" 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲? "
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𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨'𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤. Both Louis and Estelle repeated it in their heads. It was like a spell to them. If they repeated it more, the time would fly by. Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn't. Late November, a week after Autumn break, was the planned "date". Very much unlike the last "date" they had, it was planned ahead.
No random meet up caused by the other four.
Estelle and Louis had both spoken on the phone and at school about their date - it wasn't the main topic of their conversations, but it was certainly up in the air - and the date had finally come up. It was more of a casual date since Estelle never cared for formal date nights such as lavish dinners. She never had it in Clearwater and she didn't believe she needed it now.
Louis, on the other hand, was a hopeless romantic and needed something else to work with. He had originally planned for a nice dinner at a restaurant and well... that went down the drain. He was frantic to think of something else. But Estelle, instead, made another arrangement - one that kept Louis hidden in the dark.
Louis arrived at Estelle's apartment at eight o'clock and headed for the elevator. His fingers fumbled with the single flower he held in his hand. At the florist, he had no clue what type to get her and it wasn't necessarily flower season, so the selection was limited. He decided on a single daisy.
I hope she likes daisies or else I'll look like a total oaf.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened smoothly. He stepped out onto the eleventh floor and immediately spotted the beautiful girl. Her back was to him and she was starring straight at a red door with her arms lightly crossed. Her hair was beautiful in it's natural form and she was wearing a white and black t-shirt with jeans and a slightly oversized dark green sweater.
Others may see her outfit as inappropriate for a date, but Louis knew it meant that she trusted him. She was comfortable in her own skin - her energetic, bubbly and smiley skin.
" You look beautiful." He startled her.
Estelle turned around to look at Louis and she turned bright pink, " Thanks. You look pretty."
Why did you say that? I mean he is pretty, abnormally pretty, but you don't say that!
Louis chuckled lowly, " Why thank you, Miss Estelle."
He extended his hand that held the daisy to her. She smiled and grabbed the flower out of his hand. A small gesture - possibly stereotypical - but it was sweet nonetheless.
" No one has ever given me a flower before." Estelle said.
" Then, I'm glad to have been the first."
Estelle smiled shyly. She reached out her opposite hand and he took it into his before she tugged it and nudged her head to the red door. She opened it and lead him up a flight of stairs till she made it to the top. Opening the door, she revealed the roof top. There was a small couch there that Estelle had put a blanket over it and on it were pillows and blankets. It was alike to a blanket fort.
There was also mini fire pit where you could light a fire at night and it wasn't to close that anything would catch on fire - Estelle made sure of that.
" I decorated it." Estelle smiled happily. " Do you like it?"
Louis' mouth opened and then he closed it shut. He had never seen someone put so much effort into a date with him. Never in his life had he been that dazzled by someone's effort. He couldn't help, but smile like some dork.
" You did this for our date?"
" Yes... and no. I did it for you." Estelle lead him to the mini fort. " I tried to think of something less formal and more secluded and I remembered the first time we really talked. We were texting and during that, we facetimed and built a fort together. Call it a blast from the past."
Louis couldn't help, but leaned forward and pull Estelle into a hug. It was overwhelming the emotions he was feeling. He held her close, never wanting to let go once he sensed the small pressure of her hands on his back.
" I don't know what to say."
" Then, don't say anything. Just enjoy it, Lou."
They both sat down on the couch, after their hug. It was windy, but they kept themselves warm with the blankets Estelle had brought. With their close proximity, they wouldn't be cold for the rest of the night. The sun had begun to set and everything was going to Estelle's plan.
" Please tell me we're going to do something with that fire pit." Louis pleaded.
Estelle giggled before grabbing a bag behind the couch, " I'm becoming very predictable around you."
" Predictable how?"
" Smores, predictable? I guess?" She took out a bag of marshmallows and handed it him. Louis opened it and took one to eat.
The sunset was clear from where Louis and Estelle were at and the sky painted itself pink, red and orange as it lit both of their faces up. The wind suddenly got cold and they both shivered and goosebumps raised in both their skin. Estelle got closer to Louis, in an attempt to warm herself up, and when he noticed, he leaned in closer to her.
" I once saw a sunset like this on a Ferris wheel. It was during summer and I was with my friends and we went on the Ferris wheel near sun down and it was absolutely beautiful."
Louis looked at her, " Wow, must of have been amazing."
" It was."
" Do you miss your hometown? I know I would miss London if I left." Louis turned back to the sunset that was beaming gold while birds passed by in the horizon.
" I miss Clearwater, yes. It feels unnatural to have gone so long without seeing my friends over there or going surfing or plain swimming. I miss so much about it, but homesickness doesn't last forever."
" I'm glad you feel better about being in London."
She smiled before it dropped. She had felt uneasy about something before, but ignored it. But of course, her mouth denied her head.
" Sometimes I get confused on why I ended up here. Sometimes I believed that it was to get away from my ex or to start somewhere fresh. Come to think about it, I came with a heavy case of "lover's heartbreak" before I met you." She squeezed his hand. " And you just came and helped turn it all around. I wonder why that is."
His lips turned upwards before he pressed a light kiss to her forehead, " Maybe it's just fate. Things happen for a reason and sometimes we don't get the reason. All I know is that I landed myself here with a gorgeous girl, on a roof top with marshmallows. Nothing could be better than this."
" You're making me blush and it's not funny." She made a grumpy face, playfully and he took it to his full advantage. He pressed another kiss to her cheek, making her redder. Before he could attempt to make her even redder, she grabbed his face and kissed his own cheek. " How about that, lover boy?"
His face was an even shade of pink and he looked away from her. She could tell he was happy based on the wide smile on his face.
" Let's roast marshmallows before we both our faces resemble fire trucks." He mumbled.
— ☆*: .｡. ⋄▽⋄ .｡.:*☆—
The fire crackled and became the only light source as the sun finally set and the sky turned into black. The ten or more smores they had made we eaten and so were the empty plates that once held food. Snuggled up near each other, they both ate candy out of a basket Estelle had brought. Both American and European candies were being tossed back and forth between the two.
" I prefer the cherry candies." Estelle popped a red jolly rancher into her mouth.
Louis began to unwrap a candy from the basket, " The green and blue are my favorite."
" Eh, I don't mind either, but I would prefer the red ones. I hate the purple."
" Understandable." Louis glanced at the sky. " What time is it?"
" Almost midnight." She checked her phone.
" Midnight? That seems impossible. It hasn't been that long."
" Apparently, time doesn't pay any mind to romance."
He chuckled as his hand - the one that was wrapped around shoulders - lightly and carefully played with Estelle's hair.
" Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer it, only if you want."
" What is it, Lou?"
" I'm getting nervous so bare with me." He let out a thin laugh before clearing his throat. " How do you feel about us? I'm not a mind reader so I don't know how you feel. I just, um, want to make sure we're on the same page."
" I like you, Lou. I like you a lot, more than I thought I could ever." She nuzzled the side of her head into his shoulder. " Why wouldn't I feel like this when I'm with you?"
" I get afraid. It's the overthinker in me."
" Well, I like that overthinker in that head of yours. Plus, I'm sure I like you more."
Overwhelming cheesy those two were, but it merely perfect for them. They were perfect for each other. He made the puns and pick up lines while she laughed at them. She reassured him when he was too much in his head. He came to her to when she was lonely.
Maybe it was the sugar from the candy or the adrenaline from being close to each other - more than possibly both - but the space between them had begun to close. More closer than ever. Her legs were thrown across his lap while his arms were around her as their heads rested on each other.
" Star girl, there's no way possible that you like me more than I like you."
" But I do."
" No, I do."
" Nope, I do."
" I'm not going to disagree about it."
" Well, Lou, I know I like you more so that's that."
" I highly disagree about that."
" If this is a lovers quarrel in a lovesick coming of age movie, I'm going to jump off the roof."
Louis threw his head back in a laugh, " Is that why you refused to watch the notebook?"
" Yes."
" Then what if I kissed you at midnight?"
Estelle was taken back for a second and she blinked before speaking, " What?"
" What if I kissed you at midnight?" He smirked while leaning in closer to her face. " Now, that would be straight out a lovesick movie."
She smirked back before leaning closer in, the space between their lips closing in, " Are you thinking of an excuse to kiss me?"
" Maybe. Only if you want to."
Suddenly, there was loud noise. A strong and hard ding coming from the clock tower a few blocks away. It was able to be heard from the rooftop. The minute and hour hand both hit the 12 on the clock, signaling the strike of midnight.
" It's midnight." Estelle whispered, teasingly yet willingly waiting.
Louis let out a low chuckle, " It's midnight."
They both smiled, and everything was said. Everything from the wind to their heartbeats suddenly seemed slow as they both leaned forward. Her hands were placed lightly on the back of his neck, her fingers racking up the ends of his hair. A single hand was on her cheek as the other was at the small of her back.
They took each other in slowly as their lips connected. Slow, chaste, sweet and innocent, but one thing was true. Love wrapped itself around them and held to them tightly. They both tightened their hold on each other, neither wanting that glorious moment to end.
Her lips tasted like cherry and were felt like a soft pillow coming from a dryer. He was in wonderland. His tasted like blue raspberry and with a single kiss, he sent her into a state of euphoria.
The clock had finished chiming and yet, the fairytale continued. There was no sparkling that lead Estelle to change from a ball gown to rags and there was no sudden sadness for Louis as his dream girl road away.
Their Cinderella midnight came and was there to stay as the fire beamed and their lips met. Cool and quiet night kept them together until they ran out of air, only to return to each other, not able to stay a second without each other.
— ☆*: .｡. ⋄▽⋄ .｡.:*☆—
nova speaks - I outdid myself :) It's so cute, I'm swooning. I love the spark between them, kind of like the two that complete each other. Anyways, more fluffy moments coming soon! Also, I want to say thank you for one thousand views on my story - more than I could have imagined 🤍 I hope you and enjoyed and stay tuned for the next chapter.
with love - nova