[Louis]

Throughout the rest of that week, there were many times I had the same strange feeling that someone was observing me. It only occurred when I was at school, though, and not when I was somewhere else. I knew it could be that I was just overreacting because many people were going to our school, so anyone could be watching me without there really being a reason behind it.

I couldn't help but feel like this situation was different, though. It was more like someone was creepily observing me, and that would not have been the case if it was just some random student who was watching me in the hallway.

Even though it bugged me quite a lot, I hadn't told anyone about it. Not that I felt ashamed of it... Okay, maybe a little, but mostly because I didn't feel the need to tell anyone. I mean, there was nothing there whenever I checked anyway, so why should I even go around and worry about it?

That was not the only thing I was getting worried about, though. It felt like Gemma had started getting more observant in the last couple of days as well. Whenever we all ate together, she would look between me and Harry suspiciously. And it wasn't just in the kitchen this would happen, but whenever Harry and I were in the same room as her. It was making me nervous, and it only added to the list of why Harry and I should be more careful about our relationship.

However, when I mentioned this to Harry, he didn't seem very pleased, and I understood him. We didn't have much of a love life as it was now, and I wanted us to spend even less time together? Well, I didn't want it, but you got my point. We had to be careful, and I had been very clear with that ever since the start.

It was now Friday afternoon, and today, we were actually going out for dinner. It was something we hadn't done ever since what happened the last time we did. I guess neither dad nor Anne wanted a repeat of the disaster that went down then, so that was probably why they hadn't bothered to plan another family dinner at a restaurant. Not until now, that was.

I was currently lying on my bed, going through my phone while waiting for us to leave. As far as I knew, Harry was in his own room across the hallway, doing God knows what, but I had a feeling he was on his phone as well.

To say I was excited about going out would be a lie because I wasn't exactly looking forward to pretending that I hated Harry. It was actually something that I had started finding more difficult to do around our family, and I honestly wasn't sure if I could last an entire evening without showing my feelings for him. It would definitely be a hard task, which I was not looking forward to.

What I was looking forward to, however, was the opportunity to be around Harry. Usually, we couldn't be too close to each other since we were considered enemies, and it would be weird if we were seen together by our parents, but now that we didn't have any other choice, it was very nice and appreciated, even if we couldn't show how much we actually liked each other.

I looked at the time on my phone, noticing that it was only five minutes until we were leaving. Knowing Anne, she would get mad if I didn't show up on time. A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have cared whatsoever about her opinion, but ever since things had started changing between me and Harry, I had begun accepting my new family more and more. I was starting to become happy for my dad that he had moved on from mom, but I hadn't fully accepted it yet, which I wasn't sure that I would ever do.

A minute later, I decided to get up from my bed to put on my jean jacket, which I wore almost every day. I then checked myself in the mirror, going over my outfit in the process; my skinny, black, ripped jeans and my black t-shirt. The ends of my pants were unfolded at the ends, just like I always had them, and my hair was a little disheveled thanks to the pillow. I ran my hands through it a few times in hopes of it getting better, which it did a little.

Once I decided I was finished, I exited my room. The second I closed the door behind me, Anne's voice could be heard from downstairs; "Harry, Louis, Gemma, we're leaving now!"

"Good thing I'm here then," I smirked as I entered the entryway, where both dad and Anne were shrugging on their jackets.

When Anne turned to meet my gaze, a wide smile formed on her lips. "Wow, I'm proud of you, son."

I chuckled at her words before walking over to slip on my Vans. The second I was finished, another voice could be heard, a voice that I had come to know very well these past few weeks, and also a voice that made butterflies erupt in my stomach. Looking up, I met Harry's eyes for a split second, and that was all that was needed for my heart to skip a beat. God, I hated what that boy did to me.

"I'm here too," he said, turning to dad and Anne.

They both looked a bit surprised. Not because Harry usually was late, but because Gemma was the last one to arrive. Usually, I was last if you couldn't tell that already. However, it didn't take more than half a minute until the brown-haired girl joined us in the entryway, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Alright, then we're all ready to go, and we're on time for once," Anne let out happily, clapping her hands together.

I wanted to laugh at her excitement but decided against it because I would usually not do it, and I couldn't act all too different from what I usually did.

We all exited the house and got into the car. Of course we were sitting exactly like we did the last time we went out together, meaning that Harry's thigh was pressed against mine again. Only this time, it was even more suffocating because if we had been alone, I could have easily touched it without any problem, but now that we weren't, it was forbidden.

I bit my lip, glancing at the side of his face to see if he was reacting to our bodies touching too. Considering he was clenching his defined jaw pretty tightly, I assumed he was, and maybe that shouldn't have made me happy, but it did because it relaxed me knowing I wasn't the only one suffering from the situation.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Gemma observing us, or that was what it felt like, at least. Not that she was staring at us openly, but she was glancing our way every so often as if she was expecting something to happen between us. It made me uncomfortable, but I tried not to be affected by it.

To get on better thoughts and stop thinking about Harry's damn thigh pressed against my own, I fished my phone from my pocket. I had received a text from Eleanor, one where she asking if I had any plans after school on Monday. I could feel Harry glancing at the screen, and judging by the way he tensed, I assumed he wasn't very pleased with what the text said.

I was glad that I actually had a good excuse this time. I had practice on Mondays, and I was surprised she didn't know about this. She usually knew when I had practice, but I guess she had forgotten about it or something this time.

As I typed out the text, I thought about the fact that I should just stop doing all this. It wasn't very fair to Harry that I had a 'girlfriend' when I was with him. He wasn't with anyone else. Or, at least not anymore, so I shouldn't be either, but I couldn't help but feel like we were being uncareful if one of us wasn't 'dating' someone else. It was a dilemma, and I didn't know what to do about it.

Once the car came to a halt, I breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing I had made the whole ride without touching Harry in a way I shouldn't. We walked into the restaurant and judging by the looks of it, it seemed to be an Italian one. I could feel my stomach grumble just at the thought of it. I loved Italian food.

We sat down at a table, waiting for the waiter to arrive and hand us the menu. Dad and Anne sat down beside each other while Gemma, Harry and I settled down opposite them. It was just my luck that I ended up next to Harry, wasn't it? Fuck.

A minute later, a girl dressed in a short, black dress showed up. Her brown hair was tied in a messy bun, and according to me, she was wearing a little too much makeup, but I wasn't surprised because it felt like a lot of girls in this business usually went a little over the top. Not that I was judging her because of that.

"Here's the menu. I'll be back in a minute when you've decided what you want to eat and drink," she informed politely, her gaze sticking to Harry for a second. He didn't notice it, though, because he was too busy looking over the menu.

I wanted to laugh at the scene but contained myself because I didn't want to gain anyone's attention. It was quite hilarious, though, how he didn't even notice her. With a pout, she left our table and disappeared into the kitchen.

"I can't believe you just did that," Gemma laughed, looking at her brother.

He tore his gaze from the menu to glance up at her. "What do you mean?" He asked in confusion.

She put on a 'duh' face. "That waitress totally just checked you out, but you had your eyes glued to the damn menu. Talk about dissing people."

He still looked confused, his gaze wandering to his mum, who nodded her head in confirmation. "Gem's right. She was totally checking you out, son," she chuckled, and I could feel myself starting to become a little uncomfortable about the situation.

He just shrugged, though, and didn't seem fazed by it at all. "She probably wasn't anything special."

When he said that, he subtly placed a hand on my thigh, giving it a light squeeze. The gesture made me smile, and it also prevented me from opening my mouth to say something I shouldn't. If that were to happen, things would probably not have ended well.

On the other side of Harry, I could see how Gemma had her eyes narrowed as she was glancing at me. It was as if she was expecting something. A reaction maybe? Either way, I didn't like it, and I found myself swallowing hard, hoping that I wasn't showing any emotion whatsoever on my face.

When the waitress returned to get our orders, she showed her liking for Harry even more, much to my dismay. She openly winked at him when he told her what he wanted to have, and fluttered her eyelashes. It was ridiculous if you asked me, yet I couldn't help but react to it. Not that I made a scene, but I could feel anger boil up within me. I was very aware that Harry was beautiful, but could she at least try to be a little less obvious about her infatuation?

It was a relief that Harry didn't seem to show any interest in her, though. He just smiled at her politely and treated her like he would treat any other waitress or waiter. It calmed me down quite a lot, to be honest.

When it was my turn to order, you could probably cut the tension with a knife. Not that she seemed to dislike me since she obviously didn't know that I had a thing going on with her new love interest, but because I was being so tense.

"I'd like a coke and the Pasta Carbonara," I said, not bothering to be polite by adding the word 'please' in the end.

From across the table, I could feel dad shoot me a look of disapproval. Now I was definitely happy that he was used to seeing me be quite rude around our family. Otherwise, he would have probably been just as suspicious as Gemma was opposite him.

"Eh, alright. I'll be right back with your orders in a short while," the waitress informed us a little uncomfortably.

Anne smiled at her, and so did my dad. Once she was gone, dad opened his mouth to speak, but Gemma beat him to it. "May Harry, Louis and I please be excused for a second?" She asked, getting up before either dad or Anne had even said anything.

Dad closed his mouth slowly, nodding his head while seeming a bit confused. "Sure."

Anne looked surprised as well but didn't comment on it. I got up from my seat stiffly, knowing that this would not end well. I could tell Harry was thinking the same thing judging by the emotionless look on his face. We both knew that Gemma wasn't about to ask us something as simple as what we had done at school today. This was about something more serious than that.

Harry and I followed her to a secluded area in the restaurant where nobody was sitting. Checking our surroundings to see if the coast was clear, Gemma crossed her arms over her chest. "Alright, it's time to come clean, boys. I already know that something is going on between the two of you, but I want to hear it coming from you guys," she said, raising an eyebrow she flicked her gaze between us.

I glanced at Harry, noticing that he was already looking at me nervously. I bit my lip, turning my gaze back to Gemma. "Fuck," was the only thing I said, letting out a sigh.

And 'fuck' was the perfect word for the situation. This was not supposed to happen. Not today, not ever. No one was supposed to find out. Harry and I's relationship was supposed to be a secret forever. If this happened, I could lose everything. I could lose my dad and hell, I could even lose Harry in the process. That was if Gemma didn't keep her mouth shut, and we all knew how good she was at doing that.

I could tell Harry waited for me to answer her. He knew that this bothered me more than it did him, so there was no question that he wanted me to handle the situation, maybe even for his own best, so he wouldn't say something I didn't want him to say.

"Fine," I finally admitted. "Harry and I do have something going on."

A cheeky grin formed on her pink lips. "That's what I wanted to hear."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, and I was just as curious as him about it.

Putting a hand on her hip, she gave him a look. "I mean that it's been quite obvious that you're a lot more than 'enemies', but I thought you would deny it considering how hard you've been trying to hide it. But I mean, do you seriously think I didn't notice that you had just been making out that time when I walked in on the two of you in the kitchen? And it was pretty obvious that the hickey on your neck, Harry, was newly made and didn't come from some guy named Niall," she chuckled, rolling her eyes as if it had all been obvious from the start. "And don't even get me started on how tense Louis became when that waitress flirted with you just a minute ago."

The curly-haired boy seemed speechless beside me while I ran my hands over my face, feeling nothing but exposed. What if everyone could see through our facade? What if Gemma wasn't the only one knowing or being suspicious about us? This was not good. This was not good at all.

When she noticed that neither of me or Harry was saying anything, she put her hands up in surrender. "Oh, don't misunderstand me here. I'm happy for you guys. Actually, I'm more than happy. To be quite honest, you make a really hot couple. Sure, I haven't exactly shown that I like you, Louis, but that was because you treated my brother pretty badly back in the days. However, now that he doesn't seem to dislike you anymore, I don't see a reason for me to do so either."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "You mean that you don't think it's weird that we're dating?" He asked incredulously.

She shrugged, not seeming to be bothered by it whatsoever. "I mean, sure, you live under the same roof and are kind of stepbrothers, but no, I don't really find it weird. If anything is weird, it is that you two hated each other only a month ago, and now you are lovers," she laughed.

I swallowed hard, sneaking another glance at the curly-haired boy whose cheeks had now turned a light pink color. "Eh, okay..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his neck.

"Alright, we should probably head back to mom and Troy now. I'm pretty sure the food is arriving at any second," she said, turning around to go back to our table, but Harry grabbed her wrist before she could do so.

"Please, Gemma, don't tell anyone about this, alright? And definitely not mom and Troy. They would absolutely flip shit if they found out and probably tell us to break up or something even worse. Just promise me to keep quiet, can you do that?" Harry pleaded, looking at her with puppy eyes.

She seemed a bit confused but shrugged her shoulders nonetheless. "Sure, I don't see a reason for me to expose you to anyone anyway."

Harry nodded. "Just, please be careful about it because it could ruin quite a lot, alright?"

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, Harry. I promise to be careful. I won't make the same mistake I did last time, happy?" When he gave her another quick nod, she smiled at him before going over to where dad and Anne were sitting and discussing something.

When Harry was about to follow her, I grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him into the toilets, making sure to lock the stall behind us so no one could interrupt us. His back was against the door while I was standing right in front of him, looking him in the eyes. Before I could open my mouth to start talking, though, he put a finger on my lips.

"Wait, let me speak first," he pleaded, and when I gave him a nod, he continued. "I know what you're going to say. You're going to say that we should be more careful, that we shouldn't even look at each other in public and even try not to be around one another in our house. Or even worse, you're going to say that we should call it quits and stop doing this. But you know what? I won't let you do that. I won't," he said determinedly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Letting out a sigh, I ran a hand through my feathery, brown hair. I then took a step forward, reaching up to push a stray curl behind his ear. "Maybe I was going to say that, but you have to understand, Harry. This is not good. It's not good at all. If your sister found out about it, it's just a matter of time until our parents will as well. I just can't see that this is going to end well, but I don't know what to do. I like you so much, more than you probably know, but I just... I just don't know," I said frustratingly.

He wrapped his arms around my neck, pulling me even closer to him. "Then don't think about it, and just let it all happen. You don't have to put so much thought into everything. If something that shouldn't happen happens, then we'll figure it out, alright? But don't leave me. Just please, whatever you do, don't leave me," he pleaded, his green eyes looking so soft and beautiful that I had to take a deep breath.

Leaning in, I pressed a light kiss on his lips, lingering for a few seconds before pulling away. "I promise I won't leave you. I'm not even sure I would be able to," I admitted.

He sent me a small smile. "That's what I wanted to hear."

"But, we still need to be more careful," I reminded him. "We're not safe out there, and for all we know, there could be more people that are suspicious about us. During the last couple of days, I've had a feeling that someone's been watching me, and I don't know what it is, but it's something. We are not safe anywhere."

Even if he sighed, he nodded. "Got it."

"Now, let's go eat some good ol' pasta, shall we?" I smiled, trying to lighten the mood a little.

And seeing as he chuckled, I assumed I had succeeded. "We shall," he agreed, and together, we exited the toilets and went back to our family.

What we didn't know, though, was that we hadn't been alone in there, but how were we supposed to know that? We were just discussing some things, things that no one else was supposed to hear.

_______________________________________________

Sooo, things are really starting to happen now. Gemma found out and someone else is sneaking on the two of them as well.

You told me you're enjoying the story but would like the pace to pick up a little. If you couldn't tell already, things are about to happen and it's coming pretty soon. Actually, there're only a couple of chapters left of the story and I have it all planned out, so I hope I won't bore you out before that :)

As always, thank you for your lovely comments and votes. They mean the world to me, and your feedback is always amazing. I wouldn't be here without you, I love you.

Pauline .xx