Louis never backed down from a challenge.

That was the one thing that Niall knew for certain about him, and this social experiment was the ultimate challenge. And it didn't take much convincing for Louis to crumble and start to entertain the idea of actually attending the interview. He had sent the application with no ill intent, and out of love for Louis' mental health. Niall was just completely fed up having to listen to Louis bicker about unimportant things of a relationship. Like who honestly cares about them arguing over bin night? No one. 

It took Niall a fair while to get himself ready for the day, and Louis blames him and his alcohol consumption completely. He doesn't even know how he's even productive at work when he's hungover ninety-eight perfect of the time. Niall was a self-employed graphic designer and often spent his afternoons in his apartment drawing away. He had a whole tiny room created for the sole purpose of design. It didn't matter what type of art he did, he was scarily good at it. And it's even worse that he can still create quality while drinking away at the same time. So there's a solid hour of Louis napping on and off on the couch as Niall runs around like a headless chook trying to figure out where he's left certain objects around the place.

At one point he can't even remember where the house keys are. Louis notices they're dangling on the pot plant a few feet from the couch and he's curious how they ended there. Niall did bizarre things but Louis loved him for it.

"I'm sure they're in here somewhere," Niall is shouting from his bedroom and Louis can hear things being thrown around, and he can also hear Niall huffing and puffing angrily as time passes. Louis can't help but feel like a bit of a rat knowing they're in his line of sight, but today it's completely warranted that he's like this.

"I'm sure they are, Niall," He replies sarcastically, eyes fixating on the white ceiling. He felt as if he had not had enough sleep to handle more bullshit thrown his way today, and the only way he'd accept it is if there was a coffee in his hand.  

There are a few more minutes before Niall walks out of his room and is quite literally out of breath. His hair still dripping from the shower and his milky skin tinged a soft shade of pink. Louis knew him well enough to know that he liked to physically cook himself in showers. It made no sense. Showers were supposed to be relaxing. There is nothing fun about standing in the literal depths of hell, but whatever floats his boat.  Louis watches amusedly as Niall intensely searches his kitchen bench again, eyebrows knitted together in frustration. He's like a giant toddler.

"I don't know, have you seen them? Please tell me you've seen them," Niall whines, stomping his feet just like an agitated child. God bless him.

"What I want to know is why the fuck they're dangling from your houseplant," Louis points directly towards the withering plant, and looks back at Niall with a playful smirk. Niall's face falls into a blank canvas as his eyes lock on the silver set of keys. Louis can tell he's about to get an earful and bites down on his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"You knew this whole time?"

"Absolutely I did. After this stunt that you've pulled you deserve it," Louis stretches his arms above his hair and yawns dramatically before resting his hands behind his head. He watches as Niall scowls at him and then storms over towards the plant whilst muttering profanities to himself and his best friend. What a wonderful start to the morning.

"You have some nerve letting me destroy my house looking for these things full well knowing they were right there," Niall scoffs, spinning the object around his finger as he walks away towards his bedroom.

"What's the plan today Niall? I have to be back home in a few hours. Clients and all that," Louis raises his voice so Niall can still hear him in the bedroom but gives up and forces himself off the couch to walk into the room.

"You've always got clients, do you ever get a day off?" Niall is laying on the bed limbs splayed out like he's doing a snow angel. Louis tilts his head and frowns at the boy and mentally asks himself why he is friends with such a child.

"Ask yourself this...Do those with mental illnesses ever get a day off? Get back to me when they do," Louis shrugs. He does work a lot, probably way too much. It's the type of work that's emotionally and physically draining but he knows it's the type of work that's improving the quality of life for others.

"You're too kind to others, but a total wanker to yourself you know,"

"Tell me something I don't know. Is today going to be spent lounging around? I need a coffee fix immediately Niall. I'm fading away as we speak," Louis points to himself, dramatically showing Niall that he's been without caffeine for too long.

"Giant baby, that's what you are," Niall groans as he forces himself up. "Let me dry my hair, and then we'll get your damn coffee. Might go for a shop too. I need to have you looking fresh for this interview,".

There's a bit of back and forth but in the end, Louis finds himself legitimately forced out the door by Niall. There is no longer the argument of 'I'm not going to go', it's now become 'I'll go for a laugh,'. Louis feels like his fashion sense is completely fine and there's no need to purchase any items of clothing for an interview that means shit-all. But Niall has a whole other idea much to Louis' distaste. So, before the shopping haul occurs Niall does as he promised and lets Louis buy himself caffeine-filled beverages to get through the experience.

And now Louis' found himself standing in a clothing store eyeballing an array of fashions that he would typically never wear. He leans against the frame of the mahogany changerooms and takes a sip of his caramel macchiato as Niall begins to form a mountain-high pile of clothing. He mentally takes note of the varying overwhelming colours that are offensive to the eye; chartreuse, salmon pink, canary yellow, seafoam and magenta just to name a few.

"Are you wanting me to walk in looking like I've just come straight from a shift at Cirque du Soleil?" Louis scoffs, leaning down and touching the fabric of one shirt. Silk? What the hell is this man doing? He looks back at Niall who's beaming ear-to-ear and has his hands placed firmly on his hips. He's so utterly proud of himself.

Wanker.

"Cirque du Soleil?"

"Yes, because I'm going to look like a clown. Is that what you're after?" He picks up the silk shirt and scrunches his nose. The colours, the texture...all repulsive. It's like this man has no taste at all. Niall doesn't even blink as he reaches for a pair of skinny ripped jeans that he'd thrown next to the pile. He looks between the jeans and the vomit coloured silk-shit-show shirt that's dangling in front of Louis' face that's twisted into a disgusted scowl.

"The purpose is to stand out. Just try that shirt with the jeans,"

Louis obliges but shoots his best friend a glare as he walks back into the change room. Niall crosses his arms over his chest and can feel the laughter already bubbling imagining what Louis' going to look like. He can hear Louis shuffling around and zipping the jeans up. There are a few awkward coughs from inside the room and then he hears Louis clear his throat.

"Stand out? Where are these people watching from? The space shuttle? I will blind anyone within the earth's radius," The door swings open partially, and Louis' head pops around the door. There is a scowl on his face and he looks thoroughly unimpressed.

"Just walk out and show me, it surely can't be that bad Louis,"

"I don't know what I ever did to have you as a best friend. I must have been Hitler in my past life," Louis strains as he opens the door completely and steps out. He notices a few people within the store's gaze drop on him. He pretends not to notice the way they gawk. There's an immense burning rising up his chest and onto his cheeks and he just knows that he's blushing. His worst trait. His eyes flicker towards Niall who's biting so hard onto his bottom lip to refrain from laughing.

"Don't hold back. Hit me," Louis raises his arms above his head, motioning for Niall to freely make fun of him. It doesn't take a second longer before Niall begins cackling. Louis crosses his arms as Niall hunches over to stop himself from laughing. There was nothing even remotely funny about the repugnant fashion he's wearing right this moment. 

"Hilarious, isn't it? They won't miss me. I'll be the talk of the whole set," Louis forces a sarcastic smile and the corners of his eyes crinkle.

"I'll buy this outfit for you and give you 50 quid if you go dressed in that. Please. I'll worship you for the whole week," Niall has to look away, uncontrollably laughing. Louis observes the way the man's face begins to turns rosy-pink and is aware that there's no end in sight of the torment.

"How much are these? This is something that those weirdo Gucci wearing celebrities wear," Louis tries to reach for the price tag that's dangling behind his neck. The sheer disgusting pattern and colour scheme screams rich superiority. 

"It doesn't even matter, it could be Gucci for all I know,"

"This isn't a Gucci store, Niall," Louis shoots back, and the look on Niall's face appears like he's genuinely considering a Gucci store trip. But before he can even continue thinking any further Louis raises his hand to halt him immediately. "Don't even think about it. No Gucci. We are too good for Gucci. I'm more of a Versace man myself," Louis turns his nose up and straightens his posture. He looks at Niall down the bridge of his nose.

"You're a tool. We still have all these other beautiful clothing to get through," Niall points towards the mountain-high pile of obscure and vile coloured clothing items.

"Anything, and I mean anything, is better than this," Louis begins to walk towards the changeroom and catches himself in the larger mirror. He immediately stops in his tracks and stares at himself. He can't help but feel the humiliation turn into laughter as he turns slightly to stare at himself.

It looks as if a kid has eaten every sweet known to man inside candy land, drank it down with a rainbow fluorescent slushy and decided to regurgitate it at Disneyland. It's the physical embodiment of being at Disneyland on an acid trip.

"100 quid," Niall appears behind him, beaming like the sun is shining out of his ass.

"It'd make a statement, right?" Louis looks back to Niall and raises an eyebrow. There wasn't anything to be serious about anyway. Niall nods vehemently, eyes widening with joy. "Right, 100 quid and you're paying for it," Louis shrugs and disappears back into the changeroom.

+++

There had been a significant shift in the household since Louis had brought up the conversation of the switching experiment. For starters, he was no longer housed in the spare bedroom. Although he had grown fond of sleeping alone which he normally usually despised. Louis was not one for public displays of affection or any affection really. There was not really an explanation as to why he felt that way, and he had noticed that it always dramatically affected his previous relationships. He knew that girls deeply crave affection and that their minds are always secretly waiting for the next intimate moment. He knew that intimacy didn't exactly mean sex and that intimacy can be expressed in a multitude of ways, but he just wasn't physically capable of being that way.

Louis had tried his best to keep his mind distracted from the idea of attending an interview, and most definitely avoided bringing it up with Eleanor. There would be no denying that shit would well and truly hit the fan if she knew about it. The initial shift back into the bedroom with Eleanor left Louis feeling more uncomfortable than relieved. He was relieved in the sense that this was a positive step towards earning forgiveness, but it also meant he was hyper-aware of her yearning presence next to him. That second night when Louis doesn't roll over to spoon Eleanor, he hears the way she sadly exhales. It's one of those noises that instantly make you feel guilty like you've completely let someone down. What does surprise him however is that he feels Eleanor's dainty hand suddenly brushing over his and forcing their fingers to lace together.

"We don't have to hug, but I missed you," Her voice is soft, and laced with sadness. That same damn sadness that causes guilt to flicker in Louis' heart. "Is this okay?".

"Yeah Eleanor, this is fine," He says flatly and secretly wishes he wasn't so reserved. This was not him and he does not understand how it's come to this. As Eleanor gently squeezes his hand, Louis flutters his eyes closed and squeezes back softly.

"I thought about what you said about that experiment or whatever you want to call it. Do you think it would help? Like could we get it back to the way things used to be?" She whispers. And Louis isn't sure he's hearing correctly especially considering her reaction earlier that day, so this does cause him to quickly turn his bedside lamp on and turn towards her.

She looks pretty run down, and Louis realises he hasn't even asked her about how work is going. He doesn't know anything that's going on in this woman's life and he's been dating her for how long? 4, 5 years? He's truly lost count. Her hazel eyes look drained of life and he can't help but realise how dark her eyebags have become. It's appearing as if she hasn't had a decent night sleep in a while. Is it because he wasn't there? Another thing that's his fault.

"That's a bit of stark contrast in comparison to this mornings conversation," Louis says matter-of-factly, eyes trained on Eleanor's expression. He doesn't realise how tense he is until Eleanor rubs her thumb over his knuckles. So he forces himself to dissipate a little bit of stress.

"I just think we're not who we used to be. We're way off where we should be. I don't like the idea of you being paired with another woman, but it might help you realise a few things. I want my Louis back,"

My Louis.

Louis does shift uncomfortably at this point because terms of endearment aren't his thing either. Come to think of it, everything about a relationship isn't his thing. He begins to chew on the inside of his cheek and looks down at the way Eleanor continues to brush her fingers along Louis' knuckles.

"There's a lot to work on, yeah?" He already knows it but it's sounding like he's trying to convince himself it's real. Eleanor doesn't need to speak and she doesn't either. She just nods sadly. What has Louis done to her?

"Both of us have a bit to work on. I need to learn how to communicate better. I think you're just a little lost, love. I remember when you were filled with energy and laughter. You were unstoppable, always the life of the party. Then once you graduated and started working you lost your light,"

Louis is taken aback by this statement and tilts his head slightly, eyes narrowing at Eleanor. What the hell does that even mean? He's still the same person he was... just now matured. Once you're out of the education system and faced with the realities of adulthood there isn't really much time for those childish traits.

"I'm still me El, that's a bit harsh. We're both working ridiculously hard. I have clients coming out of the whazoo. You're managing a law firm, you have to be real with yourself. This isn't high school, this isn't university. We're adults now, and things change as we grow,"

"No...I didn't mean it like that. I just meant...like your job seems to drain you a lot. I feel like you deserve a break. It will do you good. You're around all this angst, sadness and tragedy constantly and I feel like you're taking it on board too much. You were sunshine Louis, and now you're grey,"

Louis decides to pull away at this point and sits up in the bed. He knows not to raise his voice at Eleanor but the way his defensive anger is beginning to flood his system he knows it's best to just walk away. He notices the way Eleanor also sits up, her hair falling slightly into her face. She brushes it out of the way and watches him with those emotionally vacant eyes.

"I love my job," He says flatly and starts to move out of the bed. His eyes dart around the room, and he mentally ticks off the items within reach that he can take back to his other room. He needs distance and a lot of it.

"I know you do, I feel like sometimes you love it too much. You're neglecting every other aspect of your life. You work, you drink and you sleep. There's nothing positive going on for you,"

"If that's how I like to work Eleanor, that's up to me. Okay? So if you're going to hold it against me then leave the relationship," He shoots back, and he's completely ready to start fighting again. He feels that similar surge of adrenaline and that anger that causes his hands to twitch a little.

"All I'm saying is that if you apply for The Switch, I wouldn't say no at this point. I'd do anything to fix this. I don't want to lose you," Her voice wavers slightly, and her eyes begin to sting as tears quickly rise. Louis instantly almost caves and considers just climbing back into the bed and pulling her into a hug and kissing her on the forehead. But he just clenches his jaw tightly and looks at the ground. Louis had this horrible habit of being too defensive for things that didn't really matter. The job itself mattered greatly but arguing over it wasn't really worth the time or the drama.

"You know what Eleanor? I might. I very well might just apply for it. Since I need that break so badly," Louis jeers while shaking his head and immediately turns on his heel and leaves the room.

Eleanor is left alone in the silence yet again. That same deafening silence that causes the overwhelming surge of loneliness, and the feeling of her heart breaking on repeat. The bed will be cold again tonight as it has been for a while. She listens carefully for the sound of Louis' feet pattering down the hallway and she closes her eyes bracing for the sound of a slamming door. It takes a minute and she instantly flinches as it loudly echoes through the empty house.

She knows in her heart that things will never be the same and that the love that she craves is not the one that Louis can provide anymore. Eleanor can't help but cling onto this fantasy of Louis suddenly reverting back to his university days where he was filled with spontaneity, enthusiasm, childish energy and just all-around more relaxed. She had lost count of the days since she'd seen a real smile, and she forgot what it felt like to feel physically loved. She was aware that there was love from Louis, but her needs weren't met. She needed a physical connection again. She wanted those mindless conversations of all hours of the night, and those laughs that cause her face to ache and her stomach to cramp up.

The pain inside her chest wells up and licks at all the wounds throughout. The stinging never gets any better and neither does the loneliness. There reaches a time where love can become so faded it can be detrimental, and this was the time. Two faded hearts that are travelling in two different directions. She doesn't even realise that she's crying until she touches her face and sure enough her fingers feel the warm tears streaming down her cheeks.

It doesn't make sense to her....it doesn't make any sense that Louis is a qualified mental health professional but can't get a grip on himself. He knows the signs and traits of one that is depressed, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know he is. It's denial. Louis is always in denial and Eleanor has hated that about him.

It's almost like Louis is petrified of reality half the time, and that university was a mirage that kept him from focusing on real-life. The second they graduated and started working and fell into a routine he faded into a ghost of himself. She missed the way his eyes crinkled when he did a genuine smile, and she missed the way his voice cracked when he laughed. There was a lack of warmth as if the sun was hidden behind the clouds and didn't want to come out again. The world is cold...he's cold. Everything about the universe right now is dark, freezing, and bitter.