~Edited~

*Charlotte's POV*

"So tell me about the world tour! Which country are you lads most excited about?" The woman behind the television screen leaned forward, her scrutinizing cat-like eyes intense. Her cherry red lips were pulled up into a tight smile, one that made my cheeks hurt from just witnessing. I had to  give it to the guys. They had real patience with the snotty interviewer that hurtled question after question at them, most of them seeming more like accusations rather than relevant questions. Finally, with only ten minutes left in the interview, she had brought the topic to what the whole show was really supposed to be about. Their upcoming tour. I had invited Danielle over so we could watch together, and she had gladly made herself at home. She was sat on the couch next to me, a bowl of chips resting in on her crossed legs. 

"Well, I, for one cannot wait for Sweden!" Niall exclaimed, breaking out into laughter afterwards. Louis and Zayn snickered along, their eyes twinkling with humor. I raised my eyebrows at Danielle. What was so funny about Sweden? All I got as an answer to the unasked question was laughter sputtering out of her mouth, too. I shot her an unamused look. I wanted in on this joke.

 "The boys..." She started speaking, but couldn't control herself. "They always get flashed in Sweden..." Danielle finally spit out. I gawked at her and then at the television, where Louis was trying way to hard to stifle his laughter. He had folded his right hand into a fist and had it covering his mouth. I could see him trying to hold back the laughter while he nodded along seriously to whatever the interviewer was discussing with him in particular. Liam, on the other hand, was sitting on the opposite side of the couch, making faces at an already struggling Louis. 

I laughed. "Your boyfriend is so evil," I accused. Danielle looked at me weirdly and I nodded towards the television screen. I guess she saw what I was looking at by the way she doubled over in laughter. 

"I'm excited about Australia. It's incredible, I mean the people, the food, just the whole place." Louis finally composed himself and answered the question. The rest of the guys nodded in agreement. I had always wanted to go there, which explained the jealousy I felt after Louis' words.

Soon enough, the interview was coming to an end. With only five minutes left, the interviewer brought up a new topic.

"So, boys, before we let you go, there's a question we have all been wanting to ask." Her devilish smile gave me a bad feeling. She gazed underneath her eyelashes at the guys, who obviously had no idea what she was talking about. I shared a look with Danielle and she shrugged, the confusion on her face mirroring mine. 

"Charlotte McVerry."

As soon as my name left the woman's mouth, my body stiffened. I must have heard wrong. But I knew that wasn't true because of the way Danielle's head snapped towards me, worry etched across her features. I clenched my jaw and shared a terrified look with her. I patted around the couch for the remote and when the device was finally clasped tightly in my hand, I turned the volume up insanely high. I swung my legs over the couch and focused on the television.

The camera panned to show the boys' expressions. Their faces were all hard as they shifted uncomfortably on the couch. 

Behind their seats was a huge screen, which conveniently displayed a high definition picture of Louis, Liam, and I.

I muttered obscenities under my breath. That picture was from the "date" I had with Rodney. They had cut Danielle out of the frame, making it look like something it certainly was not. All three of us had our heads thrown back in laughter as we made our way out of the restaurant. 

"Liam? Louis? Care to explain?" The interviewer eyed the two boys. I could feel the tension through the television screen and buried my head into my hands. As much as I wished it was different, there were bound to be all types of rumors flying about.

"Charlotte's a good friend," Louis informed the lady, his smile pleasant, but his eyes told a different story. He knew what she was trying to do. 

"She's actually a friend of ours, too," Harry added, clarifying that there wasn't anything going on between me and any of the members in particular. I made a mental note to thank him for that later.

"Liam? Can I ask where Danielle was that night?" The wench was clearly not happy with Louis' honest answer and Harry's clarification. She wanted some sort of confession; words she could twist into something they were not intended to mean. I would know. I had dealt with those kinds of people countless times. And don't get the wrong impression: not everyone in the industry is like that, but the ones that are, go to insanely extreme measures just to get a juicy story.

Liam glanced over his shoulder the picture behind him and looked quizzically at the hostess. "Actually, she was with us that night. You would be able to see her if that was the original picture." 

Out of anyone else's mouth, those words would be sarcastic, accusing. But this wasn't anyone, it was Liam. He had spoken so nonchalantly, his words holding pure intent as always.

The interviewer was clearly displeased. She grinded her teeth and smiled forcedly back at the camera. "Well, that's all the time we have today! A huge thank you to the boys of One Direction for joining us !" The boys smiled and waved at the cameras, before the screen went black. Danielle threw the remote onto the couch and groaned.

"I'm sorry, Charlotte. They shouldn't have brought you up like that--" 

I cut Danielle off midway through her unnecessary apology. "Honestly, there's nothing we can do. People will probably stop talking about it sooner or later," I reassured. 

I knew my words were too damn good to be true. This wasn't something people would just stop talking about. It was going to stay with the band and haunt my life for a long time. But again, what could I do? I guess we just had to be more careful the next time we were all together. It wasn't like I was going to stop seeing them, so ignoring the pathetic media was the best option at the time. 

"I guess." Danielle gave me a sympathetic smile and I shook my head. 

"No, no," I declared. "None of that! Let's forget about this whole interview thing, pretend it never happened, alright? Because tonight is going to be all fun. You know why?" I interrogated, a thoughtful smile on my face. 

Danielle obviously knew I was up to something, so she narrowed her eyes and grinned. "Why?"

"Call Liam, tell him to bring the losers, too." I rubbed my hands together, probably resembling an evil scientist that just built his newest deadly invention. "I'm cooking us a fantastic dinner."

***

I scurried from the dining table to the oven and shoved my hand into a baking glove. I pulled out the smoking chicken and set it in its spot smack in the middle of the dining table. I gazed proudly at the glass-top table that was stacked with food. Much to my surprise, everything turned out just as I had hoped. I couldn't remember the last time I felt so accomplished. I smiled giddily and spun around, practically skipping back to the kitchen. I had forbidden myself to think of the interview and cooking was the perfect way to get my mind off of things. 

"Charlotte, I told you I'd take care of the table!" Danielle whined as she followed me into the kitchen. Danielle thought the sweats she had on weren't suited for the occasion. So instead of allowing her to go all the way home just to change, I told her she could throw something of mine on.

"Sorry," I shrugged, not really feeling regretful at all. She rolled her eyes, obviously not buying my apology. I watched her turn around and pick up the knife and a tomato that sat on the cutting board. 

"C'mon Danielle, it's not that big of a deal! Just let me do it," I begged, trying to shove her away from the counter. 

Danielle shook her head profusedly. "You did pretty much everything by yourself. Let me at least cut the salad." Without giving me time to protest, she turned her attention back to the vegetables in front of her and began cutting.

I sighed in defeat and leaned my back onto the oven. I was waiting for the cake to be done. I admit, I might have gone completely over the top with this dinner thing, but I couldn't help it. Cooking actually helped my relieve all of the stress from earlier and even I couldn't deny there was a tiny part of me that wanted to impress the guys with the dinner. 

I turned my attention to Danielle when she spoke.

"This looks so professional, you need to teach me how to cook some time," She shook her head out astonishment and set down the bowl of salad she was cradling in her hands. Since my parents were away so much, I picked up some cooking skills from Cal and Rose. Once I got the hang of it, I always cooked the food in the house. Except for when my parents were home, which meant everyone was back on the thousand-calorie diet. Gagging at the thought, I washed my hands and checked on the dessert and bread. 

"You can go get changed, I'll take care of the rest," Danielle walked to the oven and took the bread out, placing it on the table with everything else. I thanked her with a smile and peered down at my flour-covered apron. I probably should get changed, I thought. 

My plans were cut short by the sound of the doorbell echoing through the house. I threw my head back and groaned. The one time I actually hoped they would be late, they weren't.

"Or not," I muttered in response to Danielle's previous suggestion. I scurried towards the door to greet the five guys. Without wasting a second, I swung the door wide open, spotting Louis' cheery smile before anyone else's. I ushered everyone in and kicked the door shut.

"Chaaaaaar!" Louis dragged out my name and threw his arm around my shoulder. He then grabbed ahold of my shoulders and looked down at my apron. 

"You look like a cake threw up all over you," he proclaimed, wiping some flour off of my nose. He sauntered away into the kitchen before I could say anything and I heard him yell Danielle's name in a greeting. 

I gasped when two arms took me by surprise, and I was thrown over someone's shoulder. I could see Niall, Zayn and Liam, revealing Harry as the captor. I flailed my arms and legs frantically in the air, not comfortable with how close my face was to his butt. 

"Styles!" I scolded. "Put me down." I felt him shrug underneath my weight. 

"Nah, I'm good." His body vibrated with laughter as he turned around so I was facing the other three. 

"Hey Charlotte," Liam smiled nonchaltantly, tucking his hands into his pockets. I pounded my fists on Harry's back, but I guess I was too weak because he didn't as much as flinch. 

"Help?" I pouted, hoping either Niall, Liam, or Zayn would come to my aid. Thankfully, Liam did come to my rescue and said something to Harry that made his grip on my legs loosen. I don't know what Liam had said, but Harry was red as a tomato.

"Ouch!" I let out a yelp. "You didn't have to drop me." Rubbing my aching back, I got up and crossed my arms over my chest. Harry looked like he wanted to say something, but all four of us were alerted by Danielle yelling Liam's name in the kitchen, followed by Louis' loud laughter. Liam and I looked at each other before sprinting to the kitchen, the other guys following, where we were met with quite the sight.

I looked down to see Danielle on the floor, covered from head to toe in flour. She coughed, sending a cloud of the powder out of her mouth. Behind her stood Louis, clutching his stomach in laughter. fingers  wrapped around a bag labelled "All Purpose Flour," but once he spotted Liam, he hid the evidence behind his back. Louis shot Liam an innocent smile, receiving a glare in return. 

Somewhere between the laughter spewing out of my mouth, I realized that everyone else had gathered around me to witness the scene. We watched Liam bend down and help his girlfriend up. He pulled on her arm so she was standing behind him before his serious expression turned to a mischeivous one. Liam took two taunting steps towards Louis and swiftly grabbed the bowl of beat eggs that was next to him. Louis looked terrified and he shook his head in protest. And before I could stop him, Liam brought the bowl over Louis' head, dumping the eggs all over his hair and dripping down his shoulders.

I gasped. I could see Louis forming his next attack in his mind, which is why I stepped in. I wrapped my fingers around Louis' ear and Danielle did the same with Liam. Thankfully, she had the same idea as I did. Together, we tugged the idiots out of the kitchen, ignoring their "ouches" and yelps.

"The whole point of this dinner is to sit down and eat the food, not throw it all over each other!" I scolded. Louis and Liam stared at the carpet, resembling two children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. 

"Or me!" Danielle added, picking at her shirt, which was covered with flour. Zayn, Harry and Niall were currently laughing like maniacs, watching the whole thing go down. I glared at them and they suddenly didn't think it was so funny anymore. Harry couldn't resist from having a small laugh escape his mouth, but he composed himself once Zayn smacked him upside the head. 

Both Louis and Liam muttered incoherent sorries. I knew they weren't really regretful and to be honest, I wasn't really mad either. The whole thing was kind of funny. Louis departed to the bathroom to go get cleaned up. I told Danielle she could change into something else of mine. It took some convincing, but she had finally given in. I looked down at the mess on the kitchen floor, dreading the clean up. So much for everything going perfectly.

Deflated, I sighed and joined everyone else at the dining table.

"You made this?" Zayn asked while pulling a chair back for himself. I nodded proudly. He looked impressed, along with the others. 

Niall nodded, as if in approval, and cracked his fingers. "Bring it on," he challenged, reaching for the bread. I slapped his hand away, warning him to wait for Louis and Danielle.

"Okay, mother," Niall mumbled and grumpily fell back into his seat. Liam later tried to apolologize about the interview, but I told him not to. He had nothing to apologize for and that's not what I wanted the night to be about. Louis and Danielle soon joined us, refusing to even look at each other out of annoyance. I laughed at their childish behavior and dug in, along with everyone else.

***

"So Charlotte, tell us about your first kiss," Zayn spoke after he finished his story about how he had to stand on a brick just to reach the girl's height. After dinner, we had all formed a circle in the living room, talking about basically every topic that was brought up. 

My laughter died down abruptly and my stomach twisted uneasily when all eyes turned to me. It was only fair that I answered their questions, since they were answering all of mine.

"I'veneverhadmyfirstkiss." The words incoherently flew out of my mouth. 

"Huh?" Zayn voiced everyone's thoughts.

"I've never kissed anyone," I admitted and slumped back against the couch. 

Harry gasped and Niall smacked him on the back of his head. "No, I mean. No guy has ever kissed you?" Harry justified his shock. I shook my head, wondering why he looked so astonished. 

"I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but you're too pretty..." He gazing down at his lap, rambling to himself. Much to his embarrassment, the words he thought he so secretly mumbled were heard by everyone. Including me. I tried desparately to succumb my blush. 

"No, I... ugh, can we change the topic please?" He pleaded, shoving Zayn when he was mocking him.

Liam rolled his eyes at the two and looked to me. What was that all about? I hadn't kissed anyone and I knew that there was nothing wrong with that. It's just that girls my age at least had experience with relationships. I hadn't even had a boyfriend.

Danielle nudged my shoulder suggestively at Harry's words and I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Okay how about... " Louis started asking a question, but shook his head and decided it wasn't a good idea. His face lit up and he spoke again. "What's the meanest thing you've ever done?" A smirk slowly took over his face and he eyed me first for an answer.

I pondered the question, laughing to myself when I thought of the perfect answer. "Okay, about a year ago, I filled Rodney's shampoo with purple hair dye."

Niall's cackle was the loudest. He leaned over the circle for a high five. Gladly giving him one, I settled back. "And his body lotion with itching powder." I added, making the amusement only grow.

"You're evil!" Louis said between fits of laughter. Everyone else answered the question and the game went on. It was really truth or dare, without the dare part.

After a few more questions, my stomach growled involuntarily. I looked down at it and back up at the amused faces. "Did you guys hear about the ice cream shop that just opened down the street?" I grinned.

***

"I'll have... two scoops of cookies and cream, please," I ordered after everyone else already had their ice creams. The old man handed me mine, his frail hands shaking slightly. 

"That'll be £20, dear."

 I dug through my purse for the money and finally grasped it after some difficulty. I pulled out the pounds, but was met with a hand reaching in front of me and handing the cashier money. I looked to the left to see that the arm belonged to Liam. Huffing loudly, I shook my head.

"I could have paid for myself, Liam." I felt bad for letting him spend his money on me.

Liam tucked his wallet into his back pocket and smiled. "My treat," he declared. I smiled gratefully and we awaited Harry as he ordered. Everyone else had gotten their desserts and when Harry finally joined us, we strolled down towards the harbor.

"The water looks great," Niall claimed. He was bent over the railings, half of his body hanging on the other side. My heart skipped a few beats when he swung his legs over the railings and stood on the edge of the concrete, dangerously close to the water. One more step and he'd fall right in. I'd probably pee in my pants if I was in the same position as him.

I joined Niall, except I stood behind the railings, and bit into my ice cream, regretting it when a frost took over my teeth.

"If by great, you mean freezing, then yes the water does look great." I said and shivered at the thought of being in the chilled river. It was like another world down there, deep and dark and unknown. I stared down at the river for who knows how long. The street lights illuminated the water, making it look rather beautiful. As I was scanning the area, I felt two fingers prod my sides, causing me to jump and my hand to drop the ice cream cone. I grimaced as it fell down into the water, landing with a splash. A shudder went though my body and I turned to reveal whoever had scared me.

It didn't come as a surprise when I discovered that it was Harry.

"You scared the crap out of me, Harry." I leaned as far away as possible from the railing, hearing him chuckle.

"Not very fond of water?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer. 

I shook my head rapidly and he replied, "You're not the only one." 

He nodded over to where Zayn was standing with Niall, a few feet away from us. Niall kept tugging on Zayn's arm, trying to get him to join him over the railing. Zayn kept pulling away stubbornly. I started laughing at his resistence and watched Harry jog over to the two and push Zayn closer to the river. Their antics were amusing, but the absence of the ice cream cone in my hand made my stomach grumble. I frowned and strolled on over to where Liam, Louis, and Danielle were standing.

"I'm gonna go get another cone. Thanks to Harry, I dropped mine in the river." I told them. I didn't get much of a response from the couple. They were too lost in their own worlds. Danielle's head was nuzzled into her boyfriend's shoulder as they lovingly gazed out at the harbor.

Louis was standing off awkwardly to the side, so he hadn't heard me. As I approached him, I noticed he was searching the ground for something. I remained silent and watched him finally grasp a few rocks. He tucked them into the palm of his left hand and took one in his right. With his tongue peeking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration, he flung the rocks one by one so they skipped at least three times each on the water. 

"Impressive," I said, my hands digging deeper into my coat's pockets. Louis wasn't too startled by my presence. His distant eyes flickered to my face and back at the water, before he continued skipping rocks. I pursed my lips. Was something wrong?

I didn't say anything when I went and stood by him. I didn't utter a single word when I bent down and scooped up some rocks of my own. But I did huff in frustration when throw after throw, my rocks would just disappear into the water without skipping. I tried once more, holding a round and considerably large rock in my hand. I took a deep breath before launching it out onto the river, but all of my preparation was to no prevail. The rock sunk just like the rest. Louis hadn't uttered a word to me. It wasn't because he didn't want to, and I was sure of that. He had a thoughtful expression on his face, and his lips were tugged downward into a foreign frown. 

I grimaced. What was he thinking so intently about?

I watched him take the last remaining rock from his hand and fling it into the water effortlessly. It skipped four times, before finally disappearing. 

"Oh now you're just showing off," I said. I tried lightening the mood, but my smile faltered when his lips only slightly twitched. 

I sighed. "Is everything alright?" I finally interrogated, tired of seeing him like this. After a few seconds that passed in silence, Louis' alert eyes met mine. 

He nodded reassuringly before shaking the dominating thoughts out of his head. "Of course. I was just thinking, I'm sorry."

I didn't believe him for a second, but knew not to pressure him into confiding in me. I watched him crouch and run his hand over the rocks on the ground. He picked two of them up and faced me.

"You want to find a flat rock," he opened his palm and held it out towards me. Surely, both rocks his hand held were flat. He urged me to take one, so I did.

"Bend your elbow inwards, hold the rock between the pad of your thumb and your index finger. Then," Louis instructed me while demonstrating himself, "throw." I watched his rock successfully skip on the water. I nodded and followed his instructions, but still failed. I threw my arms in the air. 

"I give up, I just can't do it!" 

I was surprised to hear Louis' melodic laugh ring out through the night. He certainly wasn't going to let whatever it was that was making him uneasy earlier bring him down anymore. I still wanted to know what it was and felt a little disappointed that he didn't confide in me after I had told him everything there was to know about my life. I shook the thoughts away. Maybe whatever it was that was bothering him was more personal than my own issues. 

He shook his head in amusement and took two strides closer to me. My heart nearly hammered out of my chest when he stood behind me and gently took a hold of my arm. He looked deep in thought, before he pried open my fingers and held them, along with another pebble. 

"You want to level it against the surface of the water. So they're parallel, like this," he whispered, his unsteady breath hitting my neck. I suppressed a shiver and nodded feebly. My heart had lurched into my throat, rendering my speechless. He pulled back my arm and controlled it so that it threw the rock just the way he said, bouncing on the water four times before disappearing. 

I smiled and turned around, making his arms fall down by his side. "I did it!" I yelled, feeling accomplished, and hopped up and down on my feet. Louis scratched his head sheepishly, his eyes glued to the gravel beneath us, before he smiled down at me. 

The excitement still ceasing to leave me, I tugged on his arm and dragged him down the vacant sidewalk. "I need to get more ice cream. Harry scared me into dropping mine." Louis didn't get a chance to speak before I started racing him down the sidewalk and past the closed markets. He watched me in wonder as I jumped giddily, I probably resembled a child as I skipped happily along with him. 

"You're getting way too excited about ice cream," Louis mused. Amusement was prominent in his eyes and tone. I ignored his comment and instead, smiled widely, his words not really bothering me. I don't know why I was so joyful. It was just the feeling I got around him, something I couldn't help.

"What about Australia? Tell me about Australia," I blurted. I had been wanting to know more about it ever since I heard him talk about on the interview

"You've never been to Australia?" He was clearly surprised. I mean, I was a teen billionaire. If I wanted to know about Australia so badly, why didn't I just take my private jet? Sadly, things weren't that simple. 

I shook my head in response to his question.

"We'll have to take you sometime, won't we?" 

Australia with Louis. I knew it wasn't very likely that it would ever actually happen, but the very thought of it made my heart race with excitement. Louis could show me around, we could go to the beach together, have all the ice cream we could ever want...

I was snapped out of my embarrassing fantasy by Louis answering my question. A little embarrassed at getting carried away, I tried to hide my blush.

"It's amazing. The people are so happy, and the weather is spectacular!" Louis' voice was full of excitement, probably for when the two of us would go together...

Before I could stop myself, I brought my hand up to my face and slapped it against my cheek. Louis' head snapped in my direction. He tilted his head to the side slightly and looked at me as if I was crazy. Which we all know I'm not. 

"Did you..." he looked unsure, like he didn't want to ask the question, "did you just slap yourself?" 

I was hoping he didn't notice. I had done it to slap away the ridiculous thoughts swirling around my head.

"There was a fly," I lied lamely and waved my hand around in the air, trying to swat the "fly." To my surprise, Louis bought to excuse. Either that or he was too weirded out to question me further. I wish it was different, but even I had to admit that the latter was more likely. We finally came to a stop in front of the same ice cream shop and made our way in.

"Oh hello again." The same old man was the only one working, wiping down the booths. I greeted him with a smile and Louis followed me to the counter.

 "I'd like another cookies and cream cone please." 

I watched him nod and stack two full scoops of ice cream onto the waffle cone. My eyes scanned over the numerous tubs of ice cream while he was working and I laughed when they landed on one specific one. 

"Hey Louis." I nudged him and he looked over from where he was playing with a bobble head on the counter. 

"Yeah?"

I pointed down to the tub that had caught my eye. "There's a carrot flavored ice cream." I smirked, watching Louis' expression change from questioning to annoyed.

"Charlotte..." He whined after I laughed at his reaction. That day in the meadow, Louis had told me about the video diaries and just how many carrots he'd received after that. No wonder the poor boy was tired of them...

"Maybe I should tell everyone else back at the harbor about the little fight you had with yourself back there." From the smirk on Louis' face, I could tell he was referring to me slapping myself. His smirk only grew when my face became tomato red and my wide eyes narrowed into slits. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied again, my high-pitched voice deceiving me. We continued to glare at each other, before the old man interrupted us. 

He smiled sheepishly and handed me my ice cream. "And what would your boyfriend like?" He asked, turning to Louis. My eyes widened, but I couldn't deny the fact that my heart fluttered at the thought of Louis being my boyfriend. And taking me to Australia...

This time, I restrained from slapping myself and gave myself yet another mental scolding.

Louis laughed a little before shaking his head. "I'm not her boyfriend, sir." 

My heart dropped, but I quickly regained it. Why was I feeling like this? Louis was only telling him the truth. We were not a couple. And I did not have feelings for him, just like how he didn't have feelings for me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just... oh," The man stumbled over his words. He looked so surprised by what Louis told him. I furrowed my eyebrows, wanting to know what he was thinking. 

"It's alright. What's our total?" Louis brushed it off and pulled his wallet out. 

"No, no, no," I pushed him out of the way and reached into my purse.

"Charlotte, don't be stupid," Louis rolled his eyes and shoved me back, so he was standing in front of the man. He quickly handed him the money and I groaned. Louis joined me and laughed at my grump expression, before we headed towards the exit. I stepped out of the shop behind him, my mind reeling towards the man's shocked expression when he realized we weren't dating.

"Hey, um, I'm gonna go get some napkins." I told Louis to wait outside and he complied. I jogged back to the store and found that the man was no where in sight.

"Excuse me?" I asked. Where had he gone? My question was answered when he appeared from a door labeled "Employees Only."

"Yes?" He took off his gloves and took several strides towards where I was stood, in front of the counter. I inhaled deeply before blurting my question. 

"Earlier, when we were ordering, why were you so surprised when Louis said that him and I aren't a couple?" I finally struggled to get the words out. I examined the man's face closely as it lit up. He exhaled deeply and sat down on the stool in font of me. 

"Ah. That young man, the way he looks at you, I can tell there's something there." His voice made him sound so sure of his ridiculous theory. I glanced at Louis from the glass windows. He was standing outside and made a funny face when he saw us looking his way. I gulped and turned back around. Something there? Like what?

"I don't understand..." I trailed off. The way he looked at me? Louis and I were just friends, and I doubted he thought of me as more than just that. 

"You'll know soon enough, my dear." With those taunting words, he disappeared back into the room he had came out of earlier. I stood with my head spinning, my mind repeating his words like a broken record. I shook my head and sighed deeply before dashing out of the shop, my melting, untouched ice cream still in my hand. I think I had lost my apetite.

"You don't have any napkins?" Louis pointed out once I came into step next to him.. I looked down at my hands and gulped, before looking back confusedly at Louis. That's right, that's the excuse I had made to go back into the shop.

"Yeah, well neither do you." My response was lame, but it did what it was supposed to and caught him off guard. I began walking back towards the harbor and Louis was still standing where I had left him.

"Are you coming?" I asked, stopping to wait for him. Louis nodded, his confused expression diminishing, and caught up to me. 

"You're confusing, Char." He stated a few seconds later. My eyes were on my ice cream. I was eating it as fast as I could so it wouldn't ceat a mess in my hands. 

"How so?" I questioned, not taking my eyes off of my dessert. 

Louis looked conflicted when he shook his head slightly. He adjusted his beanie and his blue eyes gazed at me through the darkness.

"You just, you confuse me. And you've got ice cream on your nose."

Paying more attention to the last part of his statement, I tried looking at my nose and ended up cross-eyed. A sense of deja vu swept over, taking my mind back to when he wiped the flour off of my nose. Louis laughed again and stepped closer to me. He carefully wiped the ice cream off with the pad of his thumb. But instead of moving his hand away, Louis allowed it to trace over my cheekbone. My heart lurched into my throat and I froze, his touch sending uninvited shivers to rack through my body. 

What is he doing?

 I only then realized how close we were as he locked his gaze onto mine. By the sharp intake of my breath, his hand was back at his side within a flash. I stood, unable to speak or move, still trying to decipher his strange actions. 

"Got it." He said, giving me a feeble smile, his eyes holding a drop of regret. He cleared his throat and kept his hand on the back of his neck as he walked in front of me. I brought my cold, numb hand up to my cheek, where Louis had placed his. The lingering sensation of his touch remained, frozen in place by the chilled air. A shaky breath escaped my lips and I jogged up to a still silent Louis. We walked just like that. In silence as the both of us wondered what the hell had just happened.

(A/N)

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