Louis shoves on his trainers, feet still very much bare. Clifford sits patiently at the front door and stares up at Louis with those pools of chocolate he has for eyes, tail swishing side to side and Louis does everything in him not to squeeze the daylight out of the puppy.
He's just too darn cute for this world, and he's always happy to see Louis, even if he's not the best of people, Clifford makes him know that he's enough for him.
Louis gives him a fuss before opening the front door, stepping out into the humid heat that encases the world. There's a few wisps of misty clouds rolling past lazily, a flock of birds flying below one where the sun beats down, causing shadows to bounce along the floor for a few seconds.
The pair set off for their daily walk around the woods beside the stables, feet slapping against the hot tarmac of the road before they crunch on the dead leaves from the previous autumnal fall. The brown shrivelled leaves are a contrast to the luscious green of the grass and splashes of pink from the foxgloves that tangle with the huge nettles.
It just goes to show that even in the hardest times where death is at the door, there's growth to be had to pick you back up again.
Louis hopes and hopes this'll be the case, but with each ticking second and rolling of the new years, he's never been too lucky with that statement. Nothing seems to pick him up anymore.
He's almost like a robot, feeling and doing the same thing day in and day out after that atrocious day. He has to try to distract himself from the thoughts more times than he can count before he plummets into the darkness forever.
Clifford barks at a squirrel, chasing it around the thick oak tree, losing sight of it when the squirrel climbs up the tree quickly.
"He's gone, lad. He's up there, flipping you off," Louis tells the dog, patting his back when he strolls past him. "Come on you big baby."
Clifford runs off before him, body a blur of black and white as he burns off the energy he has. Louis doesn't understand where the dog gets all that energy from.
He'd rather be sleeping, to be completely honest. Or scrolling through TikTok, anything that doesn't involve sweating his bollocks off in the sun.
Even though the trees are shading him from majority of the sun rays, there is still that sticky heat that clings on as if the world is a life line. His back is already sweating and he pulls off his shirt, letting it sit loosely over one shoulder.
"Clifford! This way, bud!" he calls when he sees Clifford about to jump over the ditch and further into the tree lines.
Louis is not wanting a do over from last winter when he had to chase the dog into those trees instead of the path, and ending up six feet in snow and almost falling into a puddle.
Okay, maybe it wasn't so much six feet, but it was a shit ton that Louis was certain the snowfall was twice the size of him (it was only mere inches but details details).
There's something about the nature, though, that brings a sense of peace within him. It's not fake when people say getting in touch with nature can help your mental health.
The way the leaves wave at him; the sun suffocatingly hugging him tight, the way the scent of the dirt and bark and flowers waft into his nose, the way the birds sing to him, it's all very much like a family gathering in a weird sense that nature helps him feel more at home.
Clifford drops a stick he's found at Louis' feet and Louis lobs it as far as he can manage. Maybe it's a bad idea getting Clifford too hot, especially in this heat, but he hates when Clifford whines and begs for playtime.
He can just chuck him into the pool once they're done, no biggie.
His thoughts begin to wonder. Wondering into one of the many danger zones he has in his mind.
This one isn't as severely dangerous as some of the others, but besides the point.
He can't help but find the green of the leaves looking very much like something else equally as green. The bark of the trees dark, some of the oak wood curling in on itself like something else equally as curly. Not to mention the pink dipped petals of the foxgloves looking very much like something else that is as equally as rose pink.
God he needs to stop.
Harry hasn't come out of his house as far as he's aware. He hasn't seen him by the pool as of yet and when he attuned his hearing to see if he could hear movement outside the front, nothing came to surface.
Louis wonders if the guy is okay. He's not sure if it's strange for him to keep himself to himself or not. Well, to be honest, the bloody point of coming to this place is to have some alone time and keep yourself to yourself, but even the regulars seem to enjoy a bit of company.
Louis and Clifford approach the mouth of the woods where the stables stand proudly, sun gleaming off the metal gates.
He sees the paddocks to the left of him, Marmalade munching away in the shade nearest to the corner of the woods. Louis whistles and Marmalade looks up, stopping mid chew and snorts, recognising the human, before going back to grazing.
Clifford is panting erratically, tongue sticking out with saliva dripping to the floor. He slaps his lips before his tongue lulls out again, body shaking with the pants.
Louis frowns. "Let's get you in and watered, Cliff."
He looks up and there leaning against the fence towards the paddock, is a person. Their arms drape along the wooden fence, back hunched slightly. Their curls reaching their shoulders now that their back is arched ever so slightly. They wear some denim shorts and a white tee, a fedora hat perched on their head.
Louis smiles to himself. He doesn't want to bother Harry, if that's the reason he's been so quiet today and pretty much invisible. So he continues walking down the path in order to walk across the road to the gate that leads to the pools and the front of his house.
"Louis?" Harry's voice calls, slightly uncertain.
Louis whips his head around so fast he almost gives himself whiplash. Louis grins, walking slowly toward him. "Oi, oi."
Harry gives him a warm smile in return. "Hi," Harry says on a breath, turning his body to the side slightly in order to get a better look at Louis.
Louis leans his arm against the fence, crossing his ankles. "Hi."
Louis scans the boy's face. His eyes are lighter in the sun, the colour sea glass more than the rich green of the forest. There's the swirls of gold and specks of blue inside them now as well, and he wonders if his eyes change colour depending on his mood.
There's blush on Harry's cheeks from the heat, no doubt, and his lips have what seem to be gloss on them from the way they shimmer in the sun. Or maybe it's sweat. Do lips even sweat? Louis isn't too sure on that one.
"How've you been?" Louis asks.
Harry rubs at his nose. "'M alright, just came for a stroll to see the ponies."
Louis nods, patting at Clementine's neck when she moves toward him. "They are a good pass time."
"How about you, how have you been?" Harry asks.
It's been a while since someone has asked how Louis has been and sounded so genuinely interested about it. Sure, Jamie and Mabel will ask him how he is doing, but they do it in a way that it means greeting. He's not meant to answer them back with his whole woes and sorrows. He's simply meant to brush it off with an alright.
But he can't dump shit on Harry. Not when he's hear to relax. How is Louis feeling right now anyway? He hasn't even thought about it.
Numb. That's the best way to describe it. He always feels numb.
"I'm alright. Too hot, though, but that might be because I'm standing beside you," he teases, letting the flirt slip easily from his lips without a second thought.
It makes Harry duck his head and bite his lip. "Shut it," he giggles shyly, turning back to the horse probably to occupy himself instead of blushing further.
Louis finds it fucking adorable to say the least.
"Any plans for the day?" Louis ponders, swinging up to sit on top of the fence to look down onto Harry.
Harry looks up to him, leaning his back into the fence now. He shrugs. "Nothing in mind. Might start on some music writing."
Louis quirks a brow. He knows the answer before answering it, but he doesn't want to seem like someone who knows too much about Harry and his life. Truth is, he really doesn't know much about Harry. Just that he is a famous musician that has over three mill on Twitter.
"You write music?" he asks anyway.
Harry looks to him as if to say really, lips slightly thinning. "Is that meant to be a joke?" he asks seriously.
Shit.
"What? No. I was just making conversation. I mean, obviously I know you're a singer. But how much of the material do you actually write?"
Harry picks at a bit of wood that's splintering. "Quite a bit. Majority of my first album was written by my guitarist Mitch. We both wrote the lyrics together."
Louis could hear Harry talk all day. His voice is so soothing, deep, slow. He wants to wrap his voice around his body and sleep in it like a blanket if he could.
"That's pretty sick. I used to write poetry a few years back but gave up on it when I realised I was fucking shit at the subject. Do you play any instruments as well, then? Or is it just the singing?" Louis converses, feeling a little giddy with the way they're having a proper conversation. It makes his heart flutter.
Harry thumbs at his top lip in order to rid of a bead of sweat. "I can play guitar and piano. Though, I forgot my guitar stupidly enough before I came here, which'll be difficult to write the songs I need." He gives casual shrug.
Louis sighs. "You shouldn't be doing work whilst on holiday, this is a time for relaxation!"
Harry shakes his head. "When you're someone like me, there is a fine line between work and relaxation. In fact, they entwine and merge into one at this point. Besides, the place has given me some... inspiration, shall we say, to write a few things."
Louis looks away to spot Clifford lapping up some water from the water trough. He looks back to Harry again, the breeze making his curls flutter.
Louis swipes his hair away from his eyes. "You're in luck, Curly, because I've got meself a guitar that I haven't used in fucking years. It'll probably need tuning, but you're more than welcome to use it whenever you please."
Harry gives him a smile. "Thanks, Louis, I really appreciate it."
...
Louis finds himself back at the house eating a shit ton of ice cream because there's really not much else to do.
The downstairs kitchen he sits in has all its windows open, the breeze from outside swirling with the air-con which is a pleasure to him.
He's trying to distract himself, really, from following Harry down to the pool like a lost puppy. He saw him casually strolling past the house and through the black wooden gate where the ponds sit ten minutes ago.
The urge to meet him down there and be in his company is high right now, but he tries to remind himself that Harry is here to relax and get away from people who follow his every move, not to get a random boy who's had a crush on him for years to follow him down there.
Louis wouldn't really call it a crush, per se. It's more of a... an admiration shall we say. Yeah, no way in hell is it a bloody crush, he doesn't even know much about the guy. Like, what's his favourite colour? Does he prefer veggies over fruit? Is he that weirdo (like him) that enjoys pineapple on pizzas?
Little things that make people somewhat closer just by knowing them, even if they don't see it in that way themselves.
The house alarm beeps and he looks up, spoon halfway to his mouth. Mabel is there, grey eyes zeroing on the ice cream and she shakes her head, the wisps of hair falling from her messy bun getting caught in her eyelashes.
She puts a hand on her hip that is covered with her yellow sundress. "I cannot believe you're having an ice cream party without me."
Louis brings the spoon out from his mouth where a mound of melting ice cream sits. "Would you like a bite?" he questions with tease lacing his voice.
Mabel screws up her face at the saliva coated ice cream, going to a drawer and bringing a spoon out herself. She reaches over the table, almost knocking over the unlit candlestick in order to scoop some ice cream onto her spoon from the tub. She moans when the coolness hits her tongue.
Louis wonders if Harry makes such sounds with something as simple as ice cream.
Stop these stupid thoughts, you absolute freak, he thinks to himself, shaking his head.
He can't let those thoughts carry him away. It'll only do worse than good.
"What's on the menu today?" Louis asks, craning his head to watch Mabel go into the pantry opposite the fridge, coming back out with a few vegetables.
"Smoked salmon with a pasta salad." Mabel gives him a look. "Don't look at me like that, Lou, there'll be plenty for you n all."
Louis smiles sweetly at her, kicking his feet happily under the table. It's a habit he never grew out of as a kid. "Thanks Mabes! I don't think I can stomach another Dominoes pizza this week." He pats his small tummy.
Mabel rolls her eyes. "Jesus, wish I was as thin as you. Now, if I even eat a Twix it'll go straight to my lumps."
Louis gasps, gets up and drapes his arm around her shoulder, giving her a peck on the temple. "You, my darling, are beautiful the way you are. I don't see any visible lumps so shush that mouth of yours."
She pats his cheek, eyes going soft. "Thanks, Louis. God, whoever whisks you away from this place will be extremely lucky to have you."
Louis raises a shoulder. "Who says I'm being whisked away?"
She gives him a knowing grin. "Just give it time, someone will, I can assure you."
He prods his finger into the table as if it'll further his point when he replies, "my place is here, and here is where I stay. No one will make me leave."
She rolls her eyes. "Sure. Whatever you say, big guy."
He shakes his head, clicking the tub of the ice cream shut and chucking it back into the freezer. He wishes he could crawl into the small space and live inside it.
"Have you seen Harry today?" Mabel converses whilst chopping up some onions, tears already springing to her eyes.
"Aw, there's no need to cry, Mabes, you'll get to meet the kid someday. He's here for a month after all," Louis jokes, slumping back into the chair.
Clifford rests his head on Louis' lap from where one of his beds lay under the table. Louis gives him a slow stroke feeling the soft fur tickle the pads of his fingers.
"I saw him this morning when walking Cliffy, but other than that, no."
Mabel hums. "He's down at the pool. I saw him when I came through the meadow."
Louis' brow quirks. She rarely ever takes the meadow way to the house, unless she's going for a snoop. He remembers the time she went the meadow way when there was a rumour Jamie started that Ryan Reynolds invited Will Ferral over for an orgy.
It wasn't true, Louis knows this, he knows Jamie likes to pull pranks and jokes on the team here when things are quiet, anything to have a little bit of drama to keep the day going by a little more excitedly.
Mabel would creep through the meadow and listen in to their conversations when they sat down at the pool. She confirmed that no orgy was happening, but did find they were planning on acting a movie together, which she was both excited and proud about knowing before anyone else.
The movie was unfortunately quite shit, despite both actors being extremely fun.
Mabel now reciprocates the quirk of a brow. "Why you looking at me like that?"
Louis points at her. "Because I know you, Mabel Davis, and I know that you have a big fuckin' nose poking in on this place."
Mabel gasps falsely, putting her hand to her heart whilst her left hand grips onto the knife. "How can you be so rude to your employer!"
Louis shakes his head. "You're more family to me than you know."
She pouts. "I was going to threaten you with this knife but now I'm reconsidering it after that."
Louis smiles.
"He was on the phone. Sounded extremely stressed," Mabel says casually, concentration on cutting some courgettes.
Louis frowns. Harry shouldn't be stressed when here. He's meant to be on holiday, and last time he checked (he's never actually checked) the definition of holiday is to relax.
Mabel's smile looks as if she's accomplished something and Louis doesn't like it.
"Why are you telling me this?" he asks, twiddling with a long strand of Clifford's fur.
Mabel shrugs. "Just some friendly conversation. A daily report if you will."
Louis shakes his head and crosses his arms. "Na. I feel as though you're trying to make me feel bad for him or something and go cheer him up. You've done that before, and I'm not one to fall for it. He's here to get away from people, I don't want to nag him."
"Suit yourself, but I've seen how you can change someone's mood like that." She clicks her fingers before pouring the veg into a sizzling pot.
Louis averts his gaze away from her. She's not wrong. He has helped cheer people up in this place. One funny face toward Jamie and the guy will buckle into hysterics.
But like he's said, he doesn't want to annoy the lad, even if a part of him is niggling in him to just go down to that pool and keep him company.
Nope, he won't do it.
A/N- HIII
HEHEHE new update sorry not sorry. Gonna practice crocheting now byyyeee.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and enjoying this book so far. I like Mabel 🥺 her name was inspired by my neighbour's (who lives in the cottage that is named Oakwood in this story hehe) dog :P
Vote and comment and I'll see you in the next update
Stay Safe xxooxxoxo