Escaping Reality (Louis Partridge)

5

I fake a smile. "Th-thanks."

"Can I get a picture?"

Louis slowly wakes up and sits up. "Shit." He whispers.

"Both of us or...."

"Both of you." She smiles. "But wait. Are you dating? Because I've seen the drama between you two and-"

"No we aren't. We are just hanging out for a little bit until we go back to our normal life's." I lie.

"Okay."

We get in the picture, and she takes it.

Once she's gone, Louis pulls me out of the library, and to a grocery store right around the corner.

"Louis-"

"Shh."

We stop at the back of the store, and he began pacing up and down the isle.

I stand there watching him freak out.

"Shit. She's gonna post it! Everyone will know!" He exclaimed.

"Louis-"

"What do we do?!"

I grab him by the shoulders stopping him. "Okay first. Breathe. Please."

He takes a deep breath, staring deeply into my eyes.

"Now, we don't do anything."

"Are you crazy?" He asks.

"Listen to me!" I say shaking him a little bit. He sighs and I could see his eyes begin to water. "Ah fuck please don't cry."

Obviously he doesn't listen. A few tears fall down his cheeks.

"Fuck now I care about you." I say while pulling him into a hug. "We don't do anything. We go on about our day, and then act like nothing happened. It's simple."

He pulls back. "But then what do we do when they start asking questions?" He asks.

"We tell the truth. We aren't dating and we aren't friends. It was just us hanging out one time." I regret my words.

His face falls and he pulls away. He began face walking.

"Louis wait." I chase after him.

He finds one of those family bathrooms, and locks himself in there.

"Louis?" I knock on the door.

"Just go home. You don't even want to be here anyways." He scoffs on the other side of the door.

"Come on I didn't mean it like that."

Silence.

"Louis."

"Go. Home. Now."

I sigh and take a seat on the ground. I'm not going anywhere. I keep on messing up. Were we friends? Did I want this to happen more then once?

Of course I did.

And of course I wanted to be friends.

After about ten minutes, he comes out thinking I've left. I stand and push him back into the bathroom.

"I told you to go home." He says pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No! You don't get to tell me where to go Pole Boy! I'm staying and we are gonna spend the rest of the day together!" I yell. "Listen, I don't know how, but you managed to make me care about you. So you won't get away that easily. I just- I don't want to get hurt. And I don't want to just assume we're friends."