✓ | ✩ louis partridge imagines ✩

san francisco / l.p.

you were in a funk, to say the least. 

you were never the kind to let sadness get in the way of things for too long. if anything, after a good month you were usually able to pick up the pieces of whatever hurt you and keep it moving.

normally it was a bad grade, a fight with your parents, or some other problem that you usually had control over. this time, it wasn't in your control no matter how badly you wish it was. 

the temperatures dropped, the leaves changed colors, and summer eventually kissed the golden city 'goodbye'. initially, you were counting down the days until you could move into your college dorm but now you wanted more than anything for time to reset itself. 

he had left, and there was nothing you could do about it. 

you were never really one for relationships, much less summer flings. that changed when your best friend introduced you to her cousins from london who were spending the whole summer with her in san francisco.

you met issie and millie first, spending a majority of late may showing them all around san francisco. for the first weeks of your friendship, they went on and on about how they couldn't wait for you to meet their brother, louis. he was stuck in london for a little bit longer, having a career in acting that kept him there.

but eventually, it got to the point where you waited anxiously with them at the airport on the first of june. the sun had barely come up, but you were wide awake. louis had caught a red eye flight from london-heathrow to san francisco international.

when issie and millie suddenly jumped up and ran into the arms of a tall brunnette boy, your eyes locked in on his as he pulled away from them. his bright smile and soft demeanor were evident when they brought him over to you. 

when your words got caught in your throat and he opened his arms in a friendly greeting for you to walk into, you immediately knew.

'this kid's gonna ruin my life.'

you weren't wrong that day six months ago. you two were the definition of a whirlwind kind of romance. you were attached at the hip for the three months that he was there, to the point where he left an extra two weeks after issie and millie did, pushing his career duties to the side just for a few more days with you.

by the first of september, you found yourself cradled in his arms in the back of an uber on the way to the airport, desperate for his touch so you would never forget it once he was gone.

when you arrived to his terminal, you shared one last embrace before he turned away. you didn't know if he was coming back, you didn't know if he was going to keep in touch, and you didn't know how much he felt for you.

but with the way his dark brown eyes turned into warm pools of honey under the san francisco sun, the tears in his eyes reminding you of rough waves under the golden gate bridge, you knew that you loved him. you just never got to say it.

the image still haunted you in your dreams long after he was gone, much like today.

you shot up in your bed, a bead of sweat traveling down your forehead. your favorite crewneck with your university's logo now felt like a straightjacket as it stuck to your damp skin, your sheets feeling heavier on your body than usual.

you were relieved to see that your roomate was gone, leaving the dorm to you as you recovered from another one of your usual night terrors, except they now managed to poison your mid-day naps. 

kicking the sheets off yourself, you made your way to the bathroom to splash cold water on your face. after doing so, you returned to your room in a daze. you felt like crying even though there was nothing left.