When We Were Young

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Hiya loves it's chapter 8
Song is a 21 Pilots & Childish Gambino mashup of 'Car Radio (Heartbeat)
ENJOY
Xoxoxoxoxo
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#Louis#

    It's been two days since I've seen Eli once again. I've let go of the incident with her and Zayn, or I'm trying to. The more I think about how I'm nothing more than a friend and I shouldn't be butt hurt over who Eli sleeps with, the more it bothers me.
    She's sent me a string of texts over the last couple days, all of which just say she wants to talk to me. As much as it hurts to ignore her, I need to decide on what I want to say to her. More than anything, I want to tell her how I feel. I want to tell her what she means to me, but my mind tells me to shut up.
    Lately, I've been coming to the rooftop of my hotel. Eli and I discovered it one night when we got curious. It was a big hotel, which to Eli meant big secrets. At some point, we found a door that led to a flight of stairs.

   "Maybe it's like Narnia?" I suggested.
    Eli gave me a look but still smiled. "Whatever floats your goats." She pulled my hand up the stairs. They led to a door which opened to the roof. "Wow, would you look at that," Eli said sarcastically when we got up there. She let go of my hand, and it automatically got colder. I looked down at it, tempted to grab hers again so I could feel the warmth of her calluses.
    I missed my chance, though, when she walked to the edge of the building, and leaned over the cement.
    I grabbed her waist, sliding my arms around her. "Don't fall," I teased her even though I was enjoying this. I could tell she secretly was too. The sunset at least.
    "It's kind of beautiful, isn't it?" Eli whispered to herself, like she forgot I was there. I looked at her looking at the sunset and got lost. She looked sad almost. I wish I knew what was going on in her mind, but she so rarely told me. Eli was a truthful person, but at the same time, she found it hard to tell certain truths. I ached to ask her if she felt the same way about me, but I sad too scared to think of what would happen when I did. I knew my chances of her saying yes, she did, were slim, so I held back.
    "It is kind of beautiful," I whispered, still staring at her.

    Since then, we've set up two chairs and two quilts for certain nights when we want to get away from the city and its sounds. I knew she could find me here if she wanted to, but I didn't know if I was ready to face her again.

#Eli#

   "Wake up!" Darcy shouted, kicking the couch.
    "Huh?," I jolted awake, sitting up. I removed a hair from my mouth and scooted to one side of the couch. Darcy sat down next to me and handed me a cup of ramen noodles.
    "You need to find a hobby besides watching cooking shows," she complained, crossing her legs.
    I knew she was right, but I wouldn't admit it. "What's wrong with cooking shows?" I mumbled, shoving a forkful of noodles into my mouth.
    "I don't know, but between this and going to the bar, I'm starting to pity you."
    "Why? I'm having a great time," I lied. I was bored as fuck. I hadn't had a photo gig since the wedding last week when I was spit up on, and for a month before that one. My time consisted of taking naps, going to the bar to smoke because Darcy didn't want the apartment to smell-even though I did-and hanging out with her or Louis. Not that I was complaining about that last activity, that was my favorite. But I needed to find something else to do.
    "You're lying, and I can tell. Go drive to the country or somewhere with Louis and take tons of photos. If I've seen you love anything more than photography, it's Louis. Well, it's me, but in this case, it's Louis."
    I shook my head, swirling my fork around the styrofoam cup. "That is not true, and I take photos all the time."
    Darcy gave me a look then changed the channel. "You take photos when you're working, which is barely. You adore photography so why don't you share your work in a gallery or something? It's a great way to make money and you can show people your style that way."
    "I don't want to."
    "Why?"
    I didn't answer her. I shoved another forkful of noodles into my mouth to keep her from forcing me to answer. Darcy turned off the tv and looked at me.
    I whined and looked at her. "I was watching that," I mumbled.
    Darcy looked at me with pity. "You hate The Bachelorette." And I did, I tolerated it because she loves it. "El, why don't you want to share your work?"
    I ignored her and stood up to take my cup to the kitchen. I hadn't finished, but I wanted to leave before she kept talking. I grabbed my purse and phone off the kitchen table and headed for the elevator.
    "This isn't over!" Darcy shouted as the elevator doors closed. When I got to the lobby, Sage wasn't there so I could slip out unnoticed. I didn't know where to go, I just wanted to see Louis.
    I didn't like to admit it, but I'd gotten  used to depending on him. He'd become my favorite person to hang out with, almost more so than Darcy. I just hoped that when I reached him, he'd want to talk to me.
    It took an hour to get to his hotel, as usual. The receptionist eyed me but I went to the elevator and ignored her. After knocking for a few minutes, I concluded Louis wasn't in. The only other place I knew to check was the roof. That quickly became our favorite place to be together. It was my favorite at least.
    And I was right to check there. I snuck up the stairs and opened the door as quietly as I could, which wasn't too quiet. It was an old and squeaky door, but I hoped I hadn't scare Louis off.
    Luckily, he sat in the left beach chair of the two we set up. Both quilts were on the ground in front of the chairs, and Louis didn't acknowledge my presence when I walked up to him. Usually, he'd say something cheeky like, "there's my best friend", or "my beneficial best friend!". Something that made me roll my eyes, but laugh on the inside. Now, he just stared ahead at the sun getting ready to go to sleep.
    "Hi," I tried. It was chilly up here, and I'd forgotten a jacket as usual, something I tended to do.
    "Hi," Louis greeted me. I smiled a bit and sat down. Even mad at me, he couldn't resist answering me. I stared at his facial features for a bit without saying anything. He had a good-structured jaw with stubble growing heavier. A tiny butterfly fluttered in my stomach thinking about how I liked to run my hands across his cheeks, and how his hands caressed my back. Now, his face was stricken and eyes tight. The tiny butterfly felt like it was kicking me for hurting him, whatever I did.
    "Are you mad at me?" I asked stupidly, but it was the best shot I had. This time, Louis was the one to not answer. I didn't know if that was because he was copying me, or because he didn't know what to say. I sighed and turned toward the direction of the sun, picking up a quilt and wrapping got around me.
    "No," he said finally. My gaze snapped to him waiting for more, but I got nothing.
    "Oh."
    "I-I'm sorry. I've got a lot on my mind." Louis sighed and scratched his head. I looked up at his floppy hair, which I liked grabbing with my delicate hands. There was so much of it, I could run my hands through it for days.
    "Oh." Nothing else seemed to want to come out of my mouth. Louis said nothing more either. We stared at the sunset together for a few moments. I didn't know what to say to kill this silence.
    After a few minutes, I looked back at him to catch him staring at me. His face looked the same before, and the emotion in his eyes was unreadable. It's a look I know I've seen before, but where?
    "You know you're my best friend," I told him. "Even Darcy's jealous."
    Louis chuckled, making the tiny butterfly happy again. "Well she should be, I'm quite a good best friend."
"She told me you and I should go driving so I can take a million photos so I'm not sitting on the couch like a lazy ass anymore."
Louis jumped out of his chair, extending a hand out to me. "Then what are we waiting for?"
I looked at him like he was crazy. "I don't have a camera, and we don't have a car."
He took my hands and lifted me up. "Then we'll rent a car and go to your apartment to get your camera."
I smirked and shook my head. "Sounds like a plan."

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Ya ya ya
Does anyone ship Eli and Louis cx
It seems like it's going fast but it shall be good I promise
Xoxoxoxoxo