"What? No Josh?" Shane snorts as I carry my cup of coffee into the lounge. He, Derek and Hannah are all in the lounge, up before I had woken up for once. Usually, I'm the early bird. Hannah and Shane are both on the one blue couch, and Derek sits on the one across from them.

"He's passed out in my dorm after you dropped him off for me to babysit," I scrunch my nose.

I'm nauseous. Still so sick about last night. I didn't sleep until nearly three in the morning, tossing and turning. Hannah stumbled in at one point and passed out in her dress and heels on her bed. Josh snored throughout the night. My body was cold and numb, ashamed for not standing my ground and telling him no. It pained me for even lying to Louis and causing such a fight. Shane laughs about me mentioning babysitting Josh, and I sit beside Derek. I find myself getting close and comfortable against his side, taking in the warmth of his body heat. That storm last night brought in the chill of Autumn with ease. This grey hoodie and black leggings didn't help much with the crisp wind.

"Listen, we couldn't keep watching him. Someone had to, and you weren't at the party," Shane notes.

"Yeah, he interrupted my time with Ben by falling to the ground in hysterics when Ben was about to ask me out," Hannah pouts before sipping her coffee. My eyebrows raise, knowing just how annoyed she must be.

"Hannah was pissed. Almost hooked up with the guy she has had the hots for the past year, and your boyfriend ruined it," Derek bursts into a laugh, his body shaking against mine.

"I'm so sorry," I frown, genuinely feeling bad for her. She scrunches her nose and shrugs, putting one hand in her hoodie pocket and bringing her legs up onto the couch. I settle back and tiredly rest my head on Derek's shoulder. I need sleep. This caffeine may not be strong enough to wake me up.

"Good, you made it," Shane grins. My eyes fall on Louis, and my heart almost stops in my chest. He's in dark grey sweats and a fitted white tee. "I didn't think you'd be up when I texted you to meet up," Shane adds. Louis' eyes find mine, and I look down at my coffee immediately. My skin is heating up fast. I didn't expect Shane to invite him one bit. All night, I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened with Louis. My mind kept wandering, wondering what would have happened if Shane had never called. My god, I never wanted to kiss someone so bad in my life. I curl closer to Derek's side and never look up, but I can see him sitting beside Shane out of my peripheral vision. "Where were you last night? You never came to the party," Shane points out.

I can't handle these situations. I'll forever be nervous with Louis around the others. This whole thing is unbearable. I should get up and leave.

I take a sip of my coffee, my pulse quickening. I move away from Derek, worried that somehow he could feel my heart beginning to race. Another sip of my coffee is taken, trying to calm myself. "Uh, well, I was going to go but got caught up with this one girl," Louis starts, and I end up choking on my drink. My face is burning up, and I hide behind my coffee, coughing some more.

"You hooked up with some bird? Does she go here?" Derek asks with a raise of his voice, more than intrigued to find out more. Louis lets out the slightest hint of a laugh, and my heart is racing a mile a minute. This is torture. Absolute torture. This person that I barely even know has so much over my head. For all I know, he could easily slip out and tell all my friends that I had cheated on Josh with him out of anger. From what I do know about him, I could assume that he wouldn't. Then again, this worry is taking over every fibre of my being, and my eyes are now locked on him, silently begging him not to say a word. I have never felt such apprehension over someone other than Josh.

"Just an old friend. Nothing happened," Louis mutters. Every single one of my muscles is tense. My lips part as an overwhelming amount of shock takes over. It's not like anyone knows what had happened over the Summer besides Hannah, but still. His eyes fall on me so intensely that I feel so exposed. I look away from him, unable to bear looking at him any longer. Hannah's eyebrows furrow in suspicion, and my throat closes on me. I cross my right leg over my left, highly uncomfortable.

"Nothing happened," Shane mocks, not believing him. Louis' eyes linger on mine for a moment, but it is far too long in the back of my mind. I almost want to tell him not to look at me. My anxiety is bubbling up too much.

"Nothing happened, but after the last time I was with her, I haven't stopped thinking about it," Louis laughs and looks at Shane. My mouth goes dry, and I feel warm between my legs. Now he's getting back at me, torturing me for last night and heightening this worry while making me think about him between my legs again.

"So something has happened between you two. Was she that good the first time?" Derek pries in a joking manner. I want to sink back into this couch and hide. He needs to stop. Louis chuckles and looks down. Derek hums, trying hard to get an answer out of him.

"Oh, will you two leave this for later? God, he literally just started hanging out with us. I'd rather not hear about it," Hannah scoffs with aggravation laced in her words. Shane lets out a snort of a laugh, and I desperately sip at my drink to keep distracted from Louis. "Megs, how was the convention?" Hannah suddenly asks. I look at her with my heart tightening in my chest. She looks at me with raised eyebrows, waiting for me to answer. Maybe she knows I was with him last night. Maybe she's just trying to divert the topic away from that, assuming that I'm upset over him talking about some other girl. I don't know, and I hesitate to answer. My mind is too clouded.

"It was as boring as everyone said it would be," I answer in a tiny voice. I look away and clear my throat a little. I'd rather not speak about last night at all. The power this perfect stranger has over me is absolutely ridiculous. All I can do is pray that no one else notices. "Back to the conversation about Ben, what happened between you two before Josh interrupted?"

"He went to her, and she stood there in shock. She wouldn't move an inch," Derek points out with a laugh, draping his arm over the back of the couch behind me. Hannah's face reddens so fast, and I can't help but laugh. It's rare watching her get embarrassed. Never in our fifteen years of friendship has she gotten embarrassed.

"You're an ass. I was not in shock," she laughs awkwardly, her voice unsteady.

"Told you," Derek whispers lowly, closer to my ear. I let out a small giggle before catching Louis looking right at the two of us. My stomach flips, and I look away once more. I'd rather Hannah be embarrassed than me in this situation.

"A heads up that you lot were here would have been nice. Hands off her," Josh's voice interrupts us, and I tense immediately. The seat to my left fills, and Josh grumbles under his breath. He's now in a black tee and grey sweats, as opposed to how I had left him, and his brown hair is a chaotic mess. Derek's arm leaves the back of the couch as Josh wraps his arm around me. He leaves a long kiss on the top of my hair, and I give a weak, stomach-twisting smile.

"Check your phone next time," Shane calls him out. Josh grumbles under his breath, and Shane turns to Louis to ask him something about the football team. Josh's arm tightens around me, and his lips are over my left ear. I have chills coursing down my spine as his breath fans over my ear.

"You came back much later than the convention ended last night," he whispers lowly for my ears only. I no longer can focus on anyone else as the whole world stops. I look at him, and guilt is immediately taking over. Somehow, despite being at such a drunken point, he knows that.

"No, I didn't," I whisper back, wary that Derek may overhear. He hums before taking his phone from his pocket. I watch as he pulls up a group message between me, him and Shane, where Shane asks how much longer until I get to the dorm to take over—marked for 9:23 at night.

"Thought you said it ended at nine, and it's only a five-minute walk, if that," he notes lowly with his lips against my ear. My mouth dries instantly, and my heart is racing heavily in my chest. At this point, I'm too petrified to look Louis' way. My heart is stuck in my throat. I may keel over.

"Well, maybe if you didn't leave me to walk back in that storm, I wouldn't have had to wait it out," I try to defend, unable to keep my voice as low as I wanted. Josh's eyes darken instantly the moment Derek hums and looks our way.

"Nothing," Josh mutters to him to make him look away. He removes his arm from me and takes the coffee from my hand. I watch as he takes a sip of it and grimaces instantly, like always. My arms cross over my chest, sensing his anger spilling right out of him.

"Wait, you walked back to campus in that storm? Why didn't you just drive yourself there and back?" Derek asks, catching onto the conversation real quick. I can feel the others looking at us, and I feel so small.

"She's the one that asked for the ride, knowing it would storm and I'd be too drunk to pick her back up. Getting upset with me when it was her decision," Josh manipulates the situation in a split second. My heart drops instantly, knowing I can't defend myself. I never asked to be dropped off. I would have been happy enough to drive my own car.

"Oh, you can't be mad at him if you asked him to drive you. Let the poor guy be," Shane jokes, and my stomach is in knots. "You girls can be so dramatic sometimes," Shane quips some more. Hannah quickly slaps his arm with a shake of her head, only for him to burst into laughter.

"Right, well, I'm going to go back to my dorm to read," I state quietly, standing up.

"Oh, come on, don't go," Hannah pouts.

"I'm tired anyways. I'll meet back up later for dinner or whatever," I announce in a tiny voice. I'm still all too scared to even look Louis' way. Josh suddenly grabs my wrist, right where the bruise is. I almost want to rip my arm away when there's a sharp pain, but I hold back from wincing. I look at him, and he is just giving me a distinct look with raised eyebrows. My stomach twists violently, and I clear my throat. "I love you," I breathe out before moving in and leaving a small kiss. He sighs and lets go of my wrist.

"Text me when you get back," he notes. I nod quietly and walk away from them, making my way out of the lounge. My heart is in my stomach, and my hand gently touches my bruised arm. I wish I could blurt out what had happened, but I'm terrified of the repercussions. "Townsend, what happened to you last night? You never showed up at the party," I overhear Josh ask just as I get out of the lounge. I end up stopping, lingering by the doorway to listen. I already feel so low after Josh had attempted to embarrass me, and now this added fear is raking through me.

Please, Louis, don't say a thing. I didn't mean to freak out last night.

"He was hooking up with some girl he fancies," Derek calls him out.

"If only I had half of the girls that have been looking at you and throwing themselves at you," Josh is laughing. My chest is tight, and my eyes are beginning to burn a little. This overprotective and controlling person, who would be furious if I even looked in the direction of another guy outside our group, is only heating my blood even more. "Was it that one blonde that was trying to hit on you at the party last week? What I would do for one night with her."

"Did you forget you have a girlfriend?" Hannah scoffs.

"Oh, it's locker room talk. Megan doesn't care. She knows I love her and only her," Josh remarks back.

I can't listen any longer. I walk away with my arms crossed tightly over my chest. My head stays low to avoid meeting anyone's eyes, and my heart is pounding in my chest.