It was Wednesday and Louis had no school, finally. The previous day he had felt so tired and could barely keep his eyes open. It was 10:30 AM when he woke up. Cinnamon was already meowing for food downstairs. 'I'm coming!' he shouted as he went down the stairs. Cinnamon quickly greated him and ran to the kitchen to start begging for food again. He poured the cat food into a bowl and put it down in front of her. Cinnamon purred and started eating.
Louis didn't do much that day. He was just waiting for Zane.
He was nervous. Maybe Zane wouldn't believe him, or think he was dumb for believing the words of a random stranger. Those thoughts vanished as the bell rang.
He got up from his couch and quickly opened the door. 'Hey, uhm...' he swallowed nervously, 'Come in, come in.'
Something felt akward between them.
Louis had a bad feeling. Zane was very down to earth and not into the airy-fairy stuff. This could be the end of their friendship again. There was a little hope though. The old man could have been telling the truth, or it was just a sketchy guy trying to lure him into darker corners.
'So, you had to tell me something?' Zane leaned against the doorframe. Their friendship was seemingly still damaged.
Louis nodded. 'Yes, indeed.'
'Okay...' He was waiting for him to continue while crossing his arms.
'I talked to a guy yesterday.' He hesitated. 'He knew a lot of stuff.'
'About what?' Zane urged.
'My parents.'
'So like some kind of stalker? I'd call the police, man.'
'No, Zane. Not like that.' He looked at the ground. 'My biological parents, remember?'
Zane nodded understandingly.
'He said they died in another world'
He interrupted him, 'You believe that shit? I know you're desperate to know where they went, but this goes a little overboard.'
'Why can you never hear people out for more than two minutes,' Louis argued, dissapointment noticably getting the better of him.
'I already know that guy was just trying to scam you. Let me guess, he knew them personally?'
'Nevermind.' He started to push the door towards Zane, making it clear this conversation was over.
'Louis, c'mon. Do you really believe that man? I know I didn't listen for long, but it sounds absurd already. They died in another world,' he emphasized.
'I couldn't even say two sentences and you're already cutting me off. I'd like you to leave now.'
Zane sighed, 'If that's what you want,' he raised his hands defensively, 'Fine.'
That evening made Louis realize he needed to do a lot of research. Making people believe him was almost out of the question, so he let that thought go. His biggest concern now was convincing his parents to let him go to France with some random old man. Great. That would totally work.
Maybe he was too reckless. He had only seen Arthur two times and the last time was weird. What if he was under the influence of drugs? What if he wanted to kidnap him?
He lay in his bed while procrastinating on a plan. He could give Carlos and Zane his location and tell them to call the police if he didn't answer anymore. That was already a great solution, but his parents were a bigger problem. These thoughts drained his energy quickly and he sunk away in his pillow while drifting off to sleep.