The Marriage Arrangement (Elournor)

Sweet Bliss

"So,-" Eleanor started as she scanned the large, dark barn. "-you and Harry used to hang out here?"

"Yeah, back when were weren't going at each other's necks." Louis said in a small laugh.

Eleanor watched as she saw Louis open up an old, wooden door. It looked like a small closet that consisted of shelves. Many little items sat inside, but she saw the young man pull out two lanterns. and a small pack of something else.

She thought about if they were actually going to spend the night in an old barn that looked like it hasn't been cleaned in years. Only God knows how many creatures with how many legs could be crawling around them right now, and might even end up on them while they slept. She wanted to give Louis another chance, she really did, she just wished that they could have spent the night somewhere decent while she made up her mind.

As Louis turned the lanterns on with what turned out to be an unused pack of batteries, Eleanor decided to look around the barn. She noticed the millions of strands of straw lay on every section of the floor. In the way back was more, but laid in a mountain of black shapes. A few pitch forks, shovels, and even an old, rusted tractor sat in the back area of the barn with the old hay.

A loft sat to the left of the room. Underneath it was more hay and more barn equipment. Regular windows were here and there, while above the loft was a large skylight. Billions of stars twinkled as the moonlight came down through the window and shined on the storage area above.

"Okay, I guess it's time for bed now." Louis announce, snapping Eleanour of her concentration on their surroundings.

She looked over and saw Louis carrying two brightly lit lanterns, and a bundle of blankets and pillows. It looked like he was having a little trouble with keeping everything in his arms, so Eleanor ran over and took the two fluffy pillows from him.

"Did you and Harry sleep here too?" She giggled a little as she noticed the items that they would be using tonight.

"Yeah. We kept a few things over here just in case we wanted to just stay the night. I almost forgot about this stuff. Thank God I didn't!"

"Yeah, thank God." Eleanor's voice sounded nervous.

"Are you okay? You sound a little um-"

"I'm fine, I promise. It's just that I never thought I would be sleeping in a barn. I never thought you would be the type to want to spend the night in a place like this either."

"Well I'm still a guy, and guys love having fun and doing different things no matter how old or rich they are."

"I suppose that's true."

Louis looked over at Eleanor. He watched as her fingers glided across the wooden ladder that led up to the loft. She looked like there was something that she was trying to hide; something that she wanted to talk about, but couldn't. It felt like there was a humongous elephant in the room. Louis thought that he should say something to break the awkward atmosphere. He knew if he didn't, then everything would stay like this throughout the entire night.

He cleared his voice as he held the items in his hands close to his body. Whatever it was, he wanted to just get it out the way so he and Eleanor could have a good night here. Before he gathered all of his confidence to question her, he wondered what the problem was.

Was it because she was embarrassed because of Dakota's behavior earlier, or was it the fact that he was basically making her stay in an old, dusty barn. Whether it's one of those or something else, he wanted to talk about it with her. If it is about the barn, then he would hike back to the city with her if he had to. He would do whatever he could to make sure she's comfortable.