Escapade - Larry Stylinson (Re-write)

XXXIX - Bullseye

"Did you hear about Big-Gob Richard?" Niall asked from the foot of Louis' bed where he cradled a bug-eyed toad that he'd fished from Louis' bathtub.

"What did he do?" Louis asked, holding his own row of frogs in his arms.

"Uh, hello? Louis? Are you not looking at the school page anymore? You always look at it!"
"We're not at school anymore."
"No, but you were still reciting our primary school Cross-County Race results when we were in sixth form.. I thought this would be the same."

Louis looked down at his frogs and nodded a little sadly, "I guess I've been a bit busy lately.. I still know the place of everyone on the School Popularity List! Don't ever think that I won't be up to date with that. I know Big-Gob Richard went up by eight places! He's 63rd, after Chloë Mangle and before Andrew 'I didn't sleep with my mum but I slept with yours' Hopewood."

"Well Big-Gob Richard's dating Molly and Dolly Robinson. They're twenty-four years old!"
"Aren't they the twins who were dating Zayn? Molly has a lisp and Dolly has a lazy eye."
"It's the other way around, but yes. Though, Zayn's dated most people."

Louis nodded slowly in agreement, the sudden reminder creeping into his mind that Zayn and Harry had shared multiple frisky nights together. He then fell into a daydream where he wondered what kind of things they'd done, and what they'd looked like while doing so. He wondered how much they had enjoyed it and whether Harry thought Zayn was more capable than Louis.
Louis wasn't particularly skilled in the bedroom department, whereas Zayn had a black-belt in the subject. He wondered if Harry minded, and began to get upset that he might be disappointing his favourite person.

"They're not dead. They're sleeping." Niall said, snapping Louis out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Who are?"

"The frogs." Niall replied, gesturing to them with his head, "You looked like you were about to cry.. They really are just asleep."

Louis looked at the frogs in his arms, then to the toad that Niall rocked side to side. He'd replicated a blanket by placing his handkerchief over the toad's back, making the creature look less like an animal and more like a very ugly newborn.

"Where'd you get that from?" Louis asked, eyes shifting to the gold watch around Niall's wrist. "It's very.. Cha-ching."

"I guess it's a bit expensive.. Zayn got it for me."
"He bought it?!"
"Ganked it."

Louis grimaced and nodded, "Oh. Thought so."

"He's not that poor, you know.. He's got a briefcase of money under his bed. I saw it once; it's under the playboy magazines. I know he's a thief but I'm positive he didn't rob the bank. Someone must be buying his art."

Louis looked at him and smiled a little, "You think?"

"Of course! If I'm honest, I think he relies a lot on that person, or those people. I think he's scared to spend that cash, too. It probably scares him to know that if he spends it, he'll be without—most people who've been broke feel that way. Whatever the deal is, he's got himself a saviour that he'd absolutely die without."

***

"Give." Jack demanded, holding his hand out to Diana who sat on the tree branch with a rifle in her hands.

She handed the gun to her brother who loaded it and pointed the end towards Harry. He peered down the barrel, grunted, and leant against the tree trunk to polish the weapon.

Harry—who stood in the wood's clearing with a pile of pheasants at his feet— turned away from Jack to look back on the Village at the bottom of the hill. Over the church, he could see the roof of his own cottage, and the small speck of a ginger tabby cat sunbathing there.