~A/N~

I don't know why, but the chapters just keep getting longer and longer. Still, I hope you like it!
Also, you might not want to read a part of this chapter if you're younger than 13. Nothing big! Just... a PG-13 scene hehe. Ok now I'm rambling, you are free to enjoy chapter 23! xx

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Lorena's POV

"You are whipped," Caitlyn said slowly as she chuckled, and I couldn't help but look up at her from my laptop. "Excuse me?" I muttered as I closed it, and stood up in front of the mirror so I could adjust my ponytail.

"You both are." She laughed darkly, not looking up at me from her tablet. I, on the other hand, was staring at her in disbelief. Does every best friend treat the other one like this? I mean... Whipped? I don't think so. "Stop being ridiculous." I glared at her, even though she didn't see me, and put on my shoes.

"Ridiculous?" Caitlyn asked, shocked obviously. "You're the one asking him for help, buying his sister a gift, and not paying any attention whatsoever to other guys because of him!" God, I hated how she made it sound. So what if I asked him to help me for my exams? He asked me to help him buy a present for his sister in return, whose birthday was a month away, and of course I accepted! It was so sweet and thoughtful of him!

But, wait...

"What? What other guys?" I frowned at Caitlyn, and she finally looked away from her tablet at me, with a roll of her eyes. Of course.

"Well," She started, and I immediately knew this wouldn't be short. "First there's Evan. Don't even look at me like that! I swear, he drools over you more than he does over Kylie when you rehearse those bloody scenes. Even Dawson noticed that."

I frowned at her last couple of words; Miss Dawson? Noticing that a guy likes me before I do? Nah, never. I refuse to believe that. Not her, not Miss Dawson. She was blind when it came to anything other than acting. So no. Nope. Nuh-uh.

"Then there's, um, Peter... I think that's his name, he's a freshman. There's that look again, stop looking at me like that!" My best friend exclaimed as she saw me scowl. But seriously, the conversation was getting more and more ridiculous by the second.

"Alright, are there any other guys who like me, because Louis' waiting?" I raised my eyebrows at her, my hand already on the door handle. If there was, it was probably going to be another comical example.

"Of course." Caitlyn grinned at me. "Zach."

Well. That definitely took me by surprise. "Z-Zach?" I stuttered. "Zach who?"

"Zach, as in Louis' roommate Zach." That was exactly what I was afraid of.

"You are officially too full of bullshit," I muttered as I shook my head at her, and left the dorm, genuinely pissed off. I could handle her nonsense about guys 'liking me', but Zach? Seriously? That was too ridiculous, even for her. Kind of low, as well. Not only that he would never do that to Louis, he'd never fancy me even if Louis wasn't in the picture. The whole idea, the entire thought of him, just... No. Period.

I shook my head to get rid of the unnecessary thoughts as I exited the building, and saw Louis walking around, looking at his feet. He waved at a couple of people that called his name, but started ignoring all of them when I came into his sight, a wide smile appearing on his face.

By then, I had kind of wrapped my mind around the fact that he did have some sort of feelings for me; he'd been showing me that for almost two months. It became a little more serious after our ruined date two weeks ago, and it seemed as though he was trying to make up for that by taking me out for lunch, helping me with homework and for my exams, and generally just spending time with me. I don't remember seeing him with other girls over the past few weeks, but I wasn't going to think about that. I didn't need to know if he'd been with someone while he's sneaking around with me. I liked to think I was the only girl whom he'd buy raspberry muffins, tie shoe laces, lend hoodies, pin against the wall of the school building one hour before midnight...

"Hi, love." He smiled as he approached me, greeting me his usual way. It was either that, or 'babe'. I kind of preferred 'love', don't judge me.

"Hi Louis." I smiled, giving him my usual greeting. I still couldn't quite call him Lou, or any other way besides Louis. Nicknames just weren't my thing, but if this got any more serious, I think I might give them a chance.

"Where to?" I asked, but Louis didn't give me an answer. Instead he put his arms around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head, while I wrapped mine around his waist. My eyes were in level with his collarbones, so I could easily snuggle up into his chest. Even though he was quite taller than me, I could never hesitate to say he was the perfect height.

"I was thinking my dorm?" He smiled as he pulled away and took my hand, and tangled our fingers together. I nodded slowly at his suggestion. "Didn't you want me to take you shopping though?"

Louis smiled at the sound of my words, but I might as well have fun when I can. It's not everyday that someone he cares about is having a birthday. "Nah, we'll do it another time. Next week maybe?" He suggested as he started walking backwards, pulling me toward him.

"Um, alright." I nodded, trying to hide my disappointment. I don't think Louis noticed anything, as he smiled and pulled me closer to him, and started walking beside me with an arm around my shoulder.

"Besides, I want to show you something." Well, that's one way to make me less disappointed.

"Really, what?" I questioned, staring at him with my eyebrows raised. He just looked down and smiled at the ground.

"You'll see." Okay, now he was just making me unnecessarily excited, he's probably gonna tell me he rented a Matt Damon movie or something. Which wouldn't really make my excitement unnecessary, but you get my point.

Louis pulled his arm from around my shoulder, and took my hand on our way through the building. I could almost feel that whatever he wanted to show me, was less exciting than walking through a building and having him hold my hand. It actually didn't have anything to do with whatever his surprise was; I just generally loved when he held my hand in public. I think my happiness could be compared to a 5 year old's reaction to getting a bicycle for Christmas.

"Okay, you ready?" Louis asked as we walked into his dorm, his currently empty dorm. I shrugged in response and looked around, wondering if there was something that could give me some sort of a hint... No such thing as that.

"Alright," Louis muttered and walked to his desk, seemingly fumbling with something that was behind it. Had he bought me something...?

All of a sudden, he started pulling out something big, and it wasn't until he had completely pulled the object out that I'd realized what it was; a guitar. And even if I didn't want to, I couldn't help but stare at him with my mouth open; was that his guitar? Did that mean he played the guitar? Why did I know nothing about this?!

Louis slowly sat down and played a few chords, tuning the instrument. A minute later he looked up at me and smiled.

"I heard a, um..." He started and cleared his throat. "I heard a song, a couple of days ago on the radio, and... And it reminded me of you. Well, kind of. Most of it, anyway. And, um... It took me a few days to learn all of the words, um..."

I think he was trying to explain that he was going to sing a song to me, without speaking the words out loud. I, on the other hand, wanted him to say it. I didn't want him to be awkward around me, especially when he was about to do something like that.

"Yes?" I encouraged him to continue, and he looked up at me, his look hesitating.

"Well, now I'm going to play it to you," Louis said slowly and awkwardly, looking around the room in the process, and I smiled. I might didn't want him awkward, but that was obviously going to have to wait. Lucky for him, I was patient when it came to that.

"Just before I begin, I want to make something clear. I don't cry, ever, nor do I want to." He looked me straight in the eyes, as if saying 'understand?'. I just nodded, his statement confusing me a little, but all of that was forgotten when he pulled himself further up in the bed, and played another few chords before starting a low beat song. The melody he was creating was the complete opposite of my heart beat; I was almost sure my heart would burst out of my ribcage as soon as he started singing.

I wanna take you somewhere so you know I care
But it's so cold and I don't know where
I brought you daffodils in a pretty string
But they won't flower like they did last spring

He paused for a few moments, and cleared his throat before he started singing again. Unlike Louis, who had just taken a deep breath, my breathing was non-existent. My lungs were probably crying and screaming for air, but it's not like I'd noticed any of it.

And I wanna kiss you, make you feel alright
I'm just so tired to share my nights
I wanna cry, and I wanna love
But all my tears have been used up

On another love, another love
All my tears have been used up
On another love, another love

Louis sang that last part another few times, and it took me a second to realize what the song was about; so this guy wanted to treat the girl the way she deserved to be treated, but he'd already spent all of his love on another one. Could that be the reason Louis was like that? Womanizer-like? Could it be because some girl fucked him over so hard, he couldn't bear the thought of loving someone else? The whole 'I've never had a girlfriend before' thing he'd told me, just became even harder for me to believe.

He stopped singing, and after a couple of seconds the song became more up-beat. It seemed as though that was all he was really concentrated on; I don't think he'd even notice if I walked out of the room. He was so caught up in the song, it was obviously more than just a song to him, and that's what made it ten thousand times more meaningful to me.

And if somebody hurts you, I wanna fight
But my hands've been broken, one too many times
So I'll use my voice, I'll be so fucking rude
Words, they always win, but I know I'll lose

And I'd sing a song, that'd be just ours
But I sang 'em all to another heart
And I wanna cry, I wanna learn to love- Okay, that was pretty much all I could handle.

I took a shaky step forward and hesitantly, but firmly wrapped my fingers around the neck of the guitar, pulling it away from Louis. He slowly looked up at me, obviously startled by my actions, but also kind of snapping out of his own little world. I almost felt sorry that I'd stopped him, but I had a heart that I had to keep from exploding as well.

I put the deep red colored object on the floor, leaning it against the table, before slowly, and kind of clumsily as well, climbing on the bed and straddling Louis. I took his face in my hands, to make sure he was looking at me.

"That was lovely. You are lovely," I said quietly with a smile, only for him to hear, even though there was no one else in the room. He blinked at me once, before giving me a small smile.

"Really?" He questioned, his hands now resting on my hips. The way he was looking at me reminded me of the way my dad would look at my mum. Their love was something indescribable, and even after everything they've gone through; canceled abortion, failed adoption, troubled daughters... They adored each other. I never thought I'd have anyone look at me that way, and even if it never happened again, I was glad I got to experience the feeling of being contemplated like that.

I nodded in response to Louis' question, and watched as his smile got wider.

"Yes, I love... I loved it." I smiled nervously, gulping at the words I almost said; almost.

He was now grinning at me, genuinely happy for whatever reason that was, and neither of us said anything for a long minute. It was the most comfortable silence I'd ever sat in; the two of us, just observing each other, smiling like a couple of idiots.

"So," Louis started after a minute, his gaze falling to my hip bone that he was currently exploring with the tip of his thumb. "Do you want me to help you with some subject? I've got time."

I giggled at his offer; he could certainly ruin a moment in a good way.

"Nah," I said quietly, brushing my fingers against his cheek. How is it that I hadn't noticed he's got really good skin before? "I'd rather just stay here."

"Like this?"

I smiled. "Like this."

When I looked up at Louis, I noticed he was looking me in the eyes, his own holding something I couldn't quite pick out. The fact that he wasn't smiling, but just staring at me with an unreadable look on his face, only made me ten times more curious as to what was hiding behind his blue orbs, that had gotten quite darker over the past couple of minutes.

It took me a second to notice that Louis had sat up, regardless of the fact that I was pretty much sitting in his lap. He pulled me a little closer to him, playing with my fingers as he spoke.

"Could I... Could I make it just a little different?" He looked away from my hand and up at me, and I knew he was talking about us being like this. To be honest, my answer was a definite 'no', even though I gave him a slight nod. He was talking about a little change, so why the hell not.

I soon discovered that nodding was the right thing to do; Louis licked his lips, before slowly leaning forward, and kissing me tenderly. For a minute neither of us deepened the kiss; I reckon that's sort of what he wanted me to do. I was just scared though, scared because it would probably lead us to something I didn't want to. Or at least what I thought I didn't want.

After a minute it was obvious I wasn't going to do anything with the kiss, so Louis got in charge; he slowly flipped us over so he was on top, and started kissing me more forcefully. I, on the other hand, didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't even know why I was being so awkward! It wouldn't be my first time, and it was definitely more romantic than some other times I'd experienced. So why was my whole body tied up with an invisible rope?

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I felt Louis lift his body up a little, careful not to disconnect our lips. When I peeked down, I noticed he was unbuttoning his shirt. Oh boy. Oh God. Okay. It's happening, it's going to happen. No need to panic. Seriously, there is no need to panic.

I soon heard another noise, and realized he had just taken off his shirt, and thrown it somewhere. Alright, no big deal. It's not like I'd never seen him without a shirt on, heh. Only when I did, I wasn't lying underneath him, in his bed, in his empty dorm...

When his hands returned to my body, it was pretty obvious what I should start doing; panicking.

It was nothing huge actually, he was just- oh hell no. Don't you even think about not keeping your hands out of my shir- I guess he couldn't hear my thoughts.

I shifted slightly, his hands were cold against my skin. I slowly lifted mine up and put them on his shoulders, his bare shoulders. He obviously took that as a good sign, as his hands went- did he just feel me up? I swear I felt- ah, there they are again. Damn you, Louis' hands, making me feel things I don't want to.

I subconsciously let out a small moan, and I realized I had when Louis pulled away, smiling down at me. Well, smirking actually. It was obvious he liked the reactions he got from me.

"Feels good?" He muttered through a grin, not even waiting for my response as he ducked his head into my neck, immediately biting the skin. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, not wanting him to think I was enjoying it. In reality I was, but I didn't feel like I could allow myself to go any further. And seeing as he'd already taken his shirt off...

"Louis..." I breathed out, a little panicked. Speaking of shirts that were being discarded, mine was about to join the club. Louis looked up at me, steadying his actions as much as he could.

"What?" He asked breathily, his eyebrows slightly raised, lips parted a little. His fingers were still tugging my shirt up and for some reason, I wasn't stopping him. I didn't want to stop him, all of a sudden.

"Um..." I mumbled, thinking of what to say. "I think I'm wearing too many clothes," I said quietly, a small smile playing on my lips. Cliché much? Not to Louis, obviously. He gave me a wide grin, before determinedly pulling my shirt off. I immediately pulled him down so I could kiss him, as soon as he got rid of the navy cloth; I was still feeling too self-conscious to let him scan my body, especially when the room was so light because of the sun outside. He didn't seem to mind though; as soon as he, yet again, felt me up, his hands went to the zipper of my jeans.

"You know..." At that, Louis immediately pulled away from me, and we both stared at each other with our eyes widened for a second, frozen; neither of us had said that. It was a third voice, a third person.

"As much as I love porn, and the way your shirt smells..." Louis was already off of me, and I tried covering myself as much as I could, as he snatched my shirt from the person whose arms he'd thrown it into; Zach's.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He snapped at him as he threw my shirt at me, pulling his own back on.

"Um, I live here?" Zach frowned, seemingly not bothered one bit that he'd walking in on his best friend almost... Doing stuff.

"I was in the shower this entire time," He explained, and sure enough, the smell of body gel and after shave filled my nostrils as he stepped a little closer, and his hair was obviously wet. How is it that we hadn't heard him?! I've never been more embarrassed in my life!

Louis sighed, rubbing the back of his neck at Zach's statement. "Are you done now?" He asked, and Zach nodded slowly. I couldn't tell whether it was because he was scared of what his roomie might do, or just confused, as I was.

Louis nodded curtly, and marched toward the bathroom, locking the door as he closed it. I was left alone with Zach, whose presence I wasn't quite fond of since Caitlyn filled my head up with nonsense about him... Ugh, I couldn't bear to let the words even cross my mind.

Luckily, I'd gotten my shirt back on while the two of them were talking, so I didn't have to do it in front of Zach. I stood up and let out a shaky breath, still a little worked up from the little event Louis and I were a part of a couple of minutes ago.

I swiftly turned to the window, not really wanting to face the black haired guy that, for some reason, still stood in the same spot as before.

"Lorena?" Him calling my name surprised me, though I slowly turned around and looked him in the eyes, after scanning the room for a few seconds.

"Yes?" I questioned, and Zach looked down for a second, and then took a couple of steps toward me. I found myself doing the same thing, only I was pinning myself against the window; what could he possibly want to tell me that required such proximity?

"I-I need to tell you something." I gulped and had to put effort into not widening my eyes. I almost didn't want to hear what he had to say, mostly because Caitlyn's words from less than an hour before were echoing in my head.

"You're probably not gonna like this, since you obviously fancy Louis, but I, uh..." He trailed off, looking down at his fidgeting hands. No, please. Please don't tell me what I think you're going to tell me.

I didn't encourage him to continue, I didn't want him to continue at all. But a second later, he lifted his head up to look at me, and that's also when we heard the water stop running from the bathroom.

"Um..." Zach stuttered for a moment. "H-He was probably wanking to your image in the bathroom, sorry," He muttered and it took me a second to realize what he had just said. Though as soon as I did, I let out a breathy laugh and so did he; mine was mostly out of relief, while Zach still looked uneasy. I was almost certain that that wasn't what he'd wanted to say, but I wasn't going to push him. Whatever it was that he wanted to tell me, I kind of already knew I didn't want to know anything about it.

Louis walked out of the bathroom, using his jeans as a towel. It might sound illogical, but I've never been as happy to see him as I was in that very moment.

"Uh, so, we should perhaps leave, you're probably hungry." He pointed at me awkwardly, and I nodded frantically, not even trying to hide the fact that I didn't want to stay in that room for even another minute.

"Good. Great, let's go," He muttered as he took my hand, and led me out of the dorm. When I turned around to say a quick goodbye to Zach, I saw him already staring at us, me precisely. I gave him a small wave and he waved back, kind of a sad smile on his face, and before I knew it, Louis had closed the door behind us.

Not even him holding my hand could take my mind off of Zach. Okay, it sounds weird when I say it like that. I just couldn't stop thinking about what he wanted to tell me, and I was being eaten up by curiosity and not wanting to know anything about it. I could sense that whatever it was, it wasn't good. And that feeling did nothing but frighten me.

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~A/N~

Do you think Caitlyn might be right, and that's why Zach cares so much about protecting Lorena? Please vote and comment, and if you like this story, could you also check out Hero? I just started writing it and I'd love to know if there's something I should change/add/etc. Love you! xxxx