Shattered Expectations

“Where are you going?” Liam was shocked enough to see Louis out of bed any time before noon but to top it all off he was actually leaving the apartment willingly.

“Job hunting” Louis responded with a casual shrug. A few weeks after the break up, Louis had stopped showing up to work and was subsequently fired from the quaint family restaurant he had been employed at since they moved here.

“It’s probably time I started contributing to bills and such again.” The truth was, Louis was starting to feel extremely guilty for mooching off of his mates for so long. Last night was a bit of a wake up call for the twenty one year old. He still had this gut wrenching ache and a chest tightening pain whenever his thoughts wandered to a familiar brunette but finally came to the realization that that didn’t give him the right to act the way he had. For the first time in a long time, he had fun. Those few hours were enough to remind him that he couldn’t just stop living his life until she came back and he certainly couldn't continue to treat his friends this way.

“Oh” Liam’s eyes widened in a way that made Louis want to laugh. Was it really that much of a shock that he was trying to be less of a self pitying loser?

“Do you have any places in mind? I could talk to my boss at the grocery, I think we’re hiring.” Liam offered, trying his best to look out for Louis just like he did when they were kids. They older boy found it endearing but shook his head at the offer. “Nah, I kinda wanna do this on my own, thanks though”

Louis found himself in an unexpected tight embrace that nearly knocked the wind out of him. Something that sounded a lot like “I’ve missed you, Lou” being mumbled against his shoulder. Louis’ arms wrapped around his friend, he hadn’t really understood how much he had been hurting his friend until now. When Liam finally released him, the pair brushed off the moment with a brief nod and goodbye in lad like manner.

As if one que, Zayn walked into room just as the door shut. “Was that Louis?”

“Yeah”

“Wow, I guess my little setup did the charm” Zayn said smugly as he grabbed a bowl and his favorite cereal box. His tanned hand shook the box that was apparently empty although he could swear he had left just enough yesterday.

“Who ate my fucking cheerios” Everyone knew they were his, he even put a ‘Zayn’ label across the front to prove it. Zayn shook the box in annoyance as Liam rolled his eyes. A small slip of paper floated out from the box as Zayn was getting ready to toss it away.

I did not forget. Watch your back, Malik.
Love, Lou.
PS: You’re out of cereal :)

*

Louis had spent the past two hours around town with little to no luck. Nearly every place was either not hiring or told him he wasn’t qualified. His frustration was ready to boil over, he couldn’t recall the last time job hunting had been so difficult.

His stomach gave a low growl and Louis decided he could try again after a snack. Luckily, there was a bakery right across the street from him that had his mouth watering from the tasty treats on display.

The door chimed as he walked in and he found himself kneeling down to peer into the display case, full with a beautiful assortment of goods.

“Hi, what can I can get you?”

“What do you suggest?” Louis asked, standing from his strange position on the floor.

“Louis?” Louis’ gaze snapped up to the call of his name and was met with a familiar pair of green eyes that seemed just as surprised with the encounter as he was.

“Harry? I didn’t know you worked here?” Louis said, eyes moving from the adorable apron on the boy to the smudge of flour on his face.

“Yeah. What are you doing here?”

“I was just in the neighborhood and I got a bit hungry” Louis responded, eyes glancing back down at the pastries.

“Oh-Uh do you like cheesecake?”

“Mhm, I very much do”

Harry smiled at that, his dimples on full display as he pulled out a slice of cheesecake with some kind of crumb bottom and a flower design on top.

“Anything to drink with that? We have soda, coffee, and tea” Harry asked as he placed the cake on a miniature plate.

“Tea would be lovely. With just milk, please”

Harry nodded and disappeared into the back for a few minutes. Louis glanced around the place, it was painted a light blue and had nicely tiled floors. There was also a few small tables near the window to the side of the store. It was really quite adorable.

“Here you go” Harry said, placing the small tea cup on a tray alongside the cake and carrying it over to the nearest table.

“Thanks” Louis said “How much do I owe you?”

Harry only shook his head at the offer and took a seat in the opposite chair, “It’s on the house”

Louis was prepared to argue but Harry wouldn’t allow it. “It’s my turn to win this argument” The curly haired boy said with a determined shake of his head.

“Alright, thanks again.” Louis felt the funny feeling in his stomach from last night return as the curly haired boy’s eyes stayed on him.

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Louis asked as he sipped cautiously at the hot drink.

“If there were customers, yes. It’s been a slow day.”

“Right” Louis said, turning his attention to the dessert in front him. He could still feel those green orbs burning through him. Harry seemed oblivious to the effect his stare was having on the older boy.

“So what exactly brought you to the neighborhood?”

Louis paused, finishing off the bite of cheesecake and chasing it down with his tea. “Job hunting”, he answered.

“Oh, any luck?” Harry asked, leaning forward a bit to rest his elbows on the table.

“Nope. Apparently college drop outs with no life skills aren’t really in demand”

Harry laughed, his eyes scrunching up as he did, making him look even younger. Louis smiled toothily, proud that he had caused that look to appear. It had been awhile since he’d made someone laugh like that.

“I get off in less than a half hour. I could help you look, if you like?” Harry offered earnestly, a slightly hopeful look in his eyes.

Louis came to the realization that he really couldn’t say no to this kid.