Chapter 11

                                    

                                          
Louis's POV 
My heart rate was monitored continuously for another twenty-four hours. After an echocardiogram and another stress test, the hospital decided it was finally all right for me to go home. Although the need for pacemaker implantation was ruled out, I was given strict warnings to make certain "lifestyle" changes and a three-month dose of Anticoagulants. Oh well, I kind of brought this upon myself so I guess I can't complain. 
Mom wanted me to go back home with her because she refused to trust me anymore. But I convinced Niall and Zayn to talk to her and they assured her that they'd make sure to keep an eye (or all eyes) on me, she finally caved.  
After returning to the flat, Niall and Zayn threatened to tie me up to my bed if I refused to stay in bed for at least three days. I was dying of boredom. The only good thing was that Harry kept texting me throughout and came to visit me quite often.  
It was as if nothing ever changed between us. It was as if the past two years had never happened, and we just continued whatever we had back then till now. The jokes, the laughter, the affection, it all came back naturally, like it was supposed to. Which got me thinking about where we actually stood. We were clearly not just friends at this point. Verbally or nonverbally, both of just had sort of established that we had feelings for each other. It was as clear as daylight. 
But at the same time, we weren't quite there as well, if you know what I mean. Like, what were we? I had a lot of time to think during the days that I was forced to stay in bed, and that's exactly what I did. I thought about everything, and I realized that I finally had a clear answer as to what I wanted in my future. Whatever the future I envisioned, the only constant seemed to be Harry. I wanted him by my side at all costs. 
So, as cheesy as it may sound, I decided to take him out on a proper date and ask him to be my boyfriend. I wanted it to be something special and unconventional, something unique like Harry, so I decided to look for spots. After opening, closing, and reopening a million different tabs on my laptop, I decided to go for The Hill Garden and Pergola for one very, very specific reason. 
After three horrible days in bed, I finally convinced Niall and Zayn that I was okay getting out of bed. I decided to make it the day of "the" date because I honestly couldn't wait any longer.  
To add a bit of a dramatic touch to it, I drove myself to the garden first and then asked Niall to drive Harry there and not tell him that I was waiting for him there. I asked Niall to give him the directions to get him to the exact spot I had in mind. 
It was a Monday evening, and the place wasn't crowded at all, except for two or three tourist families. I sat on the wooden bench beneath the pergola structure made of brick columns and wooden beams. It was covered with vines and leaves, making the area secluded and dim, with just the right amount of lighting.  
My heart started racing when I spotted Harry from a distance. The way his expression changed from slightly confused to utmost astonishment, a combination of awe and nostalgia, made my racing heart melt inside my body. The place that I had chosen had more than a thousand purple wisteria flowers cascading down the wooden beams of the pergola, making the entire garden look so whimsical, straight out of a fairytale. The ground, starting from the first brick columns to the wooden bench I was seated on, was adorned with fallen petals of wisteria, making it almost look like a carpet. 
Harry walked towards me, hands covering his mouth and eyes glistening with tears. 
"Lou! How did you even... Oh my god, this is so beautiful!" he exclaimed, still looking around, trying to take his surroundings in. 
"Do you like it?" I asked him, and he nodded. I was over the moon. He liked it! I probably looked like a kindergarten kid who just discovered that his crush loved the hand-painted card he did for them.