A Love, a Lie and a False Identity (Louis Tomlinson)

Louis

Chapter 11

Louis

Well, I was definitely intrigued by this girl, and there was something that felt strangely like hope bubbling inside me, a feeling I hadn’t experienced for a while now. I had been numb inside, constantly missing Eleanor and not paying any real attention to anyone else. I had always been zoning out and getting lost in my own thoughts, but for the first time, that night, I was finally paying attention to someone other than myself. And it was the last person I had ever expected it to be.

          “This is our favourite restaurant in London,” I said to Veronica as the car whizzed through London, the street lights flashing through the windows and lighting up her face.

          “I’m flattered you would take us there,” she replied in a playful tone, making me smile.

          “Well, we’re setting out to impress, and that means good grub obviously,” I could feel all the guys looking at me, surprised I was even interacting this much with a girl. I had barely spoken to one since Eleanor. I had barely spoken to anyone apart from the boys and Will since Eleanor in fact. But there was something different about this girl, and I wanted to find out what it was.

          “Veronica, do you have any other plans for the summer?” Niall said over his shoulder from the front passenger seat he had shotgunned earlier.

          “Not really, the next two weeks are like a holiday I suppose,” she said with a slightly smile and a knowing look to the other girls. “I prefer to just go with the flow, I guess,” she shrugged slightly, and her coat slipped to reveal part of her tanned shoulder. Without thinking I reached across and moved it back to its previous position, our eyes locking as I did and I could swear her breath hitched slightly where my fingers brushed her skin.

          “Sounds like Louis, he’s like that,” Niall continued, oblivious to the moment Veronica and I just shared. I grinned and leant back, staring out of the window instead of staring at her. Our knees were brushing every now and then when the car turned or went over a bump in the road, and it shot sparks up my leg every time we did.

          “Are you?” she asked, in response to Niall’s statement.

          “I would like to think so. That attitude has got me this far, so…” I let my words trail off, but she had a look of understanding and slightly amusement on her face.

          “Katherine, what do you do?” I broke eye contact and turned to her friend who was sitting the other side of her. The dark haired girl looked surprised I had addressed her for a moment before answering.

          “I work at a museum back home, my mother is the curator there so I act as a guide most days of the week,” she said, her eyes lighting up. Veronica leant over to me and whispered that Katherine loved her job at the museum, history and all the artefacts were her passion, more than anything else she rambled non-stop about, making me laugh.

          “Sounds amazing, Katherine, how long have you been doing that?” I asked.

          “About two years now, since we all finished school,” she answered, flicking her hair behind her shoulder.

          “Did you all go to school together?”

          “Ye-”

          “No!” Veronica suddenly interrupted her, her pretty eyes wide as she stared at her friend. “Laura and Katherine went to school together, but I didn’t, obviously. I was here, they were in Ireland,” she continued to speak; only she was staring pointedly at Katherine rather than looking at me while she did so.