Chapter Twenty-Nine
Shaking all the thoughts from his head, or trying to, at least, Louis placed his phone on his bed and sprung up from the mattress, making it let out its patented groan. He had already showered and brushed his teeth and pretty much done everything he needed to do in order to get ready for his date. All that was left was to get dressed.
He really didn't understand why Sam had to come over to 'help him'. Louis looked at himself in the mirror that hung on the back of his bedroom door. He had put on some sweatpants and a loose-fitting t-shirt, not wanting to overdress before the actual date and ruin it. He pushed his long hair back, so it tucked in behind his ears. It looked bad. Louis messed it up again and pushed it back and slightly to the side.
I really need to get a haircut, Louis thought, trying not to think about the mess on top of his head. Sighing silently, Louis went to his wardrobe and grabbed his white shirt along with a fashionable pair of black jeans before undressing himself and putting his good clothes on.
"Hey, Lou-Lou." Isaac's voice drifted through the wall just as Louis had begun buttoning his shirt up; it caught him a bit off guard and caused him to jump.
"Hey, hey," Louis responded, recomposing himself.
"What're you up to in there?" Isaac asked before hearing a thud on the wall.
No doubt Isaac had just rested his head up against it.
"Just getting ready," Louis responded. "Not really digging the homeless hair, though."
"I'm sure it's fine." Isaac chuckled. "As long as you shaved."
"I did. No more stubble for me."
"Ah, a shame. A moment of silence for our fallen comrade." Isaac and Louis let out a small laugh before they went silent. After a few seconds, Isaac broke it. "So, where are you going?"
"Surprisingly, on a date," Louis responded, finishing buttoning his shirt up and sitting on his bed's edge.
"Oh... awesome." Isaac seemed hesitant with his words, seemingly unsure of what to say. "Who's the lucky girl?"
Louis felt his heart rate pick up, and he hesitated for a few moments before replying to Isaac.
"There isn't one," Louis replied cautiously.
Usually, he wasn't worried about what people thought of his sexual orientation, but for some reason, with Isaac, he was terrified.
"Oh?" Isaac's voice drifted through once more after a moment.
Louis could hear the blood pumping around his ears, and he could almost feel a slight pain in his chest. His stomach seemed to be doing flips in his gut, as he tried to find the words to say.
"Yeah, I'm-I'm gay," Louis finally said, his gut still churning.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he was put into a deafening silence. Isaac didn't respond for a short moment, but, to Louis, it seemed like an eternity.
He wasn't really sure about what response he wanted to hear. Part of him wanted to hear Isaac say that he was gay too. Another part just wanted acceptance from his new neighbour. Either way, Louis didn't know what he'd do if Isaac stopped talking to him.
"Oh, that's cool. Sorry for assuming."
As soon as Louis heard those words from Isaac, a lot of weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. His breathing became steady, and he could no longer hear the blood in his ears. So, either he was calming down, or he was dying.
"That's alright." Louis managed to let out a chuckle as a small smile played on his lips.
"So, who's the lucky guy?" Isaac asked, though there was still something off about his voice.
"Just someone I met at work."
"How cute." Isaac laughed.
"Adorable." Louis dragged the word out.
"Who asked who?" Isaac pressed for more information.
"Well," Louis started with a laugh. "Neither of us asked. It was actually his sister who asked me. It was quite odd."
"That seems awkward." Isaac laughed. "But I'm happy for you. Go get 'em!"
"Thanks." Louis turned and smiled at the wall in which Isaac sat behind.
"I gotta go, though, have fun on the date."
Louis heard a movement behind the wall, and before he got the chance to respond to Isaac, he heard the faint sound of a door closing; no doubt Isaac's bedroom door.
"That was weird," Louis whispered to himself before standing up from his bed and walking into his apartment's living area.
His aunt wasn't home, and she had said she wouldn't be home at all for the night, which was perfectly fine by Louis. He didn't really fancy telling her where he was going or what he was doing. He, actually, wasn't too sure if she agreed with who he was. Not that he cared. He just didn't want to have to deal with that before going on a date.
Louis pulled himself out of his thoughts and wandered back into his bedroom, not remembering why he had left it in the first place. Grabbing his phone off his bed, Louis was just about to sit back down when a knock came at his front door at the same time his phone vibrated. As he sighed and made his way to his front door, he checked his phone, seeing that it was a message from Sam saying he had arrived. Louis ignored it, knowing that Sam would be standing in the hallway just outside his door.
"What a stud!" Sam smiled as Louis opened the door, looking his best friend up and down, causing Louis to cross his arms and step aside.
"Come in, you idiot."
"You look good though. I knew that shirt was the right choice," Sam stated as he waltzed past Louis and into the apartment.
"Yeah, well, I have the money to pay you back for it," Louis replied, closing the door and moving into the living area.
"Dude, that was a joke." Sam grinned. "You don't have to pay me back."
"I'm still going to," Louis murmured as he took a seat.
"Of course you are." Sam mimicked Louis.
The two friends sat in silence for a bit, and Louis consistently kept checking the time on his phone, making sure that he would leave on time and arrive where he said he'd get Shawn to pick him up from. Sam noticed and shook his head.
"You're going to be fine. Stop panicking."
"I'm not panicking," Louis responded. "I'm just making sure I'm not going to be late."
"Obsessively checking your phone is a sign of panicking."
"Thanks for the insight, Doctor Dickface." Louis shot Sam a sarcastic smile.
"I'm just saying, you'll do great," Sam reassured Louis. "Don't worry."
"Sam, I swear to—" Louis started, but Sam cut him off by singing.
"Be happy now, do-do-do-do-do-do—" Sam's voice abruptly cut off as Louis punched him hard in the arm.
"No. Bad, Sam."
"Ow!" Sam grabbed his arm and started to rub it, trying to ease the pain. "You have a mean punch on you."
"I know. You should hear some of its insults."
"Har-har." Sam got up from the seat and walked around the apartment while Louis watched him. "How are things with your aunt?"
"I haven't really seen or spoken to her," Louis replied. "So, good?"
"You know you can stay at my place as often as you want, right?" Sam stopped moving and looked at Louis.
"I know. But there are things I have to do here."
"Yeah, yeah. I know," Sam said, starting to pace. "Sarah's stayed at my place a few times this week."
"Oh, really?" Louis asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Don't give me that look!" Sam laughed. "Nothing is going on. She just said her brother is being annoying and it's closer to something or something."
"Mhm. You sure are a good listener." Louis snickered.
"Shut up." Sam smiled and shrugged. "She said she wasn't in a place for anything like that."
"I don't know what that means, Samuel." Louis got up and walked past Sam, into his room.
"I don't even know, dude. I didn't ask too much about it, 'cause she got kinda quiet after." Sam sighed and followed him. "I got my eyes on Kara anyway."
"You know, it's not good to crush on someone you haven't met," Louis' stomached flipped at his own words as the thought of Isaac raced through his mind.
"Yeah, but I've seen pictures, and heard her voice." Sam lowered his voice and dragged out his words. "That's all I need."
"That sounds really gross." Louis laughed. "Never say that again. Especially in that voice!"
"You know you love it." Sam laughed, and Louis looked at his phone one more time.
"Crap, I gotta go," he said, walking back out of his room again.
"Alright, let's do this!|" Sam yelled, following him. "Well, you do this, and later tell me all about it." Sam followed Louis out of the apartment, and Louis locked the door behind them. "I'll invite Sarah over, and we'll all talk about it!"
"Sam, I think you need to calm down." The two friends started making their way downstairs, as Louis didn't want to sweat too much. "And I think Sarah has a lot of other stuff going on."
Sam gave a small nod and shrugged. "You've noticed that, too?"
"Yeah. I think whatever it is, it's getting worse."
"Try not to think about it right now. You're going on a date!"
"Okay, fine. But, seriously, tone it down."
"I can't, Louis. This is too exciting." Sam laughed, but Louis could see concern in his eyes. "My little boy is growing up!"
"I will flatten you," Louis warned, but Sam ignored him.
Both of them trying to move their mind away from Sarah.
"So cute!"
As they reached the bottom of the stairs and headed outside, Sam gave Louis a small hug and whispers of encouragement before heading to his car. Louis waved at him as he started driving away, and then he turned and began making his own way to where he said he'd meet Shawn. Louis still wasn't sure if he was ready for the date, but he didn't really have any more time to dwell on it. Taking a few deep breaths, Louis tried to mentally prepare himself for the night ahead.
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A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. If you did, it would mean a lot if you voted on this part and left a comment :)
Question Time:
Do you think it's possible to start falling in love with someone you've never met?