These Inconvenient Fireworks (original story on ao3 by complemtattoos)

fourteen

LOUIS

Louis wakes up at one in the afternoon the next day to an empty bed, seven missed calls, and eleven unread messages. He turns his phone off again and takes a shower and tries not to think about how much everything in his stupid apartment smells like Harry fucking Styles.

As soon as he's dressed, he grabs the extra key from under the rug and puts it back in the kitchen drawer.

It's Sunday, the first day of Easter break, and all Louis can think of is that he has two weeks ahead of him with nothing to do and nowhere to hide until the third quarter starts.

Think back to last night, much of it in Harry's form. He remembers Zayn and Liam in the audience, Liam smiling at the show, Zayn smiling at Liam, and he imagines that at least half of his messages are from Zayn talking and talking about how he can feel like the thing with Liam is coming, and Louis can't deal with it today. He remembers Niall looking at him at some point while putting the costumes away and he remembers the expression on his face, careful and empathetic and uncertain, and he knows that Niall must know about boarding school and therefore Zayn probably knows too and they are probably both worrying about him about all things, and can't really deal with it.

It's simple then. He has to get out of Manchester.

He fills a backpack with clothes from the bottom of his closet that Harry has missed, and his brush and an extra pair of shoes, and calls his mom from the car, Duchess settled in her basket.

"Surprise!" He says over the line, hoping his voice doesn't sound as manic as it does. I'm going home for the holidays.

"What happened, love?" Asks her mother immediately. Damn the maternal intuition. It is absolutely terrifying. -You're good?

"I'm fine, Mom," he lies. I only miss you and the girls. I'm already on my way, I should be there in an hour.

"Very good," she says, clearly unconvinced. We'll talk when you get home, Boo.

Louis doesn't bother to tell her that there is nothing to talk about. You know it's useless.

The road to Doncaster is miserable and eternal that day, even though it has been done hundreds of times. You can't turn on the radio because if you listen to a single love song you may purposely bump into a tree, but you can't be there silently with your thoughts either, because it's even worse. In the end he decides to play a random radio with a random host with a bored voice and lets it enter his brain full of static.

His mom must have told the girls he was going, because the moment he parks in front of the house, the front door opens and the twins run out and get him out of the car and throw him on the grass just like they've done since they were little. , laughing and yelling and throwing him to the ground when he tries to get up. He fights them, careful not to let any of them get a good look at his eyes.

"You two are almost my size already, I don't think it's a fair fight," Louis says while they both laugh. He heads back to the car to get his backpack, and lets Daisy carry Duchess inside.

Phoebe leaves the door open behind her, and Louis can hear the girls rampaging inside, yelling from room to room.

"Lottie, come down to greet your brother!" Her mother yells from somewhere.

Louis stands in the doorway of his house for a moment, feeling the old, familiar, robust ground beneath his feet. He has always been good at hiding his pain. He's always had a knack for keeping it and sending him away after jokes and pretending he knows what he's doing. It is a skill that has always been necessary in his life, and this house knows it. It makes sense that I'm here now. One more thing to hide under the floorboards.