Chapter 18 I Love You

"So here's the last question: What made you fall in love with your fiancé, Mr. Tomlinson?"

At the corner of his eyes, it didn't go unnoticed to Liam the way Louis' smile somehow froze. Liam casually draped his arms around Louis' shoulders.

"Hey, how come he's the only one who had questions like that? You should ask me that, too." Liam diverted the question.

Their interviewer laughed. This month, they're chosen to be the cover of a famous society magazine because of their engagement announcement. They're in the living room of Liam's flat

"Well, sure. But it seems like you've already answered that in the first few questions."

He did? His feelings for Louis is really that obvious?

He felt his fiancé squeeze his hands. He looked at him.

"He's really not hard to love," He heard Louis say. "As I've said, at first, I didn't like him. We we're so different. Everything about us is contradictory. Everything that I disliked, it's in him. But as I get to know him better, I saw that he's not really as bad as I initially thought. He won't admit it, but Liam has a kind heart." Louis glanced at him smiling.

"You probably don't believe it too, right?" Louis turned to the interviewer again.

The two laughed. Liam also can't help but chuckle.

"He's selfish, yes. But he's just being true. He knows what he wants and tries his best to get it. Just sometimes, he could bump on some people along the way and his methods were kind of unusual." Louis chuckled. "Still, I think I came to like that about him. I suppose, I came to like his guts. And the truth is, the more I know about him, the more I like what I'm seeing and..." He paused for a bit then smiled, "... well, he made me realize a lot of things about myself- good and bad things. Actually, more on the bad things. For example, I always thought that I was honest and fair and brave. But when I met Liam, when I started to have feelings for him, I found out just how frail, scared and selfish I am. This may sound dumb, but I've always thought that I wanted to fall in love- madly and deeply like in the movies. You know, get through all the hurdles and experience all the pains and heartaches of love?" Louis said chuckling.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." The interviewer smiled.

"But when I met Liam, I find myself trying so hard not to fall in love. We all know that he's a playboy and all, right?"

"Hey!" Liam whined at Louis' statement. The two just laughed again.

"I was afraid to get hurt. I know loving someone like him would be painful so I wanted to run away. But seeing how much he loves his father and how he could do anything for him, it made me feel ashamed of my selfishness. Here is the man I accused to be selfish and self-centered, yet, this person is ready to give up his freedom and playboy lifestyle for his father. And here I am, someone who prided himself as kind and at some extent, selfless- yet, desperately trying to protect myself so much simply because I'm afraid to get hurt. Simply because I'm selfish and I love myself too much."

"I decided that I'll be like him. I wanted to go on with the engagement too, for my dad. But it just went on for a week and I wasn't able to stand it. Again, I found out that I love myself more than my dad. I really can't be married to him when I'm so in love with him and I know he doesn't feel the same way. And so, I ran away. Then, he did something that made me feel rather ashamed of myself... He told me he loves me."

Liam froze at that while the interviewer furrowed her eyebrows. Then the lady interviewer asked the question that Liam also wanted to ask.

"That made you feel ashamed of yourself?"

Louis nodded. "Yeah, because he made me see an ugly side of me. He showed me just how much of a coward I am. He's someone who swore he'd never want to fall in love because it is painful. But then, he bravely and honestly admitted his feelings for me."

"I've always known that we're opposites from the start, but I never thought that we're opposites this way. And before I knew it, I was already, deeply in love with him." Louis smiled.

*****

"What you said at the last question, is that true or did you just made that up for the article to look good?"

The interviewer had long been gone and they were cuddled up on the sofa in the living room. Louis' back was facing him while his arms were around Louis' body.

Louis chuckled at Liam's question.

Crap, Liam grumbled to himself. He buried his face in the crook of Louis' neck in frustration. He's determined not to force Louis to return his feelings. But when he heard the things that the boy said earlier, he can't help for his hope meter to go up.

Louis turned his body to face Liam, then attached his forehead to his.

"It's true." Louis said simply.

Liam stilled. He grabbed Louis' shoulders. "I'll take that. Even if you're just saying that to appease me, I'll take that. So you can't take that back." Liam seriously said.

Louis kissed him softly on the lips. "I won't."

He stared Louis in the eye. He wants to ask him if he's serious, but he can't. He's afraid to hear Louis say that it's all just a joke.

So instead, he leaned down and kissed Louis, hoping that he'll get the answer to his question there. He kissed Louis hard and Louis responded to him with equal intensity and force. Liam bit and licked at Louis' jaw and neck.

"I love you so much." Liam's feelings were out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

"I love you, too. I really do." He heard Louis whisper. And Liam's heart stopped.

As cliché as it sounds, the butterflies in his stomach all fluttered as he felt that amazing warm and fuzzy feeling travel to his body and settling in his heart. He never thought that hearing someone say 'I love you' would feel like this. But then, it felt this amazing because it's Louis who said it to him.

Louis' hands tangled in Liam's hair and gently pulled his face to attach their lips again.

"I really do." Louis said in between kisses. Liam tugged Louis' lower lip and trailed kisses down his neck.

Liam nipped at the pulse on the side of Louis' neck, then brought his lips to his ear. "You shouldn't have said that." Liam groaned as he continued kissing and biting Louis' neck until it reddened.

"Because now that you've said it, I really won't let you go, even if you cry or complain." He tugged at Louis' jumper and proceeded sucking and biting at the skin of his shoulder. Then he stopped and looked at Louis' eyes.

"That's a lie." Liam said all of a sudden.

"What...?"

He smiled when he saw Louis' dazed expression. Just knowing that he can do this to Louis to the point that he could not keep track of their conversation- if you could call that a conversation- felt so good.

"Never mind." Liam bent down and kissed Louis again.

What he's about to say is that, it's a lie- that he would not let him go now that Louis admitted his love for him. Because deep inside Liam, even if Louis did not love him back, he still won't ever let go of him.