Louis made his way down the concrete stairs descending from the main building of his university. His ear buds pumping waves of music for his body to swallow and enjoy.

His mind was elsewhere as he watched his feet move down the stairway.

It was a typical day in England, overcast sky and the pavement he descended upon was damp with last nights rain.

He'd just finished his drama class as he was studying to be a drama teacher.

Louis pulled his coat around him tighter, a slight chill running past his thin shirt as the wind blew and nipped at his skin.

When Louis looked up he was met with Mckenzie, -a fellow student- she was waving to get his attention, which she so desperately craved, like many other girls. He waved a hand and accompanied it with a facial expression to let her know he had 'somewhere to be,' although he wasn't going anywhere in particular. He just didn't want to trap himself in her company. She was very forward and tended to push herself on him, making him very uncomfortable. Louis was most definitely gay. He had always known, along with his mother who supported him the whole way.

Louis was never bullied for his sexuality, he was secure in himself and had a confidence that people seemed to love. He could be loud and bold without a second thought. He was well known in high school and generally the center of all things, people were drawn to him for his flamboyant personality. He was easy to talk to, understanding, a bit cheeky and caring over all. And due to him being so camp and comfortable with himself he had never had much of a struggle with others negativity. People never seemed to bully him for it and never received any hate for who he was.

But he was old enough to know that there were people out there who wouldn't understand him, or not accept him. He was fully aware of homophobes and the damage they could inflict on a person. He'd gotten the occasional comment that would put a small dent in his confidence, but he was strong enough to not let anyone tear him down. He wore his brave face and covered any remnants of hurt behind it. He'd put his heart on his sleeve when he was acting or singing, but once that was over his brave face was slipped back on his heart jumped right back into his chest, away from anyones harmful words.

The twenty-one year old was not sad though. He was a happy lad. His smile was always genuine and his cheerful personality was not a facade. It was rare for him to be without a smile that didn't put his pearly whites on show. His laugh bounced from room to room as he attended classes and ricocheted off the walls of his or his friends flat as they joked around. His eyes were always shining with glee, happy to be where he was and around the people he was. He was a generally happy guy.

Louis moved along the sidewalk, his music pulsing a melody through him as he walked. He finally had a destination in mind and made his way as he bobbed his head lightly to the music pouring from the ear buds he wore.

"Oof!" He sounded as his body collided with another. He stepped back as he realized he'd ran directly into the other person and in turn they had dropped their things.

However they made no move to pick up their items, which confused Louis. He bent down to pick up a notebook that seemed more like a journal by how worn it was, along with a plastic water bottle.

"Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

Silence.

Louis cocked his head to the side, not sure why the boy in front of him wasn't taking the objects that belonged to him. He just stood there, completely frozen with wide eyes.

"Are you okay? I'm really sorry." He pushed the items to him.

Silence.

"Look, just take your stuff. I'm sorry alright." Louis held the things out for the boy to take, but he didn't.

Silence.

Louis was starting to get perturbed by the fact that he was being ignored, or what seemed to be ignored. The boy in front of him just stood there with a vacant expression, his eyes now glued to the cement sidewalk below.

He reached out and grabbed the boys hand about to shove the contents in his own hands into the owners. But the boy had quickly snatched his hand away and stepped back like Louis' touch had burned him.

"What's your problem kid? You don't have to be rude. You could at least say thank you since I picked your stuff up." He knew he was being a bit harsh, but he felt like he was now just being blatantly disrespected. It was an accident that he had bumped into him and he picked up the boys things for him as well, the least he could do was say a simple 'thank you.'

He was just about to drop the items in his hands when the boy before him reached an arm out and waited for Louis to place the objects in his hand.

As Louis placed the weathered journal and water bottle into the hands of the boys before him he took notice of the boys shaking. He would've passed it off as him being cold, but it wasn't cold enough to be shaking and the boy was wearing a jacket heavy enough to keep warm.

Louis didn't say anything else, he just turned maneuvered around the boy and went on his way.

But what he missed was important. The boy had been signing 'thank you' in ASL, even with his shaky hands and obvious discomfort accompanied by fear, he knew the stranger had done him a kindness by picking up his things.