Louis

Louis checked his wristwatch. Was she even going to show up? He paced nervously in the small cafe and, once again, looked at his watch.

After breaking up with Eleanor over a year ago, Louis had become quite the flirty one. And, when he noticed a beautiful fan continuously tweeting him one day, he’d decided some harmless flirting wouldn’t hurt. Right?

Wrong. For he fell in love with her. They’d had a bit of a Jai Brooks and Ariana Grande relationship, shamelessly playing and joking online. Finally, Louis had suggested they meet up. Though they’d exchanged numbers, texted, called, Skyped, FaceTimed, anything (you name it!) Louis still didn’t feel close to her. To you.

Because you lived in America. In a small town, a forgotten little city. One of those places that you ignore when you drive through or stop at, just for the gas station. But they didn’t know that your tiny city had tons of potential…well, you thought so, anyways. You loved going around and fixing up broken things around the town. You’d easily become a regular in many places, going so much they’d ask you if you wanted your ‘usual’, which you always did. You were quite hesitant at the idea of meeting Louis. What if it was all a joke? Although you knew Louis was a sweetheart and would never do that, you couldn’t stop it from entering your mind sometimes.

Louis decided to take a seat. Suddenly, a group of people approached him. All about late 30’s, early 40’s. They pulled chairs around the table he’d sat at, all studying him with great detail.

“So, you’re the boy, huh?” One of the older men with a bushy mustache and thick-rimmed glasses spoke up.

“Sorry?” Louis asked.

The group exchanged teasing smiles but saw his genuine confusion and dispelled them.

“You’re the boy that our little girl loves, huh?”

Louis got it. At first, he’d thought maybe they were here to beat him up or something. But soon he recognized them all. You’d linked him pictures, showing him almost all of the people around town. Your parents left you when you were little outside of a random person’s doorstep.

Auntie Jude. She owned the local diner..Jude’s Diner. Creative, right? Well, Jude took the little girl right in, marveling at her tiny hands and beautiful eyes. She proclaimed her with a beautiful name, and showed all of the friends that were there that night.

John Jacobs. A fairly young old man, who owned the mechanic store. He taught you how to ride your first bike.

Betty Sawyer, Jane Hamilton, Tara Haas, three ladies that managed the beauty shop downtown, next to Frank Dack’s burger joint. The four had gave you discounts on haircuts and cars or tires.

Ruby Darling, she owned the very cafe/bakery you were to meet Louis in and it was called ‘Darling’s’. Original names in this town, yeah? She’d often made you cakes or cookies when you felt upset and wandered to her store.

These were only part of your large ‘family’ but Louis loved meeting them.

“I guess so, sir. But I love her ten times more.” Three ladies, which Louis knew were Betty, Jane, and Tara, awwe’d and lightly slapped his arm. Frank and John stood up, walking around and studying the pop sensation and city boy in front of them. Louis smiled up at Frank, which Frank returned.

“Nice to meet ya, boy.” He said, country accent drawling.

“Likewise!” Louis said.

They sat there all for another hour, Ruby and Jude taking quite a liking to him. Which was great, because they were the most protective over Y/N. They were the ones who saw her darkest moments, her most sad times. So to see this boy practically burst with love with her was great. They told him funny stories, like the time she’d tried to run away when she was 14 but only made it a mile out of town before she called and whined at John to come pick her up.

Or when you were 16, just learning to drive, and Frank thought it’d be a good idea to accompany John in teaching you. (The girls thought that wasn’t fair, so they all tagged along, too.) You kept hitting the brake, for fear of driving too fast and hitting into something. Louis laughed and laughed, on the brink of tears, when the familiar bell rang out and the silence started. Louis spun in his chair, mouth dropping open. He saw you in person for the first time.

Across the small cafe, your heart beat frantically. You pushed your naturally wavy hair out of your face and tried to calm yourself. You weren’t dressed up, only in a button up shirt and some shorts. It was only 68 degrees out, after all. Not too much of a breeze, either. You smiled and gave him a small wave. Louis scooted his chair out, walking closer and closer to you. It was only seconds before he got there, but somehow it felt like hours. Before he’d even reached you, your mind had gone through all of the conversations you had with him. As he wrapped his arms around you, you sobbed. This was real. This was actually happening. You took it all in, thinking back of all of the things you’ve gone through.

You remembered Skyping with him for the first time, which wasn’t really awkward at all. You two just conversed and laughed and flirted and had a nice time.

You remembered one of the nights he had called you. You’d forgotten what the damn fight was about, but it ended up with him hanging up and you running to Darling’s and eating a couple cookies while laying in Ruby’s arms until he called you again and again until you answered and apologized frequently.

You remembered FaceTiming with him before a concert of his, encouraging him and telling him you just knew he’d do great.

And the memory that affected you the most, was the first time he told you he loved you.

It was a lazy summer night, two in the morning. 8 for him, the time difference never really completely affecting any of your conversations. You were both wide awake, talking about everything and anything on the phone all night. You were outside and looking at the stars shine bright as possible, and he was outside, too, seeing the clouds dully float by. You’d told a random used joke, which he laughed at simply because it was stupid. You were all into cheesy jokes, but sometimes you laughed before you even finished them and he laughed, too, because your laugh was contagious. It was like a secondhand high. And it was one of those times, where you’d tried to tell a dumb joke but failed miserably. And in the middle of your hysterics, he’d whispered the love. And you felt it. You stopped laughing.

“I..I love you, too, Louis.” You had said. And then you cried because you’d never felt a feeling so strong before. And he calmed you and told you it was natural to feel this. Because he felt it, too.

You really did love him. And so when he pulled away you just brought him back and only pulled back the slightest bit to study his gorgeous and handsome features.

Louis looked down at you, shocked at the sight of your beauty. Of course he knew how beautiful you were, you’d Skyped and sent weird selfies. But none of those compared to what was right in front of him. Your full, plump lips and shiny eyes. You were too hard to resist. So he leant in, you getting the hint and standing on your tippy-toes, giggling before you kissed him because he was so tall and you were so tiny.

The kiss was passionate, full of love. It also earned many wolf-whistles from the forgotten crowd behind you. Louis and you pulled away shyly, cheeks red and hands rubbing your own necks nervously. They laughed at you and just smiled and remembered their own young loves nostalgically.

When the laughter died down, Louis glanced at you before leaving your side and having a quiet word with Frank and John and..well..the whole crowd.

You strained to hear the conversation, but when they noticed, they only spoke quieter. You gave up lamely and stood there, waiting for the conversation to end.

”..give you our word.” They all spoke in unison. Louis smiled widely, thanking them all and giving them hugs. Some of the ladies gave him cheeky kisses and sent him off. He took a couple long strides to you and smiled widely.

”..What?!” You exclaimed. Louis took your hands in his, putting your foreheads together.

“Will you do me the absolute honor of being my girlfriend?” He asked shyly. You giggled and tapped his nose.

“Of course I will, silly! You don’t even know how long I’ve been waiting for that question.” You replied excitedly.

The men behind them groaned.

“Tell me about it!” Frank complained.

“Do you think Lou is gonna ask me out? I just love him so much! And if he does, when do ya think he’s gonna do it?! I just can’t wait! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!” John mimicked.

You flushed red and dropped your gaze to the floor, only to have Louis place his fingers underneath your chin and bring it back up. He kissed your cheek many times, just because he could.

“I think it’s cute.” He mumbled, only for you to hear. You kissed him on the lips one last time before you yanked him to the door and spun around.

“Well, we’regonnagoseeamovieorsomethingIdunnoI’mjustgonnagetoutherebeforeyouguysembarrassmeanymoreIloveyouI’llbehomelaterbye!” You said in a rush, pulling Louis out of there in a hurry.

And that’s where it really began. That’s where it really started.