🎧- Only The Brave, Louis Tomlinson

"Tall stories on the page, Short glories on the fade

I've been close enough to touch, But I never cared for love."

October 2013

@capitalxfm: Not to brag but @Harry_Styles thinks our show is the best radio show.

@RiseandShine: @Harry_Styles we thought that was us?

@Harry_Styles: Sorry @capitalxfm you have been replaced.

@Louis_Tomlinson liked your tweet.

@capitalxfm: *leaves the chat *

Maybe there's something about the blinding flashing lights, the mixed scent of alcohol and sweat, the sight of grinding bodies and the adrenaline of dancing and socializing that makes partying in a club fun.

Yeah, Louis doesn't get that concept.

He has never been much of a party person except on the occasions of deep heartbreaks and pathetic downfalls. That's why he couldn't be less amused at Niall's idea for a "lad's night out" which only consisted of two of them. Maybe Louis should have more friends.

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this." Louis shakes his head at Niall while sipping on his beer. "And slow down on the alcohol, will you?"

Niall flashes him a smile, seeming to be in way too high spirits for a Thursday night. "I am an Irish man and I am proud to live up to every stereotype. It's not my fault your tolerance is low."

Louis definitely needs more friends.

"Sometimes I worry that you are an alcoholic."

Niall shakes his head in disagreement, fiddling with his cocktail. "Nuh-uh. I don't use alcohol to save myself from personal miseries. That's just you."

"Okay, that's just mean and you are stupid."

"Good comeback, Tomlinson. Good comeback."

Louis rolls his eyes and shifts his attention to his surroundings. The club smells filthy. But rich. He could see blond princesses getting wasted and nineteen-year-olds wasting their daddy's money. The other reason Louis disliked Niall's idea was this rich club. Niall might be able to afford it but a beer would cost Louis a strain on his wallet and a good night's sleep. But, well, Niall was paying so.

"I don't like these rich kids. They don't work for shit and here they are partying their money away."

"Don't be bitter," Niall says, taking a sip of his drink. "Live and let live, Tommo. That's the golden rule. And I know this isn't the kind of club you usually go to but bear with me, will ya?"

Louis groans, hating how Niall is so irritating, yet right. Always freaking right.

"You couldn't have come alone when we both know you will leave me alone by the end of the night to get laid?"

"It's been ages since I have done it so, I am not even gonna be ashamed when I say I am here to get laid. There is not much action you get while trying to elevate a business."

Louis huffs in annoyance. "Yeah, but what about me? You know how annoying it is to keep rejecting girls in a straight club."

"Once, I wing manned for you in a gay club so it's only fair."

"Yeah, and that didn't even work because that guy thought you were into him and he tried to kiss you."

Niall shudders at the memory. "Never again."

"You should have asked Liam and Zayn. They would be too engrossed in each other to care about anything else."

"Apparently, they are on a date. I don't even know what they need a date for. They have been living together for the last three years and they act as if they just got together."

"That's called affection, Niall."

"Disgusting."

Louis gulps down his beer and Niall nudges him. "Cheer up, Louis. The radio station is doing better. Those interviews with Styles and Sheeran really elevated things up and you didn't faint after meeting Styles. All I see are good things."

"You always see good things. You really should have your eyesight checked out. I am the gay one and you are the one who is always seeing rainbows and unicorns."

"Right now, the only thing I see is that girl smiling at me from the opposite corner of the bar." Niall eyes subtly in the direction behind Louis to which Louis sighs and turns around to see the girl in question. Niall hisses and stops him. "Don't stare!"

"Dear Lord, it's like high school all over again," Louis sighs but by then, Niall's attention has already shifted from Louis to the girl. Louis raises his eyebrows in amusement sensing where things might be heading. Suddenly, Niall turns to him, "I am gonna-"

Louis groans. "It's soon. Too soon. I am gonna look like a loser drinking alone at the bar."

"You owe me for that meeting with Harry Styles."

"I don't owe you shit."

Niall rolls his eyes, clearly eager to approach the girl. "Saturday. Icecream, cuddles and Harry Potter Franchise. My place. Done?"

"I have an extra shift on Saturday in the cafe."

"Sunday, then."

Louis thinks for a moment before sighing. "Fine, you can go," Louis exclaims as Niall has already started to leave his seat, " But- I don't even have a ride with me!"

"Call an Uber!"

Louis groans. He really needs to have his car repaired. He looks around trying to find something of interest but gives up and orders another beer.

It's been an hour, Niall is probably in some stall making out with the girl and Louis is down three beers thus, he can slightly feel the buzz and maybe that's the reason that the video of a white cat falling down a table seems more funny and cute than it is supposed to. He is busy looking for more cat videos when he hears someone clear their throat near him.

He looks up to see a blonde, probably in her mid twenties holding her drink in a hand and smiling flirtingly at Louis. Her blue eyes compliment her hair well and the freckles mix the sense of sexy and cute. The red dress clings to her curvy body perfectly in match with her black heels. She's beautiful.

But she's a girl. And Louis is gay.

So, while that girl flirts with Louis the only thing he can think about is how those heels must be killing her poor feet. It's after three minutes of one-sided flirting that Louis lets her know politely that he is into dicks and along with the annoyance, Louis can feel the homphobic vibes radiating off her as she walks away.

It's just five minutes later when he hears someone else clear their throat and Louis decides he is just gonna flat out say no and not waste both of their time so he looks up and sees--oh.

"Hello there, the bathroom guy." Louis contemplates if it's reality or just the effect of alcohol because why the fuck is Harry Styles here? He is wearing a simple blue shirt with black jeans and even then he looks like he could walk on a runway. He is smiling at Louis with his eyebrows raised and Louis is slightly glad he has alcohol in his system so he has the confidence to do this.

"Funny running into you here, mate." Louis stands to give him a side-bro-pal hug which is gladly accepted and Harry moves to say, signalling at the seat, "May I?"

"Of course, of course." Louis himself settles down and takes a deep breath because he is at a bar with Harry Styles. "What is a pop star like you doing here on a Thursday night?"

Harry chuckles lightly and for some weird unexplainable reason, it sounds too deep and warm to Louis. "Just thought about having a night out. This is my favourite club so I usually come here. What about you?"

"Uh well, I am just sitting at the bar drinking... alone. As you can see, I am very cool and not pathetic at all." Louis says sheepishly to Harry who lets out a laugh. "I actually came here with Niall."

Harry asks, eyebrows slightly creased and one hand on the counter, "Mr Horan?"

Louis scoffs, putting his phone back into the pocket of his denim. "Mr Horan? It's Niall. Yeah, we have been best mates since middle school." Harry nods in realization. "You come here often?"

Louis continues to say, "I don't really go to these types of clubs.  It gets awkward to reject someone."

The pop star seems confused and on a different tangent, not really sure about what he means."What do you mean...?"

With alcohol in his system providing a pretty strong base to confidence, and probably stupidity, he replies, slightly amused, "I am not into girls if you catch my drift."

His green eyes widen slightly as realization hits. "You-you are gay?"

The blue-eyed boy tenses a bit and raises his eyebrows. He says, a bit defensive, "You have a problem with that, mate?"

"No, no. Not at all," Harry quickly shakes his head, "I am sorry, I just assumed."

He passes him a comforting smile, shaking his head at the nuance.  "Assumptions are scarcely ever right. That's one of the main reasons I don't like coming to a straight bar. You either stumble upon assuming then awkward people or assuming then homophobic people." Louis notices Harry is slightly amused so he continues, "Now, like that girl," He points towards the girl who had earlier hit on him and now is looking at him with a weird expression on her face along with her friends, "she is a homophobe."

Harry frowns, shifting a bit closer to Louis unconsciously, with his elbows on the glass counter, the sleeves tightening against his biceps, "She said something rude to you?"

"Naah," Louis shakes his head, "I got the vibes from her when I told her I wasn't really into female parts."

Harry lets out a chuckle. "Fair enough."

Louis smiles then lets out an exasperated sigh, frustration clear on his features. "It's the twenty-first century for God's sake. You would think people would stop being homophobic assholes. But, then again, I guess mentality is a thing of society, not modernity."

Harry opens his mouth to say something then closes it. Then he looks down. Louis eyes him and says, "You can ask whatever you want to." Louis's sexuality is one of the few things that Louis isn't insecure about. And he knows those things are pretty less when it comes to him so he never hesitates to talk about it.

Harry looks a bit guilty and then asks, "You said that you just knew she is homophobic. Does that mean you got... bullied?" His arms tighten themselves around him at the word, his anxiety getting the better of him.

"You can ask about it openly. It's not something I am afraid of or don't want to discuss." Louis sets his empty beer can on the counter and turns to him. "Yeah, I did get bullied. Nobody ever really likes high school if you are not a part of the status quo especially if you are from a small town. But I think it's something bigger and complex than mere high school bullying. We fight a battle every day. With ourselves and them. Every time we see someone cringing at the word 'gay'. I knew I wasn't wrong about being who I was or who I wanted to be." Louis knew more stories then he would like to about people killing themselves because they just couldn't accept who they were because society made them feel like it was wrong. He had decided a long time ago he wasn't going to become one of them. "Plus, my dad left when he found out I was gay," and a lot of other reasons, "so, I knew it couldn't get worse." As soon as he let those words out he curses at himself. Was that too personal? Too uncomfortable?

But Harry just lets out a shaky breath and says, "That's a big dick move."

Louis bites his lower lip and sighs in return. "It is, I guess."

Harry looks upward at the shining blue chandelier and golden lights. "Guess our world isn't that accepting and open."

Louis nods. "It's true. For me, the world would achieve that when people from the LGBTQ community wouldn't have to fear about coming out or getting killed or even come out. I mean, do straight people ever come out? No, because even the thought of it sounds ridiculous. And today every person is assumed straight unless stated otherwise. It should be like, you show up home with a boy without coming out and everyone should have the same reaction as they would have if it was a girl."

"You have given it a lot of thought," Harry says with a smile.

Louis shrugs. "Though there are a lot of people today who are working towards it. But even though the world is changing and people are more accepting, we have a long way to go."

Harry looks at him for a moment. He gulps. "We do have a long way to go." He nods and says again, looking down. "Yeah, yeah, we do."