Piper's POV

I was more than a little angry that Erick put me in the bedroom right next to Louis’, on the third floor, in one of the two bedrooms on the third floor. It was like he was trying to torture me.
I had unpacked and sat down on the bed, staring out the window. This was the bedroom I always had. No one ever took the blue bedroom, it was always empty, ready for guests. It was nice having the entire third floor to myself, but now of all people I had to share it with, Louis was right next door.
I sighed as I thought about the entire situation. Louis hadn’t said a word to me since I left his apartment two days ago. I was too afraid to text him, and I hadn’t received anything from him, so I assumed that we were not on good terms anymore.
I felt the anger bubble up as I realized that Louis had used me. He had gotten me drunk, he had kissed me, and it was him who invited me over in the first place. That must have been his main goal the entire time.
My phone buzzed. I picked it up off the end-table and punched in my passcode.
It was Erick.
“Did you guys make it to the cottage safe and sound?” he asked. I smirked at the unintended pun and typed a quick reply, assuring him we were all there and accounted for, and that it was just past three here. Not that there was any time change between Michigan and New York, but I figured he’d want to know anyways.
I tossed my phone aside and laid back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I wasn’t sure if I was in love with Louis, or if I was just fooling myself into thinking I loved him. These kinds of things happened, didn’t they? I mean, I was flattered when he flirted with me all throughout dinner the first night. And I had been more than excited to find that he wanted to hang out with me afterwards. Maybe I had made it all up. Maybe I was deceiving myself.
There was a knock on my door. It jolted me out of my thoughts, and for a split second, I hoped it was Louis. I shook my head, almost as if to shake those thoughts out of my mind, before getting up and opening the door.
“Hey,” said Lucy, smiling softly. “I wanted to know if you wanted to come to the grocery store with me, Skylar, and Niall? There’s not much food here…”
“No thanks,” I said hurriedly. “Just Sky, you, and Niall?”
Lucy blushed.
“And Harry, I think,” she added reluctantly.
“What about everyone else?” I asked.
“Um…I think Zayn, Scar, Reagan, and Liam are going out to dinner in town…and I don’t know about Louis…that was why I asked you. I didn’t really want to leave you here alone…you know…with him,” Lucy whispered, knowing full well that Louis’ room was right next door, and he could be listening in on our conversation right now.
“Maybe I should go with you,” I said worriedly. “I’ll help picking out ingredients for dinner.”
“We’re not cooking dinner…we’re going out to dinner first,” admitted Lucy. Scar and Sky are going to Beulah, and we’re going to Frankfort.”
“Oh,” I said, deflating a little. I didn’t want to be a third wheel with either party, and I figured that Lucy secretly didn’t want me to come either, even if she had offered.
“I mean, it’s fine if you come, but…” trailed Lucy, shrugging a little.
“No, I’ll stay. You have fun, okay?” I said, patting her on the shoulder. She smiled despite herself, and nodded.
“I’ll see you later tonight, kay Pips?” she said, turning away.
“Alright, Luce,” I laughed. I closed the door and felt the happiness flow out of me. I was going to be alone in this huge house with Louis tonight. For some reason, I felt like tonight might possibly not end well.
I decided to read one of the books I’d brought along with me to kill time. I eventually heard everyone leave the house and heard two of the three cars we had pull out of the garage. After a while, the house was silent.
I wondered where Louis was. Maybe he’d gone along with one of them. Maybe it was just me here. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to check, and even if he was here, I’d make sure not to be spotted.
I crept out into the hallway, and peered over at Louis’ room. The door was slightly ajar, but I couldn’t see well into it. I decided to get closer and see if I could look inside and judge whether or not he was there.
Creeping closer, I came up to the door and peeked inside. Seeing that there was no one in the room, I pushed it open and stood straight. He wasn’t here. He must have left.
“You know, it’s easier to knock sometimes,” a voice said behind me. I flipped around to see Louis smirking behind me, arms crossed.
“S-s-sorry,” I stammered, falling back. I tripped over something and landed on the bed on my back. Louis stood over me, still smirking.
“Why were you peeking into my room?” he asked suspiciously. He took a step closer. I felt my heart begin to pound faster. God, I felt like I was going to get raped.
“Why were you sneaking around?” he demanded. I couldn’t form words and I was terrified. He really was scaring me.
Finally, he was standing right over me, staring down at me with his cold, blue eyes.
I don’t know why I was so scared. If this were anyone else, I’d have been able to handle the situation in a much different manner. I would have stood up for myself. Explained myself. Not allowed myself to fall backwards.
“I…I wanted to see if you were here,” I finally whispered. I propped myself up, and Louis took a step back. “I wanted to know if I was alone.”
Louis shrugged and said, “Well, guess what? You’re not. Why didn’t you just knock?”
I sat up and furrowed my eyebrows.
“Louis, we’ve been avoiding each other,” I stated. “And you’re saying I should just knock?”
Louis smirked.
“It’s the conventional method,” he replied sassily.
I snorted – oh how attractive of me – and Louis snickered, and before I knew it, we were doubled over laughing. I don’t know why, but I felt the tension just slip away, and something replaced it. It was comfortable, and I felt at ease with Louis, and looking into his eye, I felt a tiny spark.
Finally, when we recovered, Louis took a deep breath. I took one too, and then we were there in silence for a moment.
Louis sat down next to me on the bed and didn’t look at me.
“Piper,” he began. “I want to apologize about what happened that past night. It was…irresponsible of me. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that.”
“It’s alright,” I said automatically. It was a knee-jerk reaction, and I had little control over it.
Louis winced.
“Not really,” he argued. “You may not know this, but I have a girlfriend.”
I felt my heart sink when I heard those words. I knew he had a girlfriend, but I had some tiny, unexplainable hope that Louis would forget about her.
“I’m dedicated to Eleanor. We’ve been through a lot. And you’re an amazing girl…it’s just…I don’t really know you that well,” Louis said, avoiding my gaze.
I realized when he said that that I didn’t really know him either. We had just been drawn to each other initially, but there was really no basis for our attraction to each other.
“Piper, I’m really sorry. I don’t know how you feel about this all, but I feel guilty about this all,” admitted Louis. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why did you then?” I asked softly, not looking at him now. I saw from the corner of my eye him swivel his head around to look at me straight on.
After a moment’s pause, he whispered, “I don’t know.”
We sat there for another moment or so before I got up and left.