With A Touch Of Magic (Larry Version)

20. Shattering Gravity

"It's okay, Haiz" Lucas smiled fondly at him. "And yes, really. I will be there to support you every step of the way. Anyway, was work treating you well today?".

"As good as possible. I still hate it. Chris was only talking about that movie he's gonna watch today with his girlfriend. Who am I to bloody care about that? Why is he still trying?" Hayden reported exaggeratedly.

"Just ignore him. He's not worth your time" Lucas advised him, feeling like he could risk it now. "That reminds me, Kim and Mabel wanna go and watch a movie with me this Sunday and asked me if I know someone who'd like to tag along. And ... um ... I was ... thinking maybe you could ... you know ...".

"Me?" Hayden pointed at himself in shock, Lucas only nodded. "Wow, yeah. Sure. I'd love to".

"Why do you sound so surprised though? Or do you not want to and you're just trying not to hurt my feelings?"Lucas frowned anxiously.

"Don't even think that, Lu" Hayden stepped closer to him, putting his hands on Lucas' upper arms. Everything was tingling like crazy. "I would love to go with you and the girls. I was just pretty overwhelmed that you wanted me to join you instead of maybe James or Nathan. I guess, they probably don't have time, mh?".

"No idea. I didn't ask them. My first impulse was to ask you. Only you and not James or anyone else" Lucas locked eyes with him, being scarily honest right now.

"Then I'm honoured to go to the movies with you, Lu" Hayden smiled with his whole face down at him.

"And the girls" Lucas reminded him laughingly.

"And them" Hayden chuckled adorably.

Taking his fingers off of the keyboard, Louis paused to think how to continue from here on, needing a good way to end the chapter. After a few more moments of just staring at the cursor, he sighed and decided to just let their conversation make a very obvious turn into safer territory because his characters weren't ready to finally address what's been there for weeks. They weren't ready to jump and Louis respected that. They needed more time.

Typing out the last sentences of the chapter, he felt a certain kind of satisfaction that he only got from writing. It only ever happened when he finished a chapter and was happy with it as much as he was capable of. This story in particular has been a bit challenging so far and he was over the moon that he was getting somewhere. It dealt with a topic that he hadn't been sure he could do without triggering himself in the process. This story was diving into the entertainment industry, not football but dance. Something equally as brutal, if not worse. His character's story was definitely worse than his own and he felt kinda bad for putting Lucas through all this but he wouldn't change a thing.

Closing his laptop, Louis opened his notebook to read over his notes for the next few chapters. It would get worse before it could finally get better, only for him to ruin things again but differently than he's done before and he wasn't sure if he could pull it off. As happy as he was with today's chapter, he was still struggling with the main characters' romantic and sexual dynamics. This story was different in so many ways and it was making it hard for him to find a way to make it feel natural. He needed it to feel authentic and realistic but he felt like Hayden had more power over Lucas than the other way around, which wasn't the case but it felt like it.

Also closing his notebook, Louis turned the music louder that he had been listening to in the back, needing to give his brain a break. It was a band called Against the Current, one of his two favourite bands. Their song Silent Stranger just came on and it made him close his eyes, loving the song and feeling so bloody addressed by the words. Most of his life had been a lie he had brought to life on his own and now he had trouble with not faking his feelings and just being who he truly was. Like a coward, he's been hiding his face. He needed to change that but just didn't know how.