Sunken Love (LiLo) (merman!Louis)

Chapter 5: The Un-Luck of the British

Chapter 5: The Un-Luck of the British

..::*Louis' POV*::..

I immediately drop the nameless man's hand. Like the pathetically whipped mess I've already created him into, he whines and reaches for the comfort of my hand once again, but I shake him off in irritation. "Here's a few quid, take it and fuck off," I nearly snarl, stuffing the crumpled notes in his outstretched palm.

He seems unfazed by my rude tone and nods his head in perfect compliance. Stupid humans. Always so eager to please.

Now free of that annoying extra baggage, I stroll cooly to the tent where Liam and his friend stand arguing. Liam has his back to me, but I can tell by the way his shoulders and jaw move and by his animated gestures that the two are in a heated discussion.

"Wotcher, mate!" I interrupt before internally face-palming at my choice of words. Sometimes I forget that it's no longer the nineteen hundreds and nobody really says things like that anymore. Well, except that strange woman in Harry Potter, but that's not important right now.

Niall's eyes widen comically as he catches a glimpse of me over Liam's shoulder. The bigger boy whirls around to face me and a flash of recognition shocks his brown eyes.

"L-Louis," he stutters slightly, scratching the back of his neck to ease the awkward air of the scene. "Good to see yah, mate."

"You know him?!" Niall hisses at Liam.

"Y-yeah, we ah, we met at the club last night. I was alone at the bar nursing a drink since you lot left me," he says with a pointed smirk aimed at a sheepish-looking Niall, "and then I saw poor Louis here about to get his face rearranged, so I erm..."

"He punched the bloke out cold," I finish for him. Niall looks shocked by this statement. Apparently Liam's not usually such a fighter.

"You did WHAT?" he yells. "Who the fuck are you?" he asks, poking the British lad's cheek. "The Liam Payne I know sure as hell would never hurt a fly let alone show a guy his kick-boxing moves. Damn, mate. Never woulda guessed you'd have the balls."

"I could do it again, right about now," Liam threatens as a blush settles over his features.

"Hey, mate. No need to get so defensive. I was just saying--" Niall begins, but I interrupt in hopes of ending the spat.

"I'm starved. Let's go get something to eat, yeah?"

The squabbling thankfully stops and both boys nod their heads.

"I'll just go find Josh, Harry, and Zayn, then," Niall says with a glance between Liam and me. "You two go on ahead; it seems you have some catching up to do. Where shall we meet?"

Liam turns to me and cocks his eyebrow, clearly waiting for me to choose where we'll be dining.

"You lads like Italian?"

Liam nods and then motions to the blonde bouncing on his toes. "Nialler here will eat anything that even remotely resembles food."

I smirk as Niall nods enthusiastically. "As long as it's not Vegemite, I'm good!"

His face goes a bit green before he mumbles to himself, "More like Vege-shite if you ask me."

I choose to ignore his comment and instead ask, "How about you meet Liam and me at Azzurro in twenty minutes. It's right at the oceanfront, near the Spinnaker Tower--"

"The big light-up building. Remember me talking to you about that, Ni?" Liam cuts in.

The blonde nods happily. "Like Times Square except without the sex," he chirps.