Both boys were crying, embracing one another in a hug as they sat in the middle of Harry's room.

Things just weren't right. Louis was still struggling to accept his sexuality and they were too young to have a proper relationship, only 12 and 14. And it didn't help that Louis and his family were moving across the country.

Louis pulled back cupping Harry's face and warm, stinging tears filled his red eyes and spilled down his cheeks

"If we're meant to be, we'll meet again" he told Harry, but they both didn't believe him.

Harry was sobbing too hard to say anything back, instead Louis just placed a peck on his forehead, wiping the never ending tears away with his thumbs.

"Please stay" Harry stuttered out a sob, his chest feeling tight.

Louis hugged him once more, softly kissing the top of his head

"I'll see you later, I promise"

Harry held out his pinky. Louis linked his own with Harry's before he walked away softly, closing the door.

•

It's been 10 years, Louis is 24 and Harry is 22.

When Louis left 10 years ago, Harry didn't stop crying for weeks. His mum knew why and did everything in her power to make him feel better. Making him soup and watching his favorite movies with him.

And all that was great, but all he really wanted was Louis, and he was the only thing he couldn't have.

To be honest, he never really got over him, claiming he was his first love. His mum kept telling him that he was too young to be in love.

But 10 years later and that statement still stands.

•

Harry stood behind the counter of a bakery, giving change back to a little old man who bought a muffin.

He waved goodbye as the man shuffled out of the building across the black and white checkered floor.

Harry smiled as he leaned back against the display with cakes, muffins and breads, taking out his phone and mindlessly scrolling through social media

He heard the tingle of the bell above the door sound, so he walked towards the register, placing his phone in his pocket and giving the young couple a fake, customer service smile.

The boy had soft brown hair and a tight shirt on, his arm slung around the thin frame of the girl who stood beside him. The girl had long dark hair and a cream coloured fur jacket on. Thick black sun glasses took up half of her face.

He smiled at them as they looked through the clean glass at all the baked goods that sat in stacks.

The girl pointed at a pink cupcake that was in the center of the display.

"Hello, can we get the pink cupcake and a blueberry muffin please?" The boy asked

"Yeah, of course" Harry replied, grabbing the metal tongs that sat on a white plate on the counter.

He grabbed 2 small boxes and placed each baked good in the boxes. As he was doing this, he saw the boy was watching him rather attentively, his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He picked up the 2 boxes and set them on the counter, sliding them to the couple. The boy gave Harry the money with a smile.

"Have a great day" Harry said to the couple

"Thanks mate, you too" the boy replied, taking the girls hand and leading her to a table.

Harry looked around, they were the only people in the bakery right now. He took his phone out again and opened up Instagram.

He was probably too lost in his phone because he was interrupted from his thought by a person infront of him clearing their throat.

Harry's head whipped up as he pocketed his phone again

"I'm so sorry, have you decided what you would like?" Harry apologized

"Oh, no it's okay. Um, I just thought I recognized you from somewhere?" The boy said

Harry looked at the man infront of him, studying his face.

Then realization kicked in.

"Louis?" He asked in disbelief

"Oh my god, I thought it was you but I didn't want to say anything incase it wasn't. How are you mate? You look different" Louis smiled

"Wow Louis, it's good seeing you again, I've been good yeah" he lied

"And you?" He continued

"I've been good too yeah, we should catch up sometime" he replied

"Uh, yeah. For sure" he fake smiled

"Nice talking to you mate, but I've gotta go, see you around?" He said and Harry just nodded

Ok, wow. I just bumped into my childhood boyfriend...with his new girlfriend. Ouch.

He didn't even give Harry his number, but it might be the same from 10 years ago. Harry doubts it.

He checked the time and realized his shift ended 10 minutes ago. He exhaled a sigh of relief and took his apron off, locking up and driving home.

•

I'll see you later, I promise

Louis voice echoed in his ears as he tried to sleep. Well, he kept his promise.

Harry woke up with a startle, tears forming in his eyes as he flashed back to that day they broke up.

He was only 12 at the time, and everybody he meets tells him that 'it wasn't real love', but he's never felt that strongly for someone before, and here he is 10 fucking years later crying over it.

So yeah, it was real love.

•

He woke up with a tear stained face. Ever since the breakup things had gone downhill for Harry.

About a month after, his mum and dad got a divorce. He went to school for anthropology, but he ran out of money for funding, so he had no choice but to drop out.

He still lives with his mum, who is more than happy to have him stay with her, but it gets annoying when he wants to bring someone home with him or if he just needs privacy.

And sure, he's had his fair share of boyfriends, but none of them lasted more than 5 months.

And now here he is, waking up looking absolutely disgusting after crying over a boy who broke his heart 10 years ago, who is also probably straight.

He walked down the stairs to see his mum hovering over the stove, cooking pancakes and bacon.

"Good morning" she smiled, turing around

"Morning mum" he replied, stepping forward to hug her.

"What's wrong?" She asked, pulling away after a moment. She looked at his face, seeing the tears that stained his face and the dark bags under his eyes

"I bumped into him yesterday" he mumbled, looking down at the floor

"Oh honey, that's amaz-"

"He has a girlfriend"

"Oh, well you can find someone better than him" she said, trying to make him feel better

He felt his chin quiver

I'm a 22 year old man, I shouldn't cry half as much as I do

Anne wrapped him in a warm embrace

"Have some food, you'll feel better" she spoke

He nodded and ate, then quickly got into his car and drove to the bakery.

He was tired today, and he was working alone because his coworker was off sick.

The door chimed and a person walked in. Harry just stood there his head down, looking at the cash register.

"Hi" the person said

"Morning" he replied, not looking up

"Um, one blueberry muffin please" the person said

Harry looked up for the first time to see it was Louis, looking shyly at him.

Harry gasped, making him cough sporadically. Louis smiled softly.

"Yeah, uh. Sorry one second" Harry said

He ran into the back, taking a deep breath. He was impossibly embarrassed at what just happened.

He came back to the front, wordlessly, placing the muffin in the a box with the tongs, handing it over.

"Wanna catch up?" Louis asked

"Uh.." Harry looked around to see nobody else in the store, Louis didn't bring the girl this time "yeah, sure"

They both walked over to a booth and sat down. Louis began eating his muffin silently, and painfully slow. Both men not making any effort to speak first.

"So, how've you been?" Harry asked after a few moments of awkwardness silence

"Really great actually, I went to uni and graduated. I met El there too" He smiled

"Who's El?" Harry asked

"My girlfriend" he replied

Harry nodded his head, picking at his fingernails.

"How about you?" Louis asked, popping the last bit of muffin into his mouth

"Not much really"

"No school? Significant other?" Louis asked

"Nope" he said quietly, Louis was surprised by the answer, but nodded.

"Hows your mum and dad?" Louis asked

"My mums good. Haven't spoken to may dad in a while" he replied

"Gemma?"

"Yeah shes fine" Harry said. He was starting to get a bit fed up with this 'small talk'.

Are we just going to ignore the obvious elephant in the room? Am I just going to forget about everything and pretend we're mates?

"How are your sisters?" Harry asked

"Well Lottie is in school right now and the twins just graduated 8th grade" he smiled, he always had that smile when he talked about his sisters. That never changed.

A long minute past.

"Look, Harry" he exhaled "I really want to be friends with you. Can we just put everything that happened behind us?"

"Yeah" he faked a smile, and Louis noticed

Suddenly, Harry's phone rang. He grabbed it, hitting the red button in the middle of the screen.

"Mate my dick got stuck in a toaster please come and help" an Irish voice yelled over the phone

"Niall what the fuck?" Harry asked, now standing up

"Please come quick its gonna fall off" he replied sadly

"I can't I'm at work, call Ashe" Harry rolled his eyes

"No she can't see my dick like this. Harry please come now its turning purple" he begged

"I'll be there in 10" Harry sighed, hanging up the phone.

He dialed his coworkers number and she picked up right away, agreeing to cover his shift. Louis just sat there confused.

"Hey, uh I have to go. It was nice catching up" Harry said quickly, grabbing his keys

"Wait, here" Louis replied, shoving a crumpled peice of paper into his bag

"Text me or something" he mumbled

"Yeah" he replied, opening the door just as his coworker was on the other side

"Oh my god, thank you so much. I owe you" Harry said hugging the girl

"Go pull his dick out of the toaster" she laughed, Harry finally letting go

He jumped in his car and sped off.

Louis sat there in the booth, wondering if he was the reason why Harry left so suddenly.

"Hey, want a coffee or muffin or something?" The new cashier asked, pulling out a flask of whiskey.

"Um, no thanks. I was just on my way out" he smiled, walking out of the small bakery

•

Eleanor sat on the couch in their flat. She had on ripped jeans with rolled up pant legs and an oversized tshirt that was tucked into her pants. Louis' head was laying on her leg as she had her hand settled into his hair

They had been dating for about 2 years

"Uhm, Louis?" She asked

"Mhm?"

"I have something to tell you, please don't get mad" she said quietly

"I won't get mad, I promise. What is it?" He asked, genuinely concerned

"I think um..."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'm lesbian" she said, looking down at her hands

"Oh?" He said surprised

"I'm sorry"

"Don't apologize El" he replied

"So I've been looking for apartments-" she started

"What, why? You don't have to move out" he said

"I just assume you wouldn't want to live with me anymore"

"Why not? We can just get another bed" he shrugged

"You're taking this alot better than I thought you would" she smiled

He shrugged and laughed

"I mean, it surprised me but there's nothing we can do about it" he replied

"Thank you Louis" she smiled, bringing him in for a hug

"Of course El"

•

For the next few weeks, he did alot better than he thought he would. She didn't move out and they acted exactly like they did before, just no kissing or sex.

He never asked her anymore about it because it wasn't in his place to know.

They regularly went places together, and Eleanor met a girl named Taylor, they really hit it off.

•

Harry pulled into Nialls driveway, quickly getting out of his car and opening the door to his house

"Niall?"

"In the kitchen"

Harry rolled his eyes and leisurely made his way to the kitchen

"Why did you try to fuck the toaster?" Harry laughed as he walked, seeing the boy on his back on the kitchen floor.

"I didn't Harry, Zayn dared me" he groaned

"And he just left you like this?"

"No he was laughed too much, he's in the other room looking for lube" he replied

Just then, Zayn emerged from the other room

"No lube" Zayn replied with a tight lipped smile

"Butter it is then" Harry laughed, pulling out the stick of butter from the fridge.

"Don't put butter on my dick like a cob of corn" Niall replied laughing in pain

Harry just laughed and moved the toaster, slathering butter on Niall

With a pop, the toaster came off of him.

"Never talk about this" Niall groaned as he put his pants back on

"Oh we will, you'll never live this down" Zayn laughed

•

They sat down on Nialls couch and turned the TV on

"So what's nes with you guys?" Niall asked

"I sold my paintings to a gallery" Zayn said excitedly. They talked about that for a while

"And you Harry?" Zayn asked

"Well. Remember Louis? I told you about him a while ago" he said, and both men nodded

"Well, I bumped into him a few days ago" he said

Niall had a big grin on his face while Zayn looked excited

"And?" Niall smiled, trying to get more out of him

"That's it" he shrugged

"So you guys didn't talk?" Zayn added

"We did a bit" Harry replied

"What did he say?"

"Well, he has a girlfriend, he's really happy" he told them

"It's okay mate" Niall said, clapping him on the back

"Yeah" he replied

Honestly, he didn't know what to think. He shouldn't be this held up because of a guy he dated 10 years ago when he was a child. It's dumb.

•

Harry got home, instantly remembering the crumpled paper in his bag that Louis gave him. He took it out to see his number scribbled on it.

He rolled his eyes and put it on the counter as he grabbed himself some food.

I'm not texting him

•

It was now 3am and Harry couldn't sleep.

He grabbed his phone and started to mindlessly scroll through random apps.

"Calculator?" He mumbled as he typed random numbers and symbols into the calculator app.

He groaned and put his phone away, deciding he was hungry, so he went downstairs and made himself a sandwich.

He looked at the peice of paper sitting on the counter.

"Fuck it" he mumbled, taking the paper and sandwitch back up to his room.

He grabbed his phone once more and typed in the number to save it as a contact

Harry: Hi

He staired at his screen for a while, hoping for a reply, but he got none.

He layed back in bed, sandwich in hand, and slowly fell asleep.

•

He woke up late the next day, he had to be at work in 30 minutes, so quickly, he wiped up the half eaten sandwich that was laying on his chest, took a shower and got to work.

It was really busy today, he was taking order after order, but luckily his coworker was there also.

It got less busy at around 3, so he took his lunch break in the back room, which consisted of a muffin and a coffee.

A man walked up to the register with a girl by his side

"Hi, could we have 2 muffins please?" He asked Harry's coworker. She nodded, they payed and they sat down at a table

They were about to leave when the man came back

"Hi again, sorry to bother you but is Harry working today?"

"Yeah he's on break in the back" she motioned to a door to her left

"Thanks" he said, going into the door

"Oh my god, Taylor" Eleanor smiled as Louis went into the back.

The cashier looked up

"Eleanor! Nice to see you again"

•

Louis walked across the black and white checkered floor in the back. Harry was sat cross legged on the table, his hair covering his face as he looked down at his phone, half a muffin in his hand

Louis stood there

"Hi" he said

Harry jolted upright

"Hey" he replied, his eyes darting around

"She told me you were back here" he motioned to Taylor who was now deep in conversation with Eleanor, he smiled at the sight.

Ew, he's smiling at his girlfriend

"Oh" he replied

"Did you get my text?" Louis asked

The memories flooded back into his head that he said hi to him in the middle of the night last night. Thank goodness that's all he said.

Harry shook his head, pulling out his phone again to see that Louis replied back

Louis: hi

Harry laughed at it, this reminded him of when they were young and they would text mindlessly just because. They never had anything to talk about but they would talk about everything and nothing.

Louis laughed along with him, his hands tucked behind him.

"You look different" Harry finally said

"You do too. You look good" Louis replied

"Thanks" Harry shyly said, he felt his face already turning red

Harry looked down at his hands, a smile on his face

"Do you wanna hang out some time?" Harry asked, avoiding eye contact

"Yeah" Louis replied a bit too eagerly

•

Louis was getting ready to hang out with Harry. Eleanor helped him choose an outfit and he was in the car fixing his hair. Why was he so concerned about his appearance?

He sped off in his car, making it to the place they agreed they would meet.

Eleanor and Taylor were also going out tonight.

He pulled into the gravel parking lot. Harry was sitting on a blanket on the grass, he looked really nervous.

The picnic was set up looking over the ocean that was crashing on the rocks below.

Louis saw from his car that Harry was nervously picking at his nails that had light blue polish coating them. Louis smiled as he got out of his car and walked towards the boy.

"Hi Harry" Louis smiled and he sat down on the blanket beside

"Hi Louis" he replied with a relieved smile

"Eleanor went out with Taylor today so it's just us two" he said

"Oh, did they know eachother from before?" He asked

"I don't think so, they're dating now. I think they just met a few weeks ago" Louis replied, opening the woven basket in front of him

"Wait...I thought-"

"Nah she broke up with me" Louis shrugged with a half smile

"Oh, I'm sorry"

"It's okay. Let's eat?" He smiled

Harry laughed at his enthusiasm and they brought out sandwiches and small chocolate strawberries.

"This reminds me of when we had picnics in your backyard every weekend" Louis said, popping some fruit into his mouth

"And Gemma would always try to take our food when we weren't looking" Harry laughed

Louis laughed along with him, smiling fondly at the man infront of him. He changed so much, but he still could see why he fell for him in the first place, clear and bright.