Over the next seven days, things became easier in the apartment. Tensions eased and smiles and laughter appeared more often than awkward conversations. Louis disappeared during the late mornings and afternoons, reappearing around five o'clock. Between the three of them, they took turns making breakfast and dinner.

The first time it was his turn, Louis needed help making breakfast and dinner. This made Jaime laugh but she helped him anyway. The two of them stood side by side, making dinner. It was the first time Louis and Jaime spent more than five minutes in each other's presence without it being awkward.

Charlie was adorably excited when it was his turn to cook. No one could miss the mile-wide smile on his face as he moved about in the kitchen. Jaime offered to help him, but he refused. He said, "No, Jaime! I want to surprise you. You or Louis can't peek into the kitchen. I know what I'm doing."

She chuckled, but trusted him. He watched nothing but cooking shows and watched her every move when she was cooking that first day. So, she turned her back and walked into the living room to chat with Louis while they waited for dinner.

"I'm very curious," Louis said, leaning back against the couch. A small smile formed on his lips as he crossed his arms against his chest. "Are you a fan of my mates and I's band?"

Swiftly, Jaime shook her head. "No, not really."

By the time the words were out of her mouth, she realized how terrible that must have sounded. Her cheeks turned to a 'tickle-me-pink' shade and she hurried to correct her mistake.

"Not that you guys are bad, you're really talented," her words blurred together, but fortunately, Louis understood her. "It's just your music really isn't my type of music. I like listening to punk bands, sometimes pop punk. With, of course, the occasional pop song that's really catchy and sounds great."

He laughed, making the shy smile on Jaime's face fall and her breath catch in her throat. When he laughed, his electric blue eyes seemed to have sparkled and crinkles by his eyes appeared. The corners of his lips were pulled back into a full grin as the sound of his laugh left his mouth. His bangs, even though they curled upwards a bit too perfectly, bounced in front of his eyes with each resounding laugh.

There was something so beautiful about the way he smiled and laughed. Something about him made Jaime's heart beat a little bit faster and make her smile just a little bit more. That, she was certain of. Jaime just didn't know what was happening to her. She found herself craving his attention and wanting to be around him a little more. Emotions swirled inside of her, emotions that were foreign to her. It all made her confused.

"It's okay, Jaime," he smiled at her kindly, that sparkle still in his eyes. "I understand that not everyone is interested in the music we make. Everyone has opinions and that's okay."

She sighed, relieved and smiled back.

It seemed as the week passed on, Jaime and Louis grew more comfortable with each other. The awkwardness and tension in between the two quickly sizzled out and a friendship began to grow before their very own eyes.

Before they knew it, seven days had passed and it was Monday morning.

The sound of the television had confused Jaime when she first woke up. It sounded like the early morning news was on. She scrunched her face up into the pillow, sinking lower into the cushions as if it would swallow her up whole and cut out the rest of the world while she slept for a few more hours. But that didn't happen. She still heard the sound of the television.

Why am I hearing the TV? There isn't a television in the guest bedroom. I would have known, Jaime thought.

But when she heard the sound of another person groaning, she was reminded of the fact she and Charlie switched beds for a week to give his aching back a rest.

Right, she thought. I'm sleeping on the couch now.

Peeking an eye open, Jaime saw Louis on the armchair wearing a heavy sweater and a pair of red pajamas. He didn't see she was awake so Jaime took the opportunity to look at him-really look at him.

His medium-brown hair seemed to be naturally tousled all the time and swept to the side, almost like he's run his fingers through his hair too many times. Light stubble was appearing along his jawline. Louis even had the lightest shade of a mustache growing in. Some of his tattoos on his arms were covered from his sweater, but tattoos on Louis looked really good. His eyelids were drooping low, as if he were tired. To prove he was tired, there were dark circles underneath his eyes. Like he barely got any sleep last night.

Something in Jaime's chest tugged at that thought. If he barely got any sleep last night, did that mean something was wrong?

"Are you okay?" the words came out of Jaime's mouth in a soft whisper before she could think twice about saying something.

Louis' head turned to face Jaime who was now propping herself up on her elbow. His eyes widened, not even noticing that she had woken up.

"Yes, of course I am," Louis flashed her a smile, but unlike the other ones she saw, this one didn't reach his eyes.

She knew he was upset, but Jaime didn't want to push him. So instead of asking further questions like she wanted to, she sat up and offered to make him a cup of coffee since she was making one herself.

"No, I think I might go back to bed actually," he answered.

Disappointment seeped in when she realized Louis wasn't going to stay up with her, but she shrugged it off and said okay before turning to the coffee pot. Mindlessly, Jaime added in the coffee grounds and water before turning the machine in and pulling out a little grey mug.

By the time Jaime made it back into the living room, Louis was already getting up.

"If I don't wake up by nine-thirty, would you want to wake me up?" he asked as he ran a hand through his already-disheveled brown hair.

Jaime nodded. "Yeah, of course. Sleep well."

Louis was already walking towards his bedroom door, leaving Jaime to the lonely living room with only a cup of coffee and the TV playing.

By 10:15 AM, Louis had left for work, as usual, and Charlie had woken up not too long after he walked out the door. He came out the bedroom, ruffling his black hair. A grin appeared on Jaime's face.

"Good morning, sleepy-head," she greeted him as he sat down beside her on the couch. "What do you want to do today?"

The replica took this into thought, cupping his chin with one of his hands. His eyes squinted just slightly before he grinned, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Can we bake desserts?" he asked.

Jaime wanted to laugh. She should have figured it had to do with cooking. There was something about cooking and baking that Charlie just loved so much. Of course Jaime did enjoy cooking, too, but not to the extent that Charlie did. It was like he lived and breathed food.

Giving into the replica, Jaime nodded. "Of course. What did you want to make?"

"Cupcakes."

And so, that's what they did at ten-thirty in the morning.

Just the two of them in the kitchen, Jaime found herself having the most fun she'd had in a while. Her and Charlie, no one else in the world, were having fun and joking around a little-all while making cupcakes.

Biting down on her bottom lip, she took a chance and poked a finger inside the flour bin. Then, she swiftly wiped her flour-covered hand across Charlie's cheek. A giggle escaped her lips when he turned her, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. She did it again, dipping her hand in the flour bin to flick a hand full of flour in his face.

He looked so silly! Jaime couldn't help but giggle at his silent reaction. His eyebrows furrowed down in confusion, as if he couldn't understand what she was doing.

But then, without hesitation, Charlie cupped Jaime's cheeks and pulled her close. Her breath hitched when she realized his lips were coming closer and closer. Just as she was about to pull away, Jaime felt smooth skin against her cheek. And then, he pulled away with a giant grin on his face.

Confused, she raised her hand to her cheek and touched it. She felt nothing but her own smooth skin. But then, when she pulled her hand away, she saw traces of white flour covering her hand.

She laughed loudly before turning to flick flour at Charlie, and ended up laughing even more when Charlie shook his black hair at her, flour flying everywhere.

"Okay, okay, I give!" Jaime surrendered as she wiped the flour off her face with the back of her arm.

When she thought all the flour was off her face, she looked up at Charlie only to see that lopsided grin with his tongue poking out. Jaime giggled at the sight of him. He looked so happy-despite the fact he was covered in flour-and she felt completely all right with Charlie around. Like he was another piece of her she hadn't realized she was missing.

But now that the piece was here, Jaime didn't want to let go of it. She wanted to glue it in place with all the rest of the pieces, make sure it never left. But Jaime frowned. Was he going to leave when all of this was over? Was Charlie going to go back home again, when it was time for him to leave?

There was an ache in her chest that surprised Jaime.

Charlie leaving-even the thought of it-left a small hole in her heart where it shouldn't be. And in that moment, Jaime knew that when or if he ever left, it was going to be a hard time going back to the way things used to be.

--

So, this is the only story I'll be writing atm, which also means more updates. And if you haven't taken a look at my profile, I'll be publishing this book when I'm finished with it, which WILL be by the end of April 2016. As I write updates for you guys, I'm also going through the chapters I've done and editing them until it's fit for publishing. After I am done, I'll delete the fanfiction version and put up a sample of the would-be published version on my other account, CheyanneLenoir. Really excited guys :)