Wire Fence || Louis Tomlinson

Chapter 1 ("Distance is Broken")

Our town has been in a feud.

Not just a typical fight, but a long time century fight that almost lead to Civil War.

Treaties were written but later burned.

There has never been a compromise in Doncaster.

No one ever dared to talk to someone of the opposite side.

The discrimination and animosity against one another was almost as high as the punishment as crossing the border.

The border which can be easily be torn down; a border which has been standing for a century.

A wire fence which stretches 10 acres across our town separated us.

If anyone passes the border, the people who owned the side got to decide what the punishment was for the trespasser. Most of the time though, it was death.

Each side wanted to scare the other into submission.

As a young girl, I never understood why we were separated.

I thought of many scenarios; including one where there were monsters on the other side! Until one day, I saw a little boy, about my age, with a brown bowl cut and blue eyes through the metal. He smiled brightly and waved at me, but I, being a tiny bit shy, waggled my fingers lightly to the boy as he chuckled to himself and walked away.

But later on when I was 13, I began to realize the monsters were us, separating each other for a reason that could've been dropped years ago, but how the elders in our land refused to let go.

I stopped smiling as much, and I stopped laughing.

It wasn't an easy thing to do; but over time it was easy when you aren't happy.

Everyone on each side was depressed. Except for maybe that one boy mentioned earlier. He always seemed a little peculiar... I'd stare out the window and watched as he'd tumble with his mates.

Usually, I'd watch him rough-house with those lads through my bedroom window while I was cleaning my room.

It may have seemed a bit stalkerish, but hey, what else could I have done?

I couldn't have strolled over to the fence and poke my hand through saying, "Hello, I'm Layla Mariela Mitchell, nice to meet you!"

I would've gotten punished to the maxium.

So I kept my distance.

Because distance is safety. Distance means no trouble.

But that little boy, whose name I didn't know until later, always stuck around the fence.

He daringly put his hands through the fence, his wrists being small enough to fit.

But after a scolding from his mom and a threat from our mayor to cut his hands off, he hasn't touched it since.

He would just sit there, staring at the people who worked on the other side, fascinated, and probably wondering why we were separated too.

One morning, I woke up very daring. I have become a strong woman.

21 years old. No more being scolded.

I pushed the duvet off my legs and jumped off the bed and threw open my drapes.

A bright and sunny day greeted me warmly.

I hurriedly slipped on a dress, the bottom part being green polka-dots, and the upper half being like a white tank top with a green bow on my left shoulder strap. A brown bow belt completed my dress, and I casually slipped on my sneakers.

I grabbed my purse and tried to quickly and quietly exit the house, knowing my mum would scold me for wearing sneakers with my dress.

I crept into the kitchen, and noticed a paper taped to the fridge.

Layla-

At a town conference meeting. With the amount of stubborn that radiates off these hateful people, this will take a while. Why do we even bother? We know that we'll never come to a compromise.

Anyways, I bought dozens of frozen food for you, in case we don't come home in time for dinner.

Lots of love,

Mum

I giggled at the way Mum had signed off. 'Lots of love'... LOL... I neatly folded the note, slid it into my purse and skidded out the door.

The sun was bright, and the skies were a rich, deep, blue.

I scanned my surroundings, watching little children play, storekeepers selling their goods, and women gossipping under the big oak tree. Although we were in 2013, our town acts,,. Well... Old.

We use technology just as much as the West part of Doncaster, but most of us just would rather do old-fashioned activities than stay on our phones or computers all the time.

My eyes fell upon the metal chain link fence that I despised so greatly.

I scanned the fence, to see if those pesky boys had left something hanging on it, but my gaze locked on a shiny object, the light from the sun being reflected off it and into my eyes.

I looked around me, to see if any adult was watching.

I then took cautious steps toward the gate.

I ducked behind the bushes, and crawled on all fours. A faux gold pocket-watch lay on the ground, half-way into West Doncaster, and half-way into our territory.

My hand hesitantly hovered over the watch, my better sense of judgement trying to kick in.

"Not to ruin your raid-parade, but, that's my watch."

I looked up to see a handsome brown haired boy with stunning blue eyes.

"How do you know it's yours?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.

"Flip it over."

I touched the bottom rim and flipped the watch over.

The name 'Louis Tomlinson' was engraved on the back.

"Oh." was all I could manage to say. My cheeks burned as slid through the bottom opening in the fence.

"Is it pronounced like Louie or Lewis?"

He shrugged. "Whichever you prefer."

"Well I'm asking you..." I said, staring at his face intently.

He sighed and put his hand on his hip.

"Fine, uh, just call me Louis (Louie) because I like the way it rolls off your tongue."

For the first time in a long time, I felt myself smile.

"Well... Nice to meet you Louis."

"Nice to meet you?.." he paused, waiting for me to introduce myself.

"L-Layla." I stuttered as my cheeks flushed again.

"Nice to meet you, Layla. You seem interesting, so I hope to see you around." he fiddled with the loop on the waistline of his jeans.

"Yeah, Right back 'atcha!" I said playfully, making a weird hand gesture towards him.

Oh gosh, why did I just do that?

He smiled, stuffed his pocket-watch into his back pocket, and walked away from the fence.

"See you around," he called over his shoulder.

As soon as he was out of earshot, I snorted,

Like I'm gonna see you again.

I shook my head and walked away. With the feud going on here, I seriously doubt I'm ever gonna see him again.

But things have a way of making the unlikely happen.