Score •• louis a.u.

chapter 22

I gaze at the stars in the night sky, counting as many as I can without losing track. I get up to one hundred before my eyes wander and the star I was looking at blends in with all the rest. I sigh and tuck my arms underneath my head, turning my face toward the warmth of the fire pit. A shadow passes over me and someone sits at my head.

“So tomorrow we leave then?” Louis asks, his deep voice soothing me. I turn my head to the left and can just see his forehead.

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s gone by so fast innit?”

“I reckon so. Too many things have happened.”

I laugh and nod my head. “I totally agree.”

We’re silent for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company and the dark sky.

“Is that the big dipper?” Louis asks suddenly, pointing up to the vast expanse of the space we can see. I follow his finger and search the cluster of stars but I don’t see an outline of the famous constellation.

“No, Lou. That’s just a cluster of stars,” I laugh again. He gasps in mock hurt.

“How dare you offend those stars! They have feelings too!”

“I’m sure they do. Maybe that’s why they explode so often,” I close my eyes and smile, turning my face back toward the fire.

“Hey, coach?” Louis whispers after a few moments of quiet. I make a grunt of acknowledgment allowing him to continue. “Wanna play footie?”

***

“Pass the ball!” I shout across the field to Louis who is fooling around. “Come on! If we’re going to play I at least need to touch the ball!” The abundance of stars in the sky provides a ghostly glow over the field, whilst also giving off plenty of light.

“Come and get it!” He yells, wiggling his butt and running away whilst giggling. My eyes widen in shock and I pause a moment to admire just how endearing he is before I sprint after him. He shrieks as he sees me barreling toward him and he cuts a hard left, swinging the ball through my legs and past me down toward the water. I brake and spin left, following him close behind as I stick my right leg between his. The ball jumps out of reach and he goes down, landing on the soft ground with a muffled ‘ow’. I giggle as I race to catch up to the ball before it lands in the water, circling around whilst dribbling it in front of me. I taunt Louis a bit, running around him in circles with the ball while he eyes me looking for a chance to steal it. We're both breathing hard and his eyes are bright with excitement. He lunges at me but I kick the ball right and jump left. He falls after me, knocking into my side and sending us both backwards into the freezing cold water. I gasp as the frozen water locks my joints and instantly close my mouth so I don’t choke. As soon as we surface I slap Louis hard on the shoulder.

“What the heck, Lou!” I yell, spitting water out of my mouth and pushing my soaking wet hair out of the way. He gives me a shy grin and playfully splashes water at my face. I splash him back harder and furrow my brows.

“Sorry, I didn’t think we were that close to the edge,” he says, swimming in circles around me. I huff and move toward the shore, reaching out to push myself up when I am yanked back into the water, nearly going under again. I flail in the water but Louis holds me tight, gripping my hands and swimming with me in tow. My heart speeds up and I have trouble looking him in the eye but I try to act professional.

“Let go. I don’t want to play anymore. I’m cold, I’m wet and I just want to go to bed,” I whine, tugging pathetically against him. He resists my attempts, continuing to float with me.

“We never talk anymore. We used to talk so much we’d be screaming at each other, remember?” Louis juts out his bottom lip in a pout and I immediately turn away, allowing him to pull me through the water.