The Love Pact

"You're kidding, right?" Louis said, smiling at his father.

When Mark Tomlinson stayed quiet, sitting straight while looking at him, Louis' smile disappeared as he laughed loudly.

"Cut it out! You got me there. Fine, it's funny." He raised his two hands in surrender but the man still didn't speak. That's when he panicked.

"You're really serious?" Louis stated with wide eyes, staring at his father's serious expression for a few seconds. Oh my Gosh! He's really serious! Louis doesn't know if he should laugh or cry.

"Son, stay calm and sit-"

"No, I will not sit down, Dad!" He blurted out, then paced angrily around their living room. "Let me get this straight. You want me to marry someone that I haven't seen even once in my life? That's hilarious!" Had his father gone senile? Maybe he should call their family doctor to check his father up.

"That's not true, Sweetie. You were playmates before you turned one year old-"

"Oh, that's great. That makes him my first friend then." He sarcastically commented. "What kind of lousy argument is that, Dad?"

The old man sighed which caused Louis' brows to furrow. Never had his father ran out of what to say- may it be an abandonment case, the weather or the latest cellphone model. He halt in his steps and asked, "What's wrong, Dad?" Concern was etched on his face.

"Lou, you haven't even seen the guy. Why not give him a chance?"

Louis smiled despite himself. Whew! His Dad's fine.

He kneeled down in front of his father and held the old man's hands. It had been a long day and he was tired from taking care of the abandonment cases where he works. He's out of strength to duel with wits and charm so he dropped the game and went straight to the point.

"Dad, I don't know what kind of badly rotten food had entered your system to cause you to think like this, but.." He looked straight at his father's eyes. "..there's no way I'm going to marry this guy. I don't know him, I feel nothing for him, he's probably dating someone else and I also happen to like someone else too..."

Gosh, he really can't believe this. Mark Tomlinson had always been on the side of angels and justice, fighting for the rights of those who were abandoned and abused and against abusive capitalists. He doesn't understand how could this same man wanted such an injustice to his only child.

"It's not fair, Dad." Louis tried to cover the hurt in his voice. "It's not right to force people to do things they don't want to do, specially when you know that it will have a big effect in their lives. You're the one who taught me this." He said with conviction.

"I'm sorry, Lou. This is your mother's dying wish; to marry you to her best friend's only son. Liam's mother and your mother- they were inseparable. This is their wish. I kept this from you because I want to spare you for as long as I can. But I have to do this or else, I won't be able to face your mother in the afterlife." Mr. Tomlinson closed his eyes looking really tired.

Louis felt nervous. Last month, his father suffered from a heart attack and he became kind-of weak since then. Is this because his Dad feels like his time is running out? So he wants to fulfill his wife's dying wish?

"You okay Dad? Wait, I'll call Dr. Higgins." Louis said, about to get the phone on the desk.

"I'm okay, Son." Mark pulled Louis' hand. "I know that this isn't right, but Lou.." Louis could not believe his eyes; his father was close to tears. "I can't break my promise to your mom. I am deeply sorry." Louis was stunned. "I've never asked you for anything before, have I, Lou?"

Louis closed his eyes and tried to absorb what was happening. It's true. Mark never asked him for anything. Ever since Johannah died twenty-three years ago, Mark became his father and his mother. The man spent all of his time on him and on their family business. The man had no vices other than to help other people. Mark had this superman syndrome, like he wants to save the whole world. He would never want to harm anyone, specially not his Louis.

Louis opened his eyes and stared at his father. He can't recognize the man in front of him. Here is his Superman, head down and shoulders sagged.

"You can't do this to me, Dad." Louis was helpless.

"Louis, please." If only what's in front of Louis is his brave and confident father, he would argue and stand his ground. But the image of his old and frail-looking father was breaking his heart.

Don't you dare! Don't even think about it, Louis. This is your life! Shouted his brain.

Yes, this is my life, but he is my father. And the truth is, he is my life. His heart answered.

"I'll think about it, Dad."

"You will Son?" Mark looked like a thorn was taken out off of his chest.

"I'll think about it."

*****

Tip # 1 : Look ugly. Try to look as unattractive as you can. More often that not, people don't like their partners looking like a wierdo. Even you, for sure, wouldn't like someone who looks odd.

That's the first tip that Louis had read in a magazine article. It was entitled, 'How To Turn Someone Off'. So, he picked a shapeless, baggy jeans and a plain bright orange, oversized turtle-neck to wear on that fateful Saturday night. He separated his hair in the middle of his head and flattened it on his forehead. He put on a big, thick, black rimmed glasses that almost covers his whole face and then, he went out of his room.

Louis and his father arrived ten minutes early at a very expensive hotel-restaurant. Geoff Payne was the person who chose the place because if Louis and Mark will pick a place, it will be a less expensive but cozy and warm restaurant. Louis felt disgusted just by sitting there. A meal in that place will reach four digits while somewhere, a lot of families don't even have a single amount of money, or much worse, don't have food.

He knows that his father also thinks the same; Mark looked very uncomfortable just sitting there, feeling as out of place as Louis was.

Louis sighed. Looks like his father is really serious about fulfilling her mother's last wish if he's willing to endure this.

"They're late." Louis said, trying to sound annoyed after twenty-five minutes of waiting, but the truth is he's happy and he's even praying for the Payne father and son not to arrive.

"Yes, Lou, but they're here now."

Louis stiffened, then shot his eyes at the doorway. His vision was met with two guys, walking toward them looking like Gods from Olympus who just took the day off to try and live the lives of normal mortals.

In a different situation, Louis would've liked the old Payne. In his opinion, the man is just the same age as his father and like Mark, Geoff was also tall and had an easy smile. Too bad he was determined to hate him- he and his son.

The younger Payne was tall and muscled, slightly buzz cut brown hair that had grown longer on top, perfectly chiseled features, deep set of warm brown eyes... He had to admit, the guy was quite a looker. Well, okay, that was an understatement. He was actually devilishly handsome.

But so what? Louis knows that there are much more important things than the physical attributes of a person.

He hadn't noticed that his eyes had stayed on the guy longer than necessary. He caught Liam's gaze then the guy surveyed him from his boringly flattened hair to his red toms. Liam scoffed.

Louis' eyes widened. He doesn't know if he should laugh or get annoyed. But the better side of him took control. Easy, he told himself. This is exactly what you want- to disgust him and send him running off.

"Mark, it's good to see you again." The old Payne greeted them.

His father smiled then extended his hand to offer a handshake to the two men who had just arrived. "Yes, indeed, I'm happy that you're back."

"Mark, we deserve more than a handshake." Geoff gave his father a hug. Then, he turned to him. "Well, this must be your Louis."

No, I am the waiter. Who else would I be?, Louis wanted to sass, but instead, he extended his hand to him for a handshake.

"Yes, Sir, I'm Louis Tomlinson."

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Liam snap his head towards him, wide-eyed. Louis brushed it off as nothing.

Geoff held his hand tightly but gently. "Has anybody told you that you look exactly like your mother?"

Before, comments like that always makes him happy, but now, upon learning that his mother had set him off to marry someone, Louis felt a sudden hostility towards her. "So they say, Mr. Payne." He just said.

"That's too formal. Call me 'Uncle Geoff' for the time being while you two haven't tied the knot yet. You're my godson after all." Geoff said, smiling before introducing him to the devil.

"This is my son, Liam Payne. Son, meet your future husband and future father-in-law."

Louis wants to go on a rally that moment. He wants to flip the big table in the private room upside down and go to the court to sue the government for not lobbying a bill that says parents should not interfere with their child's marriage and that it's illegal.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Tomlinson, Louis." Liam greeted, smiling. But the smile did not reach his eyes, Louis noted.

"Shall we take our seats?" Mark said.

That was Louis' cue. The very second they're seated, Louis did the Tip #2 that he had read in the article.

This doesn't apply to all, but most of the time, they doesn't like their partners to be talkative. In that case, Louis has an advantage.

"So, what shall we have-"

He cut off his father's sentence. "I suggest we skip the meat, Dad, and settle with vegetable salad." Louis said as he scanned the menu then he met Geoff Payne's gaze directly.

"Do you know, Uncle, how many people all over the world die of heart attack, high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis, all of which are associated with eating cholesterol-rich diet such as meat?"

"No, Dear. I'm afraid I don't." Geoff answered unsurely.

"Three people in every four minutes die of heart attack. One of the primary cause of deaths is high blood pressure for 227,000 Americans, while cases of arteriosclerosis are reported to increase each year. It's really scary to think what a piece of meat can do to your system. Some of the people I know said that I shouldn't worry because I'm still young but I said no. Heart problems can start as early as two years old. I think, meat should be banned in our country and eating vegetables must be promoted. Come to think of it, there's really not much nutrition a person can get from meat. Yes, a hundred gram intake of meat can provide twenty-five percent of iron and B vitamins, but it only gives about nine percent of energy. So, maybe, it is really a good source of protein which yields amino acids. And since our body cannot produce eight essential amino acids, we need to rely on protein foods. But meat isn't the only one that has proteins. Tofu, for one, is high in protein. What's more is that it is low in salt and calories and it's also cholesterol-free! As for vitamin B, well, we've got oatmeal, peanuts, corns, tomatoes, fresh vegetables. For iron, just stay under the sun from 7:00-9:00 a.m. And you can get iron, for free!"

"Anyway, meat doesn't really taste that good. Frankly, I hate the taste of it. Besides, everytime that I see meat, I wonder about the poor animal that has to be slaughtered just for us to eat. Have you seen a pig being slaughtered, Uncle? Pity. The poor animal screams very very loudly. Maybe, if you had observed that, you would agree with me and you won't eat pork or any other meat for that matter. So, shall we order a meat-free meal then?" He asked, smiling sweetly.

The three men around the table was quiet with shock. Louis peaked at Liam and he almost burst out laughing at the guy's face. Liam was staring at him like he was an alien with two heads.

"Well, my child," He heard Geoff say after getting over his shock. He was smiling at him and there seemed to be awe in the old man's eyes. "You may look like Johannah, but you have the same thinking as your father." Geoff chuckled, turning to Mark. "Just like you, Mark, he has an opinion for everything under the sun, eh?" Geoff looked at Louis again. "By the way Louis, I am a vegetarian." The older Payne grinned.

Louis wants to scream. He feels like all of his hardwork was thrashed. Shit. He thought of that speech for hours and it has no effect?

He grabbed the glass of water in front of him and bottomed it out. Calm down, Louis, he advised himself. The fight has just began. For sure, after a while, they'll get bored and annoyed.

Louis continued talking his mouth off like a machine gun until the dinner finished. Even though some of the things that he's saying has no sense anymore, he kept on talking. He did not allow them to even say more than two sentences.

To his dismay, it seemed like the older Payne enjoyed his talkativeness. While Liam kept quiet, but from time to time, he saw the guy stiffling a laugh.

They're already done with their dinner and Geoff, Liam and Mark are drinking coffee while he's trying to calm himself with tea. Geoff's phone rang and he stood up and excused himself to answer the phone, walking out because the signal inside the restaurant was weak. After that, Mark stood up and excused himself to go to the bathroom.

When it's just the two of them, Liam let out the laugh that he'd been hiding.

"What's so funny?" Louis asked icily. He's in a really bad mood now because nothing's going the way he wanted.

"You, who else?" Liam answered, smirking.

"And what is funny about me?" Louis answered heatedly.

Liam laughed again. "Looks like your true colors are already out. Where's the sweet and very polite Louis who talked endlessly about almost everything a while ago? Is he already tired of pretending?"

It was Louis' turn to smile, but his eyes were sharp. "And where did the quiet and modest Liam earlier? What happened and you became talkative?" The smile on Liam's face disappeared while the one on Louis' face widened.

Liam paused then stared at him for a long time before saying, "It's obvious that you're doing everything to sabotage this night but as it turns out, it has the opposite effect. You're not doing your homework properly." Louis opened his mouth to answer but Liam raised his hand to stop him. "Hold it. Don't interrupt. You've been talking since the beginning. Now listen to me. Did you know that you just aggravated the situation? My father is pretty old-fashioned, but he also admire a person that is strong and smart. Tonight, you did everything to look conservative with your clothes and smart with your talking. Do you know what that means? You couldn't have been any more perfect in my father's eyes even if you tried." Liam said, smiling sarcastically.

Louis doesn't want to admit it, but he knows that Liam has a point if what he said about his father is true.

He forced himself to be reasonable. "So what do you suggest?"

"I suggest that you tell your father that you would rather jump from a fifty-story building than marry me." Liam said nonchalantly.

If murder wasn't a crime, he would've stabbed the guy already. "Why am I the one who should say that? Why not you?"

"I can't. My father will surely have a heart attack if I insist what I want. He won't be able to accept it if he will be the one to destroy their pact." He said simply.

"So, it's okay if my father will be the one to have a heart attack and get mad, is that it?" He spat.

"I don't care." Liam shrugged his shoulders. "You're the one who should break off the engagement."

Louis was sure his face was beet red. "And if I don't?"

Liam smiled charmingly. "Trust me, you wouldn't be able to win against me."

Liam pulled over in front of a famous club where he and his friends chose to meet. He opened his car door and walked towards the entrance of the club. A blast of loud music and colorful lights welcomed him as he entered.

It'd been two weeks since he came home from America but he hadn't found time to see his college friends until now. He'd been busy with business-related affairs as preparation for his formal introduction as the next CEO of their hotel business. Not to mention his problem about his 'fiancé'.

He smiled upon remembering Louis. This past few days, Louis and his 'Operation: Ruin the Engagement' had been his main source of entertainment.

It all started when he realized that his father was serious about marrying him off to the son of his mother's best friend. He only found out about his dear fiancé when he came back from America. It was his mother's dying wish and his father was ready to shake heaven and hell just to fulfill it. In this advanced age and time, same sex relationships were just normal and male pregnancy is rare but not that surprising anymore.

At first, he was livid and determinedly said no. But after Geoff had an attack due to high blood pressure and was confined for a few days at the hospital, being his father's son won over. It isn't obvious but he loves his father very much. But of course, being the arrogant, selfish, manipulative, cunning and creative person that he is, he turned the problem into a challenge. And that's when 'Operation: Ruin the Engagement' started- or to be more apt, 'Operation: Ruin Louis'. His smile broadened with the thought.

Liam sat down on a table near the bar and ordered a drink. He scanned the crowd for a familiar face but there's none.

Great, those morons dare to make me wait? Not one of his friends was there yet. Then, his mind drifted back to his fiancé.

Louis was younger to him by two years and the first and last time they met was when Louis was still a baby, then they moved to America and he had never seen the boy again. He heard stories about him from his mother but he never really paid attention to it. His parents and Louis' parents kept in touch with each other though. If he had known that they were planning an arranged marriage for him and Louis before, he would have told them to stop.

But it was too late now. The only thing he could do is to make Louis admit defeat and tell his father to stop this marriage because there is no way in hell will he risk his father's health again.

After a thorough research about Louis Tomlinson, he learned that the most convenient part where he can attack the boy was at his work. Right after their dinner, he initialized the 'Operation'. The first part was sending the company where Louis works a lot of complaint letters about the boy being inefficient and irresponsible. After a week of pestering, the second phase of his plan started, wherein, with the help of an insider, he managed to spread a rumor that Louis is a masochist and that the younger boy had an abortion- when he learned that Louis can get pregnant. Liam wasn't able to stop chuckling as he thought about it.

I should have been a writer. He praised himself. I'm so good at making up stories. He can almost picture out Louis' hysterical and fury-filled face. He bet that the boy will be able to stand it for a week and then, he will surrender. If not, well, he could still come up with a couple of creative ways to torment him.

*****

"Louis I'm serious, you should not think about the rumors in the office."

"You're right, Zayn."

Liam automatically turned his head to the source of the voice. Despite the music around him, he will never miss that voice. It kept ringing in his ears the whole night that first time he ever heard it. He solemnly looked at the pair sitting behind his table. He furrowed his eyebrows and took in the smaller boy's appearance- caramel-brown feathery hair, slightly sun-kissed skin which can still be considered fairly-white, pixie-like- confirmed. The 'Louis' on that table is his fiancé. He recognized him through the pictures that he saw during his research and even though his appearance is far from the hideous look he had the last time they saw each other.

He felt something stir in his guts as he realized how delicate Louis' features are. He hate to admit it, but the pictures doesn't do him justice. Louis was prettier in person. The boy was also smaller than him that it was fascinating. Not to mention the boy's melodious and angelic voice that always pulls him out of his thoughts. It even caused him to snap his head towards him when he heard his voice for the first time that night of their dinner. To say that he was taken aback by it was an understatement. He doesn't know the reason but it was very catchy for him.

"Nobody believes in those crap. Cheer up, Boo." Liam lifted his eyebrows at the pet name.

"I know that, Zee. It's just that, it's hard not to get affected." Louis smiled at the person she's talking to. And the sweetness in the boy's smile did not go unnoticed by Liam's sharp sensory perception.

He chuckled to himself. At the age of twenty-five, Liam was already an expert in the art of flirting. And he cannot be mistaken- Louis was flirting with this guy.

A dark plan in his mind formed immediately. He stood up and walked towards the two. The 'Attack-Your-Opponent's-Weakness' that he learned was really handy.

"What do you think you're doing here, Louis?" He demanded harshly upon nearing his target.

"Who.. L-Liam?" Louis was surprised and did not recognized him immediately.

"Are you cheating on me?" He harshly grabbed the boy's arm.

"What-"

"Isn't it enough that you aborted our baby? Now what's this? You're cheating on me?" He shook Louis' shoulders.

"Dude, you're hurting him!"

Liam turned to Louis' companion. "You! Stay the hell away from this! I'm his fiancé and we even should have a child by now if he didn't-"

"Stop!" Louis demanded him. "Zee, don't listen to him. This guy is insane-"

"And you'll deny it? You two-timing-"

"You!" Eyes blazing with anger, Louis stood up suddenly and pulled Liam away from the table.

*****

Liam was smirking and contentedly looking at a very pissed off Louis who is pacing back and forth. He was comfortably leaning against a post outside the club where he was pulled by the overly enraged boy.

"What now? Shoot your fire." He drawled after a couple of seconds. Louis threw him a glare, but still continued his pacing, then he suddenly stopped and turned to him.

"You know what? I never imagined that there's really someone like you, who would do such childish things just to piss somebody off! How old are you Liam? Are you really this immature?"

He frowned. For someone who was exposed to a lot of harsh social realities because of his work at a charity association, Liam found this boy very naïve.

"You disappoint me, Boo. Shouldn't you be used to people like me because of your work at a charity? As for being childish, well, it's okay to be like that sometimes, as long as I can annoy and irritate the hell out of you." He smiled sweetly.

Louis snorted. "First, don't call me Boo. Only my friends can call me that." Louis looked at him straight in the eyes. "Looks like you also did not do your homework properly. Complaint letters? Masochist? Abortion? Those are nothing. It would take a whole lot more than that to break me." Louis said, voice harsh.

The arrogant Payne shrugged his shoulders. "Fine then. I can still come up with more creative ways to break you, my dear fiancé." He smirked at him.

"Then prepare to be disappointed. You can't break me, I will not be the one to risk their father's health and pride to stop this engagement." Louis answered.

They had a glaring contest for a couple of seconds when they heard a scream in an alleyway from the other side of the street. When Liam looked at it, he saw a small boy laying on the ground and standing near it is a big man. He's about to turn his attention back on Louis, but his fiancé suddenly ran across the street. Before he could react, he saw that Louis was already arguing with the man.

"What the hell." Liam whispered. He had never seen anyone acted so impulsively and stupidly. The argument between the two heated up and he saw the man pushed Louis harshly. His feet involuntarily took a step towards them, but he stopped dumbfounded when he saw that Louis did not even paid attention to the man and went towards the child on the ground. Looks like the big man's patience ran out and he punched Louis. Liam cursed as he automatically moved to ran across the street. But because of the green light, he wasn't able to cross the street quickly. He saw the man took a step in front of Louis and was about to hurt him again. He cursed again and just ignored the traffic light and the cars.

"Shit. I will not reach them in time." Liam cursed himself when he saw that the man grabbed Louis' arm. Then suddenly, Louis positioned his back towards the man and using the arm that was holding his arm, and with all his strength, he threw the man down.

The man was laying on the ground and was groaning in pain when Liam reached their spot, panting. Louis was now checking the child and trying to carry him. He approached Louis in anger.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Liam shouted. Louis was startled by him, like he forgot that he was with him a while ago.

"What I'm doing is none of your business."

"Yeah, sure! But you did notice that you could have been seriously injured! How stupid can you get?" He can't believe that Louis could do such a stupid thing. More importantly, he can't believe that Louis actually made him worry. Well, it was not that he was worried really or that he actually cared, but seriously, even if he's an asshole sometimes- okay, maybe he's an asshole most of the time, if not all the time- still, he can't just stand there and watch Louis get hurt, can he?

To his utter annoyance, Louis ignored him like he's non-existent. He was busy lifting up the child. Liam stared at Louis while he was weakly and trying so hard to carry the child- a part of his jaw was red and already starting to form a bruise from where the man had punched him. His lips also has blood.

"You're bleeding." Louis ignored him again. Cursing to himself, he took the child from Louis.

"Hey, what are- Liam!"

"Stop!" He said, crossing the street while carrying the child. Adrenaline already left Louis' body. It's obvious that no matter what he do, he will never be able to carry the child, unless he drag him along the ground.

"What do you think you're doing? Hey!" Louis said.

Liam went straight to the parking lot, then he opened the door to the back seat and carefully placed the child there.

"Get in." He commanded to a still protesting Louis.

"Liam, I'm trying to be reasonable here. You can't just- hey!" Louis argued when he pulled him and firmly but gently pushed him inside his car. Then, he immediately get in the driver's seat and quickly drove.