Apocalypse | L.S [Completed]

XI

Stephanie Ramirez is the epitome of beauty and brains. She is one of the few people Louis genuinely has respect for and silently fears. Stephanie appears as calm as an ocean and just as beautiful but when angered, even the big names cower away like quivering street dogs. She is made of intellect and power and addictive inestimable perfume.

Stephanie Ramirez also happens to be Danny Ramirez's sister, whom Louis had witnessed being sliced to death by James on his command. Looking at her now, with her virulent red lips, soul shuddering black eyes and hand sculptured sharp bones, talking to a virtuously smiling Harry, Louis feels unsure of the boy's safety. And what terrifies him more is that he shouldn't be concerned at all.

"Stephanie."

Louis breathes, eyeing the lady in front, her ruby lips welcoming Louis with a familiar sight. "Louis." She replies, tone mutualising the recognition. "I see you've met Mr. Styles." Louis blankly states, discreetly pulling the younger lad towards him, a firm hand on the taller's waist.

"Harry here is a rather charming man." Stephanie speaks, making Harry blush and divert his gaze. Her voice still the same; gracious and polished.

"You are too old for him."

Stephanie shrugs, eyeing Harry artistically, pearl teeth breaking into a grin and eyes glistening with interest. "Don't worry, Tomlinson, he's too beautiful to be ravaged by the likes of me. He deserves to be loved, worshiped even, which, unfortunately, is not my forte." She says in her unsettlingly still voice, staining the champagne glass with her crimson lips and downing the drink in an elegant gulp.

"There you are, baby H." Niall's voice announces his arrival, making the curly lad bloom like a delicate flower upon landing his gaze on the intoxicated ludicrous brunette.

"How many have you had, Irish?" Harry asks, smiling and gripping the older in order to stabilise his swaying figure. "Sixty nine." Niall slurs humorously and bursts out in a childish giggle, making Harry's ivory cheeks turn a violent pink  in embarrassment.

"I think I should take him to the bar and hydrate him a bit. Excuse me for a  momen, Mr. Tomlinson. Ms. Ramirez, it was a pleasure." He kisses the dainty knuckles of the flawlessly maintained, rose gold accessorised hand and fades away in the swarm of people.

"When are you planning on telling him?" Stephanie asks Louis, offering him a glass of whiskey, golden liquid smelling of authenticity and power. "How did you know?" Louis asks for the sake of it, since, he has known Stephanie for the past decade and is well aware of her gruesomely accurate judgement.

"He reeked of innocence, Lou." She phrases, looking straight ahead, eyeing the nonsensical rich with eagle eyes. "Tell me about it." Louis darts sarcastically with a complimentary eye roll and a crisp gulp.

"You fancy him."

Stephanie states after a compact moment, eyeing Louis for the first time during the entire conversation. "I do not. He is annoying." Louis huffs at the thought, eyeing a drinking Stephanie with homicidal eyes. Louis almost forgets that he watched her brother get slaughtered; almost.

"I saw you pull him away from me, Louis. You know you can't fool me, you are one of those puzzles that intrigue me and I am mere inches away from solving you. I've read you like a novel for the past decade, felt you like a sculpture. Lie to those scums, even to yourself, but don't pull that shit on me."

The hefty words sink in Louis, reminding him of the times he had spent in her company; both of them just turning the learning pages of the darker world together. He remembers sharing a bed with her so many years ago, the endless nights they had spent using one another and relieving themselves of their thirsts. He admires her; admires how she never mixes emotions; a sign of weakness, and how she's grown into this powerful woman that Louis, himself, fears. Her words carry weight and Louis knows that she can almost see through him.