dreamer ➵ larry stylinson

two

two.

Last night was filled with my mind wondering about the mystery man. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night, my body was asleep, but my mind was wide awake. So for the many hours, I laid in my bed, staring at the plain white ceiling above me. Work was in less than thirty minutes and I barely have my shirt on. Groggily, I ran a hand through my hair splashed my eyes with water.

Eventually, I walked into the bookstore only ten minutes late. Niall was at the register helping a young girl. That meant my job for today was to clean up. You wouldn't believe how messy a bookstore got in less than a day. Books needed to be shelved, the skittles the teenage girl decided to spill, the few table with crumbs on them.

"Louis?" Niall asked as I walked into the supply closet. I ignored him and grabbed a wash rag and the cleaner. "Louis, are you okay? You're late."

I was never late for work, if I was going to late, I would call in first. Just staying up, thinking about this boy, it has me messed up. Depression of never understanding has overtaken my body. Curiosity is eating me alive and there's nothing I can do.

"I'm just tired." I mumbled.

Niall gripped my shoulder and forced me to turn around. My weak eyes met his and he sighed. "After work, you're going home. You look like you fell down two flights of stairs. Why did you show up?"

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. "Niall, I'm fine. I didn't get much sleep."

He glared at me before sighing, then walked back to the register.

The door jingled and Niall started to talk to the customer. I took the supplies and walked out of the room, kicking the door shut in the process. When I looked over at Niall, Zayn was leaning against the counter with a comic book on the desk. He was one of our regulars and a friend as well. Whenever a new edition of the Ghost Rider book ships to our store, he's there the next day.

"Louis, hi!"

I gave a tired smile to him. "Hey, Zayn. Ghost Rider as usual?"

He nodded. "I decided to try another series. What do you think of the Fables series?"

"I don't know, mate. I'm not really into comics." I shrugged.

Zayn pouted and looked back at Niall. As I made my way to the dirty tables, the door jingled again. The person came in panting like a dog.

"Oi, mate! You're going to get sweat all over the store." Niall complained.

I looked over to the register and there stood Liam, panting with his hands on his hands. He was wearing a jersey and basketball shorts. Oh right, Liam had asked Niall and I if we could go play football with him today. Unfortunately, we both had to work today, so we declined.

Zayn laughed at Liam and leaned on the counter. "The gang is all here."

"Lou, Niall," Liam breathed, "what's the best cookbook you have here? Emily saw me playing today and - fuck - she got mad and now I have to make a home cooked meal tomorrow to make up."

I rolled my eyes and picked up a random cookbook from the shelf next to the table and brought it over to Liam.

"Mate, why is she mad? You were just playing ball." Zayn asked.

"What a bitch." Niall muttered.

Liam sighed. "It's because I told her I was in Wolverhampton today. I just wanted some space is all. She's so needy and always wondering what I'm doing every five minutes."

"Break up with her. If she's too clingy, then you should tell her. Either break up with her or express your feelings." I told Liam.

He shook his head. "It's not that easy. I wish I could tell her, but she would get mad and threaten me somehow." Liam ran a hand through his hair. "She's just so moody and clingy. Can I come over to your flat, Lou? I need to practice what I'll tell her."