Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Saturday 8

The club was buzzing around him, people bustling around the place: to and from the bar, drinks sloshing in glasses. His eyes danced around the dark premises, squinting through the flashing lights to see the dancing people. Louis wasn't really phased by the grinding couples on the dance floor, nor was he that bothered when he was practically knocked over when he first walked into the club by a girl and a boy who were practically eating each other's faces off. It wasn't the most pleasant sight, but it was a sight which he was used to. It wasn't like the boys would suggest going to a gay bar any time soon, unless one of them had a sudden change in direction and then he could argue it wasn't one against three.He leaned back against the cool bar, bringing the hand that nursed a beer up to his lips to wipe away the dribble of alcohol that rolled down his chin after he gulped down the rest of the bottle.

Zayn was slumped over a small glass of whiskey, a profound frown on his face as he stared into it deeply. Louis didn't have the heart to tell him that really, Holly wasn't ever going to stay once he told her he actually liked her; I mean, had he not noticed the eyes she made at every boy who walked by? She even snuck a cheeky wink at Louis, regardless of the fact he was gay. She was just gagging for it, and Zayn was a good catch, Louis could confirm that himself. His dark and mysterious facade matched his rugged looks, and really, Holly's plastic form was never going to be good enough for him, regardless of her lack of want for a proper relationship.Niall, on the other hand, was cackling loudly, head thrown back with laughter. His hand was wrapped around a beer, casually bringing it up to his lips randomly. His bright blue eyes shone through the darkness, the glint present which he always got when he had alcohol in his system. Niall always said he was at home with alcohol; Louis decided to blame that on him being Irish rather than claiming it was some sort of alcoholic addiction. Niall's other arm was wrapped around a tall lean, dark haired girl who he must've picked up recently, or else Louis must've been out of it for quite some time. She was giggling rather sweetly - verging on annoyingly though for Louis - as she swivelled around and pulled the blonde lad into a raunchy kiss.Liam was sat on the bar stool, the only one out of the four of them being lucky enough to nab the seat. He was smiling softly down at his phone. Louis could spot that sappy look a mile off, or more precisely, his 'Danielle-look'. He was completely smitten with her, no matter how much he protested, Louis could tell how deep his feelings for her drove through his body.The thing was, was that there was this untold 'rule', as such, that the four of them were bound to. It wasn't created purposefully, it just...appeared. Louis guessed it was Zayn who enforced it, with his rebellious teenage years of sleeping around with a lot of girls. The whole facade they created was that they weren't serious. About love that is. Yes they'd claimed to be in love times before, but they were too young to know then; well, that's what they told themselves anyway. None of them wanted to be branded as 'whipped' or anything of the similar, so they acted in the most classically lad-ish ways possible and pretended they didn't care as much as they did.

Having transferred over to a booth that had become available, and settled into the leather seat, Zayn on one side and Niall on his other - who had seemingly lost the girl clinging onto him before-, Louis finally participated in the conversation between his friends. Surprisingly enough, the other three were considerate over Louis' lack of interest in mundane topics like football, so he joined in animatedly as they talked about how Zayn's youngest sister had picked herself up a boyfriend. Zayn was fuming; that in itself was hilarious to Louis. But then again, if the same were to happen to his sisters, he'd have been as angry as Zayn; he could fill the overprotective brother role quite well, even though he never had the chance to use it that much."But she's thirteen! It isn't even right!" Zayn objected."You said you had your first girlfriend at thirteen! I don't see the problem!" Niall chanted back."Have you seen the guy, Niall? He's a freak! He doesn't deserve someone like her!"Just as Louis was going to involve himself in the conversation, a sharp buzzing in his pocket pulled him away from his thoughts. Rifling in his pocket, he fished out his phone. He restrained the small smile threatening to burst through his lips as he saw the name flashing on the screen: Harry.

From: Harry (20:17)Hey Lou, you alright? :) xx

Louis' heart soared. He loved it when Harry called him 'Lou'; it sent tingles through his body. It made him feel...special. No, it wasn't the only time he'd been called that, but with Harry it was different. Harry didn't seem like the type who got emotionally attached to someone, and on Louis' terms, a nickname was quite a big step. It shows you're comfortable with the person. And that, in effect, made Louis especially happy because it showed Harry was becoming used to Louis' presence and felt he was close enough to him to use a nickname back.

From: Louis (20:19)Hey babe, I'm smashing thanks! And your kind self? ;) xxx

From: Harry (20:21)That's good! I'm doing great, guess what my Mum just bought me?! Xx

From: Louis (20:23)What?! Xxx

From: Harry (20:24)The Definitive Collection - Stevie Wonder! Xx

From: Louis (20:26)Oh that's so cool Haz! Xxx

"Fuck Louis, who the hell are you texting? You're never off it!" Liam asked Louis, startling him away from his phone. His phone dropped onto the sticky table with a clatter making Louis let out a yelp of shock."Ooh is it a new lad?" Zayn teased, pulling on Louis' cheeks mockingly.Scoffing as he pushed off Zayn's joking hands, Louis mumbled a jumble of incoherent words to try divert their attention."What was that?" Zayn laughed."I said it's nobody," Louis didn't register in his mind the reason why he wasn't telling them it was Harry, he just based it on the fact the alcohol was setting in and he was speaking oblivious to his normal thoughts that he'd think."Sure," Zayn droned.Suddenly, Niall pulled the bottle of beer from his lips, blue eyes wide and full of remembrance. "Oh my god, do you remember that guy who couldn't speak? I seriously don't have a clue why you took him out Louis, he was such a freak," his laughter boomed through the air, along with Zayn's and Liam's chuckle he couldn't suppress.Louis stared down at the table, unsure on what to say. He could feel the swirl of anger in his stomach but it wasn't as strong as it was the previous week, numbed somewhat by the alcohol and it being his friends saying the harsh words."Shit yeh and he went all dodge at the gig, like freaking out and stuff? Like seriously, how fucked up must that lad be? Who even does that?" Zayn boomed out, laughing continually. Liam didn't hold back his laughter any longer and laughed along with the two others.None of them took notice of Louis' battle he was having. As much as he wanted to fight back, tell them it wasn't like that and Harry was different to what they thought, these were his friends. He couldn't have them thinking he was acting way off course and totally un-cool; he couldn't have them thinking he was friends with a 'freak'."It's just weird how he can't speak, like how wrong would it be to fuck him and him just not make a noise? It's fucking weird man, that's all I can say!" Niall piped up, his mouth bubbling with mocking laughter. Zayn, who had just brought the beer bottle to his lips, had to put it down quickly, covering his mouth to prevent the liquid spilling out his mouth as he needed to burst out in laughter at the image. Louis let out a forced laugh; the others seemed to deem it as real.Suddenly, his phone buzzed loudly on the table as the laughter died down a little, random bursts of chuckles floating out of his friends' mouths as they remembered the conversation. Louis' hand belted forward to reach it, but was just too slow as Zayn's tanned fingers clutched at it first.Louis protested, reaching out for the phone by flailing around over Zayn who held it high above his head."C'mon Zayn, give it back," Louis pouted."Nope, I want to see who's been texting you all night!""Please Zayn, can you just drop it and let me have my phone back?" Louis whined.Zayn shook his head determinedly. "What, are you embarrassed by who you're texting?"Louis froze, what was he supposed to say? Inside, of course he wasn't embarrassed. But if Zayn didn't obey his wishes and looked at the flashing name on the screen, then his whole facade would be broken, and who knew what the boys would say.He couldn't risk getting caught; so he pretended that he was blushing and looked down, his acting skills coming in handy."Wahey! Tomlinson's embarrassed! This is a rarity, isn't it?" Zayn taunted, nudging Niall playfully and eyeing Louis."C'mon Zayn, I want to see who it is!" Niall said eagerly, pulling the phone from Zayn's fingers and looking at the screen intently.Louis watched nervously as a wash of confusion spread over Niall's face, a furrowed brow and small frown of concentration. "Who's Harry? I swear his name rings a bell...""Wait...wasn't Harry the one who couldn't speak?" Zayn accused, eyes narrowing as he turned from facing where Niall held to phone, to Louis."Uh-erm yeh I s'pose," Louis stuttered awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck."Why are you texting him?" Liam asked, joining into the conversation as he leaned forward."I-he...just- he keeps texting me and like he just won't stop, y'know? I just want to tell him, like, fuck off nobody wants you, but he's probably like emotionally unstable so he'd probably kill himself or something."Louis gulped down the remainders of his drink in one fell swoop, hiding the guilty look that was probably plastered upon his face. He couldn't deny the heavy feeling he felt on his heart; it was suffocating.The three boys, however, didn't notice this and chuckled at his words, agreeing with him with words like "God, what an asshole" and "He's pathetic"."I'm going to get another drink, you guys want one?" With refusals from them all, Louis snatched his phone from Niall's hands and sauntered over to the bar, the only thing on his mind being getting totally and utterly hammered.

He was drunk. Supposedly, those pink drinks were stronger than Zayn said, so five of them really didn't bode well in Louis' body. The alcohol had gone straight to his head. Any worry had been drenched in the lethal substance, dissolved into a matter which felt like it meant nothing at all.However, that didn't dispose of the slight burn he felt in his pocket, the heavy weight that kept him weighed to the ground all night. It wasn't overpowering enough for him not to feel giddy and kind of out of his mind, but it was lingering there with all its thunderous responsibility and it couldn't really be ignored.In Louis' pocket, was his phone, which had been vibrating practically every ten minutes for however long he'd been in the club. He learned to ignore it though, because as soon as he went to fetch it he suddenly felt as if all of his friend's eyes were zeroed in on him and they were judging him with all their being. They weren't, obviously; they were totally oblivious, but Louis was paranoid. He suspected it was the alcohol messing with his brain.He was on the edge of the grinding crowd, bouncing and dancing along to the booming bass of the music being blasted around. Some girls were dancing drunkenly on the small raised stage that Louis was near to, showing themselves off to the whole club with little dignity. The other boys were by his side, Zayn and Niall watching the girls with drooling, needy eyes and Liam was just happily dancing away, not really taking an interest in the girls.Three of the girls were whispering to each other, glancing down at the four of them. Louis noticed them totter over in their extremely high heels, their skimpy bodies being draped over Louis and Zayn when they arrived over to them."Hey boys," one of them winked seductively at Niall."One of you fancy a dance on the stage with us?" another asked, directing it to them all, her hands curling around Zayn's shoulder. None of them answered, but all smirked towards Louis who was stumbling a little, not being able to stand still with the music and also the product of being too drunk."How about you sexy?" the skinny blonde asked Louis, her finger trailing up his chest in nothing but a seductive manner."He's gay and he's a really fucking good dancer," Niall slurred bashfully. The girl didn't seem deterred, her finger still trailing up towards Louis' face where it rested on his lips."Fancy dancing up a storm with me up there? You're not with someone are you?"Louis' blurred mind wasn't sure what she meant by the latter question, so if she was asking whether he was with anyone actually in the club, she was way off track. But Harry's face flashed into his mind, slightly shaky around the edges and not really precise, but a vision of him nonetheless. He wasn't with Harry, but this was Harry they were talking about so everything was different; so what they 'had' was something to hold onto and not let go by dancing with some random girl.That image was, though, wiped from his mind as 'S&M' started blasting obnoxiously and he just couldn't resist to grind to the dirty beat. Pulling his valuables out of his pocket that restricted total flowing movement, Louis threw them over to Zayn as he grabbed onto the girl's wrist and pulled her onto the stage.People cheered as his body rolled, shoulders shook and hips ground on the girl's ass. His head flung back in bliss, loving the attention. His alcohol addled mind embraced the pulling on his trousers from the people below, didn't even care when someone so boldly grabbed his crotch. His eyes were constantly in a smouldering stare as he got lost in the music. It wasn't a proper routine he was 'performing', way far off it, but he was throwing himself into his movements nonetheless. He didn't care that it was a girl he was grinding so sexually with, because at least it was someone.Sweat was slicking at his skin and a smirk stayed present on his lips throughout. He could hear the catcalls and whistled as he dropped to the floor for a - really, it wasn't dignified at all as the name suggests - slut drop behind the girl who he still didn't know the name of. His obscene movements matched the filthy words in the song, revelling in the whole dirty feel he was expressing. His hands roamed the girl's body shamelessly as he sang the words loud, his body hitching with each beat of the bass. As the beat slowed, his movements kept their raunchy and loose feel but slowed with the music. Swiftly moving his hips and rolling his chest, he gradually lowered to the ground in a flexible show until he bounced back up as the beat sprung back into life. He felt totally in his element - everything was sultry and everything was sex and he loved it audaciously. He continued on dancing until the song finished, sending the girl a cheeky wink before jumping off the stage to join the other boys. They clapped him on the back with huge grins on their faces, complimenting him on his, although totally filthy, dancing.There wasn't much need for the whole show, but Louis was drunk and he wanted to let loose. He also wanted to forget about the sixteen year old that was lingering in the back of his mind whilst he was with his friends, not wanting to slip up and show that he actually cared; so he turned back into the Louis who pranced around and flirted with everything and anything. That boy wasn't with him at the present time, and he was going to take advantage of that, he thought drunkenly.

As his blurry eyes scanned the room aimlessly, he noticed Zayn open his mouth and lean closer so he could speak to Louis' clearer. Just as he was about to speak, Louis' arm was pulled from its position crossed over his chest and he was yanked through the mass of people to the centre. He sent a speedy apologetic glance at Zayn but continued to stumble along with the person. That person turned out to be a boy, who wrapped his arms around Louis' waist and started dancing with Louis instantly.He was good looking; there wasn't a doubt about that. He was blonde haired, blue eyed - a generally pretty face - but something wasn't right. Louis didn't get the best of looks to be honest because he was more embraced in the dancing, but from the lack of feeling in his stomach which he normally got when he saw someone he was attracted to, he knew that this lad wasn't 'suitable'. It was surprising really, because the boy's rugged but somehow smooth looks were usually Louis' preference, so it baffled him when he couldn't stir up that feeling in his body.However, Louis kept dancing with the boy, grinding down on his crotch dirtily."I saw you dancing on that stage," the boy muttered in his ear hotly. Louis only made a noise of approval to show that he'd heard, throwing his head back onto the boy's shoulder as small kisses were pressed behind his ear. "You looked so hot."As the boy - still with no name but Louis didn't really care at that moment in time - latched his mouth onto Louis' sweaty skin, Louis spotted through his fluttering eyelids Zayn approaching. Glaring through his eyes as if to try and deter Zayn from his charging pathway, Louis realised that Zayn obviously hadn't caught on. He battled through the crowd until he reached Louis and shoved Louis' phone obnoxiously in his face; the action not breaking the stranger's lips from Louis' neck though.Louis squeaked out a questioning 'what?' through a moan as the boy's tongue swiped across the skin."It's been ringing constantly and it's fucking annoying," Zayn shouted over the music."Well turn it off then," Louis shouted back to him."Just answer it man, they keep calling so it's obviously important," Zayn said stubbornly.Snatching it out of Zayn's hands, Louis growled a 'fine' before turning around to the boy who reluctantly removed his lips from the red skin."I have to answer this, come to the toilets with me?" Louis whispered into the boy's lips as he brushed them drunkenly again the boy's chapped ones. The boy nodded mutely and let Louis weave him through the crowd to the toilets.The room was deserted, apart from one man who was just leaving. The noise of the bass was less powerful in the room, more of a light thud vibrating through the wall. Louis leaned on the wall as he tried to navigate through his phone with his blurry eyes which refused to focus on the bright screen properly. His fingers kept sliding off the keys as he tried to find the missed calls, and he groaned in frustration."Hey baby, calm down," the boy said smoothly in Louis' ear as he walked up to him."I don't even know who it was who was calling," Louis slurred back. "How am I supposed to call them back when I don't even know who they are?""Well maybe you could wait until they call again.""But then we'll be waiting, stuck in here while everything's happening out there," Louis pouted childishly."Well maybe we can have a little fun of our own while we wait..." the boy whispered seductively, suddenly pressing his lips against Louis'.Louis kissed back, obviously, but that wasn't to say he enjoyed it. It was sloppy - but he admitted that was probably partly his fault because he was too drunk to care - and full of clashing teeth, and to be honest, it didn't feel right. He never objected to kissing anyone in previous situations like this, but at the present time, it wasn't right.His phone then started vibrating in his hand, blasting out his ringtone to shock the pair apart. Louis' hesitantly pressed the green button and lifted the phone to his ear."Hello-" Louis started but a giggle fell from his lips as the boy's lips tickled his skin when they kissed at his collar. "Stop it, that tickles," he slurred to the boy, forgetting the phone was still closed at his ear."Louis? Is that you?" A womanly voice rang through the phone. Louis recognised it, but his slow mind wasn't cooperating and he couldn't work out who it was."That is me- wait, wait, I want to do that cool thing people do on movies, ready? It depends on who's asking," Louis said stupidly, winking even though the person couldn't see. The boy's mouth kissed up to Louis' lips."It's Anne, Anne Cox- where even are you Louis?"Suddenly, as if the mention of her name sparked off a rally of emotions which sobered him up and set realisation throughout him about his life beyond the walls of this club, Louis froze into the kiss.Louis tore his lips away from the dry ones of the boy. "A-Anne? Why are you calling?"His voice was shaky and way less slurred. Thoughts ran through his mind rapidly, hurting his less active brain.Anne. Harry. Texting. Lying. Drunk. Ignoring. Dancing. Ignoring. Kissing. Ignoring."I needed to know you were alright," Anne replied simply. The boy kept trying to press his lips against Louis', ignoring the pensive and serious look on the Louis' features."O-of course I'm alright, w-why do you want to know?" Louis stammered confusedly."You never replied to Harry's texts and he's really anxious, Louis," Anne admitted.Louis could feel the start of a weight drifting over his heart, not pulling him down just yet, but it was on the way to if it had any relation to the type of thoughts he was having after what Anne admitted. "What? Why? I just- I got busy I guess.""Yes I can tell that," Anne mused vaguely."What's wrong, Anne? What's happened? Why's Harry so nervous?" Louis babbled. The boy kept nipping at his jaw."You're drunk, aren't you?" Anne asked straightforwardly."Wha- no! Well maybe a little, but tell me Anne, please!""I just hope you know what you've gotten yourself in for Louis-"Louis interrupted Anne's cryptic message, "just tell me!" he exclaimed, pushing off the boy who was pulling at his shirt to get his attention. He shot the boy a stern glare to tell him to, basically, shut the fuck up."He gets worried about you, okay? When he starts to care for someone, he cares too much. He worries constantly about them and he needs to know they're okay; it's just what he does. So he texts them and texts them to keep up to date and know that nothing's happened to them. And when he doesn't get a reply, he starts getting tetchy. Then, if a reply doesn't come for a while after, he starts worrying properly. After that it's just a downhill spiral that can't be helped unless he knows they're okay. He's scared, Louis, he doesn't know what's going on."That heavy feeling on his heart crashed down onto him, crushing his once joyful mood into smithereens. He felt guilty, stupid, unkind, and another dose of guilty on top of that. Yes, he wasn't to know that was what Harry was like, but he shouldn't have ignored him in the first place. "Fuck," he muttered to himself, not knowing what to say."I have to go and check up on him Louis, but just shoot him a text or something anyway? Maybe he'll be able to get to sleep after that; god knows what he'll be like in the morning for staying up this late," Anne muttered to herself a little as she contemplated what her son's mood would be like the next morning. "Just...just make sure you know what you're letting yourself in for Louis, he's different to everyone else. I don't want you leaving him when things get too tough. Think about it, Louis, make sure you're ready to come into his life; it's all or nothing, love, that's the choice you have to make."And so Anne hung up, leaving Louis completely and utterly dumbfounded.