Through My Lens

Chapter 15

"I told you!!" Lennox squeals, her excitement bubbling over as she leans forward in her seat. Louis and Lennox have been sitting at the same retro diner they visited the night before, surrounded by faded vinyl booths and the faint scent of coffee and fried food. The jukebox hums faintly in the background, but the music is no match for Lennox's enthusiasm. Louis had just spent the last hour recounting every little detail of the night before, explaining with exaggerated expressions and gestures what went down between him and Harry.

Louis had left the soccer game early after giving Liam and Harry a quick congratulatory hug-Liam's grin wide from their 4-1 victory, and Harry's touch lingering a little longer than Louis expected. He managed to snap some epic shots of the game before he left, including a priceless one of their teammate Josh catching a soccer ball right to the face. Louis giggles at the memory, picturing Josh's wide-eyed shock just before impact.

"Shh, Len!" Louis hisses, casting a nervous glance around. His eyes settle on an elderly couple a few tables away, glaring in their direction. The woman's gray curls bob slightly as she leans closer to her partner, whispering something.

Lennox, completely unfazed, raises her hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry," she says, her voice barely any softer. "But did I or did I not tell you he liked you and was just scared?" Her smirk is triumphant, the kind that says, 'I knew it all along.'

Louis rolls his eyes, but there's no real bite behind it. "Okay, yes, you did," he concedes, "but you don't need to scream it. That old couple in the corner looks like they're about 30 seconds away from dumping their ice cream down our shirts for ruining their night."

Lennox bites back a chuckle, glancing over her shoulder. "I mean, they were probably here when this diner opened back in the 1950s."

Louis's lips quirk into a grin. "I'm going to call them Madge and Earl."

Lennox raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I don't know, sounds like old-people names. Plus, it's fun to give random people a backstory." Louis giggles, leaning back in his seat and sipping his strawberry milkshake, letting the cold sweetness soothe his nerves.

Lennox, now fully invested, leans in. "So what's Madge and Earl's backstory?"

Louis hums thoughtfully, putting on his best storyteller voice. "Well, you see, Madge was only 16 when she met Earl. He was the new stock boy at the grocery store. One day, she tripped over a display, knocking over the cans he'd been stacking. Earl reached out to catch her, but they both ended up falling flat on their asses."

Lennox snorts, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Madge looked over at him, gave him this cheeky grin, and said, 'I figured I'd help you out-the tower was a little lopsided anyway.' Earl knew right then and there that he had to know this girl, so he asked her out on the spot. And every Wednesday since, they've had lunch here, in this very diner."

Lennox stares at Louis for a moment, then breaks into a wide grin. "Wow, Louis, I didn't take you for such a romantic."

Louis returns the grin, his eyes twinkling. "It's all in the details," he says with a playful wink, before taking another sip of his milkshake. The strawberry flavor dances across his taste buds, the familiar comfort of it settling in his stomach.

Lennox, however, isn't done yet. She leans forward, her grin turning mischievous. "Alright, enough about Madge and Earl's love story. Let's talk about yours."

Louis blinks, confused. "Mine?" he mumbles around the straw.

"Yes, yours," Lennox insists, her tone playful but serious. "You and Harry. Now that you've both admitted your feelings and made out a few times, has he asked you to be his boyfriend yet?"