dorothea | h.s.

forgiveness is a nice thing to do

Louis felt bad for not inviting me to his last party.

He claimed he was afraid I'd not want to go, and though I knew it was an excuse, I wasn't offended. He offered to take me to one of his friends' parties tonight to make up for it. All of the boys were going, including Harry, who I needed to talk to more than anything. I wasn't sure if a party was the right setting for it, but I hoped to get to him before either of us had too much to drink.

Alissa was still in town. My mom had called her while she was wrapping up her most recent movie, and while I didn't get the details of that conversation, it had somehow prompted Alissa's surprise visit.

Liss was a prominent actor. Bigger than I was and bigger than I could ever imagine being. She had been doing movie after movie after TV show after movie since I met her, and this lull in her schedule was one we'd been talking about for a few months now. She was planning trips and self-projects for this time, so after a few days of being here, I insisted she go back to L.A. Though when I found out about Harry's girlfriend, she refused, saying she could tell I needed her here. As guilty as I felt, I was grateful. I didn't deserve her.

She said she needed a break from that place, so she took one-- just as I did with my music. Although, I was never really not working on music. Things would always come to me, and I'd have been stupid not to write them down. Writing them down, of course, usually turned into writing a full-fledged song as well. But I enjoyed it, so it didn't count as working.

Louis had no objection to bringing Alissa to the party, but she said she didn't feel like crashing a small-town kegger, and I didn't blame her. Alissa McDaniel showing up at some random party made a much bigger splash than just li'l ol' me. She and my mom had become the best of friends in the past few weeks anyway, she said, and also insisted I'd call her with any and every inconvenience, big or small. I promised she'd be the very first to hear if I stubbed my toe or spilled my drink.

Now, as I slipped into a white dress that was a touch too small, begging my heels to go easy on my feet for at least a couple of hours, I was wishing I'd tried a little harder to get her to go.

"You'd have fun. We could get you a disguise!"

Alissa laughed, rolling her eyes at me from her perch against my headboard. "They're your friends, D. You go, make amends with Harry, and I will be here to hear all about it when you get home."

I glared at her comfy pajamas and messy bun. Lucky bitch. "Fine. But you can't watch the new episode of survivor without me."

"I wouldn't dare."

It wasn't much later when Louis showed up, his t-shirt tugging against his body in the wind outside. I hurried over to the open passenger-side door and let him close it for me.

"No Alissa?" He tried to act indifferent, but I could hear the disappointment in his voice.

I smirked as he pulled out of the driveway, pretending not to care about my response. "She said one of my friends was just too hot. She couldn't stand to be around him another night."

Louis slammed on the brakes halfway into the road. "She did?!" He spat out.

I rolled my lips between my teeth to fight the smile, but it came loose too quickly as I cackled out to the car's roof. "No, you fucking dork!"

The speed at which Louis' face fell was comical, and he continued driving with a scowl. "That was mean."

"Yeah, well, stop thirsting over my friend."

The car ride wasn't long, and I was surprised when we stopped at a house right outside Florence. It was a property with land, and most of it was already covered with roaring drunks— Typically my worst nightmare of a situation, but something about my mood tonight stopped me from caring. Maybe it was its complete juxtaposition from the last time I saw my friends. I had spent my entire time back here in shambles which was exactly the opposite of what I needed from home. I was ready to turn that around, though.