Far Away From Here

Truth Be Told

I massaged my throbbing temples as I glanced at another flashcard; the words beginning once again to blur together. Exams were stressful enough, but the impending doom of my relationship was also not helping. It had been two weeks since I had found out about the offer and Jonas had been on my case ever since telling me I had to inform Louis of my pending move in a month. After my talk with Jonas, I had called Dr. Hanns back and accepted the position, a wave of excitement washing over me almost making me forget what I needed to do next.

"How's it going?" I was sat on top of Louis' tea-stained counters as he cooked one of his infamous pasta dishes. He was spicing it up tonight and making penne noodles instead of elbows.

"Good, I actually feel like I have a hang of it this time." I tugged on my low, loose ponytail escaping the wavy hair to cover my shoulders. I watched as he drained the pasta, trying to build up the courage to tell him. He turned around making contact with my staring eyes.

"What?" he smirked, I inched my fingers silently asking him to come to me. When he was in arms reach, I pulled him against my knees.

"So hey." I twisted his hoodie string around my finger "Remember that meeting my Mother set me up when we visited?" He nodded, a bit confused. "Well, it wasn't a meeting per se ...more like an interview." I trailed off, peering up at him through my eyelashes.

"An interview? For what?" He inquired looking even more confused.

"Dr. Hanns had an opening on his summer research team; it's all about space and time exploration. He has a team of some of the best students from around Great Britain."

"That sounds amazing baby." He smiled, I could tell he was still lost about what I was talking about. I swallowed harshly, looking up at him. "Well, the meeting was actually an interview for a position on the team, and uh, I got a call that I was given a spot on it."

"Holy fuck! Darling, that's amazing!" I smiled in surprise, I wasn't quite sure what his response would be.

"It is, isn't it. Twelve weeks of researching about space and he said that there are going to be some guest speakers. One time during Space Camp he got the Chief scientist of RAL Space to come and I get-"

"Wait," Louis interrupts me looking puzzled again. "Twelve weeks? That's your whole summer and if you're working at Sin's, you're not going to have time to do anything else? What about Paris? Do you think you'll be able to get time off?"

My eyes raised for a moment and the excitement I had once felt was now sizzling to foam at the bottom of my stomach. "Louis, I-" I was lost of words, I thought what I had said had been clear. "I would be moving back to Bristol for the summer; the program is based at the University."

"Wait what? You'd be gone all summer?" I nodded, as I searched his eyes for any clue of what he was thinking. "So, you'd quit Sin's?"

"Sort of I guess. I-I didn't really think about that. I got way to excited and just sort of accepted."

"You accepted the position? What the hell Wendy? You just got it, could you not talk it through first."

"I-" I looked away suddenly, the intensity of the situation burning me.

"Oh." He replied and I could hear the distraught in his voice. "You've known about this for a bit haven't you?"

I nodded once again, not daring to look at him.

"When?"

I shrugged, praying this situation would be over soon. However, that wasn't the way Louis rolled. He grabbed my chin, diverting me to look at him. "When did you find out?"

"The day we planned for Paris." If it weren't for his fingers holding me in place, I would have looked away from the hurt that flashed through his eyes. "I wasn't sure if I was going to take it or not so I didn't want to mention it until I was sure."

"And now you're sure?"

"Louis, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I'm lucky I even got an interview."

"Isn't there something you could do at ManU, I bet there are plenty of research groups or whatever."

"This isn't a whatever Louis. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I am so happy I get to do this; do you get that? This is going to open doors for me when I finish school and I will be learning so much. Can you just be happy for me, because I really want to be happy about this." Water started to tickle my eyes as I stared up at him.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. Yes, I'm happy for you baby." He pulled me into his arms. "We'll figure this out, it's only a three-hour drive."