Louis is going to turn eight in four months when he meets Harry. It’s early in the morning, last days of summer holidays and later on Louis asks himself if he hadn’t waken up earlier than the usual because of some cartoons that were passing on TV in that hour – that at the end he ended up not watching because his six years old sister, Zoe, made him watch what she wanted – if he’d even have talked to Harry in that day. Maybe things would be different. Or maybe not.
He is in his power rangers' pyjama which he is so proud of having, laid down on the couch next to his sister – who is seriously annoying him but he doesn’t want to fight with her or their parents will wake up and tell them that they have to behave like good siblings – drinking his chocolate milk.
He’s been listening to some weird and unfamiliar noises coming from outside, he’s curious about it but still not that curious to the point of going to check it out himself. But it doesn’t take fifteen minutes till his mother appears, walking down the stairs, already dressed – which is a new thing for young Louis since she always appears in her pink, long, satin robe – and tells them to dress up because they need to go to the church.
“I don’t want to go!” Louis says in his young and pitchy voice, crossing his arms on his chest and making a pouting face. He doesn’t like churches but he never says that to her mother because it’s not a good thing to say. Louis doesn’t care and he is too young to understand those things, besides going to the church is boring. He just sits down on those uncomfortable sits for an hour, listening to an old man talking, wearing – for what Louis thinks it is – a dress and listening to some odd songs. He never knows when it is time to stand up, but that’s the worst part, sometimes it takes minutes to sit back and for much uncomfortable the wooden sits are he much prefers be sat on them than being stood up for minutes until his feet start hurting.
“Louis!” Fiona, his mother, calls his name and he knows she’s warning him by her tone of voice. Louis still doesn’t care and shakes his head “Your father said that you need to go.” They know that Louis always protests about going to the church. More like hanging out, everything that involves effort from his small and fragile body. He needs to dress up, brush his teeth and his mother does that thing with his hair that he hates and the couch always seems so comfortable in those times. He’s not a kid who makes much tantrums, he says to himself that he’s going to be a man soon and men don’t make tantrums but that doesn’t mean he can’t be persistent.
“But I wanna stay, please mom I’m going to behave well!” His tone is childish, he gives her an innocent smile and makes puppy eyes. By now his sister is gone, she’s a good girl, obedient, calm and quiet, but only to her parents. Louis thinks she’s mean and not the good girl they think she is, because towards him she seems to be older than him and almost frightens Louis out. It’s a phase.
Fiona sighs and hesitates for a moment. Louis never stays quiet in the church and he basically embarrasses her, also it’s not the first time her son is going to be alone at home. The neighbourhood is safe and he never does bad things, he mostly stays watching TV and enjoying the peaceful and silence ambient from the big house. Sometimes he eats her cookies but she never really notices it because she thinks they’re hidden in a good place where Louis can never find. She’s wrong.
“Fine but remember, don’t open the door to anyone and…” Louis doesn’t listen to his mother’s words. He doesn’t need to and he knows them by heart already.
He finally changes channel and minutes pass when he probably says goodbye to his family but doesn’t really notice his mouth moving by how focused his eyes are on the cartoons. Although they don’t make him occupied and entertained for more than half an hour so he stands up, doesn’t bother to turn off the television, and walks to the kitchen – maybe the cookies are still on the same place.
