As much as I looked forward to reading it, I put off Lou's book for a few days. And as usual, the days turned to weeks, and the weeks turned to months. Every day I would come home and let my eyes drift around the room, and they always stopped on the book sitting on the table beside the sofa. And every day, I would tell myself "later" and keep walking.

It had been a string of months, I'm not sure how many, a little less than a year, perhaps, when Louis and I were planning to see a movie. I had been hung up in work, and was glad that I finally had some free time. Liam, unfortunately, worked his hours when I was off mine. Louis was working a minimum-wage shift, seeing how his book wasn't doing too bad on the market, and he made a steady income.

I had just wrapped my scarf around my neck, about to walk out the door when my phone beeped in my pocket. I opened the message, only to find that my boss needed me asap due to another employee's unplanned absence. I sighed, losing any spirit I had for the night and turned back to get changed into work dress. I dialed Louis, telling him I was sorry I couldn't make it and that he should go see it without me.

"Are you kidding? This is our movie! I'll just see another one, there's no way I'm seeing it without you."

"Alright. But if I'm still over-booked by the time it's out of theaters, you better have seen it already!"

"Whatever you say. Work nice. Love you."

"Love you too. See you soon."

I hung up and drove out to work, a decent restaurant that had poor management. My first month there was fine, but as the employees I could tolerate left for better jobs, worse ones came in. Now, I felt as though I was working with a bunch of middle schoolers with platters. I tried my best to ignore them, but with annoyances like those, you're really pushed to the limit.

Thankfully, my boss liked me more than the mean old lady over at my old tiny diner, and let me off before that shift was supposed to end. I jumped at the bit and left as soon as possible, driving home in a hurry to relax. I watched some television, and fell asleep on the couch doing so.

The afternoon following was a day I'll never forget.

I slowly sat up, peeling my skin off of the leather sofa as I remembered what happened last night. I heard my grandma in the kitchen, probably making breakfast, when the TV caught my attention.

Bold letters announcing the latest crime took over the screen, and I dialed up the volume to tune in.

"Last night, a mass murder occured on Falcon Avenue, where a man held down a theater. It was the opening night for a new film, and he demanded the profits. Here's Lance with the story."

"Thank you, Riley. It's unfortunately true, on the opening night of Iron Man 3, a moneymaking movie, to say the lesat, an unidentified man ran in the building, ordered everyone to stay silentand get down, and forcibly took the cash from every register. It started when one man stood up in an attempt to stop him, but was shot to his death. As the man left, he shot randomly, many becoming victims of this disaster. Here we have Jim Bates, a cashier who witnessed it all."

My heart sunk as I listened to the story, cringing and shaking my head at the evil in this world. The worst of it all, is that one man that stood in bravery to stop him, didn't even have a chance. All for the stupid money to be made off of Iron Man 3...

I shrieked. Before my grandma could ask what was wrong, I was out the door and in my car instantly. I whipped out my phone and dialed the familiar number, but there was no reply. I called again and again and again, but nothing came through. I kept calling until I pulled into his driveway, pounding on the door after nearly tripping up the steps. I felt as though I waited a lifetime before the door creeped open, revealing the tear-stained face of a heartbroken woman.

I'd met her a handful of times, yet no words were exchanged before we were sobbing in each other's arms.

~~

With my head down, I quietly made my way up to the front of the dark room. Soft conversations were heard, and slowly decreased as the people filed out over the minutes. All I could do was stare down at the face, oh so friendly, now covered by a pale barrier.

"I saw part three." I laughed a little, choking on my words.

"He gives it all up for Pepper. I guess it would've been something like a chick flick to you, after all."

I smiled down at the lifeless hands, arms, chest, head, everything. The most serious I'd seen him in a while, no doubt. I turned and sat on the steps in front of the casket, unable to look any longer without losing it. In the middle of pulling myself together, I was interrupted by a gentlemen I had never seen before.

"Are you Em Parks?" an American accent asked softly.

I looked up to him, nodding before wiping my eyes for the umpteenth time.

"Hi, my name is Allen Richards. You probably don't know me, but I'm the author that Louis stayed with in America."

"Oh, I apologize for my lack of respect. Pleasure to meet you." I stood, holding my hand out for him to shake. He waved it away, in a gesture of sympathy.

"You as well. I understand the two of you were quite close, or at least that's what he rambled about."

"We are best friends." I emphasized the present tense defensively.

"Of course, my mistake. As a young writer, I encouraged Louis to experiment with different writings such as poetry and song. I would look over each and tell Louis what he needed to work on or fix, to help him understand the different types of writing mistakes and prevent him from doing those in his future writings."

"Not to sound rude, but where is this going?" I asked bluntly, wanting to get this chat done and over with.

"Ah yes, sorry. I always keep these little experiments and send them to the author after his writing career is coming to an end, to show him how far he's come along. It's sad to see that the young boy won't be seeing these, but I thought you might enjoy them. He told me you marvelled in reading all kinds of things, and I definitely saw the work he put into these writings. They all shared a similar theme, if you look closely. So, this is for you, if you'll accept it." he handed me a manilla envelope with the name "Louis Tomlinson" scribbled across the front.

"Thank you very much." I nodded, smiling.

"Also, not to bother you, but have you read his book yet?"

"I started, but haven't gotten to the second page yet. I've been filled to the brim with things to do and places to be."

"I highly recommend it."

"Well I'll definitely get on it, then. Thank you."

"My deepest apologies for your friend. He was a great young man."

"He is." I corrected, and he nodded in agreement before departing. I looked down at the envelope, noticing the bulging sides. I sat back down on the step, carefully opening the package and selecting a random paper from the middle of the stack. It was dated the year previous, and only three lines resided.
"Relationships fail
Trust and love translate to dark
You are something new"
It was signed like a fraction- E.L. over L.T. The familiar flow of the words represented a haiku, and I smiled at the simplicity, yet deeper meaning of the twelve words. He did always know just what to say, I suppose that's why he was such a great author.

I gently slid the paper back into the envelope, securing it shut and deciding I would save the rest of them for home. I noticed it was quite dark outside, and got up to get on my way. Before leaving, I pressed a gentle kiss to the cold forehead of the man that changed my life.