My Prince Charming

Chapter 22

Ava POV

"So, you're going to tell him today, right A?" I looked up from the fruits to Olivia who stood opposite next to Quinnie.

"Yes, I'm going to tell him, Liv. You don't have to worry," I confirmed, placing down some more fruits.

"Well, I don't know." I blinked up at Quin. "You were pretty freaked out last night." I set down the fruit and sighed.

"I think pretty freaked out is an understatement. She almost went batshit crazy last night, and if we hadn't talked to her, she would've been."

"Ok, I get it. I was really worried last night. But I thought it through, and I've decided how I'm gonna tell him."

Olivia leaned against the stand and stared me down. "And how are you gonna do that?"

"Well. what I'm going to do is I'm gonna sit him down and just let it out, no beating around the bush; just straight to the point."

"What are you gonna do if he-which will undoubtabely happen-gets mad at you for not telling him earlier?"

I shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. "Then I'll apologise."

She scoffed. "I don't think apologising will cut it. If you ask me-"

"Which we aren't," Quinnie chimed in, earning a glare from Olivia.

"If you ask me, I would make it up to him."

"And how would you make it up to him?"

"Depends how angry and upset he is. If he were very angry, I would probably take him to-"

"Easy," I warned, giving her a glare, causing her to smirk.

"Don't worry, I don't fancy your boyfriend. I'm just suggesting what you should do once you tell him."

This time, I rolled my eyes. "Uh-huh, I'm sure you've got a butload of suggestions."

She raised a finger. "I do, actually. If he's really angry, what you should do is a little seduction, maybe a little smooch smooch action, and then if he's still really angry, then maybe he should get some action, hey?" My cheeks flushed as I glared at Olivia, who just chuckled and sent me a wink.

"Uh, no, that isn't going to happen."

"Aww, come on princess," my head whipped to the side. "You didn't even consider it."

Louis stood there tall with a smirk, arms folded in front of him.

"Louis! What are you doing here?"

"Uhh," he sent a look to Olivia and Quin, "where else would I be?" I tried to think of an answer, but couldn't come up with one, so I just decided to nod my head.

"Umm, Olivia? Quinnie? May I please take Ava away for a moment?" Louis asked as he took a hold of my hand, pulling me towards him. The two shared a look.

"Yeah, of course," Quin answered. Louis gave her a nod in thanks before leading me away from them. I followed behind him before he swiftly but gently turned me around, causing me to bump into him slightly before pulling back.

Louis grabbed my hands and held them between us.

"Ava, is everything alright?" He rubbed his thumb on my hands as he looked deeply into my eyes.

"Everything's fine, why do you ask?"

"You were acting strange last night on the phone."

"I was just walking home."

"But why were you walking home so late? Is there something you're not telling me?"

I looked past him to my friends that stood a few feet away, looking at the two of us as we spoke. Olivia was giving me a look, encouraging me to tell him. I looked at Quinnie, who was giving me the same look. I turned my gaze away from them and back to Louis, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah..." I started, looking down at my fingers fiddling in front of me. "I..." I took another deep breath.

"I have two jobs." Louis was silent.

"...you work two jobs? Where?"

I picked at my thumb. "At that clothes shop nearby. Down the street."

Louis looked to the side for a moment. "I know the place. I went there with Sam." He turned back to me. "The day I saw you again."

I smiled softly at the fact he remembered the day those months ago. I peered up at him with the smile still on my face.

"Yeah, well, I had to close up last night, so it was later than usual when I was walking home, and..." I paused. I still had the chance to tell him. I had the chance to tell him that a man was following me. The chance to tell him I didn't feel safe walking alone at night anymore.

"I wanted to talk to somebody, so I called you." Why am I so stupid?

Louis moved his hand to cup my cheek as he smiled. "Now, now. Someone might find out that you missed me."

I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Yeah, soak it up while you can, cause I'm not saying that out loud again."

Louis brought his head down to mine with a smirk. "I beg to differ." After a moment, the smirk faded, replaced with a gentle smile.

"Thank you for telling me this, Ava."

"I should've told you earlier anyway," I admitted.

"While that may be true," she played with a loose part of my ponytail by my face, "I'm glad that you told me instead of me having to find out." My stomach twisted with guilt.

"Yeah..." I mumbled to myself, looking back down. Louis placed his fingers on my chin and lifted it up gently. His head made its way towards me to my ear.

"I hope you can expect phone calls from me now, princess. So make sure to keep your phone handy." The smirk was evident in his voice as he whispered in my ear. He pulled away, leaving a kiss on my cheek as he passed.

Louis gave me a wink. "I'll see you tomorrow, princess."

I ignored the blush rising to my cheeks and the guilt in my stomach. "Alright, Louis. Bye." I sent him a small wave that he returned before walking off. I let out a sigh once he was out of sight.

What is wrong with me? Why couldn't I just tell him? I was so close, too.

"So? Did you tell him?" Olivia asked nervously as I trudged over to the two of them. I tore my gaze off the ground and looked at her. I opened my mouth to answer honestly but stopped short when I saw the hopefulness in their eyes. So instead I swallowed my previous sentence and formed a new one.

"Yeah, I told him."