addressed Alpha gives him a reticent smirk. "Why should I tell you that?"

"Because.." Harry whines. "I don't want to do the same thing you would. That's not fun and I don't want him to think I'm copying you."

"Alright, alright, you big baby." Edward rolls his eyes, though Harry knows him enough to figure out that he's just teasing the younger boy. "I'm just going to take him to a fancy dinner."

Harry cackles loudly, then gasping as he slaps a palm to his mouth. Edward gives him a wide eyed look, causing him to giggle even more. "Sorry, it's just, your idea is so lame."

"Excuse me?"

"But it is." Harry urges, shrieking when determined fingers start digging at his sides, pulling out choked laughter and pleads for mercy. "Edward, no! Stop! Okay, okay! You're not lame! I take it back!"

Edward chuckles as he grips Harry's waist just before he could tumble off onto the floor. "Yeah, you know better than to do that."

Liam, Niall and Marcel are in their own bubble while they discuss about temporarily dying Zayn's hair purple in his sleep but the bubble pops when they hear Edward laughing. Simultaneously, all three of them stop talking and focus to watch while the eldest Styles starts tickling Harry again.

"What is this beautiful sight, Liam?" Niall asks in awe.

"I don't know. It's too early for a Christmas miracle." Liam replies back, jaw slacked. He quickly pulls out his phone. "I'm going to take a picture while it lasts. It's not always you see Edward like this."

Marcel just watches with his lower lip trapped between his teeth, the fond in his chest almost too much for him to contain. Liam snaps a few photos and quickly offers his screen to the youngest triplet, Niall nudging both of them to take a look.

"Liam, you're sending that to me so I can frame it." Marcel requests, giving Liam an expectant look.

"Yeah, sure."

---

"Hey, can I come in?" Marcel stands at the door frame, knuckles still pressed on the wood where he knocked.

Edward looks up from his paperwork, forehead crinkled with the remnants of his stress. He nods once, sighing heavily and dropping his pen before he leans back in his seat. His hand carefully starts to massage his temple, eyelids shutting.

Marcel is silent as he walks into the office; even the sound of his footsteps is quiet enough. At first he pauses behind the pair of chairs situated opposite Edward across the desk, but then he continues and rounds the furniture. Edward still looks distressed when he approached, so Marcel quickly slides over and settles himself on Edward's lap.

He nudges Edward's hand away, replacing it with his own instead. The tensed muscles surrounding Edward's face starts to relax the moment skilled fingers get to work.

"You okay?" He asks softly, watching Edward's eyes flutter open at his question.

Edward blinks once before his green eyes disappear again. "Yeah, just busy. It's stressing me out."

"You should relax a little." Marcel advices. "Take it slow. You're the boss."

Marcel isn't even fazed when arms circle his waist, pulling him closer. "Yeah. I'll try." Edward replies, leaning into his brother's touch.

"I need to talk to you." Marcel speaks up, his ministration stopping and sliding his hands down and wrapping his arms around Edward's neck.

Two eyebrows shoot up, silently questioning him. "Yeah? What is it?"

"It's about Louis."

Edward's eyebrows grow even higher, intensifying his unspoken question.

Marcel sighs heavily and leans forward, pressing their foreheads together. "Promise you'll talk to me."

"I am talking to you." Edward says.

"Edward." Marcel's warning prompts a chuckle from his brother.

"Alright, spill it out then."

"What's your issue?" Marcel starts.

Edward tilts his head, confused. "What do you mean?"

"It's just..." Marcel frowns as he tries to collect his thoughts. "I mean, you do want Louis, right? Or else you won't agree to us courting him, right?"

Edward still looks confused, but he slolwy nods nonetheless.

"But why are you acting so inconsistently? A moment you're so against the idea of courting him, and then you're the first one to kiss him. I don't understand. What's going on inside your head?" Marcel leans back a little and crosses his arms, hoping that his brother would give him a serious answer and not play around.

Edward clears his throat. "You noticed, then."

Marcel groans in frustration. "Of course I do, Jesus Christ."

"Marcel, you do know we have no experience at all when it comes to being with an Omega." He tells him, lips pressed tight. "I think it's reasonable for me to be a little scared of what I don't fully know of."

Marcel's gaze softens at that and he pushed himself back into Edward's space, his arms folding around him again. "You're scared."

"Hmm, that's what I said."

"You never get scared." Marcel murmurs.

Edward disagrees. "But I do."

"What are you scared of?"

"Fucking this up."

"Edward, you won't." Marcel reassures with a glint of faith in his eyes. "You're going to do great as an Alpha. You've been a good leader to me and Harry all these years."

"That's different, isn't it? You both are Alphas too." Edward sighs.

Marcel tuts, shaking his head. "Come on, Edward. You're not going to fuck this up. It'll be okay."

"Do you think I confused him too with the way I behaved?"

Marcel nods, honest. "Most probably, yeah."

"I don't want to do anything that would be the reason he won't want us."

He gets a kiss to his cheek as a reply. "You won't. It's okay. We'll figure this out together."

"Okay."

Marcel grabs his cheek, guiding Edward's face until their lips meet. Then he says softly. "You still stressed out, then?"

"Very." Edward responds, his hand squeezing Marcel's thigh. Hoping.

Marcel pulls back, ignoring the disappointed look on Edward's face as he retracts his limbs off of the chair one by one and stands on his feet. He says nothing as he walks back to the door. Though, instead of leaving, he merely closes it and proceeds to turn the lock.

He spins on his heel, grinning at Edward. "Do you want to play?"

"Fuck, yes. Please." 

---

It is raining by the time Louis finishes making his tea. He quickly puts the milk back into the fridge and grabs his mug before making his way out of the kitchen.

Louis likes to watch the drops of water on his windows when it rains, but he hates the rain itself. It always makes the house colder. It reminds him of the time it used to be when his family can't even afford a heater.

He sits by the window pane, staring out of the glass to look at the people walking about just carrying on with their day. He used to do this all the time whenever he had free time. But since he had gotten two jobs for day and night, there wasn't exactly time for him to laze about and look at people running around in the rain. Now that he's quit his job as a waiter, Louis is glad for the little time he has to himself.

He's called in to work right after Edward dropped him home that morning. His employer was a little upset with the news but he let Louis go without a yell or anything, so Louis found that to be a relief. He's still going to drop by to the place tomorrow after work to collect his stuff and say goodbye to his colleagues.

It sounds like his life is a little relaxing now, but Louis can't let himself feel that way since he still has to help his mother and siblings back home. He has to find another job that could assist him to achieve that. Somehow he regrets quitting his current, second job. But Edward is right, he doesn't deserve that. He'll find a new job, one that pays him well and doesn't oppress him.

His train of thoughts is clouded with too many things to think of at once that he's inevitably caught up in it, taking a few moments to realise that the buzzing sounds he keeps hearing are coming from his phone on the coffee table. His heart picks up a little when the phone keeps vibrating, telling him that he's receiving notifications for the multiple messages coming in.

Louis quickly walks over to the coffee table, abandoning his cup of tea to pick up the vibrating device instead. When Louis unlocks the screen, he has a few messages from an unknown number and two from Niall.

He decides to read those from Niall first.

Niall: Hey Lou! I gave the triplets your number. Hope you don't mind.

Niall: Gonna give ya a tip, better block Harry now before it's too late. The cunt always has things to say.

Louis chuckles, quickly typing back a reply.

Hey mate! Sure, no problem. Thank you.

Then, he moves on to the next one.

Unknown: Hiiiiii Louuu! :) xx

Louis grins, moving back to take a seat while his fingers are already typing away a reply. He saves the number, grinning like a fool.

Harry: Guess who this is?

Harry: Louuuu where are you?

Harry: Are you ignoring me?

Harry: LOUIS ARE YOU DEAD

Louis would usually be annoyed with this kind of behaviour but with Harry he just can't help but think that it's cute. He's smiling like a fool right now, face threatening to split into two.

Hiiiii Harryyy! xx

No, I'm not ignoring you, love. Didn't notice my phone was buzzing.

And I'm not dead, Harold. Stop being a child.

Harry's reply doesn't seem to come in one message.

Harry: Louis!! Thank God you're not dead!

Harry: I'm not a child.

Louis rolls his eyes, making himself cosy on the sofa before he chooses to reply.

Yes, you are a child. People from space can see you're pouting right now.

He reaches for his mug, quietly sipping on his tea while he waits. His heart absolutely does not pick up when his phone buzzes again.

Harry: Regardless, I'll be the one taking you out this Saturday. Expect me at your doorstep at 7.

Where's your manners, Harriet? You haven't even asked me out, yet.

Harry: Shit, yeah. Sorry. Lou, do you want to go out with me?

Harry: That's not my name. :(

Louis has to actually hold back a giggle.

That's totally fine by me, Harold. Just as long as we're not going to the playground. ;)

Harry: Trust me, Lou. You'll have fun with me no matter where I take you. ;) xx

Oh, is that so, Harold?

Harry: Still not my name.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Hazza.

Harry: That's still not my name, you prick.

Louis starts giggling, bringing a hand to his mouth before he's typing back another reply to Harry.

Okay, my lovely Harry. I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time regardless of where you're going to take me.

---

Louis wakes up to the sound of his alarm blasting through the room, tugging him out of his peaceful slumber and diminishing his dream of three pairs of green eyes and sinfully beautiful smiles. He rolls over, thoughts instantly drawn to the contents of the words he and Harry said to each other last night. A giddy smile slowly paints itself on Louis' face, his happiness coming out in elated giggles.

The loud crow in his room makes him realise that his alarm is still blaring, deafening probably the whole flat with the shrill noises. It doesn't surprise him when Alex is prompted to knock on the door and start shouting.

"Tommo, shut that thing down and wake the fuck up!"

Louis laughs in response. "Okay!"

There's a pause where he thinks Alex is trying to frown at him from behind the door. "Are you on crack, mate?"

"No, Alex! How dare you think so lowly of me!" Louis puts a hand on his chest, ignoring the fact that Alex can't even see him.

"Oh God, you're already being dramatic at six in the morning." His flatmate says without any hint of urgency in his monotonous voice.

"Leave me alone." Louis shoots back, all barks and no bites.

He hears Alex's faint footsteps walking away, the lad muttering obscenities under his breath. Louis is still smiling, grabbing his towel and quickly skips to the bathroom for his shower.

---

Louis is sure the aliens could tell he's cheerful as fuck that morning when he keeps singing and humming and whistling to himself even when he's making his breakfast: cereal.

"What's gotten into you, mate?" Alex asks in amusement, clapping his shoulder when he walks past him to sit at the table.

Louis instantly freezes and falls quiet at the question, straightening up and clearing his throat. "Nothing. Why would you think something's wrong with me?"

"Shut up, wanker!" Alex beams. "What's gotten you so happy today? Did you get a promotion?"

"Nope." Louis chirps, bringing his bowl to the table and sitting down. "In fact, I quit my job at the restaurant."

Alex's eyes widen, his hand slaps on the table, making Louis jump in shock. "No way! Finally? What was the last straw?"

"Nothing. My Alpha told me to." Louis shrugs, then flinches. Nope, nope, not your Alpha yet, Louis.

Yet.

"I mean, umm."

"You've an Alpha?" Alex shrieks. "You? Louis I-hate-all-the-Alphas-that-even-breathe-in-my-way Tomlinson?"

Louis is honestly offended when Alex throws his head back and let the loudest bark of laughter.

"You're the worst."

Alex snorts, clutching his stomach. "Oh God, okay, okay I'm sorry. Tell me about this Alpha of yours."

Louis waits until his friend has stopped laughing before smacking the back of his head, the sound echoing in their empty flat.

"Ow!"

"You deserve it." Louis snaps, pointing a tongue out. Alex only grins at him so he knows that his friend isn't upset.

"Right, I'm sorry." He says carefully, poking Louis' arm and earning a playful growl. "Tell me about your Alpha."

"Well, technically, they're not my Alphas yet."

Alex chokes on his drink, dropping his cup onto the table and sputtering tea out while he pounds his chest and coughs. "Alphas?"

Louis ducks his head, blushing intensely. "Yeah."

"As in.. more... than one?" Alex is still in a coughing fit and Louis doesn't seem like he wants to help any time soon.

"There are three actually."

Alex starts coughing more intensely, stumbling off of his chair to go find a glass of water. He does not know how water would help when he just choked on tea but it won't hurt to try. Louis ignores his friend's suffer in favour of cringing to himself at the thought that he has three potential mates and if things work out he won't get a mate, he'd get three.

Once Alex stops panting and is free from his suffering, he quickly takes a seat and grips the edge of the table, gulping thickly. "Three?"

Louis nods, a weird expression on his face.

It makes Alex frown a little. "You don't look too happy about it."

"No, I just." He presses a fist to his mouth. "What if I'm not a good enough Omega for them?"

Alex's face softens and he reaches out to rest a hand on Louis' shoulder. "Come on, I'm sure you will. They wouldn't consider you if you weren't."

"Well, I sure hope so."

"No, Lou. You're Louis Tomlinson. Go and get them Alphas. You can do this. Shake your booty and they'll submit to you." Alex smirks, wriggling around trying to twerk but he's just bouncing awkwardly on the chair with a very suggestive expression on his face.

It makes Louis sigh. "You're the most embarrassing."

"Shut up. Now tell me about your Alphas." He nudges his flatmates.

"Well..." Louis drags out. "They're triplets. For starters."

"Whoa, nice! Are all three of them attractive?"

Louis shakes his head. "You don't even know, Al, mate. They're so fit. It's like they're unreal. I can't believe they're not a pigment of my imagination."

"And you're going to score them." Alex cheers, ever the optimist.

Louis swallows and makes a face. "Yeah, I sure hope so. If not, I'll never even consider another Alpha ever again."

"Who are they, anyway?" Alex asks, mindlessly picking at the chipped wood on the surface of their table.

Louis shrugs. "They're the Styles. I don't know. But I think they're filthy rich."

"Styles? STYLES?" Alex jumps out of his seat, making Louis cower back when he leans over to scream at Louis' face. "You mean to talk to me that they're the Styles triplets?"

Louis raises his eyebrows, nodding warily.

"The triplets as in, Edward, Harry, and Marcel?" Alex booms again, disbelief and shock evident on his face.

Louis wonders if it's a bad or good sign.

Alex drops back onto his seat and takes a deep breath, watching the expression on Louis' face. "Don't tell me you don't know who Edward Styles is."

"Um..." Louis scratches his beard. "The man who possibly already owns a quarter of my heart although I've only met him last night?"

Alex scowls at him teasingly. "You sap." Then he shakes his head, all serious again. "I can't believe this. And you don't know who Harry Styles is?"

"He's like the dumbest." Louis supplies, shaking his head with a terribly fond smile on his face. "He's just so dumb and pretty and lovely and-"

"Do you at least know what Marcel Styles does?" Alex cuts in expectantly.

Louis is quite ashamed as he presses his lips together and gives his friend a slight shake of his head.

"Out of all people, of course they had to pick someone who didn't even know of their existence before meeting." Alex groans. "Listen to me, Louis. Edward Styles inherited his grandfather's company when he was 22. He's the CEO of Cox Corporation."

"Edward?" Louis' eyes threaten to bulge out of their socket.

"Uhuh. But that's not just it. Harry Styles is a model. He's done Burberry, Gucci, YSL. You name it." Alex lists them off his fingers.

Louis claps a hand on his mouth to stop himself from bursting out laughing. "Harry?" He squeaks. "That Harry? A model?"

He can't help himself, he starts roaring with laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, it's just.." Louis pretends to wipe a tear, clutching his middle and slamming his palm repeatedly on the table. "There's no way Harry's a model."

Alex glares. "Why would you think so?"

"Well, he doesn't act like one. He's just so cute and endearing." Louis shakes his head repeatedly, cheeks hurting from smiling so much.

Alex rolls his eyes, glaring at Louis as he pulls his phone up. He quickly types in the password to unlock the screen and opens up the web browser.

Louis finishes his cereal while his mate browses, wondering what Alex is trying to accomplish. He doesn't have to wonder for long because suddenly Alex is shoving his phone onto Louis' face and making him go cross eyed.

"What's this?" Louis blinks, taking the phone from Alex's hold and putting it at a safe distance from his face so his eyesight doesn't worsen.

Alex has opened up the web page of Google Images where pictures of Harry are staring up at him from the columns.

Louis is quiet while he scrolls, gulping and trying not to take note of how dry his mouth is all of a sudden. He chooses to open up one of the pictures. Harry looks so good. It's a picture of him advertising for Burberry, smouldering at the camera with an arm crossed over his body and two fingers tugging on his lip.

Then there's another one where he's facing to the side, but his head is turned towards the camera and he's giggling. Louis smiles, remembering the exact same sight he's witnessed in real life.

He scrolls to the side, opening the next image and visibly drools. Harry is sitting back on a small, extravagant sofa and smirking at the camera, his face is tilted back a little. It's as if he's staring right into Louis' soul with the sexy smoulder and he shivers, shutting his eyes. Harry's legs are parted open, his arms each on the arm rest, chest puffed and the top buttons undone to show off his chest and give a peek of his nipple.

Fuck, Louis wonders how much more pictures of Harry exist out there that he could add to his wank materials.

"Louis?" Alex calls carefully, sounding like he's trying not to laugh as he watches every twitch of muscles on Louis' face. "Do you believe me?"

Louis almost throws the phone on the table in the process of handing it back to Alex. "I'm having a tough time believing that's the same Harry I met."

"Well.." Alex shrugs. "You could just ask him about it. When are you meeting them again?"

The question reminds Louis of Edward and his heart flutters in his chest. "I have a date with Edward tonight..."

"Already? That's fast!" The black haired man says. "They're serious about courting you, then?"

Louis makes a nonchalant face, pursing his lips. "I think so. But I sure hope so." He sighs. "They're already growing on me. It's so unreal how much I'm liking them already."

Alex gives him an encouraging smile. "That's good, Lou. I'm so happy for you. If they're nice to you and you like them, then I hope things would go well for you."

"Me too." Louis smiles. "Thanks Al. I'll tell you everything after the date tonight."

"Yeah, if you even come back for the night." Alex winks.

"Excuse me." Louis throws a playful punch. "I'm not going home with anybody until I've established a relationship, alright?"

Alex laughs. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"So, what does Marcel do?" Louis questions, a little curious now that Harry turns out to be a model.

"Okay, wait here." Alex holds up a finger, making Louis confused when the boy suddenly stands up and disappears into his room.

"O...kay.." Louis shrugs, taking his bowl to the sink. He takes time washing the dish, wondering what Alex is fetching in his room that could be any way related to what Marcel does. When he's done drying the bowl and tucking it away in the cabinet, Alex walks back into the kitchen holding a hardcover. Louis is still a bit lost about the whole thing. "Why did you bring me a book? Does the bloke have an autobiography or something?"

Alex gives him a weird look, but he just ushers him to sit down. "Come on, I want you to see this."

Louis obeys, doing so with a little reluctance but he takes a sit anyway. "What is it?"

Instead of replying, Alex slides the book towards him. When Louis just stares confusedly at the book in silence, the man sighs and pokes his pointer finger at the bottom of the cover. Louis' confused face doesn't falter when he glances at Alex but it clears out once he's read the words printed on the page where Alex is pointing.

M.H. Styles

It takes him a moment to get it. "Marcel? He wrote this?" Louis gasps, disbelief written all over his face as he turns to Alex again. His eyes are almost popping out. Alex is staring at him with an expectant look, as if waiting for something else. Then it flickers in Louis' features and he leans back in his seat to suck in a huge breath, dragging his hands from his temples down to his cheeks. "HE'S M.H. STYLES?!"

Alex smirks, nodding proudly.

"He's got like, what, ten books out there?"

"Yeah. He's a popular one, great writer too."

"What the Hell, Al! How did you know all these?"

"My girlfriend is a fanatic of Harry Styles." Alex shrugs as if that explains everything. "And I was reading one of Marcel's book when she got all excited and says, 'Ooh babe, did you know one of Harry's triplets wrote that?' And then she just starts talking about the three of them. I didn't even know why I listened. Guess it comes out beneficial, anyway."

Louis pales a little. "So, um.. Are they, like, popular?"

"Just Harry. Sometimes there are talks about Marcel a little here and there, but mostly Harry."

"And Edward?" Louis leans forward a little.

"Have you seen him? Who would even dare write about him?" Alex laughs.

Louis doesn't even know why that statement offends him in Edward's behalf. The triplets need to stop growing on him so fast! "What do you mean?"

"Well, Edward can be scary."

"He's nothing but a sweetheart to me." Louis defends, pushing a way the urge to bump his fist on the table to make his point across. "Edward is really lovely."

"That's because you're a lovesick puppy, you arse."

"Shut up." Louis kicks his shin under the table, making his flat mate burst out laughing.

"Nah, it's just, the first time a paparazzi tries to follow Edward Styles, he almost got ran over by the bloke." Alex just laughs louder at the subject, having to take a few breaths before he could continue. "And I remember my girl showing a video of Harry's reaction when people asked him about it. Lad isn't even fazed. I think he looks proud of Edward when he talks about it. I guess because it brings off the burden of his shoulders a little. Nobody can take pictures of Harry if he goes out with Edward. After the first accident, I don't think anyone wants to try and take the risk. There'd be articles that say they went out and shit but there'd be no pictures."

Louis chuckles, but inside he's horrified by how much he thinks what Edward did is endearing instead of scary. "You almost sound like you're a fan of them too." He teases Alex, wriggling his eyebrows.

"Nah, I'm just a loyal fan of Marcel." Alex gestures at the book. "But I'm forced to keep updated with whatever Harry is doing because of Hailey, you know, she never stops talking about him."

Louis smiles, Alex's words sound annoyed but his face says otherwise. "You're completely smitten."

"Let's wait a few weeks and you'll be too." Alex snorts.

"Oh, shut up." In an act of pure maturity, Louis points his tongue out. Then uneasiness shows. "Do you think people would write about me if I go out on the date with Harry on Saturday?"

Alex looks so unbothered by his question that Louis feels a sudden desire to just choke him. "Can't promise they won't. But if they do and you don't like it or you look ugly in the picture or something, you know you can just talk to Edward about it. He'll get it settled." He cackles again, but aborts his laughter when Louis glares at him. He clears his throat, instead. "Well, if you don't get noticed, there'd be nothing. But if someone sees you, there would be something. I don't know."

Louis sighs. "What am I getting myself into?"

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A/N: This chapter is so cliche, I hate myself hahaha. But do leave comments and vote, lovelies! xx