Given a Chance (Larry Stylinson)

Part One

2021

There were a lot of things about America that struck Louis as funny.

The reality TV shows and the whole culture around them, for one. Obviously Britain had their fair share of shows that were seemingly pointless, but clearly the Americans had one up on everybody. The Kardashians and all their spinoffs, that one about Swamp People; there was even one about storage units and people fighting over who gets to sell the crap they find in it.

The weekend Louis found that show had been a dark time for him. It was also around that time he realized he should stay away from American TV altogether. (Spoiler alert: he didn't.)

Also, the Fahrenheit system? Really? That was outright hilarious. And very, very confusing. Louis still cringed every time he had to set his oven to bloody four hundred and fifty degrees to make a pizza. The recipe should say: Pre-heat the oven to Hell Fire, lads.

Anyway. As a true Englishman at heart, Louis could list hilarious Americanisms for days, especially after moving to bumfuck North Carolina after One Direction took their last tour. He didn't move here permanently and England would always be his rightful home, but there was something about the charm of small town America that drew him in all those years ago.

But at the top of his ever-growing list (appropriately titled: "WTF M8?!" because yes, there is a shared Google Doc with Niall) one of his favorite things was a grocery store.

Piggly Wiggly.

They honestly have a grocery store called Piggly Wiggly and people say it seriously.

Without laughing.

It's a real thing!

"Oh, honey, you out of sugga' for that iced tea? (#1 on WTF M8?!) I'll stop by the Piggly Wiggly on my way back to the farm!" Alright -- maybe that was an exaggeration even on Louis' part, or maybe he was becoming more American than he thought because people didn't sound like that to him anymore. When he first moved here he expected everybody to sound like Honey Boo Boo, but as it turned out the accents weren't as thick as he made them out to be. They still sounded ridiculous to Louis, but in the small town of Chance, North Carolina he was the one with the strange accent.

But his point still stands!

There's a grocery store called Piggly Wiggly and no matter how many times he says it out loud, he still chuckles to himself because it's just stupid. So while iced tea may be number one on his shared WTF M8?! list, the Piggly Wiggly is definitely up there for its namesake. That being said, the Piggly Wiggly had one thing that no Walmart or Kroger had.

Yorkshire Tea.

Good luck finding that in any other grocery store.

It still makes him chuckle having to go to the International aisle to get it, but he'd be damned to live in a place where he couldn't get his hands on a proper cuppa. That's how he found himself in the local Piggly Wiggly (the Pig Wig, as he's grown to call it. Abbreviating things that didn't need abbreviating had become a weird habit of his) late one Tuesday night.

The humidity outside was so strong that he found himself still fanning his sleeveless shirt out against his tacky skin, even in the air conditioned Pig Wig. It was the middle of June and already the heat was scorching outside--he would definitely need to grab some ice cream before leaving.

Strictly for the cooling benefits--it was a health concern!

Or at least that's what he told himself as he tipped a box of Yorkshire from the shelf, then turned on his heels to head towards the frozen food section. He tossed the small box of tea in the air as he walked, catching it in his other hand before smiling charmingly at little old Betty Brownfield who worked the only open checkout lane this late at night.