Louis had overslept Friday morning. By the time he was throwing on his slippers, it was six and he already knew that it was going to be a difficult day, especially since he had to go to classes at the local college and he knew that Zayn wouldn't be there.
He rushed to start his shower, still taking the time to fold his pajamas and didn't even bother to check the water's temperature. Turns out the water was very cold and sent a shiver down his back, but it soon warmed up and he was able to start washing his body and hair. He was still able to finish by his normal time, though he had to quickly dry off as he walked back towards his bedroom. The bus left at seven-thirty and Louis was worried that he wouldn't make it time so he whipped up a quick breakfast, figuring cereal and toast was good enough and cleaned the dishes as fast as he could, still making sure they were up to his standards.
Then he grabbed his coat and was out the door, only to come back after realizing he had left in his slippers and that didn't look professional at all. He took off his slippers and stepped into his nice pair of converse. He stopped to make sure the door was locked then he was speed-walking to the elevator. It was just his luck that the elevators where out of order and he had to take the stairs (talk about a work out).
He made his way down the five flights of stairs only to bump into someone when he opened the door to get out, "my apologize," Louis spoke, rushing away.
"Hey, wait up," a voice called after him. Louis made it all the way to the bus stop before he turned around to see the nice detective following him, "hey, you dropped this."
Louis took the paper that was in his hands and quickly hugged the other man, "oh thank you so much. I would have killed over if it wasn't for you."
"You're still in school?"
"Yes, I'm attending the local college. Finals are up and this practically determines my grade in economics," Louis said, "it's a very difficult class to pass, but I've been able to stick through it, I guess."
The bus was pulling up and Louis could see that it was just over a block away. But the detective was trying to converse with him, "economics is very interesting. I took it once in college and found that it wasn't exactly my thing," the detective shrugged, "I guess I'm more into crime and punishment. So, uhm, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime? Like to talk over the case, maybe get a bite to eat, something like that."
Louis wasn't listening to a word Detective Styles was saying, but he hummed an okay and nodded quickly, focusing on the bus, it was almost there.
"Really? Yeah...yeah okay, great. Does maybe seven o'clock tonight work for you?"
"Yeah, that's great. Look, I really have to go. My bus is, well, it's like right here. I'll catch you later," Louis said, walking towards the bus. He waved goodbye before the bus doors shut and started with it's drive. Harry was left alone, standing in his drench coat with a big smile on his face, surprised that the boy who likes to pick out exactly seven apples said yes.
.
"Hey, Louis!" a voice shouted. Louis heard footsteps coming towards him and turned to find the blonde bloke he sat next to in the previous class coming his way, "how are you?" the kid asked, face red and out of breath.
Louis wondered for a second if that was what he looked like after running down the stairs earlier that morning. He concluded that he probably looked worse than his classmate and decided not to think about it.
Louis fixed his posture, "I'm doing well. How are you, Niall?"
The blonde smiled, "I'm doing well, too. Hey, why wasn't Zayn in class today? Is he ill?" he questioned.
Louis really didn't need this, not now. He was having such a good day, why ruin it? "He...well, he isn't exactly with us anymore," Louis tried to say.
"Oh, did he get accepted into that art school he's always talking about? Sounds like a good place for him," Niall said, oblivious to what Louis actually meant.
"Well, no, not exactly. See, well, he's left Earth."
"What?" Niall asked with a very confused look on his face.
Louis let out a sigh, not wanting to explain everything to a kid he hardly knows. "Zayn passed away the other day," he finally stated.
Niall seemed to understand that and he was left shocked, "what? I just saw him Wednesday!"
Now it was Louis' turn to be confused, "when did you see him?"
"Oh, right around noon. We had lunch at the Cafè and talked about classes and such. It was like a little study lunch."
Louis raised an eyebrow, "is that so?"
"Yeah, we had a few laughs. He didn't tell you?"
"Not at all," Louis spoke, his voice becoming quiet. He was hurt. Zayn told him everything. He would have mentioned a lunch with Niall, wouldn't he? Zayn never kept secrets. They vowed that they would always be truthful; nothing would ever get in between their friendship ever again. "I have to go," Louis claimed, "I'll talk to you at another time."
Louis left, not waiting to hear what Niall had to say. He managed to walk all the way to the nearest cafè, which happened to be over a mile from the community college. He sat himself down in one of the tables inside and let himself breathe for a few moments before someone tapped his shoulder, "sir, would you like anything to drink or possibly eat?" a kind waitress questioned.
He nodded and ordered a cup of black coffee with three cream, his usual any place he went, and a blueberry scone because toast and cereal was not enough for breakfast. He ate by himself, observing the people that walked in and out as well as those who sat down to enjoy their cup of Joe. He pulled out his phone to dial the number of the person he wanted to call most.
He stopped when the phone started to ring. This was stupid. He can't do this. He had gone so long without talking to them. He was better without them. He didn't need them, so why did he want to keep them close to him?
Louis shook his head, setting his phone on the surface of the table and pulled out the book he always kept with him, To Kill A Mockingbird. He flipped to the page he had left off and read farther back to remember what was going on. Once he started to read the words written on the pages, he felt as though he had fallen into the story. He was watching the story unfold right in front of him, watching the characters themselves speak and move.
He was so caught up in reading that he didn't realize how fast the time had passed and it was already four-thirty which meant that the next bus left in exactly an hour. He had to get back to his usual bus stop quickly, otherwise he'd have to walk the quite lengthy walk to get to his apartment.
He was able to make it to his bus stop just as the bus was pulling up and he thought that it was about time he started to do his morning runs again because he was getting out of shape. He found a seat on the bus next to a complete stranger, he always hated this time of day and pulled out his book to read again.
The stranger smelled and was quite dirty, Louis wondered how such a soul could handle that feeling when he could hardly tolerate a speck of dirt underneath his nail. He tried to focus on reading until the stranger got off the bus and another got on. This one was clean, Louis noted and he gladly let the lad sit beside him. He smiled fondly at the blonde with straight hair and went about his own business until it was finally his stop.
He thanked the bus driver on the way out, making a note to get something for Brayan as a gift for his hard work in the bus business. Brayan was a good friend of Louis' and he got to know him very well when Louis forgot his stops and had to ride the bus all the way back. He talked to Brayan about everything. Brayan normally laughed at Louis' failed jokes and Louis laughed at his very funny stories.
But Louis didn't have time to think too much about Brayan because he had to get to his apartment to make dinner and watch it in front of Jeopardy. He groaned to himself when he saw the elevators still weren't working and the thought of having to take the stairs up this time made Louis wish he had the ability to fly to his apartment.
It took longer than expected and this time Louis knew that it was time he started working out or something because if he had to climb the stairs everyday, he might just pass out. He opened his front door and threw his stuff to the side. He carefully took off his shoes and sighed when he realized just how much he had sweat on his way up.
He turned on the television set to find that Jeopardy still had another thirty minutes. He smiled because that meant he had time to make dinner and change his shirt. So he did just that, flopping onto his couch and turning up the volume. He figured it was time to be lazy so he shimmied into a pair of sweats earlier and tied his growing hair into a pathetic pony tail.
It was the end of Wheel of Fortune when he heard a knock on his front door. He was confused at first, but got up to answer anyways.
"I am here to take the lovely--why aren't you ready to go?" the tall man asked.
Louis was terribly confused as to why the detective that was working on the case of his friend's murder was standing at his door looking as though he was ready for a date, but he was definitely interested in finding out.