In A Twinkling (Larry Stylinson)

December 9 - Thursday

Part 8 recap...

Louis took the train up north to his childhood home and settled into his new, relaxed life, for the next five-weeks.

Louis lays awake in his childhood bedroom listening to his Nan potter about downstairs. The sounds are as familiar to him as breathing; cupboards opening and closing, the clank of metal-on-metal on the hob, a running tap, the birds twittering outside in the garden.

It's both soothing and unnerving at the same time. He wants to relax into it, he does, but the niggling sense of dread at having to undo his lie won't allow him that ease. If he was in his flat a couple of hundred miles away, he'd be able to put it out of his mind, busy himself with distractions, but not here. No, here it'll be front and center as soon as he goes downstairs.

He stretches out in his big bed and remembers what a luxury it was when it had been bought for him. Niall and Liam were green with envy until they realised it was the perfect size for the three of them to line-up on to play FIFA when they were teenagers.

His room doesn't have the usual footie posters and the like that would be expected in a time-capsuled teenagers bedroom, those have made their way into the back of the closet over the years due to how often he's back here. There's still a shelf with his football trophies though, and his Communications Degree is framed on the wall, but otherwise the decor is that of a grown man. A dark wooden dresser is against the wall between the door to his bathroom and the closet, a large flatscreen mounted on the wall above. The curtains are a lovely light green which complement the grey rug with green swirls on the floor, an armchair sitting in the corner covered in cream fabric with small blue flowers that coordinates with the cushions on the window seat. The tones are muted throughout, including the tiny tan coloured birds printed on the off-white wallpaper, and the lighting is subdued, allowing for a warm ambience even at night.

He's always loved this room, it's positioning within the house affording him beautiful views over the front garden and the rolling fields beyond. The interiors of the home have had numerous renovations over the years to add modern conveniences: Louis' own bathroom—a conversion of the smaller box room next door that they no longer needed—was a wonderful surprise when he'd returned home from uni for the holidays one year. It does reduce the house to a two-bedroom cottage, but they've never needed any more than that anyway, so it works just fine.

Louis drags himself out of bed and showers, choosing some gardening-appropriate clothes as he suspects that's where he'll be spending most of his day while the weather is still being accommodating.

He finds his Nan in the kitchen-diner, busying herself with baking as is often the norm. "Morning," Louis says in greeting and she startles, presumably not used to having him here just yet.

"Oh, Louis. Good morning, love. Sleep okay?"

Lous yawns even though he isn't tired, perhaps just some kind of Pavlovian response to someone referencing sleep. "Yeah. Really good. Keen to get started on your list of jobs."

"That's wonderful, thank you. But you know that's not what I expect of you the whole time you're here, don't you?"

Louis grins as he slides into his chair, lifting the tea cosy and testing the heat of the teapot with the back of his hand. It's still hot, so he drags over his clean cup and saucer from the middle of the table. "Yeah, I know. But I was thinking, with such a long vacation, I might be able to get some bigger jobs done instead of just maintenance stuff."

"Hmmmm... that's true. Breakfast?"

"Please," he says and pours his tea, adding a dash of milk and giving it a stir as she puts his plate in the microwave and sets the timer. "I think the front gate and arbour could do with a paint for starters, maybe the window boxes too. Could get cracking on them today while the sun's out," he offers.