no homo // larry stylinson ⚣

Act II: Scene Eight

I furrowed my eyebrows and clicked the link. It was a place called Cereal Killer Cafe.

I opened the app that Louis showed me, and typed in the address. It turned out to be only a 20 minute walk from the class. Easy enough.

I opened up the map and followed the directions it gave me. It was so simple, just like Louis told me. Everything was going smoothly, until I realised that my phone had 1% battery.

I swore under my breath, frantically trying to memorise the map. After a minute or so, my phone died and I was left to test my memory. Here goes nothing.

I thought I had this all under control, until I ended up on a street I didn't at all plan to be on.

I looked all around me, trying to find someone who could give me directions. I was practically in the middle of nowhere, so I began to panic, walking around in circles and biting my fingernails.

"Do you need some help?" a woman asked me.

I smiled widely, "Yes, I do. Do you know how to get to Cereal Killer Cafe?"

Her face lit up, and she gave me the directions, which were surprisingly simple.

"Thank you so much," I told her, giving a wave.

---

About fifteen minutes later, I arrived at the cafe. I quickly spotted Louis standing outside, frantically typing on his phone.

"Uh, Louis?" I said, startling him.

"Why weren't you answering any of your texts? I was worried," He asked me.

I bit my lip, "My phone died, and I got kind of lost on the way; I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's alright," he assured me, "You're gonna love this place. It's like a whole cafe, entirely for cereal," he explained.

My jaw dropped as I started to understand the name of the cafe.

"That's magical," I said. He smiled fondly, proud of his restaurant choice.

We stood in the queue and looked at the menu.

"I really don't know what to get; everything looks so good," I said, mesmerised by the huge selection of cereals, flavoured milk, and toppings.

"Me neither," Louis agreed.

"Hey, I have an idea," I started, "We could order for each other, and choose what the other person gets."

A smile spread across Louis' face. "Perfect," he said.

I grinned, happy he liked my idea. "You can go first," I suggested. He nodded and we waited for the lady in front of us to finish ordering. When she walked away, He stepped up to the counter.

"Hi, can I have a large bowl of chocolate Lucky Charms please?" Louis asked. I grinned, because if there's one thing I love more than Lucky Charms, it's chocolate Lucky Charms.

The lady nodded and asked Louis what he wanted for milk and toppings. He ordered chocolate milk and mini marshmallows.

Once he had paid, he turned to look at me, looking for approval. I grinned, pleasantly surprised to see that he'd ordered something good.

Then, it was my turn. I ordered Cinnamon Toast Crunch, the American (and better) version of Curiously Cinnamon, with vanilla milk and maltesers.

Once we were both given our receipts, we stepped inside the seating area. The atmosphere was very retro: vintage cereal adverts and merchandise covered the walls, blue-tinted lights hung from the ceiling, and old-fashioned chairs, tables and beds covered the room.

We found a table near the back, and sat at one of the tables across from each other, sitting on the beds as if they were chairs, like you were meant to do.

Soon, the waiter brought us our cereal and we began eating.

"Good job curly, you did well," Louis said, leaning his chin in the palm of his hand. I smiled. For some reason, I didn't mind the silly pet name when Louis was the one using it.

"Thank god, I was so afraid I fucked it up," I admitted.

He chuckled, "How was class?"

"It was fine," I shrugged, not really wanting to go in detail about everything. He nodded, and we sat in silence for awhile.

"I was thinking of getting a job," Louis spoke up. I raised my eyebrows.

"Really? What are you thinking of doing?" I asked, taking a bite of my cereal.

"Well, in Newcastle I worked in a pet store," He explained. My eyes widened, turning away from my cereal to face him.

"Really?" I asked, amused at the idea of Louis working with animals.

"Yeah, why?" Louis chuckled. I shrugged.

"Dunno, I never saw you as a pet store kind of guy," I giggled.

"Well, that was my job. Did you have a job?" Louis asked.

I shook my head. "No, I never felt the need to get one, I don't know..." I trailed off. Louis stayed silent for awhile before continuing.

"You know, I don't even know why you moved here in the first place," He said suddenly. I shrugged.

"I don't really want to talk about it. At least not now," I gave him a weak smile, and he nodded in understanding. "I just want to enjoy this amazing cereal," I announced, making him laugh.

I picked up my bowl and drank the milk. Louis gave me a disgusted look.

"Ew, what are you, eight years old?" he teased me.

"Oh, shut up," I told him, "Why would I waste such delicious chocolate milk?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. We say in silence for a minute, before he picked up his bowl, slurping the milk just like I had.

I laughed, "Don't be a hypocrite."

AN: This cafe is a real thing, and yes, it's amazing. Melina and I went there a couple weeks ago and loved it.
— Ava and Melina