[Louis]

Once I had slammed my bedroom door shut behind me, I let myself fall on my bed, a frustrated grunt leaving my lips. Why couldn't Harry understand? I mean, I understood that he wanted us to be together. I wanted nothing else but to be with him too, but he knew how much my dad meant to me. He knew that I couldn't risk losing him. I also couldn't stand seeing Harry get so much hate.

All day, I had to watch how badly everyone treated him. If it wasn't in the hallway, it was in the classroom, and since we shared all of our classes, I witnessed it all. He had no idea how much it hurt me to see him get treated like that without being able to do anything about it, if I didn't want things to only get worse.

I listened to what Harry said about us soon leaving school, but it didn't matter. I wasn't sure if I could even last a week of seeing him get treated so badly. So, add these two factors together and you would understand why it was better if we weren't together. I mean, all odds were against us and they had always been. It was like we had started something we knew wouldn't work out in the end anyway.

It wasn't only Harry I was frustrated with. I was frustrated with myself for even thinking that we could be together in the first place. If I hadn't been so stupid to try showing him what he had done to me two years ago and also try finding out if he reciprocated my feelings, then none of this would have happened. Harry wouldn't have fallen for me and I would have just accepted that we would never be together.

Now things weren't like that, though, and I had done all these things I shouldn't have done, so basically, I was the only one to blame here. I shouldn't have made him fall for me in the first place because things would have been so much easier then.

The worst part - something I was ashamed to admit - was that I didn't regret the time Harry and I had spent together. To be honest, it had been some of the best weeks of my life. Maybe I should hit myself for even thinking that way, but I couldn't help it. I mean, sex with Harry was just... it was mind-blowing. It was definitely the best sex I'd ever had, and I'd had sex with a few people. Not to be mean, but Eleanor wasn't even half as good as Harry.

Speaking of the brown-haired girl, she had been another difficult matter today. She wasn't happy when she met me at my locker in the morning, she wasn't happy at all, but I didn't expect her to be either. I knew she had found out that I had basically been cheating on her, so I couldn't exactly expect something else. What did surprise me, however, was that she hadn't been as mad as I thought she would be. She was sad if anything, and to be honest, that was even worse than having her be upset with me.

I just didn't like feeling guilty. Usually, I was good at not feeling that way, but with Eleanor, it was just inevitable. We had known each other for more than two years and we had practically been together ever since then. We knew everything about each other, so how could I not feel guilty? Apart from my dad and Harry, she was the one who knew me best, so it hurt seeing her being sad by something I had caused and done. It was stupid of me to fake date her when I knew that I would feel guilty about it afterward.

What Harry had been right about was that I hadn't received nearly half as much hate as he had. Sure, my friends had pretty much ignored me during the entire day and shot me a few disgusted looks, but that was only predictable. Jimmy had made a snide remark on the bus too, but I had expected more. Maybe it was due to my reputation, that I was known for being a 'bad boy', and that people were afraid of treating me the way they treated Harry because of that, but that was a bad excuse if so. It wasn't like I was riskier to bully than Harry.

Something that surprised me was the way I had reacted to everything. A few months ago when I was afraid of just being seen together with the curly-haired lad, I would have probably played along with his bullies and even laughed and made fun of him myself, but that wasn't the case anymore. I didn't know if it was because of the fact that I was more grown-up and mature now or if it was because I knew how much I loved him. I leaned towards the latter because I couldn't even picture myself hurting Harry that way any longer. I loved him way too much to even think about it.

I never thought I would say this, but the cold-hearted Louis Tomlinson had started becoming a softy. I didn't know if I liked it or not, but I guess that was the influence Harry had on me. He made me go soft with the love I felt for him. I mean, just thinking about him made my heart flutter in my chest, and I knew that was a sign of love.

Mentally smacking myself on the forehead for thinking about him that way, I let out another frustrated sigh. I had to forget about him, and by doing so I couldn't think of how much I loved him.

It only made matters worse that he lived in the same house as me, so it was pretty much impossible not to think about him, but I had to try my best. Otherwise, I would be miserable for the rest of my life.

During the entire afternoon, I stayed in my bedroom and tried to come up with stuff to do that would take my mind off the curly-haired lad. I tried listening to music, but then I remembered that one time when he had come into my room and told me to turn the volume down. I tried taking a shower, but then I remembered that time when I had asked him to go and fetch a towel for me. So, there was simply nothing I could do to make me not think about him, and that frustrated me to no end. I couldn't even go on Twitter because I was only reminded of us being together by all the pictures and stuff that were out there.

At six o'clock, Anne called us down for dinner. Truth be told, I wanted nothing but to stay in my room for the rest of the day without having to face Harry, dad or Anne. I mean, what if they had found out about us and decided to confront us about it during dinner? Don't call me paranoid, everything could happen at any time.

So, it wasn't willingly I got up from my bed and trudged down the stairs to enter the kitchen where everyone was already sitting, waiting for my arrival. Dad looked up and flashed me a warm smile, and so did Anne when she noticed that I had joined them. "Sit down, Louis. We've been waiting for you."

I gulped, flicking my gaze to Harry quickly only to notice that he was too busy plating some spaghetti to look back at me. Without saying anything, I walked over to the table and sat down beside him seeing as that was the only seat that wasn't already preoccupied. Sitting down on the chair, I glanced at dad and Anne, examining their features to see if they had something on their minds, but they were acting like they normally did. Still, I couldn't help but feel suspicious.

I could suddenly feel someone looking at me, and I instantly noticed that it was Harry. Seeing as he gave me a look of reassurance, I assumed he knew that I was suspicious about the fact that our parents knew about our secret. He placed a hand on my thigh, rubbing it soothingly. I couldn't help but tense at the touch, though. How would I be able to forget about him when he kept doing things like this? It only made me want and miss him even more.

Giving him a warning look, he averted his gaze disappointedly and let out a sigh. Anne took notice of this and looked at her son. "You okay, Harry? You seem pretty quiet today. Has something happened?" She asked worriedly.

He looked at her and shook his head. "Nah, I'm alright. Just had a tough day at school, is all," he admitted.

Mentally face-palming, I shot him another look that I made sure no one noticed. Why did he say that his day at school had been bad? Jesus, how would he be able to explain it without mentioning the truth? Sometimes he was just the worst liar of all time. I was sure he couldn't even lie to save his own life.

"What do you mean 'tough'? Was someone being mean to you?" She wondered, her eyes flickering to me.

Even though I shouldn't be surprised by her action, I couldn't help but feel upset about it. If only she knew that the last thing I would do was to be mean to him these days. I could never hurt him like that anymore.

"Uh, no. It wasn't like that. I just have a lot of schoolwork to do, and one of my teachers keeps pestering us by handing out even more things."

Anne scrunched her eyebrows together. "And you aren't stressed about that, Louis?" She asked, knowing that we shared all of our classes.

I shrugged my shoulders, deciding to put this into my own hands. Someone had to save Harry from this mess. "Well, I usually don't get stressed by school. If I have a lot of homework, I usually push it to the side. I do it at one point, but I don't let it get to me," I explained, giving her a smile.

She nodded her head, the suspicion leaving her eyes. "Alright, but you should know that you can tell me if someone's not treating you right, Harry," she told him, turning her gaze back to her son. "I'm always here if you want to talk."

Harry sent her a smile, nodding his head curtly. The worst part of it all was that Anne was right. He had been treated badly today, and it was probably one of the reasons why he was being so quiet right now. I was probably another one. I could tell it was hard for him not to tell her the truth, and the fact that he didn't just because of me made me want to hit myself yet again. As I said to Niall, sometimes I felt as though I really wasn't worthy of him.

Maybe that was another reason as to why it was better for us to go our separate ways. We were just so different from each other.

When we were almost halfway through dinner, Anne's phone suddenly started ringing. A confused look fell on her face, clarifying that she wasn't expecting anyone to call. Dad looked at her, raising his eyebrows questioningly. "Do you know who it might be?"

Her eyebrows pulled together as she shook her head and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her jeans. Watching the caller ID, the crease between her eyebrows only deepened. Suddenly, she got up from her seat and excused herself before walking out of the room. We could still hear her talking to the person on the other end, though.

"Hello?"

"Yes, I'm the mother of Harry Styles and stepmother of Louis Tomlinson."

"What do you mean 'rumors'?"

That was when the earth stopped spinning for me, and I didn't hear another word she said because all sound faded. Everything went blank, and I was just sitting there, frozen in place. My mouth was as dry as the desert and my eyes were so wide open that it almost hurt. It couldn't be who I thought it was. This must be some kind of wicked dream or something because this wasn't happening. Not like this. Not right now.

I didn't even dare to look at Harry, too scared to see his reaction. But what if I was just overreacting? What if my assumption was wrong?

A few moments later, Anne retreated from the living room, taking slow strides while refusing to meet any of our eyes. She turned to dad as she swallowed hard. "Troy, would you please come with me for a second?" She asked alarmed, making my heart beat faster in my chest.

No, this couldn't be good. Something bad had happened, I was sure of it.

Dad looked a bit confused but nodded his head and followed Anne to the living room, leaving me, Harry and Gemma alone. It wasn't until then that I dared to turn my head to look at the two siblings. Their faces mirrored my own. They looked terrified, and that was when I knew I wasn't the only one thinking the worst here.

"Do you think...?" Gemma trailed off.

My breathing started getting heavier by the second and I couldn't help but grab the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white from how hard I was gripping it. Harry let out a deep sigh, reaching out to take my hand off the table and lacing our fingers together. He squeezed my hand a few times, giving me a weak smile. This time, I didn't pull away nor give him a warning look. No, because this time, I was happy that he held my hand considering I needed his reassurance. It was the only thing that could keep me from going insane at the moment.

"Whatever it is, it's going to be alright, okay?" Harry said, trying to keep calm himself.

"You don't know that," I muttered, looking down at our hands. "If it is what we think it is and their reactions will be bad, we can't be sure things are going to be alright."

Gemma pursed her lips. "Well, at least you have me on your side. I want the two of you to be happy no matter what. I just hope mum and your dad want that too, but if they don't, I'll defend you guys, I promise."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, as if that's going to make things better. If they don't approve of us, nothing's going to make them change their minds."

Harry knitted his eyebrows together. "But, they can't say anything now anyway. I mean, we aren't even dating anymore, right?" He said, looking at the side of my face.

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, my gaze still focused on our entwined hands. "Right," I muttered as I let go of his hand, leaving my own to feel cold.

I knew I was the one who had implied that we shouldn't continue dating, but I just couldn't help but feel hurt when he said the words out loud. It was like the thought hadn't dawned on me until he said that sentence. I mean, sure, it was best if we weren't together. Sometimes I felt as though I didn't deserve him anyway, and considering the consequences, we were better off not dating, but I loved him. How could I not want to be in a relationship with him?

Before any of us could utter another word, dad and Anne entered the kitchen with their lips pressed together in a thin line. They looked up to flicker their gazes between me and Harry, and I knew then that this wouldn't end well. Their faces didn't exactly show happiness, and just their auras made it obvious.

"Harry, Louis. Would you please explain to me why your principal just called and told me that there are rumors of you two dating going around the school?" Anne asked, her voice steady but there was a hint of panic in it.

The two of them sat down at the table across from us. Dad gave me this look that made me want to curl myself into a corner and cry. He was disappointed, there was no doubt about it. His eyes were pleading with me, wanting me to tell him that it wasn't true. I could feel tears well up in my eyes, and I felt frustrated about it. I hated crying. I only did when it was very necessary, and my dad's feelings were a soft spot for me. If I was the cause of him feeling bad, I couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Mum, it's not what you think..." Harry trailed off, inhaling a deep breath.

"Then what is it?" She snapped, glaring at her son.

Harry fell back in his seat, shocked by his mother's reaction. "I... I..."

"We thought you two hated each other. How on earth is it even possible that you two have gone behind our backs and fallen for one another? Or did you never really dislike each other, is that it? Have you two lied to us the entire time?" Anne continued, her nostrils flaring with anger.

But I saw something else. Just like dad, she was disappointed as well. This news was so out of her world that she couldn't help but be angry about it. To be honest, though, I was almost certain it was just her way of handling it. I was sure she didn't mean to be so pissed about it.

"Hey, mum, calm down. I know you're surprised, but don't blame them for this. Do you think it was their choice to fall for each other? Do you think it's easy to like your own stepbrother? You know, there is a reason why they have kept it a secret. They didn't want to feel unaccepted by everyone," Gemma interposed.

Anne swallowed hard, squinting her eyes at her daughter. "So you mean you knew about all this?"

Gemma crossed her arms over her chest and nodded her head. "Yes. I guess I was one of the few people who did, and you know what? My reaction was far better than yours." Her voice was almost as cold as ice, and I had to give it to her. She was good.

Harry's mum turned back to us, shaking her head in frustration. "Just... I just... How?" She required, looking at us helplessly.

Refusing to meet my dad's gaze again, I kept my eyes on Anne. "I guess it just kind of happened? As you might know, Harry and I used to be friends back in the days, and I started catching feelings for him then already. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that we started dating, though. I was scared that this would happen, that no one would accept us. That's why I dragged out on it all. Otherwise, we probably would have gotten together a few months ago," I admitted, biting my bottom lip.

Dad got up abruptly from his seat, surprising all of us. His eyes were glued to me, an emotionless look on his face. "Louis, may I please talk to you in private?"

I gulped, looking down at the surface of the table in shame as I nodded my head. Although I could feel Harry giving me a sympathetic look, I didn't turn my head to make sure of it. All I did was to get up and follow my dad to the living room in silence before sitting down on the couch.

He settled down beside me, running a hand through his hair. "Why did you do this, Louis? I thought you told me that you were happy that I had finally moved on from your mother? I just don't understand... Do you want me and Anne to split up, or what is it?"

Letting out a shaky breath, I shook my head frantically. "No. No, of course not. I would never ask you to do such a thing. I am happy that you have moved on from mum, and I'm happy that you have found Anne. I would never get into a relationship with Harry just to break you two apart, I promise. I just... I love him, alright? Of course I want you to be happy, but I want myself to be happy too."

He gave me a thoughtful look, pinching his chin with his thumb and forefinger. "And Harry makes you happy?"

A smile broke out on my face at his words. "Yes, he makes me very happy. Ever since I started dating him, I've actually become a much more positive person. I mean, just thinking about him makes me smile," I told him.

Dad studied my features, and I could see that he was still thinking deeply. "You do realize that you aren't making things easy, right? As your parents, it's not easy for us to accept the fact that our children are dating. People are going to think strangely of us and judge before they know us."

Letting out a sigh, I nodded my head. "Yeah, that's why I told Harry that we should break up. I told him when we got together that we had to keep our relationship a secret because if anyone found out about us, we would be screwed. I knew that you wouldn't be a fan of it, and I was afraid of your reaction. I thought you wouldn't want me anymore, that you would be so disgusted and disappointed that you would disown me or something like that. I knew things wouldn't be easy, but I couldn't keep myself away from him, dad. I just... I've liked him since I was fifteen and the feelings never went away over the years. I do realize now that we shouldn't even have given it a try, though. I mean, our relationship was just bound to never work anyway."

To my great surprise, dad curled his arms around my petite body and pulled me to his chest. The gesture was so unexpected that I tensed in his arms. I couldn't believe that he was hugging me. I thought he would snap at me and tell me how disgusting I was for falling for my stepbrother. Yet, here he was, embracing me like a loving and accepting dad.

Without realizing it, tears started rolling down my cheeks. He had no idea how much this hug meant to me. It meant everything. He was the only family member I had left, and knowing he still wanted to embrace me after finding out about all this made me so happy that I couldn't even find the right words to describe it. I just loved him so much.

"Jesus, Louis. I must say that you've really put yourself in a shitty situation this time, but I could never hate you, son. You're my firstborn, my little boy whom I've always loved and always will love. You could probably murder someone and I would still love you. Be disappointed in you? Yeah, maybe, but I would never be able to disown you or something extreme like that. You're my little boy, Louis, and nothing could ever change that."

As if tears weren't already falling from my eyes, I started sniffling like a little baby too. "I love you, dad," I muttered against his shoulder.

He pulled back a little so he could look into my eyes with a small smile on his face. "I love you too, son. And, if Harry is the one who makes you happy, and if what you said is true about him turning you into a more positive person, then he's someone to keep. Sure, it's not going to be easy for you, but if you want to make it work, I'm sure it will."

I just shook my head because I couldn't believe his words. "Why are you so understanding? I don't get it. You should hate me. We're ruining your and Anne's reputation and just... everything. How can you be so accepting of it all?" I wondered, looking at him in confusion.

He put his hands on my shoulders, looking at me sincerely.

"Because, I want my son to be just as happy as I am."

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Alright, don't be mad at me, but that was the last chapter! There's only the epilogue left now, then it's over. I hope you aren't too disappointed about that.

Thank you to all of you who have been here to support me throughout this journey. I don't know if any of you have been here since the start considering I had a break for almost two years, but I'm just as happy that you new readers have read this story and enjoyed it. You mean the world to me, and thank you. I love you.

Pauline .xx