broken strings. ➳ payne. [slow updates]

Chapter Eight. - A Friend Amongst Strangers.

I laughed at that, but shook my head in agreement.

“How the hell did Liam deal with you?” Louis mumbled quietly.

“You would have to ask him. He left remember? He must have gotten tired of trying to keep up with me?” I said, answering his rhetorical question.

He looked at me with a shocked expression on his face and I tried to suppress mine. He was probably surprised that I heard him and responded with such bluntness. That was what surprised me anyway. It was the first time I talked about that topic with such confidence. It was the first time I made it seem like it wasn’t my fault he left.

“Aurora, I – I don’t know-“ Louis tried to say.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Let’s talk about you a little bit. I don’t follow you boys too closely, so lets hear about your backstory.” I smiled up at him

During our walk, I listen to him talk about his family. He always talked so highly of his mother, and while he said they were annoying, you could hear the love he had for his sisters. He talked about how hard it was to be away from them, how he missed them during tours. He lit up though when he talked about hanging out with them and doing silly sibling things with them.

He also talked about his girlfriend, Eleanor. He talked about he loved her and hated when the fans were crude to her. Apparently they have secret meetings so she doesn’t have to worry about being verbally abused by his fans. But when he talked about the vacations they took and he how he cared for her, it made my heart swell. His sweetness was something out of a Nicholas Sparks book, and I told him she was lucky to have him.

Louis finally changed the subject back to me and started asking about my family. But I easily diverted the subject.

“It’s getting late Louis. I’m sure your friends are worried if I killed you or if your fans kidnapped you. I’m sure Austin is worried about me too. He’s usually home before sunset and I don’t even have dinner ready.” I said, standing from the boulder that had become our bench.

“Yeah. I’m sure you’re right. Let’s go.” Louis said, walking the way we had previously come.

I took one last look at the sight before me, the sunset aiding in the fiery setting that the leaves had casted. I looked to my right to see Louis was farther ahead than I imagined and I jogged to catch up to him. The walk back was awkward and quiet. I thought Louis would probe at the family question but he stayed silent. When we finally reached the back of the bakery building, night had fallen. The clouds from earlier scattered, leaving a rich blue-black canvas splattered with white dots. It was a perfect way to end the day.

“Thank you for today, Louis. Believe it or not, you actually helped me clear my head.” I said, with a small smile.

He returned one before speaking. “I’m glad I could help. If you ever want to talk about those touchy subjects, once I gain your trust, here’s my number. I promise that I won’t tell anyone anything. Our conversations are now our little secrets.” Louis said, his smile turning mischievous, and his eye dropping down to wink at me.

I accepted the paper with his number on it, placing it protectively in my back pant pocket. I gave a half nod with my smile widening. “Will do.” I replied.

We walked to the end of the alleyway before we parted in our different directions. One thing was certain, Louis Tomlinson would definitely end up being a confidant.

Whoop whoop. I updated finally. If you guys really care for why I dropped off the face of the Earth for the summer, please read my author's note in my last update for "Behind The Mask." Otherwise, I'm back. I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you guys see that it's picking up and I'm definitely leading to some big things.

Anyway, couple things I want to address. How Aurora feels about Disney movies is my own personal opinion (I know it's complicated as f*ck okay? okay.) Also, this is a fan fiction, so I am allowed to manipulate things. I base things off of real things, but make it work for my story. So when I said that Louis and El have secret meetings? It's my own thing. I don't know if they do or not, but I'm allowed to make fictious things.

That is all. School starts on Monday for me :/ but I don't have as many classes as I did last semester, so I should have a pretty regular updating schedule. Okay. That is all. Until next time :)

P.S. That Louis Tomlinson gif on the side is just... yeah <3

Stay Sparkling :) xox.

Stephanie.