Stranded

Chapter 44: Coincidence

Louis' POV

The sight of her gesticulatively telling a story to a bunch of kids bewildered me.

She is real. The girl in my dreams, the girl of my dreams, is standing only a few meters away from me, dressed in a hilarious but cute carrot costume. It's funny how she stands out not only because of her odd suit, but because of her gorgeousness.

After she finally finished reading the entire story, she finally looked up. Droplets of sweat were trailing down from her forehead but she did not seem to mind. She did not complain about her roasting outfit. She simply wiped her sweat away with the back of her hands.

And then she looked around and saw me. It was not intentional at all. She was just pointlessly looking at the sea of people when her eyes stopped right when they met mine.

I froze just as she did and everything around us seem to be in slow motion. Has she been dreaming about me, us, too?

I'm hoping she has. I hope she knows about the dreams I've been having or she has been dreaming of the same things. I hope... I hope she fell for me just as I did fall for her.

Damn, I have always wanted this moment to come. I've always daydreamed of how it would be like if we would meet. I practically have a small talk rehearsed. But right now, I'm just speechless.

"Mister Louis!" A little girl pulled my hand, making me stoop down and level her. Lorie. "You're here!"

"I am." I said, smiling at her, but then I felt the urge to look at Rae once again, hoping that she was not merely a figment of my wild imagination, hoping that she is still there. My eyes looked at where she was and fortunately, she did not flee. She is still there and she is staring at us.

"I see you're checking out Miss Rae." The little girl surely knows how to tease. My cheeks went red and I was not able to respond, like I was caught in the act of doing something bad. "Don't worry, she's all yours."

All mine. How I wish. The thumping of my heart was unstable. Lorie disappeared for a split second then arrived. Surprisingly, she was not alone when she came back. With her was Rae, in a carrot suit, shaking.

"Miss Rae, I want you to meet Mister Louis. He was the one I was talking about. I'm quite sure you already know him." Lorie grabbed one of my hands and one of hers, forcing us to shake hands because we were too stiff to do so. We were still confounded by each other's presence that Lorie also had to talk for us. "Pleasure to meet you, Rae. Oh, the pleasure is mine, Louis."

I smiled at the kid's crazy monologue and it was a relief to see Rae do the same.

"Pleasure to meet you, Rae." I repeated what Lorie had said, gaining composure, now able to control myself though my feelings are still going berserk. Lorie smiled, but her smile grew wider when Rae finally spoke. "Oh, the pleasure is mine, Louis." She shook my hand, smiling nervously.

I returned the smile, not letting go of her hand. I wanted to make most of the moment, but then someone interrupted us.

"Jassy! Why aren't you in a dress yet?!" Victoria Cavanagh is a damsel in distress. Perhaps she was just sent by Rae's parents and she did not really want to leave the guy she was trying to impress. But who the hell is Jassy? "Don't tell me you want to be in that ridiculous outfit forever!"

She must have noticed me that she flushed, ashamed of what she did to Rae. "So you meet. Nice seeing you again, Mr. Tomlinson of One Direction. Mind if I borrow my cousin for a bit?"

I was hesitant but it was not like Vicky actually cared if I let her go or not. She just dragged her away, not waiting for my answer. And since I cannot do anything, I just stood where I was and watched her disappear in the crowd.

***

"You've been looking around much, Lou. Is something wrong?" Harry asked me, concerned. I was just looking out for Rae. I'm afraid I will never get to see or speak to her again.

"Just looking for an acquaintance." I reasoned out, not really ready to tell them about meeting Rae in real life yet. I do not mean to be greedy. I just want to make sure we are on the right track before I announce to everyone that I have really met the girl from our dreams.

Niall stopped chewing his food and gulped abruptly. "Anyway, has any of you seen Vicky Cavanagh? I was wondering if.. you know.. maybe she's with someone we know."

Silently, I took a sip of my glass of Chardonnay. Niall, please don't do this. I don't want to lie to the four of you.

"Negative." Liam said before he continued digging on his steak. Zayn and Harry said they only saw her with men too. Niall, almost losing hope, turned to me. His face was tainted with sadness yet he was clearly hoping for a miracle, or maybe even a coincidence. "Louis?"

Taking a deep breath, I decided to tell Niall, tell them, the truth. "Actually, I did see Vicky with someone. That is why I am looking out for her again."

As if on cue, Mr. Cavanagh went on stage and spoke to everyone through the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please lend me your ears." Everyone complied, putting down their spoons and forks, and looked at the well-dressed doctor on the stage. "I would like you too meet our only child, our daughter, the sucessor of our business, Jasmine Cavanagh."

Jasmine?

She walked down the grand staircase in a simple blue dress. Is her name Jasmine and not Rae? She flashed a nervous smile to the crowd, whose hands were clapping for her.

Stupid. Plastic. I frowned. They did not even spare her a glance when she was in a carrot costume, but now that she's changed to designer clothes, all men seemed to show interest and women showed envy. What even is this?

I looked at the boys who were dumbfound as I was a while back.

"Holy shit, she is real." Niall, who did not stop eating amidst Mr. Cavanagh's request, dropped his utensils. Good thing the people were clapping that the noise it made was barely heard.

"She is." I sighed. But there is something wrong.

"But why did they call her Jasmine?"

What if she just looks like Rae? What if she really is Rae but she's not my Rae?

Sigh. I am hoping this is not just a coincidence. And I'm quite sure the lads are wishing the same thing too.

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Ending so soon...

Oh, and due to some issues, I changed the title. It was a personal choice, so no worries. -Shelly