Hidden Gardens

Chapter 1

"God fucking damn it" Louis gritted between his teeth, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes and turned his head to the ceiling. His nose was filled with the smell of freshly spilled beer.

"You alright, mate?" Niall asked, turning to the sound coming from Louis' direction.

"Yeah, just a broken glass. The perfect ending for a shit day"

"At least it's almost over." Niall said with a smile and started to clean the counter top with a rag that probably hadn't been washed in a few days. He was using alcohol, so it probably made up for it a bit.

Louis bit the inside of his cheek. Niall's incredible disposition to always see the bright side of things was remarkable. He opened the door behind him to the small kitchen and got a broom, a dust pan, a rag and a bucket. He carefully swept the glass on the floor behind the counter and was crouching to pick up the bigger pieces of glass when he heard the door open and the familiar bell chime.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, not bothering to lift his body up. It was almost closing time and all he wanted to do was call it a day and collapse on his bed. His head was killing him. He knew he needed any client he could get, but he also couldn't care at that time of day.

"Good evening!" Niall's chipper tone filled the completely empty pub.

"Good evening, hi," a voice replied. Low, but almost as cheerful as Niall's.

"What can I get you?"

Louis heard the sound of the stool cracking under the man's weight when he sat down.

"Oops, hope I don't break it."

"I think you're good. It's just older than you are, but very sturdy. Can I get you a drink?"

"Yeah, I'll have a...hum...something good and cheap."

Even in his dark-cloud-over-his-head-mood, a spark of curiosity hit him. The man's voice was intriguing, deep and raspy. Louis pictured him in his late twenties and short. Probably chubby as well, with the stool breaking comment.

"Coming right up." Niall's comment was followed by the sound of the beer tap.

Louis finished picking up the glass pieces and started to mop up the bit of beer off the wooden floor, which was only partially successful due to the cracks in the fibres of the wood. "Need to change it to something easier to clean," he thought for the millionth time in the years he'd worked there.

"Cheers, mate."

The man definitely had a beard, Louis could tell by his tone. Not a good-looking, trimmed one, but an old-fashioned beard, to make teenage boys jealous.

"Dreadful weather, huh" Niall chirped and Louis rolled his eyes. He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of making small talk with new costumers, who only came once in a lifetime. Louis could be pretty chatty with his regulars, but only because he'd known them for years.

"Tell me about it. My place is starting to smell like a wet dog because of this constant rain."

Niall giggled and Louis finally stood up again, his left knee making a popping sound.

"Oh, hi. Didn't see you there," the stranger said with a smile.

Louis said nothing. The man, if you could call him that, wasn't anything like he thought he would be. Tall, very tall, Louis could tell, even when sitting down. Baby face, probably not a day older than twenty. Long, curly hair and definitely not a beard. His long fingers had rings on them and Louis could see traces of a tattoo on his wrist. He wore jeans that were so tight it was probably difficult to fit into them. His black T-shirt was fitting, a plaid red flannel shirt over it. Louis could tell his eyes were light in colour, but he couldn't see them clearly in the low-lit pub.