I Want You So Much (But I Hate Your Guts)

Chapter 4

Louis dreaded the thought of this afternoon's practice as he sat in his early, early morning History lecture on Monday. His legs were jiggling restlessly and the girl sitting in front of him had thrown him several annoyed glances already for it. Louis couldn't care less. He was knackered, his head still hurt from the blow it had taken Saturday night and his heart was beating somewhere in his guts, erratically, making him feel nauseous.

He woke up to a message from his mum on his phone, a disappointed one that left a bitter taste in his mouth and made finding the right words to answer hard. You promised to call me regularly, Lou! He had felt bad ever since, because he really did promise her and he knew she worried about him, always.

She hadn't been too happy when she found out that he had faked his doctor's certificate to apply for the Manchester University Alpha-Beta team, which maybe was an understatement. She actually fucking lost it, screamed at him with tears in her eyes for hours and then proceeded to not talk to him for days. Louis knew she only wanted the best for him and he realised that she was aware that he could destroy his entire future if his lie ever came to light — he could get in serious trouble for everything he had done, the several laws he had broken. She had been very accommodating with Louis faking his gender for his school's team, because even though they, too, took their rules seriously, they weren't as strict as the university by far. His mum thought it couldn't do much harm should he ever accidentally out himself as an Omega back then. University was different, though, so different. So much more was at stake and his mum was more concerned for him than ever. The least he could do was call her, like she asked him to. He was a terrible son.

All this added up to, of course, a terrible start into the new week. Originally he had promised himself to give it his best, ignore Harry and all the obstacles he was placing in his way and just play football, like he was born to do. Now, with the immediate prospect of seeing the team captain again, he only felt like bolting, locking himself in his room and hiding under the covers. But that just wasn't an option. Louis wasn't a quitter!

Obviously, his day wasn't awful enough, though. Someone in the universe just couldn't let him suffer in peace but had to make everything even worse. As he stepped out of the lecture hall after an excruciating two hours of learning about the beginnings of the British Empire he had nothing in mind but the need to catch another few hours of sleep before practice. Of course, that is when someone stumbled into him, and who should it be but the Beta boy from his English lecture on Tuesdays. The boy who had so incessantly stared at him. And now here, standing in front of Louis and looking so damn pleased, Louis was almost willing to bet he fell into him on purpose.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the boy apologised, but it didn't sound at all sincere. He was smiling.

Louis nodded, ready to leave this accident and the boy behind, when he was held back by a hand around his upper arm. He was a second away from furiously hissing at the Beta. How was it that people always felt entitled to touch him?

"You're in the English Lit lecture, aren't you? I remember your face," the boy continued and Louis hid his eye roll. I'm sure you know my face, you stared at me for an hour straight last week, Louis wanted to scoff, but bit his tongue.

Instead, he replied as politely as he could. "I am, yeah. Sorry, but I don't recognise you."

"No worries, there are a lot of students in that lecture. I just — you stand out. You're very handsome." The boy lowered his lashes in faux-shyness.

Gag!

"Thanks ... I guess," Louis mumbled, desperate to get away from him already. He hitched his bag up higher on his shoulder and let his eyes roam the almost cleared out corridor.