Cheeky ➻ Louis Partridge

20 | The Person In The Brown Bowler Hat

Y/N

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MY MIND IS DANGEROUS.

Sometimes I get so lost inside of it, it takes me a while to get myself back on my feet again. Sometimes I purposely shut out the outside world for a moment alone with myself, but then the negative thoughts start to roll in.

Like the ones from that day.

After I left Louis at the flower market, I found it easier to avoid him at all costs. While he was rehearsing on stage, I'd go out to lunch with Nora, Sadie, and Caleb. When he was waiting in the wings, I traded shifts with someone to go work the light booths.

And I knew I missed him...but he still never apologized for the things he said.

I actually haven't seen him much to know what he was doing. I wondered if he moved on, if he was still trying to figure out what to say, or if he was giving me space.

Or if he just forgot about me.

Sometimes I'd just stare at the ceiling remembering that cheeky grin of his, wishing I could hide myself in one of his warm hugs, and wishing I could braid his hair. He always said it felt nice when I did that.

"You okay?" Sadie said, "you missed your cue."

I snapped back out of my thoughts to realize I had zoned out. We were in the middle of dress rehearsal, and I totally forgot to hit the light switch when Mercutio walked on stage. Freddie will probably yell at me for that later.

"Yeah, I'm good," I said, exhaling, "sorry, I lost focus."

The red head frowned, "you don't look too good."

"I don't?"

"Your skin is kind of green."

"Oh," I mumbled, rubbing my forehead, "I haven't been feeling too great lately, now that you mention it."

"I can cover for you," Sadie offered, "go home."

"Are you sure? We haven't made it to the Second Act yet."

"I've got this, your health is more important."

"Thank you, Sades," I said, nodding my head.

Getting up from my chair, I wobbled over to the stairs and began to walk down them. I didn't realize how sick I actually felt at the moment. I must have been zoning out so hard I got dizzy.

As I slid through the theater seats, I snatched my backpack up from the aisle and began to make my way to the door. As I was leaving, I noticed a shadow lingering across the theater.

It was Louis.

I stopped for a second, glancing his way, but he just stood there. Waiting. I wasn't feeling well anyways, so I just nodded at him and began to leave. There was no point in being immature and rolling my eyes at him.

Neither of us deserved that.

As I pushed my way onto the sidewalk, I stumbled down the stairs and began to walk towards the train station. It should have been a usual routing: go down the stairs, walk a few blocks, reach the tube, then go home.

But that was before a figure caught my eye.

As I made my way down the sidewalk, I noticed someone staring at me from across the street. They were wearing a thick, brown trench coat and a matching bowler hat. That was weird, and slightly alarming. Continuing to make my way towards the dorms, I shook the thought from my head.

Until I saw they were still following me.

This wasn't just alarming anymore, this was scary. Keeping to the crowds, I swerved in and out of the crowds until I was sure I lost them. Maybe it was safer to stay above street level instead of going underground for the train.

Once I saw no trace of the bowler hat person, I slipped into my dorm building and let out a heavy sigh of relief. Freaky.

As I closed the door behind me, I made my way to the kitchen, but stopped. There was a knock on the door.

Narrowing my eyes, I froze where I was standing.

"Hello?" I called out, "who is it?"

There was a moment of silence, before the sound of a woman's voice echoed in through the cracks of the door.

"Hey!" They said, "is this [y/n]'s room?"

Hm.. the bowler hat person couldn't have known my name. The voice also sounded oddly familiar, and although I couldn't put a finger on it, the sound was slightly comforting. Maybe it was one of the concierges from the lobby.

Creeping towards the door, I unlocked the door and looked through the tiny crack. When I saw the sight of a brown bowler hat, I shut the door closed immediately.

Or so I thought.

They had wedged their hat into the space between the wall and the door, stopping it from closing completely.

"Wait!" They yelled.

Now that their hat was off, I noticed it was a girl. She had her hair pulled back into a braid, but she was definitely familiar. Taking a step back, I widened my eyes in shock.

"I'm Millie," she said, holding out her hand, "and I'm here to talk to you about Louis."

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anyone else's wattpad views frozen?