his reign and his fall | larry stylinson

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Louis meets Harry in the lobby, half an hour until four before they meet Liam and go to god knows where. Harry didn't tell Louis where they were going, what they were doing. But if Harry gets Louis for the evening, Louis gets Harry for the night. It's only fair that way. Louis has the whole night planned in his head already.

"You want to go on a little adventure after your princely duties?" Louis asks. "Assuming Liam will let you," They sit next to each other on one of the white polyester couches, turned face to face almost.

Harry's lips quirk up into a smirk, his eyes glisten slightly. "I'd like that. What would we do on this said adventure?" He asks, placing his hands on one knee that overlaps his other one. Louis leans forward, resting his elbow on his knee.

"You've kept today's escapade a secret, as shall I for the night."

"Fair enough, you dressed very, what's the word, posh for this event." Harry's eyes linger over Louis, looking him up and down. From dress shoes to his quiffed-up hair. Louis changed his clothes three times, yet again, to be in Harry's presence. He's dressed in his navy blue suit, much like the regular black and white ones he wears every day. All of them pretty much look the same, and he curses himself for being so non-unique. Harry is dressed in a floral suit, black and white, with black boots to match the rest of his outfit. His suits are always so unique and out there, and Louis is jealous he hasn't thought to be a bit more extravagant with his professional ensembles before.

"Why thank you, your highness." Louis tilts his upper half forward and outstretches his arms. Harry just laughs as a reply, his dimples deep on his cheeks. Louis gets the urge to poke them.

"So, how did you learn to play chess?" Harry asks. Louis thinks back to the first time he saw people playing on a chess board, and how fascinating he found it.

He was short of sixteen years old, and it was truly by chance he saw a pair of his teachers playing the game after hours.

It was after football practice, so most of the teachers and students were long gone for the evening. Luckily, the library at Julian's Secondary School was still open, and he needed to pick up a few textbooks for his history projects. The teachers were sitting at one of the tables, surrounded by books and eerie silence. Much like the library at the Malison, it had a small array of board games.

No one ever touched the chess kit. Even Chinese Checkers got more attention than Monopoly at times, but no one ever touched the chess game.

Louis had never thought twice about the game, not until he saw his teachers playing speed chess. The way they moved their pieces so quickly, the clicking and clacking of the pawns and rooks against the checkerboard intrigued him the second he saw the game in action. He didn't look into the game much until a few weeks later when the thought kept bugging his mind. Just little things, learning the pieces and how they're allowed to move across the board.

Now, Louis is no chess master, that's quite obvious. But he enjoys it and is still fascinated by the aged game. The same fascination he got when he saw it at fifteen.

"I was fifteen when I started learning. I didn't get really into and competitive about it until a few years ago." Louis says, watching as Harry positions himself in a more comfortable position.

"Go on," Harry says.

"Well as a teenager it was just learning the pieces and how they move. But I didn't get into it until Alexis Petit, a man in the government of France, was playing with his assistant in the library. Poor girl had no idea how to play. He kept stealing pieces left and right from her and she would just let him." Louis explains.