Call Me Baby: Chapter 4
This chapter is 4000 words. I hope this makes up for the long wait. :) I dunno when the next bit'll be, but leave feedback, please :)
After that dinner, Harry started attending Saturday night dinner every week. Then, after he'd stayed at Louis' very late one Saturday, after dinner, and ended up spending the night, he started hanging around on Sundays, as well. Louis and Harry grew impossibly close, spending more time together than ever. The girls adored Harry, which gave him all the more reason to come over. On Fridays, Harry would take Daisy and Phoebe home with him, after daycare, and the Louis would come by with the other three when they got home from school. Louis was particularly fond of this arrangement, as it allowed him to work a little over time, and gave the girls a change of scenery.
October came and went, taking with it November and a good chunk over December. Louis and the girls had begun to consider Harry family, him being the first one they'd run to with problems or advice-particularly Lottie, who found Harry impossibly easy to talk to, and very similar to her dad. She sought him out for things she couldn't bring to Louis, and their relationship grew to be that of a father and daughter, though no one would classify it a such-that would mean acknowledging the strange dynamic between Harry and Louis, who were struggling to ignore the feelings that continued to grow with each passing day. But no, Harry was straight, and Louis-well, Louis was not in love with his best friend.
*~*~*~*
“Hello?”
“I need a favor.” Louis' voice sounded stressed and frantic on the other end of the line.
“What's wrong?” Harry heard Louis sigh, his breath fogging up the line for a moment.
“I just got a call from Lottie's school, she got in trouble, and they want me to go pick her up, but I'm at work and I really can't leave-it could cost me my job. D'you think you could go get her for me?” Louis' voice was pleading, and Harry really couldn't say no to him, anyway.
“Of course, it's not a problem. Can you give me the address”
“Sure. Have you got a pen?” Harry grabbed one out of the drawer, taking out a piece of crumpled notebook paper, as well. He scribble down the address as Louis gave directions.
“Seems easy enough. What do I say to the headmaster?”
“Just say you're a friend of her brother's, and you're there because he couldn't get out of work. I really can't thank you enough for this, Harry.” Harry flushed a bit.
“It's really no problem. I'm glad I could be of help,” he stuttered into the receiver. Louis sighed again.
“Well, thank you anyway. Listen, I gotta go back to work, but do you think you can bring her back to your house and I'll pick her up after my shift? I know I'm asking a lot, but-”
“Lou, it's not an issue! If you try to thank me one more time, I'll smack you when I see you. Go back to work, we'll be here later.”
“I'm really grateful for this, Harry. I'll see you later.”
“Bye Lou.”
“Bye Haz.”
After he heard the line go dead, Harry grabbed his keys and his wallet, shoving them in his pocket as he left the house. The drive to the school was quiet-it was the middle of the day, do there weren't many cars on the road. He gripped the wheel tightly, nerves tightening his shoulders uncomfortably. He'd had plenty of parent-teacher meetings before-it came with the territory-but never from the parent's end. Not that he considered himself Lottie's parent, but... The headmaster would want to talk to him about what had happened, because he'd have to report back to Louis.
He threw the car into park, shutting off the ignition with trembling hands. He climbed the steps to the school, pushing the door open and entering the office, then leaned his elbows on the counter, peering awkwardly down at the receptionist.
“Hi, I'm here for Lottie Tomlinson?” He said quietly. The woman looked up at him kindly and pointed to a frosted, glass door tucked into the hallway behind her.
“She's in the headmaster's office, just there.” He nodded and smiled at her, muttering a 'thank you' as he pushed away from the counter and went over to the door. He knocked on the glass, the noise sounding sharp to his ears. As he entered, Lottie looked up, her shoulders sagging with relief at the sight of him.
“Harry!” She exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat to embrace him.
He caught her up in his arms, happy that she was excited to see him. Keeping an arm wrapped around her, he gently guided her back to her seat, before shaking the headmaster's hand.
“Please, have a seat, Mr. Tomlinson, we need to discuss your daughter's behavior,” he said, taking his seat behind the desk. Harry frowned, suddenly feeling awkward.
“My name's actually Styles-Harry Styles. I'm a friend of her brother's.” The headmaster raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I had assumed you were his partner.” Harry glared at Lottie when she snorted at the headmaster's comment.
“No, he just couldn't get off work, that's why I'm here. Which, as I'm sure Lottie realizes, is very lucky for her. Louis is not happy with you, young lady,” Harry said, looking at her sternly. The headmaster adjusted his glasses as Lottie shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“Which is what we're here to talk about. Some things were said, and Lottie punched a boy in her class.” Harry's eyebrow flew up.
“What was said?” Lottie looked at Harry, her face crumpled sadly.
“You know how we had to write that poem for English class? About our hero?” Harry nodded. Lottie took a shuddering breath before beginning again. “Well, I wrote mine about Louis, because he does so much, and he doesn't ever show his sadness. He took that job waiting because it was best for us, even if he doesn't like it. So, when Hank called him a loser, after I shared mine, and then continued to say that it was my parents' fault they died. I couldn't just let him say that. So I fattened his face, to match the rest of his body,” She shrugged, and Harry had the overwhelming urge to congratulate her. He quickly squashed this pride-it wasn't appropriate and the least he could do was wait until they were in the car to congratulate her.
“Which is why, I am afraid, we must suspend her. Hank has been suspended as well, for instigating, but I'm afraid she'll be suspended longer, as her actions were much more serious, and we have a zero tolerance no violence policy. She'll have three days of out-of-school suspension, which will be followed by two days of in-school suspension. She will not be permitted to make up any work she misses during her OSS, other than exams. She will do other school work during her ISS. Do you have any questions, Mr. Styles?” Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
“No, I don't think so. If Louis does, can he just call the school, or is there a special number I need to give him?”
“No, he can just call the school. Have a good day, Mr. Styles.”
“And you, sir.” The two men shook hands. Harry bent and picked up Lottie's bag off the floor, preceding her out of the office. She kept her head bowed, and her mouth shut. Harry was startled when her hand slipped into his, but he gripped it back, giving her a reassuring squeeze. They clambered into Harry's car, Lottie's backpack in the back seat. Harry looked over at her.
“As angry as Louis' going to be, I have to admit that I'm pretty proud of you for putting that kid in his place. Don't tell Lou I said that, though. He'll have my head.” Lottie giggled from the passenger's side.
“You're such a bad husband, undermining your husband's authority like that.” Butterflies erupted in Harry's stomach, his cheeks heating up quickly. He groaned.
“Not you as well! Why does everyone assume we're married, or something?” Lottie shrugged.
“You can't really blame them. It's natural to assume you're my dad when you show up to my school for a parent-teacher meeting. After that, considering that the headmaster is aware of my situation, it's not a far jump to assume you're married to my brother,” her tone was reasonable, yet smug. Harry nodded awkwardly.
“I guess... But it's not just him, you know. My mum had thought we were dating at first, as well, and she's never even met Louis! I was talking to her the other day, and she asked how my boyfriend was. I was confused, of course, and she clarified that she was talking about Louis,” Harry decided not to mention the warmth he'd felt in his belly when his mother had said that, “I'm straight! I thought she knew that.” Lottie gave him a look.
“Or maybe she knows you aren't.”
“Wh-what? What do you mean by that?” He spluttered nervously.
“Mothers know best, is all I'm saying. My mom knew about Louis before he did, too,” she mentioned casually. Harry's heart stopped for a brief moment.
“Louis' gay?” He asked, feeling giddy all of a sudden. Lottie looked at him with wide eyes.
“He didn't tell you?” Harry shook his head. “Oh. I thought he would have-you guys are so close. It's... It's not a problem, is it?”
“No! No, not at all, I don't-I mean, I'm not-I... I love Louis, him being gay doesn't change that.” Harry's face heated up as Lottie gave him a knowing look.
“How far does that love extend?” Harry looked surprised-it wasn't a question he had expected. Lottie raised an eyebrow when he took too long to answer. “For instance: if he got a boyfriend, would you be okay with that?”
Harry gripped the steering wheel tightly, anger settling into his bones. No, he thought,that most certainly would not be okay. Lottie eyed him carefully.
“Are you mad about the boyfriend, or is it the thought of Louis having the boyfriend?”
“Louis,” He growled out. Lottie smirked.
“And why does the thought of Louis getting a boyfriend make you so mad?”
He's not really thinking as he says it, the inexplicable anger still clouding his brain.
“Because he's mine, dammit.” He ignores Lottie's smug little smirk as he pulls sharply into the drive. In the back of his brain, he thinks faintly how he doesn't really remember driving back. He glances over at her as he unbuckles his seat belt, her knowing smirk shocking him out of his fury. His mind ran over the conversation, the blood rising in his cheeks as he realized what he had just insinuated.
“He's my best friend, I mean. I didn't mean 'mine' in the sense that I wanna grow old with him, I meant 'mine' in the sense that I don't want to be replaced-as his friend,” he explained hurriedly. Lottie was still smirking.
“Would you stop with the look?! I'm not in love with Louis!” He shouted. “I'm straight, I like girls, and I'm not in love with Louis.” Lottie giggled.
“A bit defensive, aren't we?” She snickered.
“No,” he ground out, “I'm not being defensive. I'm being truthful.”
Lottie raised an eyebrow.
“Somehow, I doubt that,” she muttered. Harry glowered at her.
“Look, let's just drop it, okay? Do you like hot chocolate? I could make you some.” Lottie rolled her eyes at his obstinacy, but smiled nonetheless.
“What kind of girl do you know that doesn't like hot chocolate?” Harry grinned at her.
“Come on then. I also want to hear more about this Hank situation.” Lottie swallowed nervously, but nodded anyway-she owed it to him. They clambered out of the car, entering the house and making hot chocolate to talk over.
*~*~*
When Louis knocked on the door, it was around four in the afternoon. Louis looked at Harry apprehensively as he took his hand and lead him into the kitchen, sitting him down at the breakfast bar. Harry hadn't let go of his hand once they had seated themselves, giving it a squeeze.
“Where's Lottie?” Louis asked warily. Harry smiled gently.
“She's fine, she's upstairs, having a bit of a kip. She was dead tired; she's had an emotionally draining day,” he explained. Louis sighed, dropping his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.
“So, what's the damage?” He rasped quietly. Harry squeezed his hand again.
“She's been suspended,” he said, equally softly. Louis' head shot up, shock and anger leaking into his facial expression.
“What?!”
“It's not entirely her fault, Lou, and honestly, you can't be too angry with her, not once you hear what happened,” he intoned gently, “this boy in her class said something about you being a loser and it being your parents' fault they died. Honestly, any kid would have punched him had they been in her situation. Especially considering he said this in response to her poem about her hero. She wrote about you, Lou. She's very grateful for everything you do for her and the girls, and she loves you dearly.”
Louis' head dropped again, but not in anger or exasperation this time. Harry was shocked as Louis' shoulder's began to shake, pulling his hand out of Harry's to cover his face. Damn, he'd been trying so hard not to cry. He'd held off for four months, and now it was all coming out. He let out a startled sob as he felt arms wrap themselves around him, stiffening a moment before relaxing again, clinging tightly to his friend's broad shoulders, pressing his face into Harry's neck. The smell of cologne washed over him, comforting him. Surprisingly, it was Harry burying his face into Louis' hair and whispering comforting nonsense in his ear that brought Louis' sobbing back, full force. His fingers dug into Harry's shirt, as he wailed like a child into his friend's neck. It was like a dam breaking, the tears flowing freely, without him having any control over it. The grief he had kept captive in his rib cage for so long had finally broken free of its confines.
It was like a monster-all sharp teeth and long claws-and he was sure that, without Harry's arms around his waist and Harry's voice in his ear, the monster would have torn him apart from the inside out. It gnawed on his heart and scratched at his liver; enough to hurt, enough to release the tension, but not enough to leave any lasting damage. Harry was the shackles on the monster's arms and neck, keeping it contained, but letting it do what it needed to do.
Louis felt Harry press a kiss to his hair, the action making the monster purr and shrink back. Harry's hands rubbed circles into Louis' back, the caress soothing the monster's distress, making it sleepy. “You're okay, Lou,” Harry whispered, “I've got you”. The monster yawned, curling back up in his chest to wait until the next thing set him off.
Louis pulled back, sniffling and rubbing his eyes. Harry was struck for a moment by how childlike he looked. His heart stuttered-Louis was much more broken than he'd thought. The thought aroused something protective to burst in his chest, and he reached for his friend again, needing to hold onto him. He refrained from pulling him back in, instead resting his hands on Louis' forearms, rubbing gently, the heat searing into his palms.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked gently. Louis huffed a quiet laugh, pressing the heel of his hand into his eye.
“I will be. I just-I don't know. I guess I'm not done grieving yet. Or I haven't started, yet,” Louis muttered. Harry narrowed his eyes.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Harry asked slowly. Louis averted his eyes, his shoulder lifting in a half-hearted shrug.
“I've been too focussed on keeping the girls together-I haven't had time to grieve for myself. Which is probably why I had that little break down,” he mumbled.
“Louis!” Harry exclaimed, “you can't do that, it's not healthy!”
“It's not like I had much control over it... I had to be there for the girls, and the more the girls saw me being sad, the longer it would take for them to finish grieving,” Louis reasoned, “Besides: I don't really know how to grieve-I always used to have my mom as my rock. Now she's gone, I don't really trust myself to let that kind of thing affect me-I don't know how to handle it on my own.”
“I'll be your rock,” Harry blurted out. He scrambled quickly to rectify what he'd said. “I mean, I'd help you through it. You need to grieve, Lou. The longer you put it off, the harder it's going to be to come to terms with. I don't want you killing yourself over this, when there's a perfectly reasonable way of handling it.”
“I kind of love you, you know that?” Louis mumbled quietly. Harry grinned, leaning forward and enveloping his friend in a hug. Louis sighed, resting his head on Harry's shoulder.
“I love you too, Boo Bear,” Harry whispered into Louis' hair. The scent of Louis' shampoo wafted over him, and he felt utterly at peace.
“Aw...” The two boys pulled apart looking around to see Lottie standing behind them in one of Harry's too large shirts. She smirked sleepily at them. “You two are so cute.”
“Do you think it's really wise to mock me right now, Lottie? As proud of you as I am for standing up for me and mom and dad, punching that boy wasn't the way to go. You gotsuspended, Lottie,” Louis' hand gripped Harry's shoulder to steady himself as he reprimanded his sister, “I can't let that go unpunished.”
Lottie looked at the ground, fiddling with the hem of the t-shirt.
“I was just trying to be brave, like you,” she whispered. Louis' eyes softened, and his grip on Harry slackened. He moved forward, embracing her carefully, and leaned down to drop a kiss into her hair.
“I know, my love. I know. But there's a time and a place for it-you can't punch people at school. I feel like I should add 'or anywhere' to that, but I probably would have done the same thing in your position, so I won't. I'm gonna say no screens while you're on OSS, but that'll be it,” he looked down at his watch, “we'd better be going, though. We have to get Daisy and Phoebe on the way home, and I can't be late for Flick and Georgia. Run and get dressed and we'll head out.”
Lottie nodded, squeezing Louis' once more before detaching herself and scampering up the stairs. Louis turned back around, walking back over to Harry, who opened his arms. Louis gladly fell into them, looking exhausted.
“That went better than expected,” Harry said. Louis huffed a laugh into his neck.
“Yeah, much better. I expected tears and yelling, and probably some door slamming,” Louis sighed, turning his face more into Harry's neck, “I think you probably averted the tantrum. If I had picked her up, then there certainly would have been a blow up. I can't thank you enough, for everything. You're practically part of the family, now.”
Harry's cheeks heated up, a smile stretching across his mouth.
“You guys are practically mine, too. I love you, Lou,” he murmured. He felt Louis grin into his neck.
“I love you too, Hazza,” he mumbled.
*~*~*~*
After Louis and Lottie had left, Harry'd settled down with a blanket and a book on the couch. As weird as it might be, he already missed them. His house had begun to feel strangely empty in the last few months-right around when he met Louis.
God, he loved that boy. Not in a romantic way-he was straight, dammit-just in a “you're-my-best-friend-I've-never-met-anyone-like-you” kind of way. Louis just had this way about him that made Harry feel happy and protective. It was a strange combination of feelings, he knew, but he still couldn't help the feeling that Louis needed looking after.
Harry wanted to be the one to look after him.
That wasn't weird, was it? People looked after their best friends. It happened.
Not in the way you want it to, though, his mind whispered. You wanna hold him, and kiss him, and love him, and marry him, the voice sang. It sounded suspiciously like Lottie, in there. Which is why he shouldn't pay any attention to it. He didn't need love advice from a ten year old, no matter how much he loved her.
He was getting distracted, he'd sat down to read, and now what was he doing? Thinking about Louis. Everything was about Louis, these days.
He jumped as his mobile rang, on the coffee table next to him. Boo Bear, the caller ID read. He smiled a bit, answering the phone with a “Hey there!”.
“Ha-Harry?” Lottie's voice shook on the other end of the line. Harry sat up, swinging his legs onto the floor.
“Lottie? Is everything okay?” He asked frantically.
“N-No. We got in an accident. Lou-Louis' unconscious. The man called the ambu-lance, but I-I'm scared,” her voice broke as she sobbed, “what if he doesn't wake up? What if they don't get here in ti-ime?”
Harry's heart stopped, breaking into a million little pieces. His brain was yelling that Louis was unconscious, Lottie was in trouble-he needed to get going. Lottie hiccoughed, the sound breaking up the line for a moment, and jolting Harry into action. He stood up, moving towards the door.
“Are you alright? Did you get hurt? How are you getting to the hospital?” He asked, in quick succession. The line clouded as Lottie took a shuddering breath.
“I-I think I'm okay. I was going to go in the ambulance-I can't leave Louis,” her voice broke on her brother's name. Harry grabbed his keys, throwing his shoes on with one hand.
“Which hospital is it?”
“Saint-Saint Mary's,” she whimpered. Harry slammed the front door behind him, running down the steps and launching himself into the driver's seat, jamming the keys into the ignition and throwing his seatbelt on.
“I'll be there as soon as I can, love, but I've got to hang up the phone so I don't crash,” Lottie whimpered as he said this, “I know, lovely, I know. Hang in there, you're a strong girl, and Louis a very strong man. He'll pull through.”
“Okay-Okay, just please hurry, Daddy,” Lottie blubbered into the receiver. Harry's heart melted, tears pricking the back of his eyes.
“I am, my love, I'll be there before you know it,” he whispered. She mumbled out a “bye” which he answered, and they hung up the phone, Harry driving off the Saint Mary's Hospital.
*~*~*~*
Continued here