a date with Louis Partridge: a short story

A date with Louis Partridge

Liv watched the clock on the wall as the last few minutes crawled by. She started shoving her array of coloured pens back into her pencil case in anticipation, only for Mr Smith to shout, "we haven't finished, folks, so don't start packing up just yet. We still have 3 minutes of Shakespearean fun". She scribbled down the last dreadful statement about the 3 witches and their prophecies before sweeping everything into her bag and rushing out of the door as the last bell of the day rang. Her boyfriend jeans along with her cropped, patterned t-shirt and vans meant that she could speed down the stairs unhindered and fly out the door. As soon as she was out of the school gates, she whipped out her phone to text Louis.

Louis. Louis Partridge. The one and only. Liv and Louis had met about 3 months ago and were already head over heels for each other.

'Hey! Are you here?' she began to type, but just as she was pressing send, she felt a pair of arms around her waist and a chin on her left shoulder. "Hello, beautiful," he whispered into her ear. "Hi," she replied as she spun around to face him. She was always taken aback by his handsomeness every time she saw him. His coffee-brown hair flopped in front of his face as he grinned down at her. He was wearing casual jeans and a shirt, along with a jacket which somehow made him look even taller, which she loved. Louis was only 6 months older than her at 17 years old, but a whole academic year above Liv, so he finished his days earlier and sometimes came to pick her up. "So, where are we going?" she asked him as they were still enthralled in a hug.

"Well, I was thinking," he started as he picked up his skateboard which was at his feet, "pop to the little café on the corner to pick up some coffee first, then down to the skate park afterwards (I am still determined to get you down that quarter pipe), then back to mine and we can cook a meal together? I was thinking about pizza? My parents are away as well tonight so we get the TV all to ourselves."

"Sounds perfect. Especially the part about coffee." Louis laughed at her joke as they started walking, hand in hand, into town. Talking and giggling, they made their way down the street. A group of girls, about 14, walked up to them, asking for Louis' autograph. He let go of Liv's hand momentarily to grab the pen and scribble his name on the paper they had thrust in his face, only to return to her once he had waved them off. He was so down-to-earth, even though he was getting recognised more and more recently since his newest film had come out. That's only one of the many things she loves about him.

They dove into the cosy café and started queueing up. "Your usual, ma'am?" he asked in a put-on posh voice. "Ah, yes thank you, sir," she matched his tone, "you know me too well!" Louis stepped up to the till and ordered an iced latte and a cappuccino for himself, both to-go, as Liv dug out her card from the bottom of her bag. She raised it to the card machine as the barista named the price until she heard, "You are so not paying for this"

"Yes, I am so am. You paid last time!"

"And I'll pay again," he said, reaching for a £5 note from his pocket.

"Don't you dare!" she told him as he handed over the money. She sighed whilst smiling in defeat, "thank you," she said sheepishly.

Setting their drinks and her bag down at the side, Liv stared at the quarter pipe. Louis had been trying to teach her to skateboard for weeks now and this was the first time she was attempting this. They walked up to the top and she balanced his skateboard half over the edge with her weight on her back foot. She desperately grasped at Louis' hands, terrified of falling. "ok, you can do this," he said as he started slowing backing away.

"no, no, no, Louis, Louis, don't let go, don't!" she cried holding onto him as much as she could.

"You'll be fine!" he laughed letting go of her hands and walking to the bottom of the ramp. She was only a few feet up, but looking over the edge felt like looking over a cliff face. Dread filled her mind as she looked over to Louis for reassurance. He smiled widely, saying, "just remember to bend your knees as you go down. You got this!" His words gave her confidence and she slowed transferred her weight onto her front foot. The board tipped over the edge and before she knew it, she was rolling smoothly down, slowing at the bottom. She jumped off the board and leapt into Louis' open arms, him lifting and spinning her in celebration. "I did it!" she shouted as he lowered her to her feet.