A VERY RANDOM BL (READ IT)

CHAPTER 4

Louis's POV

Moving to America wasn't exactly high on my list of things I wanted to do. Actually, it wasn't even on the list at all. I was fine in France, thank you very much. France felt like home. I had my friends, my school, the bakery on the corner with the best damn croissants you'll ever taste in your life, and about a thousand other things that just made sense. Here? It's like living in a really confusing dream where everyone drives on the wrong side of the road, talks way too loud, and calls cookies "biscuits."

But, of course, life doesn't care about what I want. My dad got some big-shot job offer in the States, and suddenly, voilà, we're packing up everything we own and moving halfway across the world. It's not like I don't get it, and it's not like my parents didn't try to make it easier—they did. They let me say goodbye to everyone, promised to visit France whenever we could, and told me we'd video call my friends whenever I wanted. But saying goodbye still felt like cutting off a piece of me.

When I first walked into this school, it was like being dropped on a different planet. Everyone already had their groups, their routines, and there I was, the weird French kid with the awkward English and a mind full of everything I left behind. But then, I saw him.

The first thing I thought when I saw Jude was, Oh, he looks cool. Maybe he'll be my friend. Innocent enough, right? He had this easy-going vibe, like he wasn't trying to be anything other than himself, and for some reason, I thought maybe he'd be okay with having someone like me tag along. Just for some company, you know?

But as time went on, that simple thought morphed into... other thoughts. I started noticing his hair, how it falls a little messily but in a way that just works for him. And his smile. God, that smile. It's the kind of smile that makes you feel like everything's going to be alright, even if your whole life just got flipped upside down. And then there's the way he talks, the way he's got this relaxed confidence that I just don't have but wish I did. And his voice—don't even get me started on his voice. It's smooth, like he doesn't have a care in the world, and when he laughs? It's like something out of a damn movie.

And somehow, he's... nice to me. He's so patient, even when I trip over my words or when I'm just trying to piece together the right way to say something in English. He doesn't rush me, doesn't laugh at me (unless I make it funny on purpose), and actually listens when I talk. I don't think he realizes how much that means to me. Or maybe he does, and he's just being his nice, unassuming self.

But here's the kicker—I'm crushing on him. Big time. And I know, I know, it's stupid. It's hopeless. Jude's a good guy, yeah, but he probably doesn't swing that way. And even if he did, why would he be interested in me? I'm just the random French kid who got dropped into his school out of nowhere. And let's be real, admitting that I'm crushing on my one and only friend here isn't exactly the kind of thing that's going to help our friendship.

Still, every time he does something nice or even looks at me with those stupidly kind eyes, I feel this weird mix of happiness and anxiety. I don't want to ruin this. He's literally the first friend I've made here, and I don't want to mess that up by making things... weird. So for now, I'm keeping it to myself. What Jude doesn't know won't hurt him, right?

But damn, is it hard sometimes.