Under My Skin

When Brooklyn receives a text message from Louis asking her if she’d like to get coffee with him, she has to reread it a few times. As far as she knows, he’s not one to wake up early in the morning. He goes to sleep late and he wakes up late too. She knows that because sometimes he’d text her ‘good morning’ and it’s 12 in the afternoon.

Brooklyn doesn't respond to his text straightaway as she decides to take a shower first. She checks her phone once again after that to see if the text message is still there and when it is, she types a reply: Sure. Why not?

Beck is still asleep when Brooklyn steps out of her room, all dressed for work – she may have put on a little effort to look extra good this morning.

Beck must have gotten home late last night because she’s pretty sure she heard his footsteps coming in at around 2 in the morning – she didn't check if it really was him because she was too afraid to leave her bed. She hopes it’s him because the thought of this flat possibly being haunted sends shivers down her spine.

Curse the stupid horror movie she watched last night before she went to bed. She still doesn't know why she thought it’s a good idea to watch the movie alone – well, she’s not really alone because she texted Niall whilst she watched it since he’s the one who recommended the movie to her. Her texts were filled with exclamation marks and words written in capital letters – she’s sure she was Niall’s main source of entertainment last night. The last text she sent to him was a few rows of the middle finger emoji. He responded with three laughing emojis.

Once she’s out of her flat building, Brooklyn sends a text message to Louis, telling him that she’s on her way to the coffee shop, to which he replies with a picture of him holding a cup of coffee. He looks so sleepy, his eyes so heavy and she can tell that he’s not a morning person.

When Brooklyn reaches the coffee shop, Louis waves at her and she makes her way to him, pulling out a chair to sit. “Morning,” she greets him.

“Morning,” he responds along with a poor attempt at smiling. Brooklyn kinks an eyebrow at him and he groans. “I don’t know how you people wake up early every morning. Mad respect for you.”

Brooklyn lets out a laugh; he wasn't kidding when he said that he isn’t a morning person. “You’d get used to it eventually.”

He looks at her to see if she’s joking and when she simply shrugs, he shakes his head. The thought of him getting used to waking up so early in the morning doesn't sit right in his head.

“Anyway, I bought black coffee for you,” he states as he hands her the paper cup. “Dunno what you usually drink so.”

Taking the cup from him, she smiles. “Black coffee sounds good. Thank you.”

He flashes her a bright smile, one that doesn't look forced like earlier, and he asks, “D’you wanna go for a walk?”

Brooklyn looks out the window, at the people passing by. She prefers staying in the café where it’s warmer, but she finds herself nodding, “Yeah.”

Louis pushes the chair back and holds out his hand for Brooklyn to take. She hesitates, looking at it for a couple of seconds before she eventually places her hand in his. With her other free hand, she picks up the coffee cup and he leads her out of the coffee shop. The cold wind nips at her skin as soon as they’re out so she brings the cup up to her lips, blows off the steam and takes a sip.

She immediately regrets it.

The coffee tastes bad that she starts coughing when it hits her throat. It isn’t as bad as the one Beck made for her, there’s no salt in this one, but it’s not good. It’s too sweet like someone accidentally spilled ten spoons of sugar in it and instead of making a new one, it’s given to her.

“Are you okay?” Louis asks when he glances at her, concerned written all over his face.

Clearing her throat, she nods. She doesn't have it in her to tell him that the coffee he bought for her tastes awful. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Louis doesn't look convinced, but he nods his head anyway as he brings his own cup to his lips. Brooklyn keeps her eyes on him, wanting to see if he’d react the same way she did when he takes a sip, but he seems fine. He doesn't start coughing, doesn't scrunch up his nose when the taste of the coffee hits his throat. Maybe he ordered a latte or a cappuccino.

He catches her eyes and arches an eyebrow before he brings one hand up and starts wiping his mouth. “There’s something on my mouth, isn’t it?”

Brooklyn shakes her head. “No, no, there’s nothing.”

“Oh,” he stops what he’s doing and laughs, realising how silly he must’ve looked wiping at nothing. “So you’re just staring at my pretty face, then?”

Although a wave of colour flushes her cheeks, Brooklyn rolls her eyes and shoves him away from her, making him laugh. He does have a pretty face and she’s quite certain that she told him that before. “Wonder where’d you be without your pretty face.”

“Probably still working at Toys R Us, trying to woo lasses that walk in.”

“Still working?” She repeats, brows knitting together. “You mean you used to work there?”

“Yup,” he answers with a nod. “For a couple of years actually.”

“Oh my God,” her eyes gleam with excitement. She’s always wondered what it feels like to work there. Is it stressful given that you’d have to deal with kids and their parents? Is it fun since you have toys all around you? She has lots of question, but instead of voicing them out, she says, “Please tell me everything.”

Brooklyn listens intently as Louis talks about his work experience at Toys R Us. He makes sure not to leave the part where he would sometimes hang around the music section – the one with the little pianos and guitars – and show off his basic skills to girls that he wanted to impress. He also tells her that he worked there until eventually he was discovered by one of the model agencies and he didn’t think twice before he marched into his manager’s office to tell him that he’s quitting.

“Can’t believe you never told me this before,” Brooklyn mentions once he’s finished recalling his memory as one of the sales associates at Toys R Us.

“In my defence, I didn't think you’d be so interested to know about it.”

“Please, I’d love to know all of the embarrassing things you’ve ever done.”

He throws his head back and laughs. “If that’s what you want, I have plenty of embarrassing stories to share.”

Brooklyn opens her mouth to tell him that he should start sharing because she needs to get to work soon, but she’s interrupted by the sound of someone calling out Louis’ name. They stop walking and Louis glances through his shoulder. Brooklyn does the same and she sees a guy making his way towards them.

“Chad, mate!” Louis’s face lights up as he greets his friend. He pats Chad on the back once, twice, before he pulls away. “Thought you’re in New York?”

“Nah,” he shakes his head as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “That’s two weeks ago.” His eyes land on Brooklyn, then, and he lifts an eyebrow. “And who’s this lovely lady?”

“This is my girlfriend, Brooklyn. Brooklyn, this is my mate, Chad.”

For a moment, everything around them stops moving as the time stands still. Brooklyn feels like she’s going through an out-of-body experience when she steps forward and shakes Chad’s hand with a smile on her face. She doesn't think it’s possible for her to move when she’s still in a state of shock. Her head is spinning, the word ‘girlfriend’ echoing in her ears. They’ve never talked about this, never talked about how they’d label each other in front of their friends. Brooklyn thought they’re doing this whole ‘let’s just go with the flow’ thing.

“Girlfriend, huh?” Chad sounds surprised, but in a pleasant way. As in he’s amazed that his friend has gotten himself a girlfriend. “About fucking time.”

Louis rolls his eyes, though his cheeks are turning red from embarrassment – or probably from the wind, Brooklyn doesn't know. “Says someone who hasn't been in a relationship for fucking ages.”

“Hey,” Chad steps forward to punch Louis’ arm before continuing, “You know how I work, mate.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Louis replies half-heartedly. “You don’t have time for a girlfriend. Whatever.”

Chad nods his head, agreeing. “Well, Brooklyn, it’s nice to meet you,” he says with a smile before swooping in for a hug. Expecting a handshake instead, Brooklyn’s taken aback by his friendliness. “We should hang out soon.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Brooklyn finds herself saying once she’s gotten over the shock.

“I’ll text ya,” Louis says. Chad gives him a pointed look as if to say that he doesn't believe him, so Louis adds, “Promise.”

Chad bids his goodbye, turning on his heels to go back to where he’s coming from. Once he’s out of their sights, Brooklyn and Louis continue their walk. Silence lingers around them for a few minutes as his words are slowly sinking in her head.

“Fucking hell.” Louis mutters to himself all of sudden. His facial expressions changes as his brows are pinched together and his lips are pulled downwards. He stops walking and runs his fingers through his hair.

“Everything okay?” Brooklyn asks even though she has a clue as to why he looks angry with himself.

Louis takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of his nose before he starts speaking. “I called you my girlfriend,” he states. Brooklyn opens her mouth to say something, but closes it a second later when she realises she doesn't know what to say. Maybe she should just let him talk. “I probably shouldn't have done that since we’ve never talked ‘bout it and it’d be so fucking embarrassing if, y’know, if…” He trails off, leaving her hanging.

“If?” Brooklyn questions as she kinks an eyebrow at him. She needs to know what he’s about to say before he stops himself.

Louis runs his tongue across his bottom lip, probably to buy himself some time whilst he avoids her gaze. He looks nervous, which is so unlike of his usual self because he’s always confident and Brooklyn’s pretty sure this is the first time she sees him this way. That knowledge makes her nervous as well.

“Fuck it,” he says under his breath before he looks up and says, “It’d be embarrassing if you’re not on the same page.”

Brooklyn’s eyes widen, but she’s quick to compose herself – it’s something that she’s quite good at. She clears her throat and looks at Louis. She can see the sincerity in his dark blue eyes, can see the nervousness with a hint of hopefulness written all over his face. Then, she remembers the good times she’s had with him and she knows there’s more to come. She also enjoys being around him and as she quickly makes a list of pros and cons in her head, she realises that there are more pros than cons.

Taking a deep breath, Brooklyn takes his hand and says, “We’re… We’re on the same page.”

Louis looks shocked like he doesn't expect she’d say that. He stares at their hands for a beat longer before he eventually finds his voice to speak, awe transforming his face. “I-Fuck. Brooklyn, you just made me the happiest man ever on this dreadful morning.”

Laughter escapes Brooklyn’s mouth, but Louis swallows that sound when he kisses her.



Brooklyn feels like she’s missing out on a lot of things when she walks into the break room to make herself a cup of coffee and hear Niall and Harry’s laughter reverberating round the room. Normally she’d roll her eyes at the mere sound of that because they’re probably talking about something that she doesn't find funny at all, but this morning she makes her way to them to know what’s going on.

“What’s so funny?” She asks as she pulls out one of the chairs and situates herself between Niall and Harry.

Both of them stop laughing to raise an eyebrow at her, surprised that she wants in on their conversation. Whereas Harry squints his eyes, looking at her suspiciously, Niall leans forward and places a hand on her forehead as though to check her temperature. Brooklyn slaps Niall’s hand away and that makes him laugh.

“I was just telling Harry about your texts last night,” Niall tells her. Her eyes widen and she slaps his arm, to which he winces in pain. “What’s that for?”

“Those texts are confidential,” she replies with her brows furrowed. “You’re not supposed to share it with anyone.”

“Anyone except Harry,” Harry chimes in with a grin. Sometimes, when he’s with Brooklyn and Niall, he likes to refer to himself in the third person pronoun. It’s weird but in his defence, the two of them likes to talk about him as if he’s not there to hear everything they say to each other. “Harry deserves to know everything that’s going on between Niall and Brooklyn.”

Brooklyn rolls her eyes at Harry. She turns to Niall and points her finger at him, who raises his eyebrows at her. “I’m not taking any movie recommendations from you ever again.”

Laughter tumbles out of Niall’s mouth. “C’mon, it’s not that bad.”

“It kinda is,” she counters as she glares at him. Brooklyn has always had troubles sleeping after watching a horror movie – it’s been that way since she’s six. Despite telling herself again and again that what she sees in the movies aren’t real, she can’t prevent the fear from weaving its way into her, scaring her and making sure that she wouldn't get a wink of sleep.

“Ha, Brooklyn’s a scaredy-cat,” Harry remarks with a chuckle, which earns him a kick on the shin. “Jesus. And bloody strong too.”

That puts a pleased smile across Brooklyn’s lips. The workout she does during the weekends proves to be useful. Brooklyn returns her gaze to Niall and says, “I bet you’re the kind of guy who brings girls to see a scary movie with hopes that she’d hug you when she gets scared.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Niall grins, winking when she scrunches up her nose in disgust. Harry’s laughter joins Niall’s and Brooklyn pretends as if she’s not the least bit curious. “Don’t worry,” he pats her on the shoulder, offering her a smile, “You’ll find out eventually when I win our bet.”

“Ah, speaking of the bet,” Harry interjects as he leans forward and places his elbows on the table, his eyes darting from Niall to Brooklyn. “There’s only like a month left.”

“A month?” Brooklyn asks. Harry nods. She could’ve sworn they agreed to make a bet yesterday, not a few months ago.

“Looks like you’re in luck, Cooper.” Niall states, grinning from ear to ear. “You don’t have to wait long to go on a date with me.”

Brooklyn rolls her eyes. She admires his confidence, she really does, but at the same time it irritates her more than words could describe. She doesn't like how he talks as if he’s already won. Which of course, isn’t true unless- Brooklyn pushes that thought away immediately. There’s no way Mr Storm has already chosen whose article he’d want to publish. That wouldn't be fair to her, to everyone.

“You should probably start thinking about your outfit,” Niall continues whilst Brooklyn openly glares at him. He really doesn't know when to shut up sometimes. She likes to think that one day it’ll be his downfall. “Wait, no. I think I’d want to choose your outfit for our date. That’d be fun.”

“Well, I hope you’ve been saving your money cos you’ll be buying my coffee for a year.”

Harry chuckles to himself as he enjoys the back and forth between Brooklyn and Niall. “What if neither of you win?” He asks out of nowhere. That question catches the both of them off guard. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think you two are phenomenal writers but what if, ya know?”

Brooklyn looks at Niall, hoping that he has an answer for that. It turns out that he seems just as lost as she is, so she racks her brain for something. Anything.

“Erm, I think we’ll just call off the bet,” Brooklyn proposes, to which Niall nods his head, agreeing. She turns to Harry and this time, she says it with more confidence, “We’ll call off the bet if neither of us win.”

“That sucks,” Harry pouts.

“What sucks?” Suki questions as she walks into the break room with an empty cup in her hand. Harry’s eyes immediately become wider and he straightens his back as he plasters a smile across his face. Brooklyn and Niall almost laugh at how quick his demeanour changes now that Suki is in the room as them.

“Uh, they’ll call off the bet if neither of them win,” Harry answers.

Suki pulls a chair out and sits next to Harry. His face lights up at the close proximity and Brooklyn has to sink her teeth into her bottom lip to prevent laughter from escaping her throat.

“Huh, that does sucks,” Suki agrees with Harry, which of course makes him beam with happiness. She turns to Brooklyn, then, and says, “I’d love to see you go on a date with Niall.”

“What?” Brooklyn gasps. “I thought you’re rooting for me.”

Suki shrugs. “I was rooting for you until Harry convinced me that it’d be more fun to see you go on a date with Niall. He thinks your head would explode.”

“Thank you!” Niall expresses his gratitude. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell Cooper.”

“My head won’t explode,” Brooklyn counters. That’s ridiculous.

“Yes it will,” Niall says to her. “From how awesome our date will be.”

“You’ll have to ask for Louis’ permission, though,” Suki adds and that makes everyone confused. Brooklyn’s confused too, for the first few seconds, before it dawns on her that Suki knows. “They’ve made it official, so I think he’d like to know if you’re taking her out on a date.”

“Official?” Niall asks. He sounds surprised and… disappointed – Brooklyn’s not quite sure about the latter, though, because for all she knows, she might be hearing him wrong.

Unable to look at him, she keeps her eyes fixed on the table as she answers, “Uh, yeah.”

“When?” The next question comes from Harry.

“This morning,” Suki responds to that question for her friend. As soon as those words leave her mouth, the tension in the break room is almost palpable. Suki looks at Harry, who’s looking at her as well, the both of them probably wondering the same thing: whether or not they should leave Niall and Brooklyn alone.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Niall’s the first one to break the silence.

Brooklyn finally finds it in her to look up and look at Niall. There’s a crease between his brows and he doesn't bother to hide the fact that he’s displeased by what he’s just heard. “It just happened this morning,” she says with a shrug before quickly adding, “And I didn't think you’d be interested in my love life.”

Niall’s expression hardens as he presses his lips together. For a moment, she thinks that he’s going to say something, to make a snarky remark maybe, but instead he gets up from his chair and heads straight for the exit. He doesn't even say a word and that’s even worse. Brooklyn hates silent treatment, especially when she doesn't deserve it.

“What’s wrong with him?” Brooklyn groans. She didn't think her not telling him that she’s in a relationship with his friend would be a problem for him. In fact, she thinks he’d be happy because he’s the one who introduced Louis to her.

“I’m sorry, babe,” Suki apologises as she rubs her friend’s arm. Brooklyn offers her a weak smile and tells her that it’s not her fault.

Harry gets up from his chair as well and pats her shoulder, “He’s probably just upset that two of his, uh, closest friends didn't tell him that they’re in a relationship now.”

Harry’s words remain in Brooklyn’s mind as she stays in the break room for another five minutes until she’s composed herself and is ready to return to her desk. Niall doesn't look at her when she takes a seat and if anyone were to ask her, she’d say he’s being such a child.

Sure there’s a part of her that thinks Harry might be right, but there’s also another part of her that thinks Niall is overreacting.