Contortion (N.H)

03

*Stephanie Marsh 

Even on weekdays the pub is still crowded, that's why I never go on Fridays or Saturdays. But I desperately needed a drink. Music and chatter fill the place, dim lights making it a bit harder to see the people in the corner drunk out of their minds or making out. I was sat at the bar, luckily the seats are comfy unlike the wooden stools they used to have. 

"I'm sorry but he sounds bloody hot if you ask me." The lad on my right states, sipping from his beer.  He looks at me with his blue eyes, running a hand through his brown messy hair.

"He's annoying as fuck Louis, I've only been working with him for two days and I already can't stand him."

"Sure he's a bit... weird i guess, but I'm talking about his looks" Louis shrugs.

"Maybe I'm being too hard on him, but I just don't wanna get close with him"

Louis sighs and looks at me, my dark blues peering into his lighter ones. "Steph, you can't go the rest of your life being scared of connection, it's not going to get you anywhere"

Louis was the first person I became friends with when I moved to London, I met him at school and we became friends pretty quickly. I told him about what happened with my dad when I was 11. He was there for me while I was grieving from my brothers' suicide. I didn't really have anyone else to talk to, my mum is out of town most of the time and I didn't have any other friends at the time. I'm so grateful for him, I don't know what I would do without his friendship. 

I sighed, taking a sip of the tall stout of beer. "I know, it's just difficult, I don't want to lose someone else again." 

"Look, I'm not saying you have to go dating the lad, but you're going to be working together for a while, at least try and be work friends."

"Well he's not making it very easy" I murmur. 

"Have you talked to Dr. Susan about it?" He asks, I still see my therapist once every two weeks. Originally I had wanted it to be weekly, but with my hectic work schedule, there's no way that could happen.

"No not yet, I'm seeing her tomorrow though, so I'll talk to her about it". I smile at him before changing the subject.

"So how are things with your love life?" I ask smiling.

Louis groans, laughing a little "what love life?" 

"What about that guy before? Sam was it?"

"Seth, and it turns out he has a girlfriend, he just wanted to experiment" Louis sighs

"Oh, that's shitty, but you'll find someone, you're a good looking guy." 

He snickers while shaking his head. "I hope so, but for now, there's plenty of fish in the water, as they say"

"It's plenty of fish in the sea" I correct him.

Louis gives me an annoyed look while flipping me the bird. "I need a shot, and you look like you need one too"

"what's that supposed to mean?" I ask defensively 

"Um, you look like shit" He looks at me like I just asked the most obvious question in the world. Signalling to the bartender, Louis turns to me again. "So what are we shooting?"

"tequila" I say with a smile.

We get two shots each, along with a lime and a bit of salt.

"So what are we toasting to?" I ask, holding one of the small glasses in his hand. 

He thinks for a moment while staring at the clear liquid. "To still being alive after all the shit we've been through" Louis says raising the glass. 

I laugh "cheers" We click our glasses together, tapping them on the table before gulping it down in one shot. Louis hisses through his teeth shaking his head. "One more yeah?" He asks, his eyes a little watery. We both shoot down the last ones, not bothering with another toast. 

"Well that one didn't go down as smoothly as the last one" He says, coughing a tiny bit. 

"You're very much right". 

We spend the rest of the night laughing and talking, our words making less and less sense, and our voices getting louder. It was already about 1 in the morning before we decided to call it a night. Louis called an uber, insisting I crash at his place so I don't have to get a ride home alone late at night. When we got back to his apartment both of us ended up crashing, Louis in his bed and me on the sofa. But as I felt myself drifting off, I couldn't help but feel like I'd forgotten something. Before I could check my bag, sleep took over and whatever I was stressed about had to wait until the morning. 

***

Shorter chapter but I really wanted to introduce Louis, he's gonna play a pretty big role in the story anyway hehe

thanks for reading, all the love x

-day :)