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Clementine was distracted. She had been for some time. Days, no maybe weeks? She’d lost count by this point. All because of one person…
A sometimes silly, somewhat goofy but very talented boy.
“Clem?”
She latched onto the voice, dragging herself back to reality. Violet was sat next to her, looking worried.
“You okay? You were spacing out?”
“I… yeah, I’m okay. I just... “ If anybody knew the answer to the question burning in her mind, it was Violet. “Vi, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
It turned out the question was harder to ask than she thought, and that had already been pretty damn hard. “What... do you think Louis thinks about... me?”
Violet didn’t say anything for a while, expression curious. “Hmm, interesting. Not too long ago, he was asking a similar question.”
That surprised Clementine. “And what did you tell him?”
“Oh, you know, just the painfully obvious. That he clearly means the world to you. I don’t think he really believed me.” Her brow furrowed as she backtracked. “Well, no that’s wrong, I don’t think he believed in himself.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because nobody’s really believed in him much.” Violet sounded angry at that. “Not his parents, not teachers, not even his friends for a while. People see him as this insensitive asshole who never takes anything seriously. That’s not true.”
“No, it’s not.” Clementine knew that well, always had. She'd seen more than her fair share of insensitive assholes to know Louis wasn't one.
“He feels things so deeply, even if he hides it behind jokes.” Violet sighed heavily, frustrated. “Anyway, I got off track. To answer your original question, Louis likes you. A lot. I’ve never seen him act the way he does around you. It’s like, you throw him off his game. He’s more vulnerable and honest, you know.”
“I think you helped with that, Vi.”
She shrugged, not wanting to take too much credit. “Maybe a little. He helped me, too. I loosened the latch but you… you threw the floodgates open. You gave him a reason to stop hiding, to hope that maybe someone would see him for who he is. Not just a big ongoing joke.”
“And who is he?”
“You already know. But I guess you aren’t gonna leave until I’ve said it, huh.” Violet chuckled at her silent persistence, then offered a soft smile. “He’s my best friend, the one guy I could count on for anything. He might be a bit of an idiot sometimes, but that’s part of his charm, right? Even though we’re so different, even if I was a bit of a jerk to him at the start, that never stopped him being… well, him. I just… I want him to be happy. And I think, no, I know you can be a big part of that happiness, if you want to be.”
Clementine didn’t even hesitate when replying. “I do want to.”
“Well, that’s your answer, then. You two are a couple of love-struck dorks who deserve each other.”
“Thanks, Vi.”
She let out a short laugh. “No, thank you. You’re saving me from being the guinea pig for all his terrible jokes.”
“They aren’t terrible.” When Violet gave her a comically skeptical look, arms crossed, Clementine chuckled. “Okay, some of them are kinda bad.”
“That’s generous, Clem. I wouldn’t change a single thing about him though, not even that.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
Clementine loved him, just as he was. Now, she just needed to tell him...
Finding the courage to talk to Louis, even after Violet’s pep talk, was difficult. At this rate, she’d take it to the grave. She didn’t want that.
“Okay, next time I see Louis-”
“Next time you see Louis, what?”
She turned around, spotting him in the hallway, hand on his hip. Crap, she wasn’t ready. But would she ever be?
Swallowing her nerves, she did her best to keep her voice steady and bit the bullet. “Oh, uh, Louis. C-can we talk?”
“Uh-oh, what have I done now?”
“N-nothing.” She hated how stuttery she could get around him.
Louis raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what was going on. Deciding it wasn’t anything too bad, he shrugged. “Gotta debrief me on some super secret mission, huh. Alright, music room should be free.”
Heart racing, Clementine followed him to his second home. It was empty, except for the graffitied piano. How many times had she watched him sit down and play his heart out? He pulled up the worn piano stool, motioning towards the chair nearest.
“Take a pew.”
Tense, she moved one of the remaining rickety chairs closer, sitting in front of him. Close, but not too close.
“Soooo, what you got for me, Agent Everett?”
“A... big secret.”
Louis smiled, rubbing his hands with anticipation. “This should be good. Need me to accompany it with some intense background music?”
Unable to hold back the smile, she shook her head. “Might not set the right mood.”
Pausing, he tilted his head to one side. “Oh? What would then?”
“I can show you.”
Clementine stood up, squeezing in beside him on the stool. She took a deep breath, giving her fingers a practice wiggle. All she needed to do was picture Louis playing, remember all the tips he’d given her during their mini goofing off piano lessons. Her playing wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to make the tune recognizable.
The song he’d called ‘Clementine’ but different. Lower key.
He sat there in stunned silence, watching her hands clumsily move across the keys. Time slowed to a standstill, the only thing that seemed to exist was them and the piano. That was all they needed right now.
As she came to the end of the song, she turned to look at him. His jaw was slightly open, eyes wide. For the first time in maybe forever, he was speechless.
“I call that one ‘Louis’.”
When he managed to collect himself, he whistled. “Holy shit, Clem. That was-”
“Not as good as you, I know,” she interrupted, shuffling anxiously.
He shook his head firmly. “No, you were amazing. We need to get you some piano lessons, girl. You’re a natural.”
Giddy, hands shaking now, she lightly bumped his shoulder. “I learned from the best.”
Blushing now, Louis averted his eyes. “Somehow I doubt that.”
Shaking her head, Clementine gently lifted his chin and stared into his eyes. Louis had such pretty and expressive eyes, she never really had the chance to fully appreciate them until now.
“Uh, C-Clem?”
His voice made her realize she’d just been straight up staring at him for… how long had it been? Her turn to blush, she let his chin go but didn’t avert her gaze. “You’ve told me before that… nobody would ever choose you. That you never expected them to. Well, you were wrong, because… I choose you.”
It took a moment for him to understand what she meant. When he did, he blinked several times, face cycling through a million different emotions - confusion, guarded hope, disbelief, doubt...
“Wait. W-why me?” He finally stuttered.
“Why not you?”
“Oh, you know, lots of reasons,” Louis replied with a shrug, his self-deprecating humor kicking in. “Just ask anyone, they’ll give you an essay.”
Whenever she heard him talk like that, she wanted to hug him… and maybe slap a little him, too. She needed to make him see what she saw somehow. “I asked Violet. She didn’t seem to think so.”
Surprised, he almost fell off the chair. “Wait, you… did?”
“Yup.”
“And she didn’t talk you out of it?”
“Nope.”
He sat there for some time, processing that. “Huh. I mean, huh…”
“Why? Were you expecting her to?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it, shaking his head. “Not really, I guess. She’s not like that. I know we don’t always see eye to eye, a good deal of that is my fault because well… she always looks so damn sad, you know. I want to cheer her up, she’s been through a lot, but I keep screwing it up. Shit, I don’t even know why she puts up with me.”
“She doesn’t ‘put up’ with you. You should know that as well as I do, better really. You’re like a brother to her.”
“Did she tell you that?” Louis looked at her with hope-filled eyes. Violet’s opinion really meant everything to him.
“She didn’t have to. I can tell. The way she looks when she talks about you is enough proof.”
Less skeptical than before, he thought it over. “Well, it’d be nice if she said it to my face more.”
“Maybe she will.”
Louis’ eyes narrowed, arms crossing. “Clem, what did you do?”
She smiled at him, as innocently as she could manage. “Nothing. Just gave her a slight push in the right direction. Only fair when she did the same for me with you.”
“You really are something.” He chuckled, temporarily forgetting his nerves. “So… what now?”
“I…” Clementine hesitated, face scrunching up as she considered the question. “Huh, don’t actually know. Didn’t think this far ahead, if I’m honest.”
Louis burst out into laughter, slapping his hand on his thigh. He couldn’t speak for a few seconds, tears streaming from his eyes. Clementine had to wonder if some of that was just from relief, though. Clearly, they had both been sitting on these feelings for a long time, neither knowing how or even if to make the first move.
“You crack me up, Clem.” His hand found her cheek, thumb tracing gentle circles on her skin.
She smiled back at him, intertwining her fingers with his, keeping his hand in place. God, they were both so damn stupid. Not wanting to waste any more time, she hesitantly leaned in and kissed him. Gentle yet filled with emotion. Her heart felt like it was about to burst, overflowing with love.
When they broke apart, he rested his head against hers. “I’ll have to thank Ericson’s very own Cupid later.”
Clementine grinned, picturing Violet’s face when she found out about this. “Might even get a smile out of her.”
“Pfft, you wish. I’ve known that girl for years and I can count the times I’ve seen her smile on one hand.” Sitting upright, he playfully pressed some of the piano keys. “So, duet?”
Cracking her knuckles, Clementine let her fingers hover over the keys, ready. “You bet.”