The Connotations of Home

Chapter 4

Louis

Louis' eyelids fluttered open after a strangely peaceful sleep the previous night. He rolled onto his side to grab his phone off his bedside table, groaning from the stretch.

9:37 am

Shit. Shit shit shit. No, this wasn't happening right now. He should already be at college and half way through his first lesson, and the college was at least 15 minutes away.

Not only that, but he was still under his covers, panic beginning to rush through his veins.

He whipped the duvet back and stumbled to his feet, practically sprinting to the shower, stripping on the way. How the hell was he going to get out of this one?

———

After driving slightly quicker than was legal, Louis had finally made it to the car park of the college. He'd had the journey to come up with an excuse that wouldn't end in detention (because 'overslept' was a pretty weak one and it wouldn't get him anywhere), but he was more focused on the road and decided that fifteen minutes of his time after school wouldn't cause him any harm.

Not like he had anything better to do, he'd probably have just gone back to sleep anyway.

"Louis Tomlinson, is it?" A secretary said as Louis hovered at the front desk, placed in the centre of the foyer. It smelled like paper and coffee, printers and copiers whirring and clunking in the background.

Dirt was embedded into the worn down carpet that rose where it met the wall, and there was a coffee ring on the front desk. What a great example to set for the rest of the building.

"Yes, yeah."

"Why are you late today?"

"Alarm didn't go off." Louis toed the vile carpet with the tip of his shoe, focusing far too much on the action.

"I see. Do you understand that you will need to stay behind after school to make up the time?"

"Yes, I do." Louis mumbled, nodding slightly, looking up from his shoe.

"Right, okay. Please sign here and put the time you arrived in the box next to it."

Louis picked up the purple pen, which was weirdly fancy for the vibe of the office, and adjusted the clipboard with the names of other late-comers, signing his name in the next available space.

"What lesson do you have next?"

"Music, I think."

"Alright. Lessons will be finished soon so you're free to wait here until it's time for music."

———

Music did not improve his day, and neither did any lesson that followed. He had a free lesson now, thank god, so he headed to the common area.

A few cushioned chairs (that were supposed to be comfy but were just weirdly itchy) dotted the carpeted floor.

A couple of students were sat in various places around the room, some sat in flimsy plastic chairs with their necks bent down, clearly immersed in some boring shit that Louis didn't care about. Probably science.

Which reminded him of Harry, as everything seemed to.

He couldn't look at the bloody sky without thinking of Harry.

He unzipped the front pocket of his bag and pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he found Harry's name.

"Got any space facts?" He typed.