You Were Running (I Was Hiding)

Playing Someone I Heard I'm Supposed To Be (L)

The air-conditioned room behind the bandshell was a stark contrast to the warm air outside. It caused goosebumps to rise on the back of Louis' neck where the cold air met his overheated skin, but it was nothing compared to the coldness that had settled deep into his bones. He craned his head around, frantically searching for his two best friends since year one. Luckily for him, the graduating class was not very large, just 62 students, and his friends were easy enough to spot even in the crowded room. He made his way over to them, keeping his head down as he made his way through. When he arrived in front of them, a real smile, albeit a small one, crossed his face for the first time all morning as his friends pulled him into a group hug.

"Better late than never," Zayn chided. Louis could not help but to let out a small giggle, covering his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I am exactly on time, thank you," he replied as the beta tsked at him.

"You know, appearances are- "

"-Best made early," Louis and their other friend Niall finished with him in unison. Zayn had always been the only one of them to truly take etiquette classes seriously, but that did not mean he was the only person that was paying attention. Zayn flashed a smile at the other two before Niall spoke up.

"Who do you think you're going to be paired with?" Niall whispered to the others, his eyes darting back and forth over their shoulders at the faces of their other classmates.

Louis shrugged before wrapping his arms tightly around his middle. "I honestly try not to think about it," he stated simply, but the slight waver in his voice revealed his nerves anyway. "I'd just rather not get my hopes up." Zayn flashed him a look but didn't press further. Louis nervously chewed on his bottom lip. Damn betas–always able to tell when something is wrong.

"How long before this gets started?" Zayn asked instead, changing the subject much to Louis' joy.

As if on cue, Mrs. Ingles stood up at the front of the room and motioned for everyone to quiet down. A hush fell over the room as she stood there, her eyes scanning over all of the students gathered there.

Mrs. Ingles always had an air of authority around her. She was not the head of the school, but she was the head of the matching process, so, if you wanted it to go smoothly, it was best to be on her good side. Louis had always tried to make a good impression on her. Whenever she came into their classes to observe, he sat up a little straighter and raised his hand in the air more frequently. So what if he was a bit of a suck-up? Sue him.

Louis quickly recognized that his hands were beginning to shake. He balled them into fists, crescent marks were sure to appear on his palms from how tightly he squeezed, as she started to speak.

"I'm so glad to see you all here today," began Mrs. Ingles as her gaze moved from person to person. It was unnerving how she seemed to look directly into everyone's eyes–into their souls–as she spoke. "It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know all of you through the years. I'm thrilled to be able to be the person to give you your matches for the ceremony. Without further ado, these are the pairings." Her piercing eyes found Louis' and he was sure she could see the fear in them as if it was a blaring sign over his head.

It seemed as if everyone sucked in a collective breath, but Louis was unable to find his lungs. His head was swimming as she began listing names alphabetically by the last name of the person with the dominant gender. Louis strained to listen over his heartbeat roaring in his ears as each person was called. Before long, he heard Niall's name called with Abigail Haines and soon after that, Zayn was called with Liam Payne. The list kept going down until there were just a few people left, Louis included. His mind began racing, trying to pinpoint exactly who was left that he could be paired with. He realized at the same time his name was called, and his stomach dropped to his feet.