Snapshot » l.t.

Chapter 36

Chapter 36


Renee's POV


I slept in later than usual. Like, really late. So late, in fact, I woke up to someone shaking my arm. That's not right for two reasons: a) no one wants to wake me up unless they want to get bitch-slapped, and b) only I have the key to my flat.

My eyes shot open at that last realization.

"Get off me, you stranger!" I yelled, and began to flail my limbs everywhere. "AAH!! RAPE!!"

"Renee, calm down!" a male voice exclaimed. "I'm not raping you!"

"AAH!! A RAPE-LIAR!!"

"Cheezuz," that male voice sighed.

I flung my hand in the direction of his voice. I slapped something.

"Ow!" he yelped.

Satisfied with the sound, I relaxed and sat up.

Louis glared at me while rubbing his arm. "Good morning to you, too," he scowled.

"How did you get in here?" I demanded, ignoring him.

"Easy. Zayn has so many credit cards, I'm sure he won't miss one."

I smiled slightly in amusement. Then I remembered my bed-head, morning breath, and lack of pajamas. With a mortified shriek, I plunged back under my duvet.

"What's up now?" Louis asked, sounding exasperated.

"Get out of here!" I ordered. "I don't want you seeing me like this!"

Louis chuckled. "Fine," he said. "I'll wait for you in the living room."

I heard a door close, and I poked my head up. He was gone. Good. I was about to choke on my own breath under there.

I jumped out of bed and put on my clothes. I grabbed a brush and thrust it through my hair as I darted to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and primped myself up some more. I had a huge grin on my face.

I calmly walked into the living room, where Louis was sitting on the couch, waiting for me like he said. He looked up with a large smile. "You look good," he said formally.

I blushed. "Thanks," I mumbled and sat next to him.

He slapped my arm gently. "Shame, Renee!" he gasped. "What has happened to you? I compliment you, and you don't make a wisecrack?"

"Oh, shut up," I said, holding back my giggles. "Everything is different now."

"Hopefully not too different," he said. "I still want some of the old Renee."

"But that's not really me," I blurted out.

Louis frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

I sighed and glanced away from him. "I feel like there's a different part of me when I'm around you," I admitted. "With everyone else, I don't know how to act. I'm all shy and awkward."

"Why do I find that hard to believe," he snorted.

"It's true!" I objected. "But with you... I'm like this."

"Well, I believe you," Louis said slowly, sounding a little doubtful. "But we can work on that together."

"Cool!" I said gleefully. "Now I'm bored. Let's do something fun."

We couldn't come up with anything. Then I had a brilliant idea.

"I know!" I exclaimed excitedly. "Wait here," I told Louis.

I jumped up and ran into the kitchen. I picked up a blue and black Sharpie.

I offered the black one to Louis with a grin. "Let's play tic-tac-toe."


*~*~*~*


We only got to play one game because we were using Sharpie and Louis only had one tic-tac-toe tattoo. He promised he would get more so we could play more games.

After that I just traced his many, detailed tattoos with my finger. He ended up falling asleep.

I rested my head on his shoulder. I uncapped my Sharpie and started drawing on his arm.

I was in love with him. No doubt about that. And he was in love with me. I was still doubting that. But it was the truth.

What were we? We never officially announced our relationship. Were we dating? We kissed. Hopefully that meant something.

Would we go on dates? Would we kiss some more? Would we keep in contact when he went on tour? (Haha, that rhymed) Would we stay close? Would we grow old together? Would we die together?

Whoa, there, Renee. Slow down. You're not even dating yet.

I glanced at Louis' sleeping face. I felt like a creeper, but in a good way. I smiled and snuggled my head into the crook of his arm.

I nudged him awake. He groaned. "What?" he asked groggily, and my heart raced. Ermagherd, his morning voice sounded so sexy.

Snap out of it! I yelled at myself, and I went back to the task at hand.

"Louis," I said quietly. "What are we?"

He frowned and knuckled his eyes. "Renee, I just woke up," he mumbled. "Don't hit me with the hard questions so fast."

I rolled my eyes and shoved his arm. "This is serious!" I said. "We kissed. Does that mean we're a couple or something?"

Now it was Louis' turn to roll his eyes at me. "No, it means we're friends with benefits," he said sarcastically.

He must've seen the frustrated, worried, and slightly hurt look on my face, because he softened and got serious.

"Sure, it means we're a couple," he said.

"You never asked me formally," I said in an arguing tone. Why I was arguing, I have no idea. "I want to be in a relationship with you. But we have to make it official."

"What do you mean by that?" Louis asked, hefting me up slightly into his lap. Here comes a cuddle moment. "Do you want us to announce it on Twitter or something? Personally, I don't think we should do that."

My brow creased. "Why not?"

"Well, because the fans would react negatively. This is how they would see it: the boys and I aren't on tour, and supposed to be relaxing with the occasional famous moment. But then out of nowhere comes this girl that is supposedly my girlfriend. If you were a fan, how would you feel about that?"

But I wasn't really paying attention. I was buzzing from his comment of me being his girlfriend. I would like that. Screw what the fans say. They don't matter.

"Um, Earth to Renee!" a male voice said loudly, and I blinked. I came back to the present.

"Oh, sorry, what were you saying?" I asked sweetly.

Louis sighed. It wasn't an annoyed sigh, like gosh-you're-so-impossible. It was an amused sigh, like oh-what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you.

"As I was saying," he said, emphasizing his words. "I think we should hold off for a little bit."

"Okay," I agreed reluctantly, sounding a little depressed. I knew Louis was doing what he thought was best for us, and I appreciated that, but I wanted to be together NOW. Officially, I mean.

"But," Louis added mischievously. "Just because most of the world doesn't know about us, doesn't mean that we can't be together."

"What are you saying?" I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes.

He encased my hands in his own. My face felt like it was on fire, and my heart danced in my chest.

"Go on a date with me," he insisted. "That's the way I should treat my... girlfriend."

Just the way he was grinning and how he said that was enough to make me start squealing. But I didn't. Instead, I pressed my lips against his in a good, long kiss.

"If that was your way of asking me out...." I whispered seductively into his ear. I felt him lean in for another kiss.

I pushed him away. "You failed miserably," I said, standing. "I may like you and all, but you have to be more spontaneous than that. Pathetic."

Louis scowled at me. "I'll think of something," he told me in a warning tone as he stalked towards the door.

"I would hope so," I retorted. "Make it good. I want to remember it."

I slammed the door after him. I didn't regret a single thing.


*~*~*~*


Okay, I take that last statement back. I was worrying out of my mind. Louis hadn't shown up yet, and I feared he'd given up.

What if he didn't come back? What if I pushed him too hard? What if he blabbed to his fans and the whole world hated me? What if I was overreacting and he showed up after all?

The doorbell rang. I accidentally screamed at the top of my lungs. Oops.

I opened the door, and blushed. Louis' face was red from suppressed laughter.

"I... I saw a spider," I mumbled, looking down. Louis snickered.

I looked up just in time to see him get down on one knee. Da hell? Was he... proposing?! Whoa.

But instead of a ring, he produced a dark red rose out of nowhere. I sighed in relief. "Oh, thank gosh," I said. "I thought you were proposing!"

Louis gave me a weirded out look. "Definitely not," he said. "At least, not yet."

I smiled, and my heart pounded. Not yet.

"Actually," he continued. "I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me. Just you and I, a normal couple, going somewhere nice. How about that?"

"Sounds great," I said, accepting the rose. "Just answer me one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"Am I your girlfriend?" I asked, pleading slightly.

Louis suddenly jumped up and kissed me passionately on the lips. "Of course," he murmured.

I giggled. "What should I wear?"

"What you have on is good enough."

I frowned, and pulled back slightly to look at him. "Where exactly are we going?" I asked.

"Just trust me," he said with a huge grin.

I hesitated a moment. Then I sighed. "Alright," I said. "But it better not be someplace like McDonald's!"


*~*~*~*


"McDonald's? Really?" I asked Louis as we stood outside.

"I told you to trust me," he reminded me.

"Yeah, but I thought you had a little brain inside that big head of yours! Did you not hear what I said? This is your definition of 'someplace nice'?"

"I heard you fine. Just come on. I promise you'll have fun."

I sighed again. "Fine, but only because I like their milkshakes."

Louis took my hand, and, swinging our arms back and forth, we headed into the greasy restaurant.

"Hey, this is the one with the PlayPlace in it!" I realized.

Louis smiled and nodded, squeezing my hand.

"If I remember correctly, we aren't three to twelve years of age," I reminded him. "We're both twenty-one. Way passed the age limit."

"Wait, you're twenty-one?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I said, like it was obvious.

"Huh. I always thought you were eighteen."

I grinned. "Yeah, I've got the body for that," I said, swaying my hips back and forth.

Louis closed his eyes and pursed his lips. "Could we not talk about your body?" he said tightly.

I laughed. "Sure, boo," I teased him.

"Ha!" he suddenly yelled, pointing at me.

"Ssh!" the cashier shushed him.

"Ha," he whispered. "You called me boo! You do care!"

"No shit, Sherlock," I said, rolling my eyes. "Now let's order. I'm hungry."

Despite my complaint, I didn't get much. Just a hamburger, medium fries, and a chocolate chip frappechino. Louis got something similar, just with a medium Coke and double cheeseburger.

"Now come over here," he said, and practically dragged me into the PlayPlace.

"What--" I started to ask, before Louis covered my mouth with his hand. He had a sly grin in his face.

"Now let's have some fun."

I stared at him, and struggled to pry his giant hand away. "I hope you don't mean that in the way I'm thinking," I warned him.

He wrinkled his nose. "Ew, gross," he said. "We just started dating."

I sighed in relief. "Good," I said. I turned around and jumped into the ball pit. "This is so unsanitary!" I squealed with excitement.

Louis laughed at me. I started to chuck the small plastic balls his way. "I'm not playing alone!" I yelled at him. "Get in here!"

He was calmer, sliding in next to me. "I'm not even going to point out how wrong that sounded," he said pointedly.

"You just did," I retorted, and attacked him. I leaped on him and started to pelt him with balls.

"Ow!" he yelped. "These things HURT!! Don't you love me?"

"I thought you liked the old Renee," I mocked him.

He scowled at me playfully and suddenly lurched up, making me fall off him in surprise. "Revenge time," he smirked.

He was right, those balls DID hurt. I was resorted to holding up my hands to protect myself, and trying to crawl away as fast as possible.

Suddenly I couldn't breathe. There was a massive weight on top of me. Not again.

"Get... off!" I grunted, squirming. "You're squishing my lungs!"

"Surrender!" Louis ordered.

"Never!" I hissed. "I'd rather die!"

That gave me an idea. A rather evil idea, but still an idea.

I closed my eyes. I held my breath and went limp. Louis must've noticed.

"Renee?" he said uncertainly.

I didn't reply.

"Oh, shit," he muttered. He got off me and started shaking my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Renee! I didn't mean to kill you! Wake up!"

I had to laugh at his wailing. I let go of my breath as I barked out a laugh. Then I was laughing uncontrollably.

I opened my eyes to see Louis glaring at me. "Not funny, Renee," he growled.

I sighed, regaining my breath. "Yeah, yeah, I know," I said. "But I just had to. Forgive me?"

He didn't say anything, just continued to stare daggers at me.

"Please?" I pleaded.

"I'm out," he said, scrambling out of the ball pit, scowling for real.

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach. "Louis, wait!" I cried, but he ignored me.

I looked down as I cursed and punished myself. I shouldn't have gone so far! I shouldn't have pushed it! It was just for fun, but really, Renee? Death? You're so sick!

I looked back up to try and apologize again, but Louis was gone. I bit my lip nervously, remembering how Louis said that made him want to kiss me. Did he ditch me?

"Louis!" I called. "Are you still here? Did you leave?"

No reply, quite obviously. He did leave.

But then I saw his shoes by the PlayPlace exit. Was he really still here? He must've been, because his shoes were there. He was hiding from me on purpose. I rolled my eyes. I see. He thought two could play at that game. We'll see about that.

"He must've gone," I said, making my voice crack. Of course, I would never talk to myself in a supposedly empty PlayPlace, but it was all part of the plan. "He must've left me. I knew it was too good to be true."

I buried my face in my hands and pretended to cry. I glanced up. I frowned. Still no Louis. Maybe he did leave and forgot his shoes by accident. But I wasn't about to give up hope.

"I know!" I exclaimed, snapping my fingers. "I'll look for him! Maybe he's hiding on purpose."

I began to prowl around the plastic play area, looking in every nook and cranny that I could find. I saved the best part for last: the play-set.

I got down on my hands and knees and crawled inside. My back scraped against the roof, and I swear crumbs stuck to my hands. I brushed them off on my jeans. If giant Louis was in here, he was suffering more than me. Probably stuck, even. I smirked. That would be funny.

"Oh, Louis," I called in a singsong voice. "Where are you? Come out, come out wherever you are!"

Of course, he didn't reply, but I knew I'd find him. I no longer worried if he was still here. It was just this gut feeling I had, that he was here somewhere and I was going to find him.

I finally had enough room to squat without bumping my head on anything. I glanced out of the play-set. I was... what? Twenty, thirty feet in the air? The height didn't scare me. I was in a plastic PlayPlace, what was there to be afraid of?

I scooted forward. There was only a couple places left for me to search on the play-set. There was this giant robot-thing that bounced you up and down, but I wasn't about to go in there. Sure, I didn't mind the height, but an unstable, plastic purple box floating in the air? That I minded.

The next covered area was the large, long yellow slide. That could only be the last place for Louis to hide. I could see right into the robot-thing, but not the slide. He would have to be somewhere halfway, because I couldn't see him from the top nor the bottom.

"Louis?" I said again, and slid slightly inside. I used my hands to keep from sliding all the way down. "Are you in here?"

I slipped down some more. And a little more. And a little more, all the while calling Louis' name.

Just when I was starting to give up hope, my socked feet pressed up against something round and hairy.

"Ah! Gross!" a male voice yelped. His voice sounded weird in the plastic tunnel. "Get your stinky feet off of me!"

I smiled and drew them away. "Found you!" I chirped.

"I guess," he grumbled. "Now get me out of here! I... I think I'm stuck."

I started cracking up, my loud voice nearly deafening me. "I knew it!" I crowed. "You're stuck! Oh, this is too good!"

"Renee!" he said, annoyed, and I concealed my giggles. "Sorry," I said. "I'll get you out. Wait here."

I ran down and out of the play-set, grinning widely. This was hilarious. I took off my beanie and hoodie and started scooping up plastic balls. Then I raced back up to the slide and sat next to the lip.

"Okay, I'm back," I said down it. "I'm gonna help you."

"You better," he retorted.

I picked up a red ball and a blue ball. I threw them down the slide. I heard them scatter against the sides.

"Ouch!" Louis cried, and I laughed again. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Don't worry," I snickered. "It's all part of my plan. The balls will loosen you up and help you slide down."

"Okay...."

I threw down however many balls I had left. I was lying, I didn't think the balls would help him get out. I just wanted to get my revenge, and it was sweet.

"Uh oh," I said, searching around my hoodie. "All the balls are gone. Are you out?"

"No," Louis groaned up to me. "I'm in severe pain. What's your Plan B?"

"Um...." I hesitated. I never had a Plan B. Maybe this situation was more serious than I thought.

"I'll be right down," I told him and eased my way downwards until I could see the top of his head. "Where are your arms?"

"They're pinned to my sides."

Shit. Now on to Plan C. Maybe I could still try Plan B....

"I'm going to find them," I said. "So, prepare yourself, I guess."

I repositioned myself to that if I was going down the slide, I would be going headfirst. I reached forward and hesitated for only a second. Then I started to grope around with my hands.

Louis erupted into giggles. "S-Stop! That tickles!" he cried.

I couldn't help but grin. "Do you want to get out of here or not?" I asked.

"I do! I do!"

"Then stay still. Geez."

I finally managed to distinguish one arm from the rest of his body. I grabbed hold of it and yanked it upwards.

"Ouch!" Louis complained, but I managed to set it free.

"This is going to hurt a whole lot more," I warned him. "Probably."

I started to pull on his arm. But then I realized it would never work without his other arm. I let his right hand drop, and I edged to the other side. I did the same as last time, searching until I found his arm and pulling it out. The whole time Louis was complaining or groaning, but I ignored him. Ungrateful twerp.

"Okay," I panted, sweeping my hand across my brow. This was a lot of work. Louis really was stuck, the idiot. "On the count of three. One... two... three!"

I pulled on both his arms. Just when I was starting to wonder if there was a flaw in my plan, I was suddenly sliding forward on my belly. It was not a pleasant feeling. I struggled to sit up. Then I was suddenly pressed up against a fuzzy brick wall. Oh wait, it was just Louis.

"Free, finally," he sighed in relief. "That hurt!"

"I think our lesson is learned," I scowled.

"Really? And what lesson is that? Don't play dead unless you want your boyfriend stuck in a plastic slide?"

"No," I replied. "PlayPlaces aren't meant for twenty-one year olds. Now let's eat. I'm really hungry now."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Author's Note:


I haven't written a chapter for "Snapshot" in ages! Well, actually, I've been posting each day, I just had the chapters prewritten and made you guys wait on purpose. Haha ;)

The last time I wrote was last weekend! Here are the reasons why I hadn't been writing: a) I'm sick and dying, b) I'm exhausted from going to bed extremely late and waking up extremely early, and c) I just plain didn't feel like it.

But that's changed. "Snapshot" is almost over, so I'm going to complete it. But I'm still going to make you guys wait ;)


Stay Beautiful,
-Sammi <3