( ⁱⁿ ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ ⁺ ⁱᵐᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ )

ⁱⁿ ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ !

STELLA takes a deep breath. she brought up a couple of her bags, the rest of them still in her car parked in the apartment garage. biting her lip, she hesitates at her brother's front door.

it's not that she's nervous or anxious about living with the boy she's loved since she was eleven.

she is petrified.

even after seven years, she is not quite sure she is able to handle louis's charm or his kindness or sense of humor. and that is only for maybe a few hours tops. to live with him is a whole other monster that stella isn't sure she ever wants to tackle.

but alas, she has to. she has nowhere else to stay, and william and louis were generous enough to offer her a place until her own is fixed. she'd be an idiot to turn them down no matter how much she wants to.

living with louis partridge sounds like a nightmare. she knows without a doubt that all the time she spent trying to get over him will be in vain the second she shares the same space as him. he will make her fall harder unknowingly, and that is exactly what stella fears the most.

him finding out.

she would rather die than have her brother's best friend find out about her feelings for him. that would be a disaster—one that she wants to avoid at all costs.

as she stares at her brother's front door, she promises herself that she will make a conscious effort to get over louis partridge for real this time. raising a hand, she knocks on the door.

she waits only a few seconds before the door swings open and she is met by one tall, dark-haired, dimpled boy that makes her heart race and her knees weak.

he grins when he sees her. "stella! you're here."

stella sends him a smile back. "i'm here."

louis steps forward to take her bags before motioning for her to go inside. she walks in, glancing around for her brother.

"where's will?"

louis sets down her bags near the kitchen counter. "he had to run out for a meeting about this model shoot, but he should be back soon."

"oh."

stella tries not to panic. obviously, they will have a ton of these moments in the future as william won't always be home to act as a buffer. she needs to just chill.

"here. let me show you to your room."

louis takes her bags again and leads the way down the hallway into a room near the end. he nudges the door open, letting stella in first. it's a pretty spacious room, much bigger than she needs or cares for but is grateful for nonetheless. there is even an alcove in the corner of the room that has been decorated with pillows and a throw blanket.

setting down her belongings, louis gestures to it. "do you like it?"

she turns toward him, eyes wide. "did you do that?"

he shrugs, a light smile playing at his lips. "i wanted you to feel comfortable. considering all you ever want from me as a present for anything is books, i thought you'd like it."

stella chuckles, feeling warmth bloom in her chest. these are the things that make her love him, keep her from getting over him. every. single. time.

"thank you," she says gratefully. "i love it, louis."

he rubs the back of his neck, beaming. "well, i'm glad." he looks at her belongings that he just set down. "is this all you brought?"

she lets out a laugh. "of course not. i have, like, a million more bags in my car."

louis snorts. "let's go get them then."

they spend the next twenty minutes going back and forth between the apartment and stella's car. louis laughs when she struggles to carry her bags and then she laughs when he drops all her belongings while tripping over his own two feet. he glares at her and then pokes her stomach to which she narrows her eyes at him and shoves his shoulder.

the only thing running through stella's mind when they finally finish bringing in all her bags is how the fuck she's supposed to stop loving this boy when he is the one person she has always felt safe with. he makes her feel as if nothing bad could happen to her as long she's with him.

it's a feeling she didn't have with hunter or any of the other flings she's had, and she's not quite sure if she will ever have it with anyone else.

"want some lunch?" louis asks after stella's been cooped up in her room unpacking everything for an hour. well, more like rethinking all her life decisions rather than unpacking.

he stands in the doorway wearing a tight black shirt and shorts, his hair falling into his face. butterflies flood stella's stomach and she has to swallow down the urge to run up to him and kiss him until all he can feel is her.

instead, she stands and nods. "how about some quizno's?"

louis chuckles. "i think that's the only place we can ever agree on eating at."

she grins. "because it's just the best thing ever created."

"better than chipotle?" louis quirks a brow at her, a smirk tilting at his mouth.

stella scoffs. "let's not get ahead of ourselves, partridge."

she walks past him, her arm brushing his chest ever so slightly. electricity shoots up her spine and she suddenly wonders if he can feel it too.

but then she sees his unchanged expression and how he walks alongside her without glancing at her and realizes that she's just a fool drowning in the ocean of feelings. and she'd be smart to get out while she still can.

but she's afraid she's far too deep beneath the waves to ever escape louis partridge's light eyes and his dimpled smile.

she watches him scroll through the tv to find something the both of them want to watch. she stares at the adorable little pinch between his brows and the way his bottom lip is caught between his teeth. stella is truly the biggest fool.

her phone vibrates against her thigh and she glances down at it, her blood running cold as she looks at the contact.

ⁱᵐᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ !

messages between hunter and stella !

STUPID ASSHOLE JERK
hey can we talk?
i miss u

STUPID ASSHOLE JERK
did u block me or something?
i just want to talk
can we pls just have a convo?

STUPID ASSHOLE JERK
baby cmon
r u just gonna ignore me forever?

STUPID ASSHOLE JERK
stella.
what the fuck.
answer me ffs

STUPID ASSHOLE JERK
i could ruin u with one fucking phone call
don't make me do that

STUPID ASSHOLE JERK
fine. you asked for it.

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !

im backk idk why i wait so long to update this, sorry guys