painless ➸ larry

three

**chapter three;

"So, why'd you move?" Louis inquires, still with Harry in his empty room.

"My mum got a job offer. I didn't really get a say in whether we were moving or not, but I don't really mind." Harry replies, leaning his back against the wall. He makes standing look so casual; one foot pressed against the wall, his back arched slightly and his hands in his pockets. "Just wondering, how old are you?"

"Nineteen. Yourself?"

"Eighteen." Harry says. Louis is a bit shocked, Harry's deep voice and tall-almost lanky, but not quite-structure threw him off.

"Are you still in school?"

"Yeah, but this is my last year." Harry pauses. "Are you planning to go to uni?"

"My mother won't let me, yet." Louis answers shyly. Moments like this are when Louis wish his mum wasn't so protective.

"What? Why not?" Harry arches an eyebrow.

"Well, uh, because of my condition." Louis answers. He thinks that's about half of the truth; the other half is that Louis' mum would be utterly lonely without her son to obsess over.

"And, that is?"

"I already said, I'm not going to tell you." Louis sighs. "I don't want-never mind."

Harry doesn't reply, just looks at his hands-which he took out of his pockets. Just as Harry's about to make conversation again, Jay comes to the door of his room.

"Louis, we have to get to your appointment with Dr. Archambault." she says, and Louis looks up at Harry with pursed lips.

"Come over again soon?" Harry suggests and Louis gives a nod. As Louis walks away, his foot hits the bottom of the door frame and Harry winces at the sharp sound. Louis, however, looks unaffected. "Louis, you alright?"

"Hmm?" Louis asks.

"Your foot, didn't that hurt?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm good at hiding it." Louis lies. "Hurts like hell."

He doesn't really know why he's lying to Harry, but he doesn't want Harry to view him as a freak. That's probably why, Louis reasons.

"Well, bye." Harry raises an eyebrow, confused by Louis' strange behavior.

"Bye, Harry." Louis says as he walks down the stairs, following his mother.

"Goodbye, Anne." Louis' mum says as they exit the house. Louis notes that Anne is her first name, obviously.

Louis and his mum then drive to the doctor's, and when they arrive Dr. Archambault pulls Louis into a room without his mother.

"Did anything happen today?"

"Uh, I bit off a fingernail.. and, uh, stubbed my toes, I think." Louis replies.

"Okay, well, let's have a look."

"Okay."

Dr. Archambault then has Louis take off his shoe on the foot that got hurt. He inspects it, and nothing looks bad-no swelling or such. Then, he gives Louis some antibacterial creme to put on his fingernail bed. As Louis puts this in his pocket, his shirt rides up a touch so that the doctor sees Louis' bare hip.

"Louis, could you life up your shirt? I think I saw something." Sure enough, when Louis does as told, they see a blue-gray bruise on the milky skin of his hip. "Do you know what this is from?" Dr. Archambault asks and Louis wracks his brain.

"I think I hit it on the door as I walked into my room?" he doesn't sound so sure, but it's the best theory he's got.

"Well, be extra careful to not put pressure on it for then next few days." the doctor tells.

"Alright. I think my mother would like to talk to you.." Louis trails and Dr. Archambault nods.

They get up simultaneously and walk out the door. Jay is in the waiting room, reading a magazine about the latest scandals of some huge celebrities that no one really gives a shit about.

The doctor and Jay walk further into the hallway, and Louis takes that as his clue to not listen in on this.

He walks into the waiting area and sits on the couch, not paying attention to his surroundings. That is, not until a little boy runs over his feet. His mother runs after him, and once he's caught, she carries him over to Louis.

"Apologize to the young man. You probably hurt him, Billy!" she demands her son. The son looks up at Louis with wide eyes.

"It's okay, ma'am. It didn't hurt. Trust me." Louis says the last bit to himself.

"He needs to apologize! He can't just run around hurting people like that!"

"Honestly, he didn't hurt me. He's fine, and so am I."

"Say sorry, Billy." the woman demands and Louis sighs.

"I'm sorry." Billy says, looking at his feet.

Obviously satisfied, the woman walks away without another glance in Louis' direction. She didn't really give a shit about Louis' well being, only the manners of her son. Which, Louis supposes, is probably better than not giving a shit about either. Still, Louis is glad his mother isn't like that.

Speaking of his mother, she is soon walking out with Dr. Archambault.

"What'd you guys talk about?" Louis asks as they exit the building.

"Oh, nothing." she lies.

"Mum."

"Louis."

"Seriously." Louis whines.

"I am serious. Let's go. Watch your step." Jay commands as she walks down the steps in the front of the building. She slightly reaches out her hand for Louis to take, so he won't fall, but she immediately retracts it, because Louis is 19, and he wouldn't accept the offer, anyway.

"You watch your step." Louis snaps, frustrated that his mother won't tell him what she and the doctor were talking about.

"Don't be smart with me."

"I just don't want you to get hurt." Louis mocks.

"Shut up."

"Thanks, Mum."

The rest of the walk to the car is silence, purely Louis literally watching his feet take steps, to make a point. The car ride is silent, too. When they get home, Louis goes straight to his room, not in the mood to listen to one of his mother's notorious rants. Louis thinks she may have some kind of problem with her temper; she loses it quite easily.

★

oh just so you know i start every chapter with dialogue on purpose okay (pay attention to the bolded words...)