Golden // Larry Stylinson

Chapter Ten

Palm flat against the door, Harry eases it open and steps into the dimly lit bathroom. A row of stalls line the wall, two sinks near the door. Leaning against one of the sinks, he opens Twitter on his phone and scrolls through his feed.

#LarryStylinson is still trending, and he can't help it when a smile crosses his face. Pictures of interview moments, candid street photos, and even shots of the band on stage accompany the hashtag. In all of them, either Harry or Louis is looking at the other in a way that could be considered romantic.

He doesn't appreciate the drama it's creating in his and Louis' lives, but the constant reminder of Louis' love (?) isn't a negative in Harry's opinion.

The bathroom door swings open, Harry looking up expectantly and feeling slightly disappointed to see it isn't his boyfriend. Instead, the boy he had accidentally been staring at during the interview is standing there, jaw slack as he notices Harry.

"Hey," Harry breaks the awkward silence. "Oh, sorry. Did you need to wash your hands?" He pushes himself off of the sink, crossing the small area to give the boy space.

"Uh, no. I just came in here to get away from all the noise."

"Oh, yeah. I get it. It can be a lot."

"Definitely." The boy responds instantly, his voice sounding less shaky than before as if he had collected himself. "Um, I'm sorry if this is like, totally inappropriate and all, I mean, we're in a restroom right now, but uh... can I tell you something?"

"Um..." Harry hesitates, unsure of what could come from the boy's mouth. "Sure. Of course."

"Cool. I'm Luca, by the way. I always told myself that if I ever met you in person I'd be sure to tell you this, so uh..." he pauses, taking a deep breath. "I just wanted to thank you. When you came out it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders cause you're a pretty famous celebrity and gay. And it made me feel a lot more seen and accepting of myself because I'm gay too. And I came out a few weeks after you did because I got confidence from you. So thank you. For being who you are and being so accepting. I don't know if I could've come out so confidently if it wasn't for you."

Harry's lips part halfway through the confession, his heart swelling at Luca's words. Pride fills his insides at the idea that something he did helped someone so drastically.

"Wow, I don't-" Harry lets out a nervous laugh when he sees Luca's eyes welling with tears. He can feel his own eyes begin to water as he takes a step towards the boy.

Wrapping his arms around Luca, Harry pulls him into a tight hug, feeling arms around his chest as the hug was reciprocated.

"I couldn't have done it without your support, and everyone else's. And congratulations, I'm very proud you were able to do that." Harry smiles as he pulls away from the hug, wiping his eyes embarrassedly.

"You saved me. I couldn't have done it without you." Tears begin streaming down Luca's cheeks as he begins crying again, Harry pulling him into another tight hug.

"You came out because of you, not me. It's your strength, Luca." Harry soothes him, his hand stroking his back comfortingly.

The bathroom door creaks and a figure bursts in. Pulling away from each other, Harry and Luca turn to see who it is.

Louis' standing there, looking at the pair quizzically.

"What's going on, Harry? Are you crying?"

Harry laughs weakly, a smile shining on his face though his eyes are red.

"It's possible."

"Why? What's wrong?" Louis steps closer to Harry, tucking his hair back behind his ear and gently wiping a tear from his cheek. "And... who is this?" He asks in a quieter tone, only the tiniest hint of jealousy in his voice. After all, he had walked in on Harry wrapped up in somebody else, someone who is not him.