you bring me home [larry stylinson]

Chapter Two

"Remind me again why you're making a stop in London before my epic graduation party?" Liam asked.

Liam was sitting on Louis's bed while he was packing up some clothes for his visit to London. It was a last minute spur of the moment idea.

"I haven't seen my mum since Christmas," Louis said defensively. "And she just moved back there recently. I want to help her unpack and get her settled in. Plus, I'll still make it in time for your party Li."

Louis had done some extra credit work during the Easter break to improve his Media Studies grade, so he unfortunately did not go home for the holidays. By the time he had finished his project, there were only two weeks left and his mum and the girls had booked a vacation months ago to go to Disneyland Paris.

"I know," Liam smiled. "I'm just excited, we're finally done uni!"

Truth be told, Louis didn't want to go up to Wolverhampton early with Liam. Ever since they had finished university a couple weeks back, Liam was partying and drinking like there was no tomorrow. Louis had never seen this side of him before. While they were both in school, Liam was so quiet and reserved.

Then again, so was Louis. He had always kept to himself. He didn't like getting close to anyone new. Thankfully, somehow Liam made his way through Louis's walls during the first week at the University of Oxford, and they had been close friends ever since. It was nice for once, having a friend to talk to about anything and everything. Louis hadn't had that in practically a decade. He forgot what it was like to be a friend.

"Do you have any plans for the summer, mate?" Liam asked.

Louis stopped packing his things and thought for a moment. He turned to Liam and shrugged helplessly. "Absolutely no clue. I should probably try to find a job of some sort. How about you?"

"I'm going to try out for the X Factor."

Louis dropped the clothes he was holding on the ground. His mouth dropped open as well and he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Since when did Liam sing?

"I'm kidding."

Louis threw a pair of boxers at Liam's head and Liam laughed, dodging the flying underwear. "You should have seen your face! That was the funniest thing alive!" He clutched his stomach from all the laughter.

Louis wanted to push him off the bed, but decided against it. Instead, he said, "If you keep this up, I won't come to your party."

Liam immediately stopped and put his hands up, as if to say 'I surrender'. He handed the boxers back to Louis as a peace offering. The older boy graciously accepted and Liam continued on. "I think my dad has something lined up for me back in Wolverhampton. He won't tell me what it is, though, he keeps saying it's a surprise."

"That's nice," Louis noted. "I have absolutely nothing lined up. I mean, I was a Communications major for Pete's sake. What the hell am I going to do with that?"

"At least you enjoyed your program," Liam shrugged. "It was worth it, wasn't it?"

"I guess."

"I studied Business with a minor in English," he added, "that's about as vague as it gets. Trust me, Louis, you're going to find a job. If anything, I'll help you find one."

Louis grinned eagerly and felt his heart accelerate slightly. It sure felt good to have a friend again. He didn't know how he managed to go through high school without them now that he had Liam in his life. Louis had felt very alone and isolated when he was in high school. He was glad he didn't have the same experiences at university.

"Thanks Li," Louis nodded. "I really appreciate that."

He finished packing the last of his clothes and closed his duffel bag. He was so excited to see his mum and his sisters again. It had been six months since he last saw them. He planned on spending time with them throughout the summer as well, but he knew he wanted to see them before he went to Liam's party.

"Of course," Liam nodded and smiled. "By the way, I forgot to mention this earlier, but if you want to bring anyone with you to the party, you can."

Liam was such a comedian at times.

~

"Mum?"

The moment Louis walked in the Tomlinson's home, he was attacked by the twins. They jumped on him and Louis laughed, opening his arms up to hug them. Phoebe and Daisy squeezed him as tight as they possibly could.

"What took you so long?" Daisy huffed, slowly pulling away.

"Yeah," Phoebe added and frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I had to finish up some things for school cuties," Louis smiled softly. He crouched down so he could be closer to their height. "But hey, I'm back for a few days and you guys will see me all throughout the summer, I promise! I'm done with school now, so I think I'll be sticking around for some time."

The girls squealed and hugged him tightly once more. Louis laughed and hugged them back again. He shut his eyes and let himself enjoy the moment. He had missed his sisters so much. He was wondering where Lottie and Fizzy were.

"Louis?"

The twins quickly let him go and he walked over to his mum and hugged her tightly. Jay immediately wrapped her arms around her only son and hugged him with everything she had. She felt tears come to her eyes and she smiled softly.

"I hope you don't plan on going back to university, young man, because we've missed you too much."

"I don't plan on it," Louis chuckled.

She slowly pulled away and smiled at her son. She blinked away the tears and tucked in a loose strand of his hair. "Congratulations, love. We're all so proud of you. Lottie and Fizzy are over at friends, but they'll be back later to say congrats."

"Are we celebrating?!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Yeah," Daisy pipped in. "Does that mean we're having McDonald's for dinner?!"

Louis and Jay laughed together. She looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "How does that sound Boo? Interested in some celebratory McDonalds?"

"That sounds great mum."

~

"So what are your plans for summer?" Jay asked.

After they had finished eating their McDonalds, the twins went downstairs to go watch some show on the TV. Lottie and Fizzy still hadn't come back from their friends yet. It was just Louis and his mum sitting at the kitchen table; just like it used to be many moons ago.

"I'm not sure to be honest," Louis admitted sheepishly. "I know I'm going to look for a job. I'm going back up to Oxford in a week with Liam to move out. Are you still okay with me moving back in for a while? Just until I find a job and can get settled in?"

"Of course," Jay responded, smiling softly. "You're always welcome to stay for however long you want darling. We're not going anywhere. Without Mark, we have no reason to move anymore so we're staying put kiddo."

"That sounds like a plan," Louis smiled.

He hadn't been back in London in so long. Immediately, he planned on scouting London the following day. He was going to have to explore and see what had stayed the same, and what had changed.