WOOOOOOAH CECIL'S POV!
OKAY ILL STOP NOW.

I noticed Lou Ellen was gone almost immediately.

"Oh my gods where is she?!"

Please be okay. Please be okay.

"Who?" Will said, not looking back.

It's like he doesn't even care!

"Lou Ellen! She's gone!"

Will spun around to see Lou missing. "Oh my gods!"

"LOU ELLEN?!" I screamed.

No answer.

My heart dropped.

Lou Ellen, where are you?!

We walked a little farther, desperately calling her name.

"LOU? LOU ELLEN?!"

I didn't know what to do with her.

Then Will bumped straight into Nico. I'm not sure how I didn't notice him, I was likely too caught up about trying to find Lou.

Will grabbed Nico's wrist, trapping him so he couldn't run away.

"Lou Ellen's missing." He said, rushed.

"Are you trying to trick me?" Nico asked, suspicious.

He looked like he would've ran away if Will hadn't been holding him in place.
"No! Look! She's gone!"

Any remaining color drained from Nico's already pale face.

"This is all my fault." He said quietly.

"No. Come on we need to search for her!" I said.

I was hysterical with worry, if she got hurt I would never forgive myself.

I was holding her hand! I should have felt when she pulled away!

I've had a crush on Lou Ellen for as long as I can remember. She was so beautiful, and she kept me and Will on track when we needed it. She had an amazing sense of humor that always went hand-in-hand with mine. But now...she was gone.

"LOU ELLEN!" I shouted as loud as my voice would let me.

"Please...I love you..." I whimpered.

I hadn't meant for anyone to hear it, but Nico gave me a sympathetic look showing he did.

I called her name again and again until my voice could barely speak anymore.
"This is all my fault." I whispered.

Will looked at me, obviously confused.

"Why would it be your fault?"

"I was holding her hand! I should have felt her pull away!" I said miserably.

"It's not your fault. You just weren't thinking about it." Nico argued.

I said nothing, I knew arguing with him wouldn't help. But I still thought, I should have been.

Nico must've noticed that I didn't believe him because he went on,
"One thing I've learned over the years is that you can't focus too much on what you should have done. It won't help. We all have something that we wish that we wouldn't have done, or wished we did something sooner. But you just have to move on and learn from your mistakes. Otherwise, you're doomed to repeat them."

I didn't have time to reflect on his words. A bush to our left rustled and we jumped to face it. I couldn't help but notice that Will positioned himself protectively in front of Nico.

We stared at bushes in fear until we saw a flash of brown hair and Lou Ellen popped out from behind a tree.

I ran up and tackled her in a hug, a tear rolling down my cheek at the thought of losing her.

"I'm so sorry, Lou. I should've noticed." I croaked.

Lou Ellen shook her head and gave me a smile.

"No. I had a plan." She looked at Nico, "and it looks like it worked."

"What was your plan?"

"Well, I hid when neither of you were looking. I knew Nico didn't want anyone hurt, so I knew when he heard you calling for me, he would come."

"...so I was pulled into a trap." Nico said.

She looked away guiltily.

"Maybe a small one?"

"Come on. Let's go back."

"No." Nico whimpered, "You guys can't get hurt for me. Ever."

"We're fine. C'mon." I said.

"You're not! You passed out, Cecil!"

I looked down at my feet. I couldn't really argue because he was right.

Will scooped up Nico quickly in his arms and we set off again. Nico screamed and struggled, but didn't throw any punches or kicks for fear of hurting Will.

I took Lou Ellen's hand in mine again.

"You worried me so much, Lou," I whispered.

"Sorry."

"You have to tell me next time you want to do something like this."

"It wouldn't have worked as well if you knew."

That got me all worked up.

"I thought you had gone missing! You could've gotten hurt!"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, next time I'll tell you."

I sighed in relief.

"Good. But let's hope there isn't a next time."

-----time skip-----time skip-----time skip----- (at Will's house)

Nico pulled me aside when no one was looking.

"You love her, don't you?"

"Who? I'm sure that I don't know what you're talking about." I denied.

His eyes lit up in a way I knew Will would love.

"Lou Ellen! You love her!"

"I-uh-love is a pretty strong word." I stuttered.

He grinned, "Ask her out."

"What if she says no?" I asked, nervously wringing my hands.

"Then she will have lost someone that loved her and you lost someone who didn't."

-----time skippy skip-----

Will had left the room.

Nico was watching me go up to Lou Ellen.

I was shaking with nervousness.

What if she says no? What if she hates me after this? What if she's not straight? What if she's gay?

"Lou Ellen?"

She looked up from her paper. She was drawing something. No someone. It was a person. "Yeah?"

"I was wondering....umm..."

I looked up at Nico. He nodded his encouragement.

"I was wondering....if you would go out with me?"

I said the last part too quiet for her to hear.

"What?"

I cleared my throat and looked at my shoes.

"I was wondering if you'd go out with me."

I looked back up at Lou. She looked shocked. "Uh yeah...yes I will." She stuttered.

I relaxed, "Oh thank the gods!"

She laughed and pulled me into a hug. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nico smiling.

"I-I love you, Lou." I stuttered.

"I love you, too, Cecil." She laughed.

Will walked into the room, and saw Nico smiling at us hugging. He saw how happy we both were.

"Cecil finally asked her out, didn't he?" Will said.

"Yeah." Nico laughed.

"I knew it! I knew you were in love! I knew it!" Will boasted.

"Know-it-all."

Hahahahaha Cecil and Lou Ellen are together now! Now I must let the story unfold...

Word count: 1089