Work Text:
louis's proper fucked.
she's standing in the dimly lit hallway of the complex she and zayn live in. on a normal night, she'd let herself in, or pound on the door until zayn let her in. but zayn isn't home, and she hasn't got her keys. no, louis had to go and take the wrong jacket when she left the club, and in the pocket where she would normally store her keys, she's found a single avocado.
louis is about 99% sure she's taken harry's jacket. she met harry at the club, a girl with bright green eyes and long curly hair and even longer legs. she had complimented louis, nice jacket, only for louis to realize that she was wearing the exact same jacket. they had chatted it up, then, because harry is the first girl louis has met who has the same jacket as her, and she's awful pretty, so why not? they had danced as well, and when louis had left it had been with hesitance. now, though, she realizes she took harry's jacket instead of her own, and harry's avocado instead of her keys. and that's sort of a problem.
zayn can't let her in, of course, because she's still at zuzu's, where the "most beautiful girl in all of existence" works. liam's cute, sure, but louis thinks zayn may be a little biased. the point remains, however, that zayn is absent in louis's time of crisis and that just won't do.
louis sighs, leaning against her door and slumping down to the floor. she's exhausted, and she has work in the morning and no bed to sleep in. she stares blankly at the door across the hall, contemplating whether or not it's socially acceptable to ask to crash with a neighbor you've never met. she thinks it probably isn't.
she pulls out her phone (which is probably going to die soon, considering she's called and texted zayn about a million times with no luck) and opens up her notes. there, she types:
curly, you took my jacket.
we've got the same hawk & co. jacket. it appears i took yours from the club and left mine by mistake. mine had my keys, which i clearly need. yours had an avocado in the pocket, which i'm assuming is equally important.
she screenshots the note and posts it on twitter— just in case, she's got tons of followers that could maybe help— then shuts off her phone and shoves it back into her pocket. she closes her eyes and thumps her head back against the door, and again, and again, until she's sure she's going to have an even bigger headache in the morning. she's so busy working herself towards a concussion, louis almost doesn't hear the person clearing their throat above her. when she notices who it is, she jumps up with a grin. "harry!"
harry smiles back just as wide and goes in for a hug. "louis! what are you doing outside my flat?"
louis blinks and pulls back, brow furrowing. "i'm sorry... your flat?"
"yeah," harry nods towards the door across from louis's, "my flat. my friend niall and i have lived here for about a year now. you took the wrong jacket, by the way, but i guess you figured that out since you've come to return it. how'd you find where i live, anyhow? you're not a stalker, right?"
louis's full on frowning, now. "um, no, i'm definitely not a stalker. and i didn't come to return your jacket? i'm locked out of my flat?"
"so you wander into a random complex and wait outside the door to my flat by coincidence?"
"no, i wander into my complex and wait outside my door in defeat," louis responds slowly, pointing behind her. "i live here, in 34B. are you saying you're in 35?"
"yeah," harry responds, looking a bit in awe. "are you— how could we have possibly been this close the entire time? surely i would have noticed someone as beautiful as you."
louis blushes at that, shoving her hands into her coat pockets for lack of anything better to do with them. when she feels the avocado, though, she's reminded of her original predicament. "here's your coat back, by the way. um, why is there an avocado in your pocket?"
harry bursts out laughing at that, hand louis her coat and taking her own. "i was going to eat it on the way home, if i got hungry. i didn't, which is good. although i guess you weren't too excited to have it instead of your keys. i'd apologize, but you're the one who took the wrong coat, so."
"so i'm the one who should apologize. sorry," louis chuckles. "but hey, at least it wasn't too much of a struggle to get it back. why'd you leave so early, anyway? it's only like," she checks her watch, "ten o'clock."
"well," harry rocks back onto her heels, chewing at her lip. "you see, i met a very pretty girl tonight."
louis deflates a little. "oh?"
"yeah. but she had to go home and get some sleep because she had work tomorrow. so i told myself, harry, you came out to have fun tonight, not fall in love with a complete stranger. so have fun. so i had a few more drinks, danced with a few people, but it was.... boring, i guess? and i wasn't having much fun, so. i left." harry shrugs. "i had no idea that i'd get home and find the same pretty girl on her ass in the hallway."
"oh," louis says, perking up again and smiling shyly. "yeah, well, i didn't know that the person i'd been considering asking to let me stay over was the prettiest girl in all of zuzu's, so. i guess we're both winners."
harry grins, glancing down at her worn out boots before looking back at louis with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "i'm not sure if you believe in fate or destiny or whatever, but i do, so. could i maybe have your number?"
louis's cheeks are starting to hurt from how hard she's smiling. "i totally believe in fate. my friend zayn thinks i'm crazy, but she's boring and a little bit biased." harry laughs and offers her phone, which louis takes and programs her number into, writing louis!!! as the contact name. "so. i really do have work in the morning," louis laughs, nodding back towards the door to her flat. "i really should be getting some sleep. maybe i could see you some time tomorrow, or...?"
"that'd be awesome," harry agrees, pulling her own keys out of the pocket of her jeans. maybe louis should look into that instead of carrying hers in her coat pockets. "i'll call you?"
"yeah. go ahead and text me too, if you don't mind, so i'll have your number. i've got to get to bed, though. it was nice talking to you again, miss.....?"
"styles," harry fills in for her.
"harry styles."
"please don't laugh, i like you and would hate to have to never speak to you again."
"i won't laugh, though i will say there's only two directions you could go with a name like that— pop star or porn star. goodnight, harry styles."
"goodnight, louis last-name."
"dork. it's tomlinson."
"and you laughed at styles."
"shut up and get out of my sight."
harry throws her head back and lets out another laugh. "sweet dreams, louis," she says softly. "i'll see you tomorrow."
"goodnight, harry," louis answers, still smiling as she unlocks the door. "remember to eat your avocado before it goes bad."
"will do."
louis waves one last time before finally shutting her door, locking it, and trudging over to her room. she sheds her clothes on the trek to her bed and all but dives into it, burrowing under the covers and closing her eyes with a sigh. she dreams of chocolate waves and green flowers and avocado trees and sparkling smiles and thinks she'd very much like to spend everyday with harry.