Katie's POV:
"Look at this, I can't believe it." Emily shoved a magazine in my face as I closed my locker.
I took it from her and read it out loud. "What is...oh my God?! 'Louis Tomlinson cheats on girlfriend the night before her death. Did Eleanor die in vain? Eleanor's secret suicidal thoughts?' These are pictures of Louis and I in the park after the dance? Are you kidding? How did they even get these?!"
"I don't know." Emily sighed and I handed her the magazine back after looking through it. "That's not what happened at all. They don't understand."
"Well I'm not going to let it bother me." I put some books in my locker and closed it again. It had been a few days since Eleanor died. I don't remember how many to be honest. Everything has been a blur. If I were to guess I'd say it's been 3 days maybe. My birthday was yesterday. I didn't want to do anything but my mother insisted we go see my grandparents or else they'd be disappointed. I put on a fake smile for them even though I was dying inside. I couldn't even be with Emily on my birthday. Sasha is still in England but at least Angel tagged along with me. I was lucky I got along so well with her and she knew what I was going through. She was just as sad as I was. Now recently word got out that Eleanor was depressed and sucidial. I have no idea how that information was leaked.
"Have you heard from Louis?" Emily leaned against the locker next to me and her voice became very serious.
"No, not at all. I'm so worried about him. Has Niall told you anything?"
"I haven't talked to Niall in a while. I think they're all quite depressed."
"I hope you're proud of yourself, Katie." Tia sneaked up behind me and tapped my shoulder until I turned around to face her. She was holding a copy of the same magazine Emily had showed me. "You knew he was cheating on Eleanor. It's people like you that caused her depression. You should die like she did." Tia flipped her hair and walked off. Emily opened her mouth to say something but I covered it.
"Don't say anything, please. I don't need it right now." Emily nodded and I released her. I walked down the hallway with Emily and everyone was staring at me. "You don't have to walk with me if you don't want to, Em." I said quietly.
"That's nonsense. You're my friend, I'm not leaving your side." Emily put her hand on my shoulder as we walked. It felt like everyone hated me. They didn't know what really happened and they didn't want to know.
"How could you do that?" One girl shouted.
"And in our own school?"
"Ugh, I'm so embarased to go to school here now."
"What a loser."
"Golddigger."
"Slut."
I lost it and ran back in the opposite direction to the door and ran outside. I was not going to be able to handle this everyday. I can't even handle it now.
"Katie!" Emily ran after me and stopped me just before I reached the sidewalk. "Wait, you can't...you can't listen to them. You're really gonna let them get to you?"
"I'm sorry, Em. I can't right now. I just...I'm gonna go home."
"But...okay, take care of yourself. Tweet me if you need me. We can meet in the park or..."
"Thanks." I had just about caught my breath so I walked away. I walked home slowly. I needed time to think. I have no idea what I'm going to do now. The last thing I ever expected was this. Louis had good intentions but he really just made everything worse for me.
I walked up my driveway to the front door. My mom's car wasn't parked in the driveway. Thankfully she had to go to the grocery store. I didn't want to have to explain to her why I was home from school so early. I ran up to my room and laid on the bed. I have no idea how Eleanor coped with this for so long actually. This has only been one day of hate and I already feel like I'm falling apart.
I checked my phone for any messages. Louis still hadn't replied. There was a message from an unknown number.
"I hope you go to hell for what you did to Eleanor"
How did I do anything to Eleanor? Who even was this person?
Don't let it bother you, Katie. Don't end up like Eleanor.
I felt so bad for Eleanor. She was depressed. She had messaged me just a few hours before she died and I didn't write her back. Why didn't I write her back? She might have talked to me about her depression. I could have saved her. I could have helped her and she would never have gotten on that plane.
I wiped tears from my eyes and opened my laptop. I logged into Twitter and Skype. Louis' accounts were still deactivated which I don't blame her for. A lot of people had gotten over Eleanor's death already and it was back to ;Larry' again. I was about to close my computer and go cry some more but...
"Liam Payne is requesting a video call"
How did he even get my Skype name?
I had to answer it since I haven't had contact with any of them for days. I needed to know how Louis was.
I answered and said, "Hi."
Liam, Zayn, and Niall were hunched over the computer that appeared to be on Liam's lap.
"Hey, um..." Liam said and looked at Niall for help on what to say next.
"How are you?" Zayn blurted out.
"I've been better." I wiped my eyes. "What's up? How's Louis? How are you guys holding up?"
"We've been better too." Niall answered.
"Have you uh, have you heard from Louis at all?" Liam asked.
"No? Don't tell me you don't know where he is?" They exchanged looks with each other and I knew the answer. "You can't let him be alone. He's very sensitive, he can't..."
"Well we know where he is. He went to his house which is a good hour away from here. But he's been alone there for days."
"Alone is dangerous. Lonlieness plays game on your mind." I said, remembering all the times I had to deal with my own struggles alone.
"I know, that's why we're worried about him. We haven't heard from him in 3 days." Liam said.
"We were hoping maybe he at least kept contact with you?" Zayn intrupted Liam's sentence.
"No, I'm sorry. I texted him as soon as I heard about Eleanor but he never responded. You haven't seen him in 3 days and you're only just now asking me?" I raised my voice and scolded them. They looked like guilty children.
"He's a man, Katie. We had to let him be. We handle things differently than you girls. We don't sit around and drown our sorrows in ice cream."
"I do that actually, Liam." Niall looked at Liam.
"Shut up, Niall."
"Well, Louis has 4 sisters, he doesn't know any better. He might very well be sitting around eating ice cream." I said.
"Katie um, listen..." Niall started speaking and the other boys looked at him. "We've been talking about this and...we think you should come here and try to talk to him."
"Me?" They nodded. "No, I can't put my life on hold for this. He might not even talk to me."
"Katie, I know it's a lot to ask but please consider it."
"I don't know... I have to study for my exams and...my parents, what would I tell them? I'm going to England to this guy's house that I barely know? And...and... I have my own problems right now."
"Oh the poor girl has her own problems, stop the world for her." Liam said sarcastically and Zayn and Niall glared at him with disappointment.
"You don't know what it's like for me!"
"You don't know what it's like for Louis either! You didn't lose someone here, Katie! Grow up!"
"Liam..." Zayn nudged his shoulder. "Come on, mate she's innocent here..."
"You don't understand what they're doing to me here. It's been a nightmare. I've been bullied like never before. Everyone here thinks I'm the reason Eleanor was depressed. They think Louis was cheating on me with her. I'm getting deat threats, Liam! I have to look out for myself too!"
The three boys remained quiet and just stared at me in shock. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know." Liam said.
"It's fine." I said quickly.
"American schools are crap." Niall admitted and walked away from the computer.
"It's not your fault you know. Some people will believe anything they read. You know the truth." Zayn encouraged me and I nodded in response.
Liam sighed and looked down. "I'm sorry for losing my temper on you. We're all under a lot of pressure right now like yourself. I have no idea what's going to happen to One Direction now. Louis might not want to even speak to us again. We think you're the only person that can make him listen. He respects you the way he respected Eleanor."
"What about his sisters or his family?"
"He won't talk to them either."
"And you think he'll talk to me but not them?" Liam shrugged at my words.
"I know it's a longshot..." Zayn said. "But we've never seen him like this before Katie. We're afraid."
I sighed and combed my fingers through my hair. This is the right thing to do isn't it? It feels like the right things to do. I couldn't help Eleanor but at least I can try to help Louis? I never understood why Louis and the boys were dropped into my life like this. Maybe this is why? Maybe I'm meant to help them. I just hope he'll listen. "Alright." I said quietly. Niall came back on screen suddenly. Let's assume he went to get snack, shall we?
"You'll come?" Niall asked, eagerly.
"I'll try. I'm not...I'm not promising anything...but I'll try. I don't know how this will possibly work. I'll see if I have enough money..."
"Don't worry about the money. We're the ones that are botching up your life to come here. I'll buy your ticket. It'll be at the airport to pick up." Niall said.
"Thanks." I smiled. We said our goodbyes and ended the call. I grabed a suitcase from in my closet and filled it full of clothes. Was I really going to leave this soon? I heard a sound downstairs. My mom must be home. How was I going to explain this to her?
I walked downstairs slowly, dragging my luggage behind me, and I saw my mom putting groceries in the fridge. She looked at my surprised. "Sweetie, what are you doing home?"
"I wasn't feeling well. Um, I need to talk to you about something."
"Oh, sure what is it?" She closed the fridge and leaned against the counter.
I took a deep breathe and thought how I'd word this. I had no idea how to explain this. It was impossible. My mother will never understand. "I...I'm...I'm being wired tickets to England to see my friend."
"I didn't know you had a friend in England?"
"Well, he lives in England..."
"He?"
"Yes."
"How old is he?"
"He's 21."
"Have you ever met this boy before?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"At the concert."
"He was at the concert?"
"Well no, he was in the concert."
My mom looked confused by my words. She raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm sorry, what are you trying to say here?"
"My friend is Louis."
"That boy in the band?"
"Yes."
She sighed and looked away. "Katie...how delusional are you? He's in a band. he's not your friend. I know you fans feel like..."
"No, you don't understand!" I shouted. "We are friends. I've been talking to him for months. He's depressed, he..."
"Have you lost your mind, Katie? If you were talking to some celebrity I would know."
"No you wouldn't! You know nothing about me! You don't care to ask! Now listen to me. He needs me. He's in trouble. I have to help him, mom."
"You're not leaving, Katie." She turned away from me and continued unpacking her grocery bags.
"Are you seriously not letting me leave? I'm an adult now, I can..."
"As far as I'm concerned just because you're 18 doesn't mean you run the world. It's just a number. You're not an adult until you start to make a living for yourself. You still live in my house and you will follow my rules."
"And what are your rules? Don't ever try to make a difference? Turn your back on anyone that needs help? Because that's all you've ever done. First with Emily and now Louis. How can I just sit around and watch my friends fall apart without trying to help them?"
"This boy is not your friend! And Emily's parents are dangerous, you know that."
"And what's wrong with Louis then? His parents aren't dangerous?"
"Are you hearing yourself? You want to fly off to a country you've never been to...and alone! You've never been away from home for longer than 12 hours! You can't handle it Katie! You're not mature enough!"
"How do I get mature enough if you don't let me go to try things?"
She looked down, unsure of what to say. "I can't stop you. Katie, if you go then you can forget about us helping you with college. Your father and I will not support you running off to England to chase after some boy."
"That's fine." I grabbed my bag of clothes. "I'm sorry and I love you, I really do. But I have to do this."
"Katie, wait. Do you love this boy?" She asked, still looking at the fridge and refusing to turn around and face me.
"Yes, I do." I said without a second thought. I do love him. Whether for romance or just as a friend like I love Emily; I really do love him. I always have.
"Then go, Katie.. Goodbye." She said coldly, without looking at me. I closed the door behind me. She knew there was nothing that could stop me if I loved him.
Now how the hell do I get to the airport from here?
Sasha's POV:
I sat down on a bench, next to an old lady, in the park with a bag of bread in my hand. I liked to unwind after a long stressful day by going to the park and the parks in London were just beautiful. So simple. The wildlife was amazing. I could stay here forever. Except it was so cold. I hadn't brought many coats because I thought it would be warmer here for some reason so it was very cold. I could almost see my breath.
"Is that loaf of bread for the birds?" The woman next to me asked.
"Uh..." I looked down at it. I was actually planning on eating it but...now she just made this really awkward. "Sure." I smiled and pulled out a slice of bread. "Here ya go birdy...thing."
"May I have a small piece, miss?"
"Sure." I handed a piece to her and we fed a few birds. It was nice. People in this country were so kind hearted.
"What's your name?" She smiled at me.
"Sasha. Yours?"
"Eloise."
"That's a lovely name." I smiled at her and threw another piece of bread to the birds.
"Thank you. How old are you?" She asked and I handed her another slice of bread.
"I'm 19."
"I can tell by your accent you're not from here. American?" She asked. I nodded. "What brings you to London, dear?"
"Training course for my job back in America."
"Do you have a boyfriend?" I blushed and shook my head. "Lots of ladies come here looking for a young man to help them escape their problems."
"Well I've never been like that. I don't really like guys these days."
"Broken heart?"
"You could say that. More bread?"
"No, I'm afraid not. I must be on my way. Enjoy your day, young lady. Don't let some boy bring you down. There's a nice one out there for you somewhere." The older woman stood up and walked away from me.
"Thanks. Nice seeing you." I said as she walked away. As soon as she was gone, someone took her spot beside me. "I'm sorry, I'm not sharing anymore bread with...oh, you've got to be kidding me." I looked at the man next to me. It was Harry. I stood up and he grabbed my arm to try to stop me. "Don't touch me, CurlyCurls. I can break your arm in 3 seconds."
"Calm down, Jackie Chan. I just brought some lunch for us." He showed me a lunch basket around his arm.
"Seriously? There's an 'us' now?"
"Well, I mean..."
"I think that nice lady that was sitting with me is more in your league." I pointed to the woman that walked away from us.
"An old lady? Oh, real funny. Do you believe everything you read in magazines." I rolled my eyes and walked away from him. He grabbed me on the shoulder and tried to pull me back. My instincts kicked in and grabbed his arm, bent over, twisted it and threw him over my back. He rolled on the ground and then stood up. He looked completely shocked. I actually hadn't meant to do that. It was just the habit of my training. At least he learned a lesson out of all that. I laughed at him as he brushed the leaves off his jacket and looked around, confused as to what just happened. "Did you...did you just...did you do that?"
I nodded and continued laughing. "I did warn you."
"That was...that was amazing! You should be in the survey corps!" Harry's mood quickly changed from confused to impressed. I really wasn't expecting that.
"Thanks." I smilled and looked down. "So are you really an SNK fan? Because that's weird if you are."
"I am." He pointed to the Wings of Freedom patch on his jacket.
"Really? What is that called?" I crossed my arms.
"Wings of freedom." He answered proudly and smirked.
"What's Eren's last name?"
"Jaeger."
"What's Mikasa's last name?"
"Ackerman."
"Hmmm...you could have Googled all that." I turned away from him.
"I didn't, I swear! Ask anything you want." Harry walked in front of me so I wouldn't walk off.
"Alright. Tell me the first thing that comes into your head when I say a word. Got it?" Harry nodded. "Jean."
"A horse."
"Armin."
"A 7 year old white school girl."
"Sasha?"
"You?"
"No, the Sasha in the show, moron."
"Oh. Potatoes."
"What kick does Levi use on Eren in the courtrom?"
"A roundhouse kick, of course." I didn't realize it until now but Harry was getting closer to me with each answer. I stepped back a little because it was so intimidating.
"Um, Marco?"
"Jesus. No, wait, freckles!"
I laughed a little. "Titan."
"Collossal."
"Eating?"
"Eren's mom?"
"Did you cry like a girl when she was eaten?"
"Yes." He said proudly without a second thought. "You?"
"Yes."
Then um...
Well...
Then Harry kissed me. Really suddenly. He just walked straight up to me, put his hands on my shoulders, and kissed me.
And...I let him for some reason.
And I liked it for another even crazier reason. Maybe just because it was so cold and he was warm and...no you need to cut this out, Sasha. Pull your shit together, you are a soldier. Well, sort of. I backed away from him and he looked at me in disappointment. Why did I feel sorry for him? "Um...why did you just do that?"
"I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have. You were just...I know you don't like me but..."
"It's not that I don't like you...I just didn't think we had anything in common. You're not really my type." I wanted to stay and talk to him but my pride wouldn't let me. I wanted to explain it to him, but I couldn't put it into words. It was too hard. I didn't really trust guys anymore after Levi. I wasn't ready for that yet. I turned away again and grabbed my purse and bag of bread off the bench. I didn't want to see him hurt. He actually wasn't the worst person in the world. Unlike that scum Levi that cheated on me with...
Well holy shit, I've suddenly just realized that the characters in Attack on Titan share the same names as my friends in real life. That's just the creepiest shit ever. I think I need to reconsider my life. I walked up the hill and Harry chased after me. He caught up to me and walked backwards in front of me so he could face me while I walked.
"But...Sasha I find you fascinating. And you're...you're really beautiful."
"I've heard this all before, Harry. I'm not a song. I know you're a manwhore." Mmm...maybe that was a bit uncalled for?
"Why do you have to believe everything you read? Those magazines make up all kinds of things." He continued walking backwards in front of me.
I kept walking and Harry looked behind him a couple times to make sure he wasn't going to trip on anything. "Come on, stop following me, I need to go."
"Sasha, tell me, do you know anyone else that likes Attack on Titan?"
"Well no...but..."
"Neither do I! Can't we at least be friends for that reason alone?"
"Friends? You just tried to kiss me?!"
"I didn't try, I did. It's not trying if you let me..." I was kind of walking mindlessly. Since Harry was in front of me, facing me as we walked, I was the eyes for both of us. I wasn't paying attention and...well I chased Harry right into the lake.
"Harry! Har-Harry, are you alright?" I leaned over and looked into the lake. I couldn't help but laugh. The way he looked when he fell helplessly backwards into the lake. He deserved it after all! Honestly it didn't look that deep and I thought part of it was frozen but Harry sank to the bottom like a stone. I searched through all the One Direction facts I knew in my brain to remember if he could swim or not. My brain had gone blank and I felt horrible. He was literally begging for my attention. How many guys had done that in the past? One: that homosexual germophobic.
I'm in the National Guard. My instincts cut in. I jumped in after him. It didn't take long until I felt his coat and I pulled him to shore. A few old folks had gathered around at the top of the hill to watch us. I swear we were the youngest people here. Was this park owned by a retirement home or was it just uncool to hang out at parks now?
I pulled Harry onto the grass, even at dead weight he was surprisngly light weight which I should probably laugh about later on. He was unresponsive though which worried me. "Styles, you better not be mesing with me. Open your eyes you freak! You know, I'm taking your scarf if you die!" I looked up and people were looking at me as if I was crazy.
"Don't just sit there, do something!" One of the spectators shouted.
"Me? Why? But...he's..."
"He's dying!" Another said.
"He's not dying! You don't understand, he's just messing with me. He wants me to..." I looked down at his stomach. It wasn't moving. He actually wasn't breathing. I'm gonna have to kiss him again aren't I? "Harry? Harry, please wake up. Say something?" I tapped him on the cheek.
"Give him CPR! Hurry, do something!" Someone shouted.
"But... okay, fine! God...you better not be messing with me." I leaned over him and straddled him as I put my hands on his each side of his face. As my lips hovered over his, I was just about to close my eyes and lean in but his eyes flew open and he sat up.
"I'm sorry, I was just messing with you."
"You're horrible." I crawled off him, grabbed my purse and walked away again.
"Sasha! Where are you going?" He shouted after me.
"Home."
"Why?"
I stopped walking and turned around. "Why? Are you really asking me why? Oh I don't know, I guess I just don't feel like walking around London in freezing wet clothes!" I put my hands on my hips and stood my ground.
"Well come back to my place and you can warm up there. I owe it to you since it's my fault." He stopped walking and stood a few feet in front of me.
"Ha! To hell I will!"
"I'll have your clothes professionally dry cleaned!"
"Oh yeah, I'm sure you'd love to have me walking around your appartment naked."
"Sasha, come on. Us scouts have to stick together?"
I sighed and looked away. "Why would you say something as corny as that?"
"We have to guard the wall, Sasha!"
"I thought you were being metaphorical but now I think you're just delusional."
"Humanity depends on us!"
"Did you hit your head on a rock in there?"
"We can't let the titans win!"
"If I say I'll be your friend will you shut up?"
"If you put your number in my phone I will."
"No." I turned around and walked away.
"Will you unblock me on Twitter?" He ran after me again. This was getting annoying. How would anyone be this stubborn?
I stopped and sighed. I didn't look back at him though. "Alright, Harry. I'll refollow you, is that okay?"
"That's more exciting than Eren self harming to transform into his titan form." He grinned cheesily.
I looked back at him and smiled. As hard as it is for me to admit, I don't hate him as much as I used to anymore.
God, I hate him for making me not hate him.