⟨⟨ ᴇʟᴏʀᴀ ʀᴀʏɴᴇ ⟩⟩
A wannabe writer studying Psychology in London far away from home. As her time in the great wide world comes to a close, she is left feeling as though she has done nothing with it. That is until she's in the right place, playing t...
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Rolling over in her crumpled sheets, Elora struggled to unentangle herself from the entrapping duvet with a frustrated groan. With an almighty kick, she freed her one leg and let it rest against the mattress with the cold air cooling her down. After a few moments of wishing life would hold off for a while, she finally groaned her way into a sitting position and opened one sleep-filled eye at a time. Sighing loudly, she willed her brain into the beginning process of conceiving the fact that she was awake and had a life to live. The slow, begrudging steps she made out of her room gave her the jolting reminder that she was in London and that the floor was actually quite cold. With a scrunched up face and slightly blurry vision, she battled her way into the kitchen where the vague figure of a human stood in a state that was far too awake for her liking.
"Damn okay," the inconceivable figure spoke, amusement ripe in its voice, "You look like crap." Elora released a grunt in response and shuffled her way to the counter where she silently wished a cup of coffee would be waiting for her. Upon finding no caffeinated beverage appearing on the surface, she sent a pitiful whine to her roommate who merely chuckled at her pathetic state and handed her a large mug filled with the dark liquid she so dearly relied upon. "You have some explaining to do," he finally said after waiting for her to take a couple of sips from her mug, "Why did you come home at such an ungodly hour last night?" "10 PM is now an ungodly hour?" she questioned, her voice rough with unuse. He raised an eyebrow and leaned against the marble counter, his charming face showing his interest in her excuse. The tired female sighed as she rubbed her face and felt her messy hair tickle her skin before she looked back up at him. "For someone who spends most of their time reading until 4 AM, yes, being out the entire day is otherworldly," he remarked, clearly finding comedy in his friend's lifestyle choices. Elora groaned but didn't refute his statement, knowing that he spoke the truth. "Okay, fine, I spent the day with someone I met at a coffee shop. Although, I could've sworn that it was a dream," she explained, slightly whispering the last part to herself.
Recalling the events of the previous day brought a small smile onto her face. She had landed up talking to Louis in the garden until they were forced to leave because it was closing. Both of them had felt that it was too early to call off their time together so they shared a delicious supper together which Louis demanded upon paying for. Their meal had ended with ice cream from a small parlour that they had forced into remaining open so that they could satisfy their cravings. He had offered to drive her home but she declined with the reason that her car was still parked outside the cafe, so he walked her back to the beginning of their journey and left with a grin and a promise that they would chat soon. Elora knew that the likelihood of that promise being fulfilled was minimal so she clung to that last smile and kept it close to her heart the rest of the evening. She drove home with a large grin covering her face and a warm feeling spreading through her body as she reminisced over her day. When she entered the apartment that she was sharing with her roommate for the duration of her stay, she tried her hardest to sneak into her room unnoticed but that had obviously failed due to the conversation she was currently having.
"Ooh, someone's moving on from Richard over here," he teased to which she slapped his arm with a blush creeping onto her cheeks and a muttered 'shut up'. Deciding that leaving before he could continue spouting out the embarrassing comments he surely had would be better for her emotional wellbeing, she grabbed her mug and shuffled away from him as quickly as she could. Unfortunately, she had forgotten how eager her roommate was to tease her and didn't account for him committing to following her into her room as she attempted to hide from him. "I wonder how Vera is going to respond when she finds out," he commented, knowing that bringing her excitable best friend into it would cause her face to turn into a tomato. "How about you leave Vera to your fantasies and not bring her into my minimal social life," she muttered in response which caused him to groan in fake astonishment at her sass. "Alright there, Miss, I have to know who this mysterious person is then," he stated confidently, as though his tone of voice would convince her anymore.
Deciding to ignore him as she got ready for her day ahead, Elora moved over to her closet in an attempt to choose an outfit. Turning around, she noticed that her friend had been kind enough to make her bed but had still decided to stay in her room and spread himself over the previously neat duvet. "No matter how close we are, you are not watching me get changed," she informed him with a raised eyebrow and making him blush slightly as he sat up but still remained in her room. "I'm not leaving until you tell me who managed to steal you from me for an entire day," he remarked, determined to get her to reveal the information he so eagerly desired. She turned back to her clothes and continued her silence as she threw a pair of black skinny jeans in the vague direction of her bed only to hear the glorious sound of them hitting the man seated behind her. As he splurted out complaints, she continued to throw items of clothing behind her, now with the aim of hitting him. The sound of a white button-up shirt and navy blazer landing on her roommate brought a grin onto her face. The peak of her entertainment came when she chucked her bra and underwear onto his face and he released a string of words displaying his discomfort. With the confirmation that he had finally exited her room, Elora turned around and begun getting changed. With two curls on the side of her face being pinned back and some light make-up on, she exited her room and grabbed her black laptop bag and making sure it contained all that she needed - including the A5 notebook and pen she kept for her writing notes.
Bidding her disgruntled roommate goodbye, she laughed as he shouted farewell with the complimentary ending of, "You disgraceful, undignified woman!" Plugging in her earphones, she fished out her phone from her bag and clicked on her music. The baritone voice of Colter Wall flowed into her ears as she stuffed her phone into her pocket and began walking down the short flight of stairs to the entrance of the building. As she stood on the sidewalk she took a moment to decide whether she would walk to the university or whether she would steal her roommate's car like she had the previous day. Mentally cursing his off day and it forcing her to find another way to get to the campus other than her driving with him, she began walking her journey to the rather intimidating location.
The walk wasn't that long which is why she blamed her breathlessness to the magnificent sight of the old building that comprised the University of London. Due to her temporary instalment at the prestigious university, she only had to visit the campus once a week and spent most of her time joining the groups she was studying with on their practical endeavours. The main reason she was finishing her degree in London was for the international experience, even though she was doing the same things she had done in South Africa. Her roommate frequently told her that it was useless, but she was enjoying her stay so much that she knew it hadn't been a mistake.
Sighing in awe, she walked across the campus and smiled at the friendly faces she came across but remained dedicated to arriving at her meeting with her advisor on time. The walk to his office gave her some time to mull over the events of the prior day once more even though she had been doing that for practically the entire evening and morning. She grinned to herself as she remembered the light banter that she had shared with one of the people she had looked up to most in the world. She had been ridiculed by many people when she revealed that Louis Tomlinson was one of the most inspiring people she had ever learnt of, but she refused to allow the world's perception of such a strong man to be clouded by the mere fact that he was in a boy band whose fandom was comprised of majorly underaged girls.
As her thoughts continued to swarm around the enchanting eyes she had encountered, she didn't feel the buzz in her back pocket and rather continued to smile with the thought of his bright smile and loud laugh. Only once she had arrived outside the office of the man she needed to impress the most throughout her stay did she pull out her phone. Upon turning off her music and gently pulling out her earphones, she paused in surprise when she noticed the message from an unknown number. Clicking on the notification, she saw a picture of herself that she knew she hadn't taken along with a message below it saying:
