Sage’s POV

Walking out of the elevator with the keys in my hand, I saw an arm lying over the arm of a chair in the lobby with a familiar tattoo on it. I saw his wrist flick making the small bird move as he popped his wrist. He didn’t notice me until I was in his line of sight.

“Hey, why’re you up so early?” He asked looking me up and down. “Are you going somewhere?”

“I was gonna go get some coffee, do you wanna come with me?” I asked shyly.

“Sure.” He shrugged standing up. “Is anyone else up?”

“I don’t think so, I haven't talked to anyone besides you and Harry today and he’s asleep again so I doubt it.” We walked toward the door slowly knowing we had no time limits.

“Oh.” I knew he had something else to say but he didn’t continue that thought.

We walked in silence to the car and got in. I buckled up in the driver’s seat while Louis buckled up and put his feet on the dashboard. He was still in his sweats and slippers but neither of us really cared. I started the engine and pulled away from the curb as Louis started to play with the radio. He couldn’t choose a station so he turned it off.

“Is everything okay?” I asked not looking over at him.

“Yea” He shrugged.

“Don’t lie, if something’s wrong I’m here to listen.” I pried knowing he wasn’t telling me something.

“I’m not sure how to act around you right now. I know you have a lot going on with your family and the other guys and I don’t want to add to it. I want you to be happy but I know you cant be happy right now and it hurts to see you hiding it.” His voice was quiet as he spoke. “I love you, we all love you and none of us want to see you be in pain but it’s even harder to see you in pain when you try to hide it.”

His words hit me like a train, knocking the air, and words, out of me. I held my feelings back because I didn’t want them to worry but it made things worse. When I got my breath back, I looked over at him and saw a single tear streaming down his cheek. Seeing him like that made my eyes sting from the salty tears forming in them.

“I’m sorry.” That’s all I could mumble out without completely breaking down.

“Don’t be sorry, I understand why you’re doing it but we all know this is hard for you and we’re here for you to lean on. Harry isn't the only one who cares about you, Sage; we all care.” He reached over and grabbed my hand that was resting in my lap. “I love you Sage.”

“I love you too Louis. I’m sorry I’ve been shutting you out, I don’t know how to handle this situation and I’m just trying not to show you guys what’s going on. I don’t even talk to Harry about this unless I really need to talk and I haven't reached that point yet, the last person I talked to about this was Zayn and that was when we were still at home.” I could feel my voice getting shaky so I stopped talking.

“Well, I’m here if you need anything.” He smiled and leaned over to kiss my cheek.

“Thanks Lou.” I squeezed his hand and focused on finding a coffee shop in this confusing little town.

“So, when’re we going home?” He asked after a few minutes of silence.

“I think tomorrow or tonight, I don’t know but I don’t want to go home.” I shrugged pulling into a small parking lot outside of a cute coffee shop.

“I don’t either but I don’t want to be here anymore.” I guess we were all getting tired of this little town.

“I really miss my bed.” I complained turning the car off.

“I miss Roscoe.” I thought it was adorable when a he talked about his puppy; it made him seem so innocent when I knew he wasn’t.

“I miss being able to walk around naked.” I laughed as we walked up to the door.

“You could walk around here naked, I wouldn’t mind.” He raised his eyebrows and looked at my body. “Seriously, no objection here.”

“Shut up Louis.” I blushed looking away.

Notes

Aww, I liked writing the heart-to-heart between them. Thanks for reading.