I Hate You ~ Louis Tomlinson

WITH ME

"Hey Linda, when are you going to decide on whether Natalie gets the job or not?" Louis asks as Linda passes by the cafeteria where they are all sitting down to eat. 

Natalie's heart drops into her stomach, she looks at Louis from across the table. 

"We already decided, we offered it to her, but-" Linda replies. 

"You what?" Louis says whipping his head back to Natalie who visibly shrinks.

"I was going to tell you," Natalie rushes out.

"-Only if she breaks up with you," Linda says, finishing her sentence. 

The other boys gasp at that, Niall's mouth dramatically falling open. 

"You can't do that," Louis whispers, talking to Linda, but looking at Natalie pleadingly. 

"That's why I didn't tell you. I can't break up with you, I won't." She says meeting his eyes. 

It's quiet for a long, painful moment. Natalie's stomach is in knots. 

"I won't go then," Louis says defiantly. 

"What?" They all seem to say at once. 

"Yeah, if she can't go with me, I'm not going." He says, pushing his chair back loudly and leaving the cafeteria. 

Natalie just blinks, she doesn't know how to feel. He can't just give up the tour for her. There's no way she'll let him, but she doesn't let him do anything. 

She snaps out of it quickly and runs out after Louis. 

He's halfway down the hall when she slams the door open. "Louis," she calls and runs up to him. 

"You-," she pauses when she catches up with him and shakes her head. "You can't do that." She says when she catches up to him, her eyebrows creasing. 

"I can and I will. You deserve that job." He says firmly. 

"It's a whole tour Louis, you can't back out on it. Not for me."

"I would do anything for you." He says stepping the tiniest bit closer to her. "I need you Natalie." 

She doesn't know what to say, she's feeling so many things at once and it's making her a little dizzy. She hopes that maybe she can explain how she feels to him. Maybe she can explain the way everything is building in her chest without saying anything at all. 

She grabs his hair at the back of his neck and brings his lips onto hers, her other arm wrapping around the back of his shoulders so she can stand on her tip toes to reach him. 

His hands find their way to her hips and hold her tightly, lifting her from the ground. She wraps her legs around his torso and he holds her up against the wall. 

He pulls away after a minute to look her in the eyes. "I really think I could fall in love with you, you know." 

"Ugh, Louis." She says, groaning and throwing her head back. "I don't even know how to say what I'm feeling right now," she says truthfully. Her hands have both found their way into his hair, her forearms resting on his shoulders propping her arms up. 

Their lives are half crumbling around them and he might be falling in love with her and this is just wild.

"I know, so you showed me. I hear you." He says understandingly. 

"Yeah, you showed all of us," Niall says, breaking them out of their little bubble. 

Natalie shrieks at the intrusion, not that they're really intruding considering they two of them are in the hallway, but still. Louis for once actually gets shy and hides his face in her neck as she giggles. 

It's cut off quickly when they hear the click of Linda's heels. Louis gently drops Natalie to the floor, but sticks an arm around her protectively. 

"You cannot just quit the tour Louis." Linda says with authority in her voice. 

"I can and I just did." He says back defiantly. 

"I've called management and they will be here within the hour to deal with you." Linda counters. 

Louis seemingly doesn't care and starts walking away. 

"Where do you think you're going?" She calls after him. 

"Can't tell me what to do anymore," he calls back, not even turning around. 

Natalie again runs after him, but doesn't start talking to him until they're outside. 

"Louis, I really appreciate what you're doing here and I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but please at least talk to the boys."

As if on cue the boys bust out of the doors.

"What the hell man?" Liam yells, "You can't just quit."

"Yeah what about the rest of us?" Niall asks sadly. 

"Then they just have to give me what I want. Don't worry boys, they'll do it." Louis says confidently.

She has no idea how he's so calm and confident about this whole thing, but he is. 

"And if they don't? If they don't let her come will you really not go?" Harry pipes up. 

He's always challenging Louis in one way or another. 

"We do have a contract," Zayn says lowly. 

"I'll think of something, I will. But I'm not going without her." Louis says and walks away to their house. 

The boys disperse, but Natalie decides to stay outside and go to her thinking spot. She's going to miss this bench, and the house, and the boys. 

"Are you okay?" Harry asks coming up to her.

"I'm sorry," she says, "I've made a mess."

"No you haven't this isn't on you at all."

"But it's because of me." She says quietly. 

"It's not your fault." Harry says, his voice willing her to believe him. 

"Everyone's going to hate me, it's going to be my fault. The boys will get mad at me, Louis will end up resenting me, I'll be alone again."

"Hey, hey. Don't go there, no one is going anywhere. You have to stop thinking everyone wants to leave you." 

She closes her eyes and Harry's hand runs up and down her back soothingly. 

She keeps them closed even when she feels a presence in front of her, she doesn't need to open them to know who it is, she recognizes Louis' smell as weird as that sounds. 

"Love?" He says kneeling down in front of her and putting his hands on her thighs. 

He notices she's crying immediately and puts his hands on either side of her head trying to bring her to his chest, but its awkward due to their position. "Hey, I got you. I've got you." He whispers pressing small kisses to her head. 

She feels Harry slip away and Louis replace him. 

She reaches an arm out to Harry before he leaves to stop him, "Thank you Haz."

"Anytime." He says before he makes his way back to the house. 

"I don't want to think this is your fault," Louis says, basically reading her mind. 

"I'm ruining everything," she says slumping against him. He turns his body toward her as much as he can and holds her from behind. A bit awkwardly due to the fact that they're on the small wooden bench, but she just needs to be held right now, it doesn't matter where or how. 

"No my love, you've made everything better. You make everything better."