Animal

6

Harry wanted to get Louis a gift to say thank you without using words. Words were never his friend in apologies or gratification, so he got material things to convey the message for him. A new store-bought gift would mean less than a sentimental one so Harry decides to give Louis something special to him.
The gratitude will be for Louis saying he wouldn't leave Harry behind, and choosing to stay for him. Even though Louis looked at him with wide, unsure eyes Harry knew it was only a matter of time. Even he didn't want Louis as a solid partner but after sleeping on it - with Louis curled up beside him - Harry changed his mind.

Harry also hasn't felt the twitch of his fix in over a day, and only that is unnerving in itself. He's so accustomed to the nagging demand of a serpent that he thinks something has gone wrong and needs to do it anyway just to replenish the desire.

No bars were open yet, and all those who were worth Harry's evil eye were hungover in bed. He was not breaking into any homes today and Louis would take up his time later so he doubts there'll be a dosage to fix his craving. The thought annoys him enough to make him pull over at the sleazy twenty-four hour pub and pull out his wallet.

It starts to rain at ten, dark grey clouds covering the sky and blocking out the glorious sun's rays. The weather makes Louis smile but hate himself for not telling Harry to pick him up. Now he has to walk to the pet shop, or take a bus. He could text Harry but he has no available minutes or data either.

When their school rings the final bell, Louis tucks his special envelope into his bag with all his other belongings and speed walks through the rain to the bus stop. He has a jacket with no hoodie and stands under the given shelter regretting his life choices.

The pet shop is mostly empty so he uses Delilah's computer to surf the internet. He discovers the case of the Yorkshire Ripper, a man who nabbed adolescents and slashed them in the country-like region of England. Time flies by as he reads up on the Black Dahlia murder - still unsolved to the day - and raises his eyebrow at the fact that there was only ever one suspect. Poor guy.

"Delilah?" Louis calls, not looking up from the screen, when the door bell jingles.

No answer. Sometimes Louis hates his boss.

"Can I......-" He trails off on himself when his eyes meet nobody needing assistance in the store. The place is empty. "Odd."

He glances at the clock and sees that his shift is over, and the night sky is deathly black.

"Delilah, who's locking up tonight?" He tries again, shutting down the PC and unplugging it in case a storm arrives.

Still no answer. He sighs and gets to feet so he can stretch as a clap of thunder reigns in and the lights go out all at once. He shrieks in shock but remains perfectly still until he sees wandering flashlights across the street in the locksmith's place.

Louis puts his Samsung's flashlight on - prepared to lose the twenty percent battery life he has remaining - and hunts for their main power box. He sees that all the switches have been blown down and don't need him fiddling with it then. Carefully, he puts all the light switches off and locks the back door with his set of keys, cursing Delilah's incompetence as he went along. When no more lightning ensues, he puts on all the main switches and closes the lid.

The animals were spooked and he took a half hour trying to soothe them. By the end of it, his battery is drained and outside is pitch black. The payphones won't work so he can't do anything except play with Bundy and wait for the lights to come back on.

A bunch of rowdy kids are outside, as per usual, and Louis locks the front door to keep them out. Delilah can stand outside too if she shows up from wherever she went to.
The boys are shouting profanities outside, clearly drunk out of their minds, and not at all moving from Louis' block. The locksmith locked up and went to bed and it seems Louis' sitting on the floor for no reason.