Mr. Styles

When the man had finished his meditation, he felt much more calm and grounded. He was at peace, if only for a short while. He went upstairs and showered, humming a quiet tune to himself that he couldn't remember where he'd heard before.

He'd just gotten dressed when he heard a knock on the front door.

"Who the hell?" he muttered as he went to answer it. He stopped walking several feet from the door. What if it's someone I shouldn't let in? What if it's Louis? Or Shawn?

He stood in the foyer, arms at his sides and motionless, debating on whether he should peek out the window to see who the visitor was, and risk letting them know that he'd heard the knock.

He sighed and decided to look. There sat his friend Niall on the steps, patiently waiting for him to answer. The man breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door. The blonde turned to look at him, his face patient and serene.

"Hey, Harry!" Niall greeted him, maybe a little too enthusiastically. "I thought you could use some company and good food." He stood and raised a pizza box, presenting it to Harry as if it were the holy grail. Mr. Styles snorted.

"You're probably right," he conceded. "Come in." He stepped back and Niall breezed past him, making himself at home in the kitchen and preparing their frozen feast. Harry followed him.

"Define good," he asked.

"Calm down, Scrooge," Niall teased. "It's organic." The blonde faced him for a moment and did jazz hands, getting a chuckle out of the other. "Oh and I brought O'Douls, you know the non alcoholic beers? I noticed you haven't been drinking lately. Figured I'd join you tonight."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I have. I like myself better without it. Sometimes I can be an angry drunk, and that isn't who I want to be."

Niall nodded and cracked open two beers. He handed one to Harry and they clinked them together for a cheers.

"So," Niall asked after taking a sip. "I wasn't sure if Louis told you he got the interview? It's this Friday. He mentioned it in gym class and thanked me for the help."

Harry couldn't help his surprised expression and set down his drink. "He hadn't. That's great news," he said thoughtfully. He didn't know why he was surprised that Louis hadn't told him. After all, they were on a break and obviously not talking to one another. Regardless, he didn't like being left out of the loop, or Niall knowing more than him.

Niall spoke again, interrupting his thoughts. "That was cool of you to help him out. Like I said the other day, he seemed kind of off lately. Maybe that's what was bothering him."

"Well, he lacked guidance. Especially with no father figure in his life."

Niall's eyebrows raised. "I wasn't aware of that."

Shit.Harry recovered smoothly. "Oh, yes he mentioned he would write about his sister being the most influential person in his life, and that his parents split, in his application essay. He wanted feedback."

"I see." The oven beeped, signaling that it had been preheated, and Niall slid the pan of pizza into the oven. Soon the kitchen filled with the savory scent of cheese and bread. Harry felt lucky to have a good friend here, though he really needed to be more careful when they talked about Louis.

Niall stayed after they'd finished eating, watching the golf game at low volume on tv while Harry did his work. He wasn't sure if Niall thought that he was on the verge of a breakdown or something, or was simply keeping him company like he said earlier. Either way, it was nice to have someone around. He didn't feel lonely.

-

Louis

"Hey guys," Louis quietly greeted his friends on Tuesday morning.

"Hey," Liam replied. Lexie was studying Louis thoughtfully.

"What's up? You seem down," she asked. Louis sighed.

"Yesterday was a bit... rough. After practice I saw Mr. Styles arguing with some man in the faculty lot. It was intense, the guy sort of pushed him and I ran over to see if I could stop it. The guy, Shawn apparently, kind of threatened me and Mr. Styles, oh my god he was so pissed. Mr. Styles literally shoved him against his car and told him to get out of here. But you should've seen the look on Mr. Styles' face when he apologized to me. He looked... sad, like he wished I hadn't been there. And I'm just really conflicted because Mr. Horan showed up and they were talking and Mr. Styles had met him at the bar and blocked his number- I don't know if they hooked up or even dated? Or nothing?" Lexie put a hand on Louis' shoulder and he paused for a breath. "And I can't even ask him about it," he finished.

Liam spoke, "I mean, try not to assume the worst. Maybe they spent time together as friends and Shawn misinterpreted so Mr. Styles turned him down. At least you know that whatever it was, it's over."

Lexie nodded in agreement. "That's true. I'm sorry you had to see that Lou. Wanna hear the dumb shit that Feebie's been up to? It might cheer you up."

"Always."

"Okay so I was trying to give her a bath, but she was screwing around and hopping back and forth in the water, splashing it all over me. So I finally finish rinsing her and my mom opens the door, Feebie leapt out and ran soaking wet into my bedroom and tried to dry herself on my quilt edge and curtains. She was dragging her fat little sides along the fabric, it was so gross."

Louis laughed. "I think that did cheer me up. Did she leave little hoof prints on the floor?"

"Yes! She's such a dumb little-"

Liam cut her off, "Don't slander her in my presence, that sounds cute."

"Yeah well you didn't have your bedroom smelling like a barnyard. I had to wash the quilt, it stank."

"Liam's bedroom basically is a barnyard," Louis quipped, earning a play fight from Liam. The two grabbed each other and knocked into the lockers, making a loud metallic bang.

Mr. Horan was passing by and good naturedly scolded them. "Boys, boys, tone it down."

Lexie's face began to redden as if on cue.

"Good morning Mr. Horan!" she called out brightly.

"Good morning Lexie, are these two giving you trouble?" he joked.

"No," she laughed. "I can handle a little trouble."

"Of course," he smiled and nodded to them, continuing to the gym.

When he was out of earshot the boys "oooohed" in unison, and Liam swooned into Louis' arms.

"Oh shut up the two of you, it wasn't that bad."

Louis impersonated her in a voice even higher pitched than his own fairy tone, "Good morning Mr. Horan. I can handle a little trouble." He pretended to flick a ponytail over his shoulder and Lexie softly smacked his chest.

"Enough," she said. Louis pushed Liam to stand again and held his hands up in surrender.

-

Louis chatted with Mr. Horan briefly after gym class, thanking him again for the letter and sharing that he'd received a call for the interview. His coach was thrilled to hear the news of course, reminding him that there would soon be scouts from surrounding colleges at the upcoming games and to keep up the good work. Mr. Horan was the ever constant source of optimism and genuity in his life. He reminded the boy of Lexie. That's probably why she was head over heels for him.

-

The rest of the week passed by uneventfully. Louis had resigned himself to a routine that didn't include time alone with Mr. Styles, going out with friends, spending time on his phone, or any sort of mischief. It was very unlike him, but there was nothing he could do about it really. At least he was finishing his homework ahead of time, getting plenty of sleep, and having real conversations with his mother for the first time in... well, it had been quite awhile.

Each day he would count out how many days had passed and how many days remained for his punishment. It had begun last Wednesday after the fight, and would be over this upcoming Wednesday.

Too bad his countdown to the end of the break with Mr. Styles didn't have a definitive end. At least he could hope for a private conversation with the man when he regained his freedom. He assumed that he shouldn't initiate it; his daddy would be in charge of when it happened.

Thursday night his mother asked if he would be removing his nail polish for the interview, pointing out that it was getting chipped.

Louis frowned as he held his hands up to inspect them. She was right, it looked messy. "Yeah, I guess so," he agreed.

"Maybe I can help you take it off and give you a natural manicure?" she offered. "I have the little foam block for smoothing and polishing your nails." Louis was surprised by the suggestion, and nodded.

"Sure, that'd be nice."

They sat at the kitchen table and chatted as she wiped cotton balls soaked in nail polish remover across the pale pink polish. It felt silly but Louis had viewed the polish as a connection between himself and Mr. Styles, a physical reminder of the sweet moments that they had shared.

"So," she asked as she filed his nails into a short, round shape. "Do you feel ready for the interview tomorrow?"

"I think so," he replied thoughtfully. "I have my outfit planned, directions to the campus..."

"Do you have a full tank of gas?"

"Yep."

"If you get in... do you plan to live on campus?"

Louis felt a sudden rush of anxiety, so much would change if he left. "Um, I'm not really sure? I mean it is kind of far, almost two hours."

"Dorms are probably best. Though it would be much quieter if you weren't around."

"We'll see." The decision would be much easier to make if he knew where Mr. Styles would be next fall, and if he wanted to include Louis in those plans. The quiet squeak of the foam block rubbing across his nails filled the lull of silence that they had lapsed into. Louis wondered if Mr. Styles would someday add a pop of color to his nails again.

-

Friday morning after Louis had finished getting ready for school, he sat at his desk. He crossed out the previous day on his planner and tapped his pen on the five pm interview. He gently dragged the pen across the blank squares until he reached Wednesday, which he had drawn a faint heart on. Louis put a hand over his mouth to cover his smirk as he snapped the planner shut. Oh the possibilities.

But he shouldn't get ahead of himself. Today was important. He stuffed the planner into his backpack and stood in front of his mirror for one last check of his appearance. He was wearing a bright blue button down shirt that matched his eyes, with a pair of dark slacks and some lace up shoes.

He smoothed his already pristine hairstyle, a neat quiff instead of the ruffled look he usually went for and flashed a smile. He did finger guns and immediately regretted it. It was the type of bullshit that Liam and Lexie would do when they saw each other in the school hallways.

-

Liam and Lexie were talking when Louis waltzed up and cleared his throat dramatically. They looked over and he did a twirl, ending with his signature hand planted on his hip and one leg tossed out to the side.

"Have I told you lately that you're a literal peacock?" Liam asked.

"Makes sense. I'm gorgeous." Louis smiled smugly.

"I was referring to you being a flamboyant showoff," Liam teased.

Lexie giggled. "I can see that. Especially with the bright blue shirt. It looks fantastic by the way."

"Thank you, Lexie. And Liam? You remind me of a sad puppy because of your freakishly big, brown eyes."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Liam fluttered his lashes.

"You shouldn't," Louis deadpanned.

"Today's the interview, right?" Lexie asked.

"Yeah. I was going for fashionable intellectual."

"Fashionable, yes," Liam commented. "Intellectual? Debatable."

"You're lucky I don't want to risk wrinkling my clothes, Liam."

-

Louis arrived to chemistry class a few minutes early, and zoned out as he anticipated this afternoon. Today was the day that would determine his future. Well, at least the next few years of his life.

"Are you okay Louis?" Evan had been quietly sitting next to him for a minute or so and he hadn't even noticed. A gentle touch to his arm snapped him out of his spacing out and he realized he'd been gripping the top of his textbook so hard that his fingertips hurt. He slowly released it, his fingers making a tiny noise as they'd been stuck to the cover.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine. Thanks. Long day I guess."

"I'm here if you need to vent."

Louis glanced at his friend and saw a calm and kind expression. "Thanks, man. I'm just nervous because I have an interview for a scholarship today."

"Wow, that's great! Where at?"

"Boston College."

"Hope it goes well!"

"Me too," Louis sat up a bit straighter, wanting to exude confidence.

-

As Louis left at the end of class he made eye contact with Mr. Styles. The man gave him a slight nod.

"Good luck, Louis. You'll be great."

Louis was shocked. How did the man know? Did he speak to the... other Mr. Styles?

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Styles."

"You're welcome." They exchanged small smiles and Louis didn't want to read into it too much but it gave him a spark of hope for the two of them. He forced himself to keep walking to the door.

He wished that he could linger as the other students left, and sneak a kiss or two. Mr. Styles would soothe his worries away and leave him tingling and warm. Fingers crossed for more kisses than he could imagine next week. They had a lot to catch up on.

As he left the building Louis held his head high and smiled, determined to hold onto the boost of confidence that just a few words had given him. He had the feeling that everything would be okay soon, better even. It just had to be.

A/N comment your thoughts on the chapter and what might happen next! Don't forget to vote, share and follow if you're enjoying this :) Larry on!