Louis, That Jazz Guy.

Chapter Four

"What's with the long face, Lou?" Rob asked, immediately making Louis turn his head.

"That's not my name," Louis said angrily. "And it's nothin'."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am. I'm just... thinkin' about folks I used to know." He said, looking down at his food. He quickly went back to eating. Lilith looked a little concerned for him but kept her mouth closed. Jaqueline was just listening to the conversation, a stern look on her face. The group finished eating soon after and returned to their separate rooms.

Louis was just practicing his trumpet, when there was a small knock on the door. He sighed, putting the instrument down and going to the door. He was hoping this wasn't another noise complaint... oh. It was just Lilith.

"Hi..." he said, smiling a little.

"Hello, Louis. Can... can I come inside?" She asked shyly. Louis felt his cheeks flush as he backed up a little.

"Yeah! Of course, ya can." He said, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Lilith came inside the room, sitting down on the bed. She noticed the trumpet and looked back at Louis, who was very red.

"Are you... okay?" She asked, seeing how red his face was. Louis chuckled nervously and nodded.

"Yep! Just fine." He insisted. Lilith sighed a bit.

"Who were you thinking of at breakfast...?" She asked, just wanting to get straight to the point. He paused when she said that, not knowing how to answer that without explaining... what he did all those years ago.

"Um... like I said, some folks I knew a while ago. Nothing all that important." He said, looking away from her.

"Louis. I... want to know more about you. I won't tell anyone about this, alright? I understand it's probably very personal but..." Lilith sighed again, and Louis suddenly felt a little bad. He looked down, tensed up, trying to figure out how to explain this.

"Well... alright." He said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "I was just thinkin' about... my brothers. I had a lot of brothers..." he explained, sighing to himself.

"Oh. Is that all?"

"And... and I don't talk to them anymore. For... personal reasons." Louis explained, turning away from her.

Lilith suddenly pulled Louis into a hug. He let out a small gasp, feeling his cheeks flush again. He hugged her back, feeling how warm she was. This was lovely... he could stay like this for a while.

"I... I faked my death." Louis whispered, keeping his voice so quiet it was nearly inaudible. Lilith let out a gasp.

"You... you did? Why did you do that?" She asked, backing up from the hug and looking exasperated.

"I... I didn't want to..." he said, not wanting to finish that sentence. He'd never told anyone but Agatha this. He knew she probably wouldn't react very well to this if he told her. He was very tense, going in for another hug.

"...sorry. You don't have to say," Lilith said, accepting the hug and holding him. His lip was quivering, as he desperately held tears back. This is why he never talked about this- it always made him emotional. He hated being emotional, it made him feel awful. He began to shake, and that's when Lilith realized something might be up.

"'M... sorry... I shouldn't have said anythin'." He said.

"No, it's okay... I shouldn't have kept pushing." Lilith admitted. "You were clearly uncomfortable..."

Louis just sat in her arms, shaking for a bit. He managed to calm down a bit in that time, eventually no longer feeling like he was about to cry. He backed up from Lilith, feeling a bit bad for getting so emotional on her. He was the man, so he had to be... well, manly. And strong. He had to be stronger.