"Drunken mind speaks a sober heart"

* * * 

I remember this one time, I was left in the care of my weekend babysitter, Mrs.Ying. She was a nice old lady. Nice, but I couldn't deny that there were times when I questioned her sanity. Turned out that sweet Mrs.Ying had grandchildren of her own. So on one unfortunate Saturday morning, she decided to take me along to her grand daughter's 9th birthday party. I, being only 8 years old myself, was quite intrigued with the fantasies she planted into my naïve mind. Just the thought of going to a party with clowns, games, and presents excited me more than ever before. I had never been to an actual birthday party, so when I got to Ella's, I didn't know what to expect. But no expectation or theory could have prepared me for what I experienced that very day. It just so happened that Mrs.Ying was the oh-so-commendable chef of the birthday cake everyone ate that day. Everyone but me.  

You see, I had long before become a victim of Mrs.Ying's conspiracy that she was a good chef. I managed to avoid eating pretty much everything she had ever made after the several times she had unknowingly gotten me sick.  

 Back to the party. I decided I wasn't in the mood for spending the weekend with an upset stomach, so I ended up feeding my slice of cake to the trashcan. Sadly, the rest of the children at the party couldn't reject the thought of having a free sugar-filled dessert. Let's just say, during a huge game of charades, one kid got sick. Then another. And another. Soon enough, the whole house was filled with the smell of vomit and cries of children. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? 

That's the last time I remember smelling something so fowl. And if I thought that I would never have the "pleasure" of smelling something so disturbing ever again, which I did, boy was I wrong. 

I scowled as I stepped into the rambunctious environment. The intoxicating stench of alcohol clad with the strong smell of sweat and cheap perfume was the first thing to hit me, washing away any hopes of actually enjoying the night. The room seemed to have an erratic heartbeat of its own. A building full of wild, care-free youngsters who didn't mind grinding against complete strangers. The idea that this was how most young people spent their weekends aroused my curious mind, making me question how this kind of night could even be considered an option. It hadn't been two minutes since I stepped foot into the club, and my head was already begging me to pop two Advils. 

Fleetly reminding myself of the sole reason I had allowed Danielle and Harry to drag me to a club, I painted a smile across my lips. After what happened at Leeds, rejecting Harry's invitation to hang out with him, the rest of the guys, and Danielle at a club seemed like a crime. Besides, how bad could it be? It wasn't like I was going to actually consume alcohol. Harry wouldn't either; he'd promised to keep me company. Sober company.  

The bright, pulsing lights of the club made it hard to recognize faces. All that was visible to me was a swarm of bodies on the dangerously crowded dance floor and a bar. I took a deep breath. 

I could do this. After all, it was a club, how hard could it possibly be to enjoy the night? I wandered over to the less frantic corner of the floor, where there were tables set up for more formal meetings. I had to admit, the building was beautiful. It was designed explicitly for celebrities and was hard to get into, unless you were really well known or knew someone of the sort.  

I took a seat on one of the chairs, feeling completely out of place. Every girl at the club was wearing a dress of some sort, while I was sitting lamely in my most comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I bobbed my head along to the beat of the song that was currently playing, waiting quite impatiently for the arrival of my friends. I decided to pull out my camera from my side bag. I plugged in my ear phones and began toying with the device, blocking out the world around me. I figured I would get a text from Danielle when they arrived. After ten boredom-filled minutes of chipping my nail polish, I felt a nudge on my shoulder and pulled my earphones out.  

I looked up and saw the familiar dimple-framed smile. Harry.

"You actually came," he smiled. I looked around us, he was the first one to find me. None of the other boys were around and Danielle was no where to be seen. I silently thanked God that it was Harry instead of Louis. I hadn't faced him since lashing out at him before Leeds, and didn't quite feel ready to. 

"I did," I nodded and motioned for him to sit down. I was wary of the way I acted, more cautious than usual. Surprisingly, Harry seemed unaffected about the event at Leeds. And don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining, but I still felt guilty. Was this how Louis felt? He led me on, whether it was unintentionally or knowingly, I don't know. I for sure knew which one I wanted it to be. But Louis didn't know I liked him, did he? 

I felt a tug at my hair and snapped my head to the right, where Harry was watching me. He let go of my hair and shook his head, shooting me a curious look.  

"Are you okay? I've been calling your name for the past minute," he said, biting his lip in hopes to hold back his laughter. But his eyes held a glint of concern.

"I'm fine, just thinking." 

"About what?" His lips set into a frown and he curiously leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table.  

"Where are the others?" I asked quickly, knowing I wouldn't be able to lie about my thoughts for the life of me. 

He stared at me for a few seconds, clearly trying to make out my feelings. I looked down at the table, suddenly interested in the wooden design. Finally, Harry spoke.  

"They're by the bar," he shrugged, "I was supposed to meet them there once I found you." 

I stared at him incredulously. He raised his eyebrows innocently in response, and laughed before lending me a hand.  

"Let's go." 

* * *  

"You've got to be kidding me, Danielle!" I scoffed, but tried to fight back a smile.

 "Josh Hutcherson is so much hotter." 

Danielle shook her head rapidly and shot me an exasperated look.

 "Channing Tatum," she stated sternly and crossed her arms over her chest. She was stubborn, much like myself, so it was actually fun arguing with her. I had also learned that Danielle didn't drink. She agreed that you didn't need to have alcohol to have fun. I returned my attention to my best friend. She had a triumphant look on her face, thinking she had won. I smirked. 

"Josh." 

"Channing." 

"Josh!"  

"Liam..." Both of our heads turned to where Liam had spoken, glaring at Danielle in mock annoyance. I covered my lips with my hand, and finally doubled over into laughter at Danielle's horrified expression.  

A smile broke out onto Liam's face also, and he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend from behind and placed his head on her shoulder.  

"How about a dance?" He asked her, hope spread across every one of his features. I looked around at the dance floor and saw that the fast song currently playing was dying down, giving room for a slower melody. Danielle glanced at me and looked back at Liam.  

"I don't want to leave Charlotte alone.."  

I shook my head profusely and smiled, "I'll be fine! You two go, have fun." 

The couple asked me if I was sure, and after several seconds spent reassuring them, they finally headed off to the dance floor. Liam didn't hesitate to throw me a "thanks" over his shoulder, along with one of his big, goofy smiles. I laughed and leaned my back against the counter. I brought my glass virgin piña colada to my mouth, taking a sip. The few couples on the dance floor swayed simultaneously. I liked this part of  the night much more than the majority of it, which was filled with loud, obnoxious songs and people. My eyes searched the crowd, looking for any one of the boys. Zayn couldn't make it because of his sister's birthday. Harry, Louis, and Niall had disappeared only moments after I greeted them, and I hadn't seen them since. So much for keeping me company, Harry. 

I spun on my heel, getting ready to sit back down on the stool, when I realized someone had taken a seat on the stool beside me. He was young, seemingly around my age or maybe a little older. I could feel his eyes on me as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and began playing games. I thought he would look away soon enough, but after a few minutes, I glanced up to see the man's eyes still on me.  

"You know, if you want to stare at someone, be more discrete next time," I snapped bitterly. I honestly wasn't in the mood for this, especially because I had seen the same man all over a blonde woman only a few minutes ago. That's what annoyed me. Guys like him who thought it was all a game, that they could throw girls around for fun. I didn't hesitate in being bitter. 

He laughed a little too loudly for my liking and rubbed his clean-shaven chin with one hand.

"I couldn't help it, what's a beautiful woman like you doing by herself? Surely, you've been offered to dance?" he inquired, even though he seemed like he knew the answer. His bright green eyes racked down my body. I grew more annoyed by the second. 

I wish Louis had asked me to dance.  

I shook my head, mentally scolding myself. Why couldn't I rid myself of these thoughts? It wasn't like I still wanted to have feelings for him, so why did I? 

"I don't dance," I lied, "And I wouldn't dance with you even if it was to save my life."

Feeling satisfied with my answer, I continued scrolling down my phone.  

Another obnoxious laugh escaped his mouth as he tapped his fingers on the countertop.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

 He pouted, thinking he actually looked cute.

I shrugged and didn't bother to look at him when I said, "It was meant to be."

"You're cute," he said, followed by a chuckle. Cute? I had done nothing but insulted him. Before I had a chance to respond, though, he spoke again. 

"Tell you what? You give me one dance, then I'll give you a chance to rethink that statement of yours," his right eye dropped down into a wink and I nearly scoffed. Did he really think it was that easy? 

"Not interested," I replied sternly. Someone obviously couldn't take a hint. The guy opened his mouth to speak, but both him and I were surprised when an arm snaked around my waist. 

"Charlotte, I've been looking all over for you!"  

Startled, I turned to see Louis with his arm wrapped around me. His eyes were glassy, he was clearly on the verge of being considered tipsy, but he hid it well. My heart raced involuntarily and I cleared my throat, completely confused as to what was going on.  

"Um..." I started, but Louis interrupted me.  

"Louis Tomlinson," he smiled tightly, offering his hand to the man in front of me. The guy gritted his teeth, clearly irritated, and shook his head before trudging off. Slightly relieved, I faced Louis.  

I was very well aware of the fact that his arm was around me, but I couldn't make sense of his actions. I reluctantly wriggled away from his hold.  

"What was that?" I questioned. Louis stared at my blankly, his eyes following the path the man took back into the crowd. Louis frowned and looked down at the glass in his hand.  

"I don't like that guy," he said.  

I rolled my eyes.

"Louis, I can take care of myself you know." Even though I was acting annoyed, Louis' words made me feel good. It sounded like he cared about me, which I shouldn't be surprised about since he was my friend. But still. There was a little spark of hope inside of me that refused to die out. Maybe Louis was a little.. jealous?  

I inwardly groaned and shook my head. That couldn't possibly it. I was mad at myself for filling my head with such fantasies. All of these romance novels and chick flicks had to come to an end.

Louis watched me, his eyes narrowed.

 "Didn't seem like it," he said, his tone accusing. 

Irritated, I placed my hands on my hips. It was something I inherited from my mother, we both did it when we were annoyed.

"I had it under control, until you showed up."

Louis was about to respond, when Niall and Harry made their way through the crowd and stood on either side of him.  Well, Harry stood. Niall couldn't seem to stand in one place for longer than a second.

"Louis, come heeeeere," Niall was definitely drunk. He was jittery, even more hyper than usual. 

"You gurrta see this!" he yelled, his words slurred, and tugged on Louis' arm eagerly. He dragged Louis off into the sea of people. I laughed, amused at Niall's actions.  

"What was that about?" Harry asked while the bartender handed him a tall, clear glass full of bubbling liquid. He sipped it once, then twice, waiting for my answer. I watched Harry's eye twitch as the alcohol scorched its way down its throat. I cringed along with Harry, wondering how on Earth he could drink that stuff.  

"Nothing, Louis was being annoy-- hey! Wait a second," I narrowed my eyes.

 "Harry! You said you wouldn't drink!" I snatched the glass away from his grasp. 

Harry shrugged innocently, before taking his glass back out of my hand.

 "No more after this one, alright? Besides, there's not much alcohol in it," he argued.

I snorted, yeah right.

"Fine. But that's the last one, got it?"  

"Got it." 

* * *  

"Hareh?"  

"Ya, Lou?" 

"Can I tell you something? Don't tell Charlotte."  

"Annnnnything, Lou."  

"I- I think she's gone mad."  

"Me too..."  

I banged my head on the granite countertop. They were right, I was going mad. Louis was drunk. And so was Harry.  

To be completely honest, it was one of the most amusing things I had ever seen. It should have been taped and put on the internet for all their fans to see, they would have loved it. But it also made my already aching head almost explode.  

I watched the two guys banter loudly. When they saw me looking at them, they stared blankly, before Louis burst out laughing and swayed, falling onto Harry's shoulder. I blinked. What did I even do?

"I told youuu!" he yelled in Harry's ear, making him cringe. Harry in return retracted his shoulder and started rubbing it, his face contorted with an exaggeration of pain.  

"You hurt meh," he sniffed dramatically and allowed his head to drop on the countertop.

Louis giggled. Yes, he giggled.

"Gerroff me!" he yelled at Harry, trying to push him off of his shoulder.

"Blame Char, I... I didn't do anythin'!" Louis said, his words tumbling over each other on the way out of his mouth. He crossed his arms over his chest and turned to glare at me.  

So this is how people are when they're drunk. They're like children. Or at least these two were. I sighed and decided I should probably stop Harry's "crying." I poked his head, but he angrily swatted my hand away.   

"Don't talk to me. Y-yeeerr mean," Harry muttered and buried his head into Louis' shoulder, who glared at me with a disappointed look. I wasn't even going to try to talk to these two anymore. 

The bartender glided by with a sponge in his hand. He was cleaning the counter's surface, so I lifted my arms from the countertop. He shot me a sheepish smile, before continuing his work. When he got to the part of the counter Harry and Louis were seated at, he was clearly puzzled. He needed to clean the surface, but Harry had his head rested on it.

Agitated, I prodded his shoulder.

 "Harry, get up," I whispered harshly. He complied, but his eyes widened when he saw what was in the bar tender's hand. I gulped. Please don't do anything stupid.

"Spongebob?" he whispered, astounded. Well, so much for that.

Louis followed Harry's gaze. his mouth dropping in shock. I raised my eyebrow, was this seriously happening?

The bartender, utterly confused, looked down at the sponge in his hand. His lips set into a slight frown, and he opened this mouth to speak. 

"What's spongebob doin' heeeerr?" Louis asked, his words barely distinguishable. His blue eyes were wide, and his lips pulled up into a huge grin. I smiled at how cute he looked. It was easy to talk to Louis since he was intoxicated. It wasn't like he'd remember anything in the morning, which means he would think I was still mad at him. Don't get me wrong, I was. But I just didn't know how to behave that way when he was acting like this.

"Uh...," the bartender stuttered, unable to form words. I don't blame him though, these two were completely out of it. I decided I should probably help the man out, so I pulled back the collars of the two guys' shirts.

"Sorry about that," I said and smiled, as if that would help make the boys seem sane. The young man failed to smile back, and scurried back to the bar kitchen. I laughed, not being able to deny that the situation was absolutely hilarious. I turned Harry and Louis around so they were facing me. 

"You two are incredibly stupid," I stated and pursed my lips. I wondered if the rest of the guys were like this, too. My thoughts were interrupted by Liam and Danielle, who came running frantically and collided into Harry and Louis. 

"Charlotte, there you are!" Liam yelled, a look of relief washing over his face. He steadied Harry from where he was almost knocked over, and ran a hand through his messy hair. Danielle was bent over beside him, trying to catch a breath. It looked like they had been running, but why?

"What's going on?" I asked, worry clouding my mind. 

"Okay so, we weren't exactly supposed to be out tonight, since we have an interview early tomorrow," Liam said. His words were rushed, and his voice grew more frantic by the second.

My eyebrows met as I shook my head, confused. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Just listen," Liam pleaded, "There's paps surrounding the front entrance of the club. I can't call security, because our manager will find out, and we'll get in trouble. I'm going to need you to take Louis out the back entrance and to his flat." My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to protest, but Liam waved me off again.

 "The rest of us will make it back to the car in time, but it'll be bad if Louis is seen like this. He's the only other one in the band with a girlfriend and since she's not here with him, the paps are gonna make it look like something it's not. That'll put us in more trouble than we're already in. So, please, we need you to do this," he finished off. His eyes were full of hope as he anticipated my answer. 

"Liam, isn't there any other way?" I asked. I didn't want to drive Louis home, mainly because it would only worsen everything. My feelings for him were already so jumbled up, this was the last thing I needed.

"Not really, this is our best shot. Please, Charlotte?"

"No. I'll help you figure something out, but there is no way I'm driving Louis home," I said sternly. I was standing my ground, no matter what.

* * * 

"Put your seat belt on," I said as a breath of air escaped my lips. It would have been completely inconsiderate of me to refuse Liam's offer, regardless of how many times I tried. My friends needed help and after the countless things they did for me, this was the least I could do. That didn't mean I wasn't dreading the car ride to Louis' house, though. 

I tucked away the key to Louis' apartment that Liam had given me into my purse, and set it aside. Pulling my seat belt over my chest, I leaned back into the seat. I took a deep breath and looked to my left, where Louis was struggling to get his belt on. I watched him in amusement for a few seconds, before deciding to help him. I reached over and pulled the belt across his waist, satisfied when the click sounded from the buckle. 

There was no paparazzi around the back lot yet, thankfully. Liam had left with everyone else only seconds after dismissing us. I backed out of the parking lot and onto the busy night street. It had been five minutes into the ride and Louis hadn't said a single word. It was weird; the silence that had gathered around us in only a matter of minutes. When the cars in front of me came to halt at a red light, I decided to sneak a glance at Louis. 

He was shifting uncomfortably in his seat, fidgeting with his hands continuously. He let out a loud, unexpected groan and I stared at him in surprise. 

"Louis.. are you alright?" I asked, gulping nervously.

Louis shook his head and frowned at me.

"The stupid seat belt! It's trying to strangle me." He glared down at the strap of polyester that held him in his seat. He began thrashing and flailing his arms around madly, trying to get out of it as if it were a trap.

I glanced away, letting out a laugh. Looks like the effects of alcohol hadn't worn off of him yet. I shook my head.

 "Well you can't take it off, since we're not there yet."

Louis huffed and leaned back into his seat. His hands went up to his hair and he began playing with it, braiding the fringe that fell on his forehead. I wonder where he had learned to braid...

Shrugging it off, I stepped on the pedal when the light became green. There was another moment of complete silence, before Louis began laughing. 

I sighed.

"What is it this time?"

I prepared myself for another one of his episodes. I followed the older boy's gaze to see that he was staring intently at the air freshener that hung on the mirror. It was one of the classic ones you'd picture any car to have, the ones shaped like a pine tree. 

"You have a... uh," Louis struggled to find the right words, probably another effect from being drunk. I peered over at him, growing impatient.

Finally, he jumped in his seat excitedly and snapped his fingers.

"Tree! You have a tree in your car!"

He unhooked the object and held it close to eyes, examining it as it rotated between his fingers.

"It's not really a tree, Lou," I explained. Instead of going on to tell him it was indeed an air freshener, I remained quiet. It's not like he would have believed me, not according to the state he was in.

"Yeeees, it most definitely is a tree. Have you naaamed your tree?" He inquired, peering over the ornament to meet my gaze. I didn't say anything, hopefully he would just grow quiet again. But much to my dismay, Louis continued blabbing.

"You shud name it Louis!" he screamed happily, "Then it'll be the best tree eveeer."

I had heard several times that when someone's drunk, they act stupid. But never did I have the privilege of seeing just to what extent. 

Louis pointlessly laughed again, and began rolling the window up and down. He'd giggle every time the window went down, and grow silent when he rolled it back up. Growing annoyed, I reached to my left and turned on the child lock, which also locked the controls on windows. 

Satisfied, I focused on the road in front of me. There weren't many streetlights on this side of town, and the ones that did exist were eerily flickering, putting me on edge. I gulped the nerves down and put more pressure on the pedal, just to get past this isolated road and onto one more populated.

"It's too sunny outside," Louis complained. He reached up and dropped the sunshade, covering his eyes with his hand. I rolled my eyes. It was 11 p.m., and the sun was nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, the moon wasn't visible either. It was hidden behind the cloudy skies, away from sight. 

I wondered to myself why I had taken this road. Sure, the other one was a longer route, but at least it wasn't one that looked like a scene out of a horror movie. I ignored Louis as he talked to himself and glanced at the speed gauge.

50 miles per hour. A sign that passed not too long ago read 45 mph as the speed limit, so it wouldn't hurt to go a little faster, seeing as there were no other cars around. Not even police cars. I stepped on the pedal even harder, satisfied when I hit 60 mph. The road was straight, without many curvatures so it was easy to maneuver at such speed. Besides, it wasn't like that was the first time I was speeding. I was an impatient driver. And confident, so I could handle it.

Louis squealed from beside me and hung onto his seat.

"Slow downnn!" he yelled, shielding his eyes from the road. I laughed, actually enjoying this. He himself was such a slow driver, so I could understand how this wasn't a comfortable speed for him. 

Deciding to have a little fun with this, I pressed down even harder. 

65 mph.

70.

75.

From the looks of it, Louis was almost about to push me out of the car. Even drunk, he knew I was well over the speed limit. I laughed again and decided to slow back down. Not fast enough though, because before I knew it, police sirens blared from behind me. I cursed to myself as Louis began scolding me for saying a bad word. Ignoring him, I pulled over to the side of the road. 

I took a deep breath. This was the second time ever that I was being pulled over. The first time was for the same reason, because I was speeding. I put on my sweetest smile and prayed to myself that Louis wouldn't say something stupid, but knew that was a long shot. I watched the police officer slam his door shut behind us, as he sauntered his way to my side. 

"How are you doing officer?" I smiled, making my voice sound as sweet as honey. He wasn't too old, and instead of being short, bald, and fat with a donut in his hand like many people imagine, he was tall and quite lanky, with a full head of blonde hair. He ignored my greeting and glared down at me with narrowed eyes. 

"You do know you were well above the speed limit back there, right?"

He pointed  to the road behind him. I looked at him sheepishly and before I had a chance to answer, Louis opened his mouth. 

"That's what I said! Bud nooo, nobody listens ta Louis anymore, no, no..." He mumbled, his words barely coherent. I smacked my hand to my forehead, really wishing I could duct tape his mouth shut.

"Hey, wait a second," he raised his eyebrows in suspicion.

"You're Louis Tomlinson!" He snapped his fingers and shook his head in disbelief, completely ignoring Louis' words. Realizing I should probably say something before Louis could, I spoke up.

"And he's drunk, officer. I was just trying to get him home." 

The man glanced at me and back at Louis, who was now tugging on my hair. I cringed every time he pulled hard on a strand, wanting to strangle him. 

"I'm nat drunk! No, no, I'm the soberest person in this car," Louis argued. The officer arched his eyebrow, nodding down at me in agreement.

The officer then sighed and rocked back and forth on his heels.

"Fine, I'll let you two go. Only because you're being responsible though," he pointed towards me. I smiled proudly, but it soon faltered when he added, "Well, and of course, my daughters would give me an ear full if I ticketed Louis Tomlinson." 

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead smiled tightly. I was grateful, however. If my parents found out I had gotten another ticket, I would be dead meat. And the fact that I was out when I wasn't supposed to be would only be dressing to the salad. I was about to thank the officer, but unfortunately, Louis chose that very second to speak. 

"Wait!" he yelled, "She also drove by a stop sign back there Oh a-and uh, a few miles back, she--" 

I slammed my hand over his mouth, but he kept speaking. Thankfully though, his words were muffled. My eyes were wide as I looked over to the officer, who was glaring at me skeptically.

I cleared my throat.

 "He's drunk, officer, you know how they can be. Well, I don't want to keep you standing out here the whole night, it's getting chilly, ya know? Plus, there's a lot of crime out there. Better go fight it, eh?" I was pathetically hoping to make him disregard what Louis had said.

"But--" he tried intervening, but I cut him off. 

"I'll get him home safely. You have a great night, officer! Take care of yourself and those daughters of yours."

Not allowing the man to say another word, I swerved back onto the road and drove off. I watched my side mirror constantly, and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that the officer wasn't following. Being careful to watch my speed this time, I turned to glare at Louis. He was singing loudly to a song I couldn't recognize, the fact that my hand was still covering his mouth added to the drunken effect. All I knew was that he was completely butchering the song. Unexpectedly, I felt Louis' tongue glide across my palm and retracted it, gawking at him. 

"You just licked me!" I smacked him lightly on his forehead. Biggest mistake of my life. 

Louis began shouting and pretended like he was crying uncontrollably.

 "Chair hit me!" he yelled, ignoring my pleads to make him shut up. Wait, Chair? So my name was Chair now?

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more annoying, you just had to go and get drunk!" Irritated, I shot him the meanest glare I could muster up. We were finally on the more populated side of town and currently standing idle before a red light. Louis had almost got me ticketed and not just for speeding, but for several things.

"I'mnotdrunk!" Louis denied, his "crying" coming to a halt all of a sudden. His words were still slurred, making it incredibly hard for me to distinguish them.

"Yeah, right."

Louis mumbled someone incoherently and began adjusting the sun shade. I watched him as he flipped up the mirror's cover, so that his reflection was staring right back at him. He gasped loudly, placing his hands on his cheeks. 

"Well aren't you pretty?" He questioned. I had to work to hold back a laugh, and stared discretely at him. He continued talking to his reflection, something I found insanely amusing. I looked back at the street light and realized it had turned green, tuning Louis out so I could focus on the road. I was never going to drive a car with an intoxicated person ever again.

After 10 minutes of Louis claiming that the car seat he was sitting on was actually a trampoline, he had finally crashed. His head was laid on my shoulder as he snored loudly. The rest of the car ride was relaxing, more than enough time for my thoughts to run wild as usual. How was I going to sneak home? And if my mom caught me, what was going to be my excuse? I prayed that my mom was on some business trip, then maybe I didn't have to worry about getting caught.

My gaze shifted to the sleeping boy on my shoulder. His mouth was open slightly, and his hands wrapped around my arm as he snuggled even deeper into it. Louis wouldn't remember any of this car ride, would he? 

When we finally arrived at the familiar fifteen story building, I felt relieved. That was most definitely the longest car ride of my entire life.

I parked in front of the building and nudged Louis. When he failed to sit up, I nudged him again with more force. I sighed when I realized it wasn't going to be easy to wake him up. I took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car, before going to his side. I opened the door and caught his waist before be fell out completely, letting out a sigh of relief. I took a deep breath before grabbing his underarms and dragging him off of the seat. Throwing his arm around my shoulder in order to support his weight, I closed the door behind us, locking the car. 

 "Louis," I whined. He was awake, but unable to support himself. Louis groaned and leaned on to me even more. I gathered up all of my strength and walked sluggishly down to the entrance of the building with him clinging onto my side. Liam wasn't here with the rest of the boys yet because he had to drop Danielle off at home first. I groaned inwardly when I realized I wasn't getting any help. I walked into the building after the security guards gave me access once they saw Louis, and stopped in front of the elevator. 

There was no way I would carry him up the stairs, which meant the elevator was the only option. I had always had an unexplainable fear of lifts, but now, I had no choice. 

I tried to wipe away the fear that had gathered in the form of beads of sweat on my forehead and made an attempt to make Louis walk by himself, but he ended up stumbling over again. He clung onto me and I pressed the button for the elevator. I knew I couldn't let my silly fear get to me, not now. The elevator doors separated with a ding, bringing back my nerves. I struggled to push Louis into the elevator and got in after him. He ended up crumbling to the ground and resting his head on the wall. I leaned back into the wall, trying to catch my breath. The fact that I was in an elevator only made it worse, as I glared at the doors, praying that they'd open soon.

Finally, they slid apart, granting us access into the fifth floor hallway. I inhaled deeply and helped Louis stand up. He threw his arm around my shoulder again, so I ended up basically carrying him down the corridor. The walk to his door had basically drained all of the strength out of me. I fished through my purse for the key and swung the door open, before Louis stumbled into his flat. He began walking towards the couch, with his eyes drooping dangerously. 

I watched as he laid down and snuggled into the couch. Finally. It had been such a long night, and I was exhausted. Maybe the fact that I didn't leave immediately after getting Louis settled seemed weird, but I couldn't help it. I stood and watched him as he began lightly snoring again. I laughed, a little louder than I had intended. He really was adorable. 

Louis shifted on the couch, and lifted his head up. 

"Char?" He whispered. His eyes were bloodshot, and his voice scratchy. Oh. So now he decides to wake up. I walked closer to him and crouched down beside him, anticipating the words that he was struggling to compose. 

"I'm cold," he frowned. My heart swelled up at his words. That was the thing about Louis. Even though he was older, in his twenties, he had this childlike quality to him. It was something that seemed strangely enticing to me. He was immature, childish, and I had grown to love it. 

I mentally scolded myself for being so weak. Here I was, admiring how cute he looked, when I was really supposed to be mad at him. It was a bad habit of mine. I couldn't really let go of something unless the other person apologized, until I knew that they had learned what they did wrong.

I hopped up and ran into his bedroom, where there was a blanket resting on top of his bed. I scooped it up and walked back to the living room to see that he was watching me. Carefully, I draped the cloth over him and watched him pull it up and snuggle even deeper into the couch. He looked like he was getting ready to sleep, but his eyes remained open. He didn't dare break my gaze, and I was trapped in his.

I hated what his eyes did to me. They somehow had this indescribable effect on me, my feelings, my actions. It was just a constant reminder of how I felt about Louis and how he could never be mine. I snatched my gaze away from his and turned to leave, feeling a strange aching in my heart. 

I had barely taken two steps before I felt Louis' large hand engulf mine. Startled, I turned to see his eyes closed and his lips pulled up into a content smile. He wasn't asleep, heck, he had just grabbed my hand. He squeezed it tightly and pulled me back. For what seemed like the millionth time since I had met him, I didn't know what to make of his actions, they left me utterly confused and strangely wanting to do nothing but confess my feelings for him. 

Louis tugged on my arm until I was seated on the ground next to him. His eyes remained closed, but the smile on his face refused to falter. His grip on my hand was tight, as if he didn't want me to get up and walk away. I felt his thumb trace circles into my wrist, sending shivers down my spine. He knew he was doing, I was sure of it. But I was also sure that he wouldn't remember it in the morning.

I smiled at his actions, and it soon grew when I caught sight of the bracelet that was hiding under his sleeve. I cautiously pulled it towards my hand, so it circled his wrist perfectly. It was the one I had gotten him for his birthday. And to know that he actually wore it made me happier than I could ever express. After what seemed like an hour -- when in reality it was only 5 minutes -- of Louis sweetly tracing patterns into my hand, his grip finally began to loosen. 

I slowly got up, careful not to make too much noise, and began sliding my hand out of Louis' grasp. He squeezed tightly once more, before letting it go completely. 

"Charlotte," he whispered. His face was completely serious, every inch of his features holding pure sincerity and his eyes still closed. My heart race sped up, racing with my thoughts as I awaited his words.

"Just in case I never get the courage to say this... I love you."

 I froze. And for a mere second, nearly forgot how to breathe. There were many times in my life where I felt as if everything was a dream. As if every precious moment of my life was yet another figment of my imagination; too good to be true. But now, as I stood before Louis, I really did want everything to be a dream. I wished that what he had said then and there had actually never happened. You may think I'm crazy. Why wouldn't I want the person I was in love with, confessing his love to me? 

Because he was drunk.

He didn't mean it. It was, in a sense, mocking me. He would never remember this and even if he did, he most likely didn't want to. I was stupid. Stupid to ever believe he could feel the same way. And stupid to think that it was possible when he had a relationship already. One with Eleanor. 

He didn't mean a single word he said, because he was intoxicated. But why did I want nothing more than to take his words to heart and believe them with every single drop of my blood? I don't know.

And why I responded the way I did? 

"I love you too, Louis. More than you'll ever know," I spoke through my choked voice. My vision blurred with tears that were threatening to spill, but before they could, I bent down and placed a lingering kiss on his forehead. One that he wouldn't remember. Words that he wouldn't remember. Love feigned at the hour of midnight that he would not remember.

I don't know.

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(A/N) OH MY GOD I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I MISSED WRITING THIS OH LORD I DON'T KNOW HOW I EVEN LASTED SO LONG WITHOUT IT. SO.. UM.. I'M BAAACK :D THE AP TEST WENT REALLY WELL, MUCH BETTER THAN I WAS EXPECTING! Thanks to all that wished my good luck and were so sweet about the hold on this story. You continue to support me no matter what and i cannot be more grateful, seriously!

So this chapter is probably super long.. I think you guys really deserve one after that long wait! I hope you liked it and the whole drunk act was believable.. it took some research :p oh and thanks @Zill15 for your incorporation of drunken scenes (; She thought up a lot of them! 

Oh and I know this probably isn't necessary, but here's a disclaimer: 

I am in NO way promoting the consumption of alcohol. It's effects are so much worse than I made it seem in this story.

I don't know, I felt like I might get in trouble if I didn't put that. Call me weird. 

I felt a little rough while writing this because I haven't written in SO LONG. But it still feels great and I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave your votes and comments! I'm back with (hopefully) regular updates! Thanks again for your tremendous support and kindness. Love you all. <3