Louis is ready to find the love of his life, but first he has to stop falling for the punk rocker next door.
🔴This story is NOT mine. I'm just reposting it.
All credit goes to @mcpofife on ao3🔴
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Louis was six and he liked going to school and riding the bus and carrying his Spiderman lunchbox with its matching thermos. He liked that his mum packed him sandwiches with no crusts and apple slices and pudding. So he was pretty good when it came to getting ready in the morning, and his mum only had to chase him around the house a little bit before he got dressed and ate his porridge.
He sat on the veranda to strap on his velcro trainers and that’s when it happened: a lorry pulled into the driveway next door. His eyes went big at the sight. Louis loved lorries. He knew all the different types in the world: the ones that carried food, the ones that carried rubbish, or the very impressive ones that carried cars. Those were his favourite.
Due to his extensive knowledge on the subject, he knew immediately that the one next door was a removal lorry. He was not surprised at all when men emerged from it and opened up the back and he could see heaps of boxes and furniture inside. He threw his head back to yell for his mum and hit his head on her leg, not realising she was standing behind him. She yelped a bit and said, “Come on, then.”
As they walked to the stop sign at the end of the street where his bus would soon arrive, he pointed to the lorry and said, “Mum, whose stuff is that?”
“Looks like the Harpers finally sold their house,” his mum said. “We’re going to have new neighbours.”
His eyes widened and something had to be done, so he began to hop on one foot. “Who are they?”
“I’m not sure. A family, I reckon, with all those rooms,” she said.
“When will they get here? Can I meet them? Will they be here when I get back from school?” he asked, switching to the other foot.
“I’m not sure, dear,” she said. He could see the bus coming, so he stopped hopping and let his mum hug him and hand him his lunchbox and rucksack. “Be a good boy,” she told him, like she did every day.
He got on the bus and ran to the very back, kneeled backwards on his seat even though that’s against the rules, because he wanted to watch the lorry until he couldn’t anymore.
*
Louis forgot about his new neighbours once he got to school, because there was a bug in the classroom and everyone was screaming their heads off like maybe they’d all be killed by a dung beetle and because they played kickball at recess and kickball was his favourite and because his best friend James got a splinter in his finger and the teacher had to pick it out with a safety pin. This was why Louis quite liked school: he was a big fan of excitement.
Only on the bus on the way home did he remember the removal lorry. His mind ran wild thinking what sort of folks his new neighbours might be. Would they be an old couple like the Harpers, whose children were all grown up and didn’t like it when he trampled the flowers in their garden? He’d liked the Harpers, but they weren’t very exciting. Maybe the new neighbours would have a dog? The possibilities were endless.
