Louis stayed up all night, staring thoughtfully out his bedroom window. He looked down at the lights reflecting from the street as tears built up in the corners of his eyes.

Louis was scared . He was so afraid of rocking the boat and potentially losing the person that meant most to him.

So instead of going to bed, he listened intently to the soft hum of summer in hopes that he might discover the strength he would need to face the next day.

Louis stayed up until that July night melted into an August morning. There was no time left.

Whether he felt ready or not, it was time to take the next step. Today Louis would tell Harry the truth.

~

The youngest boy was across the hall, snuggled in bed and thinking back to the day before.

It had been one of those days, the kind of days that Harry hated the most. He woke up with a feeling of dread; his anxiety was much more amplified than he was used to.

The feelings made no sense; the heaviness Harry felt in his chest often hit him at full force when he was least expecting it.

It wasn't anything he could control. In his fragile state, panic attacks came on quicker and easier, but Harry knew how to best avoid them. Bad days meant staying in bed, focusing on his breathing, and thinking about his happy place.

When Harry closed his eyes, his mind always went to Louis. He'd relive all of his treasured memories with the blue eyed boy and dream about what could be.

Those daydreams calmed Harry down and helped him
get through the tough times, but yesterday was different.

Yesterday, Harry didn't have to simply picture him and Louis together, this time he was in the boy's arms.

It was a comfort Harry had needed so desperately; Louis' gentle touch and warmth was undeniably healing.

The relief the curly haired boy felt was nothing short of breathtaking. Harry's heart swelled with gratitude, with adoration, with a love so true.

Louis was the missing piece to Harry's puzzle. He filled the empty space in his heart and made him feel whole again.

Harry sat up in bed, clutching his teddy bear to his chest. How could he continue on like this without ever telling Louis the truth?

As much as he adored the older boy, he couldn't prevent the feelings of doubt that crept in. Was it foolish to let himself fall in love with Louis again? Harry wondered.

Was it even possible that Louis could love him too?

~

"Good morning Tommo," Liam nodded to Louis as he came out of his bedroom.

"Morning," Louis bit the side of his cheek anxiously.

"You're up quite early, what's the occasion?" Liam laughed as he looked at the clock that read 8:30 a.m.

"I couldn't sleep last night, I've got a lot on my mind..." the boy trailed off as he wandered to the fridge.

"You wanna talk about it?" Liam put his cereal down with a concerned expression.

"No, I think I've got it under control, thanks Liam," he smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.

Louis looked around the flat conspicuously. Harry must still be sleeping, he thought.

Liam watched the oldest with questioning eyes. What was on Louis' mind and why was he searching their flat like a mad man? Liam made a mental note to ask Niall about it later.

Just as Louis sat down on the sofa, a certain someone emerged from his room.

"Good morning Harry, you're up early as well!" Liam chimed and looked over to see Louis' reaction. The boy nervously licked his lips and tapped his fingers against the side table. What an odd morning it was turning out to be, Liam thought.

"I guess I slept so much yesterday I'm not tired anymore," Harry shrugged, smiling when he saw Louis on the sofa.

"Glad you're feeling better mate," Liam remarked.

Harry grabbed a granola bar and made his way over to the lounge.

"Hi Louis," Harry sat down next to the caramel haired boy carefully.

"Harry...I," Louis started, turning towards his friend.

Louis swallowed hard. God was Harry beautiful in the mornings. Tousled curls and sleepy eyes.

Harry waited nervously, not knowing what the boy had to say. 

"I need to talk to you about something," Louis lowered his voice so Liam couldn't hear.

Harry blinked a few times, staying silent as his mind traveled to the worst thoughts possible. Was Louis upset ? Did he do something wrong?

"If that's alright with you?" Louis continued after Harry stared back at him without a word.

"Yea, what is it?" Harry barely whispered. There it was again, the doubt.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't consumed with fear that the boy he loved was about to disappear again. Maybe this time for good...

Forcing the negative thoughts out of his mind, Harry followed Louis to his room where they could talk in private.

It's okay, Harry told himself mentally. Whatever Louis had to say would be okay. It had to be. Harry couldn't bare to imagine anything else.

The 23 year old took a deep breath as he shut the door and came face to face with his boy. He thought he might pass out if he didn't start talking soon.

"Okay, so...Harry...you and I...well we've..." Louis stumbled helplessly over his words, stopping to take another breath. He had prepared all night for what he would say, but standing in front of Harry made his knees weak and his thoughts scattered.

"Louis you're scaring me. Whatever it is, you can tell me," Harry put his hands on the boy's shoulders, searching his eyes for some sort of answer.

"I'm sorry, let me start again," Louis shook his head.

This was the moment that had the potential to change Louis' life. The boy was well aware that things would never be the same after he laid his feelings out for the curly haired one.

It was now or never.

"What I'm trying to say is that I..." Louis began again but was interrupted by a banging much louder than usual on the door to their flat.

Both Harry and Louis looked at each other silently. No more than ten seconds later Liam came barreling down the hallway.

"Boys? Louis, Niall, Harry? You've got to come out here now, we have a visitor," Liam yelled.

Louis huffed. Everything he had ever felt for Harry was left hanging on his lips.

How desperate was he to tell Harry that he loved him at 18, that every time they touched felt like pure energy and exhilaration.

How badly did Louis want to tell Harry that he loved him now, that he loved him so deeply today, and that he was sure he'd spend the rest of his life loving him if he'd let him.

But as Harry's eyes broke away from his, Louis realized that everything would have to wait. He needed the boy's full attention.

"I guess we should see who it is.." Harry bit his lip, unaware of Louis' intentions.

Louis looked up at the ceiling. He nodded to Harry with a small frown. It would be fine, he thought, but if not now, then when?

All three boys opened their doors and walked towards the lounge. An uncomfortable feeling hung heavy in the air.

There he was, sitting on the sofa with his glasses on and a pile of papers on top of his lap .

"Simon?" Louis' face scrunched up in confusion.

"Hello boys," the man gestured for the whole band to sit down with him.

"What are you doing here?" Niall asked, taking a seat next to Harry.

"Richard and I were going to have Harry and Louis come to us, but I wanted everyone to be included in this conversation. I figured it'd be simpler if I stopped by," Simon explained, looking down at his papers.

"This is about the stunt then? What's wrong? I thought things were going smoothly?" Liam rubbed his hands together worriedly.

"Yes this is about the stunt. Everything is going fine, but after analyzing fan response we've noticed a slight dip in popularity," Simon pointed to his color coded charts.

"Well that's just because Larry isn't super new anymore, but the fans still love them, it's all we see on social media," Niall spoke up to point out.

"Precisely Niall. The idea of Larry Stylinson is beginning to become old news. We need to do something that's going to grab the attention of the world again. Bring these numbers back up!" Simon declared without hesitation.

"Like what?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"It's time to take the next step in this relationship," Simon leaned forward, pulling a small box out of his briefcase.

"Simon, no," Liam started, wide eyed.

The relentless man tossed the box onto Louis' lap as he sat back with a grin.

"It's time for a proposal."