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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ-ғᴏᴜʀ
Walking in the Wind

Elora Rayne's many years of social awkwardness had blessed her with a tactical evasion she prided herself in and utilised regularly

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Elora Rayne's many years of social awkwardness had blessed her with a tactical evasion she prided herself in and utilised regularly. While she adored spending time with Louis as they explored their blossoming friendship under the sunlight of honesty and shared vulnerability, she could not bring herself to face the interrogation of Eleanor's presence. When they initially bonded as close strangers, Elora was able to pave her role in Louis' life as the female best friend without the typical rivalry of a jealous girlfriend. She had taken that comfortability for granted. 
Attempting to spend time with the couple together proved tense and awkwardly silent, despite Louis' clear ease of comfort around both females.

Elora didn't know if the poor lad realised why they couldn't settle amicably but it was overwhelmingly clear that Eleanor did, which was the major problem. It is suffocatingly difficult to make small talk whilst a girl dotingly hangs on every available limb of the person you're conversing with, all the while making snide comments about your opinions and scowling in your direction the entire time. Louis didn't take notice of Eleanor's saccharine physical intimacy at first, leading the third wheel to believe that maybe it was a normal dynamic for the pair, but eventually, he grew frustrated with her clinginess and would slide from her possessive hold with a stifled grimace. 
Elora tried to hide her satisfaction.

However, there are only so many times either partner can act in such a way around a guest before it becomes problematic for their relationship. When that milestone arrived, Elora noticed a sure minimising of Louis' invites for the three of them to do things together. Fortunately for the friendzone placeholder, that didn't hinder her quality time with Louis but rather allowed them to return to the comfortable intimacy they shared when alone (platonic intimacy, of course, she was too awkward to ever make a move even if he wasn't in a devoted relationship.) The only times she had to see Eleanor after her freedom had been granted was when they would do things with a larger group of Louis' friends. 

That, too, had been a development this time around. True to Louis' word, he did everything in his power for Elora to feel as though she was a permanent fixture in his life. He introduced her to all his friends from home and invited her on their nights out (even the ones without Eleanor – but she would only comment on that to herself.) The lads agreed unanimously that they liked the quiet, little girl Tommo had picked up on the streets of London and would regale her with pints whenever she joined. Louis would laugh and shove them away when they made snarky comments that Elora couldn't hear but he'd smile at her with his glittering eyes anyway and she knew it was safe. When she finally drudged up the guts to inform the British chavs of her distaste for beer, they boisterously ridiculed her and denounced their favour for her – complaining to Louis about 'how dare he associate with such scum.' That was until they realised her aversion to their go-to drink opened up a world of other options for them – which led to the tradition of Elora being forced to drink a different obscenely colourful, preppy cocktail of various hues and themes each time she blessed the lads with her company. 

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