I wrote this back in September of 2016 when I first joined the Autophobia fandom. I wrote the door joke before it became cannon, I swear it. Lol. Also serious question for the author of Autophobia, which Mario character does Louis and Daniel pick when they play Mario Cart? I pondered that very question the entire time I was writing this fic.
I would like to give a special thanks to Mookie, my beta reader. Without their help I probably wouldn't be posting this fic right now.
Characters created by G.H.S.T.
"You boys leave the door open where I can see you," Melina says. As usual, Louis' mind goes straight to the gutter. Daniel apparently comes to the same conclusion, if his tomato-red face is anything to go by.
"Mom!" Daniel exclaims exasperatedly.
"This one can't take a joke." Melina nudges her son playfully with mirth twinkling in her eyes. Louis tries to shrug off the statement but the uncomfortable churning in his stomach refuses to wane.
"We'll be going upstairs now," Daniel blurts hurriedly. His thick fingers catch Louis' sleeve and tug him up the stairs past his mother. Louis silently thanks him for sparing them both from any more embarrassment.
Once inside the confines of his room, Daniel heaves an exaggerated sigh and slumps against the door which clicks shut behind him. And now they are in Daniel's room. Together. Alone. With the door closed behind them. Daniel's either forgotten all about his mother's order or he's feeling a little rebellious. Either way, he makes no move to correct himself and the door remains tightly closed.
Louis swallows the lump in his throats and shifts onto his opposite foot awkwardly.
"So... wanna play Mario Kart?" Louis asks timidly, and Daniel's answering smile soothes his nerves.
Louis is supposed to be tutoring Daniel, but they opt instead for lounging side by side, hammering on controls plugged into Louis' borrowed game station. The taller of the two can only watch helplessly as his go-kart spins out of control for seventh time. Louis vents his frustration out loud. "Peach won't stop shooting turtle shells at me. And where is Bowzer getting all those banana peels from?" Louis complains. When he regains control of the wheel of his kart again, he's promptly bunted by the force of a miniature toadstool crashing into him. The force sends both racers off course.
"This feels like a set up. I'm being unfairly targeted." Louis side eye's his friend accusingly. He doesn't voice his suspicion, but he's pretty sure Daniel used some kind of cheat code to sabotage him. And no, he isn't being a sore loser. Nope. Not at all. And he certainly doesn't pout when he gauges his progress, or lack thereof. Louis finally succumbs to the fact that he has no hope of winning this match, or even coming in third. He drops the controller in defeat and twists around to glower at his friend who doesn't spare him a glance. Daniel isn't even paying attention to him, his eyes fixed intently on the screen. Louis is less than pleased by this, which can only explain his next actions when his fingers curl around his controller once more to press down on the home button.
"Hey! I was winning!" Daniel cries as the game comes to an abrupt end. He gapes at the home screen in surprise and whips his head around to look at Louis.
"That's what you get for cheating."
"But I wasn't-" Daniel's attempt at pleading innocence is brushed aside when Louis interrupts him.
"I'm gonna take a break from gaming. You play the next match without me," Louis informs him sourly. He takes a few moments to rub at his joints that are stiff from remaining in the same position for so long. He stretches his arms towards the ceiling, tucking one behind the other as he does so. His shirt rides up his torso to uncover a patch of skin. A blissful sigh escapes him and his eyes flutter closed. When he opens them again he notices Daniel watching him, eyes glossy and face beet-red - a special shade of vermillion he now nearly exclusively associates with the brunette. Louis smirks back at him and gives one last stretch towards the ceiling as he opens his mouth without thinking. "Like what you see?"
Daniel's eyelids lower as his mouth curls slightly upwards.
"Well... it is hard for me to take my eyes off of you," Daniel says, shrinking down into a meltdown as soon as the words leave his mouth. The line is so incredibly corny that Louis can't help but snort. Daniel begins backtracking and stumbles over his words, clearly in a state of panic.
"Relax, Romeo," Louis chuckles. His laid-back amusement seems to calm Daniel, who responds by waggling his eyebrows, spurring on another torrent of chuckles from Louis.
The click of Daniel's door opening alerts both teens, their laughter subsiding. Melina lingers in the doorway, observing them.
"I hope you boys are getting some studying done." She glares pointedly at the game station, but she's anything but stern as the corners of her eyes crinkle amusedly.
"Mom!" Daniel whines at the interruption.
"We were just taking a break, Mrs. York," Louis offers as his measly excuse. She gives him a look that says she doesn't believe him, but she doesn't press the matter.
"I believe I told you to keep this open." Melina points to the door, switching her attention back to her son.
"Sorry, Mom. I forgot. Can you leave now, please?" Daniel says looking furiously embarrassed.
Melina sighs and tells them to be downstairs in half an hour for a snack. She departs with one last mention of the door remaining open.
Suddenly feeling restless, Louis pushes off the ground to stand and paces around the room. He's been in Daniel's room before, but he's never had the chance to really explore.
Louis immediately sets his sights on digging around under Daniel's bed, because that's where all the juicy secrets are kept. Or at least that's how it works in the movies. But the only thing he discovers in his search is a heap of clothes and other junk, like Daniel had hastily shoved things under his bed in a last minute attempt to clean his room. Louis tries not to look too disappointed as he pushes up off the floor
"Uh, what are you doing?" Daniels confused voice reaches his ears. He's craning his neck around to watch Louis.
"Nothing. Pretend I'm not even here," Louis instructs him. He makes a shooing motion with both hands, urging Daniel to return his attention back to the video game, which Daniel does, albeit very slowly and all the while shooting Louis suspicious glances.
When Louis is satisfied that Daniel is no longer focused on him, Louis proceeds to snoop further, wandering toward his next target; the closet. He doesn't have to search long before he strikes gold.
"Ah-ha! I found your stash of... What's this? A crate... of art?" This time louis' disappointment and confusion is impossible to mask. He had thought he discovered Daniel's stash of dirty magazines, but instead he's stumbled upon a totally innocent collection of artwork. It's then that Louis finally realizes how truly bizarre and not normal Daniel is. What kind of guy doesn't have a porn collection? Or maybe Daniel's just really good at hiding his. It's not like there are an abundance of hiding places in Daniel's room anyway. Not willing to give up the search so easily, he leafs through the assortment of sketchbooks and chooses one at random. Who knows, maybe one of these books has a risqué photo hidden in one of them. He doesn't even get a good look at the cover before Daniel begins protesting.
"No, don't look at that!"
It's Daniel's outburst that makes Louis think he's onto something. "Why not?"
"I mean you can if you want to but some of that stuff is pretty old. It's... cringeworthy."
"Nothing I'm not already used to." Louis says slyly, peeking over at his friend.
"You weren't just referring to me were you?"
"Of course not, why would you think that?" Louis shoots Daniel a bewildered expression, too exaggerated to be taken seriously. Daniel observes him with a small smile.
"I'm gonna play games while you look through that junk. I don't like watching people look at my art." Daniel didn't elaborate and left it at that, pulling out his DS. Louis takes this as a que and reaches for one of the voluminous sketchbooks. On the front cover is a poorly drawn warning that says 'dont red. Propurtee of Daniel.' The incorrect spelling and backwards 'e's are endearing in some way. Louis clamps a hand over his mouth but it's too late, a few chortles escape him and he can see Daniel freeze in his peripheral vision.
"How many years do these go back?" Louis asks loudly. As he studies the writing, it appears that a child wrote it. Daniel pauses whatever game he is playing and gives him an incredulous look. Louis holds the book up for him to see.
"Oh, no, don't look through that one, that's like, the crap I drew in grade school."
"I have to look at it, otherwise how am i going to see how you've improved?" Louis quips.
"You have a point there. But it's still embarrassing. I don't get why you wanna see my sketches - they're garbage. Really. I would've thrown them out a long time ago if my mom didn't force me to keep them."
"I want to see what you enjoy doing, other than video games, of course. Besides, you've seen me play the guitar. Now it's my turn to see your hobby." Louis glances down at the book in his hands, his fingers subconsciously caressing the spine like he's holding something precious. Which he kind of is.
"Okay." Daniel gives in easily, like it's hard to go against anything Louis wants.
Louis flips through the book, his humor forgotten as the sketches become gradually more detailed, and precise, more fluid. He's in the middle of what he assumes is Daniel's more recent sketchbooks. The date at the bottom of most of the pictures goes back a year. Still life, landscape, people. Daniel likes to draw an assortment of things both mundane and interesting.
He pauses his pursuit when he recognizes the black hair and oval face of the girl who cornered him by his locker not too long ago. Mia had seemed so terrifying in that moment; Louis felt small underneath her scrutinizing gaze and her searching eyes. But here in this drawing, there isn't even a hint of hostility in her face. She's smiling unabashedly, her eyes alight with humor. She looked so different, almost like an entirely different person. Louis wonders if her expression in the drawing was a product of Daniel's imagination or a side of herself that she reserved for only her friend to see.
"You actually drew these?" Louis wonders aloud.
"Of course. Did you miss my name on the cover?"
'Smart ass.' "I mean, you didn't trace any of these did you? I'm starting to see a reoccurring pattern here."
"No, I didn't trace any of those drawings. And I didn't cheat at the game either," Daniel defends his character, thoroughly offended.
Louis is opening his mouth preparing to retort Daniel's claims, when he turns the book to the next page and his hand falters. He studies the great sweeping strokes of graphite that curl into wisps of hair framing a slender face. He notices the soft strokes that accompany the eyelashes. And he tries hard not to think too much about the fact that special attention was obviously paid to shading the lips. The muse's posture is straight and studious, facing forward, but away from the viewer as if they were drawn from behind. He's looking at a drawing of himself he realizes.
Louis may not have found Daniel's porn, but he almost feels like he's stumbled upon something just as scandalous.
There's more, he soon discovers when he continues flipping through the assortment of art. There are more sketches of Louis wearing various expressions. In the back of his mind, Louis really hopes he doesn't smile like that in real life, because if so he looks ridiculously dorky. He is so enraptured by the drawings that he fails to notice Daniel closing his DS and approaching him.
"You haven't teased me in the last five minutes. I'm starting to get worried." Daniel jokes, his voice falling quiet when he's close enough to see what Louis is gazing at so intently. Louis pulls his head out of the book long enough to catch the mortification painted on Daniel's face.
"Y-you weren't supposed to see that." Daniel stutters.
"I kind of figured." And although Louis is over his initial shock at his discovery of the drawings, he's still blushing uncontrollably. Neither boy makes a sound after that for what feels like an infinity.
"Your drawings look… good. You're a good draw- er- artist." Louis winces at how awkward he sounds. He clears his throat before trying again. "I mean... your art is amazing. Like, super realistic."
"Even that one?" Daniel asks dubiously, pointing a stiff finger in the direction of the drawing of Louis. He's tense as he waits for Louis' response.
"Yeah… it's more than good." Louis apparently says the right thing causing Daniel to deflate like a balloon. The bulkier teen is a picture of relief. Louis starts to feel more like himself, unease forgotten in response to his friends mood.
"Dude, you got every detail. But how? It's like you snapped a picture of me or something. Wait a minute, you don't have any pictures of me, do you? Cause that would be kinda creepy," Louis rambles.
Daniel makes a distressed sort of sound in the back of his throat. His eyes widen to comical proportions.
"N-no, of course not."
Louis shoots Daniel a bland look.
"Explain," Louis orders, leaving no room for argument. Daniel sighs, seemingly giving into his friends whim.
"I don't have pictures of you... but..." Daniel glances away, looking guilty. "Let's just say I never pay attention in the classes we share together. I tend to get a bit... distracted."
"Distracted by what? Me!?" Louis can tell he's hit the nail on the head by way Daniel's stiffens up. "So what? You spend the entire class staring at me and jotting down sketches? That can't bode well for your grades."
Daniel makes no attempt to reply because they both know it's true.
"Okay, so you know where I live. And you know where I work. You stare at me in school. And you draw pictures of me." Louis lists off Daniel's offenses like class A misdemeanors. "You're not exactly helping your case here."
Daniel responds in kind by floundering. His mouth opens and closes a few times, no words coming out until he seemingly remembers how to speak. He's sweating and babbling, and wringing his hands violently. He explains that he didn't actually know where Louis worked, he just stumbled into the store by accident. It was a coincidence, he insists to himself.
"Is our entire friendship based on a web of lies? You tricked me into spewing information about myself for an fake assignment. And your motive: to get closer to me," Louis interrupts Daniel before he can begin defending himself.
"I don't want to hear your excuses, you stalker." Louis teases, and cuffs Daniel on the shoulder with a loose fist. It takes a short while for it to dawn on Daniel that he's actually joking, but when it finally registers he laughs along with him.
When their chuckles fade away into a comfortable silence, Daniel is the first one to break it.
"So... what were you originally looking for when you were going through my stuff?" Daniel blinks his big, curious, brown eyes at him and Louis feels compelled to answer truthfully.
"Your porn mags," Louis admits, grinning wolfishly, having the decency to look a little ashamed. Still grinning, he scratches the back of his head ruffling his hair.
"It's not the 70's. Nobody even has a stash of dirty magazines anymore," Daniel remarks flippantly before his entire demeanor changes and he's suddenly hesitant. He's turns a brighter shade of red, a difficult feat even for him. Louis can tell Daniel is trying to act nonchalant, but he fails terribly when he adds, "And besides, you forgot to check the computer."
Louis's brain short circuits. He is in such a state of shock that he doesn't move for at least an hour.