She's Not Afraid. [A One Direction Fanfic]

(26) Welcome aboard.

☺ Louis' POV ☺

After getting dropped by Paul in front of my house, I looked up to see that the light to Lottie's room was open at this time of the day. "Everybody had their classes today, mum has work," I thought as I wonder who it could be.

I quietly pulled my suitcase behind me as I enter the front door. The door to the room was open and I could hear an unfamiliar music playing loudly. I left my bags on the couch and silently creeped up the stairs and took a peek inside the room.

Jen was sprawled on her bed, with her laptop blaring some indie music, and her eyes were closed. I knocked and her warm green eyes came in contact with mine. "You're home early," she stated as a fact, not a question yet her expression says otherwise.

"Obviously," I mocked her tone and jumped next to her while she sits up from her previous position. "Why are you home early? Don't you have classes right now? Are you sick?" I asked immediately and she laughed at my questions.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine," she lied and faked a smile.

My expression turned serious. The fact that she couldn't bear to tell me the truth hurt me, as if she doesn't trust me. I immediately stood up and started to walk away. "Wait, where are you going?" she asks when I was by the door already.

I paused and turned around to face her. "Until you can finally trust me enough as so not to lie to me, I'm just going to be at my room," I retorted and closed the door behind me.

It took her ten minutes for her guilt to sink in and she enters my room quietly while I was on the bed reading a random book a fan gave recently. She lays her laptop in front of me and I gave her a confused look but she continued to play a video. "Chris Hensen finally reveals his girl" was the title of the video and everything clicked inside my mind.

"When did this happen?" I asked her, ignoring what was happening in the video.

"Just this morning," she replied. "I called him up after. I had mixed emotions that time about what just happened, so he told me to go home to rest in case."

I no longer watched the video and listened to her as she rants about everything. How scared she is now to handle two huge fandoms in the probable near future, on how expectations of her are going to arise especially that the public now knows she's "back", and how she just wanted to live a normal life... despite all the offers and connections.

"I knew this would happen actually, but I didn't expect that it'd be this big especially now that your fans had come to join," she laughs a little and returns to her serious tone a few seconds after. "I just don't want to disappoint anyone."

"You're not going to disappoint anyone, Jen," I told her and she scoffed at me so I continued. "Why do you always think that you're not good enough? Or people won't like you for being yourself? You're good enough for me and I like you for being yourself so why won't others do the same?"

I paused a while to only notice that I slipped and told her I like her. I bit on my lip, hoping she didn't notice, while she continues to stare at me. "You know what?" Her tone suddenly changed as she jumped off my bed and put a huge smile on her face. "I just don't care anymore. Let them be and I'll just have to ignore them. But let's do something fun today, something normal, before I get pulled in back into that kind of world."

"What?" She took me by surprise by her sudden mood swing but I just went with it for her sake. "Um, okay.. How about we go see a movie, then visit a nearby lake, and then pick up the girls and a family dinner afterwards?"

She claps her hands in delight. "Yes! That would be so perfect."

"Are you sure you're okay now? Why the sudden change of mood all of a sudden?" I asked to be sure.