[Harry]

As expected, the food was already on the table when we returned to our seats. Judging by the steam that was coming from it, it couldn't have been too long since it arrived, though, but mum and Troy didn't seem very pleased with the fact that we had been gone for so long anyway.

"Where have you two been? I hope you didn't disappear just to bicker with one another. This was meant to be a nice and cozy dinner, and then you just walk off like that," mum said disappointingly, shaking her head.

I gave her an apologetic look. "We weren't bickering, mum. When Gemma was done talking to us, we just had to visit the bathroom," I lied, turning to Gemma to give her a pointed look.

She nodded her head frantically. "Yeah, didn't I say that when I came back? They just had to use the toilet quickly."

Troy furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought you said they were coming in a minute because they had something to discuss?" He asked in confusion.

Wow, great Gemma. You're already doing so great with not trying to expose us...

She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Yeah, they were going to discuss something in the bathroom, that's what I meant," she tried to save herself, but Troy looked very skeptical, and I didn't blame him.

"Well, it's not like it matters anyway. We're here now and the food hasn't even gone cold, so let's dig in, shan't we?" Louis suggested, but you could hear the slight tone of panic in his voice.

Mum nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, Louis' probably right. Let's put this behind us, but I don't want this to repeat itself, alright?"

Louis and I nodded our heads quickly. After that, we all dug into our food, which was nothing but delicious. I had ordered a pizza Margherita, and the Italian version of it was just the best. I absolutely loved it, and judging by the silence that stayed during the entire dinner, I was certain I wasn't the only one enjoying my food. There were a lot of 'mm's' coming from my family members' mouths, which only added to my assumptions.

When the food was gone, the same waitress that served our food returned to our table. This time, I was aware of the attention she was giving me, but I wasn't interested. I didn't want to seem rude about it, though, so I just smiled back at her and tried to act civil.

"Did you enjoy the food?" She asked hopefully, flicking her gaze between all five of us, but stopped at me.

We all nodded our heads. "Yeah, it was absolutely delicious. There's no question that we'll be coming back, right guys?" Troy said.

"Definitely, it was amazing," Mum agreed, giving the girl a wide smile.

"What about you?" She asked me, batting her eyelashes expectantly. "What did you think?"

I raised my eyebrows, slightly surprised that she had spoken to me, although I probably shouldn't be. "Uh, yeah, the pizza was very great. I'll definitely come back to this place sometime."

She let out a small chuckle. "I hope it's not just for the pizzas," she winked.

Laughing dryly, I shook my head. "Yeah, sure."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Louis roll his eyes. "We're ready to take the note, please," he said, not even looking at her as he did so. I may also add that his voice sounded a bit flat.

To be quite honest, I found it entertaining when Louis was jealous. I mean, that meant he really did have feelings for me. Not that I doubted it, but it was always nice to have it confirmed. Additionally, it was definitely a turn on that he acted all grumpy just because a girl was flirting with me.

"Oh, alright," she said apologetically, handing Troy the note, who had already fished his wallet from his pocket.

After that, we all got up to leave the restaurant and go home. During the entire ride, Louis stayed quiet, and I wondered if it was because he was still grumpy because of the waitress, or if it was because of something else. Maybe it was due to what happened earlier at the restaurant when Gemma had wanted to talk to us? No matter what, he didn't say anything to me throughout the rest of that day. When we got home, he went straight to his room and stayed there for the rest of the evening.

I tried not to care about it, but I couldn't deny the fact that I was disappointed. He was kind of my boyfriend after all. It wasn't weird that I wanted to see and talk to him, right?

However, when I went to bed, I checked my phone before turning off the lamp and noticed that I had received a text from him.

Sweet dreams, love. See you tomorrow x

-

During the entire weekend, Louis stayed rather quiet and mostly kept himself away from us. There was no longer any doubt that it had to do with the fact that Gemma had found out about us because I was sure he wouldn't still be grumpy about that waitress. I mean sure, he could get jealous, but not like this.

Additionally, he didn't speak very much to me either. As lame as he was, he sent me these stupid text messages instead, which I found nothing but stupid. We lived under the same roof for Goodness sake. Why couldn't he just talk to me if he wanted to tell me something? It wasn't like mum or Troy would find out he had come to my room just to talk anyway. I didn't mean to be annoyed by it, but I couldn't help it. His way of being careful was a step too far, and I hoped he would figure that out soon.

When Monday finally rolled around, I got ready for school like always. Today, I went for a dark grey long-sleeved shirt with a pair of black, skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees. The shirt was probably a little too big, but I felt comfortable in these clothes, which was the reason I wanted to wear them. Who cared what everyone else thought anyway?

Louis wasn't in the kitchen when I arrived, but Gemma was. She was sitting at the kitchen table, munching on some cereal while reading something on her phone. "Morning, Gem," I greeted, letting out a loud yawn.

She took her eyes off her phone to look at me. "Morning, bro. Where do you have your boyfriend, eh?" She joked, making me roll my eyes.

"First off, he isn't my boyfriend. Second off, I don't know. I have barely seen him during the entire weekend," I replied grumpily, walking over to sit down opposite her.

She tilted her head to the side, looking at me a bit sympathetically. "Don't worry about it, Haz. He'll come around. I think he's just trying to adapt to the fact that I know about the two of you, don't you think?"

I nodded my head curtly. "Yeah, I hope so. Not to sound lame or anything, but I kind of miss him," I muttered, reaching forward to snatch some cereal from the box.

An understanding smile formed on her pink lips. "I get it. I mean, look at me. I haven't seen Devon since Friday because he's been away with his family, and I miss him like crazy."

Rolling my eyes, I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, but I have seen Louis. It's just that he hasn't acknowledged me in the way he usually does if you know what I mean?"

She reached forward to place a hand over mine, just like my mother usually did. "I know what you mean, brother, I do," she promised, the smile still prominent on her lips.

Before I could open my mouth to reply, the third teenager in the family entered the kitchen. His brown fringe was brushed to the side, something I loved when it was, and his eyes looked unusually alert for being this early in the morning. He was wearing a white, almost see-through t-shirt and a pair of black, skinny jeans. They looked almost like my own apart from the holes in the knees.

Just like always, I found him breathtaking. He always made my stomach do summersaults and my heart skip a beat. I wondered if that feeling would ever disappear. I certainly hoped not because it was a wonderful feeling.

"Morning," he greeted, giving us a small smile. He strode over to the fridge to pull out the butter and some ham.

I, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. Not that I had expected it, but it wouldn't have hurt if he at least greeted me a little more affectionately. I mean, Gemma already knew that we had something going on, so it wasn't like we had to hide from her anymore. But, this was Louis after all, I had to remind myself that.

When he turned his back to us to spread some butter on a slice of bread, Gemma dropped her spoon in her bowl. "Now, that is not the way you greet your boyfriend, brother from another mother," Gemma pointed out, getting up to put the empty bowl in the sink beside him. "Go give him some loving because he hasn't gotten much of that lately, now has he?"

If looks could kill, Gemma would be dead right now. I could take care of myself. I didn't need her to tell Louis how to treat me, thank you very much. "Gemma, go away," I grumbled, getting up to practically push her out of the room.

"Alright, I'll leave the two of you alone, but don't do anything I wouldn't, yeah?"

With a sigh, I ran my hand over my face. "Just go before I kick you out of the house."

She gave me a cheeky smile before turning around to walk to the entryway. "Sure, and you can thank me later."

I rolled my eyes, turning around to grab a bowl from one of the cabinets. That was when I noticed that Louis was looking at me with raised eyebrows, an almost cheeky grin playing on his lips. "You think I haven't shown affection towards you lately, yeah?" He asked.

Shrugging, I looked down at my feet. "It's just... You have barely acknowledged me since dinner Friday night. I just... I missed you, as stupid as that sounds," I admitted, looking up at him almost shamefully.

He took a step forward to wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him. "Well, if you didn't notice by my texts, I missed you too," he said, leaning forward to give my lips a light, affectionate kiss.

It made butterflies erupt in my stomach, and I had to bite my tongue not to smile wide. "Yeah, definitely missed that," I whispered, almost inaudibly.

When I came back to my right senses, a frown appeared between my eyebrows. "Why did you send me those texts when you could've just come into my room and talked to me?"

He let out a sigh, looking away. "You already know why, Harry. I have to try and get used to not having to be around you. Otherwise, I'll soon go around and show my feelings for you in school, and that wouldn't be good. It wouldn't be good at all."

"So, what you're saying is that you did it because you're afraid you'll get too attached to me?" I laughed, reaching up to trace the crinkle by his eye with my thumb.

He nodded his head. "Pretty much, yeah. Remember what I told you? You have no idea how much I like you. My feelings for you are so fucking strong, which means I need to have control over myself. The thing is, when I'm with you, I lose it completely, and if that were to happen at the wrong time and place, bad things will happen. That's why I distanced myself from you a little," he confessed. "But you have no idea how much I missed you," he whispered, getting closer to my face again.

"So much that you'll take a break from it for a while?" I asked hopefully, looking deep into his eyes.

"Yeah, maybe for a short while."

And with that said, he closed the distance between us once again, and well, let's just say we almost missed the bus that morning, but it wasn't like anyone knew the reason why anyway.

-

It was lunchtime, and Liam and I were sitting at a table in the cafeteria, munching on our cheese and ham sandwiches. Across the room, Louis was sitting next to a laughing Eleanor and some of his teammates. Zayn was sitting with them today as well, and that was something I found quite fascinating about Liam and Zayn's relationship.

They didn't need to be around each other every second of the day to be happy and satisfied. They still had time to hang out with their separate friends when they wanted to, and that was something I appreciated. It wasn't like I disliked Zayn, but sometimes it was nice to only have Liam around, just like old times.

Today was a great example because we were currently talking about Niall and his reaction to what I had confessed a few days ago. That was something we couldn't have spoken about if Zayn had been with us since he was unaware of what had happened. Furthermore, we could talk about Louis, which was something I found relieving since I couldn't talk about him with anyone else... apart from Gemma now, that was.

Speaking of Niall, he was sitting at a table together with Ed and a few other guys. Lately, he and Ed seemed to have gotten quite close to each other. Not that they hadn't been close before, but ever since I called it off with Niall, they had hung out more than I'd ever seen them do before. I wondered why that was.

"So, he took it pretty well then?" Liam asked, gulping down some water from his bottle.

"Yeah, I mean sure, he was sad, which is nothing but understandable, but otherwise, I think he took it pretty well, yeah."

He supported his head with one of his hands under his chin. "Hm, I wonder why that is. I mean, there was no doubt he had quite deep feelings for you. You should've seen the way he looked at you, man," he said, looking a bit confused.

I shrugged. "I mean, he did ask me if I had feelings for someone else. Maybe he already suspected that I didn't like him back?" I wondered out loud.

"Yeah..." Liam trailed off, turning his gaze towards the table where the blonde-haired guy was sitting.

I hadn't really seen much of him since that day, but whenever we met eyes, he would give me a weak smile. It pained me to see that he was still hurt, but I also knew that it was for the best. He would find someone that liked him just as much as he liked me one day, I was sure of it.

Liam and I continued talking about everything and nothing and were so caught up in our conversation that neither of us noticed that Ed was standing next to us all of a sudden. His head was tilted to the side as he looked at us hopefully. "So, there's a party at my place on Friday. Are you coming?"

Liam and I exchanged a look, my mouth still open from talking to him. "Eh..." Liam trailed off.

"Friday?" I asked. "Uh, we'll think about it, right Liam?"

He nodded his head slowly, probably surprised by the sudden interruption. "Sure. I'm just gonna check with Zayn and--"

"Oh, Zayn is already coming, and so is probably the entire football team. I hope to see you there, guys," he winked before walking off again.

Liam turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "Well, that was..."

"Weird," I finished, letting out a laugh.

He joined me, nodding his head. "Yeah, definitely weird."

"Are you going, though?" I asked, taking the last bite of my sandwich.

He shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, Zayn is, so I'll probably go there with him. Are you?"

"I don't know. It depends..." I trailed off, biting my bottom lip.

A cheeky smile formed on my best friend's lips. "It depends whether Louis' going to be there or not, aren't I right?" He chuckled, making my cheeks turn a light pink.

"Maybe," I mumbled, making him laugh even harder.

"I don't blame you, mate. I don't blame you."

-

"This is getting ridiculous," I groaned loudly as I walked home from the bus stop that day. Louis had practically sprinted off the bus to create some distance between us on our way home. I hated it even if I respected his need of being careful.

When we were getting close to the house, I decided to quicken my steps, though, and catch up with him. It wasn't until then I noticed that he had a lit cigarette between his lips, making my eyebrows knit together. Without thinking twice, I pulled it out of his mouth and threw it on the ground. "I thought you had quit smoking," I muttered, making him roll his eyes.

"I never told you I had quit. I just told you I've stepped down on it," he replied, looking ahead of himself instead of meeting my gaze.

Letting out a sigh, I dropped the topic... for now. It wasn't necessary to argue about that at this second. "Are you going to Ed's party on Friday?" I asked instead to change the subject.

He shrugged. "I guess. Everyone else is going, so I might as well too. Why are you asking?"

"Well, Ed came over at lunch and asked me and Liam if we wanted to come, so I was just wondering if you were going," I explained crossing my arms over my chest in order to keep myself as warm as I could in this cold weather.

To my surprise, he turned to me abruptly, looking at me almost angrily. "You're not going to that party, Harry," he growled, making me confused.

"Why not?" I asked, not getting why he was angry at this fact.

"Because... because if you'll be there, I know I wouldn't be able to control myself, especially not with alcohol in my system. I'd expose us without a doubt, that's why."

This time it was my turn to pull my eyebrows together. "That's a bad excuse, Louis. Of course you'll be able to stay away from me. You're already pretty good at it," I muttered, walking ahead of him to unlock the front door. Maybe I did because I was a little upset too.

I could hear him coming up behind me as my hand was on the handle. "Harry, I mean it," he said, the coldness still evident in his voice. "You don't want to be there. And as far as I know, you don't even like parties."

Opening the door to step into the warmth of the house, I turned to him, waiting until he had closed the door to start talking. "It doesn't matter whether I like parties or not, I wanted to go there. Ed is my friend and it's been quite some time since I was at a party. Sure, maybe I don't like to get drunk off my ass, but I like to hang out with my friends and just have some fun. If you don't want me to be there, then fine. Stay away from me then. As I said before, you're already pretty good at it, so it's not like it's going to be a problem," I muttered, making a move to turn around and take off my jacket, but Louis stopped me by grabbing my arm and pulling me towards him.

His nose was almost touching mine all of a sudden while his eyes were looking deep into my own. "I don't like the tone you're using," he said, making me roll my eyes. "But fine, you win. Go to the party if that's what you want so badly, but don't expect to see me if that's what you had in mind. I'll stay away, and believe me, I'm doing it for both of us. You wouldn't want me to be near you when I'm drunk," he almost threatened.

I let out a dry chuckle. "What? You think you would rape me or something, is that what you're saying?"

He didn't join my laughter but looked at me severely. "This isn't funny, Harry. Of course I wouldn't rape you, but I wouldn't be able to stay away from you, that's what I'm saying. I'd expose us to the entire school and then it would be over. We would be over," he explained, looking me deep in the eyes.

I gulped, nodding my head slowly. "Alright, I understand. But I will be there no matter what. If I won't see you, then that's fine. I have other people I want to see at the party."

He raised his eyebrows, tightening the grip he had on my hips. "Like who?"

I got even closer to him, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Well, I know for a fact that Miranda likes to party..." I trailed off, moving my lips along his neck.

I leaned back to see the look on his face and let out a laugh at the way he had his jaw clenched tightly. "I'm just kidding. I'll probably hang out with Liam and Zayn," I winked, kissing his chapped lips that didn't move against mine whatsoever.

"I hate you," he muttered under his breath, making me snort.

"I know you don't."

___________________________________________________________

So, Louis is being more careful than ever before and Harry's getting pretty sick at it. And a party is coming up! What do you think is going to happen?

I hope you liked the chapter even if it's just kind of a filler. The end is building up, that's why things are a bit uneventful right now :)

If you're interested in smut (which I know a lot of you are, you dirty people) it's coming real soon! However, I probably won't be able to update next weekend because I'm going to Stockholm on Wednesday and I work the entire next weekend, so I probably won't have time to write, but it'll be up as soon as possible.

Love you guys!

Pauline .xx