" 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 "
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𝐀𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. Instead, she would sent a quick text or a certain emoji that made them understand she wasn't up for talking and they would leave her alone for a few hours.
There was a day, the weekend before the start of school, when William had texted her asking if she was up for going out to see a movie at the cinema with him, Wright and Louis. Lively had a dentist appointment before and couldn't make it whole Flora had to stay home for a family gathering.
As Estelle had said yes to a girl's day, she also said yes to a "boys" day. She found it kind of funny. Unlike all the other times, she was confident in herself. She had gotten to know all them for longer time and had gotten comfortable in their presence. It got colder at night, so she work denim jeans, a green long sleeve t-shirt and brought a sweater just incase it got colder.
She said goodbye to her mother that was attached to her computer every following day. Ines had been working more often, which allowed Estelle to be alone. Estelle didn't complain about it considering her mother was a workaholic. So, she let it be in hopes it would tone down soon.
Estelle tapped her foot impatiently waiting for the elevator to get to the first floor. Wright had texted her the moment she got out of the elevator that he was there in his car and to "get her ass out of her apartment". She, in return, said to " wait his curly rat ass hair where he is".
She soon spotted the red four door car waiting on the curb and she knocked on the window, effectively scaring the shit out of Louis who was sitting in the back. Estelle laughed and so did Wright and Will.
" I nearly had a heart attack." Louis exasperated.
Dark humor fueled her in the moment, " At least it didn't break."
Will and Wright both made "oooo" sounds and hissed in pain. Before they all knew it, they were all laughing and shaking their heads.
" Covering up trauma with laughter is always a good one to go for." Will sighed happily.
Estelle smiled, " An oldy, but a goody."
Wright turned onto the street, " Well let's get to the cinema before the movie starts because I'm not missing the trailers."
And they did miss a few of the first trailers because parking was a bitch on a Saturday night, but Wright was too focused on getting into the theater to care. Estelle volunteered to get the drinks and snacks because she couldn't stand the thought of waiting another half an hour for the movie to start. She could stand fifteen maybe twenty minutes, but thirty minutes was where she drew the line.
Louis went with her and so did Will, leaving Wright alone although he didn't give a thought about it. The three fooled around and got in line with ten people in front of them.
" Okay, okay, so this kid here is starring in a movie." Will exposed Louis. " Soon to be on Netflix for the world to see."
" Ah, yes. Lou told me he was an actor." Estelle recalled their slight conversation about Lou's acting career.
" Why don't you tell her about it?"
" I signed an NDA, Will." Louis rolled his eyes while blushing pink at his nickname coming from her mouth.
Will shoved him, " You told all of us, so stop acting like you aren't a rule breaker."
" Fine, fine." Louis gave Estelle a look that said "is he serious" and she giggled. " It's based off a book and the trailer is coming out tomorrow, but it's about Sherlock Holmes' little sister and she goes out on an adventure and meets with a blooming marquess - me - and they go on mystery on who's trying to kill him. That's only a part of it."
" He stars with Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill." Will nudged Louis.
" Eleven and Superman? You got your hands full, Mr. Marquess."
They all laughed and continued down the line until they had their hands full of sweets, popcorn and drinks. It was only five more minutes until the film started and Wright was wondering where they were when they appeared. Before Will could sit down, Wright pulled Will to the right of him to allow Louis and Estelle to sit right by each other.
" Blimey, what was that for?" Will scolded Wright.
Wright whispered back, " Estelle sits next to me, so why not help lover boy and have him sit next to her?"
" You're evil." Will smirked. " I love it. He's had a crush on her for weeks."
" What can I say? I'm a mastermind when it comes to art and bringing people together." Wright popped a few skittles in his mouth, allowing himself to relax into his chair.
The movie was action and Estelle loved the way there was fire, car chases and secret codes to decipher. She was fan of murder mysteries and action movies, just as she was a fan of romance movies.
They all had separate drinks, but shared two medium buckets of popcorn between them. Every now and then, Estelle would reach to her left to give Louis the bucket or to take it from him to hand to Will and Wright. Each time, he got hit with the scent of her shampoo - warm cinnamon and vanilla. He had smelt it before and still got enchanted by it each time.
Estelle didn't notice when she put her hand on the armrest that Louis' hand was only inches away. Louis, however, did and kept his cool while dying on the inside. His finger barely skimmed her skin and goosebumps raised from both of their skins. It happened a second time and it was Estelle that time by accident.
Louis thought, " She's a friend, a very pretty friend that trusts you. Don't do anything stupid."
But he didn't believe it truly. No one would if they had seen the two together. He had a crush on her, one that he didn't see, but others such as Wright and Will did. Estelle was oblivious to many things he did - how he held the door for her every time, how he worried about her well being, how he poured his heart out while serenading her or how he blushed whenever she called him Lou - but the hand touching was something she could not ignore.
Estelle was not ready for a new relationship, not even a little crush. It wasn't possible and yet it was. A little hole in her black and darkened heart was opening and it was filling itself and spreading with love.
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The movie had started at seven and by ten, they were all out of the theater and had made their ways to the busy streets of London. All of them were talking about the movie and expressing their opinions. Will said the ending was too predictable and Wright disagreed wholeheartedly.
" It's because he reads books. Readers know more because they've read every ending." Estelle pointed out.
" See? She knows me more than you know me and we've been friends for five years." Will jokingly put his arm around Estelle's shoulders. " It's why Ellie, here, is my new best friend."
" I'll let the whole " Ellie" thing go, but don't call me that again." Estelle chuckled. She didn't hate the nickname, instead she was just playing around with him.
" Okay... Ellie."
Louis stiffened. He didn't appreciate the what he believed was flirting. He glared at the arm around Estelle and decided to change the subject, " Wright, how's your artwork coming along?"
Wright got giddy, " It's going well! I'm sure to be in the top ten."
" What top ten?" Estelle asked.
Will had noticed his best friend glaring and removed his arm before answering, " Wright is an artist. He entered a competition where he had to submit some art."
" It's a long competition." Wright explained. " We get prompts and then two weeks to complete and submit it. I got past the first three prompts and if I get top ten, I get into the final one. The prize is around three thousand euros - that's around four thousand American dollars - maybe less, and they'll hang the winning piece in an exhibit famous for artwork. It's a difficult competition to get into."
" That's amazing, Wright!" Estelle instantly showed her support. " I hope you in the top ten."
" Thank you, it means a lot. You know what? Lively made me a cake with the words ' fingers crossed' with little paint brushes around it a few days ago when I submitted it."
" Why is that so Lively?"
They finished up at a fountain and sat on the edge of it. The fountain had lights and the water reached high heights in large arches. People were active, even at those times of night and walked back and forth around the fountain. Will and Wright eventually got up to go get a few drinks at a nearby stand, leaving Estelle and Louis alone together. Louis kept speaking to Estelle when she decided she wanted to do something slightly dangerous.
" What are you doing?" Louis scrunched up his face.
" Walking."
" On the edge of the fountain?"
" What if I run?"
Estelle made a quick movement and it sent Louis on his feet, ready to catch her if she fell. Estelle laughed and Louis deadpanned. But he couldn't stay mad. He smiled at her laugh and rolled his eyes. She continued to walk around on the edge of the fountain. Her cheek got specks of water on it as the fountain was still on.
Her arms were stuck out and she carefully walked with foot in front of the other. She was attentive with each step she took since one step could send her splashing into the active fountain. Estelle began to tilt too much to her left and by instinct, he grasped her hand to steady her.
The lights under the fountain hit her and made her seem as if she was a light. Louis walked around, on the ground, and watched her. He swore that he never seen someone so bright and glorious in it.
" You're going to fall." He warned.
" That's why I have you." She teased. " It's never too late to do something fun."
"Shine bright, star girl." He shook his head. " You never cease to be the brightest in the bunch."
" Okay, Romeo."
" Is that an insult? Because if it was, it's a horrid one."
Estelle's gripped tightened on his hold, " No, I very much liked 'Romeo and Juliet' minus the ending. Romeo just spoke very... old timish, I guess. And you used the word 'cease' so that's on you."
Louis smirked, " Well, then, you're Juliet."
Estelle had been outwitted and with shock, she missed her step, sending her tumbling down. Louis reached quickly and pulled her hand. She was tugged towards Louis and with the amount of force he used, resulted in a number of events.
Somehow, someway, Louis ended up on top of Estelle with both his hands on the side of her head. Estelle's face was painted pink.
" I'm terribly sorry." Louis was pinker than Estelle.
Both their mouths opened, trying to figure out what to say next, when Estelle began to giggle.
" If you had a crush on me, you could've just said it."
Still under or on top of each other, they laughed it off like they weren't in an intimate position. Laughing made the situation more funnier than it was and less embarrassing for the both of them. Louis, while laughing, paid attention to her hair, to her skin, to her eyes, to her long eyelashes. He only saw her.
" Did we miss a few chapters?"
Will and Wright were trying their best to not laugh. Their mouths formed a thin line as they looked devilishly at the pair. Louis got up and helped Estelle up, both of them apologizing profusely. Wright handed them their drinks and they all continued walking.
Although it all seemed funny, but Estelle was wrong about what she had said. Louis would have never admitted he had a crush on Estelle for the life of him, so he would have never said it out loud.
Just as Romeo had Juliet, Louis had Estelle. Just as Romeo took one look at Juliet and fell in love, it took one starry night and a fountain fall for Louis to know that he'd give every star in the sky to star girl.
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nova speaks - I...I did not just write this. OH MY GOSH! I'm really exceeding my expectations right now for romance. AHHH! I'm so proud of this chapter. I'm lost for words with how they both actually fell for each other - get it? Well at least Lou did. I hope you enjoyed!
with love - nova