Unexpected Company

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou had been having a rough time since the fallout with Erik. He'd tried to throw himself into his work, often forgetting to eat, and he barely slept. His chest felt like it had been ripped open, and the thought that his heart had been ripped out like the baby alien bursting from people's chests like in that old movie series he had watched with Erik only made the cavity in his chest ache worse.

He had been out in the fields most of the day, eventually winding up near a patch of trees at the edge of the field. The sun had started to set, and he slumped down against the wood. It felt cool against his flushed skin. The long days and even longer nights had been wearing on him. He leaned his head back against the tree, shutting his eyes. His mind drifted again to Erik. His soft, luscious midnight curls, his vibrant, sparkling blue eyes. He could almost hear Erik's laugh, see the way his lips curled when he was amused, felt the touch of Erik's hand in his own and the warmth of Erik in his arms. Erik had always fit so perfectly in Lou's arms. The tears came unbidden, but Lou had grown used to them. He was in love with Erik Drage. Maybe he always had been.

Lou sighed, bringing a hand up and massaging his fingers against his chest almost as if he was attempting to ease the pain. He'd ignored every attempt at contact from Erik. Lou knew what he had seen. Whatever Erik said, he had been in another mans lap, and Lou knew in his gut if he hadn't interrupted that they would have slept together. The thought twisted his stomach. If Lou had eaten anything, he would have thrown up. He had given Erik everything. His heart, his love. He had thought they had a future. That they were going to be together always. Lou bit his lip. Merlin, he really was a fool. And yet, Lou knew already that if he ever gave in, if he saw Erik, heard his voice, he would crumble and take him back.

Lou slowly faded away. He didn't mean to, really, but when he opened his eyes again, the morning light was filtering through the leaves of the trees.

 

[Olivia Drage]

One disadvantage that Olivia had with a small-scale Herbology business was lack of space. It wasn’t practical or feasible to grow everything that her customers wanted. She was low on shrivelfigs and needed to pick up her weekly order. She’d met Lou, and by extension Bettie, through her uncle Erik. The Prindeous, with their farm, were a good connection to have.

To Olivia’s knowledge, Erik and Lou had been a thing, and then they weren’t. She had no idea what had happened. Erik was completely closed off, and Lou seemed distraught. It wasn’t her business to untangle their messy love lives, but she did feel cut off. Over time, she and the shy farmer had become friends of sorts. Last week, he had actively avoided her, leaving everything to Bettie. Except now that Bettie was out, and Olivia still needed her order.

Olivia didn’t feel bad about arriving earlier in the morning; farmers were known to wake up with the sun. Lou had to be outside. Carrying an empty basket in her arms, she walked out into the fields, looking for him. She wasn’t expecting to find him curled up and shivering against a tree. He wasn’t wearing any sort of coat.

Olivia set her basket on the ground, kneeling down and shaking his shoulder gently. “Lou, wake up. It’s freezing out here. And it’s winter, for Merlin’s sake.”

Godmod approved

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou slowly woke up. Had he drifted off again? He woke up when he felt someone shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes, turning up dark groggy eyes. "Livvy?" He asked groggily, sitting up and yawning. He had become unexpected friends with the woman, but he'd felt out of place, believing she was Eriks and he shouldnt put her in the middle. He rubbed his eyes. They were red, his face was probably a little swollen. "What are you doing here?"

 

[Olivia Drage]

"I came to pick up my shrivelfigs," Olivia replied bluntly, gesturing half-heartedly at her basket on the ground. She would have given him her coat, but it wouldn't fit his large frame, and she didn't have the patience to try and adjust it magically. "Come on, Lou. You look like hell. Get up."

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou blushed, pushing up and stretching his long limbs. "Is Bettie out? I can help, " he offered, rubbing his hands over his arms. His entire body felt stiff and cold. He didn't look at Olivia, keeping his eyes on his feet as he started to shuffle back to the farm house.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia pointedly ignored Lou’s comment about the shrivelfigs. The only one who needed help was him. She followed Lou back to the farmhouse. “You need to go inside and warm up. You’re going to get sick,” she said, a little more harshly than she would normally have. Merlin, did she sound like her mother. Estrella would have laughed at her if she could see her now.

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou winced a little as she scolded him. "I'm going, I'm going," he shuddered, silent as they went back to the house. He stepped inside, immediately relieved to feel the warmth of the house. He walked over to their storage, opening the cupboard. "You said Shrivelfigs?" He asked, not looking to the woman.

 

[Olivia Drage]

“Yes, shrivelfigs,” Olivia said, holding her basket to her chest. At this point, she didn’t even care about the shrivelfigs anymore. Whatever the hell was going on between him and Erik, she wasn’t going to stand by and watch a friend kill himself with neglect. “You need to take better care of yourself, Lou,” she said quietly.

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou shut his eyes when Olivia spoke, shaking his head a little. "It doesn't matter," he replied softly, pulling out her Shrivelfigs. "How many did you need?" He asked instead, holding back the shiver he felt in his spine.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia ignored Lou’s question about the shrivelfigs. She took a step back to give him space. “You do matter. Stop giving him power over you.” Olivia sighed. “I’ll come back a different day.” Or maybe she would find another supplier, if Lou didn’t want her to come by anymore, but she didn’t say that out loud. She turned towards the door.

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou had spent his entire life trying to keep himself closed off. He thought he'd been fairly good at it. But apparently, something about the Drage family just slipped by every defense he had. When he heard Olivia turn to leave, his head shot up and his heart dropped. Without stopping to think, he rushed after her, catching her up from behind and hugging her close. "Don't... Don't go... Please, " he pleaded softly, burying his nose in her hair. It was odd, but the earthy scent that clung to her calmed his racing heart.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia was not expecting to be hugged from behind. The witch knew Lou didn’t mean anything by it, but the gesture felt overly intimate to her. She got over her initial shock and set the basket down on the table, turning around and hugging him back tightly before pulling away. “All right, then,” she said, not sure what else to say to her friend.

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou almost panicked when he realized what he'd done. He pulled away sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I- I'm sorry, I-I didn't, um," Lou sighed, walking over to his table and falling into one of the chairs. "I'm sorry, Livvy, I- I don't mean to make you choose, you shouldn't- shouldn't be in the middle of this," he scrubbed a hand over his face. "I'm sorry," he apologized softly.

 

[Olivia Drage]

“You’re fine,” Olivia said, then realized she was coming off overly blunt. “You don’t need to be sorry,” she added, a little more softly. She joined him at the table, sitting in the chair across from him. “I’m not in the middle of anything.” She didn’t even know what was going on. What was she supposed to choose? If she meant between him and Erik, she didn’t operate that way. If push came to shove, family came first, of course, but she wasn’t the type of person to shrug off friends over something as dumb as a breakup.

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Has he... Said anything?" He asked nervously, shifting in his seat and glancing at Olivia nervously. Whatever had happened with Erik, however hurt Lou felt, he didn't hate Erik. He didn't want to hurt him, Lou wanted him to be happy. It was stupid, and he felt like a fool again, but Lou just... Couldn't help himself.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia sat back in her chair. “No,” she answered honestly, “haven’t talked to him in months.” She really was in the dark. Apparently Teuila had been down to see Erik, but Teuila and Christian were having issues of their own, so Olivia had done her best to stay out of everyone’s business. There was no use in stoking the fires. “You need to get out,” Olivia said, then winced as she thought of him out in the field. “Just- not like that.”

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou sighed. He almost asked her to check on Erik, but he doubted the other man was even bothered by Lou's absence. He winced as she brought up what had happened, glancing away. "I didn't mean to, I... I haven't been sleeping well." he admitted softly, shrugging. He sighed again, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Am... I allowed to talk about it?" He asked slowly. "I haven't... told Bettie anything." He rubbed the back of his neck, staring a hole in the wall across the room.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia wasn’t surprised that Lou hadn’t been sleeping well, given the shape she’d found him in. She nodded. “Sure,” she said, “can I have some water first?” She really wasn’t asking permission, as she’d gotten up to rummage through the counters as she spoke. Olivia found two glasses and drew water from the tap. She slid one over to Lou and sat back down.

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou nodded, accepting the glass easily and sipping it. He sighed. "I'm just... it was..." He sighed. "I'm an old fool, Livvy. I... I've spent all my life on this farm. I didn't go to school. I was born and raised to work this farm. Most of the spells I've learned, I learned from Erik." Lou twirled the glass slowly in his hands. "I... put too much into it, I guess. Read too much into it. I haven't... I had never been with anyone romantically before him," he admitted slowly. "I thought things had been going well. But he... drew away. I didn't think of anything about it at first. Or at least, I didn't think it was my fault. I gave him space, but I... thought something was wrong, so..."

Lou sighed. He felt terrible, and he could feel the tears in his eyes. "There was this flower. He had mentioned it once. It was rare, and I happened to run into some seeds. I was growing it for his birthday." Lou hesitated, setting the water on the table. He turned his head away, running his hands through his hair.

He was quiet a moment before continuing. "I... I just wanted to be there for him. I could tell something was on his mind. I didn't want him to feel alone. It was... it was stupid, and presumptuous of me. I took the flower and I went to see him, and... he wasn't alone." Lou let out a choked laugh, swiping at the stubborn tears. "I just... I was so surprised, I... dropped the flower and ran. He's been trying to get in touch, but I..."

Lou shook his head, leaning forward and putting his head in his hands. "We had never said... He had never made any indication that I was important. I... got carried away, I guess. I know it's my fault. He didn't technically do anything wrong." He sighed. "I'm just... just some stupid farmer boy. I was born to work the farm, I'll die doing the same. It was silly to think I could be anything more." He rubbed his sleeve over his eyes.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia listened as Lou shared- no, unloaded- his feelings to her. She was quiet as he went off on a tangent. Olivia tuned in to about half of what he was saying; there was so much to unpack. She tipped back her water and then set it down on the table, folding her hands in front of her. Olivia’s face screwed up in confusion. From her perspective, Lou and Erik had definitely been dating- but, they hadn’t?

“Don’t let him off that easy,” she said, knowing it wasn’t what Lou wanted to hear, but maybe he needed it. “You were together, and then he cheated on you.” And knowing Erik, it wasn’t the first time he’d done such a thing. He would string someone along and break their heart later. Though Olivia loved him, he was a complicated human. She swept aside Lou’s comment about dying on the farm for later.

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou's lip quivered at her words, and he sighed heavily, leaning back. "How do you know?" He asked softly. "He never... he never told me anything about how he felt. And I... I couldn't find the words," he admitted softly, shaking his head. "I put too much into something he never said we had. I just... Livvy, my whole life, I've never been with anyone. I've just... been here. Working. Erik is... Erik was the only person that ever saw me."

Lou sniffled, wiping at the tears again. "I let myself love him. I didn't mean to, I just... I do." His lip quivered and he let out a broken sigh, struggling to keep it together. "I love him, and he was locking lips in another mans lap." He let out a derisive laugh. "God, I'm so stupid. He never... I wasn't..." Lou cussed quietly, digging his palms into his eyes to try and stem the tears. "I thought I would have stopped crying by now," He tried to joke, but his voice wavered too much for it to really work.

 

[Olivia Drage]

To Olivia, it was obvious that the two were in a relationship. She’d pieced the rest of it together from Lou’s retelling. Just because they hadn’t put a name to it didn’t mean it was nothing.

“Grief doesn’t work like that,” Olivia replied gently. She knew that emotion all too well, like an old friend. “You said he reached out?” She bit the side of her cheek, trying to approach the topic carefully. “If you’d rather not respond, you should think about what you need to do to get over him.” She sat back and put her hands in her lap. Whatever Lou was doing right now, it was clearly not working.

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou hesitated a moment before letting out a shaky sigh. "That's just it," he turned to look at her with dewey chocolate eyes. "I don't know what to do, Livvy." He admitted softly. "I want to respond. I want to see him, it's just..." Lou sighed and looked away. "I already know if... If I see him, I'll forgive him. No questions asked. Just... He really hurt me, I just... I want to hate him. But I can't..." Lou rubbed a hand over his eyes.

 

[Olivia Drage]

Olivia was truly tempted to suggest that Lou agree to meet Erik and slap him upside the head before he talked. It sounded like her uncle deserved it. But she held herself back, knowing that probably wouldn’t be helpful. Aside from that, she had just that much more loyalty to her family than a friend. Drages stood together, even though they called each other out when needed.

“Maybe, try to go out first,” Olivia paused, wondering what type of advice she’d give herself if she were in the same situation. “Meet other people. And sort out your feelings along the way." She drained her glass of water. "You don't need to figure it out right away. But you do need to start taking care of yourself."

 

[Lou Prindeou]

Lou nodded slowly, brushing his sleeve over his eyes again. "You aren't mad at me?" He asked, looking over to her again. He didn't want her to be mad at him, or made at Erik. He shifted, turning to look at her.