Two Sides of the Same Street (A Clouis Fic)

Chapter One

A/N: Hello! This series is going to be short and full of fluff! It was suppose to be a one-shot but the idea escaped me and I thought making it a mini-series would be more fun.
Enjoy :)

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He tapped his fingers against the wooden counter, staring at the traffic outside. Louis started to count every red car (19) then every white car (28). Working in a music store was nothing like he had anticipated, to be blunt it was so incredibly boring. What he would give to be able to play one of the pianos, but his boss would reprimand him. It would play in his head like a mantra, "The instruments are not there for your free time!"

There was always Marlon, Louis glanced into the storeroom and saw his friend organising records into their appropriate crates. He was more diligent than Louis was, something their boss liked to remind him of. He slammed his head against the counter, praying for something, anything interesting to happen.

The ringing of the bell at the front door multiplied the weight in Louis's shoulders, probably just another soccer mom wanting to buy their reluctant child something. Slowly he lifted his head back up "Can I help you with any-"

His breath got caught in the back of his throat, she was certainly no soccer mom. "-Thing?"

She noticed his faltering words, giving him a puzzled look. "Hi...I'm just here to look at guitars."

Louis immediately ran a hand through his hair, trying to recompose himself. She was very, very pretty. She had short curly hair in messy pigtails that somehow framed her small face perfectly. He mentally slapped himself, a cute girl in his presence and he wasn't being theatrical? What kind of world...

"Well, you have walked into the right place," Louis clasped his hands together. "We mainly provide guitars with nylon-strings."

She turned to look at the ever-so-impressive wall of guitars, all calling out to her. "That's cool, I'm looking for a classical guitar. Can I uh, pick one up?"

Louis could hear his boss screaming in his head. "When people touch guitars they break them! Only staff can lift them."

"Of course!"

The girl slowly reached for a cedar guitar, giving Louis immediate hints on what type of sound she was hunting for. She held it close to her body, fingers morphing into an odd shape. "You play for fun or are you in a band?"

She smiled to herself as she strummed the guitar, it somehow sounded so much better coming from her small hands. "Just for fun. You play anything?"

Louis motioned to the keyboards on the other side of the store. "The piano is my muse, but not electrical. I prefer the classic piano, with strings. I find it sounds better. I have a Perzina - I call it Perry - it sounds so...I sound so dorky." He laughed to drown out his embarrassment.

This mysterious girl knew what he was talking about. Electronic instruments could never compete with the history of the classic ones, in her mind's eye at least. "My dad played the guitar when I was a kid, it could be heard from everywhere in the house."

She spoke with such grace Louis hoped she never left the store just so he could hear her more. "Does he still play?"

Her face instantly fell, her eyes wandering to the shiny floor. "No, he doesn't."

There was something more to the tale but Louis didn't press it. "Well, you interested in the one you're...grasping very tightly?"

The girl eyed the guitar up and down, examining everything it offered. "Yeah, I think I am." She loosened her grip on the neck and gave Louis a reassuring smile. He guided her over to the front counter, sadness started to slowly grow in him as he realised their beautiful little meeting was coming to a close, so Louis may or may not have punched in the barcode slower than usual.