Crazy in love

1- First day

Louis stared at his reflection in the mirror. He pushed his fringe to the side and gulped nervously. He had to leave soon and he didn't know if he was ready. It was his first day at his new job and he didn't know what he had been thinking when he applied. Work at a mental institution? Crazy people scared him!

He dried his sweaty palms against his jeans and tried to collect himself. How bad could it be? Crazy people were in fact just people who had a rough time at the moment. Or they were just crazy. There were those kinds of people as well, but anyhow. He knew he was being silly and absolutely politically incorrect, but he couldn't help it.  

He sighed and went to put on his shoes and a jacket. It was time to leave. He closed and locked the door behind him. He lived close to the institution and decided to walk there.

Fifteen minutes later he was standing in front of a dull-looking building. This was it. He took a deep breath and walked inside. He walked over to the reception desk.
"Good morning."

"Good morning, Sir. How may I help you?" A brunette smiled at him. Her nametag said, Miss Calder.

"It's my first day here." Louis answered.

"Are you a patient?" Miss Calder smiled.

Louis' eyes grew wide.
"No! It's my first day working at the psych ward. I'm Louis Tomlinson."

"Oh, sorry! Common mistake. Welcome, Mr. Tomlinson. I'm Eleanor. Just wait here. I'm gonna call someone to come and get you."

Louis mumbled a "thanks". Did he look like a crazy person? Scary thought.

Five minutes later a ginger-haired man came walking up to him with a smile.
"Hi! Louis right? I'm Ed."

Louis shook his hand with a smile. Ed seemed friendly.
"Come on, I'll show you where you can get changed."

Right. Louis looked at Ed's white scrubs. Lovely. Ed took him to a locker room and handed him the same kind of outfit and Louis put it on.   

They started to walk to the psych ward.
"Here is your passage card. Whatever you do, don't lose it. This is an alarm. Press the red button if you are in danger." Ed explained and Louis gulped.

"We have 30 rooms. We're always crowded. Don't tell the patients anything personal about yourself. Always watch your back. If you have concerns regarding one of the patients, contact Dr. Horan who is our psychologist, or Dr. Payne, our doctor. Any questions?"

"How crazy are they?" Louis asked in a small voice.

Ed chuckled.
"We have patients with all kinds of psychological problems. Some are schizophrenic, some are bipolar and some are having drug psychosis. And anything in between."

"Okay." Louis breathed out. Why did he apply for this job again?

Ed opened a locked door and motioned for Louis to get inside.
"So this is your workplace. The ward has two wings with some common areas in the middle."

"Wait! So the patients are out here as well?" Louis asked with a shaky voice.

"Yeah...you're not afraid of them, are you?" Ed asked and examined him closely.

"What? No, of course not!" Louis lied badly.

"Sure..." Ed answered but dropped the subject.

They walked into a nurse station and Ed started to talk about all the rules Louis had to follow. Louis paid attention but wondered how the hell he would remember everything. A nurse came in to whisper something to Ed which made the ginger hair man sigh.
"Alright, Louis. Mr. Malik is on his way here. He smoked too much weed again and has one of his psychosis."

"Malik? As in Zayn Malik, the singer?" Louis asked curiously.

"The one and only. Remember that you work under professional secrecy. Zayn is a regular here but it can't be leaked to the press." Ed said sternly.

"I would never break that." Louis promised sincerely.

"Good. Now, I will have my hands full.
I'll assign you to Harry this week. He's a sweetheart so you'll have an easy first week." Ed said with a smile.

"Harry? Does he work here as well?" Louis sounded confused.

"Harry is a patient. Mr. Styles has been with us for years. He'll help you get a hang of it. He's in room 28." Ed said and walked away.

"But..." Louis stared at the ginger hairs back. Did he leave him alone with a patient on the first day? What the hell?

He took a deep breath and walked out into the corridor in search of room 28. He turned around when there was a commotion at the entrance. Ed and another man were carrying a raven-haired man in his arms.
"I can fly! Wooohooo! I'm a golden God!" Zayn shouted excitedly.

Louis' eyes grew big and he hurried down the corridor. He didn't want to be around that! He found room 28 and hesitated briefly before he knocked at the door.
"Eeh, come in?" a soft voice sounded from the other side of the door. 

Louis took a deep breath and opened it. His eyes fell on a boy of the same age as him. He had long, brown, curly hair, plump lips, and green eyes. He was beautiful. The boy got up from his bed and gave Louis a shy smile. Breathtaking!

"Good morning. I'm Harry. You must be new. That's the first time someone knocked at my door before they entered."

Great. He'd already messed up.
"Hi, Harry. I'm Louis. You're right. It's my first day." Louis smiled back. Harry didn't look crazy. Not that he knew what crazy looked like, but anyhow.

Harry walked over and extended his hand for Louis to shake. Louis took it after a bit of hesitation. Harry's hand was warm and big and fitted in his perfectly. 
"Louis... cute name on a cute guy." Harry winked at Louis and he could feel his cheeks turn slightly pink.  

What was Harrys deal? Pathological liar?
"Uhm, thanks?" Louis answered awkwardly and got a dimpled smile in return.

Louis almost choked on air from the sight. He then realized they were still holding hands. He immediately withdrew his hand and wiped it on his trousers. Harry rolled his eyes.
"I'm not contagious. You can't catch the crazy, you know? Not that I'm crazy anyway."

Louis' eyes got big.
"I didn't mean to offend you." He said nervously. Not a good idea to get on the wrong side with the crazy people.

Harry chuckled.
"No offense. Hey, you seem nervous. Are you okay?" He examined the boy closely.

Louis swallowed nervously. 
"What? Of course. I'm fine."

Harry displayed a sad frown.
"I'm not crazy."

"Ehm... sure." Louis thought it would be best to agree.

"No one believes me. Maybe you will someday. There's something special about you." Harry mumbled and locked eyes with Louis.

Louis stared back into those mesmerizing green eyes. There was something special about Harry as well.