𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 || 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞

𝟎𝟕

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"Where do you want to go?" Louis grasped onto the soft material of my jacket as we walked around the busy downtown closest to us. His hand moving onto my arm as we continued walking and I was sure he didn't want to get separated from the one person he knew around.

I looked at him and shrugged. His eyes wandering off and then back to me quickly, he was still holding onto me and I was trying my best not to think about it too much or he'll notice that I'm one, nervous as hell, and two, trying to not get kidnapped in the overly crowded sidewalks. He was looking down at me with those brown eyes, wrinkling the corners as he was trying to release some tension from the environment. His smile still shown as we walked together and when we finally made it out of the busy street, he stopped and looked at a small shop in front. "How about this?"

I looked at him and then at the place, "Gloria's Fridge" that's different. I had never seen this place before, I never wondered what it was because when anyone brought it up, I couldn't really think of it. I couldn't imagine the building because I hadn't been to these parts in a while. "Yeah, let's check it out." He loosened his grip on my arm and brought his arms next to his body so that he could open the door. A small 'thank you' from my lips as we walked in and stopped in awe. It was a small place with an aesthetic that I had never seen before, and the lady at the front was smiling at us both. "Welcome to Gloria's Fridge!" Her voice was loud, but it was a kind of loud that made you smile. Her energy brought off a nice atmosphere and when we walked up to where all the food was posing behind the small glass, I could see another person standing behind her. He looked young, around our age possibly. His tan skin was blended nicely as he wore a black apron with the same-colored hat matching the logo of the kitchen. "This is my son Easton Alexander." She hugged him close to her and we both looked at each other with a smile.

"How long have you all been here?" Louis asked as he leaned against the wall.

"Well, we're the new owners, so we haven't been long." She paused and looked at her son which made her excited again. "What grade are you all in?"

"We're seniors, we go to Johnson High." The words slipping from my mouth as I accidently forgot that you shouldn't tell strangers your personal business, but she seemed okay, so I guess that's why it came out. She looked over to her son again and I looked over at Louis who was smiling at them too.

The fact that I could look at Louis for a really long time and not get tired of it was irregular to me as I wasn't really like this before. Especially with someone I had just met, I was obviously finding him interesting, but I didn't want to make it obvious so as he continued to talk to Gloria, I just looked at him and watched as his body language showed a comfortable form. His eyes looking back and forth, from me to Gloria. A smile still on his face the whole time, and I enjoyed it. He was more outgoing than I had ever thought, and he reminded me of my friends, not that they were outgoing but that they were the complete opposite. We hadn't been out of the apartment as a group in a really long time and the last time we did, someone was being bailed out of getting in trouble with officers. Wyatt's excuse was that the guy punched first, but it wasn't a great idea for them to do it in front of ten moms who were hosting a birthday party for one of the mom's twin daughters. So now that I remember it, we had just run. After getting his call, we didn't know what to do so as we got there, it all came down to me driving the car way too fast and Wyatt jumping in as Darris opened the door quickly and shutting it as soon as we got him in. I remember the laughter after it, but we were as stupid as rocks because they tracked down Wyatt a couple of days later and he had to talk to those same officers again. But without us.

I was soon realizing that Louis had been talking to her for the past five minutes and I was nowhere paying attention to that conversation. My mind everywhere else but there. "So, what can I get you guys?"

"Do you guys have sandwiches or something? It's not just us, we have some friends we need to bring food for also." I said as she instantly nodded her head and snapped her fingers at her son. "How many?"

"Ten, just in case."

"Alright, give us ten minutes." They both walked into the kitchen and we sat down at a small table on the side.

I checked my phone and saw some messages from the guys, but I just ignored it. I looked to see Louis looking at me, his smile never seemed to fade and as I looked at him too, he spoke. "What?" A smirk played on his lips.

"Nothing, you looked at me first." I tucked my hands into the pockets of my hoodie, my nervousness coming back a bit but not really wanting to show him any of it. He didn't say anything, just smiling and making sure he wasn't doing anything wrong. He opened his mouth but stopped. Then he did it again and was debating whether or not he should say something.

I moved a strand of my hair out of my face as I was realizing that my face was turning a shade of light pink, "What are you trying to say?"

"I just-" He brushed back his hair and looked away from me. His jawline showing nicely, an exaggerated form for me to check him out but I knew he was nervous, so I didn't say anything. "I won't deny anything." He paused and then looked at me straight in the eyes while leaning on the table. "I like looking at you (Y/n)." He said it with a bit of proudness, it made me smile in a way that I felt guilty about but as it was just us together and we got our food and walked home, I couldn't help but keep thinking of the small line he said.

It was probably nothing to him, but I couldn't stop thinking about the words from the nervous boy with those brown eyes that I wanted to look at for a little while longer.

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