Chapter Five
Minutes. Seconds, even. That's how long it felt it had been when Louis heard the alarm from his phone ringing through his head. The repetitive bells bounced off his walls, echoing around his room and drumming into his ears, causing him to stir restlessly until he strained his eyes open.
Rolling his body over, Louis looked at the shelves next to his bed and squinted his eyes, trying to see what time his digital clock said. The numbers continued to be a blur, and Louis forced himself closer until he could make them out. Five-thirty in the morning.
Louis groaned. He didn't want to go to school. Considering he got next to no sleep, he didn't even know if he could complete the walk to school, let alone make it through the entire day. Letting out a sigh and rolling onto his back, Louis looked up at the ceiling, letting his phone continue its endless singing. He always found himself staring at the ceiling.
He didn't know why; there wasn't anything spectacular about it. It was just a plain white ceiling. There wasn't a fan or even a light attached to it. If Louis wanted light, he had to use the lamp in the corner of his room. But still, for some reason, Louis stared at the ceiling, sometimes for hours at a time. In a way, it helped him think. He couldn't even count the endless nights he lay staring at it, with countless thoughts and memories running through his mind. If he had the choice, Louis would much rather stay in his bed and stare at the boring ceiling all day than go to school.
Even though it was his last year of school, Louis hated that it was still only the beginning of the year. He had a long way to go before he was free from that black hole. School was always like a personal prison for Louis, and while he loved to learn, he felt it got worse each year. Ever since Kara moved away, Louis had found it hard to make new friends, or, at least, acquaintances. Mainly, because he had gone to the same school as all his classmates since his first year. No one liked him then; why would that change?
The only chance he got to make a new friend was when Sam moved to town and started at the same school. It wasn't long after Kara had left, and Sam had seen Louis getting tormented at lunch. Of course, Louis was his natural self, repelling the other kids with ease, smoothly spilling sarcasm and sass. Though, Sam being Sam, he had feared that they would start getting physical with Louis, so he jumped in to save the day. Not that he needed to, of course. Louis had always been taller and had more muscle than anyone who bullied him and could easily handle them, but he preferred to use his wits. Ever since that day with Sam, Louis had a new friend, and while it made things more bearable, Louis still hated his school with a great passion.
Looking at his phone, Louis watched the screen dim and then light back up as the bells rang continuously. He lay there wondering if he could not go to school and how mad his aunt would be if she found out. Or if she even cared. She would most likely be at work by now, so it would only be a call from the school tipping her off. God only knows how she could function after a night like the one she just had, but she somehow always managed to. He barely ever saw her awake. If he was home, she was either at work or passed out. It wasn't his ideal living situation, but it was the only one he had.
Pulling his thoughts away from his aunt, he went back to thinking about taking the day off. But he knew he'd have to go in tomorrow, even if he didn't go today. He couldn't just stop going altogether, as much as he wanted to. Another sigh escaped him; if he didn't want to go to university and do something with his life, he would've dropped out by now and gotten a full-time job at the café he currently worked. But he wanted to do something with his life, and Kara and Sam would kill him if he stopped going to school.
Louis' phone continued to buzz, and he knew that if he just left it long enough, the battery would go flat. Mainly due to the fact that he hadn't bothered to put it on charge the night before. Maybe by then he'd be late for school and use that as an excuse to himself not to go.
That thought was abruptly brought to a halt as a knock came from the other side of his bedroom wall right behind his head. Louis lay silently and waited. The sound of his phone seemed to increase in volume, but Louis pushed past that, listening hard for another knock or any other indication that he hadn't just imagined the noise.
After a few more moments of silence, and the powerful thought that his sleep deprivation was inducing hallucinations, it came. A knock on his bedroom wall. This time, it was followed by a rather clear and smooth voice, which surprised Louis, considering it was coming through, what he had always thought to be, a very thick wall.
"Not to be a massive dick, but would you kindly turn that damn alarm off? Some people in this apartment are still trying to sleep."
The voice didn't seem as though it had just woken up, nor did it seem irritated, but it still made Louis freeze.
"I also know for a fact that you aren't asleep in there, as I've heard someone do a contemplating sigh about fifty times. So, please. Alarm. Off. Thanks!"
Louis swiftly shook out of his frozen state and leapt out of bed, causing his phone to fly under the covers. Louis began digging through them, trying to find it. No longer did he feel tired and wanting to lie around, contemplating if he should take the day off; the sheer panic that Louis felt as the voice came through the wall was enough to make him feel wide awake. He soon found his phone and turned the alarm off, standing as still as a statue next to his bed with it in his hand, waiting.
Silence plagued the room, and the voice did not drift through the wall again. Louis still wasn't too sure if he had dreamt the voice or if it was his subconscious telling him to get up. Either way, Louis took it as a sign. Grabbing some clothes from his cupboard, he rushed into the bathroom. The tiles on the floor were cold, but he ignored that and turned on the water for the shower and groaned internally as his morning routine began.
It wasn't long before Louis had finished his shower, gotten dressed, cleaned his teeth, and found himself standing in the hallway just outside his apartment.
"Crap!" Louis cursed to himself. "Contacts."
Louis spun around and rushed back into his apartment, finding his contacts and tried to put them in as quickly as he could without damaging his eyes. That proved to be a greater challenge than he thought at first. After somehow succeeding with that, Louis was once again at his apartment door, completely ready to leave this time.
Cautiously, Louis looked over to his left as if he didn't want to startle anything or anyone and peered at the apartment door next to his own. Louis was now definitely sure that someone had moved into that apartment and had just spoken to him through his apparently very thin wall. He decided to shake it off and head towards the stairs. He had a long walk ahead of him, and he needed to leave now if he wanted to avoid being late.
Do I really care about being late, though? Louis found himself thinking as he hurried down the staircase. I mean, I've got straight A's, and I don't even think anyone will notice.
Louis stopped himself when he reached the lobby and decided that, no, he didn't really care if he was late, and he casually started to stroll to the exit.
Sometime later, Louis was passing a familiar corner shop that signalled he was halfway to school. He didn't know what time it was, nor did he care. He was quite enjoying his walk. It would have been better if he hadn't decided to wear black canvas shoes, black skinny jeans, and a black shirt when he knew it was going to be sunny and hot; but, hey, nobody's perfect. Louis smiled as the sun shone down on him and, while his legs were heating up considerably, a pleasant breeze kept his arms and face rather cool.
"Bus companies. So incompetent, aye?" A voice suddenly came from behind Louis, followed by the sound of shoes slapping hard on the concrete.
Slightly startled, Louis stopped and turned around.
A girl, much smaller than Louis, though many people were, had caught up to him and stopped just short of where he was standing. She was panting heavily. Her light blonde hair was damp and frizzy, and her brown eyes were wide as if they, too, were trying to draw in some extra oxygen.
The smile she wore on her face, no doubt masking the anger for incompetent bus companies, was bright. However, it didn't hide the bags under her eyes that peaked through the make-up she was wearing.
Louis did his best not to judge others on how they looked, but he couldn't help but think this girl looked sick. Then again, Louis didn't look much better.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Louis managed to get out, quite taken aback. Someone talking to him for no other reason than to start a conversation was not something Louis was used to. "Damn buses."
"I mean, I've just had to run for God knows how long, because it didn't show up!"
The girl let out a short laugh that held no humour in it and looked up at Louis, who just decided to smile at her, unsure of what to say. He was definitely not used to people just talking to him without throwing insults his way. Louis didn't count his conversations with Sam or Kara, and apart from them, everyone else either insulted him or ignored him. It was always fun.
"Good talk!" she chirped as they stood still on the walkway, her anger at the bus companies seemingly vanishing. "I'm Sarah, by the way."
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A/N: Here is Chapter Five! Right on schedule!
Okay, so, this chapter ended kind of in the middle of a conversation, but don't worry... the next chapter finishes it.
Time for a question:
Was the voice right to be a little angry?