"Lovely"

Part Fourteen (Louis)

Part Fourteen (Louis)

September first.

Today was the day.

Liam would be here today.

I had had a really difficult time accepting the fact that Liam would be in the same town as me again; given that the last time we were in the vicinity of each other, he had hit me with a car.

I couldn’t face him. Not yet.

Harry had not been too supportive of my decision to go to the train. It was so nerve-wracking, waiting to see him around town. I knew that if I spent all my time wandering around Holmes Chapel aimlessly looking for Liam, I would drive myself crazy.

On that, Harry had agreed with me.  I remember he had asked if I wanted him to go with me; but I declined the offer, opting to go it alone. I had to get rid of my anxiety by myself; that’s what Caroline, my psychologist, had said. I had to learn to trust my own judgement. In order to stop worrying about Liam, I had to first realize that he wasn’t really a threat.

It wasn’t that Harry didn’t understand that, I think he just didn’t want me causing a panic where one was not necessary. He thought that maybe if Liam saw me, he’s try and pull something, or he’d look at me the wrong way. It was irritating in a way, how he viewed my panic. He seemed to think I was like a ticking time bomb; and that any little thing could set me off. Little did he know that this was not the case.

See, I’m not going to let myself be afraid of Liam.

Not anymore.

However; seeing him today had been strange to say the least. I mean…he looked so…

Normal.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but the boy that got off the train was not it. He had appeared so happy, overjoyed that he was reunited with his grandmother. For a moment even Diana appeared to be gentle, kind, as I’d imagine most grandmothers to be.

I didn’t trust it.

Maybe I was just being paranoid. Maybe Harry had been right in suggesting I didn’t go. Seeing Diana in any other way than I had seen her at Harry’s work would change my perception of her.

But then there was Liam.

I knew that as soon as school started, he’d be back on me.

Harry thought otherwise.

“C’mon Lou,” he sighed, running his long fingers through my hair. “Maybe he’ll be different without his friends around?”

He rose from his seat next to me, retrieving my mug from the counter and bringing it back to the couch.

“Drink that up,” he added gently, “it’ll be getting cold soon.”

“Thanks.” I murmur, quietly sipping the liquid and snuggling in closer to Harry.

“Say, Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“D’you suppose Liam will be around the bakery now? With him being here and all…”

Harry froze, and I felt his arm tense around me,

“Harry?” I ask, concerned.

“Don’t you worry about Liam.” He stated firmly. “He won’t be an issue.”

His sudden intensity worried me. I had never seen Harry act this way before. Then again, we’d only been together for just short of a month, I didn’t really know much about him.

I wanted to believe I knew everything there was to know, but something deep inside told me I was wrong. Every night for the last little while we’d call each other just to talk for hours about absolutely nothing. He’d tell me about his sister, and his family. I remember him saying a lot about the school here as well, and about the different teachers that I’d most likely have.

“Wait till you meet Miss Aldwin,” he had groaned, “she’s an absolute arse.”

His little stories about Holmes Chapel were always particularly interesting.

Or maybe it was just Harry.

Harry made everything more interesting.

~~

 I slip into my pajamas and toss my clothes into the hamper, letting the plastic lid slam shut behind them. With a sigh I settled onto my bed and opened my laptop. For maybe an hour I scrolled mindlessly through Facebook and Tumblr, stopping occasionally to re-blog things I found amusing.

I was about to turn off my laptop for the night when a notification on my screen catches my attention.

“One New Message. Click here to view.”

I sit up a bit straighter, pushing my glasses further up my nose. Once I can see the message, I don’t want to. It’s not happening. It’s not real. He’s not supposed to know yet.

With a gasp I click the message again, re-reading it a second time.

“Long time no see, eh Tommo? I’ll see you on Monday. We’ve got some catching up to do ;)”