painless ➸ larry

six

*chapter six;

"'Making me confused, Louis. Con-what-ital what to pain?" Harry says, with his eyebrows arched. 

"Congenital insensitivity to pain. It means I can't feel pain. I've never felt hurt." Louis explains, and Harry just kind of takes a moment to think. 

"So that's why you didn't react when you stubbed your toes? Oh god, everything is adding up. How did I not put the pieces together myself?" Harry asks himself, but Louis hears. 

"Maybe you could've, if you'd know of the disorder in the first place." Louis says, shrugging. 

"But, if you don't get hurt, why do you have to go to the doctor?"

"I do get hurt, I just don't feel it. It's not like I'm goddamn invincible, Harry." Louis laughs, despite the seriousness of the conversation. 

"Oh." Harry says, before he bends over in front of Louis, before Louis can even ask what the hell he's doing, Harry answers. "Piggy-back ride to the clinic." 

Louis looks at Harry with haste, thinking Harry's crazy for wanting to do that. 

"It's either this, or I carry you, bridal style." Harry smiles when Louis hops onto his back. The streets are nearly deserted, besides for one man mowing his lawn. Then, Louis remembers, it's Monday, and Harry should be in school. 

"Why aren't you in school?" Louis asks what's on his mind.

"I skipped." Harry answers, nonchalant. 

Louis doesn't want to sound like Harry's mother, so he doesn't say anything; he hopes his silence will get his message of disappointment across. Louis is still happy that Harry's spending time with him, but he doesn't like that Harry is missing school. It never occurred to him that Harry was the skipping type, and suddenly Louis wonders how Harry is doing in school. He doesn't ask, though.

Within a few minutes, Harry has carried Louis to the clinic. He lets Louis off his back before speaking.

"I'm just gonna wait out here, my mom doesn't know I skipped—I don't want her to." Harry mumbles the last part, his hand scratching the back of his neck. Louis just nods and enters, walking numbly towards the front desk. Walking numbly, that's all he ever really does, isn't it?

"Louis, your appointment isn't until three! What are you doing here?" A receptionist slash nurse that Louis only knows the name of—it's Isabella—asks. 

"I fell. Can I see Dr. Cox?" 

"She's with someone right now, but I'll come get you when she's not busy." Isabella says, walking away so that Louis can see her feet. (Which are clad in Crocs. Crocs! For god's sake, someone give this woman some fashion advice, pronto!)

Louis ends up waiting for thirty minutes until Dr. Cox is ready. Louis can't help but think about what Harry's thinking. Harry doesn't know Louis had to wait so long to get checked; he probably thinks Louis is seriously hurt, because he's been in the clinic for so long. 

"What happened?" Dr. Cox breaks Louis out of thoughts about her son. Louis is quite surprised by how strikingly Harry resembles his mother. 

"I, uh, fell." 

"What were you doing before you fell?"

Oh, you know, just flirting with your son who just so happens to be skipping school and waiting for me outside at this very moment, Louis wants to say. "Just going for a walk." he really says.

"Okay, well, let's have a look." She says, and Louis takes off his shoes. Whenever Louis does this—takes off his shoes—he's scared that the doctor will pass out from the horrid stench, but no doctor he's ever had had ever said anything about it. Either they are tough people and put up with it, they've smelled much worse and it doesn't bother them, or Louis' feet really don't stink. Louis likes to believe it's the last one, but he's almost positive it's the first. 

"It looks like you've just stubbed a toe." Anne says. "From your records—I was required to read them, don't look at me like I'm a stalker." Anne laughs when she sees the skeptical look on Louis' face, before continuing. "From your records, I can tell you have an issue with foot and ankle injuries." She walks across the room and rummages through a drawer. "Which, is not unusual with your case. Be a bit more careful, though. Your feet contain the second largest amount of bones in your body—right behind your hands." Anne comes back over to Louis with a tube she puts a little of the cream on her finger before rubbing it on Louis' cheek, where he's been cut. Louis finds this a little strange, if it had been Dr. Archambault, he'd have just given the cream to Louis to apply himself. 

"Am I done, then?"

"What's got you so anxious?" Anne asks, but doesn't expect an answer. "But, yes, you can go." Louis says a quick thank you before heading out the door of the clinic. He's not going to lie, he's a bit disappointed when Harry isn't there, waiting for him. But, did he really expect this boy he had known for a week to wait outside for him, doing nothing? It may seem pathetic, but, yes, he did.

Louis starts his walk home, but after a minute, he hears footsteps coming up from behind him. He turns around and Harry is running toward him. 

"The minute I go to the loo, you get done?" Harry shakes his head, a smile on his face. "But, I've been thinking. I think—I bet I can make you feel pain." 

"Oh, really? I'd like to see you try." Louis snorts, Harry definitely doesn't understand the disorder. Pain is not detected by Louis' brain... so it's impossible. An easy win. "How much are we betting?" 

"Hmm, ten pounds? A blow job?"

"Umm, how about the first one?" Louis suggests, feeling his face get hot. 

"Okay. I was leaning towards the second, but whatever." Harry pauses, laughing at Louis' blushing face. "So, we have a deal. If I can make you feel pain, I win; if I can't, you win." 

"Correct, but why do you want to hurt me?" Louis asks.

"Don't you want to feel something?" Harry responds. He feels as if he's doing Louis a favor. See, since Harry met Louis, he realized that Louis was a little.. off. Dull, maybe. He needs to get out in the world and experience things without his mother breathing down his neck. Harry thinks that making Louis feel a little would be a nice push.

"Yeah, I guess." 

"Okay, let's shake on it."

And so, they do.

★

thanks for reading ily a lot x