Play Pretend, Find a Friend? (Larry Stylinson)

6

VI.

Shitty days sucked because all it took was one stupid event to ruin his outlook and turn neutral details into storm clouds. On any normal day, he could overlook spilling his tea all over his modernism paper or tripping over a crack in the sidewalk and stumbling in front of a group of cute guys on the soccer team, but when he was already having a bad day, these minor inconveniences piled up and combined many multiple molehills into one looming mountain.

Louis was having a shitty day. It began with waking up late, to pouring rain and gloomy skies no less. It was 8:05 and his Mesoamerican archaeology class started at 8:10 and there was no way he was going to make it across campus in five minutes. Morning classes were hell. The class was held in a cottage near the woods on Paramount's perimeters and Louis scrambled out of bed and into a pair of rainboots to slosh through the puddles all the way there, since he didn't fancy skateboarding in conditions that could very well kill him. He usually enjoyed the trek, as much as he could at eight o'clock in the morning, which was tragic considering how much he despised it today.

He got to class ten minutes after it started. His professor, a recent grad who'd just gotten her PhD, glared at him as he shrugged off his raincoat to reveal his pajamas. He was a mess. It was sad. She refused to have any pity on him. Usually he loved archaeology, but today he didn't have any coffee to get him through the two hours of lecture, and not having coffee sucked. He listened to the rain pattering on the windows and zoned out somewhere between the time when she was talking about lithic analysis of projectile points and domestication of turkeys and muscovy ducks. So when she called on him, he was too out of it to even bullshit an answer and instead ended up admitting, "I don't know. I'm sorry." To which she frowned at him and called on someone else, her disappointment clear.

After class, she pulled him aside and asked what was wrong. He cringed and explained the situation, and she just frowned harder and said, "Do better next time."

He had a bit of time before his next class, so he booked it to the library as the wind picked up and blew the rain right into his face. His hood wouldn't stay up, even when he pulled the strings taught, and he resigned himself to getting soaked. He was almost to the library when he tripped and flailed horribly in front of half the soccer team just leaving the library. As soon as they were gone and Louis was standing upright again, he covered his face in his hands and groaned. Rain trickled down the back of his coat, wetting his neck and spine.

Once he got settled in the library, he realized he had forgotten his textbook in his dorm room, and had to hike all the way back to retrieve it, which meant he didn't have enough time to finish the assignment before class. Then, at lunch, the dining hall served all of his least favorite foods and he had to resort to making a sad rice bowl with spinach and mozzarella cheese. Liam and Zayn sympathized with him as he stabbed soggy pieces of spinach with his fork. He appreciated how the dining hall workers washed the spinach, but hated when it was dripping wet. He moved to rest his elbow on the table, and he bumped into his mug of tea, which promptly spilled all over the copy of his English essay he'd just printed.

"Fuck this," he sighed, grabbing a fistfull of napkins to sop it all up. "I hate Mondays. I hate my life."

"Don't say that," Liam reprimanded gently, also pushing napkins to soak up the spill, protecting Zayn from its encroachment. "You have some free time later, right? The three of us should do something fun together. Or four, if Niall is free."

"I'm going to watch rugby practice today," Louis reminded. "To support my boyfriend."

Zayn grimaced at him. Liam looked vaguely worried. "In the pouring rain? Are you sure about that?" He was such a dad.

"It matches my mood."

Zayn and Liam both sighed. "Louis..."

"You guys can come if you want." He knew they wouldn't. No one in their right mind would sit outside in the freezing rain just to watch rugby practice. It wasn't even a game, but Louis wanted an excuse to sulk. Also, he figured if he and Harry were really going for this, it would be best to actually commit to it. Good boyfriends were supportive, weren't they? Louis would show up to Harry's practice and sit on the sidelines in the rain and support his boyfriend. And probably feel awkward about it, but alas.

Louis peeled his sopping essay from the table. It tore in half and flopped back to the table as soon as he lifted it. He sighed. Today was the day of sighing. Today was also the day of things getting wet, and not in a fun way.

"I'm going back to the library to print this, again, before I'm late to class—again. See you guys later." Liam patted his back and Zayn gave him a warm hug that smelled like cigarette smoke and ink from his drawing class before letting him go.

At the library, the printer showed an error message that was indistinguishable. All it said was ERROR: 387JA23UEC2814E. The random string of letters and numbers gave him a stress headache. Louis very nearly started crying after he replaced all of the paper and it still wouldn't work. He pressed buttons randomly in the hopes that the universe would have pity on him. Then the printer started beeping loudly, almost in protest, so he gave up and slumped forward, closing his eyes. The beeping continued. People in the library were staring at him because he was disturbing the quiet.

"Wow, you look rough."

Louis squeezed his eyes shut tighter and refused to look up at the sound of Landon's voice. He considered banging his head against the printer. Maybe that would get it to work. Or maybe he would just pass out and not have to think about this shitty day anymore.

"New boyfriend not treating you well?"

Where was that question even coming from, and what did Harry have to do with the fact that Louis was slumped over the printer in defeat? He sighed. "I'm not in the mood, Landon."

"I'll take that as a no, then."

Louis tilted his head towards him and glared. He was so over this day. "Clearly you know nothing. Harry treats me great. Also, he's not new. We've been dating for months," he felt the need to correct. It was important that Landon knew he and Harry were in a committed, long-term, beautiful relationship full of good feelings. Fake as it was, that was the storyline and he was sticking to it.

"Right," Landon said, like he didn't believe him.

"Why are you talking to me right now? Why don't you go bother Jessica or Aly or-"

"Louis, stop." Landon interrupted his list of all the people with whom he cheated on Louis. "Tell me what you're doing with Styles."

"What do you mean what am I doing with Harry? I'm dating him. We're in a relationship." Not like you'd know what that is, he refrained from adding.

"Yeah, I just think it's funny how I break up with you and you go right to sleeping with my least favorite person in Phi Kapp and on the rugby team. The one person you know I'd get mad at you being with. That, and whatever you have with Payne too. I have to admit, Louis, you get around. Give it another month or two and you'll have slept with the whole frat."

Louis stared at the error message on the printer. ERROR: 387JA23UEC2814E. He felt like he understood it now. That, and its incessant, whiny beeping. Traitorous tears burned the backs of his eyelids. He would not fucking cry in the library.

"You don't know anything," he told the printer.

Landon scoffed. "Whatever. I don't know what you're doing with Styles, but it's fucking weird. You're so different from him."

Louis dropped his head back down to the display screen on the printer. "What does that even mean?" He knew he shouldn't ask, but he couldn't help the masochistically curious questioning in his heart.

"Well, for starters, he's popular, attractive, and he actually has friends."

Landon left the rest unsaid. Louis heard it anyways.

"All right. Okay." Louis patted the printer in camaraderie. ERROR: 387JA23UEC2814E. It was still beeping incessantly. Very relatable. "I'm gonna leave."

So he rushed out of the library, essay unprinted, late for his second class of the day. Blinking back tears.