"You did what?!" Zayn stared at his friend with his mouth and eyes wide open, shock write all over his face, "Louis, you finally had to courage to not just creepily stare at Harry and you ran?! In what world is that a good idea?!" He groaned and dropped his head against the dashboard.

"I was waiting for you and you said I should hurry!" Louis tried, but really it was just an excuse. He knew Zayn wouldn't have mind if he talked to Harry a bit longer. Louis was just a stubborn idiot.

Zayn sighed, "Are you at least gonna talk to him tomorrow?"

"Nope," Louis popped the 'p' and if he wasn't the one driving, Zayn would've punched him.

In Louis' defense, he was 900% sure that the tall, curly wet dream wouldn't even remember him and it would break Louis if he saw Harry looking at him with empty eyes. He knew that the lad would probably pretend to know him because he's always so kind, even to people like Louis. But, no. Louis didn't want a fake smile or a tense conversation only for the sake of being near Harry. He wanted more. But at the same time, he knew he deserved less. Less than the small talk that happened half an hour ago.

You see, Louis didn't fall for Harry from one second to the other; it wasn't love at first sight -even if Zayn and the others he talked to after school believed that-. It was more like... Like a raindrop on a rainy day. His feelings started with just a hint of interest, barely there, but every thing Harry did made his heart swell, his feeling deepen. Like how the rain keeps falling and it starts to form a droplet. It keeps growing and growing until it becomes too heavy to just sit there and it falls. Just like Louis fell for Harry. Unconditionally.

"...- you even listening?" Zayn was turned towards him and Louis blinked. Apparently,they were already parked before Zayn's flat and Louis had no idea how he drove them there without crashing.

"Sure, we can go for pizzas?" Louis tried, knowing that that wasn't what Zayn said... Probably.

"No, tha- wait, yes, that's a great idea. But I didn't say that," Zayn smirked and unbuckled them both, "I asked if you wanted to go to a party. Well, it's not really a question because I already told your mum about it and she said she'd kick you out at eight and won't let you in again... I guess you're gonna sleep at mine tonight too."

I groaned. Sure, it had its benefits when your house was close to the school and you weren't stuck (or loaded like Zayn because who gets his own flat as a birthday present? Oh right, Zayn did) in the dorm, but Louis' mum was always eager to hear the newest gossips from Zayn and she jumped at every chance she got to force her son to be social. Hence this situation.

"Fine," Louis dragged out the 'i' like he did earlier that day and sighed. At least Zayn was going too.

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True to her word Jay started shoving her son towards the door at eight pm and Louis did everything he could to stall it. His sisters -Lotty and Fizzy- watched amused as his brother failed to mislead their mum. The Tomlinson were all very close, but that didn't meant they held back on each other. With every chance they got they would prank another family member or laugh -and never forget- when one of them did something embarrassing. Unfortunately for Louis, he did lots of embarrassing stuff.

"Mum, I promise, I'll go! Just-- just give me five minutes! I need to-- I need to check something?" It sounded more like a question, but Jay sighed. Her eldest son was a handful, but she knew she couldn't push him too much.

"Did you forget your condoms Lou?" Lottie grinned and Louis mouth dropped open.

"Lottie Tomlinson!" Jay scolded with a small smile on her lips, but as soon as Louis stood on the stairs she added: "I hid some in his wallet, don't rat me out like that."

Louis rolled his eyes. He knew his mum would do that and he already planned on checking his wallet and leaving the square packages in the car. He wouldn't need them anyway... Maybe he'd give them to Zayn. You never know.

The blue eyed boy checked his reflection in the mirror and crunched his nose up. Fizzy helped him with his outfit, but it turned out that even with her help he was hopeless. He wouldn't even stand a chance with his looks and he felt bad that Fizzy tried so hard and even complimented him while Louis knew those were forced. The boy turned around and looked at his bum, it was so-- so round and god knows Louis did everything to lose some weight there -he gained a few muscles from it, but the work outs didn't really serve its purpose-. The black skinny jeans he wore had barely fit over it and he immediately tried to strip out of it, but Fizzy had promised him that she'd come to the party and make his worst nightmare come to life if he changed into the cloths he wanted. His skater tank top and beans were the only things she had allowed.

"Boo, Zayn is here!" Jay jelled and Louis sighed. Better get this over with

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Louis was frightened. Absolutely terrified. His body froze and all his senses shut down and if it wasn't for Zayn he was sure he'd faint in the doorway. There were so many people! Didn't Zayn say only the friends of the host would come?! Was he friends with the whole world? Louis was pretty certain that there were some faces he had never seen, people that weren't from school. He needed a drink. Louis was gonna faint and die and he'd be left there alone to rot if he didn't get alcohol in his system. At least he'd be able to say more than 'I... Hi... Uh... Oh god...' like he uttered to the girl that greeted him a few seconds ago. Embarrassing himself? Check!

"Here mate, I think you were searching for this," someone handed him a red cup and Louis eyed him suspiciously. Someone actually noticed him in this large crowd?

"Uhh... Thanks, I guess," Louis replied with a raised eyebrow and he looked at the drink, but smiled when he didn't see something at the bottom and he looked at the blue eyes that were staring at him.

"I haven't seen you around and I'm pretty sure I didn't invite you either," Louis smirked, that accent... The blond -no wait he had brown roots, so he must've dyed his hair- was clearly Irish.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that, I can go if you want," This was his way out. If he was turned away, he could tell Zayn and his mum that it wasn't his fault and he'd--

"What? No, stay!" The fake blond slung his arm around Louis and dragged him towards a couch, sitting them both down, "I'm sure someone invited you, friends with Harry? Liam maybe? Don't tell me you're Nick's friend, 'cause mate I know I said you could stay but--"

"Zayn's," Louis interrupt him and the Irish lad immediately smiled again -a gesture Louis returned; he couldn't help it, it was so freaking contagious!

"So you are the secret friend!" The boy shook his head, extending his hand towards Louis, "I'm Horan. Niall Horan."

Louis tried to keep his face straight, he really did but... "Are you trying to be James Bond? That's bloody amazing, slipping it in so casually," Louis grinned and shook Niall's hand, "I'm Tomlinson. Louis Tomlinson. We have English and math together by the way."

"Oh yeah, I-- wait what? For real?" Louis nodded, "Damn, I knew you were a quiet one from Zayn, but you're so loud and funny now that I thought he exaggerated and I figured I'd find you in a sec if I had class with you! Don't you think the title of shy-boy you got is a bit misplaced?"

"Oi, just because I don't like to deafen everyone like you do with your laugh doesn't mean I'm shy," Louis laughed and Niall joined him. Something about the boy allowed Louis to let go and he actually started to enjoy himself. The drinks in his hand quickly replaced themselves and somehow, at some point they transformed into bottles of beer. Louis was sure Niall had double the amount of drinks he had, but the Irish lad didn't even seem tipsy... Must be because he's a leprechaun.

"That's bloody offensive mate, not all Irish are leprechauns!" Niall slurred and Louis smiled, the fake-blond was drunk! At least he wasn't the only one that would wake up with a massive headache...

"No Niall, you are a leprechaun," A deep voice joined in and Louis could only describe it as liquid sex and he knew exactly who it belonged to, "Remember that I buy you breakfast and it's always those lucky charms that you need. I think that's enough proof that you're a tiny, green gnome that hides his gold behind a rainbow."

"Now Harry, if anyone hides behind a rainbow, it'd be you because--"

Harry muted Niall's sentence with his hand over the boy's mouth and he shook his head with a fond expression on his face, clearly overflowing with love for the boy next to him. Louis was already planing an escape while the two friends were busy though. He needed to find Zayn and make a beeline towards the car.

"I hope you don't mind that I eavesdropped on your conversation," Harry begun and Louis tilted his head to the side, "You're Louis right?"

"Present!" Louis lips curled into a drunken smile again and he lifted his hand, still grasping the bottle he had in it.

"You're more enthusiastic when you're drunk."

"No shit Sherlock!" Louis gasped and rolled his eyes right after, "Next thing you know I also get sleepy after pulling five all-nighters."

Harry was about to reply when two strong hands lifted Louis up, the later wanted to protest until he saw who it was and he turned around, clinging onto Zayn like a koala. Arms around the younger boy's neck and legs firmly around his waist.

"We should go before you say things you'll regret," Zayn whispered in the drunk's ear and Louis couldn't help but giggle.

"Where are you taking him?" Harry stood up and placed his hand on Zayn's biceps. They might be friends, but Harry wasn't going to let Zayn take the single most beautiful boy away to god-knows-where to do god-knows-what.

"Now, that's not your problem, is it?" Zayn bit back and turned Louis away from the curly lad, not trusting the combination of Harry and alcohol either. And truly Louis couldn't have picked a worse moment to start giggling into Zayn's neck because Harry was already misunderstanding things and Louis was only digging his hole deeper and deeper. But, apparently, drunk Louis found the situation downright funny because he couldn't stop laughing. Not even when Zayn sat him down in the car seat and told him to stay put so he could talk with Harry.

Zayn was never gonna take his best friend to a party of Niall Horan again.

... Or he'd just make sure Louis wouldn't get smashed again because the Irish lad was a devil when it came to alcohol.