Forest Greens (Larry Stylinson/AU)

The Red Carpet

Louis heard the sound of the front door opening and he immediately scrambled out of his bed to shut his bedroom door. As of this day, Louis had to be extremely careful around Harry; the man was not to be trusted.

For the remainder of the daytime, Louis lurked around the house like a shadow, looking for anything that might've contained any information about Harry himself, since asking him detailed and specific questions would deem him as "suspicious".

Louis tried to find grocery receipts, schooling information and family photos; anything that could have possibly assisted him in understanding more about the man.

Eventually, the vigorous sounds of water boiling in a pot echoed through the silent house, and from this, Louis could tell that Harry had began preparing a meal for dinner. Harry was obviously busy and Louis now understood that only during these times was he allowed the chances of snooping about Harry's home; all for the safety of himself, of course...

Louis stood with his feet apart before the two hallway entries, crossing his arms in deep thought.

He could clearly remember Harry strictly instructing him to "never enter the left hallway." Louis had never understood why Harry had made this so; at the time, he had nothing to question the man for either, but today, Louis had uncovered some disturbing truths concerning Harry, so, in other words, he had every right to investigate this hallway.

Louis took his first step into the ill-lit hallway. As he walked, he saw no framed cat photographs hanging on the paint-chipped walls. The red carpet that laid on the floor seemed like they hadn't been cleaned in years; Unlike the rest of Harry's pristinely clean house, this walkway was quite filthy, so to say. Louis continued to walk down the path until he stumbled over a piece of what felt to be an uneven layer of carpet.

Louis crouched down and examined the unevenness of the carpet: There was a large bump beneath the layer. He ran his fingertips along the area, trying to find some sort of flap that could allow him to lift that particular section of carpet.

Louis began to feel like he was digressing into madness: "Lou, you idiot, why the fuck would there be something hiding under the goddam carpet?" He questioned himself in disbelief, "You've been watching way too many movi-" Louis' train of thought was interrupted as his hand ran across a gap in between the carpet.

He managed to slip his index finger into the gap, lifting up the carpet slightly. He then entered the rest of his hand underneath the gap, lifting up the section of carpet with great ease. It was as if this carpet had been lifted up multiple times beforehand, judging by how non-adhesive the material was to the ground.

Louis folded the carpet over itself, revealing a worn-out metal hatch door that was connected directly to the floor. Was this the basement to Harry's house? But why was he trying to cover it up? What could he have possibly been hiding in there that he wanted no living soul discover?

Louis' fingers twitched at the thought of pulling open the hatch. His brain and his heart were arguing: Opening the door could lead to the answers to all his questions, but, what if by opening that door, he would be stepping into a world of which he would regret uncovering for the rest of his life?

He gripped onto the metal handle of the door, ready to pry it open, when he heard his name being called from the kitchen.

"Louis...Louis, dinner is ready!" The faint voice of Harry struck terror right into the heart of Louis.