Young & Beautiful

He nods. “Born that way. But you should go.”
“You’re coming with me.”
“I’ve got to go rowing.”
Louis’ jaw drops in outrage as he turns to him. “That’s just becoming an excuse now, isn’t it?”
“Nah, mate,” Niall chuckles, stretching his legs.
“But I promised them you’d come. Now you look rude. You can’t be rude to Zayn Malik.”
“I’ll go next time. I mean it,” he adds at Louis’ wry glare, “I think I’m going to quit.”
“Why? Because you miss me?” Louis teases, scrunching his face (which maybe hurts his still
slightly pounding brain) and smashing it into Niall’s neck who laughs and wiggles away.
“Too much rowing,” he explains amidst chuckles, then gets up, ruffling Louis’ hair on his way
past.
“You better not be going to that damn pian—“
But Louis is cut off by the beginnings of “A Thousand Miles.”
“I’m going to smash that thing,” he grumbles to himself as he collapses onto the couch, face
down.
And if his head begins hurting a little bit less at the tinkling notes, Louis will never admit it.
**
When Louis goes to lecture that day (like the good boy that he is—Niall was trying to convince
him to play football instead) he hears Zayn’s name repeated amongst the swirls of whispers over.
And over. And over.
“I saw Zayn Malik today!”
“Zayn Malik just invited me to a party!”
“Did you know Zayn Malik had his boys throw Gilbert Fopp into the lake?”
“Zayn Malik shags everyone at his parties. That’s why he only lets all the pretty girls go.”
“I just heard Zayn Malik telling someone that he bought a share of the school so that he could comanage
it with his father.”
“Ohmygosh, Zayn Malik just threatened to hire hitmen because a boy cut in the queue!”
And it goes on, each whisper more outrageous than the next.
The first dozen times, Louis calls them out.
“Don’t be an idiot,” he snaps at a cluster of giggling girls, Louis Vuitton bags pressed to their
chests, hair glimmering. “He would never say that. Stop spreading that shit around.”
But he’s only met with blank stares before they return to their conversation in full animation.