~A/N~

This is a lot shorter than my usual chapter, but I hope you like it anyway. I know I loved writing it :)

≡unedited≡

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Lorena's POV

"When I first met Zach..." He started as he stood up, and I immediately shook my head at how drunk he sounded. "We were roommates in university, and it didn't take us long to get our first impressions of each other. I don't know about him, but I thought the universe was playing a joke on me."

Most of the people on the room, the majority of them being Zach's family, laughed, along with his new wife. I swear I saw a smile on his face too.

"I mean... I was literally like, "is this a joke?" 'Cause he was everything I wasn't. He could stay in and play video games 24/7, while I could barely stand being inside for one night. He was a sci-fi freak, I hated everything that wasn't a comedy. He liked Coke, and I preferred Sprite."

At that last comparison people laughed again; I tried preparing myself for being angry with him, since he was so wasted his speech was probably going to turn out to be disastrous, but I only found myself laughing along. Talk about compromises.

"I honestly thought about asking for another dorm when I got to know him, I mean, we were just, polar opposites. I never thought we could get along. The only reason I stayed with him is because he always did the grocery shopping, and I always spent toilet paper like a maniac."
                               
"Thanks man," Zach spoke and if not everyone was laughing before, they were now. Even Zach himself.

"No problem. So... yeah, we were pretty much like Ron and Hermione when they first met. But as cheesy as it sounds, we worked through that. We used to fight a lot, everyone near us complained about us, but then we started to get used to one another. Like over the months, the years, he became more loud and outgoing, and I guess I became more sensible, and sentimental. The change worked out for both of us, since now Zach's marrying someone who is so far out of his league- he's basically like an elementary school footie match in a small town, and Monica is the Olympics. And..."

Louis paused again as people started laughing again; I was too, but I stopped when I felt his hand on my shoulder. When I looked up at him, he was no longer holding the small piece of paper where his speech was written. He either had it memorized or was going to say something off the top of his head. I'd like to think he would make the guests laugh, but the look on his face was telling me a different story; his lazy smile was gone and for the first time during the entire evening, he looked nervous. If anyone was going to find this fun, it would be me.

"I'm just messing with ya, he's a good guy. But I remember all the times he talked to me about her, and how much he cares about her, and I just keep thinking... none of this would be happening or would they have even met, if he hadn't gone out with me and my other friends at least once. So yeah, hanging out with me turned out to actually be good for him. And... and, um..."

He paused again, his hand squeezing my shoulder as he looked down for a second or two. My guess was that he was too drunk and tired to even stand on his own, until he started speaking.

"The change was good for me, because..."

Oh yes, this is definitely what I've been waiting for.

"I wouldn't be sitting here either if I hadn't changed. I mean, sure, if he was getting married and I was invited, I'd physically be here, but I wouldn't be at this stage of life where I am at right now. I would probably be living in someone's basement, if not Zach's, covered in tattoos and piercings, getting rejected by every employer I ask for a job from, and pretend I don't know the reason for that. If these thoughts crossed my mind five years ago, I would have been completely fine with living like that. And now I'm starting to realize, if he hadn't pushed me into being a better man, I would be nowhere."

Louis paused, and once again gripped my shoulder tighter. My heart was rapidly starting to beat faster, and I could only imagine where he was going with all of this. I'm sure wherever that is, it would make my heart squeeze. Everything he said always made my heart squeeze.

"It was easy for me to decide I wanted to be a better person, but I never had anyone to motivate me to start that change. Until I met him."

I pressed my lips together and tried not to let any tear roll down my cheek, as I watched him speak from the bottom of his heart. Louis looked at Zach, who was sitting right next to him, and watching him with a proud expression. "And now Monica stole him from me."

I breathed out a laugh, as well as everyone else on the room; leave it to him to ease the tension with a gay joke.

"I guess what I'm saying is... thanks." At his last word, Zach stood up and went to hug him, "Thanks for being a bro all these years." Louis' last few words were muffled by Zach's shoulder, whose eyes were red and shinny because of his best man's speech. I was sure mine were the same as I watched the two men and clapped, along with all of the other guests.

Zach was the first one to pull away and sit back down, next to his blushing bride, while Louis took his glass of champagne and emptied it entirely in one gulp, and then take the microphone again. Uh oh, here it comes.

"Oh, and, I would also like to, um..." It was amazing how drunk he sounded all of a sudden. "I would like to thank you, not only for being a bro, but for accidentally setting the date for your wedding on my wife's birthday. Happy birthday, darling!"

I squeezed my eyes in laughter as he turned to me, and leaned down, "You're 26!"

"Thanks babe," I laughed, I couldn't believe he brought us up in his speech for his best friend. He smiled and stood up straight again, making everyone in the room stop talking. Effective.

"You know what, I am actually very lucky to have her sitting next to me. She's the reason I wanted to change so badly, and she also made me work for it. I had to propose to her twice before she said yes."

I covered my face with my hand; perfect timing to bring that up, absolutely perfect.

"But everything turned out to be amazing, and I can't even begin to imagine how it would have been if I'd stayed the guy I was before I met Zach. So thanks again."

By now, the only person in the room who didn't realize how ridiculous Louis was being, was Louis himself. "Well, I guess that's all from me, um... I'd tell a funny story, but then my speech would never end, so yeah." As people laughed yet again, he raised his glass that had about one drop of champagne in it, "I wish you all the luck in the world. Oh, and you better make sure I'm your kid's godfather, otherwise I'm not naming my son Zach. Cheers."

The only person that wasn't laughing this time, was me of course. He actually pretty much killed my mood by speaking about kids; it's been like that every day for the past year and a half.

I was staring right ahead of myself, I didn't even notice him sit down and lean toward me again. "Hey," Louis waved his hand in front of my face, making me look at his smiling face.

"Everything alright? You having a good time?" He asked, completely oblivious to how he made me feel. I couldn't even blame him anymore; he wasn't bothered by my condition even remotely as much as I was, so he didn't understand why I made such a big deal about not being able to have kids. He's a man, after all, he'll never understand.

"Yeah," I smiled, desperate to change the subject. "That was beautiful. Your speech, I loved it."

He grinned, "Thanks. To be honest, half of it just came to me. I'm pretty sure I forgot to say something I've written, when I put the paper on the table."

"It doesn't matter," I kept smiling, "It was lovely. No offense, but I don't think your written speech is as good as everything you just said," I teased.

His smile turned into a smirk, "Gee, thanks." Louis turned to grab the nearest bottle of champagne and pour it to both of us. "You don't, um..." He paused, refusing to face me, "You don't mind that I brought up children, right?"

Just when I'd forgotten about it.  "Um..." I didn't quite know what to say. He knew how I felt about it; he didn't get it, but he knew. So there wasn't really a point in lying to him, except for not wanting to come off as weak.

"I'm sorry," He said before I could even think of a convenient answer, "I know I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself."

"No, no, it's alright," I forced a smile, "I liked how confident you sounded. Like... you really believe they'll call us someday soon. I love how sure you are of it."

"I know they will." His expression was all of a sudden dead serious. "We're married, we live in a fantastic house, and we've been ready for this even before that. There's no reason for them not to call us and tell us we're going to be parents."

His smile was the reason one appeared on my face. "Thank you." Thanking him sounded weird, but he knew me well enough to know what I was talking about. "I love you."

Louis nodded and leaned forward, "I love you," He mumbled between kisses and pulled me in a longer one after he'd said the words. "You look beautiful today."

Even after almost two years, he didn't fail to make me blush. "Beautiful as in pretty, or beautiful as in 'I wanna take you home and see how durable the balcony chairs are'?"

At my weird suggestion, Louis laughed; I mean of course he did. "Ah, you know me, I can never choose between the two of those." He gave me a cheeky smile and I couldn't help but pull him in for another kiss.

"I love you... I mean I really, really love you." I nodded firmly as we parted again, as if trying to assure him of something he already knew. "And I can't even imagine what I'd do if I didn't have you."

"You don't have to imagine anything like that though," Louis said, trying to lighten up the mood. "I'm here and I'm not going anywhere, parents or not, no matter what. I'm not boarding any more trains and texting you 'I don't think so'."

I breathed out a laugh as I remembered what I'd done a long time ago, that could have potentially ruined my life. Louis gave me a small smile as he played with the ring on my left hand, that he had given me a bit over a year before, and that I hadn't taken off since.

"I'm not leaving you again."

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~A/N~

This is officially the end of the series! I really hope you liked it as much as the first book or even more if possible, and I also hope I haven't let you down at any point :) thank you so much for your love and support, I appreciate it more than I could ever describe. much love x