The first thing that Louis Tomlinson noticed when he entered the big house was the smell. It smelled like floor cleaner, roses, and vanilla. The strong scent prickled his nostrils and he resisted the urge to sneeze, tears popping into his eyes as he squinted disdainfully at the maid that was walking toward him. She was even wearing a uniform and everything. She looked young, and her hair was pulled up into a loose bun, toffee strands coming free behind her ears and sticking on her forehead. She was pretty, and when she was in front of him, she stuck out her hand, before realizing that her hand was dirty. She blushed and quickly walked away. Louis shrugged and stood in the big foyer, waiting for Arthur to come inside.
Arthur, Louis thought bitterly. He knew that his mother had been dating since his parents had gotten divorced, but he had never expected her to get married so quickly. And he had never had expected for her to get married to one of the richest men in New York either. Yes. New York. They had moved all the way from Doncaster to New York. This was not right.
"Louis," Arthur said as he stepped inside, his mother hanging off the older man's arm. "Don't stand there like a stranger, this is your house now," Arthur smiled broadly, and Louis almost threw up when he saw his mum give him a sickly sweet smile. Louis really didn't want to be here. Louis didn't want to live in this house that didn't smell like baby powder and pancakes in the morning, like his house back in England. He didn't want to have a car that didn't shutter when he turned the key or that didn't stall when he tried to put the window down. Louis wanted to go back to Doncaster where all his friends were, who understood him and knew he wasn't a teen dirtbag that fixed his face into blank stares and walked around wearing a leather jacket just because he wanted to pretend to be a bad boy. He wanted to be able to go to parties where he could get absolutely wasted without the police arresting him because he was underage. But now, here, he was. At 19 years of age, Louis couldn't do shit in this country. What was his mum thinking.
Lottie came bounding through the door, her long blond hair bouncing around her back as she ran to stand in front of Arthur. The twins were walked in by their new Nanny, and they stared at the double staircase, at the marble floor, and the hallway beyond. It was the biggest house they had ever seen, and unlike Louis, they were all in awe. Arthur, once being a rebellious teenager himself, sensed Louis discomfort and decided to put the boy out of his misery, motioning for them to climb up the stairs so that he could direct the boy to his new room. Arthur really wanted do get on the young man's good side, however he wasn't going to kid himself. It would take some time to get through to the sulky teen.
"This," Arthur said with a big grin before he pushed open the tall door. "Is your room," He stepped inside but kept a hand on the twins shoulders so they wouldn't run inside. A boy's room was sacred, no matter how old they were.
Louis would never admit it, but his stomach sank as he walked into the very large space. There was a big screen TV on one side, almost taking the whole wall. In front of it, there was a large comfy looking couch. He thought he spied various game consoles, but he didn't look at it for too long. His eyes trailed to the wall adjacent to the TV, and he saw a built in bookcase, where an ungodly amount of DVDs and games had already taken residence. Louis breathed in as he turned, ignoring the open door to a large bathroom, and walking through a doorway that led to what could only be where his bed was. It was a big king sized monster with giant fluffy pillows. It was airy, the light green walls relaxing, and Louis really really liked it. But of course he would never say. He fixed his face in a nonchalant expression and turned to walk to the first door, but not before his eye caught the giant walk-in closet filled with suits and button-ups and God knows what. But what really caught his attention was the uniforms closest to the closet entrance. The blazer was dark blue, with an embroidered SAA on the breast pocket, and under it, a tiny LT in fancy cursive lettering. The shirt was, of course, a button up. White, of all colors and a grey, white and black tie laid around the hanger neatly. Under each blazer, Louis could see light grey trouser peeking out, and a pair of shiny shoes sat under each set of uniforms.
Louis turned away swiftly, pushing the image out if his mind. That could only mean one thing...
"Do you like it," Arthur asked patiently from behind Louis. The boy turned and gave a stuff nod.
"It's alright, yeah, mate," Louis said and he winced as his mother chastised him from behind Arthur.
"Those are your uniforms," Arthur said, as Louis couldn't help but glance at them again. "You start on Monday. The school year started last week, and normally St. Augusta doesn't take student after it starts, but they've made an exception for us," he smiled at Louis, but before he could turn away, Louis scoffed.
"I don't want to go to little rich kids' school," he almost spat. "I'm 19. Don't you think it's a bit late for me to go back?" Arthur looked at him nonplussed.
"No. As a matter of fact I don't think it's to late for you," he Looked down at Jay as he wrapped an arm around her. "Your mother has told me how smart-" Louis snorted and shook his head, but Arthur held up a shushing hand with a commanding gaze Louis could not disobey. "She's told me how smart you are and how sad she was that you never finished high school," he paused and lowered his voice. "You don't have to be embarrassed about being older than all the kids at school, Louis. There boys and girls your age there. As there are boys and girls years younger. Your sister Lottie and Fizz amongst them," this time Arthur did turn, but not before Louis muttered under his breath a deep, frustrated curse.
"Language," the man said before he gave Louis a smile and stepped out of the big main room, followed by his mother and sisters.
Just fan-fucking-tastic, Louis thought to himself as he went to check the bathroom out, not because he was curious. No not at all. It was because he needed to take a wee. Or so he told himself, really.
A few blocks away, Harry Styles muttered under his breath as he stepped over one of his best friends, Niall, to walk toward the neat closet attached to his big room.
"I don't know what I should wear," he told Niall, who was playing some card game on the floor with Liam and Zayn. They were all a year older than him, but they had become best friend due to the fact that Harry was advanced in his studies and they were all in almost the same classes. That and the curly haired boys maturity level surpassed those of all of the other three put together. Well. Sometimes anyway. At 17, he was still young at heart.
"Mate," the boy said as he slapped a card down on the floor and looked up at Harry with sparkling blue eyes and a ready smile. "You could wear a paper bag and all those hormonal girls would throw themselves at you," he turned to look at Liam expectantly, waiting for his next move.
Zayn nodded and absently looked at Harry. Liam looked up, and always trying to be the one to solve a problem and put people at ease, well, again, sometimes, other times the boy just ran around being the goofball he was, he smiled at the younger boy and motioned toward the other two teens that sprawled next to his crossed legs.
"Go for the t-shirt and jeans like us Harry," he said. Harry nodded and opened the first drawer that held about thirty pairs of t-shirts. He fished out a worn gray shirt, but ended up changing his mind and shoving the soft fabric back into the drawer, choosing to put on a black jumper instead. The warm wool clung to his chest and arms and made his long torso look even better. He stepped out of his sweats and walked to the rack which held all his jeans, choosing a light washed pair that looked worn, but in reality had been used a handful of times. He gave his hair a ruffle, and poked the curly mass to the side, but not before walking to the bathroom and spraying himself with deodorant and a splashing some cologne. He brushed his pearly white, straight teeth, curtesy of years of painful braces, and tried to ignore the small zit appearing on his forehead, hidden by his curly hair. Other than that, his face was a flawless expanse of ivory skin, chiseled cheekbones, and a embarrassingly pouty, red mouth.
"I'm ready," he said as he walked back into the bedroom.
The boys gave him a once over, and they all shook their heads. After whining and complaining for an hour that he couldn't find something to wear, and the boy had gotten ready in less than ten minutes.
"I still don't get why we are going to this party," Zayn complained as he stood.
"Because Liam here has a nice little crush on one of the cheerleaders and is too much of a pussy to go by himself," Niall mumbled to himself as he ran a hand over his wrinkled jeans. He gave a little 'oomf' as Liam smacked him in the middle of the stomach on his way to the door.
"And because there's going to be plenty of alcohol," Harry smiled to himself. Niall scoffed.
"You don't even drink that much, Harold," he said and shut the door behind all of them.
"As it should," Anne said behind them as she walked down the hall wearing a cocktail dress.
"I didn't know you were going out too, mom," Harry said as he gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and took her arm to help her walk down the stairs in her heels.
"Well, darling, you're not the only one that has plans on a Saturday night,"she giggled and swatted his arm. "Arthur Conway is having a party in celebration of his new wife and her children moving to the States all the way from England," she said as she pushed a strand of inky black hair behind her ear.
"England!" Hooted Zayn, and was promptly elbowed by Liam.
"You boys should come with me, at least for a bit," Anne suggested. "They have a boy your age and four other children too. Three of the five are going to the Academy with you guys..." She tugged on her earring lightly, adjusting the tiny diamond stud. Harry gave a cursory glance at his attire and of the other boys' and smiled at his mother.
"I don't think we're exactly dressed for a formal party, mother," he said sweetly.
"Nonsense," his mother said, her voice determined, and Harry groaned internally. "You're going. It's early and you can leave once you've introduced yourself," she told Harry sternly. She smiled at the other boys, and they winced because they knew that even though she couldn't make them go anywhere, they would accompany Harry. They would never let him go any where by himself. Especially on a Saturday night. Well. Unless he had a hot date, which happened often.
"We'll go," Liam said
Yeah, it's no problem," Zayn muttered.
"Who goes to a party early, anyway. That's lame," Niall scoffed.
Anne beamed, and put out her arms as the butler helped put on her coat.
They stepped out into the crispy cold air as one of the cars was brought up. Anne got in, and stuck out her head. "It's not far from her, sweetie, just follow the car, okay?" She shut the door behind her, and Harry walked to where his range rover was already running. They all got in, and followed the black Cadillac in front of them. Not even five minutes later, they drove up the big driveway of the Conway estate, and Zayn put down the blasting music to a reasonable level as they drove up to and all stepped out of the car on the circular driveway. They didn't even blink an eye at the sheer size of the house, and when they stepped inside, they only wince at all the older people. They gave each other looks and shook their heads as they followed his mother. Well, no wonder Janice was throwing a big party. Her parents were going to probably be here!
"Arthur," his mom said with a smile, and the big blonde man leaned down to give Anne a light kiss on the cheek. He motioned toward a petite woman with an hourglass figure and a broad smile on her face, introducing her as his wife, Jay.
"Hello," the woman said shyly, and shook Anne's hand briskly. Harry could see that she hadn't been, well, privileged in England, because all the women that he knew, shook hands with a barely there feathery touch of the fingertips. Anne's smiled broadened, and she looked behind her, where all four boys stood awkwardly looking around them.
"Oh, well hello boys," Arthur said enthusiastically, motioning for them to come forward. "I'm glad you're here," he said as he let go of his wife to step toward them and toward the stairs. "I haven't been able to get Louis to come out of his room since yesterday," he said as he looked behind him to make sure the teens were following. "He only steps out of there to eat," he shook his head. "Maybe he just needs some company from somebody his age, and its good that you can meet him today since he starts school on Monday," he said as he stopped on the third door down the hallway. He knocked loudly on the door, and Liam looked at the boys questioningly as an irritated "What?" came from the other side.
"I have some new people I want you to meet, Louis," Arthur said. They waited for a couple of minutes. Then the door flew open, and a heavy British accent was the first thing to greet them before they saw the boy who stood in front of Arthur.
"For God's sake Arthur," he said in a raspy, exasperated voice. "I told you I don't want to meet any of your stuffed up friends," the boy said. Arthur, instead of being offended, stepped to the side, and motioned toward the four boys standing behind him, who were staring at Louis curiously.
If you asked Harry and Louis in the future what their first thoughts of each other were, they would blush and sputter and say that it was like meeting any other person. They would say that they felt disdain for each other from the get go. But in reality, they would always remember that first glimpse. Louis would always remember the way that a little 's' curled around Harry's ear, the way that his green eyes had roamed over his bare chest and tight worn (actually, worn) jeans. And Harry would never forget how Louis had ran his hand through his short hair in exasperation, or how the sandy strands has stood on end. He would never forget how the older boy's blue eyes had flashed with just a little bit of interest. They would never forget, no, but that didn't mean that they had liked each other at that instant. To the contrary, actually.
"Hi," Liam said, remembering his manners. He stepped forward and stuck out his hand. "Liam Payne," he said, and not discreetly pushed Zayn and Niall forward.
"Zayn Malik," the dark haired boy said cautiously. He was always quiet when he first met people, and as time progressed and he warmed to them, he let his boisterous personality show.
"Niall Horan," the blond said suspiciously, and even though all the others had shaken the older, but smaller boy's hand, Harry stood back and gave a curt nod, not impressed with the arrogant teen in the doorway.
"Harry Styles," he said. When the English boy didn't say anything and just stared at them as if they had interrupted something very important, which they knew they hadn't since obscene rap music blasted from the open doorway, Arthur cleared his throat and the boys shuffled about uncomfortably. Everyone except Louis of course. He just looked at all of them blankly.
"This is Louis Tomlinson," Arthur said as he made to set a hand on the boy's shoulder, but quickly thought about it again and stuffed it in his pocket, twitching on its way to his trousers. "Louis, these are your new classmates," he said slowly. It was so awkward that it made all of the teens want to just drop and die.
"Cool," Louis muttered, looking bored. He leaned on his hip and set his arm against the door jamb, making his bicep bulge, which Harry couldn't help but marble at. How much did he work out he wondered as he thought about his own exercise regime. Liam, again, being the nice empathetic guy that he was, smiled and took another tiny step forward.
"Well, we're going to a party right now," he said, and three heads flew to look at him incredulously. "And, well, why don't you come with us?" Arthur looked on with interest, while Niall, Zayn and Harry stared at Liam. Louis just looked at him with little interest and scratched the back of his neck.
"You should go, Louis," Arthur said, and Louis sent him a little glare.
"How about not," Louis said, and closed the door in their faces. Arthur winced and the others stared.
"Well that went better than what I thought," Arthur said brightly, while all the other looked at him incredulously. "Sorry boys," he said as he set a hand on Liam's and Zayn's shoulder. "You can go now," he said, not rudely, but sympathetically as he looked down at all the people milling around the foyer.
"Thanks!" Niall said, ignoring Liam's jab. Trust the blond to be rude without actually meaning too. He walked toward the double doors without turning to see if the others were following him. Zayn and Harry did, waving toward Anne as she paused her conversation with Jay to look at them curiously. Liam, however, hung back and shook Arthur's hand, and until then he walked after the others.
"They stood outside waiting for Harry's car in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. But as Harry climbed in to the driver's seat of the range rover, he couldn't help but think, "what a prick," as he remembered Louis. That was the last time he thought about the older boy that night, until the very next time they met, which would be quite memorable for both of them.
