Turquoise (L.S)

IX

The curious sun peeked through the kitsch, brightly coloured curtains, tapping on the window, begging to be let in. It did not like to be ignored, especially when it was shining so brightly. Its rude persistence eventually enticed Louis from slumber, and he groaned lightly.

He squinted at the obstreperous light cascading down onto his bed and rubbed his eyes, grumbling about the curtain's poor performance of keeping the sunlight out..

There was something quite nonchalant about his actions as he stretched his small limbs and cracked his bones, yawning gently, like a kitten.

For several minutes he lay there, basking in the sunlight, and not thinking. It was a rare experience for Louis, whose mind was constantly filled with confusion, nerves and self-doubt.

Was this meditating? Louis had no idea. He thought that woke lifestyle stuff was bullshit, but this was oddly calm. It was different, but relaxing?

This blissful feeling soon came crashing down, however, as memories of last night flooded his senses and he shot up from the bed in an instant.

The party.

The drugs

Zayn.

Liam.

Harry flirting.

Harry falling and...

Harry crying, alone in that room, away from his friends and colleagues and anyone. The boy had been utterly alone, and Louis had just watched. Should he have gone and checked on him? No, that would be an invasion of his privacy. He did not want him and the other contestants in that room for a reason.

Before Louis could overthink anymore, there was a gentle tap on his door.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead! Breakfast is served!" Ashe swept into the room looking like Summer and the end of June. Her platinum blonde hair appeared golden in the sunlight and she had swapped her trademark black for a bright and breezy, pastel blue, silk summer dress. If Louis wasn't completely and unapologetically gay, he would definitely fancy her. 

He smiled and waved, before grabbing an old t-shirt, and pulling it over his lightly tanned torso and tummy.

"Let's go, luv," He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and the two made their way down to breakfast.

Louis could not suppress a gasp at the food spread in front of him. There was more selection than most hotels offered and he knew a lot about hotel breakfasts. He loved a good free buffet and would go as far as to label himself a hotel buffet breakfast connoisseur.

Ok, maybe that was a little too far, but he still liked them a lot. 

This breakfast selection trumped all of his prior experiences, however.

The other two contestants, who he still hadn't learnt the names of, were already seated at the breakfast bar, tucking into plates of nothing and kale smoothies. He grimaced a little at that and fought the urge to roll his eyes. One day in and they were already trying to eat like celebrities.

Louis wasn't. He definitely wasn't. Not when they had coco pops as an option.

Without a second thought, he poured himself a bowl, ignoring the glares of disapproval from his snooty competitors. Ashe sent him fond smile at his child-like antics and grabbed herself a piece of avocado-on-toast.

Louis tried his best to keep his mouth shut, clamping his teeth, and grating them hard. He hated avocados. Something about them pissed him off. They were so pretentious and unnecessary. Ashe seemed oblivious to his phobia of the frankly appalling vegetable.