Be My Dandelion

Unit A: Subsection 1

fic playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6HqoZ645zvYDA5XvqBNvgL?si=be574e900e5e4515

"Hey," Louis heard a soft voice speak behind him as he was struggling to open the entrance door of the building while carrying three boxes, one on top of the other. He turned around to see the source of the voice, only to be met with a tall, handsome man with curls falling past his shoulders.

"Hi," Louis breathed out. The stranger smiled and held the door for him and Louis muffled a 'thank you' as he entered. He offered to help Louis and carry at least one of the boxes and Louis kindly rejected. He opened the elevator door for Louis to enter. He stepped in and let down his boxes, freeing his hands.

Louis regretted emptying his hands because everything was silent as they waited for the elevator to ding, indicating one of them arrived at his destination. He didn't know what to do with his hands as he awkwardly stayed there and he was shifting, maybe touching his hair a little bit or scratching his arm, careful not to let his sleeve rise up. As discreetly as he could, he let his eyes full upon the boy in the elevator. He examined him from head to toe, mostly seeing his side profile and damn Louis would be lying if it wasn't one of the most breathtaking side profiles he had seen. Apparently his mouth was behaving independently and decided to let out the quietest "wow, fuck" but not quiet enough that the boy standing next to him wouldn't hear. He saw his lips going a tiny bit upward, holding back a smile. The moment he turned to face Louis, Louis snapped out of it and turned his gaze elsewhere.

"I'm Harry," he spoke with the same soft but deep voice. He was looking directly at Louis and his smile was all over the place.

"Louis," he responded, returning the smile.

"New to the building?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, just moved in to be exact," Louis informed him. He hadn't talked to another guy –he could be attracted to- in a while. He recently started seeing his ex, but it wasn't something serious, it was more of a 'friends with benefits' type of thing. So, this was pretty awkward and uncomfortable for him and he hoped he would just arrive at his floor and go to his apartment but at the same time he wanted the elevator to take a little longer. He didn't have many (or any at this point) friends and he could use an acquaintance in case he ever needed anything, or anyone for that matter.

"Thought so," Harry replied. "Pretty sure I would have noticed you earlier if you were already living here," he commented. Louis didn't let his cheeks turn red, instead he let out a small chuckle and stared at his feet.

The elevator dinged and Louis noticed it was his time to leave. The doors opened and he grabbed the boxes from the floor. "I'll see you around, maybe we'll get along," Harry said as Louis was stepping out the door.

"Maybe we will," Louis responded, his smile turning into an upward triangle as it did most of the time. The doors closed and Louis walked on the hall searching for his apartment.

As he arrived in front of his door, he searched his pockets for his keys. He put them in the keyhole, twisting the key and entered carrying his stuff. He set the boxes down next to the door and took in the smell of his new apartment. He liked the way it was plain and empty, it was calming him down.

Louis had decided to move out a few days after his adoptive mother's funeral. It had now been almost a month and it wasn't any easier for him. Her passing affected him a lot and when he returned home all alone, just him and his thoughts, he couldn't get her out of his head. He couldn't stop remembering her face, the sound of her voice, the way her laugh would echo through a room or the way her eyes shone each time she as much as looked at him. It was too much to handle and he swore he could see her standing in his old apartment. He would see her napping on his couch or watering his flowers. He would see her sit on the armchair, which he had kept because he knew how much she loved it, reading a book. Sometimes he would wake up and see her in his kitchen making coffee. Several blinks later to snap out of his hallucination, Louis would be brought back to reality where she wasn't there anymore. A reality where he wouldn't get good morning voice messages from her to check up on him. A reality where she wouldn't be calling him every night anymore and chat with him. No more "Good night, darling, I love you". No more of any of that, because she was gone.