It Ended With An "Oops" And "Hi"

[ 12 ] Little Green Box

Date Published: Wednesday, February 1st, 2017

Word Count: 2086

Song: Firework by Katy Perry

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Monday, July 18th, 2016

4:14pm

"Liam," the Irish lad called out as he entered the CD shop. He had just arrived to the mall from school, grateful to be out of that soul-sucking place.

"How may I help you?" Louis asked, walking around the counter to face the customer.

"Is Liam here?" The blond boy asked, glancing around the store.

"No, he just went to grab us some crisps. And you are?" Louis asked sassily.

"Niall," he simply responded.

"I'm Louis," the smaller boy responded.

The boys were silent for a few seconds before Niall noticed the bruises. They looked even worse than he could have imagined.

"Mate, your face looks fucked up," Niall blurted out, before slapping a hand over his mouth.

"Gee, thanks," Louis said sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant. It's just that the bruises..." Niall trailed off.

"Apparently, I fell on a pile of bricks," Louis remarked.

"Who beat you up?" Niall questioned.

"Are you always this blunt?" Louis asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde boy.

"I guess. Probably because I'm Irish or something," Niall shrugged.

"I couldn't tell from the accent or anything," Louis sarcastically quipped.

"Stop changing the subject, answer the question," Niall demanded.

Niall was concerned for Louis, even though they've only met today, excluded the day where Louis tried to approach Harry. Yet, the blonde boy was an emotional person, and wanted to help him in any way possible, even if he had to force Louis to tell him. Plus, if he could help Liam find out what happened, Liam might like Niall a tad bit more.

"Why do you care?" Louis glared.

He wished more than anything that he had his hood up, but earlier that day, Carl made him take it off, saying it gave the customers a bad impression. Carl was concerned when he saw the bruises and mark littering Louis' face, but Louis brushed him off, not wanting to talk about it.

That's why Louis so desperately wanted his hood up, covering his face, to keep anyone from noticing anything was wrong. So no one would pity him or try and intervene.

"Give me a reason not to," Niall challenged, taking a step towards Louis. Although it sounded like he was being rough, he was talking in a caring tone and trying his best not to scare Louis away.

"You barely know me," Louis whispered, his voice hitching.

"That doesn't mean I can't care," Niall responded softly.

"Niall, I-," Louis paused, a memory coming back to him. "Where have I heard that name before?"

Louis stopped for a moment, trying to think back to when he had heard that name before. The memory seemed foggy, and he couldn't place a finger on it. Thinking back over the past few days, he vaguely remembered Liam telling him about Niall over dinner. And with that, Louis knew exactly who this Niall lad was.