It wasn't like Louis was sad. He wasn't- isn't. It's the fact that he's lacking a friend. I mean, he's always had the voices in his head, but he wouldn't really consider them his friends. They were always telling him to do the wrong thing, the thing that would upset people. He always listened to the voices, though, despite the constant itch in the back of his throat, nagging him and warning him not to. He knew the person would leave, and they'd just be another person on the list. Yet another name scratched into his notebook late at night, the numbers adding up rather quickly. He didn't hate the voices, he really didn't. At least, that's what they told him.
Harry wasn't sad, either. In fact, he was rather content with life. Despite being deaf, he loved life. He loved to observe. He loved to look, inspect, stare. He was so, so grateful to still be able to see. Even though he couldn't hear how beautiful some things were, he could see them. He could appreciate beautiful things. He loved flowers, oh so much. He grew up with them, surrounded by them, and his mother always called him flower when she wrote to him. She even owned her own flower shop. That always made him smile. He dreamed of opening his own flower shop one day, filled with carnations, lilies, roses, and any other flower he wanted. He loved them, mostly because you didn't need to hear flowers to see how beautiful they were. You just needed to see them, smell them. And that made him extremely happy.
Louis had a family, sure. He had a mom, a dad. He probably had some siblings, too. He didn't remember them much. After he moved out, his initial instinct was to block out all his old memories. He wanted a fresh start. No more therapy, bullying, pills, or people from his past. Just him and his new house. And the voices, too. But his house was boring. That's one thing Louis couldn't stand. The walls were an ugly beige colour, and all his furniture was black. He needed a bit of change. Despite the nagging in his head, Louis decided it wouldn't hurt to walk around a bit, get to know the neighbourhood. Louis lived in a little place right above a dollar store, so he was on- what he thought was one of the main streets, by the looks of it. Wearing a large gray sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans, topped off with a pair of black vans, he walked down the steps one at a time- always afraid of falling. He let out a large breath, causing a miniature cloud to float up in the air. He'd always loved that, it made him feel like a dragon. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his eyes flickering around, bottom lip caught between his teeth. He sighed, not really having a clue on where to go, and set off down the street.
Harry loved helping his mom at the shop. It was his job to prune the flowers, water them, and keep them healthy and alive. You have to care for them tenderly, praise them, and love them. That's what mother always told him, anyway. Harry loved the fact that he got to help things grow, to nourish them and encourage them and watch them go from a tiny little sprout to a beautiful plant. He absolutely loved it. He was trimming one of the rose bushes, pruning it and giving it a bit of the fertilizer mix they had, when something moved out of the corner of his eye. Harry looked over and set down the watering can to see a red-cheeked, slightly confused boy. He saw the boy mouth something and Harry figured it was just a simple 'hello', but then the boy furrowed his eyebrows. Harry held up his finger and pursed his lips, scuttling to the back room to fetch his mother. He tapped her shoulder and nodded his head towards the front, and she nodded, walking back to the front desk.
Louis has no clue how he ended up in this tiny flower shop, he just really needed to piss. He walked in, cheeks red and fingers nearly frozen, bouncing on his feet. "D'you got a bathroom?" Louis asked the boy, who looked absolutely clueless. Maybe he'd stuck his nose in too many flowers. Who cared, though, really? He just needed to piss. He watched curly cock his head and walk back to another room, before he was greeted by a woman- probably someone who knew what they were doing. "Sorry about my son, darling, he's still working on reading lips. How can I help you?" She asked. Now Louis felt bad. "I- oh... Um, do you guys have a washroom? I really need to wee." He admitted unabashedly, cheeks heating up slightly. She nodded and smiled softly, pointing down a hallway. "Second door to the left, Hun," she nodded and Louis sighed in relief, walking quickly down the hall.
The boy must've thought Harry was stupid. He really didn't mean to ignore him, and it was times like these Harry wished he could hear. He was still trying to learn how to lip read, and every time he tried, he got so frustrated with himself that he'd nearly have a panic attack. He sat in the back, chin in his hands, bottom lip sticking out slightly. He wasn't expecting anyone to come in, and neither was his mother, which is why she left him to tend to the plants. She was always the one to talk to the customers, Harry was always a bystander. But it was times like these Harry really wished he was able to talk to people, to interact with others. Maybe one day.
Louis has to admit that the curly haired boy was pretty. He let his mind wander, and his thoughts got the best of him. The voices nagged and scolded, telling him it was wrong to think those kinds of things about someone you barely even interacted with, someone who looked at you like you were a math equation, someone who didn't even talk to you, but he went on with it anyway. He wiped his wet hands on his pants, nodding to the lady behind the counter before walking out. But as soon as he left, he felt bad. What if the boy thought he was rude, or stupid? Louis stood outside the door for a solid two minutes, weighing his options, before sighing heavily and dragging himself back into the store. The lady smiled confusedly and he pursed his lips, eyes flickering around. Wasn't he the one just complaining about having a boring looking house?
The red-cheeked boy was back in the store, even though he'd left not even five minutes ago. Harry had no clue, but he continued on with his duties. He clipped some dead leaves from a succulent, bobbing his head from side to side slowly. He was tired, so tired, and he wanted to sleep. Ever since he was little, he always got more tired when fall began to turn into winter. He had no idea why, but he thought it had something to do with the fact that it was so damn cold and he wanted to stay in bed with his cocoa and his fuzzy blankets, watching his favourite movies. But he had a job, even though his mother didn't pay him, he owed it to her. She was always paying for this and that for harry, whether it be medication or therapy or another doctor's appointment, his mother was always trying her hardest to keep Harry happy, and he just wanted to make it up to her.
Louis had no idea how to identify flowers. He never paid attention, and in all honesty, he didn't give a fuck. They all smelled the same to him, but they looked nice and made it look like you gave a shit about your house. So Louis decided on buying some tacky looking yellow and pink flowers. Girly, but he couldn't care less. Maybe it'd help make the place smell more like his house instead of cat piss. He smiled slightly at the woman and handed her a twenty pound note, taking the flowers and glancing over at the content looking curly headed boy. "That's my son, Harry." The woman said softly. It's almost as if she knew he felt bad. He nodded slowly, eyes trained on the flowers as he shuffled out of the shop, hearing the door jingle above his head before setting on his way back home. How the hell did Louis end up here?
~
feedback would be v much appreciated tysm
