Untangle Me - L.S (boyxboy)

Chapter 5.

Louis just waves back, hand feeling heavy on his wrist as he lets himself into his car. Jesus Christ.

It feels like it takes Louis an age to drive home from dinner with Harry. By the time he gets himself home, slugging through the rush hour traffic, it's almost half past five. The car journey had been an endless stream of HarryHarryHarry. Non sensical thoughts, muddled and mixed up sentences running through his brain. He's absolutely itching to talk to Lottie, fingers tapping on the wheel and feet bouncing on the car floor impatiently at every red light he'd hit.

Now he's home, he practically sprints to his laptop, opening up Skype. Lottie's icon shows she's online, so he clicks her up, typing "I'm ready now if you are?" Within seconds, the screen lights up to an incoming call from her. He lets out a deep breath, fixing his hair in the pixelated image of him on the display.The call connects, and there's Lottie, face illuminated in contrast to the dark room behind her.

"Hiya!" She sings, waving at him enthusiastically.

"Alright, love?" Louis grins back.

"I'm good." She responds, adjusting the screen slightly so she's more in frame. "To what do I owe the pleasure of a spontaneous Skype call from you, then?"

Louis laughs, "Fuck off, I call you all the time."

"Lies." She quips back. "You're lucky, I was meant to go out tonight, but it's raining so I've stayed in."

"Out?" Louis responds, "It's a Wednesday, what are you doing out and about on a Wednesday night?"

Lottie rolls her eyes, "It's student night in town Lou, £1 entry and half price drinks."

Louis raises his eyebrows, "You're not even eighteen yet, mate. And you're not even a proper student. Bloody kids these days."

"Like you were any better when you were my age." She laughs, typing something in another tab. She is right, Louis was such a shit at seventeen. He was at house parties nearly every night, getting absolutely hammered and ending up in completely ridiculous places the next morning, one example that stands out in his mind being actual Doncaster airport.

"Alright, fair point." He laughs back.
They talk for a while, Lottie filling him in on all the gossip from back home. Sue from next door is still nicking all their plastic recycling bags from the front garden, Fizzy's gotten an A* in her English mock, the Co-Op up the road have stopped selling those spicy chicken wraps Lottie loves. It all makes Louis feel so normal, listening to Lottie talk about Doncaster and the people he's known for as long as he can remember.

He gets pulled back sharply into reality when Lottie finishes her dramatic monologue about how important the Co-Op wraps are to her and asks him, "So, anyway. What's the real reason you wanted to Skype at almost 3am in the middle of the week."

"What? Nothing, no reason." He quickly responds, scratching at a bit of dirt of his laptop screen.

"Louis. If you've made me stay up until three just for a quick chat I'm gonna smack you one next time I see you."

Louis snorts, raising his palms up to the webcam. "Alright, alright! No need to get violent."

Lottie laughs, "Spill the beans."

He takes a moment to breathe, composing himself and thinking of how to word what he wants to say. "I think I just need some advice to be honest."

She nods at him, face serious.

"It's just..." He begins, looking up at the ceiling, pursing his lips. "Have you ever, like. Lost contact with a friend? Like, you used to be really close, and now you're just...not?"