WONDERLAND ✯ Louis Partridge

21 | Time Is Ticking

Y/N

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DEATH HAS A TERRIBLE HABIT OF MAKING YOU WISE.

I suppose it's meant to make up for years of negligence and unintelligence, but now that I'm faced with the knowledge  that I very well could die in the next hour, I'm realizing I have a knack for speaking like a French poet at a typewriter in the middle of the European countryside.

And there is a grain of truth to those words; coming to the decision to slay a Jabberwocky wasn't easy, and it was terrifying, but I realized I only had one thing holding me back. It wasn't the knowledge that I had left my own world behind, and it wasn't the knowledge that I could do the same with this one—it was the knowledge of leaving someone behind that hurt the most.

It was less about losing my life, and more about losing him.

Yeah, there it is, I told you I got all poetic whenever I thought about this deep stuff. Cheesy? Yes. Do I regret it? Also yes, and also no, I can't really tell.

"I'll do it," I said, turning towards the group, "someone's gotta' do it, and it's gonna be me."

Great, apparently I can't speak in coherent sentences either.

There was an awkward silence after my announcement, as everyone didn't know what to say. I was basically signing myself up for possible murder, and a 'congratulations!' wasn't the most likely thing to come out of their mouths. That being said, I gave them a weak smile, brushing past the huddle and heading towards the forest. I'd have to get a horse, another weapon, and some glasses so I could see just how ridiculous this whole thing was.

But before I could make it a few steps away, I felt someone grab my wrist, pulling me off towards a secluded spot on the opposite side of the field.

"Louis, what are you doing?" I hissed, yanking my hand away, "I've already made up my mind, you can't ask me to change it."

"I'm not asking you," he said harshly, brushing a curl out of his eyes, "I'm telling you that I'm not letting you go out there and hurt yourself."

I exhaled sharply through my nose, narrowing my eyes at him. It was clear neither of us wanted to fight over this, but neither of us wanted to let things go without one. Louis narrowed his eyes back, his cheeks already flushed a shade of red.

"It's the only way," I said, pointing towards the scene of smoke and fire in the distance, "someone's gotta' kill that beast, and to hell if I let someone else die over it."

Louis snapped back. "I don't give a f**k about that damn Jabberwocky, I already lost you over a misunderstanding, and I'm not going to lose you over a stupid decision."

There it is guys, that's the closest you'll get to a curse word with me (y'all bullied me in Cheeky for writing 'frick' hELP!)

"You can't tell me what to do, Louis," I frowned.

"I can tell you to stay," he frowned back.

"Someone has to kill that thing!"

"Then let someone else! Anyone but you!"

"You're being selfish, Louis."

"I don't care if I am," he stated, grabbing the collar of my jacket and pulling me closer, "because you're the most important thing to me right now, and if you don't give up the hero act and keep yourself safe, I won't hesitate to force you."

I really should have said something snarky back, or put my foot down on the situation, but being this close to him sort of tossed all of it out the window. We'd gone from fighting, to declaring things, to fighting again, and yet we still wound up back to each other.

I couldn't help but grin.

"Really?" I noted, placing my hand over his, "I'm the one who saved you from a dungeon, do you really think you can force me?"

Louis lowered his voice, narrowing his eyes. "Stop being stubborn."

"Stop being overprotective, then."

"I have a right to be."

"Says who?"

Louis opened his mouth to say something, his breath heavy from our previous row, but he cut himself off. Fighting was never something we liked, even though it had only happened twice, and yet it wound us both up like springs. So many things were running through my mind. Possibility of death, possibility of staying, the feeling of Louis bringing his hand towards the side of my face, the feeling of being angry that he wouldn't let me decide for myself, and the feeling of leaning forward and...

...kissing him for the first time in a while.

I don't know how we went from spitting fire at each other, to making out in a field, but....it's not like I'm going to do anything about it.

I just kissed back, smiling when I heard Louis' breath hitch in excitement. His hands made their way to my back, while mine laced through the strands of his hair, and we tried to lose ourselves from the impending doom that was certainly coming.

Unfortunately, we forgot there were other people there.

"If you guys would like to stop aggressively snogging," Harry said bluntly, his voice sending Louis and I jumping apart, "the rest of us would like to vanquish a beast that could kill us all if we stall any longer."

I felt my face heat up, and cleared my throat, straightening out my jacket and pretending that nothing was to be seen. Didn't make it any less embarrassing either.

I blushed, my hand fumbling along my belt to see if my dagger was still intact. "Sorry."

Louis ruffled his hand through his hair. "I'm not."

I gave him a look, before clutching my dagger and turning towards the forest. My lips were burning slightly, but that snippet of pain was entirely bearable and worth it. If I was going to die, at least I'm going to die happy and freshly snogged.

Apparently my french poetry has gone out of the window as well—whatever I just said was not classy in the slighted.

"Ready?" I said, turning towards the group.

No one said anything, but Louis gave me a flustered grin.

"Right," I finished for myself, beginning to walk off, "time to fight a beast."

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I don't know what the heck I just wrote, I fell asleep at my desk halfway through and muddled through the rest. I guess I'll be back to see the comments later—don't scold me too hard :)