I Love You, Man (Larry Stylinson AU)

Chapter 07: Niall

"This is cool. You're coming to me for help," Liam walks with Louis through the fitness club he works at, past rows of people sweating on ellipticals and treadmills. "Well, the good news is not only do I know men, but straight guys are my specialty."

"What does that mean?" Louis stops walking once they reach the free weights.

"I get bored pursuing gays," Liam shrugs. "I like to give myself more of a challenge."

"Ugh!" a man grunts beside them, trying to lift his chest press back to its sitting position.

"Excuse me one second..." Liam turns around and leans over top of the struggling man. "There you go, brother. Dig deep- come on! Push that shit out!" Liam's fingers barely graze the heavy barbell as he motivates the man lifting it. "Look at me, I'm pinkies! I'm barely touching it!"

The man lifts and pushes, grunting and breathing heavily, before he finally locks the entire barbell back into its stand.

"You're clear," Liam leans back. "Locked it in, dude! Nice job. Nice lift."

The man finishes with the equipment, standing up gradually with a heavy sigh, "Thanks, man."

"You're welcome," Liam pats the man's arm with kind force. "Alright, I'll see you around."

The man examines Liam as he wraps his white towel around his sweaty neck, "...I hope so."

Liam gives the guy a simple nod before walking off in front of Louis. Louis is left standing there, watching the man's expression fade from intrigued to antsy as he notices he's being watched. Louis shakes his head before turning the other way, then speeds up to reach Liam, who's already a considerable distance ahead of him.

"That guy was totally flirting with you!" Louis hisses eagerly.

"I told you," Liam says in more of a hushed tone. "And did you see his wedding ring? Straight as an arrow," the brothers pass more gym machines as they walk. "I'm telling you, hooking up is easy. Meeting platonic male friends, not so much."

"So, what do I do?" Louis stops them from walking again. "I mean, how do I meet friends? It's such a weird concept."

"Well, I can do some recon around the gym..." Liam looks around the busy area. "But you're gonna have to be aggressive about this, man," he gently punches his brother in the chest.

"Yeah, yeah!" Louis urges him on, enthusiastically.

"Use the internet to meet guys. Get mum to fix you up," Liam offers. "I mean, if you see a cool-looking guy, strike up a conversation and ask him on a man-date."

"A what?"

"A man-date."

"Okay," Louis scrunches his nose uncertainly.

"You know what I mean?"

"No."

"By that, I mean a casual lunch or after-work drinks, okay?" Liam stresses, raising his eyebrows. "No dinner and no movies. You're not taking these boys to see The Devil Wears Prada."

"Oh god, I love that movie," Louis throws his head back but then catches himself once he feels Liam's glare. "No, I won't- I got you- I know what you mean..."

Liam laughs, patting his brother on the shoulder encouragingly.

"This is really exciting! We're gonna find you some friends!"

·

It takes Liam a day or so before he finds someone who's willing to get to know Louis. It's not that Louis isn't friend material, because he is. It's just a strange concept, having to forcibly form friendly relationships in such a short amount of time.