The chair enveloped Louis' small frame. From the corner of the room, he had everything in the room in view. The cream coloured walls and ceiling, the black bed covers and the wooden floors.
The grungy curtains hung in front of the windows. The curtains were so dirty that they nearly fully obscured the weak stream of sunlight that trickled through.
"Get out of my house now! You... you abomination! I brought you up, but you turn out to be nothing less than a freak! Right, that's what you are. A freak!" Louis recalled the way Johanna yelled at him. He couldn't understand what was wrong with being gay. It wasn't as if he had a choice.
He re-imagined the shock, disapproval and anger that was plastered all over his parents' faces, his heart crumbling to pieces all over again.
"It's me, mom! Is it so wrong to be different?!" Louis cried back, blinking back his tears. All he wanted to do was to make his family happy. If they didn't like him the way he was, fine. Louis was going to take this abomination out of their sight forever. Now his mother didn't have to worry about Louis accidentally exposing his sexuality to their relatives. He was just doing them another favour.
He remembered carrying his rucksack and running out of the house, tears streaming down his face. Louis felt so, so hurt, and all he needed to do was to get out, or run away, anything at all that would take him far away from that hell hole.
And so Louis found himself here. 'Here' was a local university without much reputation. The facilities were bare minimum but it provided the most important thing Louis needed at the moment. Shelter.
Also, it couldn't hurt to finish up his education, if he could get a higher paying job in the future.
Louis had about just enough money to last him, perhaps, one semester. He needed to find a job, fast.
Moping around wasn't going to do Louis any good. He tried to ignore the constant pain and missing in his heart. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. He had to get some fresh air. Louis pulled himself lazily to the door.
He needed to feel the burn of liquid down his throat. He needed to drown his problems with some vodka cranberry or tequila. He needed a drink.
"Did you check out Infinity 81? Oh my gosh, it's like the greatest bar in town!" Louis replayed on the snippet of conversation he overheard on the bus to university in his head. Two barbies were emitting high pitched noises (which Louis could just make out to be English) at each other. He cringed.
At least now he knew where the best booze in town was.
Louis hopped on a bus to Infinity 81. It was packed. The smell of sweat, sex and alcohol hit him hard as the bouncer opened the doors. Just what he needed. Louis scrunched his nose at the large tangle of twirling, gyrating and pulsing bodies on the dance floor.
He sat down on the bar stool.
"One shot of tequila. Thanks." Louis muttered to the bartender, as he heard the shuffling of the seats next to him. Louis lifted his head and glanced left.
The most beautiful person Louis had ever seen greeted his sight. With curly locks of brunette hair, emerald-green eyes and deep dimples, the stranger looked positively edible. Louis licked his lips.
"Hi, I'm Harry."The stranger, Harry, greeted.
"Louis Tomlinson. I mean, hey, um, I'm Louis." Louis replied as he felt a blush crawl from his neck to his cheeks.
"So you're from the university 'round here? American Grand College?" Harry asked.
"Yep. I live in dorm 98A, if I'm not wrong. You're from American Grand too?" Louis asked, trying to look less hopeful than he felt.
"Seriously?!"
"Nope, Potterly," Louis bit back sarcastically
"We're neighbors, mate!"
Perhaps his year wasn't going to be that horrible after all. Louis grinned into his drink.
