Kind Forest Eyes

Chapter three

Louis wakes up to the noise of someone knocking on his door. He groans and shields his eyes from the sunlight hitting his eyes, cursing himself for not closing the blinds. Turning to his side, he responds to Kat's 'good morning' with a small grumble.

"You have to get up," she says. "Can I come in?"

Louis simply moans in response but Kat conceives it as a 'yes'. So she comes in, closes the door behind her, and sits down next to Louis on his bed. She reaches out to card her fingers through the boy's hair and she smiles softly at his half-sleeping figure. "Liam is going to be here in half an hour so if you want to shower you're going to have to hurry and I'm assuming you want to be clean for your first day, right?"

This makes Louis come slightly to his senses and he sits up, making not-so-happy noises in the process.

Kat stands up and walks to his closet, looking at his clothes with a small frown. "If you want to go shopping for some new clothes or some room decoration, just say the word."

She looks through his jeans and picks his newest ones and then grabs a blue shirt to match his eyes. Kat holds it up to seek Louis' approval, but the younger boy merely grabs the clothes, not minding what he's wearing at all.

As the boy is changing, his eyes trail around the room. He admits that he would quite like to make his room more personal and he also confesses that he would like some new garments too.

"First of all," he starts answering Kat, "I'm really not a morning person, so don't take it personally. Secondly..." He pulls his shirt over his hair. "I quite like your suggestion. Maybe we can go to the mall, have some quality time and get to learn about one another? Besides, my clothes aren't exactly suitable anymore and I would like my room to not look like a prison." He chuckles.

Kat grins at his response. "Well, I agree that this chamber looks rather somber." She looks at the white walls and boring duvet, not quite liking how basic it is. "And I would also like to get to know you, so when do you want to go?"

Louis walks towards the mirror, fixing his fringe with a focused stare. "I figure that school is going to be quite hectic this week so maybe it would be a bit much to also go shopping?" He says, looking at Kat after his hair is styled. "And I also think that it would be a nice way to wind down after a long and boring week of school." He chuckles.

Kat laughs and starts walking towards Louis' desk, grabbing the schoolbag that's stood on top of it and handing it to Louis. "I totally get that and this weekend should be fine. We just have to plan around the football match you're going to watch with Pat, but other than that, we have enough time to go to the mall."

Louis accepts the bag with a timid smile and he slings it over his shoulder, securing it. "I can't wait honestly. This weekend I'm going to have the time of my life."

Kat reaches out to pull Louis in a hug, embracing him tightly. She lays her head on his shoulder as she says, "You deserve it, Louis. We're lucky to have you. You're a great kid. I'm just sad that we found out about you so late." She pulls away to give Louis a regretful look. "I would have loved to see you grow up a little longer."

Louis' eyes are welling up and he feels so touched by the words. "Thanks, Kat. You're honestly the best."

Kat then grabs the door handle to open the exit of the room and Louis follows her as she moves down the stairs.

Even though Louis has only lived in this house for less than a day, it already feels so much like a home to him. He was thinking in bed about it, finding it quite peculiar. He came to the conclusion that a home is not always about the place, but the most determining factor is in fact the people you share it with. Louis feels like he can be himself with his adoptive parents and he thinks that is partly why he feels so at home.