I Remember You Laughing [Larry Stylinson]

Chapter 3- Tiny Face Up On The Bleachers

Day Of The Game- Louis' POV

Bouncing into the kitchen and hungrily grabbing a slice of toast from a plate he was sure was one of his sisters', Louis walked over to his mother who was busy at the stove, and gave her a big hug and a kiss before sitting down.

"Morning Mum!" he said, barely understandable through the toast. "I'm so ready for those twats today! They won't stand a chance against us. We're gonna win the title for the third time in a row! We worked really hard for it!" he said assuredly. "Harder than them for sure!"

"Well sweetheart, I'm glad you're so confident now, because later when you're howling with aches and pains it'll be my problem to get you all better!" his mother teased, while adding eggs to his plate. "After I drop the babies of at Kim's, I have a long day of work today but I'll try to get off early. I want to be cheering you on later even if I only make it to second half!"

Eighteen year old Louis had a big soccer match that afternoon, that he was overly excited about winning for his school. As team captain, he was confident that he would lead his team to victory. It was a typical Tuesday. Everyone had work or school but he wanted to make sure his family made all arrangements to come see the game.

"Phoebe! Daisy! Take off that cartoon and come get breakfast! Now is not the time for that!" his mother called out to Louis' little sisters, who were twins.

The girls hurried in and sat next to Louis at the table, neatly dressed in their uniforms and ready for school. Next, his step dad Dan walked in, carrying the other set of twins, Ernie and Dorie, who were only two years old, and placed them in their high chairs. Dan explained to Louis that he would pick up the girls from school early and take them to his game, much to the girls delight.

Phoebe and Daisy, who were ten years younger than Louis, looked up to their older brother, and were excited about seeing him play. He had two other sisters, Fizzy and Lottie, who were two and three years younger than him. But they lived with Louis' father, in Australia. With summer holidays coming up, Louis and the girls were looking forward to making the trip to visit them.

Breakfast was always a lively scene at the Tomlinsons', full of laughter and well wishes for the day. Louis was eager to let the girls know, for the billionth time that this was his last game before going off to college and they dare not be late. He expressed how much he was going to miss being captain of his footie team and was keen on winning one last time.

"You're always a winner, my little Lou bear!" Louis' Mother proudly reminded, causing the girls to smirk and fake gag to each other.

Louis' mother, Johannah, was caring and nurturing. She was the kind of mother who would never get mad if you brought a stray cat home, or yell at you for ruining that expensive sweater. She spoke softly and always gave advice from a place of understanding and empathy; she would have to be, Louis thought, since she's a psychiatrist. She could always tell when things were bothering him and Louis was grateful she put up with his anger issues when he was younger. Louis had a temper his mother reckoned he got from his dad. And after he and Louis' sisters moved away, it got worse. When he had gotten into too many fights on the field during games, she looked for the root of the problem and encouraged Louis to talk it out.

Louis knew that one of the reasons he used to be angry was because he was gay and didn't know how to deal with it at the time. He knew his anger was his way of letting off steam and maybe sometimes trying to make himself look macho, and to defend himself from being called names. But he didn't know all this at first. His mother helped him realize it, and he knew he would still be in that dark place had it not been for her. Louis knew he liked boys since he was thirteen and kept it to himself for two years until his mother sat him down, tears in her eyes, and let him know that she figured out what the problem was and that she knew he was suffering. She made it clear that even though he wanted to hide it from the world, she wasn't going to let him hide it anymore from the family that loved him dearly.