Wilted Flowers [Edited]

1. Same Old Scenario

Louis sits down on the fluffy pastel pink carpet in his room and moves around until he feels somewhat comfortable. He shifts his weight off his knees when they begin to ache and decides to sit criss-cross apple sauce instead.

There always seems to be a reason to feel angsty during this time. He knows he needs to finish his plate before his roommate, Niall, comes home. He doesn't want to listen to the lecture. It's been one he's been hearing from his loved ones for years, almost a decade. He can recite it word for word.

It's not that he wants to be a burden; that's the last thing he wants. He wishes he could just do what everyone wants him to do: eat and not think twice about it. Yet, here he is, grabbing a grocery bag full of ingredients and laying them out in front of him. He dusts off carpet pieces from the lettuce head and begins to tear the leaves into tiny portions. He snaps the baby carrots in Half and scatters a few cherry tomatoes on the side. He opens his Tupperware container and counts 6 cucumber slices, and places them on top.

He admires his plate before realizing the pieces are not small enough. He repeats the process of tearing the vegetables, snapping some in Half. With his legs spread out straight in front of him, he pushes the ingredients back and forth on his plate.

He counts how many carrots he used to make his salad and begins to sweat when he realizes it's an odd number. "Should I take one away or add one more?"

"Lou, I'm home!" He hears Niall yell. He listens for footsteps, and sure enough, here comes the knock at the door.

"I got some of that tofu you like! Remember the doctor said you needed more protein in your diet!"

Louis doesn't get up to answer the door. His thoughts are swirling with negativity, and, well, his body has been aching lately. Niall decides to invite himself in. "Hey, Lou, why are you eating in here?"

Louis swallows thickly. "I, uh, wanted to be alone...if that's okay."

"Of course it's okay. I see you're trying, and I'm proud of you. Do you want me to cut you up some tofu?"

"No, no. I'll try that for dinner," he and Niall both know that's a lie.

"Louis..." Niall argues.

"Promise," Louis smiles at him, though his promises are like his stomach, hallow.

"I trust you," Niall pats him on the back. "Hey, um, the guys are coming over later to watch the game if that's alright."

"It's fine, Niall."

"You sure? We can go over to Liam's s if it's too much noise for you or whatever."

"No, no. It's fine. I'll probably just stay in my room and try and get some homework done, though." Louis begins to break down his salad into smaller portions.

When Niall notices the pieces are becoming mush, he scowls his head down, pretending not to notice. "Alright, well, I'll let you eat. I'll put up the groceries. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

Louis looked down at his plate and began to rake off pieces he felt were too big. He began to pick out pieces he felt were not fresh enough, and he began to count the number of cucumbers and tomatoes he had portioned.

Louis looks down at his plate and separates pieces he feels are still too big. He picks out pieces he feels are not fresh enough and begins to count the number of cucumber and tomatoes he's portions.

"Fuck!" He yells, his throat tightening.

Niall feels his shoulders tense. He directs his attention back to Louis's room, trying to convince himself not to turn the doorknob.

"FUCK!" Louis screamed again.

Niall heard a crash, knowing what had happened. It's happened many times before.

He opens the door to find Louis sobbing on the floor, his knees hugging his chest. His head is safely resting in the space between them as he sobs quietly. The contents of his salad lay scattered on the floor, broken shards mixed with the vegetables.

Niall retrieves the vacuum from the utility closet and gets up what vegetables he can with his hands before turning on the loud machine to finish the job. Louis doesn't move or register that Niall's even in the room.

When Niall completes his task, he hunches down and puts Louis's head on his shoulder, trying to hug him back together. They don't exchange words because this is the third time this week that this scene has played out, and it's only Tuesday.

"It's okay, Lou. I cleaned it up. We'll try and eat here in about an hour, okay?" Niall asks as he comforts his distraught friend. When Louis remains silent, he sighs and releases him. He flips on the television, turning up the volume.

He retreats to his bedroom and shuts the door, pulling out his phone. "Hey, Li," he tries to sound cheerful. "No, no. Everything's fine. I just wanted to talk to you about Louis," he sighs. "Can you invite Harry to the game tonight? Oh, you already did? Great! Maybe he'll talk to someone who understands him. Okay, see you tonight."

He sets his phone down and walks out of his room, placing his phone in his back pocket. He walks out of his room and continues to put away the groceries. Louis's last nutritionist informed him to remove the label off the foods, but he knows that Louis will just call the manufacturer or research it on google. Therefore, he doesn't bother this time.

He puts away the milk in the refrigerator and fights the urge to slam the door. Usually, he's happy-go-lucky, but damn, the house has been nothing but stressful. He never imagined he'd be a college student with so much weight on his shoulders, but he'd never desert Louis.

They decided to move in together sophomore year because they were tired of shower shoes, precooked meals, and tailgates. They wanted the autonomy to make their own decisions. At first, Niall was reluctant because he realized something was wrong with Louis when he watched him decline physically and emotionally. Yet he realized, if he moved without him, he'd never forgive himself. Friends don't leave friends just because one is struggling.

"Struggling is an understatement," he reflects as he walks back into Louis's room and sees that he's still watching television. He grabs the blanket that's bunched at the bottom and smoothes it over the shoulder.

"Hey, do you remember Harry from English Lit?" Niall asks carefully.

Louis nods, finally making eye contact with Niall. That's when Niall notices that even though Louis had been crying earlier, no tears had fallen out. His eyes look dry, red, and irritated. He hasn't been drinking enough, dammnit.

"Well, he's coming over with the guys later, and he could use a pick me up." Niall bites his lip, trying to not voice his concerns out loud. "Is that okay? You're amazing at helping people."

"Yeah, I always liked Harry, well, from what I know about him."

"Great! I'll make you some tofu salad unless you want some of our wings?" Niall chuckleNahLouis makes a disgusted face and declines. "I figured as much. Hey, let's not throw the plates at the door anymore, okay? We're running out of them...."

"I'm sorry, Ni. I just wanted the food...."

"Away from you, I know. We've been over this. It's okay. I'm not mad, Lou. We'll buy paper plates!" he says as a lightbulb dings in his head. "I'll let you watch tv, but this weekend, we should get out of the house and hang out!"

"Sounds good. Do I look okay? I mean..."

"Yes, you look fine. Is this about Harry?" Niall quirks an eyebrow.

"No...." Louis blushes.

"Here..." Niall runs his fingers through Louis's dry hair. "There you go! Perfect. Do you think I should invite Masie or Nah?"

"Well, she is your girlfriend, but I don't think she likes watching sports on tv..." Louis debates. "Maybe after everyone leaves."

"Good idea, Lou. See? You're the perfect person to talk to Harry about his feelings. I'll leave you to it."

Niall walks into the kitchen, proud of himself for his brilliant idea. What could go wrong?