Everlasting: a One Direction/Eleanor Calder fanfic

Chapter 3

I'D LOVE IT SOOO MUCH IF YOU'D ALL VOTE AND COMMENT!!

Eleanor sat on the bed in her flat, staring down at her phone. She had her recent calls pulled up and hovered her thumb over Louis' contact name. Her whole body became numb as she even anticipated calling him and telling him that she was just diagnosed with leukemia. She shook her head and cleared the screen, giving up on attempting to tell him.

Since recieving the news just an hour before, Eleanor felt completely alone. She knew that all over the world, there were people who loved and adored her. Even still, she was faced with the fact that no matter how much people cared about her, they couldn't do anything to save her.

As tears began to flow down her cheeks, she grabbed her phone again. Without much hesitation this time, she dialed another number until the person picked up on the other line. She waited silently for her best friend, Danielle Peazer, to answer.

"Hello?" Danielle answered.

"Hi Dani." she said lightly.

"Eleanor, hi. How are you?" Danielle responded.

"I'm..well, I've been better." El confessed. "Do you think you could possibly come over to my place? I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, sure. Of course, El." she immediately said. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah." she pressed. "I just...I'd like to see you, is all."

Danielle could sense the emotion in Eleanor's voice. "Well I should be over there in the next 20 minutes, okay, love?"

"Thanks, Dani." she smiled and ended the call.

She took a deep breath as she lied back on her bed and looked up towards the ceiling. Her lip began to tremble and she couldn't hold back the tears. Mixed emotions swirled within her and giving her the biggest feeling of denial. She had faced a lot of things in her life thus far, but never anything so...fatal. She couldn't help but to feel completely helpless.

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and took several deep breaths. Thinking logically, she knew that there were options. No matter how much it had sounded like a death sentence, she knew it wasn't impossible to be cleared of the cancer. Deep in thought, she let her eyes close.

Moments later, a light knock came from the front door of Eleanor's flat. She hopped up from the bed and walked through the den. She looked through the peephole and saw Danielle on the other side. She smiled and opened the door to let her inside.

They shared a hug and sat down in the den, having small talk for nearly an hour. As Danielle was rambling about her personal life, she noticed that Eleanor didn't seem to be mentally present.

"Eleanor?" she asked.

"Hm?" she responded, snapping back into reality.

"El, is everything okay?" Danielle asked curiously.

Eleanor sat silently for a few seconds, then shook her head. "Actually, no...there's something I need to tell you..."

Danielle sat up straight in the chair, deeply invested in Eleanor's well-being. "Are you alright?"

"I think so..." El said back to her. "Honestly, I'm not sure."

"Well just talk to me. Tell me what's going on, babe." she said.

"The other night, about a week ago, I had a nightmare. At first it started as just a dream, but then turned into a nightmare..." she confessed.

"Okay...what happened?" Dani asked.

"All of the boys and I joined together at Louis' house for a movie night. It was all great to begin with...then later, I could definitely sense some tension between the boys. Later I overheard Harry saying some awful things about Lou and I..." El explained. "Then the dream sort of changed to the next morning. Louis and I were going for a walk down town in London. Of course as we walked there were tons of fans, reporters, paparazzi..."

Danielle furrowed her brow as she tried to visualize everything Eleanor was describing.

El continued. "Then out of nowhere, we heard gunshots. Three of them. I looked over beside me and noticed that Louis was shot twice, and I was bleeding from my arm...it was terrifying. The pain...it was so real..."

She stopped and looked over to see Danielle with a puzzled look on her face.

"I'm sorry...here I am just rambling on about some dream..." El apologized.

Dani shook her head. "No, no, no. It's okay. Keep going..."

"My point is, I was shot in my shoulder. When I woke up, everything just felt odd." she explained. "It was already late in the day...I never sleep late. I knew that something was weird. I mean, my entire body was tense. Of course, my first instinct was that it was because I didn't have a good sleep...but then I woke up and noticed bruises...exactly where I'd gotten shot."

"Well, sometimes whenever something is off in reality, it can project into your dream." Dani suggested.

"Yeah, exactly. So in actuality, I was hurt and bruised. However, in my subconscious, my mind reacted to the pain and created some bizarre story to go along with it." she responded.

"So where exactly are you going with this? I'm a bit confused on that part..." she admitted.

"I was just explaining the dream and how it connected to my soreness and bruises." El said back to her. "I guess the dream doesn't mean much now, it was just strange. Almost like a foreshadowing of darkness in reality..."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"I found more bruising down my back. So I immediately went to the doctor's office to get it checked out..." Eleanor continued with tears brimming at the bottom of her eyelids. "I had to go in for numerous scans and tests. Earlier today they called me back for the results..."

Danielle's heart began to race as she witnessed the look on Eleanor's face. She wasn't sure how to feel about everything at the moment. So she sat and waited until El continued to speak.

"They diagnosed me with leukemia..." she said as she burst into tears. "Dani, I have cancer..."

"I...Eleanor, I..." Dani stammered, trying to respond.

Eleanor buried her face into her palms as she cried. Danielle's mouth was agape, in shock and speechless. What was she supposed to say now? Her best friend just told her that she had been diagnosed with an internationally fatal disease. She turned away for a moment and bit her lip as tears began to flow from her eyes.

"Eleanor...I'm so sorry.." she shook her head. "I don't know what to say..."

El nodded her head lightly. "I know..."

"No, no, no." Dani cried. "I mean, there are options, right? I've heard that leukemia is sometimes the most common type of cancer to get rid of the easiest..."

"Yes, the doctor said that there are the standard types of treatment...chemo, radiation, various therapies..." El said between sobs.

"See, so it may not be so bad..." Dani cried desperately. "Maybe...maybe you'll get through it okay.."

"Dani, it's a very rare case of leukemia that I have..." El said softly, merely a whisper. "The disease has been deteriorating my cells for over a year now..the main symptoms didn't show until late...the condition of the cancer is highly severe..."

"But...I don't understand..." Danielle responded.

"The likelihood of success to getting rid of the cancer is low...there is no guarantee that it'll be cleared enough to..." El's voice trailed off as she wiped her eyes. "Enough for me to win the battle..."

"Oh my God..." Dani muttered behind her cries.

"I'm sorry..." El whispered. "I'm so sorry..."

"What?" Dani shot back. "Sorry for what, Eleanor?"

"For dragging you into this..." she confessed. "I'm sorry..."

"No." Dani said. "No. Don't do that. Don't try to make yourself feel guilty. This isn't your fault."

Eleanor dropped her head and cried. Danielle reached over and grabbed El's hand, holding on tightly.

"Look at me, El." she said to her.

Eleanor swallowed hard and looked over to Dani.

"You are going to get through this. As of right now, know that I am making a plea to you. I promise that I will be right by your side throughout it all. I'm not going to let you go through this part of your life alone. I love you." Danielle said confidently.

"I love you, too, Dani." El smiled, wiping at the tears still stuck on her cheeks. "You're the only person I've talked to about this.."

"You haven't told Louis?" she said instantly.

El shook her head. "I just couldn't bring myself to...there is no way that I can."

"Eleanor, he needs to know." she assured.

"I know, Dani. But he just started out on the world tour with the boys. They're going to be so busy...and happy..." she responded. "I couldn't possibly throw all of this at him..."

"I understand that, but you can't keep it from him..." Danielle pushed. "And your parents?"

"No..." El confessed. "I know I need to. But this has all really been a lot to take in for one day..."

Danielle nodded her head, agreeing with her. "There's always tomorrow."

Although she knew that Eleanor had just gotten the news a few hours ago, she also knew how sensitive El could be. She knew that she would have to be there for her during this, especially while the one person she loved the most would be on tour all around the world.

"I think I'll talk to them tomorrow..." Eleanor lifted her eyebrows and turned to Danielle. "Oh, Dani! Will you come with me?"

"Oh, Eleanor...I don't know.." she said, taking a deep breath. "I don't think that's such a good idea..."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." she responded.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just...I really think that's something a bit more personal.." Dani defended. "I think it should be something between you and them."

"I understand what you're saying. I'll be okay..it'll be tough, but I can get through it." she said, putting on a small smile.

"That's my girl.." Danielle smiled, her eyes still red and puffy with tears.

Eleanor lightly stretches and yawns. "I'm already starting to get tired..."

"Would you like me to stay the night?" Dani suggests.

"No, no. I'll be fine." El assures her as she stands up from the couch.

Danielle rises up from the chair and looks to Eleanor. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

El shakes her head and smiles at Dani. She opens up her arms and goes in to hug Danielle. She squeezes her tightly and holds her close.

In this moment, Eleanor was forever grateful to have someone like Danielle in her life. Though they'd only known each other for a number of years, they had formed the closest bond Eleanor had ever shared with anyone, aside from Louis.

"I'm gonna head on back to my place." Dani says to her. "You get some rest now, love."

Danielle grabbed her purse and headed towards the door. She grabbed the doorknob with tears already forming in her eyes. It was her own personal mission to make it outside of the apartment before breaking down in front of Eleanor again.

"Dani?" El said softly in the den.

Danielle stops and turns around to face her. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for helping me through this.." she says with a quivering voice. "I love you."

Danielle nods her head and presses her lips into a smile as the tears flow from her eyes again. She bites her trembling lip and turns back to the door, exiting the apartment. As the door closes behind Dani, all of the emotion rushes back to Eleanor.

She slowly makes her way to her room and plops down on the bed. Her eyes began to burn and just when she thought she couldn't cry any more, the tears poured again. She buried her face into her pillow and cried herself to sleep.

Meanwhile in Paris, after the boys performed their last show in that location, they were invited to a private house party. Of course, they couldn't say no to a night of drinking and partying. However, Zayn agreed to attend yet he had already ditched after having one drink.

The rest of the boys were scattered out around the house. Harry was in a room down the hall chatting with people in a bedroom. Liam sat by himself on a chair in the main living room, passed out with a bottle of beer in his hand. Louis was mingling and dancing with other people in the small crowd. Niall had his back against the wall, kissing some french bird.

The girl tangled her fingers in his blonde hair with the brown roots showing, pulling on it as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. She tugged on his trousers, toying with the button. He laughed as he leaned to kiss a trail down her neck. She laughed and licked her lips in pleasure, pulling back and looking him in the eyes. The music blasting in the room boomed in Niall's chest, along with his racing heart as he decided to grab her by the hand and take her to a bedroom alone.

In one of the back bedrooms, Harry looked around. "Hey, where's Louis?"

He stood up from the bed and his head swirled. "Someone find Lou.."

He rolled his eyes when he saw that nobody heard him. He yelled out, in his slurred drunken language. "Ah, fuck it! Louis?!"

He furrowed his brow and walked throughout the house on a mission to find him. He squinted as lights flashed around him and he knew he was completely trashed.

"Have you..have you seen Lou?" he muttered as he walked between people in the crowd.

"TOMMO!!!!!" he screamed in joy as he spotted Louis across the room and ran to him, wrapping his arm around Lou's shoulders.

"Harry!!" Louis laughed. "What's up mate?!?!"

"Come here!!" Harry said, tugging him by the arm.

"What are you doing?" Louis slurred. "You're acting like a little girl."

Harry's jaw dropped. "Hey!! That's mean!"

Louis burst into laughter. "Okay, just keep walking."

Harry turned back around, pulling Louis' arm as he lead him down the hallway. He made his way to the bedroom where he was a few minutes ago.

They entered the room and Harry frowned when he walked inside. "Where did everyone go?"

"I don't know, Harry..you tell me.." he responded.

"Whatever. Just sit down. I gotta tell ya something!!" he said obnoxiously.

As Louis took a seat on the bed, Harry turned and closed the door. Louis bobbed his head around to the beat of the song that seemed to move the whole house. Harry bounced down onto the bed beside of him.

Louis looked over to Harry and laughed. "Harry...you're so drunk right now..."

"Me?!" Harry said defensively. "Take a look in the mirror, buddy."

"You know what?! I will, as a matter of fact!" Louis said, standing from the bed and walking up to the mirror on the wall. "Woah...goddammit, you might just be right.."

They both laughed and Louis fell onto the bed.

"Hey...have you seen...er...dammit what's his name?" Louis stuttered. "The one with the hair, you know?.."

"Louis...what the hell are you talking about?" Harry said laughing.

"The guy..in that band...OH WAIT!" Louis yelled. "He's in our band, actually!.."

"You mean Zayn?" Harry grinned.

"Yeah! Zayn, Zayn! That's what I said, ya dick." Louis cut his eyes at Harry.

Harry shook his head and laughed. "I actually don't know where he is...haven't talked to him..."

"Well...that's..that's just sad..." Louis said, frowning. "Anyways, wh- what were you gonna talk to me about?"

"What? I never said I had to talk to you.." Harry said, confused.

"Yes you did!! That's why you pulled me back here, remember?" he stated confidently.

"Oh yeah!! You're right!" he admitted. "I don't remember...You know what Louis, I miss you."

"Harry, you see me like every day.." Lou snorted.

"But things are really really different now..." Harry said, frowning. "You know? As far successful as we are now...things are all messed up."

Harry pouted and tears filled his eyes. He winced and his face formed into the ridiculous drunken cry-face most people assumed after having one too many.

"Aw, Harry...don't cry..." Louis begged. "You know how I get..sometimes when I'm drunk and we're all sensitive and there are tears gonna just be everywhere, you know? It's no fun drinking and driving when you're crying.."

Harry squinted his eyes and slowly turned to Louis with a smile. "I don't have a damn clue what the hell you're saying over there, so hush."

Louis went in to give Harry a tight hug. "It's okay..."

"I love you, Louis." Harry said, hugging him back, not letting go. "I really, really, really do."

"I love you too, Harry." he smiled, still embracing him. "I'm really glad that all five us are together..even if it's not the same as it used to be..."

"Do you ever just wish that we could...that we could go back to simpler times?" he asked, letting go of the hug. "Everything could go back to the way it used to be...when everyone got along..."

"I wish that every day.." Louis said, laying his head onto Harry's shoulder.

He closed his eyes as he nuzzled Harry's neck sweetly. They both closed their eyes and drowned out all the music thumping around them. Forgetting about the world for a minute, Harry reached his hand up and laid it softly onto the back of the other boy's neck.

Louis opened his eyes and leaned his head back the slightest bit, looking into Harry's deep green eyes. The room spun around both of them, as the alcohol was far from out of their system. Harry leaned over to press his forehead against Louis'.

In that moment, at the same time, their lips somehow managed to find one another. It was strange, but for the reason of their insobriety, no thought was put into it.

It was only a kiss, but at the same time, it was much more. Louis put his fingers through Harry's small curls and kissed back harder. When Harry placed his hand on Louis' neck, everything suddenly snapped back into place.

Louis pulled back and scratched his head immediately. "Oh...oh God...Harry, what are we doing? This can't happen..."

Harry sighed. "I know..."

"This was a mistake...I'm sorry." Louis stammered. "I th- I think I should go..."

He got up from the bed and walked to the door. Without looking back, he exited the room, closing the door behind him and leaving a drunk and confused Harry sitting alone on the bed.

END OF CHAPTER AUTHOR'S NOTE!! I'd say a hell of a lot has happened since the beginning of this story, and it's only 3 chappies in! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE AND SHIP ELOUNOR WITH ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME. However, that doesn't mean that a little FICTIONAL Larry doesn't hurt. And besides, judging on the awkwardness of their kiss, I'd say it was probably only a one time thing. ;) Soo yeah, if Larry isn't your thing: You're good to go, because it won't happen again! Pleaseeee stick with me and continue reading. It only gets better from here! Thanks, y'all!! Much love!! PLEASE LEAVE YOUR THEORIES AND FEEDBACK IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!