The Admiration Project

Chapter 3

Louis woke up feeling like a knife was protruding out of his forehead the morning after the party. Memories from the night before came back to him in bits and pieces; Niall pouring them all shots, Zayn and Liam jumping around with him, Harry finding him in the bathroom and taking him home.

Harry finding him in the bathroom and taking him home.

Louis groaned and rolled over in bed, desperately wanting sleep to take him under again. His head was pounding, though, and he needed pain pills. He reluctantly stumbled out of bed and down to the kitchen. He took two ibuprofen before heading back up to his room.

Jay was off to work already, and he had no idea whether or not Lottie was home or if she'd slept over a friend's house. He closed his bedroom door behind him and fell back into bed. He smelled of stale sweat and alcohol, but he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open long enough to shower just yet.

He woke up the second time to Lottie's voice next to his ear.

"Hmm?"

"Were you at Niall Horan's party last night?"

"Mhm."

She gasped.

"Louis? At a party? Who even are you? You haven't partied since, like, freshman year!"

"Fuck off, Lottie. I have a life, you know," he groaned, turning his head to face her. She was grinning down at him.

"Oh yeah, sure you do. Why didn't Liam and Zayn spend the night? Didn't you go with them?"

"I party plenty! And yeah. I didn't leave with them, though." The moment it was out and he saw Lottie's expression turn wicked, he knew it sounded very, very wrong. "That's not what I meant."

"Oh really? What did you mean?"

"Someone else drove me home because I was shitfaced."

"Who?"

"Why so many questions?"

"Answer me."

"Harry Styles," he rushed out, barely intelligible.

She gasped again, much louder this time.

"Harry fucking Styles?! Harry Styles? The Harry Styles?"

"Okay, let's not give him all that."

"Oh, we're gonna give him all that. I thought he was straight?"

Louis glared at her and sat up.

"He is. Lottie, he literally just drove me home, that's it. I swear."

She studied him for a moment before giving in.

"If you say so." She turned around and walked over to the door. "I bet you were drooling over him the entire time, though."

Before Louis could gag dramatically, she was out the door, her snickers muffled on the other side. He grumbled as he reached for his phone on the bedside table. He had four missed calls from Liam and a text that stated "I'm going to need a very very very good explanation as to why Styles brought you home."

He facetimed Liam, who picked up after the first ring.

"Talk," is all Liam said when he answered.

"He found me inebriated in the bathroom and helped me get home. Nothing really to it."

"Nothing really to it?! You hate the kid!"

"Yeah, but I was drunk and he was helping me. I wasn't going to tell him to go away. He was just being nice, I guess."