It was a summer evening. The sun was setting, painting the sky a beautiful hue of orange and yellow. The sky was clear, and the low hum of passing traffic could be heard. The streets were a bit crowded, as expected. The city was alive, bustling with people and cars as the red-haired man weaved through traffic, tapping the GPS system to alter the destination to the one he had just received.
Soon enough, the car came to a stop at a red light. The man sighed, tapping his thumb against the steering wheel. He was tapping his foot impatiently. He was nervous. He was impatient. He was excited. But most of all, he was angry. He took a deep breath to calm himself. It's okay. He... can do this. He can do this. He's good at this. He's good at acting charming, after all. And he's good at keeping control of his emotions. He glanced to the side, trying to distract himself.
But the bitterness remained. The anger simmered. How had it been so... easy for Elias to just leave him behind, just like that? How could he just forget? Was that all their friendship had meant to the blonde? He still remembered how confused and heartbroken he'd felt at first when he couldn't contact Elias. He had even gone back to their old school, but that had also come up with nothing. It was as if the other had just... vanished.
For countless nights, Louis had stayed awake, staring at the ceiling, replaying their memories in his mind. The confusion and hurt gradually gave way to bitterness and resentment. Was he the only one assaulted by memories of the past? How had Elias been able to forget so easily? Why wasn't it the same for him? Was he the only one who thought they had something special?
And it hurt. It pained him that he was the only one affected. On top of his heartbreak, his ego was bruised too. He found it hard to trust people now. He was afraid—what if the next person he trusted also disappeared on him one day? He couldn't bear the thought. He couldn't go through that again. So, he kept his relationships superficial. After all, you have to leave before you get left. Why fall in love if you just have to watch it slip away? And Louis couldn't bear getting left again.
He smiled humorlessly, recalling how many times his therapist had told him to let go, to just forget. But how could he forget the one face that always crept into his memories whenever he saw a sunset? That one face, both his darkest demon and his sweetest dream.
He still remembered the first time they met. In a hallway. Louis had always been surrounded by people—some drawn to his family background, others to his popularity and good looks. But that day, his gaze had stilled on one figure only. Blue eyes had met his, and the other's eyes had widened, a soft pink hue of embarrassment blooming from having been caught staring. Louis had chuckled and kept walking.
Cute... he had thought.
He hadn't thought much about the incident then. Little did he know, that particular memory would haunt his dreams for a long time.
That was followed by many 'coincidental' meetings. He could tell the other was trying to find ways to spend time with him, and he found that endearing. The slight awkwardness, yet the determination in his pursuit. Louis found it daring, and, dare he say... endearing. He didn't know when he became conscious of the other. He began to notice the little quirks, the habits. He knew the other rubbed the back of his neck when he got awkward. He knew he tapped his foot when he was anxious. He began to notice... so much.
Time heals all wounds, they say. And it did, to some extent. The therapist's methods seemed to be working. He began focusing more on his work, and the sleepless nights gradually became fewer. He still had trouble trusting people, but at least he wasn't spending his nights staring at the ceiling. But that day... That day when he saw the other again, it changed everything. Every feeling he had buried deep inside came rushing back. Turns out, putting the cover of time over wounds didn't work as well as his therapist had hoped. Because the moment he saw Elias again, that cover peeled right off. And along with it came an intense feeling of resentment and... possessiveness.
He had to make Elias stay with him, no matter what it took.