"Do you want to go buy some clothes. School's gonna start soon and I don't want you to go without some clothes that actually fit you." Jayy says and Louis hesitates. He doesn't want to go out, he hasn't gone out in years. So of course he's a little hesitant.
"Sure." It's been a few days he's been home and his parents have been very lenient with him, and for that he's grateful. He has been on daily medication for his disorder although all they've done is left him disoriented and tired.
His mum beams and runs to grab her purse.
Louis didn't want to go, but if it made his mother happy he might as well. Louis followed his mum out and they headed to the mall.
On the way Louis was trying to hold a conversation but he kept getting distracted. By small things that most people don't get distracted from. A bird flying, a leaf getting caught on the windshield, a car zooming by.
"Louis." his mum glances at him as Louis watches a black car drive by.
"Hmm?" he asks looking back at her.
"You were saying? About the food at the hospital?" she asks and Louis has to muddle around his mind to figure out what he was talking about.
"It was okay. Nothing spectacular but I liked the..." he says looking at a small house by the street. Jayy purses her lips. This isn't a side effect of the medication. It was just him. He's been like this, absentminded, for as long as she could remember.
She pulled into the mall closest to their house. Louis just needed the simplest necessities. Some jeans, shirts, etc. Louis was looking at the center as if it came from another planet.
"Almost forgot what the mall looked like." he whispers before stepping outside. He noticed some other people lingering around. Mostly teenagers. The way they were dressed made Louis a bit insecure. He was wearing some baggy sweats that he found in the bottom of his drawer and his baggy Rolling Stones tee. He couldn't find any shoes that fit him so he had to put on some sandals that he remember came from his uncle.
He looked away from the stares. They looked at him like he was homeless. He self-consciously ran a hand through his hair hoping it wasn't as bad as he hoped. His mum was already ahead of him nearing the big glass doors.
"Come on, love." she says and Louis runs to catch up. Once inside Louis basically sprints into the first clothing store he sees. Jayy follows without hesitation.
"Find something you like, love." she says and sits on a bench while Louis mills around looking for something that interests him.
They leave the store with four pairs of black skinny jeans. They walk into a Vans store and get a pair of black shoes.
They buy a few shirts from different stores and when they're back in the car, they have a total of five bags.
"Thanks mum." he says, leaning over to give her a kiss on her cheek.
****
School was today. And to say Louis was nervous was an understatement. He was downright terrified. He didn't know where any of the classes were or even where the office was.
He would be the new kid in a crowd of people who have known each other for years. His mum was downstairs waiting patiently. She understood that he was a little nervous.
Jace was lounging on the bed.
"Today's gonna be rough." he says and Louis shakes his head.
"I hope you don't intend to ruin my day." Louis replies in a hushed voice. He's been able to ignore Jace while around his parents but when he was alone he always talked to him.
"Me? Ruin your day? I would never!" Jace says with grin.
"Keep your voice down." Louis warns.
"Or what? It's not like anyone can see me. I can talk as loud as I want! And no one but you will hear me!" he shouts for emphasis.
"Please...shut up. And leave me alone for one day. Please." Louis begs and Jace seems to really consider the offer. Then he laughs.
"No. Now get downstairs. School's waiting." Louis sighs in defeat and trudges downstairs. Jayy was in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea.
She looks up when he comes downstairs, black backpack hanging from his shoulder.
"Are you ready?" she asks and Louis nods, "Okay hold on. Just let me get my tea. Did you take your medication?" A nod. Jayy has her tea in a lidded cup and they walk out. The morning was already a bit hot, summer slowly simmering down.
"Nervous?" Jayy asks as she watches Louis fidget in his seat. He nods.
The drive to Hayfield High was morosely short and Louis wished it was longer. He wasn't ready.
They pulled up to the school gate and Louis really didn't want to go. Especially with Jace standing outside the car with a smile that basically spelled horror.
But Louis forced himself to unbuckle his seatbelt and kissing his mum goodbye. He gets out of the car, his palms sweaty and almost runs into the school, before he chickens out and runs off.
He searches for the main office for a while until he comes across a door with the words 'Administration' above it. He pulled open the door and stepped into a cool room.
There was a woman with cropped black hair. She wore a pair of glasses that seemed too small for her chubby face. She looked up when he walked in.
"What can I do for you, love?" she asks, her glasses almost falling off her nose.
"Um, I'm new. Louis Tomlinson." he fidgets as Jace looks at him with a smirk. He was leaning against the desk. The lady, by her name tag her name was Ms. Brook, nodded and typed something on the ancient computer of hers.
"Ah...Louis. Found you." she read through some things and her eyes grew a bit wide. She glanced back at Louis then at the computer. She took a few seconds to compose herself.
"Um...so you will need to meet at this office at lunch to get your um...medication. And also to talk to the counselor. I assume your mother already told you of this. Do you have your meds? You're not allowed to carry it around all day." she says a bit sadly. Louis nods and reaches into his backpack. He pulls out a zip lock bag full of his prescribed medicines. His anxiety pills, his Aripiprazole, and some others that he forgets the name of. She takes the bag with a shaky hand. After a moment she prints out his schedule.
"Here you go, love. If you have trouble finding your classes feel free to ask a teacher or student for help." she explains to Louis where his first class is, AP English 4. He thanks her before exiting the office, and sprinting through the halls. He clicked his phone to check the time: 7:55. He still had time. Jace kept up with him, telling him how badly his day would end.
Louis tried to ignore him but he eventually turned around, Jace stumbling to a halt.
"Can you please fuck off?" he asks and Jace smirks.
"Sorry. Can't do that."
Louis grits his teeth before turning around, instantly regretting it. He crashed into someone, falling back and dropping to the ground with a yelp.
At first he thought he hit a wall but when he looked up, he was met with green eyes as bright as spring grass.
"Are you okay?" he asks holding out a helping hand. Louis stares at it as if he's never seen another hand. The stranger retracts his arm awkwardly as Louis lets himself up.
"I'm fine." he says.
"Who were you talking to?" the boy asks, well he was curious. Louis looked past him and saw Jace shaking his head.
"He'll think you're crazy." Louis knows he's right.
"No one."
YOU ARE READING
drowning ➶ larry
Fanfiction[DISCONTINUED] ❝I'm nothing special, Harry.❞ ❝You're a diamond, Lou. You look fragile and weak but in reality you're strong and in the right light you shine like the stars.❞ ...
