Only The Brave ⟨⟨ʟᴏᴜɪs ᴛᴏᴍʟɪɴsᴏɴ⟩⟩

⟨⟨ sɪɴᴄᴇ ᴡᴇ'ʀᴇ ᴀʟᴏɴᴇ ⟩⟩

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴏ
Since We're Alone

Louis Tomlinson stared at her with the most intense eyes she had ever made contact with. The swirling hues of cerulean seemed otherworldly and her breath felt stuck in her throat. Never before had she felt so starstruck, and it wasn't even because he was an international superstar.
"Wow you're beautiful," she breathed before her bright eyes widened as she realised that she had verbalised that thought. The man before her grinned at the compliment and she saw his eyes brighten further - although that should have been impossible. 
"Crap, I am so sorry," she laughed, her face hot with an intense blush, "You can sit here."

She continued to mumble apologies and nonsense as she scrambled out of the chair and grabbed her book and pen. Rushing to the open space a few tables over, she fell into the seat with a great sigh and rested her head against the cool wood, attempting very poorly to hide her embarrassment and wishing wholeheartedly to disappear. She deduced that she couldn't leave now, she would have to wait for a bit longer otherwise it would look like she was running away - even though that was precisely what she wanted to do.
"Excuse me," his voice was much closer than she was prepared for, causing her head to shoot up in alarm which only led him to let out a breathy chuckle. She continued to stare at the attractive man standing next to her, waiting for him to continue and holding her breath to not freak out.
"I was wondering," he coughed, growing uncomfortable under her wide gaze, "if you would like to sit with me?"
Elora feared that if her eyes widened any further, they would fall out of her sockets. That image promptly caused her to pull a disgusted expression, which threw Louis off and he began apologising for making her uncomfortable.
"No, no," she chuckled, lightly placing her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry, that face wasn't in response to your offer. I just thought of something and it was-" 
Upon realising that she was rambling and that her hand was still on his arm, she jerked her hand away and cleared her throat, "Sure."

Louis just laughed as he watched the entire progression before gesturing for her to follow him back to the table. Taking the seat she had previously inhabited, he watched as she shuffled to the padded chair across from him and sat down with her book and pen in front of her. Just as he was about to speak, a waitress came over with his pot of tea and asked if he would like anything else. He made the executive decision that his new companion would be joining him for tea so he requested another mug before turning to her a seeing the small smile that had formed on her lips. 
"I'm sorry if you don't like tea," he spoke up, to which she shook her head and told him she did. Thinking that inviting her to join him might have been a mistake, he sighed inwardly and reprimanded himself.
"I'm sorry," she started with a small smile, "it's just that this is kind of surreal but I'm trying really hard not to freak out."
"It's alright, love," he responded and smiled at the waitress who brought her cup. Pouring the two of them tea, he watched as she tipped a tiny amount of milk into the brew and stirred it before wrapping her small fingers around the ceramic. 
He sipped his black tea before stretching out his hand, "I'm Louis Tomlinson, nice to meet you."
She laughed lightly with a shrug and shook his hand slightly, "The pleasure is all mine. I'm Elora Rayne."

He grinned at her, causing a wide smile to slide onto her face before they both took a sip of their beverage. Louis couldn't help but think that she might have one of the most awe-striking smiles he had ever seen. He wasn't particularly sure why he wanted her to join him, but something about her entire response to him made him curious. She was polite and sweet in a way that made him want to smile around her. 
"Where are you from?" he questioned, finally clicking that there was a certain twang in her voice that he wasn't used to. 
"Oh," she seemed surprised like she didn't think he was paying attention, "I'm a born and bred South African."
Elora chuckled as she watched his face light up with an interest in her nationality that no one else in London seemed to possess. He leant forward with his elbows resting on the wood of the table and continued to watch her with curiosity as he drank his tea.
"I was just there in March, it's so beautiful," he mentioned, prompting her to grin and nod in agreement.
"I'm glad you think so. I watched you guys perform actually," she revealed with a sheepish smile as he grinned cheekily.
"And?"
"I wish I had been able to see it more than once, you all are so phenomenal. It took my breath away," she added before looking into her tea and taking a sip as he agreed that it was unfortunate that they couldn't always go to the less popular countries. 

"Wait, how long have you been in London then?" 
"I moved in July and I'll be going back in three months. I'm just here because I have the opportunity to gain experience at this internship for my studies," she explained with a vague glance to the outside streets of the city. 
"What are you studying?" he asked as he poured himself more tea and topped up her mug, causing her to send him a small smile in thanks.
"Psychology."
"You have the like vibe of a Psychologist," he commented and she laughed before thanking him.
"If I'm honest, my dream would be to be a full-time writer," she admitted, avoiding his eyes and questioning why she thought he would want to know that.
"I see that a lot more," he laughed and she looked at him with a grin, appreciating the warmth shining from his face.
"And you? Is singing what you can see yourself doing for forever?"
He smiled slightly and tracing his finger on the lining of his mug before he looked up at her, "Yeah. Like, I love it so much and the lads are amazing. It's the best way I can imagine spending these years even if it's, like, tough sometimes." 

She nodded, smiling in understanding as they both finished their drinks. They continued talking about the things they were doing with their lives and revealed tiny bits of information about themselves. Elora was entranced by his thick accent and how his mouth almost mumbled the words he spoke. She had never heard someone who spoke with a voice similar to his. The higher pitch was mixed with an odd combination of low mumbling that came with his calm talking pace and the melodic flow of his words. She couldn't get over the colour of his eyes. The blue was so intense she felt as though someone had travelled to the clearest waterfall and collected water from its hidden pool only to pour it into his iris'. They would light up every time he heard something that intrigued him and then they would shine whenever he laughed. She was amazed that one person could laugh so much, it was like all the joy in the world was centred in his soul. At brief moments she would realise how unreal the entire experience was and that once he decided to leave, she would be left with nothing but the memory of their tea together. That thought spurred her on to cling to the words they shared and the laughs that erupted from his mouth. 

Louis had to keep himself from staring for too long, which was a lot more difficult than he would have thought. Something about the way her hair shined in the warm light that was cast onto it and how the curls would shift when she tilted her head back in laughter. The deep brown of her eyes reminded him of melted chocolate and home, as though comfort and love were rooted in the essence of her being. If she wasn't smiling, her eyes were expressing the encouragement that you needed to know she was devoted to what you were saying. He was fascinated by the way she phrased the words flowing out of her mouth like she was the only person who could weave the language into an artwork. The slight lilt in her voice showed her foreign nature but her voice was so smooth that it was impossible to remember that she came from one singular place. He was entranced by how she used her words to transport you to the emotions she felt; it felt like she wanted to submerge you in the depths of her world but kept you in the sunlight so that you could bloom - and that sunlight was her smile. 
"Hey, do you want to get out of here?" he asked when their tea had finished and their mugs turned cold, "I don't want to say goodbye just yet."