Clouis: New Start

Chapter 7: What Now?

Monday morning

He lets the water run down his back, burning his skin and ridding him of any emotion. Guilty. Stress. Sadness. It was beginning to overwhelm him, dealing with Clementine's incident. Thoughts would race through his head. Most of the time it wasn't even complete ideas. Just the start of a statement with countless ways to end, none of which were good.

Everything seemed to rush down the drain at his feet. Once Louis turns the faucet off, he stands in the shower feeling nothing but emptiness. He figured it was better than the overbearing weight he was feeling before. He quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs. His mother is cooking at the stove. Smells like eggs Louis thought to himself, but the words never left him mouth.

He has taken note of his silence recently. Everyone has. Louis is always the one to crack a joke or come up with a sassy comeback on the spot. The past few days though, he has barely said a word.

Louis' mother, Hanna, has also noticed her son's silence and she is aware of the reason for it as well. It hurts her to see Louis struggle like this. She would do anything to take away her son's pain. Louis knows she is here to talk if he needs to, though he never would come to her. It's best if she just gives him the time and space to heal on his own.

She wonders how Clementine and her parents are getting by. It's so hard to watch her son struggle so much, but at least he can get out of bed! The poor girl does nothing except lay down and stare at her wall. Hanna wonders what she would do for her child in that situation then quickly shakes her head to remove the idea, thanking God that she does not have know.

She plates the eggs and places them on the island. "Eat up, Lou," she says to him, placing the pan in the skin. The water causes the burning metal to steam. Louis watches the vapor rise to the ceiling, floating above everything. He wishes he could just dissolve into a gas and fly off.

He sits at the counter, grabbing the fork and poking at the over-easy eggs. The yellow liquid oozes out of the middle, covering the white surface. His mother has yet to see Louis eat since the party. She hoped making his favorite breakfast before school would get something in his stomach, but she wasn't so lucky. "Louis. You have to eat something," she tells him softly. No response. His eyes don't even move from the plate. There's a stabbing sensation in her chest; her heart breaking. Her eyes begin to water at the sight of her son, so empty. She kisses him on the forehead. "Have a great day at school," she says with a shaky voice then heads to her bedroom where she breaks down completely.

At school

Louis puts his hood up and head down, cursing himself for not thinking of skipping earlier, though he probably wouldn't have. He couldn't leave Violet, Marlon, and all the others to deal with this without him. The gossip has already gotten around. He can hear his classmates whisper as he walks by. He can't make out what they're saying, but he catches his name and Clementine's a few times. HIs eyes stay fixed to the ground as he quickened his pace to his locker.

Louis never minded being the center of attention. Being the starting pitcher of the varsity baseball team beginning freshman year gained him lots of popularity, which he never complained about. This talk is different though. They didn't want to laugh with him, they wanted to laugh at him. It's humiliating. He could only imagine how Clementine would feel, especially since she hates attention to begin with!

Finally he reaches his locker. A few sophomores from the team lean on it, seemingly waiting for Louis. Gabe, Justin, and Lamar. It's weird to see them without their fearless leader, but Charlie wouldn't be caught dead in school now. At least, not if Louis has anything to say about it.

"How's your girlfriend, Louis?" Gabe asks him, a grin plastered on his face. Louis squeezes his hands into fists. Today was not a day to test him.