Hey everyone! So sorry for taking so long I've been super busy with school! Fortunately, I finished all of my essays and midterms so I finally finished the chapter! Hope you enjoy J
Chapter Eleven:
Louise could hardly contain her excitement, she stared down at her phone, squealing, and jumping up and down. They were coming! Her favourite band was actually coming to her hometown, and she was going to go see them!
Her face beamed, her smile radiating in a way that it hadn't in a very long time. The sorrowful state that she had been in the day before had left, taking all the thoughts of Bradley with it. She was so excited that she had suddenly forgotten that she was still technically hungover. It wasn't until Gene walked past her room, and commented on her physical state, that the headache returned.
She groaned, "really, Gene?"
He looked taken aback, "what? I'm just checking in on you, sorry for trying to be a good older brother," he said sarcastically.
Louise sat on her bed, not noticing the smile that had crept up her face.
Gene raised his eyebrows, and smirked. "What? Have a good night?"
Her eyes snapped up to him, "what are you talking about?"
"Did you have a good night last night?"
"I can barely remember it."
"Hmm, alright, then did you have a good morning?"
Louise wrinkled her eyebrows, "why are you even asking?"
Gene shrugged, "oh, no reason, just asking since I know you used to spend a lot of time with Logan and all…"
It took a while for Louise to process his words, but when she did, her jaw immediately dropped. "Gene! What the fuck?! Why would you say that?!"
Gene laughed, "I didn't say anything bad! Just asking if you had a good morning."
Louise grabbed a pillow, and threw it at him.
"Hey, I'm down for a pillow fight."
Louise fell back onto her bed, and sighed, "shut up, or you'll ruin my perfect mood."
Gene let himself into her room, and sat on the bed beside her. "What's so perfect about it?"
"For your information, my favourite band is coming to play at Wonder Wharf, and I will be going, and I am beyond excited!"
For a moment, Gene forgot all about pestering her about Logan, "wait, Bring Me The Horizon is coming to Wonder Wharf?! When?!"
Louise sat back, up and took out her phone, texting Logan instantly.
When are they coming?!
In three weeks!
"In three weeks!" she held the phone up to Gene, who took it from her, eyebrows raised.
"Well that was fast."
"What was fast?"
"That response," he said, and handed the phone back to her.
"He just has his phone on him."
"Mmhmm…"
Louise narrowed her eyes, finally realising what Gene was trying to get out of her.
"Gene?"
"What?"
"Why did you tell Logan to take me home with him?"
Gene rubbed his chin with his index finger, and thumb, "hmm, because Dad hates seeing you drunk."
Louise scoffed, but smirked, "really? Is that really why?"
"What?" Gene asked defensively, "he does! He's told me!"
"Yeah, I get that, but it's not like he hasn't seen me drunk before, so…why?"
Gene twisted his lips, wondering whether or not to tell her the truth. Eventually he smirked, and stood from her bed.
"I just felt like it was time for you to…reconnect." Gene explained as he walked backwards toward the door.
Louise rolled her eyes, "we didn't fuck if that's what you mean."
"Well, I'm glad you didn't fuck, you were passed out drunk. I just mean that maybe spending that long with Bradley wasn't the best idea."
And suddenly, all of Bradley came rushing back. The cheating, the long distance, the hiding.
Louise frowned, "yeah, thanks for reminding me."
"Hey, don't be so sad, it's all for the best."
Louise raised her eyebrows, "is it?"
"Definitely."
It turned out that Tina wasn't even home and she would be spending most-if not all-of her day with Josh. Louise had texted her to see how she was after the night before, but it seemed like Tina's moods were lifted almost as much as Louise's were.
It made Louise happy that her sister was finding happiness again, breakups are hard, and while Louise had never tried to get pregnant, she suspected that not being able to must be even harder.
So, since she couldn't spend time with Tina, she showered, ate, brushed her hair, even did her makeup, trying to look presentable. And while she wouldn't say it out loud, she did want to look nice for Logan. Why? She didn't know, the thought itself made her want to gag, so she tucked it away.
After she had done all of that, it still wasn't time to hang out with Logan. So, she plopped on the couch beside her mom, who was watching Family Fracas, and knitting a scarf.
She sat beside her mother in a comfortable silence. The only noise coming from the calamity that was Family Fracas, and the sound of Linda's needles clinking against one another.
Louise was surprised that her mother was barely saying anything, but the silence wasn't awkward. Instead, Louise enjoyed spending time with her mother, in a blissful silence.
Unfortunately, the blissful silence didn't last for too long.
"So…" Her mother's voice booming against Louise's ear.
"Jesus Christ, Mother! Quiet down!"
Linda ignored her daughter's complains, and wrapped what she had done of the scarf around her neck, trying to see how much she had left.
"You don't seem so heartbroken over Bradley anymore," she slipped the scarf off, and continued knitting.
Louise rolled her eyes, "what's done is done, okay?" She grabbed the remote and turned up the volume, trying to hint at Linda that she really didn't want to talk about it.
Linda either didn't notice, or didn't care.
"Is it someone else?"
"Mom, I don't want to talk about this right now."
"Oh, great! We can talk about it after your date!"
Louise froze, her hand gripping around the remote. She turned her head slowly to see Linda happily knitting, unaware of Louise's reaction.
"What do you mean?" Louise asked through clenched teeth.
"Your date! Gene told me that you were going on a date with Logan today!"
Louise sighed, and ran a hand through her hair, "mom, it's not a-"
"You know," Linda continued, "I could always see you and Logan together, I mean don't get me wrong, Bradley was great too, but you had so many differences."
Louise raised an eyebrow, "really? Because if I do remember correctly, you called us 'Romeo and Juliet'."
"Oh, please, you were nothing like Romeo and Juliet!"
"Huh, okay, Mom."
"I'm just saying, you and Logan forever!"
Louise's jaw dropped, stunned at what her mom was saying.
"Mom! Stop, you sound like a fangirl!"
"I am! You guys are just so cute!"
Louise opened her mouth to respond, but the doorbell beat her to it.
She immediately hopped up from the couch, and went to answer the door.
"Is it him?!" Linda shouted from upstairs, "invite him in if it's him!"
Louise ignored her, and opened the door to see a blonde haired, hands in pockets, shy smiled Logan.
She smiled, feeling her cheeks grow warm, and her heart skip a beat. "Hey."
"Hey, Four Ears, ready to go?"
"Is it him?!" Linda's shrieked, causing Louise to shriek.
"Yes, Mom, I'm leaving!" Louise shouted back while quickly pushing past Logan to get away from her mother.
"Aw, come on! Invite him in!"
"Bye!" Louise quickly shouted, and slammed the front door behind her.
She walked towards Logan's car until she realised that he wasn't following her.
She turned around and saw him staring at her, standing in front of her front door, trying not to laugh.
Louise didn't stop a smile from stretching across her face, "what's your problem?"
Logan chuckled and shook his head, "nothing, it's just your mom," he walked towards her, "she hasn't changed."
He locked eyes with her. The intensity in his gaze almost too much for Louise to handle, but she didn't look away.
Louise shrugged, "she's a character."
Logan smiled, "alright, well, there's no use in us standing around let's go!" he chirped, and began walking away.
Louise stood beside his car which was parked in front of her house, feeling utterly confused.
"Umm, where are you going? Your car is right here, idiot."
Logan turned to look at her, "we're walking."
"Ew, why?"
Logan smirked, "you don't live far from the wonder wharf isn't far from here, plus it's easier to walk than it is to find parking."
Louise sighed, trying to deny the fact that she was nervous about hanging out with him. She took a deep breath, shoved her hands into her pockets, and jogged to catch up with him.
The walk was less awkward than either of them had feared. It was almost as if they had forgotten that they hadn't heard from each other for years.
The first thing that Logan brought up was Louise's tattoo.
"So, Belcher, I'm dying to know, when did you get that tattoo?"
Louise smiled and rolled her eyes, "it was the year I had graduated high school, I was testing out the pain."
Logan raised his eyebrows, "you were testing out the pain?"
"Uh, yeah, I just said that."
"Um, have you seen your tattoo? That thing is huge, there's watercolor on it and everything. That's what you call testing out the pain?"
She shrugged, "well, you know what they say: go big or go home."
"So, you're Texan now?"
"Shut up, Logan."
He laughed, the gentle breeze blowing through his hair. Louise tried looking away from him, not wanting to be caught staring.
"Don't get me wrong, I really like it."
Louise looked at him suspiciously, "I do, honest. It's cool, it fits your personality."
She grinned, "thanks."
"No problem. Who did it though? Who's the artist?"
Louise's face suddenly turned scarlet, and she cleared her throat. "I, uh, I actually don't know…I was drunk."
If Logan had been drinking a glass of water he would've spit it out. "You were what?"
Louise brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, "okay, look, it was after high school, we were going on this small little tour thing, and I had gotten drunk, not black out drunk but I was close to it. One of the guy's we met at a venue had an older brother who worked at a tattoo parlor. He wasn't well-known and was trying to get more costumers. So, in my drunken state, I told this guy that I would go get tattooed from his brother and I did…But I don't even remember his name, or what his business was called…I'm pretty sure I passed out halfway through."
At this point, Logan didn't stop himself from bursting out laughing. Louise could even see tears form in his eyes from how hard he was laughing.
She folded her arms across her chest, "Logan, stop, it's not that funny."
Without thinking, he wrapped an arm around her neck, and brought her closer to him.
"That just sounds like something you would do! God, I missed you."
Louise froze, unsure of what to do.
She looked up at Logan, was this a date? She asked herself. Sure, that's what her mom and Gene called it, but is that what Logan saw it as? Is that what Louise saw this hangout as? A date?
Was she even ready to date? She had just gotten out of a relationship, well, ghosted out of one basically. She hadn't talked to Bradley since she found out he cheated, hadn't even opened his texts. She should still be hurt, and healing, and trying to move on with her life, but if she was going to be honest with herself (which she rarely was) she felt like she had already moved on.
When they reached Wonder Wharf, they headed straight for the cotton candy stand, Louise getting a large blue cotton ball, and Logan getting a pink one.
"You know," Logan said as he shoved his mouth with the sugary cotton. "I have a tattoo too."
Louise raised her eyebrows, plucking small pieces of cotton candy into her mouth. She didn't know why but she didn't want to seem messy in front of him.
"I don't believe you."
Logan smirked, "and why not?"
"You don't have it in you to get a tattoo!" she practically snapped. "You're terrified of needles! You're a big baby!"
Logan took a big bite out of his cotton candy and let it melt in his mouth.
"Would you believe me if I showed you?"
Louise rolled her eyes, "yeah, sure."
Logan held his cotton candy out to her, Louise looked at it confused.
"Just hold it for a sec."
"Umm…Okay?" Louise hesitantly took the cotton candy from his hand, and watched, red faced as he pulled his shirt over his head.
"Logan, what are you doing?!"
He ignored her question and turned around.
She gasped at the tattoo that stretched across his upper back.
It was a tree. A large oak tree, it's roots and branches looked solid and strong, but only one half of the tree had leaves. The rest was bare.
"W-when did you get that?" Louise's face was a deep red, but she was too mesmerized by the tattoo to care.
Logan slipped the shirt back on, "when I graduated high school as well. Unlike you, I wasn't drunk, nor was I testing out the pain. But I did get it on my back so that I didn't have to see the needle."
"Baby," Louise said even though she was impressed that he got that big of a tattoo for his first tattoo. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but what does it mean?"
Logan looked down at his feet, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, it represents my family."
The answer sent shivers down her spin, "uh, sorry, I didn't mean to-"
Logan shook his head, "don't be sorry, I don't mind telling you…I trust you."
Louise bit her bottom lip and nodded, not saying anything else.
"My family sucks, it always has. It just keeps getting worse and for some reason my parents won't get a divorce. I feel alone all the time, and I feel like I don't have any family to turn to, that's what the bare side of the tree represents."
Louise chewed on her lips, unsure of what to say.
"But the side with the leaves," he continues, finally looking up at her. "represents the family that I will have."
A breath of air got trapped in her throat.
"I'm trying to make it big when it comes to music, and I can feel myself getting there, ya know? But, that's only half of the dream." He chuckled, his face turning almost as red as Louise's. "I want to have a family, be the Dad that I never truly have."
He looked back down at his feet.
"Logan?" Louise said even though she had no idea what to say.
He looked back up at her, waiting for her to continue.
She opened her mouth but no words came out. "Uh, I…"
Logan raised his eyebrows. Eventually, she smiled.
"I think…I think you will. Make it in music, and be a good Dad."
Logan smiled and reached for his cotton candy.
"Thanks, Four Ears."
The rest of the hangout/date went by quickly and smoothly. Neither one of them keeping track of the time. They rode the Ferris wheel, the roller coaster many times trying to see who would throw up first (when neither of them did, they gave up), and eventually they found themselves in a small karaoke bar.
"You gonna go up there and sing?" Logan asked, nudging her with his shoulder.
Louise walked up to the bar and sat on a stool, Logan followed.
"Only if you do it too."
Logan chuckled and sat in the stool beside her, "why? You're so good at doing karaoke yourself, I even hear you throw you shirt and bra out in the audience."
Louise wrinkled her eyebrows, "what are you talking about?"
It hit Logan that she might've not remembered that part of her night. He quickly shook his head. "Never mind."
They both looked over at a girl trying to sing an Adele song and failing miserably.
Louise sighed, "people who try karaoking Adele are either really good or really bad. There is no in-between."
Logan eyed her, feeling amused.
"You should go up there and sing."
"Why? It's not like you've never heard me sing!"
"Yeah, but I want to hear you sing right here, right now."
"The band isn't here."
"So?"
"I can't sing without them."
"Ha, yeah, we both know that's bullshit."
Louise folded her arms across her chest.
Logan looked at the bar, spotting the tequila.
"If you go up there and sing I will buy you a tequila sunrise."
Louise scoffed, "I can buy my own tequila sunrise."
"Louise, just go do it."
"Why?!"
"Because it'll be fun."
Louise turned back at the girl butchering Hello.
Logan smirked, "are you scared?"
"I'm not scared!"
"Prove it then!"
Louise bit her bottom lip, and locked eyes with Logan. He was taunting her.
"I dare you. I'll even pick a song for you."
She raised an eyebrow, "I don't know how I feel about that."
"It'll be good I swear!"
He looked sincere, and Louise wasn't one to turn down dares.
She sighed in defeat, "fine!"
Logan smiled wider, and walked towards the person running the karaoke.
Louise watched as he talked to the guy about which song to play next.
As soon as the girl was done destroying the Adele song, the guy called Louise up to the small stage in the bar.
With shaky knees, Louise walked up to the stage, and gripped the microphone. Feeling more nervous than usual. She gulped, but felt a sense of comfort when she saw Logan giving her an encouraging smile.
She smiled back, feeling butterflies fly around in her stomach.
She closed her eyes, and then My House by PVRIS started playing.
She smiled again, he did pick a good song.
"I feel you in these walls
You're a cold air creeping in
Chill me to my bones and skin"
I heard you down the hall
But it's vacant when I'm looking in
Who let you in?"
Louise sang these lyrics without breaking eye contact with Logan, wondering if he had picked this song for a reason.
"You walk around like you own the place
But you never say anything
I caught you walking straight through my walls
Guess it was all my fault
I think I let you in"
Logan stared at her in awe, his heart beating skipping beats. He needed her, more than he thought he had.
"Never thought that I would feel like this
Such a mess when I'm in your presence
I've had enough, I think you've been making me sick
Gotta get you out of my system
It's my house
And I think it's time to get out
It's my soul
It isn't yours anymore
It's my house
And I think it's time to get out
Yeah, I think it's time to get out"
He remembered listening to this song all the time after he left. Trying to erase her face that had been permanently etched into the back of his brain. He shouldn't have left her, he should've told her that he loved her. He wondered if it was too late to tell her.
"You're at my bedroom door
Heard your footsteps on the floor
Closer than ever before
And now you're in my room
You're a cold air creeping through
Under sheets avoiding you
You walk around I can hear you pace
Circling my bed frame
Now we're face to face
Head on my pillowcase
But darling, you can't stay"
Louise let herself loose, getting lost in the lyrics that reverted to Logan. If someone had asked her about Bradley in that moment, she wouldn't have been able to answer, he wasn't important. At least, not then.
"Never thought that I would feel like this
Such a mess when I'm in your presence
I've had enough, I think you've been making me sick
Gotta get you out of my system
It's my house
And I think it's time to get out
It's my soul
It isn't yours anymore
It's my house
And I think it's time to get out
Yeah, I think it's time to get out"
Haven't you heard?
I'm not yours anymore
I'm not yours anymore
It's my soul, and I think it's time to get out
Haven't you heard?
I'm not yours anymore
I'm not yours anymore
It's my house"
She wasn't Bradley's anymore, she thought over and over again. She never truly was in the first place.
"It's my house
I feel you in these walls
You're a cold air creeping in
Chill me to my bones and skin
Never thought that I would feel like this
Such a mess when I'm in your presence
I've had enough, I think you've been making me sick
It's my house
And I think it's time to get out
It's my soul
It isn't yours anymore
It's my house
And I think it's time to get out
Yeah, I think it's time to get out"
The song ended, and the first thing that Louise wanted to do was run into Logan's arms. She liked him…she liked him a lot…She probably even loved him, but she wasn't ready to admit that to anyone yet, not even herself.
So, when the song ended, she smiled onto the small crowd who clapped, and jumped up the stage.
She did a small jog to Logan whose arms were still folded across his chest, and a huge smile covered his face.
"Aren't you glad I made you do that?"
Louise giggled, and wrapped a strand of hair behind her ear. "It was fun, okay?"
He laughed, "come on, I owe you a tequila sunrise."
They went back to the bar and had a few drinks. Both of them feeling like they were on cloud 9.
After a while of drinking, dumb jokes, and reminiscing, Louise sighed.
"Logan?"
"Hmm?"
"I…" she squeezed her eyes shut, "I'm really glad you came back."
When Logan didn't reply, Louise began to panic.
Goddamn it! Why did I say that?! Now he thinks I'm weird! I should've kept my fucking mouth shut!
Suddenly, Louise felt his warm hand cup her cheek. His thumb lightly rubbing her skin.
She opened her eyes slowly to find him looking at her as if she was the most important thing in the world.
She was going to open her mouth to say something, but his lips found hers before she could.
She kissed back immediately, her arms around his neck instantly, and his around her waist.
Her heart beating so fast, she wondered if it was going to jump out of her chest.
Adrenaline ran through Logan's veins, I'm glad I came back too…
"Hey!" A boisterous voice shouted, breaking them apart.
It was the bartender looking at them angrily, "if you're going to do that then leave! This is too much PDA for any of us to handle!"
Louise's face turned red yet again. Logan chuckled and rubbed her cheek again.
"Louise, do you want to get out of here?"
Louise took a deep breath and nodded, "yeah."
