𝓣𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐌𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐔𝐒, ˡᵒᵘⁱˢ ᵗᵒᵐˡⁱˢᵒⁿ

𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆

i should've seen this coming. i really should've. but somehow, it's hitting me now like a ton of bricks.

louis tomlinson.

the boy i shared a cigarette with outside a bar like three weeks ago. the same guy who seemed to show up wherever i went, always with that sarcastic grin, eyes crinkling with amusement while he pretended like he didn't care about anything. i mean, sure, i thought he was funny, even kind of sweet in his own weird way, but this? feeling all... swoony? over him?

gosh, it's ridiculous.

i stared at the unfinished drawing in front of me, pencil tapping absently against the paper. i was supposed to be working on this piece for phoebe, but my mind kept wandering back to louis. how he smiled when i said something dumb. how he'd bump my shoulder, and we'd laugh like we've known each other for years. the weird way he looked at me sometimes, like i was something he couldn't quite figure out.

i'm falling for him, aren't i?

i dropped the pencil, pushing the sketchbook away, leaning back in my chair as i groaned, burying my face in my hands. this wasn't supposed to happen. i wasn't supposed to catch feelings like this. not for someone like him, not when i've barely let anyone in for years. not when i've spent so long convincing myself love wasn't in the cards for me.

"ugh, imogen, get it together," i muttered under my breath. "he's just a guy. a famous guy. there's no way he—"

but then i remembered the way he promised he'd come to my art showcase. like it wasn't a big deal to him at all. like he actually wanted to be there.

i didn't even ask him to go. he just... said it.

my stomach fluttered, and i immediately tried to push the feeling down. i wasn't supposed to feel like this, not for him. i'd told myself over and over that love wasn't for me, that i wouldn't be the girl who falls head over heels just to get hurt.

but it was too late, wasn't it?

i sighed and leaned forward again, staring down at the sketchbook. louis' face seemed to be all i could draw lately. his eyes, his smirk, the way his hair always seemed just a little bit messy. it was like my brain refused to let me focus on anything else.

my phone buzzed next to me, and i jumped slightly, reaching for it and half-expecting it to be him. of course, it wasn't. just a message from addy about plans for tomorrow. i smiled to myself, but the smile didn't last long. even when i wasn't with louis, he was still there, in the back of my mind.

i don't even know when i started feeling like this.

there was no one moment. it was all these little things. him asking about my art, showing up when i least expected it, making me laugh even when he was being a bit of a dick. but more than that, it was how he made me feel when i was around him. how he somehow brought out this version of me that i didn't even know existed.

the version of me that wanted to let someone in again.

i sighed again, pulling my legs up to my chest and resting my chin on my knees.

"you've really done it this time, imogen," i mumbled to myself, shaking my head.

i couldn't deny it anymore. as much as i wanted to keep pretending it wasn't happening, i had to admit it. i was falling for him. and the worst part? i had no idea what to do about it.

because as much as i liked louis—and i did, more than i wanted to admit—there was always that part of me that was scared. scared of getting hurt, scared of things not working out. scared that i'd let myself fall too fast, too hard, and he'd just... disappear. like my dad did. like guys in the past had done.

but maybe... maybe louis was different.

no. stop it, imogen.

i shook my head, as if physically trying to shake the thoughts out. i couldn't let myself fall into that trap. not again.

but then i thought of his face. that stupid, sarcastic grin. the way he called me "too sweet" like it was some kind of joke, but there was always that glimmer in his eyes, like he didn't really mean it.

gosh, why was this happening?

"okay," i said out loud, standing up from my chair. "you need to stop. just... focus on your art. focus on work. this thing with louis doesn't mean anything. you'll get over it."

but even as i said it, i didn't believe a single word.