admiration [l.t]

xii

"So this is the location you were hiding from me?" Bella asks through a smile, sitting on the edge of the pool as her legs hang in the water. Louis is standing in front of her, occasionally splashing her with water as he tries to encourage her to get in.

"Yeah. But, I'm not gonna lie and say this was all entirely my idea. I'm generally not the romantic type so I got this idea from somewhere. Girls like the stars, yeah?" He motions to the clear glass above them by looking up. "And it's indoor, so it keeps us warm from the coldness out there. Oh, and I made us a small picnic, if you'd like," he says before going under water and appearing right beside Bella, resting his elbows on the deck.

"Well whether or not you thought of this yourself-"

"Which I didn't," Louis smirks.

"-it's still very sweet," Bella adds, finally letting herself fall into the water, which rose up to her neck.

"And she's in! Performing an amazing dive! Bravo, my lady! Bravo!" Louis exclaims, clapping directly in Bella's face causing her to laugh uncontrollably.

The main reason Louis planned out this swim was so that the two could talk and figure out where they were going. The location was far away from everyone, and no matter what happened he would have to drive her home, hopefully giving himself a few more seconds to make amends if things went wrong.

Louis smiles as he watches Bella swim around, occasionally going under water, causing all her makeup to smear down her face. He smiles to himself, remembering his remark from this morning.

And even though she looks like a raccoon that just woke up from the dead, Louis knows she is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.

They smile and laugh as they began to splash each other, Louis picking her up and holding her over his shoulder as he runs out of the pool and around the pool's deck before throwing her back in, causing her to poke her tongue out at him and flick him off.

"I still question every day how you're so immature for being a senior in college," Bella says, voice full with admiration.

"I'm only having fun, babe. And don't act like you don't love it."

Whether or not Bella could tell, Louis froze at his own words, even though they weren't directed at either one of them. That one simple word, only consisting of four letters yet meaning almost everything and nothing at once, was the one thing he had yet to tell her. He knew how he felt, and he almost knew—or hoped he knew—that she felt the same way too by the way she looked and acted around him. He just didn't know when the right time to say it was, if there even was a right time, as if him saying it at the wrong time would ruin everything. Louis just mentally shook his head, putting his attention back on Bella.

"So school ends in only a couple of months..." Louis starts, now in the pool with her as they slowly swim around.

"Yeah, it does," Bella simply states, not catching the edge in his tone.

"And I'm graduating soon."

"I know, I couldn't be more proud of you," she adds.

"I'll be throwing my cap in the sky and all."

"You will."

"Saying goodbye to this damned hell-hole."

She laughs, "Good for you, Lou."

"And as you know I'm leaving after."

"I do."

Louis mentally screams. How could she not understand what he was trying to get to?

Louis was stunned, to be honest. Either she was just being completely oblivious or she just didn't care. If it was the latter, how could she be taking this so easily? Did she already have everything planned out? The way she would break up with him after graduation and-

Bella sighs deeply. "And I also know that no matter what happens, the two of us will stay together, okay? We'll work through everything because I don't want what we have to end. I'm happiest when I'm around you and I want to cherish every moment, including this one. I love you, Lou, and I want to keep loving you forever. I don't want you to worry about what will happen to us when you have a future now ahead of you," she says to him, looking at him straight in the eyes, both of them barely blinking. "Even though I won't be with you," she whispers the next part to herself. 

Louis can't help the smile that creeps up on his face when she says those words because everything he feared isn't going to happen. Every bad outcome that could have been planned out because of his departure was just a myth. Everything was going to be okay. They're going to be okay.

"You promise you won't leave me anytime soon, even when times get tough and we don't see each other for a long time?" Louis asks as he pulls her into a hug, kissing the top of her head.

"I promise you. I mean I did live without you for almost 21 years of my life."

"God, I love you so much Bella," he says before leaning down to kiss her through his smile.

They kiss for a few more minutes until Louis' stomach growls and they both begin to laugh all over again, completely forgetting about the serious conversation they just had, even though not lasting very long.

"Alright so I ended up making you spaghetti because it's your favorite. Or, I didn't make it but one of my best mates Harry did," Louis sighs and laughs. "So yeah, as you can see I didn't do much to contribute to this little date thing."

"It's still perfect, Lou. You still set it up and made sure we could come here, which by the way is so beautiful. I mean, just look at all those stars," Bella says breathlessly, finally looking up for a long period of time to enjoy the night above them.

"Yeah, I came out here a while ago and looked up and immediately thought of you for some reason. And ever since then, I've just wanted to bring you here."

"Thank you, so much. Really, this is incredible."

"I'm really glad you like it, Bells. Because I was so nervous that—"

She quickly cuts him off with a kiss, rubbing her hands up and down his chest. "Just shut up dork and let's eat," she says through a breathless laugh.

[A/N; for some reason something is wrong with this chapter and I can't find it but something just doesn't sound right idk.]