~A/N~

Here's some good news; I'm gonna start updating this story more often bc I want to enter the Watty awards and I can't unless the story is completed.. so yay :D
Unrelated to that, there are gonna be like 4 more chapters (not counting this one) + the epilogue, and I'm going to try and finish the story in the next 2-3 weeks since I know what's going to happen. hehe. now you can enjoy this chapter! x

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"One last time, are you sure you packed everything?"

I sighed. "I don't even care anymore."

With my eyes half closed, I dragged myself to Caitlyn's car, literally leaving my suitcase outside as I opened the door and threw myself across the back seats.

It was one thing to celebrate the end of the exam week; but the last week of school, last day of school? That's a whole other level of partying. A level that most people couldn't handle, even the ones who keep convincing themselves that they can. For example, me.

I didn't drink or anything, thank God. I don't even want to think about what I'd be like if I'd had even one bottle of beer. But staying up until 7:30 in the morning and then getting only 2 hours of sleep after 9 straight hours of continuously jumping around, is something I wasn't quite used to.

"Alright," I heard Louis say, as he finished putting our bags in Cait's trunk, just when I'd started dozing off. "Are you sure you're okay then?" He asked as he sat down next to me, putting my legs in his lap.

I sighed again. "Yeah. I think I'm gonna manage to stay awake during the ride. I'm gonna need some distractions, but..."

"I think I've thought of something."

I turned around so I was on my back, and frowned at Louis, amused. "Like what?" I asked with a smirk, even though I was tired out of my mind, and could barely sit up.

Luckily, it's like Louis heard my last thought; he smirked as well, and lowered himself down so his face was above mine, taking his time before finally kissing me.

I was almost tempted to ask him to stop, since I thought I really couldn't manage doing anything. But, just like every other time, Louis' lips convinced me it's the opposite.

My hands quickly found his cheeks, and I even sat up a little so I could deepen the kiss. I was still tired and knew that we couldn't do anything there, but I just couldn't stop. It's the stupid effect he had on me. Like coffee and energy drinks mixed together.

I felt Louis' hands come around me, as he made himself more comfortable between my legs. I giggled a little in the kiss when one of his hands traveled up my back, but he ended up groaning against my lips when he realized I was wearing a sports bra. Ha.

"Louis," I said, a bit whiney, as I pulled away from him with difficulty. "We can't do it here."

"Why not?" He actually asked that question, quietly, brushing his nose against mine. "Last time I checked, you're quite familiar with kinks."

"Louis!" I repeated, this time hitting his shoulder lightly to push him away, making him laugh in the end. How dare he make me blush. "Even so, I don't want to have sex in the back of my best friend's car."

"Why not?" Louis asked again. "Her and Devon probably did it too."

"Oh my God," I said, pushing him off of me completely so I could sit up. "Ew, ew, ew. That is just disgusting."

When he didn't say anything for a few seconds, I turned my head to look at him; he was staring in front of himself, looking like he was deep in thought. I immediately knew what he was thinking about.

"Louis," I said his name for the third time, this time painfully slow. "You're imagining Caitlyn and Devon having sex right here, aren't you?" I said, matter of factly.

"Not necessarily," He said after a few moments, and once again, I knew what he meant as soon as his eyes met mine.

"Wow," I said, straightening my blouse, as I laid back down on my back. He never failed to shock me, not even after three months.

"Well," He started after a minute, through a sigh. "Since you don't want to entertain me, I'll just listen to some music and-"

"How?" I cut him off, and sat up to face him. "How is it that you're not tired? You've been awake for as long as I am, and you've slept for as long as I have."

"We slept in the same bed," He muttered with a smile on his face, mostly because he liked the fact.

"That's how I know you've only slept for two hours, so how the hell?" I punched his arm weakly, not causing him to even wince. If anything, he chuckled.

"It's not something I've never done before. You know, been awake for 19 hours and then slept for only two." Louis put an arm around me and pulled me closer to him, as I groaned quietly.

"You're my hero right now," I mumbled, almost falling asleep on his shoulder, right there. It did seem too good to be true, which it also was; a couple of minutes after my last statement and Louis' chuckle, the door opened and was slammed shut by Caitlyn, which caused me to jump up. Hmpf.

"You better buckle your seatbelts," She said through a sigh. "I got my license a month ago."

I rolled my eyes, sitting up to do what she suggested, as Louis did the same.

The ride to my and Caitlyn's apartment wasn't really as interesting as I thought it'd be; I thought there would be music, loud music, and we'd be singing badly along with the songs. Well, except Louis. He was nowhere near as bad as Caitlyn and I were.

Instead, there was no music at all. Louis was sitting calmly in his seat, fidgeting his hands, with his headphones around his neck. I was on the verge of sleep, the only thing that was keeping me awake was Cait's bad driving. Speaking of which, she also had her eyes glued to the road. Meh.

"Um, Lori?" I heard her call after a few minutes. I titled my head to the side so she'd see me, too lazy to even speak, and waited for her to continue.

"You know... You know how I told you I'd be going home this summer?" She asked slowly, biting her lip in the end. When I noticed her doing that in the rear-view mirror, I sat up, almost sure that I should be expecting something bad.

"Yes?" I nearly asked.

"Well... Danny won't be able to pick me up."

I nodded slowly, cursing her older brother in my mind. "How are you going to get home, in that case?"

"Um..." Caitlyn looked away from me, and back on the road. "B-By train."

Even if she'd told me she'd be going to Cardiff by bicycle, it wouldn't have pushed my buttons as much as her actual answer did. She was going home by train. Train. Fucking train.

"Are you serious right now?" I asked through a bitter chuckle, not really wanting to believe what she'd just told me.

"Listen, Lori, I'm sor-"

"Are you fucking mental?" I shouted, causing her to wince at my tone. She shouldn't have, if you ask me; I was just beginning. "After what happened, you're going to take a godforsaken train?!"

"Lori-"

"No!" I yelled. "I'm not going to listen to you! Caitlyn, you... What the hell are you thinking?!"

"I want to go home, Lorena! I live in goddamn Wales, how else am I supposed to go home? A bus? A fucking taxi, maybe?"

"Yes! Yes, anything but a train!"

Caitlyn sighed heavily, obviously running out of things to say. "Lori, that doesn't happen that often, I mean, what are the odds of it happening to me?"

"I lost my fucking fiancé in that shit! The odds are obviously not in my favour!"

Silence. The only thing that was audible was my breathing, as I'd actually almost started crying during our little conversation.

Caitlyn was quiet, but I could see that she had her lips parted, and a shocked look on her face. Louis was quiet as well, as he'd stopped trying to calm me down, but already failed several times.

I knew why they were both suddenly silent; it wasn't because I was right, which I was, or anything even similar; it was because of what I'd said. About Flynn being my fiancé. Neither of them knew.

It was a good thing Caitlyn and I didn't live that far from uni; we made it to our flat 5 minutes after everyone stopped talking, for which I was grateful beyond words. I hated being angry at her, so instead of being around her when that happened, I'd lock myself away. When we were at school, my hideout would be the bathroom. When we were at home, it would be my room.

As soon as she stopped the car, I opened the door and pretty much flew out of it, leaving her and Louis to carry all the luggage. I hated how he had to see me like that, bitchy and rude, but I hope he understood why I was like that. I really hope he did.

I quickly climbed up the stairs, making it to the fourth floor before they've even gotten everything out of the car; I could see exactly what was happening through the window in the hallway. After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to keep acting like a little brat and not go down to apologize and help, so I unlocked the door of our flat, slowly pushing it open.

It happened every time we weren't there for a long time; I'd always be scared to walk inside, afraid I'd see dust everywhere, along with bugs and spider webs. But, as I'd subconsciously been expecting, everything looked the same as we'd left it. There might have been a little dust on the surface of the furniture, but nothing we couldn't solve in like 10 minutes.

Still, I didn't even go through the apartment, which is something I'd do every time; I went straight to my room and closed the door, not locking it, since I was also expecting neither of the two would want to spend time with me.

Not knowing what to do and where to start, I grabbed a few napkins from my desk, and started wiping every surface in the room. I was so pissed I'd forgotten everything about being tired; my anger nearly made me start wiping the bed sheets.

A few minutes into my 'cleaning project,' I heard the door open and, as expected, Louis was standing at the door frame. If anyone was brave enough to talk to me when I was angry, it wouldn't be Caitlyn. So that leaves my boyfriend.

"What?" I snapped, a few moments after I'd looked at him, waiting for him to say something, but he just kept staring at me with a vacant expression. He almost seemed sad about something.

"So... Flynn asked you to marry him?"

I felt like a fool for not expecting that question. I shouldn't have been taken aback when the words left his mouth, sounding even hurt on some level. Whether it was because I hadn't told him or because I was supposed to be another man's wife... I didn't know.

I sighed heavily, and looked at the semi-dirty napkin in my hands. Mostly because I knew the tears would start any second now.

"No," I said quietly, walking backwards until my legs hit the side of my bed and I fell down. I kept staring at my lap, not daring myself to look at Louis. "When I went to the... The morgue, they gave me all of Flynn's stuff in a bag, and... There was also a small black box, where I found a ring. This one."

I opened the top drawer of my nightstand, knowing exactly what I'd find there; the black box with the Shane Co. engagement ring in it. For a few seconds, I just kept flipping the box in my hands, too scared to even take a look at its content. I knew it would bring me back to a year and a few months before.

To think that the reason he died was because he wanted to ask me to marry him... I don't even know how to finish that thought.

The parquet creaked, indicating that Louis was walking toward me. "Can I see it?"

I didn't respond, I didn't even look at him. I just gave him the small box, but after a few moments, I couldn't help but look up at what Louis was doing. And almost laughed when I saw it.

He had his eyebrows raised, with an impressed look on his face. I reckon that's how I was looking at it the first time I opened the box. Well, after crying about it several days.

I blinked, and looked Louis in the eyes, hearing words coming from him but not quite catching them.

"Hm?"

"I said, why did you keep it?"

My lips parted, and I just kept staring at him for a few moments, not quite sure what to say.

"I guess..." I started after a minute. "I guess because, um... I didn't want to feel like I've wasted five years of my life on nothing."

Louis' expression immediately changed to pitiful, and I had to look away from him. I hated when people would look at me like that.

"I don't... You haven't wasted anything," He said quietly, as he sat down next to me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in hearing an explanation, but I kept looking away from him. "That was a happy period of your life, those five years. And now... I really hope you're happy again."

I finally looked away from the carpet, and gave Louis a sad look. Not because I wanted to tell him I'm not happy with him, God, no. He's the best thing that's happened to me this year.

"I am." I had that look on my face because I was close to tears, again. "You do make me happy."

"Doesn't seem like it right now," Louis said, trying to joke, but he ended up making me feel on the edge of tears all over again.

"You do," I reassured him. "And I... I really love having you in my life."

I noticed Louis' eyes widen for a second, but after I finished my sentence, he nodded, trying to cover it up. "I love... That I'm in it too."

I smiled and leaned toward him, closing my eyes as our lips touched. In an instant, I felt tired again, but that was a good thing; it meant that I wasn't as angry anymore.

When my hand went up to his neck, I felt him stand up, only to wrap his arms around me and move me to the middle of my bed. His knees were on the bed, before he carefully propped himself up on his elbows, lying himself above me.

My legs went around Louis' waist, just before he pulled away to start kissing my neck. I closed my eyes again and slid my hand from the nape of his neck to the top of his head, gripping his hair when he started gently biting the skin.

I definitely didn't lie to him when I said he made me happy; after Flynn's death, Caitlyn made me go on several dates with guys I barely knew. Some of them might have been nice, but I didn't wait to find that out; I didn't want to.

And Louis, he's definitely the one whom I'd least expected things to work out with. Yet there I was, ready to let him have me because that's how much I trusted him. That's how happy he made me.

My thoughts were interrupted when Louis lifted his head up, licking his lips, that were already red and a little swollen. "You're beautiful, you know that?"

He often gave me compliments, but I never took them for granted. "Thank you," I whispered with a smile, trying to pull him down closer to me, but he stubbornly kept his face a few inches away from mine.

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

I blinked a couple of times, not quite sure why he looked so serious.

"I never thought another girl could make me this happy." He smiled. "You're amazing. Beyond amazing, that is. A-And... And I lo-"

Louis suddenly winced, and so did I, when I felt something vibrate against my thigh. He quickly shoved his hand into his pocket, and pulled his phone out. Ah, what a relief.

He looked quite frustrated since he didn't get to finish what he was saying, but smiled when he noticed me giggling at his expression. He slid his fingers over the screen of his phone, and when he stopped, he stared at it for a few seconds. During which his smile, as small as it was, disappeared, and he began frowning.

I noticed he was reading something, presumably a text message, and whatever it is that was written in it, it didn't make Louis happy. If anything, he pressed his lips together and I could feel his breathing becoming heavier. What in the world...?

"Louis?" I said slowly. "Is everything okay?"

He ignored me for a few seconds, but when he looked at me, his expression softened and he only sighed. "Yeah, I, um... I need to use the bathroom."

As he climbed off of me and stood up from the bed, I tried thinking of a time that I was as confused as I was in that very moment, but I couldn't think of anything. Louis and I were making out on the bed, and then he just left; there couldn't be anything more confusing than that.

I sat up, bringing my knees to my chest as I heard the bathroom door close. I sighed awkwardly, even though I was alone, and started looking around my room. When my eyes fell on the bed I was on, I couldn't help but notice Louis had left his phone there.

Curiously, I picked it up and started observing it; I'd never really known how to use an iPhone. Everyone had their own nowadays, and I was just sitting there, with my Blackberry that I've had for almost four years. Not that I'd complain about it.

I found the unlock button on the side and, not being able to resist, pressed it. I just felt like I needed to know what made him so upset, that he'd leave without an explanation.

To my surprise, what I saw wasn't one of those 'slide to unlock' thingies; he'd secured his phone with a pattern.

I shrugged after a few seconds, and pressed the button again, to make the screen go black. He probably had reasons for securing his phone like that. I mean, there's Zach, who didn't look like someone who would never meddle. And I could only imagine what his other friends were like.

Still... What was it that he was hiding?

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~A/N~

The next chapter is going to resemble a minefield, so I suggest you enjoy this because everything is as peaceful and calm as it can be. c: Pretty pleeeeaase vote and comment, and expect an update really soon! I love you xx