Things get back to normal after that, as the term slowly winds down to an end, and the incident soon forgotten. It's now the last day before I go back home for Christmas and things are really quiet. I'm the last person left in the accommodation because I chose to stay here an extra day so I could spend it with Louis. We both want some time together before leaving and Louis' birthday is on Christmas Eve, meaning I wouldn't be able to see him for it. So, we're going out together for an early celebration. Just us two.

I'd frantically ran around the town centre yesterday looking for a birthday card and present - what do you even get someone that isn't your official boyfriend, but they kind of are, but not really? I don't think I've ever been this stressed over getting someone a present, not helped by the fact that I'm almost out of student loan, meaning I'm practically broke. Once I'd eventually found and settled on something, I started constantly worrying about whether he'd actually like it or not and if it was weird that I'd even got him something. I hope it won't be.

I've told Louis that where I'm taking him is a mystery location, which he seems to be equally confused and excited about, while also teasing me about my poor attempt of instructing him where to go in the car.

'If you could just tell me where we're going, this would be a lot easier!' Louis laughs, after I told him at the last second to take a turning, causing him to almost miss it.

'No, I told you, it's a surprise,' I reply, before going back to paying close attention to where we are and how far away the place is.

'You're so fuckin' annoyin',' Louis teases, taking one of his hands off the wheel to hold mine.

'But you love it though,' I tease back, smiling at his touch and giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

'No comment,' Louis says, with a smirk, concentrating on the road.

I spot the venue coming up on our right and instantly shout out for Louis to turn into the carpark.

'What here?' he asks, seeming more confused than ever. I notice him glance up at the large neon sign on the side of the building. 'Ice skatin'?'

I don't say anything and just smile to myself.

'You're takin' me ice skatin'?' Louis asks again, as we pull into a parking space. 'Harry, are you mad?'

'What?' I say, laughing at the bewildered expression on his face. 'Thought it would be romantic and fun.'

'Romantic and fun, maybe, but I'll fall flat on my fuckin' arse!' Louis exclaims, before laughing himself. 'You're very cute, though.'

'I do try,' I say, with another smile, before leaning on for a kiss. Louis moves his head away. I'm confused at first, before I notice his eyes are fixated on a group of people walking past the car. 'Oh shit, people are around, sorry...'

'It's okay,' Louis replies, still watching them closely. 'I just don't want people to...you know.'

His voice trails off and he looks down at his feet.

'I get it,' I say quickly. 'Don't feel bad.'

'Thanks, Haz,' Louis says, turning to me with a small smile on his face. 'Shall we go in then?'

'Definitely.'

x

Once inside, we buy our tickets for an hour on the ice and get our skates. I go straight onto the rink without hesitation, spinning around and showing off. Louis stays on the edge, holding onto the side, just watching me.

'Come on, Lou!' I say, laughing as I skate up to him. 'It's fun!'

'No, I'm not gonna fuckin' show myself up in front of people!' Louis says, still trying to hold on tightly. 'I almost fell over just getting myself here.'

I hold onto the side too, so that I can stay standing next to him.

'Want me to get you one of those penguin things?' I tease, gesturing towards a couple of young children who were holding onto plastic penguins to help them skate.

'Fuck no!' Louis laughs. 'I'll look like even more of an idiot.'

'Are you sureeee you don't want a penguin?' I ask, raising my eyebrows and teasing him even more. 'I know you'd probably secretly love one.'

'Harry, shut up!' Louis says, shaking his head at me and still laughing. 'You're really annoyin'!'

'There's a staff member right there!' I say, pointing towards a member of staff heading in our direction with one of the penguins. 'I'll ask her for you.'

'Don't you dare!'

She gets closer, definitely within earshot. I start to skate away and towards her.

'Excu-'

'No!' Louis exclaims, letting go of the side in an attempt to come after me. He wobbles and I quickly grab onto his arms to steady him. 'Jesus fuckin' christ.'

I slowly pull him towards me, helping him to glide along, rather than almost losing his balance.

'It's easier than it seems,' I say, as Louis focuses hard on keeping himself steady. 'But you can keep holding onto me if you feel nervous. I'm not complaining.'

Louis looks back up and into my eyes, biting on his lip nervously.

'But Har, all these people...' he says, quietly, glancing around at the people skating around us.

'Lou, it's okay,' I say, trying to reassure him. 'It won't look suspicious or anything - plenty of others are holding onto each other.'

Louis looks hesitant for a second, before he lets out a sigh and replies with a simple, 'Okay.'

I smile before moving my hands down to take his, which I notice are shaking slightly. I slowly start pulling him further across the ice with me. Eventually a small smile spreads across his face.

'See, it's fun, right?' I smile back, before I start to spin him around. Louis swears under his breath before laughing.

'At least warn me next time!' he says, as we approach the middle of the ice rink. He looks around again. 'I think I might try to skate around on my own, I'm really gettin' the hang of it.'

'You sure?' I ask, raising my eyebrows slightly.

'Yeah,' Louis says. 'I've got this.'

'Alright, well, I'm letting go,' I tell him, before releasing his hands.

Louis wobbles for a second before putting his arms out to steady himself. After a couple of moments, he starts skating slowly forwards, without difficulty. He turns to me smiling and seeming proud of himself. I smile too.

'You're doing it!' I exclaim, as he starts to pick up speed.

'I really fuckin' am!' Louis says, excitedly as he turns back to skate in the direction he'd just came from.

I skate over to him before making circles around him and spinning around with my arms out.

'Show off,' Louis mutters, teasingly.

x

We ended up skating for another forty minutes, with Louis getting more and more confident, even managing a few spins himself. As soon as our time is up, we head to the café where we order a large mug of deluxe hot chocolate each, to help warm ourselves back up from the cold of the ice rink.

'So, I kind of got you something,' I say nervously, as I reach into my bag, pulling out a card and a small present I'd wrapped myself in silver paper. 'For your birthday - I would have got you something for Christmas too, but you decided to be greedy and have your birthday on Christmas Eve.'

'Oh I just decided that, did I?' Louis says, jokingly as he takes them both from me. 'But thank you, Haz. I... got you something too.'

I watch as he reaches into his own bag, pulling out a small gift bag.

'It's not much, but Happy early Christmas and all that,' Louis says, shyly as I peak inside the bag. 'Go on, you open yours first.'

I notice a card and something wrapped up in tissue paper. I decide to open the card first, smiling to myself upon seeing 'Haz x' written on the envelope in Louis' handwriting as I take it out of the bag. I glance up at Louis, who's watching me closely, an affectionate smile on his face. I carefully tear open the envelope to find a simple card with 'Happy Christmas' on the front on gold sparkly letters. I open it and chuckle to myself at the message written inside.

Haz,

Happy fucking Christmas, dickhead ;)

Thanks for making the past few months more bearable, have a good one 'cause you deserve it!

Love,

Lou xx

'Charming!' I say to Louis, in reference to the dickhead comment. He laughs.

'Well, what can I say?' he says, with a small shrug. 'You gonna open your present or what?'

'Alright, alright, give me a chance!' I reply, trying to sound serious but struggling to hide my smile.

I reach back into the bag and pull out the small tissue wrapped bundle. I open it to find a white Aztec print bandana, I pick it up and give it a closer look.

'I notice you wearin' those a lot,' Louis explains. 'And I thought that one would really suit ya. Sorry it's not much.'

I look up at him and smile.

'Lou, I love it,' I say, before slipping it into my hair. 'I'll probably wear this one more than the others now.'

'I was right, it does suit you,' Louis says, smiling at me and admiring it.

'Thank you,' I smile back. 'Can you open yours now?'

'Don't have to rush me!' Louis jokes, before taking his card and opening it, revealing what I'd chosen.

I'd gone for a simple card design with a blue 21 on the front and star decors surrounding it.

'Didn't want to get anything cheesy,' I state, as he opens it to read the message inside, which is slightly longer than the one he'd written for me.

Dear Lou,

Happy 21st :) hate that I can't be there to celebrate with you on the day,

I'm so grateful to have met you & sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve having someone like you by my side. I told myself I wouldn't get cheesy while writing this, but I simply can't help myself - you only have yourself to blame for that ;)

Anyway, I hope you have the best day!

All the love,

Harry X

'Cute,' Louis says with a smile, closing the card and placing it aside before starting to unwrap the present. He lets out a chuckle when he tears it open to reveal the blue, cable-knit beanie inside. 'What are we like? Gettin' each other similar things like this.'

'Well, I thought the same as you - you like to wear them and it would suit you,' I reply, with a small laugh myself. 'Great minds think alike and all that.'

Louis puts on the beanie and smooths down his fringe. It sits slightly oversized on him and god, does he look good in it.

'Well, does it suit me?' he asks, catching me staring.

'Definitely,' I reply, smiling. 'Brings out your eyes.'

x

After we finish our drinks, we head back. We would have stayed out longer if we could but I'm getting picked up early the next day and Louis is leaving tonight. When we pull up outside my accommodation, I'm hit with a wave of sadness - I've been dreading this.

'Well, this is where I leave you,' Louis begins, shutting off the engine for a moment.

'I don't want to go,' I say, with a sigh. 'Two whole weeks without you, how am I gonna cope?'

Louis brings a hand to my cheek, gently caressing it with his thumb.

'Hey, it'll be okay,' he says, softly. 'I'll call ya pretty much everyday, probably will get to the point of me gettin' on your nerves, to be honest. And then we'll be back for New Year's and can spend that together.'

'I know, I know,' I say with another sigh. 'It's just not the same as in person. Like how will I go that long without kissing you, or hugging you? Even just being with you is nice.'

Louis looks at me, thinking for a moment. I worry for a second I'm being too much because I already feel like this when we're not even officially boyfriends.

'Well, we'd better make the most of it then,' he says, before leaning in. I lean in too, our lips meeting in a gentle, slow kiss, instantly reassuring me that he feels the same as I do.

I don't want it to end, I don't want it to ever end. Our heads tilt, switching directions as our mouths separate for a split second, the kiss carrying on and on. We hold onto each other tightly the whole time, and it seems like neither of us wants to be the one to pull away first.

Louis eventually does, but he keeps his face close to mine, nose rested against mine.

'Gonna fuckin' miss you, Haz,' he mutters, brushing his thumb against my lip.

'I'll miss you more,' I say back, running a hand down his arm. 'I'm barely going to survive.'

We kiss again briefly.

'I should probably get out the car now,' I sigh, picking up my bag. 'God, I really don't want to.'

'I'd take you to Donny with me, if I could,' Louis says, with a small laugh. 'But I think your family would be upset with me.'

'Yeah, they probably would,' I reply, with a faint smile. I open the car door and lean in to give Louis one final peck goodbye, before climbing out of the car. 'Bye, Lou. Have a safe journey home tomorrow, yeah?'

'Bye, babe,' Louis says, a slightly sad expression forming on his face. 'You too. I'll text ya whenever I'm stopped at services and stuff.'

'Please do,' I say. 'Alright, I'm really going this time. See you soon?'

'See you soon,' Louis repeats, with a smile.

I give him a small wave and close the door. As I turn away, I feel a lump form in my throat and my eyes watering. I feel a bit crazy, but I'd spent nearly every day with him for the past month and a half, plus my feelings for him are intense. I dread to think how I'd feel if he was my actual boyfriend. I wish he was. I think I'll ask him when we're back, I can't leave it any longer. I'll probably spend all Christmas planning how to start the conversation. I turn around as I get to my door and give Louis one final wave. He waves too, before pulling away, beeping his horn as he drives away from me, for the last time until after Christmas.