It takes a few moments for Louis' brain to really register what's really going on. He can taste the liquor on Jax's mouth, and how close his body is. The euphoric feeling is replaced by panic within seconds. Louis places a hand on Jax's chest and steps back. He can feel his heart trapped in the back of his throat. The look of confusion on Jax's face makes Louis break.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking," Louis stammers

The man in front of him frowns, clearly annoyed. Louis takes another step back, his anxiety reaching its peak. Jax opens his mouth to speak but Louis' legs have already made the conscious decision to bolt. He can hear his name being yelled once, twice but he doesn't want to hear it. He's forcing his body through the hundreds of intoxicated bodies. It's getting more difficult for the air to reach his lungs, and the bodies are blurring together. Louis turns around, trying to search for an exit over everyone's head. It feels like the whole world is closing in on him, and his legs are going completely numb. The sight of the bright green exit sign has him pushing his way through everyone. The exit can't come fast enough. As soon as he's out, the cold air floods his body. It's an immediate relief, and Louis leans against the brick wall of the building. He places his hands on his knees, slightly hunched over as he gasps for air. His heart is thumping loudly in his ears, and his body is shuddering from the waves of anxiety. Louis' mouth is starting to get an uncomfortable metallic taste, and he can feel saliva starting to pool. He's going to be sick. He shakes his head, forcing himself to breathe.

His focus is broken when the door next to him flies open. Louis shoots up straight. His vision may be blurry, but it doesn't take a genius to realise it's the man that Louis was trying to escape. He watches Jax's eyes make contact with his own.

"Louis," It's almost like a breath of relief

Louis swallows hard, and clenches his jaw. He's more than terrified right now. The man takes a couple steps towards him, but stops when Louis lifts his hand up to say stop.

"What's wrong? What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything, you really didn't. I just shouldn't have come out tonight,"

"Are you alright?"

Louis stops for a second, lets the words soak in. He hasn't really hard that for a long time. He can't help the laughter that escapes his mouth. It's loud, almost maniac like.

"Am I alright? Am I ever alright?" He rests his head against the hard brick, still lightly chuckling to himself.

"I don't know," Jax frowns, eyeballing the drunken mess in front of him.

"You wouldn't know, not even in the fucking slightest. God. Just go. Please,"

Louis is slowly sinking to the ground, eyes closed and lips pressed close together. Louis looks like an absolute wreck. His skin is glistening with a thick layer of sweat, his bronze hair in a state of disarray but also sticking to the sweat. The alcohol is hitting him harder than ever. Even with his eyes closed, he still feels like he's spinning. Jax's voice sounds so far away. He knows he's fading in and out of conscious.

"Just go, I want to be left alone," He mumbles

"No, I'm not leaving you to sleep in the gutter of an alley,"

Louis can feel Jax's strong hands grabbing him and hoisting him up. Louis is too drained to fight back, with his eyes still glued shut he tries to convince him to leave.

"I'm okay, let me go. Please,"

"I'm not an idiot. I'll put you somewhere safe tonight. You're in no condition to be left alone. Did you come with anyone tonight?"

Louis opens his eyes, and his vision has tripled. His jaw feels slack and he realises he really hasn't been this drunk in a very long time.

"No. I came alone, and where are you taking me? Are you taking me home?"

He feels Jax chuckle softly.

"No. Well, yes I'm taking you home. But more like taking you home to ensure your safety,"

"I am safe."

"In a gutter? Okay,"

Louis doesn't even have the energy to reply with something sarcastic. He's closed his eyes again, face resting against Jax's shoulder. He's too busy focused on how damn good this man smelt. It's a strong, musky cologne scent. It's mouth-watering.

"Okay, I'm just putting you in the back of the taxi okay?"

"Mhmm,"

Louis doesn't really have any recollection of the next part of the journey, because he's passed the fuck out and drooling all over the taxi's leather seats.

-

When a random ginger cat pounces onto Louis in the early hours of the morning, he realises he definitely is not home. It takes a few moments to gather his surroundings. He's in a giant bed, covered in white and red sheets. The room is light and has old paintings everywhere. And there's a really fat and happy cat purring, desperately trying to get attention. Louis sits up fast, and takes a few seconds to get past the dizziness as all the blood rushes to his head.

"What the fuck," He mutters, pulling himself out of the bed.

He looks down at himself, and frowns. He's wearing a navy blue t-shirt which definitely doesn't belong to him. It's a little bigger than his usual shirts. There's no denying that Louis Tomlinson feels like a dirty hoe that's gone home with a random stranger. But Louis' question is WHERE is this stranger? Where is his clothes? And can he escape before being noticed?

Turns out definitely not. In a rush to look for his clothes, and trying to sneak down the hallway, the meowing ginger gives it all away. Louis freezes up as he hears someone approaching the hallway, and he can hear their voice.

"Shut up Gerald, he's sleeping,"

Louis literally cannot move, as the cat brushes against his leg. The boy turns into the hallway and stops as he takes in Louis' presence.

"Well...I guess you aren't sleeping anymore, Hi. How are you feeling?"

Louis can't talk. His mouth is sand paper dry, and his jaw is locked. He can't stop staring at the man in front of him. He's fucking gorgeous. He's tall, with slightly brown stubble but not a lot. His hair is messy and he's got bright greeny-grey eyes.

"Um. Hi? I'm alright. Care to run me through what happened last night?"

Realisation crosses Jax's face and he smiles to himself.

"Of course, come into the kitchen. I'll make you a tea and explain everything,"

And so Louis follows the strange man into the kitchen, while mentally noting that this house is fucking beautiful. He takes a seat silently at the kitchen bench.

"So...my name is Jax,"

"Hi, I'm assuming you know my name."

"Yeah. So last night, you went club crawling. And we just happened to bump into each other at the bar at one. We were both quite drunk and to be totally honest, you did come onto me a bit. So I saw it as you wanting a good time,"

Louis' eyes widen, mortification setting into his face. He inhales deeply and blinks a few times.

"We didn't fuck did we? Oh god. I was too drunk, I knew I shouldn't have gone out alone,"

"No we didn't fuck. I let you sleep in my bedroom and I took the couch. However last night at the bar we did kiss, and then you had like a complete freak out after a few seconds and piss bolted. I had to chase you through the crowd, which was quite hard since you're a lot smaller than most."

Louis scowls, jaw clenched but listens as Jax continues.

"So you exited the club, and I followed about 10 seconds after. You were having some kind of drunken break down, and you were just gonna pass out on the floor. I know I'm a stranger and all, but I'm not going to let someone just sleep in a gutter all night. Who knows what someone would have done. I carried you to a taxi, got dropped off here and put you to bed,"

"Okay...so where exactly are my clothes?"

"I washed them last night and dried them this morning. I was about to get them off the line, I've just been waiting for you to wake up."

"You undressed me. I wasn't naked at any point was I? fuck my life. What time is it?"

"No, I'm not that much of a creep. I let you sleep in one of my shirts for the night, so you didn't wake up feeling gross. It's 2pm in the afternoon,"

"Fuck! I have so much to do. Where's my phone?"

"I left it next to the bed, you can go grab it if you like,"

Without another word, Louis runs into the bedroom and grabs his phone. There's a few texts and a couple calls, but Louis knows he is completely screwed. He has too many assessments to organise for his students. When he returns into the kitchen, his tea is waiting for him. And His clothes are neatly folded on the bench.

"I'm just going to have a shower, feel free to raid the fridge and watch some TV,"

"I really need to get going. I have assignments to mark,"

"You're a teacher?"

"Yep,"

"That's awesome, do you enjoy it?" Jax asks, while quickly scribbling on a piece of paper.

"It's not the worst job in the world," Louis shrugs, while quickly climbing into his clothes from last night.

"Here's my number. If you wanted to catch up or something soon that would be really awesome. Anyways, I won't keep you away any longer. It was lovely meeting you Louis,"

"You too. Thanks for looking after me," Louis smiles, and lets himself out the door and quickly waves before closing it.

"Louis, you are a complete and under twat," Louis mutters to himself, as he calls for a cab.

-

The entire cab ride home, Louis can't keep his mind at ease. He's terrified, he feels sick. It's not just the hangover, it's the fact he'd done something he swore he would never do again. He's angry, so fucking angry. He shouldn't call Eleanor, but he needs to get his life back on track before he ends up dead. He hesitates pressing the call button on Eleanor's name but forces himself to do it anyway. After what feels like a century, she picks up and doesn't sound too pleased either.

"What do you want Louis?"

"I called to say I'm sorry."

"Yeah right you are. Where were you last night? I drove to yours last night to really have a chat about everything and see how you're going mentally, and you weren't home. Your car was there, but no lights and everything was locked. It was 7pm. Where the hell were you Louis?"

"I was being an idiot, that's what I was doing. Look Eleanor, can you meet me at mine in the next half hour?"

"Why should I?"

"Eleanor, for fuck sake, please. Just please,"

"Fine. I'm completely over this."

The drive home feels quicker than Louis expected. He only has 10 minutes to have a shower and not look like a hungover fool. Louis scrambles to find different clothing and has the quickest shower of his entire life. He just manages to finish brushing his teeth when he hears Eleanor walk in the front door. Louis jogs down the stairs and takes in the sight of Eleanor. She looks tired and truthfully it breaks Louis' heart. Because she did nothing to deserve this. Louis moves towards her quick, and pulls her into a tight hug, tears threatening to spill.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think I am. I know we have a lot to talk about,"

Louis walks into the lounge room, and takes a seat. Eleanor sits next to him and eyes him carefully.

"So where do you want to start?"

"Where do I start?"

"What the hell has gotten into you?"