louis was situated at the front of the classroom. he watched his teacher impatiently wait for rest of the students to sit down at their assigned seats.
"is that all?" the teacher asked, his eyes scanning around the classroom to see if all of the seats were occupied.
"niall horan isn't here, sir." one of the students call out, causing the teacher to let out an irritated groan.
as if on cue, the classroom door opens and in walks the last student, niall horan. "nice for you to finally join us, mister horan. maybe next time you should think about getting to class a little faster." the teacher says. however, he doesn't get a response from niall.
during the next half hour the teacher had explained to the class that there was a project being assigned and everyone would be randomly paired up. if anyone objected to working with their partner or if there was complaints the pair would instantly get a fail.
"i have put all of your names onto the generator on my laptop. this will determine the pairs." the teacher informs the class. he connects the laptop to the electric projector screen so everyone could see the names.
hannah and lucy, ally and ted, harry and ryan, jack and kai, natasha and lucas, rebecca and henry, alice and ben, olly and jess, zach and alex, justin and dani ... louis and niall.
when louis saw his name pop up he curiously looked to see who his partner was. niall ... he know that wouldn't work. neither of them had communicated in anyway and niall was known for being connected with drugs and crime, categories that louis definitely didn't fit in.
the teacher ordered for everyone to sit with their partners so louis looked behind him, his eyes landing on niall. niall was looking down at his hands, no sign of him moving anytime soon being shown, so louis got up from his chair at the front and slowly made his way to niall's desk.
"uhm, can i sit down?" louis asked quietly as he looked at the seat beside niall that had a bag on it. niall looked at louis for a brief moment before giving him a nod and moving the bag to the floor, letting him sit down.
some of the surrounding students were watching niall and louis, amusement in in their eyes. since louis was a hybrid people expected niall to maybe kick off and not allow him to come anywhere near him - but to everyone's surprise, he hadn't.
"so, uhm," louis spoke back up, breaking the silence between him and niall again. "how are we doing this? and where?" he asked, watching niall let out a quiet sigh.
"tonight, my house. we will discuss then." niall said, his irish accent coming out hushed.
after hearing niall's hushed tone it occurred to louis that niall barely spoke in class and that was he was surprised about the accent.
"okay." louis simply replied, assuming that niall would wait for him at the end of school.
the rest of the period went slowly since niall remained silent and louis was left to watch the minutes tick by on the clock.
-
after the last bell louis scampered out of the classroom and headed to the front of school, hoping niall hadn't ditched him. when he got to the front he scanned his surroundings, hoping to catch glance of the tattooed blonde.
"come on, kitty," louis heard from behind him, he turned and saw the lad who he had just been looking for. "my car is this way." niall said, pointing to the direction of his parked car.
louis followed after niall, keeping close to him. the name 'kitty' kept running through his mind and the way niall had said it. for once, it didn't sound like an insult, it sounded more like a nickname that was playful and not meant to hurt his feelings.
after getting into the car niall started up the engine and prepared to pull out of the parking slot. louis buckled up his belt and sat quietly in his seat, hoping niall wasn't one of those reckless drivers.
the further the niall drove the less aware louis became of his surroundings. he didn't recognise the area but he was aware that this was what they called the 'rough' part of town. there was graffiti on the walls, litter cluttering the floor, smashed windows and groups of people wearing black clothing and masks around the area.
"scared?" niall asked, noticing how louis' posture had tensed up. "there's no reason to be, kitty. no one is going to attempt anything while i'm here. if you stay on my good side i'll make sure you're safe when in these parts," niall assured as he pulled into the drive of a small house. "now, get out and stay quiet. there shouldn't be anyone in the house but sometimes my mates can make their way in when i'm not around."
louis got out of the car and followed after niall, staying close to him. niall unlocked the door and walked into the house. he shouted out to see if there was anyone in but he received no reply. "come on, kitty." he said, turning his head to see a frightened louis.
louis quickly scampered into the house, not having to be told to come in again. he proceeded to follow after niall who had closed and locked the door and was now making his way to the living room.
"i'm going to smoke a joint," niall said as he sat down on the worn in leather couch. "you can get started on the project."
louis didn't argue against niall, he just nodded and got out a few sheets from his bag. as louis was looking through the sheets his face scrunched up a little and his nose twitched at the scent of the smoke from the joint. he hadn't smelt anything like it before.
"isn't that thing itchy?" niall asked, gaining louis' full attention again. "does what itch?" he asked, not fully understanding niall. "the hat, kitty," niall said, pointing to the beanie that was placed on louis' head. "take it off.. i want to see your ears."
louis put the papers to the side and took the beanie off of his head, his fluffy ears pointing up now that they didn't have the beanie weighing them down.
"fucking hell," niall said as he looked at louis. he took a drag from the joint and took back the smoke before blowing the remaining back out. "i didn't expect them to look like that." he admitted. he extended his arm to touch louis' ears but louis instantly flinched away and moved back. "kitty, i wasn't going to hurt you," niall said, his tone becoming soft. he moved closer to louis and extended his arm again. "i was just going to do this." he gently stoked louis' fluffy ears and gave them a soft scratch.
louis began to purr quietly and his eyelids drooped shut, enjoying niall's soothing touch. "ah, so you like attention i'm guessing," niall mumbled, his fingers still softly scratching louis' soft ears while his other hand was occupied with the joint. "just like a real kitty, eh."
as time passed, the closer the two had got to each other. louis now had his head on niall's chest and niall continued to run his fingers through louis' feathery hair and scratch his soft ears all while smoking the joint. it was soothing for the both of them.
the peace however got interrupted by louis' phone ringing. louis opened his eyes and moved away from niall so he could answer the call. it was his guardians and they were asking for his whereabouts since louis hadn't informed them that he was going somewhere after school.
when the call ended between louis and his guardian niall spoke up. "guessing you have to go home, kitty?" he assumed.
louis nodded, giving niall a small smile. "yeah, you're right .. they aren't happy because i didn't tell them that i was going somewhere after school. i'm usually allowed to stay out longer," he said. he packed his bag back up before looking back over to niall. "uhm, can you take me to my home?"
niall took ahold of the beanie that was on the couch and placed it carefully back on louis' head. "of course, kitty. come on."
