◣ 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞... ◥

❝ 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂. ❞

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- [✩] ; MONA HELD BOTH LOUIS AND MILLIE'S hands as she led them into Ko⭒fi with a small grin on her lips. She gave both hands a gentle squeeze before letting go of Millie's hand to pull Louis towards the counter, her shit-eating grin continuing to grace her face, which made Louis all the more suspicious of what was going on. It's not strange for him to hang out with Mona and Millie because they usually were out together. The only issue was that they knew very well that he was avoiding places Cora would frequent until she felt comfortable enough to reach out to him. 

"Louis, why don't you find us a seat? I'll get our drinks," Mona told him after letting go of his hand, all whilst Millie said she was off to the bathroom.

"Sure," he nodded and scanned the room in search of a vacant spot.

Louis's dark eyes fell on a table in the middle of the room and hummed as he walked over. He took another free chair from a nearby table (don't worry, he asked first) and sat down, putting his hands on his lap as he looked around the room. His mind instantly wandered to a certain day two months ago where he was in this exact coffee shop with a couple of his mates after school where he saw a really cute girl on the same day...

"Louie, you should just go over and talk to her, mate!" one of his friends smirked as they caught him staring at a girl across the shop.

She had long brown hair that was put into a side braid, and she was biting on the back of her pen while another pen hung behind her shoulder. Louis saw how she seemed to be in deep thought with whatever she was doing, taking a sip of her drink, and eating every-so-often only to scribble down some words. She was more than easy on the eyes in his own opinion, but he's also never seen her around.

"Oh he's whipped! Look at 'em!" another laughed as someone nudged Louis' shoulder, causing him to break his gaze from the unnamed beautiful girl before him.

Louis felt his cheeks flush once he realized his friends were smirking at him, making kissy noises and laughing at his newfound crush on the teenage girl. "I am not."

"Rubbish!"

"Keep your voices down, you wankers!"

His friends continued to laugh, poking, and prodding at him before someone had the most brilliant suggestion. "Hey, there's a piano in here right?"

Someone howled. "There certainly is."

"Go on then, Lou! Play us something!" Another grinned maniacally as they nudged him under the table.

Another individual cheered, causing someone else to clap enthusiastically. "Yeah, c'mon mate! Make this place a little more lively!" 

Louis felt his cheeks were on fire at this point. He could tell that almost everyone in the shop was staring at this point, especially the girl from earlier. He also knew that his friends were doing all of this so she'd notice him and he just wished it would be in a less embarrassing way.

So in an effort to get his friends to calm down and not get kicked out, Louis stood up with a hurried huff. "Alright, alright, calm down."

While he walked away from his friends, who were becoming rowdier by the second, Louis briefly caught the eyes of the cute girl from before. As silly as it sounds, he felt his heart flutter inside of his chest and quickly broke the gaze to the piano ahead. Bollocks, he thought to himself. She's going to be the end of me...

"...Hello the beloved patrons of Ko⭒fi," a more than familiar voice said from the front of the room. Louis snapped out of his own thoughts and looked up from his gaze on the table to Mona, who was standing with a microphone in hand with a huge grin on her face. Louis was beyond baffled by whatever was going on. "On behalf of this mighty establishment, I'd like to share a musical guest who is more than willing to perform for us today." 

Millie seemed to have evaporated into thin air as she sat down beside Louis with her phone in her hands. She appeared to be recording Mona. "What's going on here, Millie--?" he turned his head to ask her but was met with loud shushing.

"I should also say that there are a few swear words in the song my friend is about to sing to us, so if there are any little ones here, please cover their ears! Now, if we could give my dear friend a hearty welcome, give it up to Corazon "Cora" Valencia and her most recent song, I'm a Jerk!" Mona smiled as she clapped and adjusted the microphone in the stand, whilst other customers also clapped and cheered.

Louis sat up straight with his lips parting in aw and his eyebrows raising. "Holy fuck,"

Cora carefully shuffled onto the makeshift stage and smiled excitedly at the crowd. She held her ukelele, which Louis remembered to be named King, on one hand as she waved with the other hand. "Hello, everyone, as Mona said my named is Cora and I'm here to sing you all a little song." her chocolate-brown eyes scanned the sea of people nervously as she chuckled to herself.

"For some context, this song is obviously about a boy, but not really in the traditional sense," someone people awed and sighed, causing Cora's cheeks to redden. "I messed up, big time, and I don't really know how to apologize for what I did, so I'm going to do it in this song." she let out a deep breath and properly held King in her hands before beginning to sing.

"...I'm a jerk
I'm so sorry that I'm a big fat jerk
You don't really deserve that shit
But I'm a fucking idiot

YES, I am,
I should've told you sooner
but like I said before
I'm just a motherfucking jerk

Oh, oh, oh, oh,
Oh, oh, oh,

I'm a really annoying fucking jerk.
I'm bad at communication
It's one of my many flaws.
Especially when it comes with something silly like
Good old anxiety
But that's okay,

Oh, oh, oh
I'm dealing with it,
Don't worry about it
But you didn't know that

'Coz I'm a fucking jerk.
I'm a dumbass
Who the hell allowed that?
Because I sure didn't

NOPE!
Not me,
Oh, oh, oh, oh

I don't really know how to end this song
It's going on for far too long
But the general premise is that...

I'm a fucking jerk.
I'm so sorry,
You don't deserve that

Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh,
I'm so sorry,
I'm kind of a jerk

But oh,
Oh, oh, oh,
I may be a jerk
But this jerk
has a really big fat
Crush on you so,
Oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm so sorry
I'm a jerk about it..."

Louis was wonderstruck and his jaw was basically touching the floor at this point after the song finished. Everyone around him was clapping and hollering and cheering for Cora, but Louis was unable to move. The song was great, beautiful even, but that last bit... that was the part that really hit him hard. Cora likes me back, Cora likes me back, Cora likes me back... was the only thing replaying in his head like a record player.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice his feet were moving. Louis found himself outside the coffee shop and leaning against one of the brick walls, his head staring straight up at the clear blue sky. Then he felt someone stand next to him, and by the whiff of cherry blossom shampoo, he knew who it was.

"It was that bad, huh?" Cora quietly spoke beside him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"No, it was great," Louis quickly replied, slowly turning his head away from the sky and to the girl beside him. "It was just... stuffy in there."

She chuckled and then turned to her side, continuing to look at him nervously. "Did you... like it?"

"I did," he nodded, continuing to maintain eye contact with her. "I've always liked your songs, Cora, you know that."

"But how about a song that was written for you?" she asked pointedly.

"Well, given the fact that this is my, what?" he put up one and then two fingers as if he was counting. "The second song you've written about me? I love it."

The corners of Cora's lips curled into a small grin at the tone of cheekiness in Louis' voice. "You know damn well that's not what I meant, Louis." her arms fell from her chest and to her side.

Louis' face softened and slowly shuffled closer to Cora. "I know, that, Corazon." then he slowly reached for Cora's hand as their fingers weaved together. "But if you need to know, I'm flattered that you have a crush on me."

Cora's face turned pink as she playfully pushed his chest with her free hand. "You are way too happy about that, now are you?"

"Just a tad," he grinned down at her as he took another step closer and gently squeezing her hand. "But can you blame me? It would be really awkward if I liked you and you just didn't like me back, you know."

Her eyes brightened as her grin widened before sharply snapping into a thin line. Cora then started to jab her finger into Louis's chest, each pokes deeper than the next. "I swear to whatever Gods are above and below, Lou, if you are lying to me, I'm going to put you through the window."

"Hey, hey," Louis then grabbed Cora's hand to stop him from stabbing his chest with her nail and chuckled. "Two things: first off, I'm not lying. I would never, ever lie to you, Cora."

Cora squinted at him as her fingers wiggled in his grasp. "And what's the second thing?" she curiously questioned. 

"Your nails are like little daggers with the way they were stabbing me," Louis smoothly replied which caused Cora to scoff and playfully shove him away from her.

"You know, you're an awful person to have a crush on." She huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest again before turning her back to him.

He smirked. "You say that Cora, yet you've written two songs about me now."

Cora whipped back around and stared at Louis. "And those are two things I regret deeply, Louis."

"Alright, sure." he chuckled softly, noticing the sarcastic and playful tone in Cora's voice as he watched her shake her head and smile.

"Besides all of the playful shit," Cora hummed as she stepped closer to Louis. "I think we should go on a date sometime now what we know we like each other."

Louis raised a brow and tilted his head to the side. "Do you have anything in mind, Cora?"

"I'm not sure," Cora shrugged as she thought for a moment before snapping her fingers when she thought of something. "Oh, oh, oh, I know!"

"Care to share, Cora?" he asked with a small grin on her lips, finding her enthusiasm quite adorable.

"Nope," she smiled cheekily and then grabbed his hand. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

"I am," he gently squeezed her hand and carefully raised her hand to his lips and gave it a chaste kiss. "I'm guessing that's when our date is happening?"

Cora feigned innocence as her heart pounded against her chest. "I have no clue what you're talking about, Louis." she then pulled him away from the wall and towards the door of the shop.

Louis rolled his eyes and allowed Cora to drag him along as his grin turned into a smile. "Whatever you say, Cora."

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- [✩] ; THE NEXT NIGHT ROLLED BY and all Louis knew was to dress warm and bring a blanket. Cora had refused to tell him what she was up to for their date, but he wasn't complaining about it either. He patiently waited in the lobby of Cora's flat building with his hands stuffed in his pocket before seeing Cora appear from the lift bundled in layers of coats and a fluffy hat. She held a wicker basket in one hand with a couple of blankets in the other and looked as if she was struggling to maintain the items.

"Need some help there, m'lady," He asked as he carefully approached her with a soft smile on his face.

"I sure do, m'lord," Cora laughed and stepped off of the lift to meet him halfway. Then, as they stood in front of each other, she leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

The corner of Louis' lips curled into a lopsided smile as he kissed Cora's forehead. "Where are we going tonight?" he took some of the blankets from her grasp as he stepped back.

"Not too far," she grinned happily and then grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the elevator. "Remember the roof I was talking about? I fixed it up, talked to the landlord and I was able to convert it into a little hang out place for everyone else in the building."

Louis listened diligently as he gently squeezed Cora's hand. She talked enthusiastically about what she did with the roof, apparently having a small fire, old cushions, sofa's, and a tarp in case it rained or snowed. There were also Christmas lights strung up because in Cora's own words, "Christmas is a feeling, not just a season."

Once they reached the rooftop, Cora was practically bouncing with excitement, and Louis couldn't help but find it endearing. He allowed her to drag her through the door and to the new 'hang-out' place that was full of color and the fire was going. Cora smiled and then let go of his hand, dropping to the middle of the roof, where most of the cushions were placed, and put the wicker basket on the small round coffee table. Louis followed after her, unsure of what he should be doing, and carefully sat down on the green couch near the fire.

"This is quite impressive, Cora," he looked around the roof and chuckled at the sight. It was really something Cora made.

"Thanks, Lou." she smiled brightly before sinking to her knees on one of the cushions and patting the spot next to her. "But c'mon, sit with me, I made us dinner."

Louis trodded over to her and sat down beside her as he rose a brow. "By yourself?"

"Like 90%," Cora hummed as she opened up the wicker basket and started to pull out some containers. "My mom helped me a bit when she heard we were going on a date."

He tried to contain his surprise by taking one of the plastic containers Cora handed him. "So you're on good terms with your mom now?"

"Eh, she's home more often now, we actually have most meals together which was... weird but not unwelcomed. I don't know, it's on and off, yanno?" she shrugged before grinning at the three containers before them. "Okay, so the container you have there is pancit, it's like lo-mein but Filipino style. The other one is full of chicken adobo, it's one of my personal favorites. Then the larger container is rice, can't have a Filipino dish without it. The plates and utensils are biodegradable and inside the basket still."

Louis nodded his head and grinned at flavorful aromas as Cora opened up the containers. "What do we have for refreshments?" he watched as Cora started to fill his plate with some noodles and vegetables, which he assumed was pancit, then some brown chicken with sauce, which had to be adobo, and finally, some rice. He didn't mind if she filled his plate to the brim because by the looks of it, this was going to be a delicious dinner.

"I brought a whole pack of Capri-Sun, the fruit punch ones," she shot him a big smile and then placed his plate on his lap and started to fill her own plate.

"Thank you," he nodded at her as he started to eat, earning Cora's full attention. "Wow, this is amazing, Cora, really."

She was suspicious. "If you're lying to me-"

"You'll throw me off the roof?"

"Into the fire, actually."

Louis playfully rolled his eyes and continued to eat whilst Cora dug into her own food. They made small talk as they ate, most of it loud banter and empty threats, but all-in-all, it was going well so far. The night got colder as the time passed, but that only caused the sky to darken and the stars to start to shine bright.

At this point, Cora and Louis were tangled together under a hep of blankets near the fire. They stared up at the sky above, pointing out the various stars they could see. Cora was passionately babbling about the Star Puzzle, resting her chin on his chest as she laid beside him, and the story behind it whilst Louis listened with one of arms carefully bound around Cora and the other tucked behind his head.

"Your zodiac sign is a Gemini, right? June 3rd?" she asked out of the blue, turning her head to get a better look at Louis.

"Yes, but wait- when's your birthday? You never told me." Louis sat up slightly, resting the upper half of his body against the back of the sofa.

Cora dramatically sighed as she fixed herself to sit beside Louis with his arm still wrapped around her. "Well, it was supposed to be a secret, but I guess I can tell you now." she paused for dramatic effect. "New Years', Janurary 1st."

He chuckled. "Oh, so you're a New Years' baby?"

"Yup," she popped the 'p' and then rested her head against his shoulder. "You know, Gemini's and Capricon's are apparently extremely compatible."

Louis hummed at this, a soft smile falling on his lips. "You don't say?"

"I can hear your smiling like an idiot," she told him with her head dug into his shoulder and felt herself smile as well.

"Well, I can feel you smiling like an idiot," he shot back as he tightened his grip around Cora before deciding to do something devious: tickle her.

Cora instantly started laughing, her hands flying to her sides to stop Louis from digging his fingers into her side. "L-Lou-Louis!" she squealed through a laugh as she fell onto the back, squirming and giggling.

"Sorry, love, I can't hear you!" Louis grinned above her, continuing to tickle her sides, warmth continuing to spread throughout his body.

After a while, Louis decided to stop his antics and smiled down at Cora, who was trying to regain her breath. "You're an absolute jerkwad." she snarked at him, before pushing him off of her as she started to sit up.

He shrugged as he sat back against the sofa as he grinned mischievously. "That's true," 

Once Cora properly sat up, she stared at Louis in a way he couldn't recognize. She then sat closer to him, this time on her knees, and her hands were nervously fidgeting on her lap. Cora smiled softly and reached for Louis' hands, carefully interlacing their fingers and rubbed his knuckles with her thumb.

"Lou, can I have permission to do something dumb?" she asked, her eyes slowly falling on his face.

"Sure," he said, searching Cora's face for a clue as to what was going on.

However, he got his answer when he felt a pair of soft warm lips against his own. Louis instantly melted into the kiss as his eyes fluttered shut his arms snaking over her waist. Cora's hands cupped his face and smiled into the skin before pulling away for a moment. She rested her forehead against his, her smile continuing to flash on her lips as she stared at Louis, watching as his eyes slowly opened.

"How dumb was that?" Cora's voice was barely above a whisper, anxiety lacing her tone.

Louis chuckled softly as he pulled Cora closer to him. "Oh, it was so dumb, Cora. Completely reckless, and stupid," he replied sarcastically.

"Har, har, har," Cora rolled her eyes as she pressed another quick kiss to his lips before snuggling into his chest. "You're so fucking hilarious, Lou." 

"I know, Corazon, I know," he grinned and hugged Cora to his chest, pulling one of the blue fuzzy blankets closer to them.

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author's note.

louzon lives in my mind rent-free.

also, this story might come to an end soon, but i haven't quite decided on that yet.