Make Me Beg [l.s - edited version]

nine

Harry POV:

"So you've really never played pool before?" I ask, handing Louis a spare cue. 

It's nearly as tall as he is, and I realize that he's shorter than I thought. But he's not that short, not like the guys who claim they're 6'5" on their Tinder profiles, and then show up to the date a foot shorter.

He takes the pool cue and looks at me. "Does it count if I've played pool on my phone?" He grins sheepishly.

"What? No, that doesn't count!" I shake my head, laughing.

"Oh, well that's too bad. I'm a Game Pigeon 8-ball master!" He boasts proudly, puffing out his chest to try and look more menacingly macho, which is near impossible for a cute guy such as himself.

"I'll start off with the basics," I tell him, picking up the pool cue I use all the time that's currently leaning against the wall. The set of balls are already set up in the familiar triangle formation, with the cue ball sitting on the table at the opposite end.

"That's the cue ball," I say, pointing to the isolated white ball, "And those are the 15 solid and striped balls. One through seven are solid colors, the 8-ball is black, and nine through fifteen are striped."

He nods, looking down at the table. "Which ones do you hit into the pockets?"

"One player wants to hit all the solids in while the other wants to hit all the stripes in. Then, once you hit all your designated pool balls, you win if you can hit the 8-ball into a pocket before your opponent does."

"What if you miss?"

"If you miss, it's not a big deal. However, the 8-ball is tricky. You can hit it if you'd like, but if you make it into a pocket before you've made all of your pool balls into a pocket, you lose and the other person wins."

"And you hit the white cue ball at the beginning of every shot, right?"

"Yeah," I say, walking over to take aim at the cue ball. "Maybe that Game Pigeon 8-Ball game really did teach you a thing to two,"

"So with the exception of not knowing how to take a proper shot with this physical stick since I'm used to a digital, I'm ready to beat your ass,"

"Here, I'll show you how to set up your shot and angle your hands," 

I wave him over and he walks towards me, leaning on his own pool cue while he watches how I set my hands up. I use my non-dominant hand to act as a makeshift tripod for the cue to rest on top of, and my other one grips the cue a few inches from its end.

"When you shoot," I say, crouching down to properly aim, "Be careful not to aim your cue too far down or you'll hit and damage the green felt on the table. Keep it somewhat level so you can hit the white ball in the center."

"Okay, whatever I do, I just have to make sure not to hit the green stuff so it doesn't rip or something. Got it,"

I wind up my shot and hit the cue ball, causing it to fly forward and break the formation of the triangle. The balls scatter and a blue striped ball makes it into the far right pocket.

"That's called a break, right? Where you destroy the triangle?" He asks and I nod in confirmation.

"Want to try?"

"Yeah, could I?" I reset the balls into their triangle shape and he walks over to where I took my shot. Louis goes to set up his hands but looks confused and turns to me for help, his cheeks flushed pink.

I walk up to him, more than glad to help. "Are you right or left-handed?"

"Right,"

"Okay, me too. Niall's left-handed so if you ever see him play, he'll use the opposite hand positions as us," I say, "To start, put your left hand down on the table as I did so the cue has something to steadily rest on."