OH MY DARLING! || LOUIS

2 | THREE MUSKETEERS.

CHAPTER TWO • THREE MUSKETEERS.

MARLON WAS HER FIRST FRIEND IN ERICSON. And by proxy, that meant Louis was her second friend too. She can't quite remember when the three of them started to drift apart but she can't help but feel nostalgic. Jamie loved Mitch. He is her best friend after all but there were still times when she wished for the days where it was the three of them against the world. The Three Musketeers, as Louis eloquently nicknamed their trio.

She looked at the picture with a nostalgic smile. It was one of the pictures that one of the nicer teachers took and printed out for Jamie. She was meant to mail it to her mother but she couldn't quite let the picture go.

It was one of the rare moments that she and Louis were alone. Rare, mainly because of chores and the fact that Jamie realized earlier on that being alone with Louis was not good for her heart. They're in the empty piano room, left to collect dust and cobwebs since then. Sometimes the other kids would come and gather here. Chatting like normal while Louis played something upbeat on the piano keys. But those days were starting to dwindle more and more. People are too busy or they're too tired. Spending the daylight working on chores and then falling asleep immediately come evening.

The two of them are seated on the uncomfortable wooden ground. Their only cushion being the gross rug that managed to survive for almost a decade. They're close, but not too close. There's a sliver of space between their arms. Had Louis sat just a centimeter closer, her arm would have been flushed against Louis'. Heat rushes to her cheeks at the thought.

"My hair used to be so long." Jamie commented with a slight laugh. She always hated long hair but her mother persisted on it, and so, she spent much of her childhood with tangled and mused hair. What was the point of caring about something she didn't like? At least, that's how she thought of about it as a kid. In the picture, Jamie is pulling both Marlon and Louis close. Their faces are nearly smushed against each other from the closeness. Marlon and Jamie are wearing toothy grins while Louis looked the most caught of guard in the picture. It makes her laugh. "I used to hate my hair back then. I'm glad Stephanie helped cut it off."

"I can't even picture you with long hair." She looks up from the picture, half-expecting Louis to be looking at the picture but instead, she finds herself face-to-face with the latter. Close enough to count the number of freckles dotting his face. To see the specks of gold in his dark eyes. Close. The two of them sharply suck in a breath at the sudden proximity. Too scared of moving and ruining the moment. Maybe it was just wishful thinking but Jamie hoped that Louis' stunned silence is for the same reason as her's.

Her heart basically squeezes the breath from her lungs. All she could do is stare hopelessly at his eyes. Searching, but for what she doesn't quite know. An indication? A sign?

"L-Louis—"

The door swings open and in came rushing in is Rosie. The large dog panting happily as she plants herself on the spot next to Jamie. Her short tail wagging in patience for Jamie's scratches. Jamie and Louis jerk backwards almost like they were burned. They turn to look at the door of the room and it's Marlon. The blonde is looking at the two of them with a cocked eyebrow. His eyes dart back and forth between the two from where they're tucked away in their little corner—connecting the dots together—before sighing.

"Figured I'd find you two here." He says in a nonchalant manner. "So, what're you two up to?"

Marlon drops on the spot beside Rosie. With his sudden entrance, any weird tension between his two friends seemed to disappear immediately. Jamie reaches out to show Marlon the picture with a nervous chuckle. Still, she can't deny that something just happened. It wasn't a figment of her imagination. Jamie lets her hand wander down Rosie's head, absentmindedly petting the dog.