Closer

Louis stared at the calendar with a somber expression. Today was the day. Three years. He wondered what he would be doing today if Laurel weren’t trying to leave him. He wondered if he would have planned something special for her. It was their anniversary after all. They could have gone on a vacation, or spent the whole day inside. It didn’t really matter now, Louis figured. He could just waste away for all he cared.

“Louis!” He heard Zayn call from the other side of the door. He was pounding on it with great fervor. Confused, Louis went to the door to let him inside.

“What the hell are you doing here, Zayn? Its seven in the morning!” Louis scolded Zayn for making so much noise.

“Sorry! It couldn’t wait! You need to go see Laurel!” Zayn told him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him roughly. Louis frowned and slapped his hands away.

“We’re separated, Zayn. I can’t just pop in for a visit.” Louis reminded him tersely.

“But you aren’t divorced! Louis, there’s still time to change her mind!” Zayn said a little too urgently. Louis raised his eyebrows and stepped out of Zayn’s invasive proximity.

“I don’t think so.” Louis disagreed.

“You haven’t tried! You haven’t said anything to try and change her mind. You have to go and make her listen!” Zayn insisted, grabbing onto Louis shoulders again. Louis filched at being manhandled by Zayn so early in the morning.

“Zayn, you need to calm down. Why are you all of a sudden so committed to this?” Louis asked him.

“I just don’t think I’d ever forgive myself if you two split for good.” Zayn said ambiguously.

“Why? It’s not like it’s your fault.” Louis shrugged. Zayn looked at the ground for a second.

“I’ll feel like it is if you don’t try to get her back. Just try, Louis.” Zayn begged, grabbing onto his bicep. Louis scrunched up his nose, still not understanding why Zayn was so determined. He shook his head.

“I don’t want to be rejected by her again. It doesn’t feel good, okay? If this is what she wants, then fine. I can’t stand hearing her say she wants to leave me anymore. I’ve accepted it.” Louis told Zayn, pulling out of his grasp for the third time.

“She doesn’t want to leave you, Louis! Everyone can see it but you! No one is accepting this divorce, and you sure as hell shouldn’t!” Zayn shouted in his face.

“Zayn-“ Louis started.

“Louis. Tell her. You need to tell her that you aren’t going anyway. You have to.” Zayn pleaded.

“I don’t know…”

“Today. You have to do it today. Remind her that you haven’t forgotten her.” Zayn said. Louis looked at him skeptically.

“I’ll think about it.” Louis said cautiously, looking at his feet.

“Don’t think. Just do it.”


”Lou?” Laurel called into the empty flat. She was supposed to meet him here after work for dinner but it didn’t seem like he was there. She flicked on the lights to find it as vacant as she had anticipated. “Louis!” She called out louder.

Her eye caught a piece of yarn suspended in midair. She raised an eyebrow and placed a tentative hand on the string. She started following it along its path and stopped when her fingers ran over a piece of paper. She pulled it off and unfolded it.

Remember when you assaulted me the on the day we met?

Laurel laughed and blushed at the memory. That was the day of their first date. Louis wasted no time taking her out. She smiled as she remembered their first date. It was a simple meal in a secluded diner. She knew that he was a real catch right off the bat. She followed the string farther until she found another note.

I always thought that it was really incredible that it took me four dates to convince you to kiss me.

Laurel rolled her eyes. She liked him immediately, but was cautions about getting involved with him. He was famous and she had a feeling that things would be really complicated. After a while, Louis was too hard to resist.

I think I knew you were the one when you slapped Harry across the face when he made a joke about our sex life.

Laurel laughed heartily at that memory. Everyone thought that was hilarious but Harry. It was still everyone’s fondest memory of their time together. At this point she was in the hallway, there were a couple more notes attached to the string before it lead into the bathroom. Laurel was nervous about what she would find at the end.

You make me want to be a better version of myself.

Laurel smiled at the cheesy complement and added it to her collection.

I love the way you smile about the simplest things. It makes me want to always notice the small things.

She smiled even wider. His notes were pretty mushy. She was glad that no one was around to see the shade of crimson her face was.

The day I told you I loved you I threw up twice because I was so nervous.

Laurel scrunched up her nose at that one but smiled nonetheless. There was a note attached to the doorknob of the bathroom.

I still don’t get why the bathroom is your favorite room in a house.

Laurel grinned and pushed the door open. The end of the string was taped to the mirror. She was disappointed to find that the room was empty. There was one last note stuck to the mirror. She pulled it off and opened it up.

I’m sorry I’m being really cheesy. You’ve probably realized that I’m not romance savvy.

Laurel looked around, unsure of what to do. Not seeing anything else out of the ordinary in the bathroom she started to search all the rooms. She peeked into his bedroom, and it was empty. His study was empty too. She was pulling open the door to the linen closet when she heard a voice behind her.

“What are you doing?” Louis said with a laugh. Laurel yelped and turned around, holding her hand to her heart.

“You scared me!” She said with a laugh, punching him in the arm. Louis feigned hurt, but couldn’t hide his grin for long. “What’s this?” She asked him, holding up the notes.

“Ah, yes. You’ve found them.” He nodded.

“And?” She egged him on, trying to get him to explain it to her.

“Nothing. I just wanted to tell you how much I cared about you. I thought this might be a way to change it up.” He said casually, pulling on the yarn.

“That’s it?” She asked, trying not to sound disappointed. She was so sure that she knew where this was going.

“Yep.” He replied with a shrug. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah! It was cute. Thank you.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It was really thoughtful. I love you.“ Laurel told him and pecked him on the lips gently.

“Oh, it was nothing. I love you too.” He said when they pulled away. There was a knock on the door and Louis detangled himself from her arms. “That’s probably the food. You hungry?” He asked, making his way to the door.

Laurel muttered a silent yes. She kicked herself for being disappointed in Louis. It was really nice what he did. Nice gestures didn’t need to be accompanied with marriage proposals. She appreciated that he did that for her and she tried not to be upset.

But she had been waiting for months for him to propose. He had been dropping not so subtle hints and this wasn’t the first time he did something like this. And every time there was nothing. Maybe he wasn’t sure that she wanted him to?

“Lo? Are you just gonna stand there all night?” He called to her from the kitchen. Laurel shook her head to rid herself from the thoughts and went to join him in the kitchen. When she walked in he was standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.

“What?” Laurel asked self-consciously.

“You’re mad at me.” He accused her, his grin not faltering. Laurel flushed and shook her head.

“No I’m not! Why would you think that?” She quickly insisted. He picked up in her disappointment and she was getting all flustered. She didn’t want to have to explain herself.

“I don’t think I can wait any longer. So at the risk of being a total asshole…” Laurel gasped softly, hoping that this was finally the moment. “I had this whole thing planned, so don’t think I intended to do this in my kitchen.” He warned her.

Laurel bit her lip and tried to remain calm. She watched his every move. “Okay. Laurel. I love you. And I know that I’m difficult and our relationship is more complicated than it needs to be. And I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you. But I want you to be by my side every step of the way. I want to spent the rest of my life with you.”

Laurel smiled so wide that she thought her cheeks would rip apart. Louis took a deep breath and sank onto his knee in front of her. “So, if you’ll accept a proposal from a tosser on the kitchen floor…” He produced a small box and opened it up. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh my god!” Laurel screamed, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling him back to his feet. She smashed their lips together with such great force that the box in his hands went flying across the room.

“Yes! Yes! Yes.” She breathed into his mouth after she pulled away. Louis beamed back at her, his eyes sparkling. He moved away to retrieve the ring from the other side of the room. Laurel laughed as he picked it up and pulled the ring from the box.

He took her left hand in his gently and slipped it on her ring finger. “Thank you for making me that happiest bloke in the world.”

Laurel twisted her ring on her finger nervously as she looked at herself in the mirror. She hated today. She was trying to muster up the courage to go home and beg for Louis to forgive her. As of yet, she was unable to do so. Was worried that it was too late. She pushed some hair from her eyes and took a deep breath.

Her car keys were in hand, her jacket was in the other. She couldn’t stand being away from him today. Even if he told her to go to hell he would know she was sorry. Laurel pulled the front door open and almost collided with Louis, who had his hand suspended in the air as if he was going to knock.

"Louis? What are you doing here?" Laurel asked, slightly astonished. Louis dropped his arm and met her gaze.

"Happy anniversary, baby." He said softly, holding out a single white daisy to her. Laurel covered her mouth with her hand and took the daisy with the other.

"What's this for?" She asked, examining it with great scrutiny.

"I just want to remind you how much I love you." He told her earnestly. "You love daisies so I figured it was an acceptable peace offering."

"Oh my god, Lou. That's really sweet. I thought you would be cursing my name, not standing on my porch bearing gifts." She mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I thought about it. I almost drank this whole day away. But then I thought, today is the day that I married you, and I want to see you." He admitted, still standing a respectable distance apart.

"Why?" She gaped at him.

"To remind you that there's still time to change your mind." He responded. There was a sad smile on his lips as she looked at him in shock. After everything she had said and done, he was still the same Louis he had always been to her.

"I regret it." She practically whispered.

"Regret what?" He asked, confused.

"Filing for divorce." She clarified, not liking the way the words tasted in her mouth.

"Then why are you still doing it?" He asked, stepping closer. Laurel sucked in a small breath as she watched him close some distance.

"I'm not." She exhaled.

"What?" He said hopefully.

"I just got done sending the papers through the shredder." She rubbed at her arms, not knowing what else to do.

"Why? Why now?" He demanded, taking another step closer.

"I knew that I made a big mistake the second you called me when you found the papers. But when you left to go on tour after that fight, I was still in a pretty bad place."

"I’m so sorry, Laurel. I don’t know what I did that. If I knew that you felt that badly I wouldn’t have left in the first place.” Louis insisted, placing his hands on her arms gently.

"When you left to go on, you didn't say you loved me. And I didn't tell you I loved you. We were letting out problems get the best of us and I knew that if we couldn't keep our shit together when t really matters, we were doomed to fail. I thought I was doing the right thing. You deserve someone who will fight for you, Louis. Not break down at the fist sign of trouble." She said, leaning into his touch.

"That's why there's two of us, Laurel. You break down and I keep us together. I'm sorry I lost my temper like that; I shouldn’t have walked out like that. And if I knew you were going to leave me after the things I said, I wouldn't have hung up that phone. I would have come home stayed put until you forgave me. I should have and I have been beating myself up about it for months." He said miserably, holding on tighter.

"I thought that walking away was what I needed, but it's not. I need you, Louis. I need you so much. And being apart from you made me realize that I love you more than anything. And I can't bear the thought of losing you for one more second."

"What does that mean?" He said, leaning in to rest his forehead on hers. He closed his eyes and waited for her to reply.

"It means that I want to come home. I want work out our problems and give us a fighting chance." She whispered, her voice cracking slightly as she tried to keep her tears contained.

"Yeah?" He said thankfully.

"Yeah." She giggles and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you for coming. That is all I wanted today. All I want is you. We can figure out the rest later." Louis responded to the hug, wrapping his arms around her and crushing her into his chest.

“That sounds perfect.”