Playing Hearts (Narry/LiLo)

1. Louis

As Louis pushed the door to the music shop open, he heard the familiar bell ring to signal either him or his business parter, Niall, that somebody has come in. There were times when Louis was at home, sitting the quiet, and he could still hear that bell ringing in his ears.

"You're late." Niall reminded him as he walked out from the back where their shared office was. He shook his head as he looked over to Louis. "You do know that you're student this morning can't stand when you're late." 

Louis let out a groan, nodding his head in agreement. It was Saturday morning and that meant that Louis had a lesson with a pretty difficult student of his, Liam. The young man hated when Louis was late and Louis was tried of hearing his own student give him an attitude about it. 

"Can't you just take over my lessons when I'm not here?" Louis asked him, partially joking around and partially being serious, especially when it came to lessons with Liam.

Liam Payne happened to be true to his name. He could be such a pain in the arse because the younger boy had to be a perfectionist at playing the piano from the start or else he'd talk himself down and get way beyond frustrated. Louis always reminded him that it was okay if he made mistakes because all he could ever do in his life was learn, and learning was built for mistakes to be made every now and then. Even though Louis wanted to swat Liam on the side of his head, Louis also knew where Liam was coming from when it came to people placing so much pressure on someone to be the greatest ever. He wasn't going to be that type of person to any of his students. 

Niall shook his head while he looked over some papers he had in his hands. "You're the pianist out of the two of us, mate."

Louis nodded, knowing that it was true. He learned how to play piano from his mum, a single woman who loved all of her children more than anything in the world and would support them on whatever they chose to do with their lives, as long as it was a good contribution. She knew that Louis had the talent to be something great, especially when it came to music. Whenever he sat at the old piano they inherited from his grandparents, his mum always told him that he could be a great composer one day.

As a young boy, Louis played in music recitals. He loved hearing a crowd cheer for him after he stood up from the bench and took his boy. He'd always leave the stage with a bright smile on his face. His teachers always told Louis the same thing that his mum did but pushed him a little harder, wanting him to make a career out of it, forcing him to play his hardest until his fingers hurt. Those influences didn't make Louis want to be a grand pianist. He didn't want playing to be forced or a chore just because others saw potential in him.

Teaching piano was something Louis took from his mum, loving that she had more charm and care in the way she taught than some of his other teachers, which she spent loads of money on because she wanted to make any one of her children's dreams come true. She was the type of teacher that Louis wanted to be, minus the personal relationships with his students. 

"He's down waiting for you so you might want to hurry before he really gives up on himself." Niall told him after he placed the papers he was looking at back on the service desk. 

"He probably already has." Louis grumbled before telling Niall that he'd see him in a few hours. 

Then he headed down the stairs to the lower level of the shop where music lessons were had in private rooms so the people upstairs in the shops and the students didn't have any noisy distractions. 

Louis knocked on the door that he knew Liam was in before opening it. When he came into the room Liam turned around to look at him with a sour look on his face, the same one he wore whenever Louis entered the room late or whenever Liam no longer believed in himself that he could play the piano.