Chapter Two

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Hellooooo c: Please humans, pleaaaaase comment and vote o-o Amelia and I get bored because we don't get comments v-v Anyway, chapter two! 3198 words! c: 

Louis ended up waking up the next morning at five. That was what he got for sleeping at seven in the evening. Not knowing what to do, he just lay there in bed and tapped away on his laptop, stalking everyone he knew on Twitter and Facebook. It was boring, because all those people kept posting statuses about how they were heartbroken or how the hottest guy/girl asked her/him out.

Who cared about the relationships of their friends? Actually, they weren’t even Louis’ friends. They were just those people who saw him at school and thought he was nice or hot and added him. He didn’t even talk to them much.

To be honest, Louis wouldn’t say he was good looking or anything in any way at all. Well, he was tan and quite lean, he’d consider himself. He did have biceps that people would die for, and he supposed he had quite a good fashion sense. But other than that, he was just plain old Louis. To him, someone who was considered good looking and attractive would, without a doubt, be Harry Styles.

Whoops, he caught himself there. It was six in the morning, and Harry just had to pop into Louis’ mind. If anyone knew about that, he’d get teased to no end. And right then, Louis started a small debate with his mind.

But he is good looking! Really? Or are you just saying that because…? NO! He really is. The dimples, the eyes, the curly hair, the long, thin legs…

Then Louis decided that he was losing the argument with his own brain. But since it was his own brain, it didn’t matter. He still won. Harry really was good looking.

Forcing himself to stop thinking about it, he got out of bed and decided to go for a morning jog. At the same time, he could properly take in the sight of London while exercising to keep fit. And when he was back, he’d take a nice hot shower before heading off to the radio station for his first day hosting The Lunchbox alongside Harry. He was quite excited for his first day, really. It’d be fun to talk to the UK without anyone knowing what he looked like. He’d always liked the element of mystery.

And then maybe today would be a good day. Better than yesterday, he hoped.

~~~
Harry wasn’t really asleep at that time. He was just pretending to, because Louis was stirring from his sleep. Harry didn’t want to make it seem like he was watching Louis the whole time. But he was. It was quite intriguing to Harry, really, to watch Louis sleep. He seemed to at ease, a gentle smile seemed to grace his features.

In fact, he looked a lot better like that, when he wasn’t scowling or frowning because he didn’t like how Harry smirked or teased him. But that was just Harry. That was the way he made friends, that was the way he behaved around people he liked. Yes, Harry liked Louis. He seemed nice enough.

As Harry was lost in his thoughts, Louis jumped up from his seat beside him, startling him. Harry tried to play it cool, like he hadn’t been awake the whole time. He acted normal, asked about the time, everything like that.

Obviously Louis freaked out though. He’d been quite cold towards Harry since the start, and Harry knew that Louis disliked him because of the whole coffee incident. But Harry felt like he deserved another chance at getting to know Louis better. Louis couldn’t just pass a judgment about Harry just because Harry had accidentally spilled some coffee on him. Sure Harry said the guy wasn’t looking where he was going, but that didn’t mean that Harry was some kind of an egoistic freak, right?

And so, when Louis had fallen asleep, Harry took the chance to try and think about what it was that made Louis dislike him. He knew for sure it was the teasing and the smirking; because Louis always rolled his eyes then, but Harry couldn’t help it. He really enjoyed teasing Louis. It was fun.

When they were travelling to their respective destinations, their conversation somehow steered to the relationship bit, and Harry could tell that Louis wasn’t at all willing to talk about his relationships. Harry, too, wasn’t being very honest.

He didn’t tell Louis that he was bisexual, and that he’d dated both guys and girls. He didn’t want to be thought of as some kind of a slut. After all, he wouldn’t be surprised if Louis turned out to be some kind of a homophobe. He’d freaked out about “babe”. Harry wanted to get to know Louis better, but he wasn’t sure how he was going to do it considering the fact that Louis wasn’t being very nice at all.

So after Harry had his outing with his mother, he went home and thought about the day’s events (obviously he didn’t know Louis did the same). It was a pretty good day, if he was being honest. The only bad part was that his new colleague already hated him to a certain extent.

But Harry didn’t want Louis to hate him. He’d already admitted that he wanted Louis to like him back as well. And frankly, Harry thought that Louis was rather… Pleasant looking. Tan, nice feathery hair, beautiful blue eyes… At least he didn’t get a new partner who was hideous.

As Harry went about whatever it was that he normally did at home, he found himself thinking about Louis the whole time. He just couldn’t get the blue-eyed boy out of his mind, and it was frustrating. He was almost certain that when he went to sleep, he’d be unable to sleep because a certain someone would still be running around in his mind.

And he was right. He couldn’t sleep properly, and it was all because he kept thinking about Louis, wondering what the older boy was doing right at that moment. Was he lying in bed as well? Or was he out on a date, watching a movie or something? And Harry cringed. The thought of Louis being on a date made him uncomfortable and somewhat upset.

Then he was reminded of the look on Louis’ face when he said that he had a date. Harry could’ve sworn that he saw disappointment in those blue orbs. But, why would Louis be disappointed that Harry had a date? Harry must have read the look in his eyes wrongly right? Yeah, that must have been it.

Finally, after god knows how long of thinking, Harry finally felt fatigue. He glanced at his wrist watch and saw that it was almost eleven. He didn’t know what he’d been doing the whole time after meeting with his mother, but time just flew past like that. Harry forced those thoughts about Louis to the back of his mind and go to sleep.

 Because tomorrow was his first day of work, he had to look fresh. Well, it wasn’t exactly his first day tomorrow; it was just his first day working with Louis for real. And he was excited. He wasn’t going to go there half dead and yelling at everyone in sight. Harry wasn’t nice when he was tired.

And so Harry went to bed, praying that he wouldn’t dream about Louis.

~~~
(THE NEXT DAY)

Louis was happy after his morning jog. He felt quite fresh, and he was looking forward to work. When he got to the radio station, he said hi to the receptionist again, grinning, and this time she didn’t stare at him because there weren’t any coffee stains at all. He headed to Liam’s office because he didn’t know where to walk. What if he got lost in this massive maze?

Without bothering to knock on the door, he walked in. “Hey Leeeeeeeee-yum!” Louis was being extra cheery that day because he was excited. He’d only known Liam for a day, and he just whined out his name like that. Even Liam looked shocked, and he starred at Louis as though the latter was out of his mind.

“Hey Louuuu-ie?” Liam responded, smiling. “Excited for your first day huh?” Liam asked, and Louis nodded happily. They continued talking to each other, and Louis was telling Liam about how unbelievably excited he was, rambling on and on as if he and Liam had been friends for ages. Louis was grinning from ear to ear, and Liam wished Louis good luck, making Louis even happier if that was possible. That was until an unexpected third voice sounded.

“Someone’s excited for their first day with me huh?” the voice said, and it was evident that a smirk was planted on his face right then. Louis could already see it on his face and he obviously knew who that annoying voice belonged to. That very voice had just ruined his mood. It wasn’t that Louis hated Harry that much, but Louis just wanted to make it seem like that.

Louis turned around, smiling slightly to acknowledge the existence of Harry, and Liam piped up from behind Louis. “Yeah, Louis said he was excited to host the show and all!” And then Louis felt like slapping Liam right in the face. But then again, Liam didn’t know that Louis disliked Harry so much.

Liam gave Harry some instructions while Louis just stood there, staring at the white walls of the office, examining the paint work. He refused to participate in any conversation that included the eighteen-year-old. If Louis felt like being honest, he’d admit that Harry wasn’t that bad a guy. If he was being honest. He just pissed him off a lot with his constant mocking tone. Oh right, that was why he didn’t like Harry in the first place.

But Louis didn’t exactly have a choice did he? He was stuck with Harry, and there was no way he’d get a new partner anytime soon. As Harry walked out the door, he gestured for Louis to follow him, a huge grin plastered across his face. Why was Harry grinning like a fool? Louis asked himself, but shook it off when Liam said goodbye to the both of them. Louis made a funny face at Liam, one that the latter couldn’t understand and then reluctantly walked on.

“So, later, during the show, I’ll start by introducing you, and you can just say whatever comes to mind alright? Everything’s kind of like impromptu so you don’t really need a script or anything. But if you don’t know what to say just signal me okay?” Harry instructed professionally, different from the Harry earlier.

And again, Louis admired this side of him. Harry had different sides to him, and this was probably the only non-annoying side. Louis nodded wordlessly as they approached the studio. All his excitement had dissipated and he actually felt quite nervous and worried. What if he screwed up and his mother was at home listening to him? What if he ruined the whole show and like, pressed some button and made the whole show go off air?

Gulping, Louis entered the studio meekly behind Harry.

Louis just sat down while Harry fiddled with the wires and controls and everything, trying to calm himself down. He wouldn’t make a fool of himself on live radio. He took deep breaths, willing his heartbeat to slow down. After all, if he didn’t know what to do, Harry would help him right? Of course he would…

“Lou, the show’s starting in a few minutes so if you’re scared I suggest you go to the washroom first,” Harry suggested, but it came out more like he was teasing Louis. The nervous boy didn’t appreciate that one bit, and he frowned but kept quiet anyway. He wasn’t in the mood to retort. Harry shrugged at the odd reaction.

After a while, he thought about Harry’s words and decided that they made sense, and he sheepishly excused himself to a bathroom, earning a smirk from his partner. He should’ve just gone in the first place.

When Louis got back, the show was due to start in two minutes. His stomach was doing somersaults and his toes were curling up inside his shoes. His palms were getting clammy already, and he wiped them on his thighs. Harry seemed to notice this action and gave Louis a reassuring smile and pat on the back. “It’ll be alright, I’m here anyway.”

Louis took it the wrong way and thought that Harry was being arrogant, indirectly implying that he was the best or something like that. He nodded stiffly; slightly annoyed by the way Harry was acting. Why did he have to have that arrogant aura to him? Without it, he’d be so much more… Attractive and likeable.

 “Alright, ten seconds,” Harry said, putting on his headphones and whatever things. Louis followed suit, taking deep breaths again, counting down silently in his thumping heart.

“Hello! Welcome to The Lunchbox with me, Harry Styles! Now as you all know, I’ve been hosting the show alone since Damien left about a month ago. And finally today, I’ve got a new partner! His name’s Louis!” Harry exclaimed cheerily and nodded in Louis’ direction, as though telling him to introduce himself.

Louis gulped. “Well hello everyone… I’m Louis Tomlinson and... Uh, I’m not from London, so I’m new here, literally. And frankly I’m really nervous right now and I don’t know what to do. Oh well, look at me, I’m rambling! I’ll stop now.” Louis put his hands over his mouth, earning a laugh from Harry.

“Yeah well, it’s alright. I’m here for you anyway,” Harry smirked and Louis felt strange again. “So, as usual, we’ll kick things off with a great song. This is Yellow by Coldplay, one of my favourites actually.” Harry pressed some random button like he did yesterday, and turned his attention to Louis, raising an eyebrow at him. He gestured at Louis’ hands and Louis’ eyes widened as he dropped his hands from his mouth. Oh that was embarrassing.  

Unsure of whether he could talk, Louis gestured wildly, his arms flying around, trying to ask Harry if he could talk without the world hearing him. Strangely, Harry seemed to understand and just shook his head.

~~~

After the show was over, Louis heaved a huge sigh of relief and finally said what he’d been holding back the whole time.

“Oh my god that was so cool but I was such a failure!” It wasn’t much, but that was all he’d wanted to say anyway. He’d been thinking about that for the past two hours. Harry chuckled. “You weren’t a failure!” This time, Harry seemed to be serious and Louis raised his eyebrow. He didn’t know when to be serious huh?

“I wasn’t a failure? Dude, I read out the answer of the joke instead of the joke. I said the song was called The Wanted by Chasing The Sun. And I nearly made the show go off air because I was intrigued by the big red button that said “OFF”. Honestly Harry, tell me again how I wasn’t a failure.” Louis tried to sound annoyed and plastered a frown across his face but he was actually quite amused.

The big red button was so tempting to press, and so he reached out for it, his face full of excitement. He remembered Harry’s smiling face morph into one of horror as he yelled, “No don’t press that!” in the middle of a song.

Harry laughed loudly, startling Louis. And then Louis felt his frown threaten to be replaced with a grin. But he wasn’t going to grace Harry with the honour of seeing him grin. “Okay, maybe you were a failure. But just a little bit. And it was quite funny actually; the expression on your face when you saw the “off” button. You were like a child who just saw the greatest roller coaster ever.”

Louis then decided against grinning. Harry had just successfully pissed him off again. What was with him and teasing Louis? It was just like his only hobby or something. Apart from the fact that he liked hosting the show a lot.

Louis scowled and Harry raised his arms in an “I-surrender” position. “Whoa babe, I was just kidding. Calm down. You really were kind of funny and adorable at the same time though,” Harry replied smugly, and he knew that he was getting on Louis’ nerves. It wasn’t that he wanted to, but it was just amusing to see his reaction.

Louis stiffened for a moment before muttering a sarcastic “thanks.” He walked out of the studio, leaving Harry in there. Louis wasn’t really annoyed with Harry though. He was just being his usual over thinking self, freaking out about the fact that Harry had called him “babe” again. But then again, everyone called everyone that didn’t they?

“Hey Lou, wait up!” Harry called out from behind and Louis walked faster, not wanting to talk to him. He was too busy scaring himself about why Harry had called him that, and about the fact that Liam was probably going to kill Louis when he found out that he almost ruined the entire show. And oh god, his mother was probably listening in to it. She’d decide that he was too clumsy and absent-minded to live on his own in London, and order him to go back and live with her again.

“Don’t be pissed man, I’m just kidding!” Harry sounded rather desperate and Louis wondered why. Sighing, Louis ran his fingers through his hair. “What if Liam scolds me after this? I almost ruined the whole show. Oh god, what if he decides I’m not good enough?!” Louis was worried and almost scared.

He looked into Harry’s eyes for some sort of reassurance. There was nowhere else he could look for reassurance. Harry was the only person he knew here, apart from Liam, and he was pretty sure that Liam wasn’t going to tell him, “don’t worry Louis, Liam isn’t going to fire you because you made some mistakes on your first day alright?”

“Louis, look mate, don’t worry. Liam isn’t so harsh. It’s only your first day and you were nervous. You were bound to make some mistakes. So just calm down,” Harry spoke quietly, and Louis instantly felt comforted. But that was until Harry said something else. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch because of that,” Harry smiled.

And Louis decided that Harry was being obnoxious and that the smile he gave was just a sarcastic and teasing one. This time, Louis really was upset and pissed. He’d just had a terrible first day hosting the show and he wasn’t in the mood for any silly teasing from the partner he disliked so much. It was almost safe to say he hated him.

“Oh whatever, just shut up. I’m not in the mood to argue with you,” Louis said harshly and spun on his heels, storming off, leaving a shocked Harry standing there.

It was the worst day Louis had ever had, and he blamed it all on Harry.

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