under your bed in new york. // larry stylinson

five.

It was 2:45pm almost a week later when Louis decided Lucas was the love of his life.

Well. Not really. Harry was the love of his life, but Harry had a girlfriend now. He'd moved on, and Louis should too. Lucas wasn't the love of his life, but Louis could pretend. He was good at pretending.

Louis didn't really mean that Lucas was the love of his life, because he really wasn't. He was just trying to convince himself that he could love Lucas if he tried, and he could be happy with him. Louis needed to move on, no matter how much he didn't want to, and stop unconsciously holding out for Harry. Lucas was his ticket to a better life where Louis would stop constantly thinking about Harry.

The last second date Louis had gone on was his second date with Harry, and that was years ago. He hadn't gone on a second date with anyone else, no matter how hard Niall, Zayn and Liam tried to find a nice guy for him to go on a date with. That was all going to change, though, because Louis had decided he'd go on a second date with Lucas. It wasn't a drastic move or anything, but Louis' hands were shaking with nerves as he typed out a text message and sent it to Lucas.

As soon as he'd sent it, Louis threw his phone down and covered his face with his hands, hoping it wasn't the wrong move. Milky came over to investigate Louis' behavior and licked his hands, making Louis giggle. "Hey, Milky." Milky sat down on the couch next to Louis and lay her head down on his chest, snuggling close. Louis placed his hand on top of her head and stroked her soft fur. "You'll always be there for me no matter what, right?"

Milky affirmed her answer with a little whine, and that was that.

Lucas had proposed they go watch a movie for their second date, so on Monday afternoon Louis waited patiently in his office for Lucas to arrive. He'd originally wanted to meet up with Lucas at the cinema, but Lucas had insisted on coming over to pick Louis up, wanting to see Louis' office.

Louis's phone buzzed and he picked it up, seeing a message from Lucas that said, i'm here! Louis fidgeted with his tie and typed back a reply, telling Lucas to go to the seventeenth floor and that his secretary would let him in.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Danielle opened the door, revealing Lucas, who was staring in awe at Louis' office. "Whoa."

"Here's your date, boss." Danielle gave Louis a reassuring look.

"Thanks, Dani."

Danielle left the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Lucas and Louis alone.

"Your office is huge," Lucas marveled. "And it's so fancy. How does a law firm have so many floors?"

"Well, we are an international law firm." Louis picked up his briefcase from where it lay on the table.

"I can't imagine having such a large and spacey office." Lucas spun around a few times.

"It does get a little too formal and classy sometimes," Louis admitted. "It's not a very cozy or homey office, but I'm grateful for it."

"I don't even have an office, all I have is a classroom I share with another teacher and a cubicle in the staff room," Lucas said slightly enviously. He stood behind Louis' desk and picked up a photo frame, making Louis wince slightly. He didn't know Lucas well enough to be comfortable with him touching all of his things. "Is that your family?"

The picture he held indeed featured the Tomlinson family at their Christmas dinner, gathered under the Christmas tree and posing for the camera. Harry, Gemma and Anne were there too, Harry standing at the back with Louis, an arm around his waist and a huge grin on his face.