LOUIS

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I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON READING PEOPLE, but I know her.

Over the past two weeks, I picked up hints she'd leave, things she'd say, or just things in general. I wasn't sure if she was purposely leaving them for me, but I was interested enough to know.

Which is why I saw that glint in her eyes.

A painful glint, one that lost every but of joy and hope inside of it; a sad resemblance to shards of glass. As she stalked off into the forest, I knew there was something she wasn't telling me—or the whole truth of it, that is. 

Scrambling onto my feet, I didn't think twice before running after her. She had barely gotten deep into the path, before I saw her figure camouflaged in the tree's shadows. Grabbing her hand, I tugged her back until she was facing me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I said, my breath heavy, "what the hell?"

Her eyes were red with crying, her tear stained cheeks stinging against the small cut on her skin. Looking at it now, it looked like the shape of a star. I had a specific one in mind, and the resemblance was uncanny.

Interesting.

She glanced away, swallowing her spit in anxiousness.

"Louis..." she said, her voice quivering, "please stay away from me, I don't want to hurt you."

She tried to walk away, but I just held onto her hand tighter. She wasn't going to leave me again. Not until she told me the truth.

"It doesn't matter if you'll hurt me," I sighed, running my hand through my hair in frustration, "you already did."

She sniffed, "then don't let me hurt you more."

I hated seeing her sad.

I don't think I've ever seen her cry before, and it broke me a little to witness it. I admired her strength, her sassiness, and her profound intelligence, but this vulnerability made me admire her more. She didn't care that she was bawling her eyes out in front of me, and I respected that.

I just wish I wasn't the reason why she was crying.

"You don't get it," I stated, letting go of her hand hesitantly, "do you?"

She wiped off the bottom of her eyes with the back of her hand, "get what?"

The truth.

"I don't care how many times you hurt me, [y/n]," I said, brushing my hair out of my face, "you can yell at me, hit me, or even try to freaking kill me, but I don't care. That won't change a thing about the way I feel towards you."

"Louis..."

"But what the hell did you mean," I restated, holding up my hand, "when you said Hook wanted me alive?"

I heard her say it. I heard her say his name, and it was echoing in the back of my head this whole time. I never feared the Captains name, but suddenly it sent shivers down my spine when it came out of her mouth.

She looked up at me, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to find the words, but nothing came out for a solid second. She was scared, and I knew that. Placing my hand against her cheek, I rubbed my thumb over her cut in the hopes to make her feel slightly safe.

I wanted her to be safe, but I was just...worried.

"When I woke up on Hook's ship," she explained, swallowing nervously, "he said he'd kill me if I didn't become a pirate."

I pursed my lips, "so you're a pirate?"

"I don't want to be one, but I didn't have a choice."

"And now he wants you to kill me..."

"...or I'll die," she finished, staring at the ground, "but I don't care if that happens at this point, and I'm so sorry I brought you into this mess."

She began to pace, biting her nails as she got lost in her thoughts. She was blaming herself, and that was the last thing I wanted to happen. Sure, I was a little annoyed that she lied to me this whole time, but that wasn't my priority at the moment.

"Don't be sorry," I said, grabbing her shoulders to stop her from wandering about, "Hook did this to you. It's not your fault."

She didn't believe the words that came out of my mouth.

"It is, and the more time I spend around you, the closer Hook is to finding you," she said, "I have to go."

"Wait!"

She stopped herself, turning back for a moment, "what?"

"We can fight Hook together," I offered, "I don't want you to leave...please."

She shook her head, her hair swinging back and forth across her shoulders. 

"There are twenty-something Pirates on that ship," she explained, listing them off on her fingers, "we have no chance winning a fight with them, even if we work together, and someone getting hurt—or worse, killed—is almost inevitable."

"But—"

"It's safer if I turn myself in."

I hated that she had a point. 

She was right, and I couldn't do anything to stop her once she had her heart set on something. Even with the two of us as a team, taking down a whole band of pirates was almost impossible. We had no plan, no resources, and dwindling hope.

"Hide, Louis," she said, taking a step back, "hide."

And with that, she ran off into the forest, the branches of the trees swallowing her up completely. 

Gritting my teeth, I reached into my sash and clenched my dagger, the cool handle tingling against my skin. A sudden anger filled my body, flashes of red streaking across my eyes as I let things boil over in my head. She blamed herself, but I blamed someone else.

Hook.

And I was going to kill him.