coffee stains ; larry stylinson

chapter five

louis sat behind the counter at the clothing store he worked in. louis was relieved there weren't any customers, he felt tired and drained despite having a good night's sleep and wanted nothing more than so snuggle up in his bed and squeal over pictures of puppies and hot dudes.

"hey there, louis," niall greeted and louis smiled at him. 

"hello, niall," louis replied. niall had a cup of coffee in his hand which he handed it to louis, who took it with a yell of delight. it was just as he liked: with steamed milk, sugar and caramel. 

"niall, you're the best," louis said and took a long sip from the coffee.

"i know," niall said modestly and peeked into louis' phone who hastily tried to cover it up but without a second's waste, it was in niall's hand and niall had this wicked glint in his eye and was about to explode from laughter.

"this is gold," niall said, nearly in tears. "absolutely fucking gold."

"give it back!" louis yelled and made a grab for it but niall raised his hand above his head but louis was shorter than him. louis cursed his height sometimes. 

"you, louis william tomlinson, stalking a boy," niall was red with the attempt not to laugh and sounded choked.

"it's nobody," louis mumbled and crossed his arms over his chest and glared at niall.

"i want to know the lucky fella, too," niall said and scrolled through twitter, finding a name. "harry styles. who the fuck is harry styles?" niall sounded confused but amused at the same time. 

louis felt himself get red and looked down sheepishly, refusing to give him an answer.

niall stared at louis expectantly for a moment until something shifted behind his eyes and his eyes lit up with realization. soon enough, he was on the floor, clutching his stomach and laughing like he'd drowned a dog. 

louis still refused to say anything, however the sound of niall's laughter admittedly started to crack him up. fuck that shit and his contagious laugh.

"you...stalking...coffee boy...like s-straight...out of...some...colleen hoover n-novel," niall gasped between bursts of giggles. louis blushed even more furiously. 

"colleen hoover novels are not precisely like that. honestly, niall, get up to date with your reading."

"don't try to change the subject, tomlinson, this is gonna make it to the headlines in tomorrow's paper."

"nobody reads newspapers anymore."

"too bad. i do."

"enough twaddling. i've got shipments to unpackage and clothes to set up," louis said in attempts to escape.

"tut tut. allow me. you rest here and take a breather. it's been a long day," niall smiled radiantly at him and disappeared in the depths of the store. 

louis got back to harry's twitter account. there weren't many tweets, most of them just being quotes from old poetry and books which were posted years ago. there was something really sad in the quotes harry tweeted. like he couldn't express what he was feeling so he tried to seek help, behind the depths of the meaning of old quotes. to louis, it seemed like a silent scream of help. a plea to break free. 

louis shook his head and told himself not to get too worked up over it.

seeing his shift was almost over, louis began to pack his bag just as the bell tinkled, signaling the entry of a customer. louis spun around, smiling a brilliantly artificial smile, only for it to falter a bit as he saw the customer. 

harry styles. in the flesh.

well, louis thought drily, speak of the devil.

he was wearing a black t-shirt, with black skinny jeans; his hair was in an unruly crown of brown curls, his hands clasped behind his back; his expression was pleasantly blank, green eyes playing a game of mild curiosity. 

louis wildly searched around for help but everyone was at the back of the store or at break.

fuckers, all of them. 

mentally shaking his head, louis re-plastered his smile and squaring his shoulders went over to harry who was currently examining colognes. 

"how may i help you?" louis asked merrily as he approached him. harry slightly turned his head and looked at louis from the corner of his eye. his eyelashes, louis noticed, were impossibly long and dark. 

"i need cologne," harry spoke in a calm monotone. louis resisted rolling his eyes.

"'tis a great day to state the obvious," louis said warily and then mentally slapped himself for being inappropriate with customers. if luke - the manager - ever found out, he'd chop him up and sell him for a good prize. not that louis didn't like luke, he loved the guy. "which scent are you looking for?"

harry told him and louis went to fetch a bottle for him. he handed it to harry who just politely thanked him and payed for the cologne. 

"do you work here?" harry asked suddenly which nearly made louis jump.

"nope," louis said in a low voice. "i'm an undercover thief and only work here to rob the store. don't tell anyone!"

"really?" harry's brows furrowed in confusion. louis just stared at him.

"no."

"must you be so sarcastic?" 

"i am only just a small person," louis said, gesturing towards himself. "sarcasm is my only defense."

harry muttered something that sounded like 'bawheed' under his breath.

"did you just say my head is full of shit?" louis asked, genuinely amused. 

harry's eyes betrayed the faintest hint of surprise. "nonsense."

"you might not want to look like you stepped straight out of a cologne ad when you join school. people are going to think you're a rich snob. and, you know, they're also allergic," louis blurted out suddenly and then cursed himself for saying that out loud.

harry slit his eyes. "how do you know-" he began but louis cut him off.

"okay look. so my best friend has a friend in the student council who knows about you joining and then she told me and i swear i am not some creepy ass stalker. i mean- that'd be incredibly awkward and incredibly weird considering i barely know you and we're not even friends. that is unless you want to be. of course i'm not pressuring you into being friends and um-" louis stopped abruptly, profoundly aware he was rambling and blushed.

"okay," harry said slowly. "i won't look like i stepped straight out of a cologne add. it has come to my knowledge that people will think i am a rich snob and are allergic."

louis sighed and sent a small grin in his direction. "i'm louis, by the way."

"pleasure," harry said grabbing the shopping bag from the counter, though something in his tone suggested it was anything but. louis felt a spark of annoyance again.

with a nod, harry exited the store. louis let out a relieved sigh and went to grab his backpack.

niall appeared out of nowhere with a smug smile.

"well that was intense-" niall began.

"shut up, you irish twat."

a/n:  happy pride month folks

keep gaying, keep slaying 

all the love, tay x