OH MY DARLING! || LOUIS

7 | LAPDOGS.

JAMIE WAKES UP IN A COLD SWEAT. She slept in later than usual last night; the pounding of her heart made it hard to fall asleep. Flashes of memories with Louis kept popping up in her mind, which sent her heart in a frenzy over and over until she finally knocked out from fatigue. But it wouldn't be an over exaggeration if she admitted to spending most of that night tossing and turning.

In her rush to get out of bed, she topples over the edge, narrowly missing the large drawers set in the middle of the room but still falling on the wooden floors. A groan slips past her lips the moment her body connects with the floor with a dull thud.

"Of course." Jamie grumbles before standing up and chucking her sweater on. Once done, she rushes out, her bat in hand, and nearly knocks into somebody else as she rushes out the door. "Shit—!"

"Are...are you okay?" Came a familiar voice. Jamie nods her head with an apologetic look on her face. Before her was Clementine with a puzzled tilt on her head while AJ peeked from behind the girl. He looked wary, almost ready to strike.

"Yes! Sorry, I didn't see you guys there." Jamie takes the time to calm down from her whirlwind of a morning. She wipes the shocked look from her face and offers a smile towards the two newcomers. "I have hunting duty with Aasim and Lou today. Aasim hates when either of us is late."

"Oh, don't let us keep you." Clementine says, holding her hands up in front of her chest. "We we're just heading to Marlon's office."

Jamie's nose scrunches at the mention. She understands why Marlon made the superintendent's office his own but she hates having to see the man's face every time she came in. Maybe one of these days they can finally have a bonfire with Clementine and AJ with the framed picture to use as fire fuel.

"Oh—wait, do you know where it is?" She was already late, Aasim would yell at her either way.

"I do!" AJ finally speaks up, raising his hand with a wide grin. The two girls look down at the younger boy, who looked excited to know something that Clementine didn't. Jamie can't hold back her smile, absolutely endeared with the young boy. She didn't think she'd meet anybody younger than Tenn or Willy anytime soon so seeing AJ was a nice change of pace.

"Okay, okay. I'll be going now. See you guys later." Jamie waves one last time to the duo and turned on her heel. Before she can get anywhere though, Clementine has a tight hold around her wrist, keeping her back. It wasn't tight enough to hurt but obviously enough to stop Jamie from moving forward. "Uh, Clem—?"

"Sorry, just...can we talk later?" Clementine asks with a soft smile. She pulls her hand back.

"It isn't anything bad. I promise." The darker girl adds, to ease any anxiety that may have set off in Jamie's mind.

"Uh, sure." Jamie nods stiffly. "Just catch me when you're free."

"Sure."

And with that promise, Jamie was finally able to head to the courtyard.

The other kids were already out and about. Mitch was sitting with Willy, the two sharpening a few tools. He passes her a mock salute with his pointer and middle finger, to which she responded to with an eloquent middle finger. He was usually kind enough to wake Jamie up whenever he woke up. Guess he decided to end his nice streak on one of the worst days possible.

Mitch's dry laugh echoes throughout the school courtyard. It may seem childish but the only proper response she can think of is to stick her tongue out. No use crying over spilled milk now. All she had left to worry about was—

"And Sleeping Beauty awakens!" Louis calls out the moment he spots her jogging towards them. Jamie smiles, albeit a bit bogged down from her morning rush.