You Found Me [Nouis]

Chapter 5

3 Months Later

Louis took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He was nervous. Today he was going to get a partner, someone to love- hopefully she returned his feelings.

"Hi." Louis said, his voice shaky and nervous. He cursed himself for not catching a proper breath before he approached her. Eleanor looked up. She had been texting someone, probably Danielle, standing in front of her locker. She smiled.

"Hey." She said, still holding her phone in her hands. Louis couldn't help but smile, thinking about how adorable her voice was.

"I, uh," Louis gulped. His hands were shaking in his pockets, he was so nervous. He cursed himself again. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Go ahead." Eleanor said, slipping her phone into her back pocket. She almost leaned against her locker, but she figured that would make her seem like she didn't really care- which she did.

"Well," Louis took a deep breath. "I-I've liked you for a while now, since I met you, really, and I . . . I-I wanted to know if you maybe wanted to go out sometime?"

Eleanor chuckled. "You're cute when you're nervous." She took his hand. "How about now? It's free period in two minutes and I am dying for a coffee."

Louis smiled wide and walked with Eleanor out of the building, not noticing the blonde boy standing at his locker, looking at them with tears in his eyes.

---

"Vanilla, please." Eleanor said. She and Louis were standing at the counter in a coffee shop about two blocks away from their school, ordering what they wanted.

"Same for me." Louis decided after a moment of scanning his eyes over the menu and realizing nothing else looked or sounded very appealing.

After a tiny, cute debate, Louis payed for both of their coffees. They didn't sit down, instead took their coffees and walked around. They were both too energetic to sit in a coffee shop.

"So you've liked me for a while?" Eleanor asked, laughing lightly when Louis blushed and nodded stiffly. "I've liked you for quite some time, too. Me and Dani were just talking about you."

"Oh yeah?" Louis asked, feeling a little less nervous since Eleanor had said that. He had been tense, but he relaxed a little. "Why'd ya say?"

"That you were sweet." Eleanor said. Louis relaxed completely, flattered. "She agreed. You're really protective over Niall."

"Yeah, I suppose." Louis shrugged. Was he that protective over Niall? He never noticed. "He just- he doesn't deserve it, you know? He's a good kid."

"Yeah." Eleanor sighed. "I can't stand Garret and his stupid 'crew'. They walk around like they own the whole school. Pricks, the lot of them."

Louis nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "So, what do you plan on doing after this year? I'm nervous for graduation."

"Yeah, me too." Eleanor pulled a momentary face. "I think I'm gonna go to university. I want to be a lawyer, actually. Or a model."

"Well, I can definitely see model." Louis said. Eleanor blushed lightly. "I didn't expect lawyer, though. Why do you want to be a lawyer?"

"I stick up for people, innocent or not." Eleanor said. "It's just something I love to do, kind of a dream, I suppose. I could be a therapist, too. Someone that would help people who are in need."

"That's great." Louis said, surprise in his voice. He had no idea Eleanor felt like this. He found himself liking her a little more.

"What about you?" Eleanor asked, turning her head to look at him. She sounded curious. She didn't know what to expect from Louis.

"I want to be a teacher." Louis said. It wasn't that he dreamed of teaching other people things. He thought it was, at first, but that had never been the reason. "A drama teacher."

"Oh?" Eleanor was surprised at that. Of all things, she hadn't expected Louis would want to be a drama teacher. "Why so?"

"I'm not sure." Louis said. "I've always kind of wanted to be someone else. I figure acting is the closest I'll ever get to that."

"Why do you want to be someone else?" Eleanor asked. She tilted her head, curious. Louis sounded insecure right about now, and he had never expressed that before.

"I don't know." Louis said honestly. The thing is, he wasn't insecure. He'd always been pretty comfortable in his own skin. "I guess I just thought it'd be nice."

Eleanor smiled, a light smile. "You know, I used to think that too. I always dreamed of being someone different- completely opposite of me."

"What made you stop thinking it?" Louis wanted to stop thinking that way, too.

"People." Eleanor said. "I've found people like me don't come often. People who just want to help others. Half of this world is selfish, the other half scared. Me and you, people like us, aren't very common. There are only eight of us in a school of three-hundred kids."

"Yeah. . . ." Louis trailed off. He had no idea Eleanor was so observant and, well, smart (not that he'd thought Eleanor was dumb or anything).

"And good people get destroyed sometimes." Eleanor said. "I want to help those people. The depressed ones, the confused ones, the ones who just need help. I want to steer people on their right path and get them going where they need to go. I . . . I want to help people."

Eleanor's voice was quiet now, and she sounded extremely hurt, like she was about to cry. Louis was too used to hearing that tone in people's voices.

"Are you alright?" Louis asked, pausing in his steps so they could look at each other properly. Eleanor stopped walking, too.

"Yes." Eleanor said, though her voice was strained and Louis knew it was a lie. He was pretty much an expert at telling when people were lying. "Can we sit?"

They found a bench in a nearby park, knowing they didn't have much time before they had to be back in school. But they sat anyway.

"My best friend was depressed." Eleanor said. She wasn't facing Louis, instead facing the park, where kids were playing, her legs crossed, her arms resting on her knee. "She committed suicide when I was twelve- she was fourteen. That was only five years ago."

"Is that why you want to help people so badly?" Louis asked gently, placing a hand over one of hers. Eleanor smiled.

"That's part of the reason. Most of it. I've always been all about doing the right thing. Helping people is the right thing. It's the most anyone can do in their life. Helping people who get lost, who want to give up."

"Wow." Louis said, surprised. "I've never thought of things that way."

"Real eye opener, isn't it?" Eleanor asked. "When you realize how broken people are."

It was silent for a few moments. Eleanor finished her coffee and, standing up, threw it in a garbage can directly by the bench they were sat on.

"Well," Eleanor said as Louis stood up, throwing away his coffee as well. "that was an interesting first date."

She smiled, taking Louis' hand. "I wouldn't mind doing that again sometime." Eleanor leaned in and placed her lips on Louis', still holding his hand.

"Back to school, then?" Louis asked, smiling brightly at the girl beside him. He liked being around Eleanor- so carefree even after such a serious conversation.

"Lead the way."

-

DON'T KILL ME I'M SORRY