Chapter Thirty-Seven
"So, Kara tells me you've known each other since you were very little?" Sarah asked after a moment of silence, and Louis had glad they had changed the subject after he left.
"Yeah, it's been quite a while."
"That's awesome! I don't keep in touch with any of the people I knew before we moved." Sarah looked between Kara and Louis. "You have a pretty special friendship."
"Yeah, when he's not an asshole." Kara laughed.
"Way to ruin the moment, Kara." Louis caught a glimpse of his manager. "Alright, I should get back to work. I'll catch you in a bit."
"I should go too, but I will be back!" Sarah said and jumped up from her seat, smiling brightly at Louis and Kara before walking to the exit.
"I like her," Kara said, watching Sarah leave.
"I'm glad, but I do actually have to get back to work."
"Alrighty. Have fun, Buttercup!"
With that, Louis got up from his seat and headed back to the counter, deciding that he didn't need to clean anymore. Once he started serving customers, the time flew by. In no time at all, he was signing off for the day.
Kara's voice floated into Louis' ears as he walked over to her. "And here comes the main man."
"Have you really been here all day?" Louis asked, slipping into the seat opposite her.
"Would it be weird if I said yes?"
"Yes."
"Well, then, yes, I have," she said with a smile. "You only worked for six hours?"
"Yeah, I told them I had family visiting, so I got off early."
"You'll get fired, Lou-Lou."
"Nah, I'm too good at my job."
The two friends laughed, letting the conversation flow. Due to not having the chance the previous night to do so, they caught up on the past week with each other, and Louis filled in Kara more about his 'not-date' he had with Shawn.
"Shawn is friends with Isaac?" she asked.
"Yeah," Louis said with an awkward chuckle.
"That's really weird, and a massive coincidence. Doesn't Isaac know you went on a date with his friend?"
"Not that I know of, but it wouldn't surprise me if Shawn told him."
"Wait, so Shawn knows about you and Isaac?" Kara asked, trying to wrap her head around the situation.
"Yes, I told him."
"Uh, why?"
"Because... I don't know. It just happened; can we move on now?" Louis asked, trying to get Kara to drop the subject. He failed.
"This whole thing is super, super weird, Louis."
"Really? I hadn't noticed." Louis stood up from his seat. "Come on, let's get out of here before they make me start working again." Kara nodded in agreement, and they went to the exit.
"Louis! Are you finished?" Sarah pushed through the entrance of the café just as Louis and Kara were about to reach it, and she wasn't alone.
A guy stood beside her. They looked very similar, but he had light brown hair instead of blonde, and he was much taller. Not quite as tall as Louis, but he was close. Louis couldn't deny that he was attractive. He had a strong jawline and hazel eyes, another aspect that was different from Sarah. He also seemed well built, and Louis wouldn't want to get into a fight with him. Taking a closer look at him, Louis could have also sworn he had seen him before.
"Yeah, we're just heading out now," Louis responded.
"Louis..." the guy standing next to Sarah whispered quietly. Louis wasn't sure if it was meant to be audible, but he had heard it anyway, and there was something about his voice that made Louis' ears perk up.
"Crap, sorry. I did a Louis." Sarah laughed shyly, before pointing to the guy that came in with her. "This is Isaac. Isaac, this is Louis and Kara."
"Isaac..." It was now Louis' turn to whisper something almost inaudible, and he turned to look at Kara, whose face was covered in shock as she stood unblinking staring at Isaac.
"Do you know each other?" Sarah asked, looking between the two boys, not sure what to make of the situation.
Louis and Isaac stared at each other, unmoving. Louis had no idea what was going through Isaac's mind, but pure panic was going through his. Was this the same Isaac he had been talking to through his wall? The same Isaac that he had become so fond of? If he was going off the feeling he felt in his stomach at this exact moment; he would have to say that it was. He clearly knew his name from somewhere.
"How do you know each other"' Isaac asked, ignoring Sarah's question, and Louis became certain.
That voice. He had heard it before. Almost every night for the past few weeks it had floated through his bedroom wall. Louis was finally meeting the boy next door, and Louis was certain Isaac knew he was, too.
"We go to school together. I told you about the guy I met on my first day," Sarah said slowly, still looking between the two boys. "That was Louis."
"How do you two know each other?" Louis managed to say, and he saw the look on Isaac's face change when the words slipped out of his mouth.
He had recognised Louis' voice. There was no doubt about that.
"We're twins," Isaac replied, not taking his eyes off Louis.
"Not identical, clearly." Sarah laughed lightly, trying to make the encounter less awkward. It wasn't working.
"Uh, Sarah," Kara said suddenly, though Louis barely heard her.
His eyes were still locked with Isaac's, and the feeling in his stomach was getting stronger with every passing moment. The boy in front of him was nothing like he could have ever imagined. Louis was taking the sight of him, now that he had a face to match with the voice, and he was breathtaking. Louis tried to find words to say, but he couldn't. He couldn't even register his thoughts. He tried to pull his gaze away from Isaac, though failing at that too. His eyes were drawn to him, and it seemed Isaac's were locked to Louis'. Neither of them looked away, and it wasn't until Kara spoke again that Louis and Isaac seemed to snap out of their trance.
"Uh, Sarah, can you come with me... for some girl talk? I have a... problem. We'll leave the boys to have a chat."
Kara knew that this was the same Isaac who spoke through the wall last night, and the same one who Louis had feelings for. Louis looked at Kara with a worried look on his face, but she didn't take any notice. She grabbed Sarah's arm and pulled her out of the café, leaving Isaac and Louis behind.
The two boys stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Louis' mind was still racing, and his stomach was still going wild. He wasn't sure what was going on with his heart, but it definitely wasn't beating normally. Louis couldn't understand what was happening. So much information was just dumped on him, and he had no idea how to process any of. Especially when there was such an attractive human standing in front of him. Louis had no idea that Sarah lived next to him, and he wasn't sure what to think of it. Surely, he would have noticed or seen her in the building at least once; but apparently not.
Louis continued to stare at Isaac, and Isaac stared right back, both of them seemingly unsure of what to say or what to do. Louis really wished his stomach would stop feeling how it did and that his brain would organise itself. He wanted to say something, but he was afraid that he would open his mouth and no words would come out. The silence between them wasn't like the usual silences they held between the wall. It wasn't peaceful and relaxing. It was awkward and panic-inducing. If Louis had a choice, this would not be how he would have met Isaac. His hair was a mess, and he was sweaty from working in hot steam all day. Isaac looked like he had just finished being sculpted, which Louis thought was highly unfair.
The silence between them went on for a moment longer before Isaac finally looked down at the ground and took a deep breath and looked back up at Louis. Shock was gone from his face, replaced with an innocent, shy look, and his voice gave off that same feeling. It was quiet and shaky.
It took Isaac a lot of effort to get the words to come out. But Louis still heard them.
"Hi, Lou-Lou."
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A/N: Because I'm such a nice person, here's another part.
Also because I was too excited because...
THEY FINALLY MET EACH OTHER OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG.
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