Unbelievers

Chapter 2

"Five quid you're gonna burn those," Lottie says, as she leans on the counter next to the stove later that night.

Louis opens his eyes, throwing a glance at the frying pan. And, ah, crap. She's right. He hurriedly pulls the pan off the stove plate with a grimace, eyeing the burgers he attempted to make.

"Shit."

Lottie ticks her head to the side, glancing at the burned meat. "So, what's on your mind then?"

Nothing. A lot. Everything?

"Don't lie, I know when you lie."

"Just worried about... stuff, you know?" They don't talk about what "stuff" implies. They don't have to.

Lottie smiles sadly at him, and then nods at the kitchen drawer where the takeout menus are located. "Should we order in?"

Louis rolls his eyes, but agrees. "That's probably for the best."

He plucks his phone out of his pocket, feeling another anxious contraction in his chest when he sees the display is still empty.

Lottie takes hold of his arm after turning off the stove, and pulls him gently towards the living room. They end up ordering Chinese, and they chat lowly as they watch a movie that's running on the TV. Louis tries to stay away from the rice when they finally eat, knowing he hasn't gone for his daily run yet, but it looks too appetizing and there's so much on his mind other than the diet he's been keeping the last two months.

He tries not to think and just concentrate on the movie, but these nagging thoughts are constantly at the back of his head. He doesn't even know if he's going to make it to next the week at this rate.

He's not even meant to be thinking about the Harry thing. Look, it's not even like Louis got mad about what Harry was talking about. It wasn't even true, like, Harry is full of bullshit. Louis was just annoyed with him for being such an idiot and thinking he knows everything. What he said had no impact on him whatsoever, and even if it did, it's not as if Louis would let it show. That thing that happened afterwards just kind of... happened, and there's nothing else to it. Harry's just got this weird thing about him, and that's – Yes, this is all Harry's fault. Established. Done with. Stashed away and never thought of again. Great.

"Do you think you could teach me how to drive, maybe?" Lottie asks, looking at him from her side of the worn leather couch.

"You?" He raises a brow, brought out of his trance. "Are you even old enough?"

"Yes," she says, rolling her eyes, but then bites her lip. "I just thought," she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "since Mum and Dad aren't around much, and like, I know you're busy, but perhaps you could teach me?"

Louis thinks his heart is squeezing a bit. "Of course I'll teach you, sis."

**

There are many things Louis has thought about these past days. This was not one of them.

After an hour of football practice the following Monday (a half hour of running drills, and a half hour of playing mini-games that Louis rewarded the boys with, but they didn't seem to particularly enjoy since their legs were too tired, including murderous stares from Harry), Louis finds himself in the locker room. All the lads are undressing, getting ready to shower, and Louis can feel Harry's angry gaze from across the room.

So, like, Louis is not awkward because there are a bunch of naked dudes surrounding him. That's a regular weekday afternoon. It's just that, Harry's looking at him, and Liam is leaning against the locker they almost got each other off against. And that's weird. It's really weird. He and Harry have gotten off against each other. That's... just. Louis doesn't know what to think when he thinks about that. It's strange and a bit creepy, and somehow it's all he can think about.