I Hate You ~ Louis Tomlinson

TOO MUCH

It was all just too much, the early mornings, the late nights. Not being home, not having the same freedom she used to have. Before she had moved in with the boys, she mostly always had the house to herself, she was used to down time and quiet nights.

She used to hang out with friends on Saturdays and spend Sundays with her family. She played her music loud and sung to it at the top of her lungs, she painted almost every week.

She needed to go to the store one day this week and get a coloring book or something to keep her mind busy. Maybe a deck of cards, but for now she just sat at the table and cried. She loved her new job and her new life, but it was a lot of change. She would have cried in her room, but Harry is there sleeping, and she doesn't want to wake him up.

Liam is showering, Niall and Zayn are playing FIFA downstairs so she can't go either of those places to escape. Louis is out so at least she doesn't need to worry about him. She just sits by herself and tries to let out the frustration that had been building the last few days.

Of course, with her luck, Louis gets back not even 5 minutes later. She knows because he really is never quiet, but especially when he's entering the house. He throws his keys near the entry, kicks his shoes off; both of them hitting the wall, and he throws his jacket somewhere else too, like usual. She keeps her head down and furiously wipes her tears, hoping he will just leave her alone.

Again, with her luck, of course that doesn't happen. He sees her right away and wants to mess with her.

"What? You're not going to yell at me and call me a wild animal or something? Are you alright?" He says mockingly, coming toward their kitchen table.

"Not in the mood Louis." She mumbles, keeping her head down, drawing patterns in the condensation that is on the table from her abandoned cup of water. She tries to quietly sniffle, but it doesn't work.

Louis cautiously approaches the table, hearing in her voice that she actually isn't okay. He walks until he's standing across from her and decides after a good 30 seconds of going back and forth in his head to sit down.

"Oh," he says awkwardly, "Are you, um, alright?" It seems like he feels awkward asking, but she guesses even he isn't that heartless.

"I'm fine Louis. You don't have to sit here with me. Just go do whatever it is you were going to do and pretend this didn't happen." She doesn't say it coldly or sassily, she just seems tired.

He sits there for a bit longer, trying to decide what to do but eventually he gets up and starts quietly doing something. She doesn't care to look up to find out what.

She lets out a breath and rolls her eyes. Of course he wouldn't offer to talk to her or hug her or anything. She knows she told him to leave, but she didn't really mean it. She just didn't think he'd really be that comforting, she guesses she's right to not try to open up to him.

She sighs and continues to push around the water on the table, hoping Liam would finish up his damned shower so she could let the hot water wash away her feelings.

Before that could happen, Niall comes upstairs and immediately rushes to her side to give her a big and comforting hug when he sees her crying.

"What's wrong?" He asks softly.

"Just stressed and tired." It's a bit muffled from her being squished against his chest, but he can understand her.

He hums and just keeps hugging her, which is really all she needs. Especially hugs from Niall, they're the best.

Louis comes back to the table a few minutes later with a cup of peppermint tea, he knows she likes it. He's seen her drinking it a few times. Not that he pays too much attention to her or anything, he just really likes tea.

She and Niall look up as Louis walks closer to her. He stands somewhat awkwardly and pushes the mug over to her.

"I um made you some tea, hope you feel better," he says.

"Thank you, Louis." She says, he nods to her and then leaves.

Niall lifts an eyebrow at her silently asking what that was about, and she shrugs. She wonders if that meant he would have stayed with her if Niall hadn't come in. If he would have hugged her or tried to cheer her up. She would ask, but she's not sure she would get a straight answer. Although he did seem to act kinder after seeing her cry.

Her train of thought is interrupted when Niall says, "Let's go watch a movie yeah? And we can do a face mask."

"Sounds great." She happily agrees and they go to the living room together.

Niall calls out to Zayn who's in his room, "Z, we're gonna watch a movie, want to join?"

"Sure, I'm down," He calls back and appears a minute later.

The three of them sit cuddled under a blanket with Natalie in the middle. Zayn has his arm around her, and she snuggles into him. They decide to go for a comedy to try to put her in a better mood. She picks How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, one of her personal favorites. 

They end up laughing and throwing popcorn at each other, their aim is pretty terrible so it ends up everywhere. It's going to be annoying to clean up, but that is a problem for another time.

She still misses home a bit, but she feels a lot better knowing the boys are here for her. She might not have known them for very long, but they are incredible friends and she is lucky to have them.