Exchange Student- Louis Partridge

Chapter 17: Corpse Bride

(3rd Person POV)

Weeks had gone by since Louis found Lila on the bathroom floor. He tried to reach out to her, to ask her what happened, but she ignored him.

It had been eating him up inside, he couldn't think about anything else. Lila was the same, every day was painful with memories of that night.

No matter how hard she tried, and how many times she watched meditation videos on youtube, nothing helped.

Every day was the same, get up, go to school, skip dinner, eat at 3 am. She couldn't eat in front of people anymore, so every time dinner was called she would say she wasn't hungry.

To Lila, her body was ugly and she needed to lose weight. She got extremely anxious every time she had to eat around other people, like they were silently judging her for being a pig.

Everyone around her thought she was beautiful and perfect, but she felt the opposite. It's crazy how someone's words can affect you so much.

Louis knew something was wrong, everyone around Lila did. But they knew her well enough not to bother her, Louis however did not know this.

He made every effort possible to get her to vent to him, and she resisted every time. Lila was startled at how caring he was, but she couldn't get close to him.

He wouldn't want to be friends with someone like her, would he?

Louis finally decided to do something about Lila. He called the school and acknowledged them about the fact that him and Lila would not be attending school today.

Louis struggled to find a way to tell her because they barely even argued anymore, let alone spoke. So just as Lila was leaving the door of her bedroom in her uniform and a messy bun, he grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?" He loosened his grip on her wrist and she strangled it out, soothing the pain of his strong hands.

"We aren't going to school today." His hands were now in his pockets, looking at the floor awaiting her reaction.

"What? Why?"

"Today, is an off day for us. We are going to take a break. I know you've been through a lot lately and though I'm not exactly fond of you, I decided it had been long enough of you ignoring your problems. So I'm going to be your mate for today, you're going to tell me what happened. And then we will get some ice cream." Lila's small body was still standing in her door frame, her mouth was open now. And Lou blushed, maybe he had been too straightforward, he tended to ramble when nervous.

"Uhm.. I don't really like that idea Louis. We should just go to school. Also, there isn't anything to tell."

He placed his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her. Lila raised her eyebrow suspiciously.

"Lila. I know something happened that night, the longer you keep it to yourself, the more you'll hurt. I want you to tell me what happened."

As much as she wanted to resist, it would be nice being able to talk to someone.

So, Lila and Louis went into her room and talked for two hours. She told him everything, she cried, she let it all out. And he listened, he consoled her.

He wiped her tears away, and his heart hurt for her. How could someone do this, she wasn't his favorite person in the world but something this terrible happening to her scared him.

She told him about how she was feeling insecure, and ugly. How she felt like she wasn't enough, and honestly Louis didn't know what to say at that.

He hasn't expected her to open up so much, so he hugged her tightly and said he was sorry.

Lila was somewhat glad that he hadn't given her a lecture or pitied her. But part of her was hoping for more.

After that they spent the day in downtown London, they went inside shops and got goodies, took pictures in front of beautiful houses and streets. They drank tea while walking down the cobblestone paths of London, and they laughed.

It was possibly the first time they had ever gotten along, and they liked it. They both realized how much they enjoyed each other's company.

"Well it's nice to have a friend, thank you Lou." She stuck her hand out toward him as he shook it. They were still drinking their tea, feeling all cozy inside while the air around them made their fingers go numb.

Fall in London was truly a sight.

"No problem Lils."

"Lils??" She was confused about the new nickname.

"Well yeah, it's kind of formal for me to call you Lila don't you think?" He chuckled, his cheeks rosy from the brisk, cool wind surrounding him. Fog could be seen coming from his mouth when he spoke.

"I mean yeah, but I've never been called that before." She said, tucking her hair behind her ear while walking side by side with Louis.

"Would you rather me call you a pig again?"

Lila awkwardly chuckled, "No thank you."

"Alright then, Lils it is. We should head back now."

Both Louis and Lila did not want this amazing day to end yet, so before Louis could say something, Lila took the words right out of his mouth.

"Uhm do you maybe wanna watch a scary movie or something?"

"Sure!"

So that night, Lila and Louis curled up under the blankets watching Corpse Bride. They were decently spaced away from each other, but they struggled to hold in their smiles at the fact that they were finally friends.

zee speaks !
okay so hi this chapter is sorta long and it's kinda confusing and tbh it's mainly a filler. but this is where they officially become friends ! i have ABSOLUTELY no idea what im doing with this book, or what's going to happen to be completely honest. so PLEASE give me suggestions!!! uhm yea hope you enjoy dummy