Young & Beautiful

“You all right?”
“I’ve got to meet Harry in twenty minutes!”
Niall blinks. “And?”
“And I need to get ready! Fuck,” Louis breathes, trotting to the bathroom to splash water on his
face.
“Why do you need to get ready?” Niall calls lazily from the couch, and Louis rolls his eyes as he
towel dries his face.
“Because I have to be fucking prepared, now don’t I?”
“Prepared for what?”
Louis stalks out of the bathroom, hands on hips, voice shrill. “Tutoring! And today is the first day
of ‘Operation: Best Mate’ and I don’t even hav—“
“Did you just say ‘Operation: Best Mate’?” Niall asks, peering from the back of the couch at
Louis.
There’s a pause.
“It doesn’t matter what I said, Niall. Point is, I need to get going.”
Louis begins stuffing his outlines, books, and folders into his shoulder bag, his nerves beginning
to prickle as he refrains from envisioning the potential outcomes of the day. For all he knows,
Harry and him could be the best of mates by this evening, thus making his operation successful.
There’s no telling, really…
“By the way, your mum says hi.”
Louis freezes then, mid stuffing-foot-in-shoe. “I’m sorry?”
“Your mum says hi,” Niall repeats, scratching at his genitals.
“What do you mean my mum says hi? Is she here?!”
“Nah. I rung her this morning.”
“You talk to my mum on the phone?”
“Yeah, so? I talk to all me mates’ parents.”
“Oh, of course you do.” Louis carefully slides his foot into his shoe, thoughts darting to and fro
within his skull. He hesitates, just for a moment, before he continues. "What’d she have to say,
then?”
“Not much. She’s tired, stressed, having a hard time. But she’ll be fine.”
Louis fiddles with his t-shirt. He doesn’t want to ask it. Not really. It’s not as if he cares, and it
certainly isn’t as if he doesn’t already know the answer.
But he asks anyway.
“Did she ask about me?”