The Exceptionals

Chapter Three: Getting Hammered, Right?

Any time he snaps at someone, any time he zones off, anytime his mood swings drastically fast, he feels like he's bearing two steps back for every step he took forward. He feels like all the extensive years it bore him to move ahead and work on himself are all crumbling down before his own eyes. All crumbling down in the hands of a man who wears the same leather jacket every goddam day.

It's unnerving him. It terrifies him.

He also hasn't told anyone about this, not even Niall.

Besides, it's not like he can. Niall already mentioned that he and that bastard were "mates", and if they are mates, Louis would never try and deliberately impose them apart as well as dumping all his recent trauma at his door. That just wasn't cool. Or in Niall's wise words, "bitchin".

But seriously, Louis had one class with him. One. History of Art. They had Monday/Tuesday morning together and Louis' last lecture on Fridays. Which he was just walking out of, hurrying his step to not cross paths with said boy.

Honestly, starting his week off with Harry Styles and ending the week with Harry Styles was just beyond bad luck.

But anyway, circling back to Niall, the boy was standing in front of Louis' bike, smiling dopily at him from a distance.

Louis walked sceptically close to him. "Hey Niall, why are you here?" he smiled but then he furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you need me to pay for your lunch again?" Louis' eyes narrowed.

"Hey mate," he chirped. "and nah, Imma actually leave in a few cause of this stupid presentation I have to catch up on, but I just wanted to tell you that the frat house is throwing a party tonight, you know, first-week back party type." He wiggled his eyebrows and Louis groaned. Of course. "Sooooo?" He shimmied next to Louis, rubbing his shoulder to his shoulder, Louis pushed him away while laughing. "Are you coming with?"

"Hmm, I don't know," Louis said teasingly while pinching his chin with his two fingers, watching Niall pout.

"Please, Lou! I don't want to go by meself and besides, it's the frat house, the party is probably gonna be bitchin' and I bet there's gonna be a bunch of hot girls there." He clasped his hands together and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. Darn those puppy dog eyes.

Louis chuckled and flicked his bag over his shoulder. "Fine, I'll go." Niall's eyes lit up. "But," His smile dropped, "you have to pick me up." Louis' look was stern.

The blond boy scoffed and cocked his hip to the side, placing his hand there. "Mate, I was already gonna pick you up," he shook his head in disappointment that Louis would even think otherwise.

"8:30?"

"Alright." Louis gave him a fist bump. "See you then lad."

"Bye-Bye, Loubear!"

Louis rolled his eyes as he got on his bike, peddling away from an over-the-top cheerful Niall.

It took him around 7 minutes to get to his house. The air was blustery and the sky was a plunging tint of grey and from time to time, Louis could feel a slight drizzle tickling his tanned skin and sticking to his perched hair. His broken headphones were roosted on his ears and he was listening to his favourite song on the lowest volume as he passed by beeping cars and waved to an old lady Louis once mowed her lawn for.

Once home he dropped his bike carelessly on their freshly cut lawn and trudged inside, unlocking the door with his spare key and instantly being met with the delicious smell of pizza.

"Hey Lou, Mumma left pizza for you in the oven." Lottie turned her head from where she was sprawled out on the couch watching an old comedy movie they both bought at the local video store downtown, it was rubbish if you asked him, but Lottie found it hilarious somehow.