With a Lack of Wanderlust

Louis’ POV

The next morning came quickly, and it was like I hadn’t slept at all. After walking Isabelle back to her house at midnight and going to sleep, I’d waken up only a mere six hours later. To my pleasant surprise, Niall was awake and at the kitchen table, strumming at his guitar and ready to keep me company.

“What are you doing awake?” He asked me, abruptly stopping.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I put an arm on the frame of the entryway, smiling. He just shrugged, and I did too. “What is there to do at this time of day when you haven’t got to be awake?”

“Eat,” He laughed, as if it was what he was supposed to say, and then shrugged again, “Think.”

There was something about Niall on mornings like these, when you caught him alone. He seemed so distant and thoughtful. It was intimidating, but I guess we all were like that sometimes, in one way or another.

I glanced down at the ground to notice he’d also been rolling a football under his foot, “You’ve been out yet?”

“No I was going to,” He set his guitar against the leg of the table, seemingly snapping out of the daze he was in and leaning down to grip the ball with both hands. He stood up and threw it at me quickly, catching me off guard.

I picked it up off the ground, and without another word we were heading out the door and into the backyard. As we walked around Liam’s house, Niall pushed me with a bit of laughter and a raise of his eyebrows.

“What?” I dropped the ball on the ground and kicked it up into the air. He continued to laugh.

“I think you’ve got a permanent smile on your face!” He hollered, snatching it as it hit the ground and beginning to dribble across the lawn. I chased after him, various degrees of ’what’ coming out of my mouth. I’d had a few ideas of what was going through his mind, but I was afraid to admit it to even myself.

“Say, Louis, where’s that favorite sweatshirt of yours?”

Niall passed the ball to me, and I tried not to grin. When I failed to answer him, he started dancing around and clapping his hands.

“Sorry ladies, Louis Tomlinson fancies someone!”

“Shhh shhh,” I walked over to him in a heap of laughter, kicking the ball along with me, “I don‘t!”

“Where were you last night then?” He said in a voice that sounded like my mother’s, putting his hand on his hip.

“That doesn’t mean I fancy her!”

“Late night meetings mean something, Lou!” he sing-songed, getting the ball from me again as I stayed quiet, finally coming to an understanding of the fact that maybe I‘d been and felt more than friendly without even noticing. He dribbled it only about a second before screaming, “LOUIS AND ISABELLE SI--”

“SHUSH!!” I had hurried over to him, my hand quickly going over his mouth. As he tried to bite it, the sound of a car door slamming shut was heard from next door. We both froze.

“Ooooh shit,” Niall was still laughing as we made our way back around to the side of the house cautiously. There was no doubt in my mind that I was about to be in for some awkward conversation. But luckily, it was only Isabelle’s mother.

Psh, only Isabelle‘s mother. I laughed a good bit on the inside. It had appeared that she was the type of mom that would tell her daughter something like hearing the boy next door about to sing the old childhood rhyme about her.

“G’morning!” I hadn’t noticed Niall had continued forward.

I grabbed my head quickly in exasperation, but let go figuring that I should probably go along with him. He had just about made it up to her when I scurried after him.

“How are you?” Niall asked as she opened the trunk of the car to reveal a series of plastic bags.

“Good, thanks.” Isabelle’s mum replied with a smile, grabbing some of them. “Just getting used to it around here. You‘re the friends of that clumsy boy?”

We nodded with a light laugh and I slipped my hands into my pockets. But it was only a short period of time before I’d have to take them out again, thanks to Niall‘s sociability. The look on his face told me he was doing it all for a reason.

“So I assume you’ve also been the ones getting Izzie out of the house?”

Niall nodded again, leaning forward on his shoes, “Do you want some help?” he asked, his eyes darting to the groceries. He looked back at me, seemingly surprised that I was standing there, before wrapping an arm around my shoulder, “Louis and I can bring them in for you!”

“Oh, no. You don’t have to.” She continued to smile at us.

“It’s alright!” Niall insisted, going right ahead and grabbing a couple. I stayed silent, right where I was, as Isabelle’s mum and I watched him. It was only until she said ‘Well, okay.’ and Niall gave me a pressing look that I mimicked his actions. After taking as many as we could to make it in one trip and closing the trunk, we followed her into the practically empty house.

“So, is Isabelle awake?” I finally spoke up, setting down my share of the bags on the table.

“No,” She sighed in response, setting hers beside mine, “That girl can sleep for ages. You‘re welcome to stay and wait for her though, if you‘d like. I‘ll just be making breakfast.”

And so we did.

--

Isabelle’s POV

“Where are we going?” I called out to Louis with laughter as he and the boys ran to Liam’s car. I followed and reached out and grabbed him by the back of his blue and white stripped shirt before he could get into the drivers seat. He turned back to me and chuckled.

“You’ll see!” He gave me a big smile.

I turned to the other four to see the same faces on them. Niall hooked his arm in mine and led me to the passenger seat. Once I sat down, Louis grabbed my hand. “How many people are going to be there?”

He shrugged.

“I’m not ready, Louis.” I shook my head and gripped his hand harder, like I’d done to my brother so many times before. My heart was speeding up already and I knew this wasn’t going to turn out well. He stopped me and grabbed the back of my head, kissing my temple. I felt another person’s hand grip my shoulder and jumped.

He turned to where the boys were with narrowed eyes and then back to me, “You’ll be fine, trust me!” Without letting me protest any longer, he started the engine and began to drive.

Building after building, we drove until we got to a structure with the title ‘Nandos’. Once again, Niall escorted me from the vehicle, smiling up at the sign that gave the place it’s name.

Once we got inside, the first thing I noticed was something that I had both expected and wanted to see the least. We locked eyes and she lit up like a Christmas tree, like nothing could possibly be wrong. Standing up and greeting me, however, I could tell it was all fake.

“ISABELLE!” She squealed, coming over for a hug. I didn’t return it. I wasn’t going to let go of Louis’ comforting hand. “Whose the boy?” Her smile faded when she’d realized this.

“Valerie, why are you here.” I said with little emotion, shaking my head, “You’re not supposed to be here.”

Her smile came back, but this time with a much more vengeful look, “I couldn’t let you get away without a proper punishment,” She giggled.

I felt like I was going to puke. This wasn’t supposed to happen, not at all. When I’d been scared of this day, I’d never thought of this. I looked up at Louis and then around at the boys, who seemed to be unaware that anything was even happening. I pulled down the sleeve of my jacket and took a deep breath.

“I believe sending me to the hospital was enough, Val.” I emphasized the nickname that she only let certain people call her. I’d been one of them once, but not anymore. She simply shook her head. I felt Louis’ hand let go of mine, my arm dropping to my side, and I began to panic.

--

A layer of sweat covered my face as I sat up and looked around, my chest tight and heart beating fast. My brother wasn’t beside me; it seemed like he had been gone for days. But I needed someone now, more than ever.

I hadn’t had a dream like that since I’d been in California, but each time, Nick was there when I woke up. Now he was gone and I couldn’t stop thinking that maybe, possibly, she was here.

I shook my head, grabbing my iPod and hastily sticking my headphones in my ears, blasting my music loud enough to drown out any thought that would pass through my mind. Maybe my mom could be somewhat helpful now, if she was awake.

Rubbing my eyes, I bounded down the stairs, only to start my day by bumping into her. “Mom,” I groaned, my eyes still closed and my brain still feeling fuzzy. Wrapping my arms around her, I took a deep breath, trying not to cry. But the moment that familiar smell entered my nose, my eyes snapped open and my emotions were too urgent to feel like crying anymore.

“Louis, what the hell?” I let out a breath as I pulled out my earphones and looked to see him smiling at me.

“Good morning, sunshine!” He disregarded my surprise and pulled me back closer to him, “You really like that sweatshirt, don’t you?” He was looking down at me now, his somewhat shy grin still on his face.

Normally, I would’ve been blushing and with a lack of breath, returning the favor of looking into his eyes. But on this morning, I was too dazed to even piece together what was going on, let alone try to comprehend how a boy like him would be acting like this toward me.

“Yeah.” I mustered out. I heard a snicker from behind Louis and looked around him to find Niall cracking an egg into a skillet as my mom unloaded groceries into various places. Was I still dreaming?

“You can keep it.”

“What are you doing here?” I finally asked, but immediately wanted to take it back when I realized how angry and frustrated I sounded. He opened his mouth, but it was like no words were forming. Soon, Niall appeared at his side.

“We were waiting for you to get up so we could hang out,” Niall said with a clear hint of hesitation in his voice. I tried to smile to let them know that I wasn’t mad, but I was still uneasy from the dream and it seemed impossible. “Um, do you want something to eat?”

“No, I’m fine,” I was feeling queasy and there was no need for me to throw up, especially not in front of them.

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock at the door, causing me to jump. Louis turned to go get it, but my mom beat him to it and opened the door, revealing Harry in nothing but bright green boxers. I noticed her raise her eyebrows at him.

“Is Louis here?” He asked, doing a little dance. It must have been cold out.

Lou revealed himself to him and he smirked, giving him a look that said ‘I knew it,’ “Your mum’s on the phone.”

Louis turned back to me, “I’ve got to go, then. If I don’t see you later, I’ll see you tonight.” He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead, all too clearly reminding me of the dream, and a shiver ran up my spine.

Once he was gone and the door was shut behind him, Niall and my mom both gave me knowing looks. I didn’t acknowledge it and went to sit down, realizing that if I hadn’t, I would’ve probably passed out. Niall went back to making the eggs and my mom went up the stairs, probably getting the hint that I was in no mood to talk about it.

“So we cross paths as I make food once again,” Niall let out a loud laugh and I jumped for the second time, “I think that says too much about my character.”

“Yeah,” I let out a breath, a sort of laugh escaping from my own lips. I grabbed a napkin from the holder that was set out, feeling myself shake as I ripped small pieces from it. It was quiet for a moment and I looked up to see Niall staring at me, concerned.

His eyes flicked away and he turned back to put the food on a plate, “What’s wrong?” He asked once the plate was set down on the table and he was seated beside me.

“I,” I faltered for a moment, looking back down at the napkin, “I feel like…” I paused once again, “I had a dream. But it was too real.” I looked back up at Niall and his attention was entirely on me and just with his eyes, he pushed me to tell him more. I hadn’t felt that comfortable, but it was like he was the only available outlet. With that being said, I spilled a bit of my history, leaving out the overly dramatic parts to spare him. Finally, my I told him everything from the dream that was still vivid in my mind.

“No, no. I would protect you, no doubt.” His eyes had a hint of puppy-dog look to them with his eyebrows knitted together. “Louis would too. And Liam.”

I smiled lightly as his attempt to reassure me began to work, but shook my head, “I guess it was my mind knowing that I wouldn’t want you guys to get involved. She’s not what you think.”

“I can take her,” He stood up and pulled down his shirt. “I’m like a ninja master.”

“I thought you were a leprechaun,” I said simply, referring to what he had told me the day we’d properly met. We locked eyes and for a moment, it was silent. He began laughing, to which I did the same.

“That too! But look!” He karate chopped the tip of the fork that was laid out on the table, flipping it into the air. I prepared myself for the ting it would make when it hit the floor, but it didn’t. Niall had caught it in one hand with a satisfied smile on his face. “See. You have nothing to worry about,” He said, winking.