Breathe (Louis Tomlinson)

Chapter Two

ARDEN'S POV:

I kept my eyes trained on the shiny mahogany desk that seperated me from this woman. 

"So," she said, reaching into a black cup full of pens and pencils. "How old are you, Arden?"

"I think that the form right there should tell you," I said, arching an eyebrow as she followed my gaze down the the paper placed on the desk in between us.

"So, you're seventeen." she said, eyeing me as if I were a difficult puzzle that she was trying to solve.

"If that's what the sheet says," I answered, my voice as neutral as my facial expression. I honestly didn't know what I was doing; I wasn't going to open up, but I wasn't going to be a brat either.

"So, why don't we start off with the simple questions," she suggests, taking a sip from her blue coffee mug.

"Alright," I answered.

"So what are things that you enjoy doing?" she asked, situating the black pen over a section of a paper. 

"Being alone, listening to music," I answered, watching as she wrote something down, never breaking eye contact with me.

"And what kind of music do you like listening to?" she asked, looking at me with seemingly more interest.

"Rock, Alternative, Punk, Indie... not country." I said, making a face.

She smiled a bit. "So, how was your first day back to school?"

"Suckish. I almost forgot how much I hate it. Classes still suck. People are still stupid." I said, shrugging.

"How were your friends acting around you?" she asked.

"Everything was fine," I lied.

Flashback -earlier that day- 

"Arden, hey!" My friend, Mallorey, said, smiling a little too widely than she had before my little... accident.

"Hey," I said, trying my best to smile.

"You look great!" she said, though I could tell she was saying that more on my behalf.

"Thanks," I smiled forcefully.

"So you didn't miss anything. Some kid got arrested for drinking in the bathroom, the usual," she said shrugging. 

"Sounds intense," I answered, knowing that I wasn't doing much to keep the conversation going.

"So, you excited to be back? We all missed you! Had to have the Christmas party without you," Another one of my friends, Dylan, butted in to the conversation.

"Well your tasteless fruit punch and stale cookies don't sound to appetizing," I teased, trying to show them that I was still me, not some girl that needed to be talked to like she might break any second.

"Ha ha, very funny," he said sarcasticaly, trying to kill any of the tension. 

"Funny is my middle name," I replied, arching an eyebrow before being intercepted into another conversation.

"You know," she said, leaning forward so that we were eye-to-eye, "I know that you think I'm some stupid psychologist that couldn't care less about your well being and that I'm just here for the money, but that is not the case. I am here to help you. I really do care. There's something about you that reminds me of myself. You know,  I used to be suicidal. It was bad- really bad. And nobody was ever there for me. That's why I want your case to be different."

I was a bit surprised by her sudden seriousness. "O-oh." was all I could say.

"Now, how was your day today?" she asked.

"Honestly? It sucked. People were all cautious around me. It's so annoying." I said.

"Oh believe me... I know." she answered.

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"So would you like to come for dinner sometime?" my mom asked Mrs. Tomlinson.

"That would be great! My husband is out of town so it's just my son and I," she replied, beaming.

"Well, you can come over for dinner tomorrow night?" my mom asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great! Just text me the details! My son is, I think, a year older than you!" she exclaimed happily, looking to me. Well, crap.

"Alright, see you then!" my mom said happily.

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