My Prince Charming

Chapter 21

Ava POV

"So, why did you ask us to come over so early?" Quinnie asked as she sat down on the couch opposite me next to Olivia.

"Yeah, you stopped us before we could even have a drink," Olivia sooked as she folded her arms with a pout and sunk into the couch. They both wore the same dress, just in different colours. Quinnie wore a hot pink strapless dress that stopped halfway down her thighs, and Olivia wore the same dress in lime green.

"I'm sorry for calling you so early, but I really need to talk to you both," I admitted, looking down slightly.

"It's fine, A. What did you need to talk to us about?"

My hands rubbed up and down my arms in an attempt to comfort myself. "Well, when I was at work this morning, a guy came up to me. He was nice at first, but when I told him I wouldn't give him my number, he grabbed me."

Liv instantly straightened up in her place. "Please tell me he didn't do anything past that."

"No, no, no! Don't worry! Louis came at the right time," I quickly clarified, waving my hands in front of me.

The three of us were silent for a couple of moments, and I hung my head down again.

"That's not all that happened, is it?" Quin asked, but it sounded more like a fact. I cringed slightly and nodded.

"When I was walking home, a person was following me."

I continued walking along the path, going in random directions as I waited for Louis to pick up his phone.

"Come on, come on, come on..." I muttered to myself, biting my nails nervously.

I snuck a glance at the person still walking behind me. They were much too close for comfort, only a couple of steps away from me.

The call went through. "Louis?" I immediately asked. I don't know why I did, but I didn't want to be talking to a random person.

"Princess? Is that you?"

"Oh, thank god..." I mumbled to myself, relief flushing through me at the sound of his voice.

"It's nice to see that you've finally called me, princess. What's the occasion?"

I looked over my shoulder to see the person backing off a bit. "Umm, nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice."

"I just saw you a few hours ago though. Are you sure you aren't just tired from dreaming about me?" I made a mental note to laugh at the joke later. But right now, I had other things to worry about.

"Yes, I'm sure. But, umm, are you busy right now?"

"I'm never too busy for you. Do you need help with something?" My heart skipped a beat at his sweet words, but it also ached at his last words. I did need help, but should I tell him? I didn't want to bother him with my worries. Though to be fair, a person was following me, so I had reason to be worried.

The words slipped out of my mouth before I could think, making me immediately regret what I said.

"No, not really, I just want to talk to you."

"Oh, alright. What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything, just keep talking."

"Alright then. How about I tell you what happened to my friend, Sam?"

"Oh, hell no," Olivia reacted angrily, her hands balling into fists on her lap.

"But I called Louis, and the guy eventually went away when he got close enough to hear his voice."

"What did Louis have to say about this?" Quinnie asked, and I hung my head in shame once more and looked at my fiddling fingers.

"I didn't tell him."

"What the hell?! Why wouldn't you tell him?!"

"I don't want him to worry about me."

Olivia rolled her eyes with a small sneer. "You got to be kidding me. The dude would literally cut his arm off if you asked him to. He's obsessed with you. He could make you feel so much safer. Why wouldn't you tell him?!"

"I just told you; I don't want to bother him."

"Oh, bullshit!"

"Liv-"

"No, Quin. Ava here has a literal prince in her hands like putty, and while she won't ask him for anything, when she is in actual danger and feels unsafe, she still won't ask him for help, and I want to know why! I want to know why you won't ask your boyfriend for help, or to at least stay over to make her feel safer! I want to know why! So, Ava, tell me why-!"

"Because I don't want him to think that I can't fight for myself!" She didn't respond.

I took a deep breath. "I don't want him to think as soon as he comes into my life, that I'm going to dump all of my issues onto him. He's already had enough people using him in his life, and I don't want to be similar to them in any way."

"Ava, you know he would never compare you to any of the people who used him, and I think he would be insulted if he heard you say that about him," Quin stated after some silence.

I didn't say anything.

"She's right, Ava," Liv agreed, moving off of the couch to my seat in front of me, kneeling down and taking my hands into hers. "You can't seriously be thinking that Louis wouldn't want to help you feel safe."

Quin moved to sit next to her. "Louis cares about you Ava. And you should feel comfortable to talk to him about anything, especially things like this."

They each held one of my hands as they sat in front of me. I felt my eyes start to sting, but I bit back the tears.

"I know," I mumbled. "But part of me feels like I asked for it-and I know that's not true! But I can't help thinking if it's the same guy from the market, and what would have happened if I had just given him my number."

"No, you cannot be thinking like that, A," Quin stated strongly. "You were not in the wrong. You have a boyfriend, and that guy clearly wanted to do something with you, because he was not being friendly."

"...I know..." I whispered. "Thank you, guys. I really appreciate that you stopped your night to make sure I was ok."

"It was a no-brainer. Besides, the guys there weren't that good-looking." I chuckled at Olivia's statement as she rolled her eyes.

"I'll tell Louis at some point, but I really need you guys not to tell him. I need to find a way to do it myself."

Quin nodded instantly, allowing me to turn to Liv and see a look of doubt on her face.

"Liv?"

She hesitated for a couple beats. "Fine-but you better tell him soon! Otherwise, I am."

I chuckled. "I think that's fair." I looked between the two of them. "But thank you, guys. Really." I pulled them into a three-way hug.

"I don't know what I'd do without you both."

"I think you'd go crazy," Olivia commented, causing the three of us to laugh.

How did I get so lucky with these two as my friends?