[Harry]

I knew what I was doing was stupid and completely heartless, but I couldn't help myself. I was desperate, and Niall was the first person I could think of, even if I knew I would hurt his feelings deeply. Besides, it all would have a bigger effect if the person I did it with was Niall since he was one of Louis' closest friends.

Seeing as Louis refused to tell me what he felt about me and I just had to know, I decided to take matters into my own hands and find out myself. I was aware that the method I was using wasn't exactly the best one I could come up with, but it would hopefully give me an answer at least, and that was all that I could think of right now.

So, that was how I found myself pressing my lips to the blonde-haired guy's when I saw Louis was just about to accidentally dance into us. I could see it coming before anyone else did, so I instantly took the opportunity I was given and grabbed a hold of Niall's waist, sealing our lips together.

As expected, Louis did react to the action, but unfortunately not in the way I had hoped he would. Instead of getting angry or showing any kind of emotion, he stared at the two of us with an unreadable look on his face before he suddenly turned on his heel and stormed off. The action caught me so off guard that I found myself standing there for a few seconds, just staring at the spot where he had just been. That was until I snapped back to reality and came to my senses.

I quickly departed from Niall and looked at his shocked face. "I'm so sorry," I said, and I did really mean it, even if it probably didn't seem like it. He didn't deserve this, at all.

Before he had time to even so much as say anything, I left him in search of the boy I was desperately trying to figure out. I made my way through the crowd of sweaty bodies and dancing people, seeing Louis' figure moving towards the front door. He was getting away, so I quickened my pace and practically pushed the people standing in my way off. I could not lose sight of him.

It took quite some time, but eventually, I finally managed to catch up with him, and by then we were out in the cold night, in the empty streets. "Louis, wait!" I called, reaching out to grab a hold of his forearm to make him stop. He stumbled a little by the harshness but didn't make any kind of face at the action whatsoever. He remained emotionless.

"What?!" He asked coldly. "What the fuck do you want, Harry?"

My eyes widened at the tone he was using, but I quickly composed myself and cleared my throat. "I, uhh... I was just--" I started, but he cut me off.

"You were just what? Sucking my best friend's face off just moments ago? Yeah, I noticed, but thanks for the information. Next time you should let me know before it happens so I don't miss a single second of it," he said sarcastically.

I closed my eyes, shaking my head in confusion. "Wait, what?"

When I opened them again, I could see him roll his eyes. "Oh, come on! Don't be so fucking stupid, Harry. Isn't it obvious? I thought I'd made it clear enough for you a long time ago, but apparently not. You're so fucking oblivious it's laughable, really."

I just stared at him, blinking my eyes. What was he talking about? Well, I did have an idea, but it couldn't be what I thought it was, right? No, I was pretty sure it wasn't. "I'm sorry, what?"

Something flashed in his eye as he gritted his teeth together. "You're unbelievable," he muttered, and the next thing I knew, he snatched his arm out of my hold and turned around to continue walking in the same direction he had been heading before.

My eyes followed his figure for a second until I finally managed to get control over my body and began moving my legs towards him. Instead of grabbing his forearm this time, I went for his hand, and damn, was that a mistake. Or well, that was if you counted getting goosebumps all over your body as a mistake because that was what happened to me. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but when Louis could easily see my reaction to our skin touching, it definitely was.

He was turned to me now, his eyes fixed on my hand that was still holding his in a firm grip. It was like some kind of tingly sensation went through my arm at the feeling of it in mine. It was weird, to say the least, but I couldn't help but like it. A lot. "Louis, I..." I trailed off, finding it hard to get any words past my lips.

His eyes traveled up to my face, searching for something I didn't know. He took a step forward, standing so close to me that my breath hitched in my throat. "Tell me, Harry, why do you think I just ran off when I saw you and Niall kissing?"

My mouth opened, but nothing came out, so I just stared at him with wide eyes. He let out a sigh, shaking his head in what seemed like disappointment. "Come on, it's not as hard as you think it is. Actually, I think you know what I'm talking about, you just refuse to believe it for some reason."

Hesitating, I bit down on my bottom lip. Was what I thought to be impossible actually true? Could it be that Louis had feelings for me just like I had come to the conclusion that I did for him? Even if I knew I could be completely wrong, I couldn't help but feel butterflies erupt in my stomach. I also knew that it was absolutely wrong of me to feel this way about my stepbrother, but I really couldn't help myself.

Without realizing it, we had moved closer to each other. Louis' hand was still clutched in mine, but our faces were only inches apart now. I could feel his breath on my lips as he lifted his other hand to place it on my cheek. He reeked of alcohol, and maybe that should have made me hesitant about what was about to happen. For all I knew, he could be drunk and would forget this in the morning, but I literally couldn't stop myself because I also knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would probably never have the chance to kiss Louis again.

"Louis..." I whispered, glancing up into his eyes that were focusing on my parted lips.

"Tell me if you want me to stop," he breathed, getting closer to my face by the second.

When I didn't say anything, a small smile formed on his lips and he closed his eyes shut. I followed suit, wrapping my arms around his neck even if I was slightly taller than him. It just felt like I was supposed to, especially when I could feel his hand that was holding mine let go of it to place it on the small of my back. Tingles started making their way over my skin at the feeling of him touching me, and suddenly, I was so eager to just have his lips on mine that I almost leaned in all the way to just crash them together.

Our breaths mixed as we inhaled deeply. It was all so intense that I bet anyone would just stop and stare like shocked owls if they were to walk by us right now. I had never felt this way with anyone before, and it was so exciting that I didn't know whether to smile as bright as ever or freeze in my spot. However, I knew none of those options were convenient right now, so in the end, I just decided to wait and see what would happen.

Louis pushed his chin forward, letting his soft and warm lips touch mine, but only for a second before he pulled back again. He still kept close, though, as if he was just trying it out. When he had repeated the action at least three times, I started getting frustrated. "Just kiss me, you fool."

He let out a small chuckle against my lips, and I could practically see him roll his eyes behind my eyelids. However, the next second, he finally closed the distance between us and pressed his pink lips against mine in a proper kiss this time.

If you have never experienced fireworks or shivers running down your spine while kissing someone, then let me tell you, you have definitely missed out on something. Because that was exactly what I felt when Louis started moving his mouth against mine. It was all so overwhelming that I had to blink my eyes open to see if I was dreaming or not. When it turned out I wasn't, I let out a gasp against his lips and pulled myself even closer to him, just wanting to be as near him as possible.

His hold on my lower back tightened, and he let his other hand trail down my body until it was resting on my right hip. Our lips moved in sync, exploring new angles and adding more pressure as time went on. It was probably the most heated and powerful kiss I'd ever had, and we weren't even using our tongues yet.

As if on cue, he let his tongue slide along my bottom lip in a teasing way, making me let out a soft whine. I even parted my lips to let him enter my mouth, but he wouldn't budge. Instead, he let out a laugh and pulled back a little so our lips were barely even touching. "Don't be greedy."

"Shut up," I muttered, grabbing the back of his neck to pull him back into another heated kiss.

It was so weird that it took me so long to figure out my feelings for him. I mean, judging by my response to his kisses, I would say that most people might probably think I had been in love with him for a long time. But no, I had only known that I liked him for a week, which was unbelievable.

When the need for air eventually became too much for us, we pulled apart and slowly opened our eyes to gaze at each other. "That..." I trailed off breathlessly, keeping my arms around his neck.

"Was absolutely amazing," he finished, and I couldn't do anything but agree. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that."

His words made me smile, but they also made me wonder. For how long had Louis been wanting to do that? Because as far as I knew, he hadn't felt that way for long, right? "How long?" I whispered, our faces just a few inches apart.

He made a face, shaking his head slowly. "Too long," was the only thing he said, and something about the way he did it made me understand that it was for longer than I had first thought, which was shocking. How come he had been picking on me during the last two years if he had feelings for me? To me, that didn't make sense at all. But then again, when did Louis ever make sense? Practically everything he did confused me.

After just staring at each other for I didn't know how long, he grabbed my hand and started pulling me in the direction of the bus stop. "Come on, let's head home. That party sucks anyways," he muttered, and I could feel myself smiling.

"Does that maybe have anything to do with what happened just a couple of minutes ago?" I asked, nudging him in the side teasingly.

He sent me a glare, his eyes shooting daggers at me. "Watch it, Styles. If I ever see you kissing one of my best friends again, I might have to shoot you... or them. It depends."

Rolling my eyes, I let out a quiet laugh. Together, we walked to the bus stop hand in hand without saying very much to each other, but that wasn't necessary either. Just his presence made me all fussy inside and I knew that I could definitely get used to this.

_____

When I woke up the next morning, a wide smile formed on my lips as I remembered what had happened the night before. Once Louis and I had gotten home, we departed to go into our separate rooms, but not before sharing another kiss. There was something with it that made me nervous, though. He had pressed his lips against mine as if it was the last kiss we would share for a while, and that scared me to no end. But, I also knew that I could have just imagined it. I really hoped so.

To say I was happy would be an understatement. I had never felt this happy my entire life, and that said a lot. There was no longer any doubt that I had some quite deep feelings for the boy that was sleeping in the room next to mine.

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up in bed and started searching the room for a pair of joggers that I could put on. I hadn't eaten in what felt like ages because my stomach was growling like never before and I was absolutely starving. Therefore, I hurriedly put on my grey joggers once I found them and pulled a white t-shirt from my closet over my head. After that, I didn't think twice before leaving my room and sprinting down the stairs to the kitchen where I could smell freshly made pancakes coming from.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the room was my mum's presence. She was standing in front of the stove, flipping a pancake with a hand on her hip and a spatula in the other. The next thing I noticed was Troy sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper with a pair of glasses on his nose that were almost falling off. "Morning guys," I greeted, unable to get the smile off my face. After what happened yesterday, I couldn't seem to make it disappear.

"Good morning, Harry," they replied in unison, my mum spinning on her heel to return my smile. "How was the party yesterday?"

I shrugged even though I wanted to go on about how it was probably the best party of my life considering what happened afterward. "It was okay, I guess. Nothing new happened."

Troy raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? You seem unusually happy today. Did you find a nice girl you--"

"Troy," mum cut him off, sending him a glare, which made him laugh and raise his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, love. I was just curious," he said apologetically, sending her a kissy face, which had her blushing a light pink.

I scrunched my nose up in disgust, shaking my head. "Please don't do that in front of me. That's just disgusting."

Mum rolled her eyes, turning around to flip the pancake she was currently making over.

"So, where is Louis today? He came home with you last night, right?" Troy asked, looking at me questioningly.

I nodded, and just the mention of his name made my lips twitch up into a smile again. "Yeah, we got home around midnight I would say. We weren't out for long, but I'm pretty sure he had a bit more than I did," I explained, biting down on my bottom lip.

To be honest, I was a little nervous about that topic. Sure, Louis didn't seem very drunk yesterday, but I still didn't know whether he was conscious of what happened or not. What if he didn't remember our kiss? Or even worse, what if what he said about me wasn't true? That would surely break me.

Troy shook his head in what looked like disappointment. "That boy and his drinking habit. I thought he had gotten better with that, but I guess not."

I merely nodded my head, sitting down in the seat across from him. It didn't take more than a few minutes until the next person entered the kitchen, but to my disappointment, it was only Gemma. "Good morning, guys," she greeted, flashing all of us a bright smile. Ever since she went on that date with the guy she had been crushing on for ages, she seemed happier than ever before, which was nothing but a positive thing.

"Morning," I mumbled in reply, grabbing the fork that was placed on the table in front of me to start fiddle with it impatiently. I just couldn't wait to see what Louis' reaction would be today. Yet, I was scared shitless. It was a 50-50 situation.

"Sleep well?"

I nodded as she sat down in the seat beside me, instantly pouring herself a glass of milk.

"So, that's it. The pancakes are ready to be eaten," mum suddenly announced, placing the last pancake on the plate on the counter beside her. She turned the stove off before grabbing the plate of pancakes and walking over with it to put it on the kitchen table. "Harry, would you please fetch the maple syrup?"

"Sure," I said obediently, standing up to get the said item from the cabinet across the room. I was just about to open it when a new voice was heard, and it made my body go rigid because suddenly, I wasn't ready to face this person at all.

Louis greeted our family members while I just stood there for a few seconds, my back turned towards them. "Harry, are you alright?" Mum asked, slight concern lacing her voice.

I turned around slowly, avoiding Louis as I gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm just getting the syrup as you told me."

She didn't look convinced but decided to just shrug it off and nod her head curtly. Biting my bottom lip nervously, I made my way over to the table and sat back down in my seat, placing the maple syrup in the middle of the table.

While everyone dug into the breakfast, I glanced up at Louis to follow his movements. Much to my disappointment and fear, it seemed as though he was trying his best to... well, being his usual self because he wasn't paying attention to me whatsoever. He just quietly placed a pancake on his plate and spread some butter on it.

As if that wasn't enough, I could feel Gemma staring at me from the seat next to mine, and judging by the frown on her face, I could tell she knew something was up between the two of us. It only took about five minutes until she elbowed me in the side and sent Louis a pointed look, which he thankfully didn't notice. "What happened?" She hissed in my ear.

Unfortunately, I couldn't play it off like I didn't hear anything because it was definitely loud enough, so I just shook my head in dismissal. "I'll tell you later." Which I probably wouldn't, but it would at least make her shut up for now.

The rest of breakfast continued being pretty silent and uneventful. Louis didn't so much as look my way once during the entire time, and that had me both worried and scared at once. Either, he didn't remember what happened, or he regretted everything and ignored me just because of that. Neither of the options sounded good. Honestly, all I really wanted right now was to go up to my room and bury myself in my bed so I could cry my eyes out because this was what I had been fearing ever since I decided to go against my mind and let his lips touch mine yesterday.

When I exited the kitchen twenty minutes later, I was cussing and yelling at myself in my head because how stupid could I be? Of course things would turn out like this. What had I expected? That he would wake up and greet me with a kiss right in front of our family? Like that would ever happen. He probably didn't even like me in the slightest, and all he wanted yesterday was some action or some shit. I mean, he even had a girlfriend, so why would any of the things he told me be true anyway?

Sure, it did seem like he was jealous of Niall when I kissed him, and it did seem like he really meant it when he told me that he didn't hate me, but I could have just been mistaken, and right now that sounded most likely.

Once I entered my bedroom, I threw myself on my unmade bed and let out a loud scream into my pillow. I could already feel tears form in my eyes while my heart was breaking more and more with every second that went by. I couldn't hear any sound coming from the room next to mine, but I knew Louis was in there. The question was if he knew what I felt right now, if he knew how much pain he had caused me.

And it was right then a scary thought hit me.

What if this was his revenge for what I did to him two years ago?

______________________________________

Do you think Harry's assumption is right or why did Louis act like nothing happened?

I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas, and happy new year everybody! :)

Edited by: Lacy

Pauline .xx