The Sun in My Eyes

54 'Cause You're the Storm That I Believe In

In which Louis has questions, Bobby has plans, and Lili... who the fuck knows? Enjoy!

Also enjoy finding all of the Taylor Swift references/lyrics I crammed into the last half of the chapter 😆

**

Bobby sighed contentedly and threw open the door of his flat. It had been two weeks since he'd been there. "Home sweet ho-" the rest of the word was lost, as the intense scent of disinfectant rushed at him, making his eyes water.

"What the hell?" He dropped his bag and stared at his sitting room. All of his shelves full of haphazard books and random roadside finds were perfectly neat, as if he were looking at one of those fancy home decorating magazines that Dean liked to read. And in the retreating sunlight, the windows sparkled in a way they never had before. Spilling pink light into the room and making the city skyline look more like a postcard than reality.

Lili had scrubbed every centimetre of the flat. Every centimetre. The floors gleamed like new. His kitchen was organised and neat, as was his bedroom. He might have been imagining things but even the walls seemed cleaner. Which was odd. Was he supposed to have been cleaning the walls all this time? Was that a thing?

"Oh Lil," he breathed out. It was clear his neurotic girl had been trying to work things out in her stubborn mind before she left. He shook his head and grabbed his bag from the front doorway, and tossed it on the spotless floor beside his bed. He started to walk away and then thought better of it. Not wanting to undo all of her hard work, he actually unpacked. Something that normally took him roughly three weeks to get around to when he returned from any travels.

He took a shower and marvelled at the transformation. The orangey-brown rust that had long stained the bath and sink were gone. They were now as close to white as he'd ever seen them. A feat not even Louis had been able to achieve.

Afterward, he blared some music and flopped onto his bed. God the linens smelled so fresh. It was nice. But his pillow, oh his pillow smelled like Lili. He breathed in the sweet scents of shea butter and strawberry citrus perfume. Huh. He rolled over and sniffed the other pillow but it smelled like everything else did. Clean. He rolled back to his other pillow and stared at it.

Had Lili slept there?

A thrill shot through him. She'd scrubbed his flat until it begged for mercy, and then curled up in his bed, as if she'd missed him. He pressed his smile against the fabric and let the idea warm him from head to toe, like a perfect chocolat chaud.

Suddenly, the need to hear her voice, or even just to see some of her words on his screen overwhelmed him. He sat up and scrambled for his phone, but when he did, he noticed something beneath the other pillow. His brows drew together as he changed direction and reached for it, pulling a heavy, prettily wrapped box out.

He'd completely forgotten that she'd told him his fifth present was on his bed.

The silly paper, full of dancing cake slices, crinkled beneath his fingers as he unwrapped it. Usually he tore into gifts without much thought, but he took his time. When there was a pile of paper beside him, he was left a white box with no label to clue him into what was inside. He popped the top open. Something red poked up. Careful as he could be, he turned the box over and slid it out.

It was a small trophy. A black base with a beautifully crafted resin cupcake seated on it. The cupcake had three layers of frosting, one chocolate, one vanilla and one strawberry, and there was a perfectly curved cherry on top. The base read, "Buttercream Award, 1st place."