( ⁱⁿ ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ ⁺ ⁱⁿˢᵗᵃᵍʳᵃᵐ )

ⁱⁿ ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ !

THIS top is probably the best thing stella has spent money on. it's a low-cut, lacy white cami top that is just revealing enough to pass off as casual yet sexy. the back is just low enough to show off the lower back sides of her ribs. her torso is exposed, her belly piercing glinting in the reflection of the mirror.

she's meeting up with daisy and sebastian today to have lunch and then check out a new bookstore that just opened.

once stella is finished with her makeup and is satisfied with how she looks, she leaves her room and heads toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water while waiting for daisy and sebastian to come pick her up. she finds louis sitting at the counter with a new movie script in front of him and a cup of tea in his hand.

"hey, lou."

"hey, stells. what are you doing today—"

his eyes widen when he looks up right as stella is turned around and reaching for a glass from the cupboard. almost her entire back is exposed, and although she has sometimes worn things like this around him, louis has never quite seen her wear something like this.

and not only that, but his eyes narrow in on a splotch of ink on the lower back side of her rib. a single star.

stella turns around to face him. "i'm going out with daisy and seb."

he blinks at her, and she quirks a brow.

"what?" she asks self-consciously.

"you have a tattoo," he states.

she sends him a weird look. "yes? i have more than one."

louis's eyes bulge out of their sockets before lowering down to stella's exposed stomach and locking onto the diamond on her belly button.

"when the hell did you get a belly button piercing?"

she shrugs, taking a sip of her water. "a bit after i turned seventeen. got my first tattoo around then too."

"oh," louis says stupidly.

stella sends him a strange look which he can't quite decipher.

he didn't know she had gotten any tattoos or piercings other than her ears and nose, and he isn't quite sure how to react. it's not that she can't do whatever she wants because she can. it's just that louis suddenly feels like a stranger in her life.

he doesn't want to be a stranger in her life.

he knows he hasn't been around that often since his acting career took off and that stella has obviously changed. she's not the little kid he used to know anymore, and it's difficult to erase that version of her from the one he sees in front of him today.

that stella had never been broken. she had never been in love. all she wanted was a new one direction poster and a pillow with louis tomlinson's face on it. this stella is different. she has grown up, matured. she has lost and she has loved, and somehow, louis missed that happen.

"how many do you have?" louis questions nonchalantly as if he isn't plagued with guilt and sadness at having missed watching someone he cares about grow up.

"three. and a half."

louis lifts a brow. "a half?"

stella grins. "i told the tattoo artist i wanted cora to draw the design on me since she's a good drawer, so she did. but the tattoo artist couldn't see the design clearly enough and ended up messing up and only finishing half of it. so now it's like half of a flower with only half of its stem."

the dark-haired boy chuckles. "and you never ended up trying to get it done again?"

"nah. i like telling people i have a half tattoo. makes them confused as hell. besides, i like the half flower thing. it's like it's still in the process of blooming, not quite at its potential yet. just forever trapped in one phase of its life."

louis's smile softens as he stares at her. "you know, you've always been like this."

stella pinches her brows in confusion. "like what?"

"poetic. looking for a deeper meaning in things. it's what makes you a brilliant songwriter."

she is speechless for a second as she takes in his words. then, the corners of her mouth lift ever so slightly.

"didn't think you even knew the names of my songs," she jokes.

louis chuckles. "shut up. i listen to your music all the time. you've been my top artist on spotify for years."

her eyes widen drastically at his confession.

"are you serious?"

he nods nonchalantly as he picks up his cup and sips his tea. "of course."

"oh."

the corners of his lips lift into a half-smirk. "why do you sound so surprised?"

she shrugs. "i dunno. i just didn't expect you to listen to my music that often."

"well, i do."

all stella can do is nod dumbly as she processes this information. why does everything he does make her fall for him even harder?

she sits down next to louis and decides to occupy her brain until sebastian and daisy arrive to pick her up. she scrolls through instagram, liking her mutuals' posts and watching their stories. she comes across the story of this guy she used to go out with. just some video of him and his friends at some kind of party. she chuckles softly at him doing shots and getting totally drunk.

"who's that?"

stella glances up at louis who is staring down pointedly at her phone.

"just this guy i hooked up with a while ago," she replies casually.

louis spits out the tea in his mouth, coughing and hitting his chest to unblock his throat. stella raises her eyebrows at him.

calming down, he says, "you're too young to be having sex."

she laughs and grins at him, patting his shoulder.

he shoots her a wary look. "what?"

she just shakes her head, still grinning. "you're so innocent."

louis scoffs. "no, i'm not."

she lifts a brow, unconvinced. he pouts like a puppy.

"i am not."

the brunette girl laughs again.

"you're adorable," she says off-handedly, looking back at her phone.

she doesn't think of anything of her comment, but louis blinks at her. rubbing the back of his neck, he clears his throat and goes to change the subject, but stella stands before he can.

"seb and daisy are here. i'll be back in a few hours!"

she waves and then walks toward the door to put on her shoes and then leave the apartment. when louis realizes his eyes were stuck on stella's bare back, his cheeks flush and he turns back to his script.

but he can no longer focus on it.

꘏

"YOU'VE been quiet all day," daisy directs at sebastian.

"right? i thought i was the only one who noticed," stella adds.

sebastian just shrugs, sipping at his fruit punch.

"i'm not quiet."

"you are," the girls say simultaneously.

"no, i am not."

stella narrows her eyes at him.

"you can't hide anything from us, sebastian."

"tell us what's wrong," daisy demands.

the curly-haired boy sighs, rolling his eyes. "nothing gets past you two, does it?"

"nope."

he rubs his face and sighs again.

"i saw alana."

both stella's and daisy's eyes widen as they stare at him in disbelief.

"WHAT?!"

"WHEN?!"

"WHERE?!"

"HOW?!"

"calm your tits. jesus christ. overdramatic much?"

"shut up, edwards," stella cuts in. "now tell us everything."

"fine. it was a few days ago, and i was at target because i wanted candy. saw her in the checkout line so we said hi."

"you said hi?" daisy repeats skeptically. "to your ex who you haven't seen in over a year and who is literally the love of your life?"

"she is not the love of my life," sebastian grumbles though even he sounds unconvinced.

"seb. honey. don't lie to yourself."

he shoots stella a flat look and then groans into his hands.

"fuck. why is she even prettier than before?"

stella and daisy share a look, half-amused and half-sympathetic for their best friend.

sebastian had dated alana moreno for nearly all of high school. they were family friends growing up and had always secretly liked each other. well, it wasn't really a secret to anyone except them. of course, stella, cora, and daisy knew about their feelings, having been friends with both of them. which was why they had sneakily plotted to get them together. which worked for the most part. they dated for three years, all the way until they graduated.

and then something happened—something sebastian had never told them about—to cause them to have a falling out. they broke up, but everyone knows sebastian never really got over her. sure, he goes out with other people, but the only one for him has been and always will be alana.

"you know," stella starts, trying to give him hope. "maybe this is a sign. like fate bringing you two together again. maybe lana wants to get back together."

sebastian immediately shakes his head. "she doesn't. she made that very clear when she broke up with me."

daisy reaches out to grab his hand and squeeze it. stella does the same to his other hand.

"hey," says daisy. "things have a way of working out. even when you think they won't, they always do. i promise. just be patient."

"exactly," stella adds. "plus, there's always more than one side to a story. there's probably more than one side here too. maybe you should reach out to her. if you want, that is. maybe you guys won't get back together right away, but i'm sure she misses her best friend just like you do."

he nods, taking a shaky breath and offering them a small smile.

"maybe." he clears his throat, and stella and daisy know he's done talking about this subject. he's always been like this when it comes to alana. "anyway. stella, when were you going to invite us to sabrina carpenter's birthday party?"

she rolls her eyes. "was literally just about to tell you guys about that."

"sure you were."

she smacks sebastian's shoulder, and daisy laughs.

"she literally sent you guys invites. it's this weekend at her house. lowkey think shawn mendes is going to make his move on her during the party, so we must be there to watch the drama unfold."

sebastian cheers. "finally! i've been waiting for that ship to sail."

"me too!" daisy exclaims. "girl has been stuck in the friendzone for too long. i feel for her."

stella laughs. "literally. this has been going on for too long. i need him to get his shit together and ask her out already or else i'll have to delete all my concert videos from the illuminate tour and take down all my posters of him."

sebastian and daisy snort.

"yes, stella," daisy says. "we all know about your shawn mendes phase that you never got over."

stella flips her off and then leans back in her chair.

"i guess we'll see if we're joining the shawn mendes is over party after sabrina's birthday."

"guess we will."

ⁱⁿˢᵗᵃᵍʳᵃᵐ !

daisygonzalez

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liked by kyleallenofficial, coraeverly, alanamoreno, and 329k others

daisygonzalez they stole my phone. no i am not high in the last pic.

tagged - stellafranklyn.miller , sebedwards

view comments

user oh my god sebastian is so hot
↳ onehappyhero real.

kyleallenofficial you look high
↳ daisygonzalez STFU BITCH

sebedwards u were high

stellafranklyn.miller u were high

coraeverly u were high
↳ daisygonzalez YOU WERENT EVEN THERE

user BUT I COULD STILL MELT YOUR WORLD ARGUMENTATIVE ANTITHETICAL DREAM GIRL sorry the author was listening to hits different while writing this

zoegrayson love...im sorry....u look high
↳ daisygonzalez immediate break up.

user daisy and zoe >>>

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !

yes. you caught me. i am a sabrina carpenter and shawn mendes shipper.

on another note, i wanna make a vinnie hacker fic so bad. when will i get out of this phase.