Chapter Twenty-Three

"Is everything okay?" He seemed concerned, and it made Louis smile.

"It's great, just my best friend being a twat," Louis whispered back, getting closer to Isaac, not wanting Sam to know he was speaking to a wall.

"Preach that," Isaac let out a small laugh.

"I would stay and chat, but I gotta run," Louis said. "Or else he's probably gonna try and murder me."

"Try being the keyword." Louis let out a laugh at Isaac's words.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow. Hear ya' later, Isaac."

"Have fun!" Isaac called as Louis picked up his backpack, now full of clothes, and headed out of his room.

"Who were you talking to in there?" Sam questioned.

"Our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ."

"You're such a weirdo." Sam laughed.

"Shut up, I was just reminding myself what I need," Louis lied, feeling bad immediately after. "You're so nosey."

"Did you get your contact lenses solution crap or whatever it is?" Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, son of a... Goddamnit." Louis quickly ducked into his bathroom to retrieve his lenses.

"Seems like talking to yourself didn't really work, did it?" Sam teased.

"Shut up." Louis snarled as he emerged from the bathroom, tucking a small container into his bag.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked, eyeing Louis.

"Yes, I'm ready, Jesus. Let's go." Louis walked past Sam and opened the door, gesturing Sam out.

"Alright then, let's hit it, shall we?" Sam moved out of the apartment and waited for Louis to lock the door. Once he did, they started making their way down the stairs. "Don't forget to text your aunt and tell her you're not gonna be home tonight," Sam reminded Louis.

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Thanks." Louis pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed up a small message and sent it to his aunt.

"That's what I'm here for," Sam said as they reached the bottom of the stairs and headed outside.

"What, reminding me to message my aunt?" Louis said, slipping into the passenger seat of Sam's car.

"No, being right," Sam replied, bringing the car to life.

"You keep telling yourself that." Louis drummed his fingers on his phone's screen before he messaged Sarah to let her know they were on their way.

"I will keep telling myself that. Gotta boost my ego somehow."

"Honestly, Sam, I think your head's big enough already," Louis retorted. "Both literally and metaphorically."

"Oh, hey, Louis, it's good to have you back." Sam gave Louis a gentle punch in the shoulder, though kept his eyes trained on the road.

"Shove off, Samuel." Louis shot a glare at Sam before reading the message Sarah had sent. "Sarah said she'd be at the park soon and that she was just at another friend's house."

"She has other friends?" Sam asked, faking a hurt tone.

"Sam, I think I'm the only one in this group who doesn't have any other friends." Louis laughed.

"Yeah, but you're also the only one in this little group who is going to be going on a date." Sam glanced at Louis and winked before turning his attention back to the road.

"Yeah... I still hate you, though," Louis responded but found himself smiling.

"I think this is the one," Sam said after a few moments, pulling off the road and into a small parking lot.

"You think?" Louis questioned. "Isn't there only one park around here?"

"I have no idea. I don't go to parks," Sam replied, getting out of the car. Louis followed.

"How can you not go to parks? They're a great place to read," Louis muttered before catching a glimpse of Sam's face. "Oh, right. You don't read."

"Right in one!" Sam laughed.

"But you're a sports nerd. Isn't this like a small sports field to you?"

"A sports nerd?" Sam chortled. "And no, it's not. I usually go to an actual sports field to, you know, do sports."

"Whatever." Louis shook his head. "You must have had a sad, sad childhood."

"Considering you weren't in it, it was quite good." Sam lightly pushed Louis.

"Watch it, Drayton. I will flatten you," Louis warned, pushing Sam back.

"Oh, he's started using the last name; watch out!" Sam faked a scared look and raised his hands in surrender.

"Just make-out already." Sarah's voice came from behind the two boys, who turned around to look at her.

"We would, but Louis couldn't do that to his date." Sam bolted away from Louis as he said those words.

"Sam, you whore!" Louis yelled after him.

"What? A date? Did I miss something?" Sarah asked, looking at Sam, who had just come to a stop beside her. "Is that why we're taking Louis clothes shopping? Oh, my God, Louis!"

"Please don't," Louis tried to say, but it was too late, and Sarah had already wrapped him up in a hug.

"Tell me everything!" Sarah squealed, pulling away from Louis.

As she did Louis noticed how tired she looked. It was if she hadn't been sleeping or even eating. From the first day he had met her, she had seemingly got worse and worse, yet never showed that it was effecting her.

Part of Louis kept thinking the worse—that she was sick but could never work up the courage to ask. After all, was it any of his business?

Looking at her, Louis decided that it wasn't. For now, at least.

"I'd rather not," he mumbled instead, feeling his face burn up.

"Aw, come on." Sarah sulked. "Sam?" She turned to the smaller of the two boys.

"There was a cute boy at the café who asked for Louis' number, who kindly gave it up."

"I did not!" Louis moved around closer to Sam, but he just moved further away. "Sam took the situation into his own hands, without my consent."

"You know you wanted to go on this date, Louis; don't deny it!" Sam called, still trying to stay out of Louis' reach.

"I'm not denying it, you twat." Louis shook his head before turning to Sarah. "He's the worst."

"Either way, I'm super happy for you, Louis!" Sarah beamed and then a look of excitement shot across her face. "Oh! I totally forgot! Did Sam tell you what happened the other day at school?!"

"Yes, yes he did." Louis couldn't help but smile.

"Isn't it great?" Sarah pulled Louis in for another hug, and only then did he realise that her head sat perfectly over his heart.

"It is," Louis said.

"It also looks like tons of people want to be your friend now. They keep asking about you!"

"Yeah, that was weird," Sam chimed in.

"Oh, God," Louis groaned. "I hope they don't talk to me."

"What, why?" Sarah asked.

"Because I don't need anyone else," Louis muttered. "I've got you two."

Sarah cooed slightly at the words before Sam put in his two cents.

"And you've got Shawn!"

"Piss off, Samuel!" Louis growled.

"That's his name?" Sarah piped up. "I like it. My brother has a friend named Shawn."

"Okay, that's enough," Louis said, walking towards Sam's car. "Let's go to Sam's house, where I can hide away with the one person who won't tease me."

"Jay's probably going to be asleep by now." Sam laughed.

"Ugh, I hate you," Louis mumbled towards Sam for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

"No, you don't. You love me," Sam whispered into Louis' ear as he ran past and jumped into his car.

Sarah came up beside Louis, nudging him on the shoulder and smiling before hopping in the backseat, leaving Louis to get in the passenger side. Though Louis may have acted like he hated the situation, it was quite the opposite. He was excited about his date the following week, and he was thrilled to be spending time with Sam and Sarah, thinking that Sarah was starting to be a new best friend. Things were looking up, and Louis couldn't be happier.