5 times the love for LOU & LEAH (idk if I can do that. Can I do that? IF NOT JUST DELETE THIS ONE)
send “5 times the love” and i will write a drabble about the five times my muse fell in love with your muse
He’s never had a terribly romantic soul, no matter Lyss’ arguments about it, but there’s something that strikes him interesting about the timid, small blonde figure he’s presented and instructed with showing around school grounds. He’s not entirely sure why she wouldn’t have gotten a companion of her own sex - given how there’s many things he can’t counsel her with - but he’s never been one to shirk from his duties. No matter how she can’t quite meet his eyes, or reply with more than one-word answers.
He does make an attempt to offer her a smile in the hallways, in the rare occasion that she’d so happen to look up and see him, but her posture is too withdrawn into herself. Most of the time, he’s not so sure she sees anything beyond her own feet, or some pathway leading her to and from spaces she’s required to be at. Beyond sharing a class here and there, what with his compact schedule, his chances to fulfill his role are fairly limited. He regrets that, too.
It takes more than a few weeks - months, really - before he actually sees her around other people. She’s not a fan of speaking up, not even in class, but she seems to be turning in consistently good work, good marks. Somehow, he finds himself still smiling in her general direction and, in one memorable opportunity, their gazes meet and she smiles back.
Strange, how she sometimes crosses his mind while he’s going through menial tasks. Such as drills, jogs, laps around the pool. Moments when his mind is disengaged, set on auto-pilot. He spots her, then, and the immediate smile is on his lips before he realizes what kind of exercise they’re being put through. There’s nothing more terrifying than trusting someone else to catch you as you fall, least of all to someone that is too used to keeping to themselves. He’s halfway there, then, when someone else steps up to the plate. Maybe next time, then.
School is back in session and he would be lying if he said he hadn’t enjoyed the holidays, spending so much time around his brother and sister, being both pampered and tormented at the same time. It’s one of the many joys of being the youngest, he supposes, something he wouldn’t wish to trade with anyone else. So he’s leaning inside his locker, already stuffing it full of books that he knows are going to be required readings this year, when a soft voice catches him by surprise.“Good morning, Louis.” She’s smiling, all blonde hair in a small dress that fits her well, almost too distractingly well, and she’s holding herself together with more... togetherness than he thinks he’d seen a year ago.“Good morning, Leah,” he greets back, returning her smile. She ducks her head a little when she walks by, while he lets out a small sigh of content. Some goal he hadn’t realized he’d set for himself seems nearer to completion, now. Somehow.
