Hey, thanks for reading this! I've decided to change my day for posting new chapters to Sunday because I feel like this is better than Monday.

This is going to be a double update because I have already quite a lot of completed chapters and I'm getting confused if I don't post them . So please not that there is another chapter coming after this one today.

Have fun! xxx

When Louis wakes up next morning, he is feeling cold. Cold feet. He wraps his covers more tightly around his body and tries to warm up again, but it doesn't work. Groaning, he gets out of bed, tiptoes over the freezing floor towards the heater and turns it up. The past few days were rainy and dull but not too cold. It is March, though, so the sudden change in weather doesn't surprise him, although it's annoying.

His first stop leads him into the kitchen and a hot cup of tea, which is ready a few minutes later. When returning to his room, his gaze falls on the envelope that is still lying on his bedside table. Now or never.

After turning on his phone, he doesn't even get to typing in the first digit of the phone number when he is being called himself. The picture of a beautiful girl pops up on the caller ID. He could ignore the call but that would only make things worse. So, he presses the green button and lifts the phone to his ear.

"Hey, love."

"Louis, why didn't you call me yesterday?"

"I also wish you a good morning," Louis replies flatly and is glad that she can't see his eye-roll.

"Louis, I mean it. You texted me and one minute later I called you and it went to voicemail. I just wanted to say good night."

"The battery was already very low when I texted you and it must have turned off by itself, I don't know why...," Louis tells her, sounding as convincing as he can manage. He is now feeling a little guilty for spending more time on a stupid wedding invitation than his girlfriend.

"Honestly? I can tell when you're lying, Louis."

"I'm not!" he protests. "You obviously can't differentiate between lying and being annoyed."

"Oh, you're annoyed by me?" she exclaims dramatically.

"Jane, please. I'm not annoyed by you, I just didn't expect it to be such big of a deal."

There was a second of silence.

"You're right, I'm sorry," she finally says and sounds exhausted. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad... I just had a pretty shitty day yesterday and when I thought you don't want to talk to me anymore, I kinda flipped..."

Louis lets himself collapse onto his bed.

"I'm sorry too, baby. I should have just called you yesterday, no matter how tired I was," he says, knowing exactly that being tired is not the reason for his behaviour.

"Can we try this again?"

"What?"

"Can we start this conversation over?"

"Um... okay?" Louis replies hesitantly.

"Okay...," she says. "Good morning, Lou. How are you feeling?"

"Um..." Louis finds this extremely odd, but he decides to just go with it. "I'm okay, I guess. Still a little tired but alright. What about you, love?"

"I'm great," she exclaimed happily. "I can't wait to get home on weekend!"

Louis is frowning for a second before he remembers that she has planned to come and visit him on Friday. Today is Wednesday, so that means only two more days.

"Yeah, I can't wait either," he replies softly. His girlfriend is currently doing a placement in a publishing house in Bristol, in addition to her literature study.

"Hey, Lou, gotta hang up, have to go to work now. Love you endlessly, bye," she says and barely gives Louis a chance to say goodbye himself.

He listens to the monotone peep peep peep until he takes his phone down and stares at the black screen. Sighing deeply, he reaches for the envelope beside him and pulls out the invitation. With slightly shaking fingers he dials the number and holds the phone to his ear again.

A dull feeling is spreading in his stomach and the palms of his hands start sweating. He tells himself that there is no reason for being nervous. He is simply declining a wedding invitation to which there is no sane reason for him to receive.

He is asking himself who will pick up the phone. He can't decide if he would be glad for it to be Gemma – or rather not. He is so deep in thought that he doesn't immediately realise that someone is talking to him.

"Hello? Hello! Who's there?"

"Oh um, hi – um, who am I speaking to?" Louis brings out with some effort and swallows around the lump in his throat.

"This is Gemma Styles," the woman on the other end explains willingly. Louis can hear the friendly smile in her voice. "And who am I talking to?"

In the background he can hear a muffled male voice. A deep, slightly rough voice and he doesn't know if it's just his imagination, but he believes to discern a certain accent that gives him chills.

Louis loses all ability to speak for a moment. He tries to picture her while she's waiting for him to say something, a kind smile on her lips but with growing confusion on her face while Louis is still not answering her question. He snaps out of his thoughts and uncomfortably clears his throat.

"Um... This is Louis – Louis Tomlinson."