Love Me Please (Larry Stylinson)

17

The day they matched was not the day Louis first saw him.

There was a day much earlier that Louis never talks about. A time when he saw Harry and felt that pull in his heart, telling him he was the one. In order to match, they needed to look into each other's eyes. But Styles wouldn't even look in his direction.

It happened at a party, at Harry's frat. Louis was there with his friends and they were having a relatively good time getting drunk on cheap beer and a gross concoction of hard alcohol mixed with fruit juice. Louis saw him flirting with someone, hand on the wall above the girl's head, leaning in. The spark of jealousy he felt was uncalled for until he felt the ache in his heart and knew what it meant.

They've been taught since they were toddlers to recognize when they finally met the one. Louis remembers how they'd always talk about it at school, reciting the signs and symptoms until everyone knew them by heart before the age of ten. He remembers the quizzes and exams asking about soulmates, all the research they've done and the studies they've read. He remembers everything because he's been socialized to prioritize it, to always pay attention to the fluttering of his heart and the feeling of nausea in his stomach. To feel that pull deep in his core when the time comes. He recognizes the feeling easily because he's been brought up to pay attention to it, to expect it eventually, and to cherish it. To celebrate it.

So he approached them. And he said something he knew both of them heard but only the girl turned to look at him and just laughed mockingly. Harry Styles didn't even give him the time of day.

Going up to talk to a complete stranger wasn't something Louis normally did. In fact, it was something he never did. So the fact that he was taking a risk and being courageous was a big deal. Then, to be rejected like that... It was a mistake he would never make again.