If Walls Could Talk

Chapter Five

That thought was abruptly brought to a halt as a knock came from the other side of his bedroom wall right behind his head. Louis lay silently and waited. The sound of his phone seemed to increase in volume, but Louis pushed past that, listening hard for another knock or any other indication that he hadn't just imagined the noise.

After a few more moments of silence, and the powerful thought that his sleep deprivation was inducing hallucinations, it came. A knock on his bedroom wall. This time, it was followed by a rather clear and smooth voice, which surprised Louis, considering it was coming through, what he had always thought to be, a very thick wall.

"Not to be a massive dick, but would you kindly turn that damn alarm off? Some people in this apartment are still trying to sleep."

The voice didn't seem as though it had just woken up, nor did it seem irritated, but it still made Louis freeze.

"I also know for a fact that you aren't asleep in there, as I've heard someone do a contemplating sigh about fifty times. So, please. Alarm. Off. Thanks!"

Louis swiftly shook out of his frozen state and leapt out of bed, causing his phone to fly under the covers. Louis began digging through them, trying to find it. No longer did he feel tired and wanting to lie around, contemplating if he should take the day off; the sheer panic that Louis felt as the voice came through the wall was enough to make him feel wide awake. He soon found his phone and turned the alarm off, standing as still as a statue next to his bed with it in his hand, waiting.

Silence plagued the room, and the voice did not drift through the wall again. Louis still wasn't too sure if he had dreamt the voice or if it was his subconscious telling him to get up. Either way, Louis took it as a sign. Grabbing some clothes from his cupboard, he rushed into the bathroom. The tiles on the floor were cold, but he ignored that and turned on the water for the shower and groaned internally as his morning routine began.

It wasn't long before Louis had finished his shower, gotten dressed, cleaned his teeth, and found himself standing in the hallway just outside his apartment.

"Crap!" Louis cursed to himself. "Contacts."

Louis spun around and rushed back into his apartment, finding his contacts and tried to put them in as quickly as he could without damaging his eyes. That proved to be a greater challenge than he thought at first. After somehow succeeding with that, Louis was once again at his apartment door, completely ready to leave this time.

Cautiously, Louis looked over to his left as if he didn't want to startle anything or anyone and peered at the apartment door next to his own. Louis was now definitely sure that someone had moved into that apartment and had just spoken to him through his apparently very thin wall. He decided to shake it off and head towards the stairs. He had a long walk ahead of him, and he needed to leave now if he wanted to avoid being late.

Do I really care about being late, though? Louis found himself thinking as he hurried down the staircase. I mean, I've got straight A's, and I don't even think anyone will notice.

Louis stopped himself when he reached the lobby and decided that, no, he didn't really care if he was late, and he casually started to stroll to the exit.

Sometime later, Louis was passing a familiar corner shop that signalled he was halfway to school. He didn't know what time it was, nor did he care. He was quite enjoying his walk. It would have been better if he hadn't decided to wear black canvas shoes, black skinny jeans, and a black shirt when he knew it was going to be sunny and hot; but, hey, nobody's perfect. Louis smiled as the sun shone down on him and, while his legs were heating up considerably, a pleasant breeze kept his arms and face rather cool.

"Bus companies. So incompetent, aye?" A voice suddenly came from behind Louis, followed by the sound of shoes slapping hard on the concrete.

Slightly startled, Louis stopped and turned around.

A girl, much smaller than Louis, though many people were, had caught up to him and stopped just short of where he was standing. She was panting heavily. Her light blonde hair was damp and frizzy, and her brown eyes were wide as if they, too, were trying to draw in some extra oxygen.

The smile she wore on her face, no doubt masking the anger for incompetent bus companies, was bright. However, it didn't hide the bags under her eyes that peaked through the make-up she was wearing.

Louis did his best not to judge others on how they looked, but he couldn't help but think this girl looked sick. Then again, Louis didn't look much better.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Louis managed to get out, quite taken aback. Someone talking to him for no other reason than to start a conversation was not something Louis was used to. "Damn buses."

"I mean, I've just had to run for God knows how long, because it didn't show up!"

The girl let out a short laugh that held no humour in it and looked up at Louis, who just decided to smile at her, unsure of what to say. He was definitely not used to people just talking to him without throwing insults his way. Louis didn't count his conversations with Sam or Kara, and apart from them, everyone else either insulted him or ignored him. It was always fun.

"Good talk!" she chirped as they stood still on the walkway, her anger at the bus companies seemingly vanishing. "I'm Sarah, by the way."

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A/N: Here is Chapter Five! Right on schedule!

Okay, so, this chapter ended kind of in the middle of a conversation, but don't worry... the next chapter finishes it.

Time for a question:

Was the voice right to be a little angry?