Unstable (Sequel to Twisted)

Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Louis POV

"Hey," I started as I opened the porch doors, looking around in my pocket for the metallic feel of the lighter. I whipped it out and pulled the lawn chair next to Harry, taking a seat. It was barely the crack of dawn; the sky was lit in deeper bright colors or yellow and orange, and the moon was still visible low in the sky. I could see the outline of the sun making its way upwards, soon to be seen all throughout.

It was that time of day-before morning, and after night. It was the thin lining in between.

I lit the cigarette, smiling a little when I felt the smoke air through me. It had been awhile since I've had a smoke.

"Remember," I started quietly, "how we used to go outside-around this same time-just to have a good smoke? It was such a stress reliever." I trailed off in deep thought, staring thoughtfully at the cigarette bud hanging limply in my fingers. Eleanor hated it when I smoked; normally I wouldn't let a girl have any effect on me, but she surely was different.

I used to smoke-a lot. I used to smoke whenever I was stressed or especially angry, which used to be quite often. So, evidently, I was quite the smoker. But that was until I was with Eleanor, when she returned to Britain. I was always stubborn, refusing to break down for anyone.

But for Eleanor, I did.

I didn't like the way her doe-like brown eyes would watch me smoke. It frightened and unnerved her, and I came to dislike seeing her that way. She never said anything-she would just stare at me like that until finally I decided it wasn't worth smoking.

Whenever I got angry, I would just think of her. Whenever I was stressed, my thoughts would flick back to her and it would calm me instantly.

Liam used to tease me about Eleanor at first, and I'll admit, it did bother me. All the boys used to say things-especially Liam in particular. And at first, I hated it.

But then I realized, it was worth being teased.

She was worth it.

The only one who never said anything about it was Harry. He rarely spoke to me about Eleanor, mainly because he was always about business and the task at hand. But not once did he send a disapproving glance towards Eleanor when she was in the same room was us.

And that was why he was my best mate.

Harry was a mess, I could tell.

He was even dressing differently now. Right now all he wore was a loose white tank top that hung loosely on him, and those dark sweats from earlier. His curly hair was a mess; it looked like he hasn't even brushed it.

I could see he was having some kind of turmoil.

But when I looked at Harry, I looked at my younger self. I went through that with Eleanor. I remembered how confused I felt, how angry I was at both Eleanor and the boys for both creating such a controversy to happen.

"Back when we were in a gang," I murmured, chuckling a little. "Those were the days, huh?"

"Louis, stop acting like it's just the past." Harry replied quietly. He was staring straight ahead, his hand gripping onto his chin in deep thought. "We could always go back, you know."

"Go back to being a gang?"

"Yeah."

"Why would you want to do that?" I'll admit, being in a gang was quite fun-it was something risky, something dangerous. At first, it was exciting, to start as a gang, with me and a few other mates. The power we had was unbelievable. As a young lad, it was amazing. I could get any woman I wanted-I could boss around men older than me. But as I grew older, I started to really understand what was going on.