It was from that day forward that I took seriously the things I aimed to do, and not wait to do them. I started immediately on his book, reading it from cover to cover in about a week. Written by anyone else, it would've been a love story ending in tragedy. Louis, though, made it quite touching and relatable. As I read it, I could relate to the main character; a boy in highschool who watched a good friend of his fall for everyone but him. It reminded me of the dramatic time where I thought Zayn was the only man for me, and how I felt like dirt as I watched Suzie take my place in his life. In the end, the boy never has the courage to say anything to the girl, and watches her marry a close friend of his. What made it special, though, is that it was written as diary entries, and you could practically melt so easily into the words that whatever the character felt, you felt as well.

The second I finished the book, I went on to read the large envelope of notes and assignments that the American author gave to me the night of Louis' viewing. They were all in order chronologically, and as you read on, you could really see the improvement in his writings. They were all very enjoyable, some happy and light while others were dark and deep. It wasn't until about two-thirds of the way through the stack, though, that I finally found the pattern that the American man was talking about.

They were all love-centered.

Some were out to his unknown love, that he was yet to meet. Some were mere definitions or explanations of love, in his own eyes. Some were short stories of love, whether it was between humans or animals or even inanimate objects. There were happily-ever-afters and ones that left you feeling empty. They were either desciptive and lengthy, or simple and short. They were truly some of the most touching things I'd ever read, and I found myself crying at night because of a poem that was tragic, or sometimes having that much of a better day because I'd decided to re-read one of the happy songs in the morning to keep me smiling.

My eyes were finally opened the day I met Liam at a coffee shop.

Walking in the small, cozy cafe, I spotted Liam immediately and he waved me over.

"I finally brought those writings for you. Hurry with them, though, I want them back!" I smiled, handing him the manilla envelope filled with Lou's words.

"Thanks! I've been waiting to read these. So, how's it going? It's been a while." he sipped out of a deep purple paper cup, containing what I guessed was close to straight black coffee.

"Alright. Life's been quieter, that's for sure." I looked out the window, wishing I never had to admit those words.

"I know. I miss him too." he looked at my sympathetically, but I just waved it away.

"So I finally finished his book. It was amazing!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah? I thought you would never finish that. I couldn't put it down since the day I purchased it."

"I happened to be very busy, thank you very much. I'm just sad that I won't be reading anything else like this. It was honestly one of the best books I've ever read, even without knowing my best friend wrote it."

"I know. Even though it was your typical girl book, I really got into it."

"It was so incredible how you could relate to the main character. I don't know if I ever told you this, but back in high school, I had a massive crush on Zayn Malik, and dated him for a little bit, but then we broke up and he started going out with another girl. I watched it all thinking I was just going to die because my 'true love' left me for another girl. Turns out, they're married now." I shook my head in laughter of my past self.

"Really? You annd Louis were practically the same person!"

"Yeah... wait, what?"

"You have pretty much the exact same problem as Louis does in this book."

"Louis? Don't you mean Nathan?"

"Nathan, Louis, what does it matter? They're the same." he shrugged.

"They are most certainly not the same! Nathan is a fictional character, Louis is my best friend that dated a total of two girls since I've known him."

"Em... did you think he just wrote this story because a cute idea for a love story came to his head?"

"Isn't that how all fictional stories start out?"

"It's not a fiction book, Em. Look." he said, pulling the book out of his backpack. He turned it over to the back, and pointed to the words right above the barcode. To my surprise, it did indeed say "autobiography".

"I... I don't understand. Louis never once mentioned any of his girlfriends in this."

"His girlfriends weren't the main focus of the story."

I let the pieces slowly fuse together in my mind, not believing what I was putting together.

"Does this mean that this book is about me?"

"Yep. You're Eleanor. El, as he calls her more often."

"And... and Markus is Zayn and Joey is Harry and Peter is you?" I looked up at him, still not accepting this theory.

"You got it."

"And that means..."

"...Louis was in love with you, Em." Liam finished for me, leaning back in his seat to take another sip of his coffee.

I was silent for some time, not being able to really utter out anything that would be worth saying. I was at a loss for words, wondering how this was the life of someone so close to me, and I had to have someone else explain it. How did I never realize this was my best friend's reality?

"Why didn't he ever say anything?"

"Well, why didn't Nathan ever say anything?"

"The book doesn't say."

"You have to read inbetween the lines. Nathan cherishes his friendship with Eleanor, and doesn't want to say anything that would ruin that. He just wants to see her happy, and that's enough for him."

At this point, I was in tears, covering my face with shame and guilt. Was I so focused on everyone else that I didn't take the time to let Louis into my life? Was that the person I had become?

"I can't believe this."

"It's not a big deal now. He might not've been the one, and everyone deals with heartbreak. Probably you more than him."

"No, it's not that. It's the fact that Louis put up with every ounce of my crap, and was willing to put up with- no. He was willing to accept my problems as his own, and was there for me every step of the way. And what did I do for him? Tell him that his true love was 'out there' and that any girl would be lucky to have him. I was more than lucky to have him, and I overlooked why he was even there in the first place." I quieted myself, not wanting to make a scene in the middle of a coffee shop.

"Hey, everything happens for a reason. Maybe this was just a sign for you. A reality check."

"Well I'm definitely humbled now. I feel like the biggest load of-"

"Don't feel that way. How were you supposed to read Louis' mind? He never made an attempt to tell you how he felt, and he wanted to keep it that way."

"Oh my gosh. The writings." my eyes widened, hand flying up to my mouth.

"What?"

"The writings I just gave you. They're about me."

"Seriously?"

"Oh my gosh!" I buried my face in my hands, not being able to take in everything I was finding out.

"Let's get you home, ok?" Liam stood up, kindly leading me out of the shop and back to my grandma's.

The rest of that day only consisted of tears, Liam's kind heart, and explaining to my grandma how I was officially the world's biggest screw-up and didn't deserve anything other than the worst. She told me a story of a man who, back in earlier times, fell in love with his cousin, and found out that she fell in love with a boy in his army. Just to see her happy, he agreed to help the boy win the heart of his cousin. It worked, but the boy realized that the girl wasn't in love with him, but her cousin that was doing everything for him, even though she didn't realize it. The story ended with the cousin realizing who she really loved, but barely got to tell him in time before he died an unfortunate death.

"I know that story. It's a play. Cyrano de Bergerac." I sniffled, looking over to her fixing dinner.

"That's right. Looks like Louis fit Cyrano's life perfectly."

"He did... perfectly." I thought on it. What are the odds of a modern day young man living with the same mindset and love as a man from the 1600's?

"Love is patient..." her voice drifted off, knowing that I knew the rest. It was a favroite Bible verse of hers, 1 Corinthians 13:4. The familiar words floated through my mind.

"...love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." I finished, and she smiled.

"Do you want some roast, dear?" she asked, preparing a plate.

"Actually... I'm going to hit it early tonight. Thanks Grandma." I got up to give her a hug, then went to my bedroom to sleep after an eventful day.