Y/N

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RUNNING THROUGH A DARK FOREST AT NIGHT is pretty much a sign that you'll be murdered, but I didn't honestly care.

After hearing the truth back at Harry's mushroom, I decided that I needed to see Louis and do both of two things: Apologize for pushing boundaries without thinking about his past, and somehow convince him that I didn't plan on breaking his heart. Gosh, I sound so cheesy. Stick me into a Hallmark movie—where a girl runs through a forest, searching desperately for a boy—and I'd fit right in.

But don't judge me too hard, my feelings are still feelings, no matter how cliche they turn out to be.

So yeah, here I am, the soles of my boots hitting the ground as I speed through the Bricken Forest, heading towards the cottage I had been staying in for the past week.

Well, that was, until I saw the figure of someone running in the opposite direction of me. As we passed each other by, we mutually came to a skidding stop, whipping around to face each other in surprise.

Louis was standing a few paces away from me, trying to catch his breath as he stared at me in dumbfounded amusement.

"Were you running to find me?" He chuckled, wiping sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand.

I smiled sheepishly, "were you running to find me?"

"Well, yes, obviously. I was sitting in my study, feeling like an utter git for not talking to you, and I came rushing to find you once I came to my senses."

I had to suppress the smile on my face, or else I wouldn't be able to fathom a decent response.

"And I was sitting on a mushroom, feeling like an utter git for being pushy," I added, "and then I came rushing to find you as well."

He didn't waste time. "I want to apologize."

"No," I said back, not wasting time either, "I need to apologize."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Let me apologize first, and I'll tell you."

"No, my apology is far more important."

We bickered back and forth for a few more moments, before I made the rash decision to take a step forward and cover his mouth with my hand. He didn't protest, instead puckering his lips so that they hit my palm in a teasing fashion—he was trying to get me to remove my hand so he could talk.

And I did, but not before getting another word in.

"Louis, what are we doing?" I laughed weakly, brushing my hand against my shorts, "please just let me go first, I promise my apology is of the utmost importance."

The boy hesitated, before nodding his head. "I'm listening."

And then it took me a solid breath to figure out how to word things properly, because he was here, right here in front of me, and if I screwed things up again, I might not be able to get a second chance. And I needed all the chances. I needed to make sure that nothing would send up spiraling away into something completely, and utterly, unfixable.

"I would like to apologize," I said, beginning to pace. My hands were shoved into the pockets of my leather jacket now, swinging back and forth anxiously. "I was rushing things, being too forward, and I took it upon myself to find out what was upsetting you, when it really wasn't any of my business."

Louis' mouth fell agape slightly, but he covered it up by clearing his throat. "You know?"

I stopped pacing. "I know."

"Oh."

He inhaled for a second, exhaling a hot breath out seconds after. He was rocking back and forth on the soles of his boots, his fingers tapping against each other as he gave this thought. I could barely move in anticipation. He was going to hate me now wasn't he?

"We were only friends," he said.

"I know."

"I never saw her has anything more than that."

"Alright."

"And It was two years ago," he said, staring at the ground, "so I don't know why I'm still letting it affect me, because everyone else has moved on, and I...hell, this is why I needed to apologize to you."

I stopped him, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. "I'm not invalidating your pain, Louis, you have every right to take time to process things."

"But I lead you on, and I didn't tell you, and that's why I needed to apologize."

"You don't need to apologize, I understand."

He gave me an exasperated look, as if he didn't believe that I truly did. He was blaming himself for the smallest reasons, and I didn't want him to, because it wasn't his fault in the slightest. And I thought he was going to protest again, but then he squeezed my hand back, nodding his head.

"I just want you to know," he muttered under his breath, "she's not the reason why I couldn't kiss you."

I didn't say a word, letting him speak.

"It's because I'm scared....I'm scared that something will happen, and I can't trust myself to do it right this time," he explained.

"Can you trust me, then?" I whispered.

He raised a brow. "Is there a reason not to?"

I avoided the question, deciding that it wasn't the right time to tell him about that prophecy. I hoped I didn't need to ever tell anyone about it, because I could slay this Jabberwocky, and that would be the end of it.

"I can take care of myself, pretty boy," I grinned, "don't worry about me."

The corners of his lips twitched into a soft smile. "Did you just call me a pretty boy?"

"Yes, I did, and what about it?"

"It means I'm rubbing off on you far too much," he laughed, "you're becoming a flirt."

"Bold of you to assume I haven't always been one."

"Have you?"

"Not purposely," I said, tugging on his hand again, "now enough of the sappy apologies, we have dinner to attend."

Louis rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer to his chest. He was hugging me. Tightly. As if he just wanted to stay there for moments at a time, unwilling to let go, and truth be told, I didn't want to either.

So I just melted into it, letting him rest his head on top of mine.

"Are you sure about this?" He whispered.

I didn't pull away. "About what?"

"If I decide to meet you halfway, are you sure you won't turn back?" He explained, "if I lose you..."

"You won't lose me."

"And you're sure you want this? I can't guarantee it'll work, and we'd have to take things slow in the beginning—"

I cut him off, loosening my grip around him to find his eyes. He looked genuinely worried, and that hurt to see. I wanted him to be happy about this, and to trust that I meant what I said.

And you might be thinking: 'you've only known each other for a week, aren't you going too fast?'. Well, first, things can seem a lot longer when you spend all of your time together. I haven't spent a day without him here, and he's got an allure that makes you want to fall in love with him in a second. The second you lock eyes with him, he's got you wrapped around his finger, pulling you into a spiral of constant daydreaming.

And second...he's Louis Partridge.

If you met him, you wouldn't even bother asking that question.

So in conclusion to it all, no matter how long it took for us to bridge the gap between friendship and whatever's after that, I knew what answer I had to say:

"I'm sure."

And Louis smiled at that.