You're Still the One (Louis Tomlinson) (FINISHED!)

Chapter 23: An average day

The next morning I woke up and went to work as per usual. I knew I wouldn’t have a chance to see Louis today because of school and rehearsals and he cut back on his hours at the book shop to keep up with school. I was still worried about Mia but I reminded myself that nothing could happen because she wasn’t the master puppeteer. She couldn’t make Louis doing something he didn’t want to do. Yes they had a kiss in the play and yes I really didn’t like that, but I was determined to not make a big deal about it. I visited Ashley and Tobias in the hospital and tried to figure out with Ashley what we were going to do about her dad.

“I can’t just up and leave him when I get out of the hospital. What will he do?” she stated.

“You know what? I might have an idea. But let me look into it before I say anything,” I said.

          When I got home I went up to the third floor and knocked on Fred’s door. After a couple minutes he opened the door slowly. He still didn’t seem to be a very cheerful person, but at least he didn’t scowl at me when he saw who it was. Instead he just said, “’Lo, what can I do ye for?”

“Hi Fred, I was wondering if you were open to a proposition,”

He let me in and we sat in his dingy living room that smelled strangely of cardboard.

“No more crutches, eh?” he noticed sitting down opposite me.

“No thank goodness, I was getting real sick and tired of them,” I replied with a smile.

“Tea?” he offered

“Oh, no thank you,”

He grunted and I took that as a start to tell him my plan, “So I’m sure you heard about Ashley and Tobias’s shop burning down,”

“Aye,”

“Well they really have no possessions, or anywhere to live. Ashley is moving in with a guy she is seeing, but Tobias doesn’t have anywhere to go. You see ever since his wife died he…well he has been quiet. And he always seems like he is in a trance. I was thinking, since you guys are old Navy buddies, maybe you would want him to live with you?”

He leaned back in his chair and thought about it. “Quiet, eh?” he asked looking at me.

“It’s like he doesn’t even know you’re there,” I said

He thought some more. “Badly burned?” he asked

“Pretty bad yeah. He’ll have some nasty scars. And I won’t lie, you might have to help him put ointment on because I doubt he will,”

After what seemed to be a very long silence Fred nodded his head, “Aye, ‘e can stay. Do me good ter have com’ney,”

“Thanks Fred, I really appreciate it, I know Ashley will too,” I said jumping up and added, “They should be out in a few days, I’ll let you know more when I find out,” I made my way to leave but Fred got up and said, “Jovi, wait” he made his way over to the counter and brought me back the plate I put his cookies on.

“Oh right, thanks Fred!” I said taking it.

“Thanks, for tha’” he said with a small smile. I smiled back and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek and left. When I got down to my level Liam was coming out of his flat with the girl I recognized from his pictures. “Hi Jovi!” he said when they saw me.

“Hi guys!” I replied

“This is Danielle, my girlfriend,” he said looking at her with love in his eyes.

I shook her hand and said, “Nice to meet you! I’ve heard good things. And thanks for the lasagna; did Liam get the pan back to you alright?” I said

“Nice to meet you as well! Yes I did get it back, thank you. Are you feeling better, you aren’t on crutches anymore it looks like,” she replied nicely.

“I am, yes! Thanks for asking,”

Her phone buzzed from getting a text message and she said, “Is that the time? I’ll be late, it was nice meeting you,” she said looking at me and turned to Liam and said, “Bye sweetie!” they kissed and she was on her way. When she was out the door Liam said, “She really is something,” I smiled at him smiling at the door.

          “You’re so sappy,” I said laughing at him, but knowing exactly how he felt.

“Whatever,” he said not able to stop grinning.

“Want to come over for nachos? You will bear witness to my amazing cooking skills,” I offered

“Sure, why not?” he said following me inside. We spent the night cooking up ground beef, sprinkling cheese over tortilla chips, and smashing refried beans. When we finished we had a tower of cheese, meat and bean covered chips on a huge plate.

“Dig in!” I exclaimed as we took our first bites. We sat there eating in silence for a while until I asked, “When is the next band practice?”

“They will be on Sundays. We are just getting familiar with our old songs before anything else. When we feel confident enough we want to start playing gigs, but that will probably be awhile,”

“It’s still exciting though, being in a band,” I said popping another bit of nacho in my mouth.

“It is. I forgot how much I loved it. We really thought we would make it big, and then one by one we got caught up in the daily demands of life until it became a hobby, not a passion. And eventually it wasn’t even a hobby, it was just a memory. It feels right doing it again,” he explained.

          We spent the next few hours talking and just catching up. I told him about Mia and he said, “I remember her. I remember when Louis went out to LA. It was kind of the thing that really solidified that we weren’t together anymore, that we had other priorities to think about,”

“She is absolutely awful, and I haven’t even met her,” I told him

“She sounds like it with how you’ve been describing her. I’m sorry she and Lou have to spend so much time together,” he said sympathetically.

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I went to bed that night feeling kind of lonely. I wanted to rest my head on Louis chest and have him play with my hair. I wanted to have him make me laugh and I wanted to make him laugh. I inhaled deeply and I could smell his scent hidden in my pillow case, just faintly. It was enough for tonight. But even though tomorrow was supposed to be like today, I decided on going to surprise him. I was going to be there when he got home all curled up in his bed waiting for him.

Okay I know it was a really boring short chapter, but I absolutely promise you I will make up for that. You will be like holy poopcakes dude, why are you doing this to me? And I will be like, because my friends, that is what writers do.

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