optional // l.s.

sixteen

louis was welcomed home with a party. a 'welcome home' banner was hung above liam's front door, shiny and blowing with the january wind. inside was a cake and some drinks, plus liam's family and zayn. liam was the one to pick louis up from good sam, drive him to get some play doh and back home.

louis heard that his father was doing well. he hasn't heard from ethan, luckily. he probably would have broken his phone or screamed at the top of his lungs from hearing the man breathe.

when the front door opened, zayn darted to the living room and ran straight into louis, hugging him tight. "welcome home!"

louis giggled and squeezed the man back, arms around his neck as they swayed back and forth. liam smiled wide because louis laughed. it wasn't fake or nervous, it was a genuine laugh that he's missed so much.

zayn carried louis to the kitchen, announcing that the king has arrived, and louis sat on the kitchen counter. liam's mum covered his face in kisses and gave him a hug, congratulating him on his recovery while liam's dad ruffled his hair and said he was glad louis was home.

was this what it was like to have a family?

there was a cake on the kitchen table with welcome home! in blue icing. liam told louis it was chocolate, his absolute favorite. there was also a gift on the table for him as well. louis took in his surroundings and smiled softly.

"oh, lou, someone wants to pay a visit," zayn hummed and went upstairs. louis eyed him curiously but gasped when the boy came back with eve around his arm.

"hi baby!" louis squealed and held out his hands, feeling the snake move from zayn to him. he cooed about how big she had gotten and laid her around his neck, stroking her skin.

"he's so weird," liam's dad chuckled to himself and went to cut the cake. louis snorted and cuddled with his reptilian pet, talking to her softly. liam said he had been feeding her on louis' schedule that he had, which louis was grateful for. he even told louis that she would curl up on him and go to sleep. he showed him pictures and louis' heart swooned with adoration.

louis sat at the table after putting his snake back in her tank and hummed in delight when he took a bite of the cake before him. "this cake is amazing!"

"yeah, yeah, be glad we like you," liam pointed his fork at the boy before laughing. "i'm kidding, we missed you, bub!"

"i missed you guys, too," louis pouted and zayn leaned over to mess with his hair (which earned swats to his hand by louis' tiny ones). louis talked about how he's in therapy and about his roommate, mentioning his new skill with the grapes. zayn was really proud of his friend for getting better, hopefully he can stay like this.

"this is for you," liam hummed and gave louis the gift once they finished eating. louis shyly checked to see who it was from and blushed when he saw the handwriting.

he opened the bag and pulled out a wrapped object. louis could already tell it was a book just by it's weight and feeling. he unwrapped it, cocking his head to the side when he noticed it was a copy of the outsiders. he opened the book when he noticed a tiny bookmark sticking out of the corner and his eyes widened.

"a signed copy," he whispered. "it's fucking signed by s. e. hinton! holy shit!"

"that's wicked!" zayn gasped and looked at it. it had the author's signature with 'to louis' above it. louis smiled wide and read the bookmark, which was just a cheesy quote about reading. he grabbed his phone from liam and sent a text to harry, thanking him for the book and how much he loved his gift.

"he's been worried sick about you," liam elbowed the boy. louis blushed and put the book back in the bag, putting his phone on the table. maybe he should go see him soon.

---

they put louis on homebound, which was like homeschooling, so that he wouldn't have any triggers around him at school. knowing that his assailant was in that building made him sick to his stomach. so once a week, liam would turn in work for louis and receive more for him to do. so far it's helped louis get caught up on what he has missed, and it's even brought his grades up to letters he's never seen under his name. he was used to getting straight c's or d's, but an a was definitely something he wasn't used to. it made him smile knowing he's doing better.

harry would sneak handwritten letters in with his work to louis. his assignment was just to read a book and write a report on it, but harry gave him the outlines for his essay to make things easier. louis would read the letters every night before he went to bed and kept them stashed in a box under his bed with his signed book.

before liam went to bed, he snuck into louis' room and sat beside the boy. "hey..."

"yeah?" the blue eyed boy yawned.

"i don't wanna like...trigger you or anything," liam bit his lip. "but your kit results came back."

louis gnawed on his lip and looked down at his lap. "and?"

"they have full evidence to arrest the bastard. zayn told them who all was at the party and they came to school with warrants to swab everyone that was there. it was aiden," he said and put his hand on louis' shoulder. louis nodded and picked at his nails, not bothering to look up. he was thankful the bloke was going to jail. liam said that even though aiden was a minor, he would be tried as an adult for how serious the case was. louis would have to go to court and testify, but since there were three other witnesses on louis' side and none on aiden's, louis would more than likely win the case.

"thank you for telling me," louis said softly and laid his head on liam's shoulder. "when is the court date?"

"in a few weeks," liam replied and yawned. "do you wanna sleep in my room tonight or would you rather be alone?"

"i've been so used to sharing a room that it would feel weird not doing it," lou chuckled and grabbed his blanket. "let's go."

---

eeeeeehhhhhhhhhh this was so short & sucky im sorryyyyyyy