Mad Hatter || l.s

rose

L

The sound of the bell ringing echoed throughout the house, Louis' eyes going wide while taking a breath to calm him down. He had been waiting for Jack in the living room while his mother was in the kitchen cooking God knows what. Louis quickly gets up from the sofa and walks his way towards the door, swinging it open and putting on a fake smile when he sees the man. "Hi, Jack, come in." he motions and Jack thanks him, stepping inside while Louis closes the door behind him.

Louis slowly sits back down on the sofa and smooths his dress, hesitantly pointing to the spot next to him so Jack could sit down. There's tension between them, and Louis is uncomfortable. Of course he's uncomfortable. How would somebody else feel if they had to pretend to date someone just for their parents pleasure? And now he actually has to have dinner with them and act like an actual couple when he's interested in someone else.

Jack clears his throat which makes Louis stop zoning out, instead looking at him and trying to think of the good that will come from this. His mother won't be mad. He wouldn't be kicked out of the house. But he can't be with Harry. "So," Jack starts awkwardly, shifting further into the couch and resting his hand behind Louis, "what is your mom cooking for us? I'm starving."

Louis just shrugs, "I don't know."

It's quiet again, awkwardness filling the room and Louis is pretty sure he's sweating right now. The more he thinks about this situation the more he regrets it. Why couldn't he just stand up for himself and told his mother? She wouldn't do anything to hurt him, right? "Louis? The food is ready!" Johanna calls from the kitchen, the sound of pans clattering together following shortly after. Jack stands up first, looking back down at Louis who is still sitting and offering him a hand.

The petite boy looks at the hand for the longest time with a grim look on his face, "Just because I asked you to be my fake boyfriend in front my mother doesn't mean we have to act when she's not around." he murmurs before getting up by himself and walking away from Jack, going into the dining. When he sees Johannah he smiles, sniffing the air and letting out a content sigh. Jack comes in the room and Louis' mum squeals when she sees him, extending her arms out for a hug which Jack happily does.

"Oh, this is so exciting, isn't it? Louis has never been with someone so to think that a person is finally admiring is tremendous!" Louis blushes at that, rubbing his forearm while whining 'mom'. "Well, sit, you guys! I cooked some nice chicken and pasta with salad on the side, so help yourselves." she takes the tops off of the pans which reveal the delicious looking food.

"Thank you. This looks really lovely, Mrs. Tomlinson." Jack compliments as he sits down, putting his hand on Louis' lower back to guide him down too.

His mother sees that and she smiles, laughing and flinging her hand towards Jack, "Oh please, call me Johannah." Louis flinches at that. No. It shouldn't be Jack calling his mother Johannah, it should be Harry. This is all such a big mistake. But instead of saying anything, Louis just puts on a fake smile and piles his plate with food, setting a napkin on his lap like his mother always taught him. "You guys first met at the masquerade ball, right?"

Louis looks over at Jack with his eyebrows raised, expecting him to say something but he was too busy enjoying Johannah's chicken. "Uh, yeah. It was when I was roaming around my myself and, uh . . . I sort of bumped into him, I suppose." Louis tries his best to make something up, looking anywhere but his mother because he knows he will break if he looks into her eyes. Louis was never good at lying — this is basically his first time lying, for Gods sake!

The boy elbows Jack's hip to make him pay attention, causing the man to look up and hurriedly say 'hm? yeah'. His mother seems to fall for it, just smiling at the two with her big pearly teeth. "Yes. Louis is such a beautiful boy and I'm glad I even got the opportunity to see him at the ball," Jack rambles on, staring at the side of Louis' face and wrapping his free around his side, "I'm so crazy for him. I'm so lucky to have him."

Just when Louis thinks Jack's done acting, the man leans in and kisses his cheek for two seconds. He tries his hardest not back away or cringe. Johannah coos at the sight, bringing a hand up to her chest. Louis fake laughs — everything seems to be fake now, if he's honest. But he's doing this for the sake of Harry and himself. They deserve to love each other freely, and if that means having to pretend to date someone else, then so be it.

Dinner lasts for about 30 minutes until they're all nearly done with everything on their plate, Jack complimenting Louis' mother over and over that it actually makes the blue eyed boy sick to his stomach. He understands that the man is just doing what he asked him to, but it's still pretty hard to comprehend. "Well, you should get going." Louis breathes out, surprising Jack.

"Right." Jack says while he follows behind Louis into the living room, picking up his jacket that he had left on the sofa from when he first got here. Louis opens the door, shivering at the cold night. He just watches as Jack steps out onto the porch, about to close the door until his fake boyfriend looks backs and says, "I'll see you again, hopefully?"

Louis is taken back, quickly putting on a neutral face to show that he isn't affected, "Yeah . . . hopefully not." He slams the door shut and rolls his eyes, going back into the kitchen to help his mother clean the mess.

"Oh, Louis, he was such a nice guy. I'm glad that I invited him to the masquerade ball because I basically set you guys up!" Johannah exclaims when she sees Louis enter the room, passing him a dirty dish so he could wash it. Louis doesn't say anything. "And the way he looks at you, love, it's so precious. It's like he thinks you're the only boy in the world. You guys are made for each other, I'm telling you." Louis sucks his lips in his mouth to stop himself from yelling.

"Yeah . . . he's great." Louis says, carefully picking up another plate and washing it before placing it in a rack for it to dry. All he wants to do now is just go and see Harry so he can kiss the living hell out of him. He misses him so much. Louis is just glad that the dinner is over and he doesn't have to do this again.

Louis almost feels the weight being lifted off his shoulders until his mother turns back around and says, "Why don't we have some tea with Jack in a couple days?"

NOTE: gASPSPS