clean » larry stylinson

[08]

there were a few little errors when this chapter was uploaded the first time but they have all been mostly fixed now, well hopefully

the grass lay in damp streaks underneath his heavy step, staining the white tips of the boy's shoes and tangled laces the palest of greens.

the fallen leaves along the footpath were once were a hurricane of faded colour. they cascaded and danced through the air before falling lifeless upon the ground. louis' sneakers transform them into crumpled dust with his treads.

dull streetlights hum a silent tune overhead, lighting the sky into a watercolour painting of swirling reds and soft lilac hues. louis' gaze remains set upon the morning light, he refuses to move his eyes elsewhere and tries especially hard to not turn around. with a click of a button, his headphones play louder, blocking out all thoughts of the shadow ghosting his every movement.

trailing only metres behind; with sweaty hands pressed together to ease his nerves, liam's heels click silently against the concrete path. his steps fall into a patterned time with louis'. they are mirrored against each other, unspoken words choking both of their breath.

there are too many cracks upon this sector of the sidewalk. a block behind, louis gave up hope in walking along the broken surface. the crevasses of his shoes are ridden with mud; brown footprints tracking his path along the edges of the nature strips that his steps are balanced upon.

three days have passed since what will now be permanently deemed in louis mind as 'the incident'. giving it a simple name like that prevents him from needing to run the awfully humiliating events of that afternoon through his mind. had he been granted one wish during this moment, it would be have his memory wiped entirely of all that played out. though, on closer thought, had he been granted a wish, louis would most probably use it to simply skip over that day in history entirely.

he'd leave the end scene though. that part he wouldn't mind watching over again like one of those faulty films on playback.

"lou-"

he can feel his friend's presence just inches behind him as liam quickens his step. he tenses.

turning sharply on the heel of his shoes, careful to not lose his balance on the frost below, louis' mouth is drawn into a bitter scowl, forehead clenched and lips quivering as though solely out of livid range rather than the cool air. "no." he states before tugging on the sleeves of his jumper so that they cover his clasped fists.

"stop ignoring me! we can't keep on going like this, it'll drive us both mental before too long." liam tempers, frustrated at the boy's silence.

"please, just leave me be. i need to get to work."

"if i see you like that again, i'm going to do the same thing." sensing he only has moments before louis' attention will waver away from him again, he cuts straight to the point. "i'm not going to just leave you; i care about you too much to ever be able to do that. do you understand?"

'liam, god, it's you who doesn't fucking get it.' louis' breath hitches involuntarily. the weight of the moment restraining the words in his throat. 'you don't – don't get it...'

his eyes meet liam's crestfallen face. he takes in the boy's sunken appearance before he continues cautiously. 'it just took me back a year or two ... that's all.' his fingers habitually curl around each other as he tries to find any of the words that could possibly explain an old memory. 'it was like in you i saw my family. but like, all of the aspects of my mother,' his tongue trips on her name, the word leaving a sour tinge in his mouth, 'that i've wanted to forget.'

louis glances around his surroundings. he takes into account the bareness of the streets, the quiet hush of the morning that is only broken by their own voices. his hands rub together in hope of warming them, the fog of his breath used for heat. he knows that he may as well give liam something. he's angry, that's for certain, but really, his fight is not at all with liam.