27 AN APOLOGY TO A FRIEND:

The cleaning duty fell to Maximillian and Damien as the evening wore on. It was getting late, and Celeste seemed visibly drained, so Ezra insisted she go rest in her room. Despite her protests and desire to hear more about their experiences, Ezra's stubbornness won out, and she begrudgingly agreed to retire for the night.

Before leaving, Celeste shot Louis a pointed look, her words carrying a warning tone. "I dare you to hate your sister, no matter what. She's your goddamn younger sister. If you won't trust in her character, then who will?"

Before Louis could respond, Celeste turned her back to him and stomped up the stairs to her room. The sound of her door slamming echoed in the silence, leaving a heavy atmosphere in its wake.

Ezra chuckled at that loud display of evident annoyance she felt towards Louis before turning to the said guy, who seemed to be preparing to leave at this late hour. "Where do you think you're going at this time?"

Louis flinched, caught off guard by Ezra's sudden question. "Uh... back home?"

"Please stay. I actually have something to discuss with you," Ezra said, his tone inviting.

"Only with me?" Louis asked, his confusion evident. He couldn't help but wonder why Ezra wanted to speak with him specifically.

"Yes, well, Max will join us too," Ezra reassured him.

Louis felt a pang of concern. He glanced at his watch, realizing that if it was an important discussion, it might take a while. "From your attitude, it seems like it may be an important discussion and it may take time... I won't be able to make it back home that way."

Their community was quite strict, as it fell under the jurisdiction of the Carlisle family. Known for their dedication to their real estate side of business, the Carlisle family ensured stringent rules and regulations. Land ownership within their jurisdiction was highly sought after due to the benefits it provided.

This community was well-protected and enforced an official curfew from 1 am to 4 am. During these hours, special applications needed to be submitted to the Homeowners Association (HOA) for approval before anyone could venture out. Reasons for breaking the curfew needed to be valid. Despite the inconvenience, these measures contributed to creating a safe environment within the community.

Besides, everyone living here had chosen to do so because they were aware of the rules and accepted them. Therefore, if Louis stayed out later than expected, he wouldn't be able to make it back home in time before the curfew was enforced.

"You can stay the night," Ezra offered, his tone genuine. "Considering how busy we usually are, we don't often get the chance to just sit and chat like this. And with midterm season approaching, we won't get many chances to have a serious talk. You see, this is not something I want to discuss over the phone. I want you to be able to hear it face to face. What do you say?"

Louis thought it over, feeling a bit hesitant but ultimately agreeing. If Ezra was the one extending the invitation, he figured he wasn't intruding or causing any trouble.

Just then, Damien, who had finished his share of work rather quickly, emerged from the kitchen and casually draped an arm around Ezra. "Ez, I'm absolutely knackered. Mind if I crash in the guest room?"

"Sure, go ahead, Damy," Ezra smiled at his friend's tact. It was funny how one might not expect much from Damien, but he could always read the room and adapt accordingly. He probably had the greatest emotional intelligence among all of Ezra's acquaintances.

As Damien left, Ezra couldn't resist peeking into the kitchen, curious about what was taking Maximillian so long. He found Maximillian wearing Ezra's apron, which was quite small for his physique, along with kitchen gloves and his hair tucked into a handkerchief. He was cleaning each dish with an extreme amount of care, a level of attention Ezra had only ever seen him give to his cars.

He nearly snorted at the sight but refrained, not wanting to disrupt Maximillian's display of meticulousness. Turning around, he ushered Louis to the balcony. The night air was chilly, but neither minded; they found the cold invigorating. It wasn't always like this for Ezra, but after Louis had mentioned once that the cold kept his brain awake, Ezra found himself unconsciously believing it too, even to this day.

Standing on the balcony, gazing out at the empty streets, a strange sort of awkward silence settled between them. Ezra was about to break it when he heard Louis ask in a hushed tone, "Do you mind if I... have a smoke?"

"You smoke now?" Ezra responded, surprised by the question.

Looking down, his expression turned somewhat bitter before he nodded. Ezra didn't question him further, simply saying, "Go ahead."

Louis lit up a cigarette and brought it to his lips, taking a deep inhale. Just as he was about to exhale, he heard Ezra's voice. "Hey, Louis..."

Louis almost choked on air, coughing hysterically before managing to clear his throat with difficulty. He looked at Ezra with wide eyes, surprised to hear his name spoken so casually. Given Ezra's stubborn nature, once he broke ties, it was difficult to redeem them. So, Louis couldn't help but feel confused by this unexpected familiarity.

Ezra didn't pay much mind to Louis's reaction. Instead, he simply held out his open palm and asked curiously, "Give me one too. I wanna try."

Louis hesitated, recalling Aunt Evelyn's stern warnings about such habits. "Ah... But didn't you once say you'd never go against Aunt Evelyn's words? I remember she threatened to never speak to you again if you ever picked up such bad habits."

Ezra shrugged, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice. "Who's saying I'm picking up a habit? I'm just trying it once. There's no harm in that." His enthusiasm made it difficult for Louis to refuse.

He handed a cigarette to Ezra, lighting it up for him with some hesitation. Before Ezra could bring the cigarette to his lips, however, a hand reached out behind him, tracing the length of his arm and snatching the cancer stick away from Ezra's hand. Looking up, Ezra found Maximillian's frosty face staring down at him disapprovingly. Maximillian returned the cigarette to Louis, who knowingly retrieved a small plastic container filled with cigarette butts from his pocket and extinguished the flame.

"Why do you care?" Ezra asked, flopping some of his body weight onto Maximillian and leaning on him with a smile.

"I don't. I just don't like the smell of smoke," Maximillian replied, gesturing for Louis to extinguish his own cigarette, which he did obediently. Louis squished it onto the same plastic box and stashed it away, intending to dispose of the butts later after their conversation.

"Liar. Your siblings smoke. You never minded them," Ezra argued.

"I mind it now," Maximillian countered.

With a roll of his eyes, Ezra, still leaning against Max, turned his attention to Louis. "You're quite the smoker now, huh? Well, whatever, that's beside the point. Let's get to the real topic."

With a grin, Ezra asked, "Do you still like me?"

The question nearly choked Louis up, while Maximillian shook his head from side to side, sensing what Ezra was about to discuss. Louis stammered, scratching his head in embarrassment, unsure of how to respond.

Seeing Louis's reaction, Ezra clicked his tongue internally and changed the subject. "Let's leave that one be. I'll ask you another question. Back when Max and I were dating, did you feel our relationship was off? Like we didn't really belong together?"

"Why these sudden questions?" Louis asked.

"Please just answer me. I'll explain soon enough."

Seeing Ezra's serious expression, Louis sensed the importance of the question. Without hesitation, he answered quickly this time. "Actually, yes. Many things felt off about your situation to me back then. From the moment you first met Max and kept seeing him until you two finally started dating, it all felt strange. It felt like you shouldn't have been talking so much, shouldn't have been hanging around each other so frequently. That's what I felt, and I think it's what everyone else felt too and... Wow... That probably sounded like ugly jealousy rearing its head, didn't it?" Louis smiled awkwardly, feeling a bit vulnerable.

Ezra shook his head, his tone almost muted as he asked, "Tell me... about the many accidents that occurred in my life back then. What did you honestly feel about those? Don't give me an emotional answer or a careful one. Just be completely honest with me. I've talked to Sienna, Faye, and some others about it already. I want to know if you feel the same as them."

Louis stared at Ezra, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to find the right words. Biting his bottom lip in confusion, he pondered for a moment. Under Ezra's probing gaze, which showed no sign of backing down, Louis finally answered in a very hushed tone.

"Each one of those felt like... it was your due punishment and a warning..."

"Come again?" Ezra pressed, his expression showing genuine curiosity.

"That they were serving as punishment and warnings," Louis said aloud, his expression scrunched up in contemplation. It wasn't a lie; that was exactly how it felt back then. For the longest time, he had believed it might have been his jealousy clouding his judgment, but lately, he had started to suspect there might have been more to the situation than he had thought.

"Warnings about what?" Ezra asked, his curiosity piqued. Behind him, Maximillian's expression grew grimmer by the minute, a hint of concern in his eyes.

"That you should... stay away from Carlisle... Yeah, something like that," Louis wondered aloud, his expression softening as he reflected on his past feelings. "Sounds dumb, right?"

"No, I believe you. Everyone said the same, actually," Ezra replied with a complicated smile. "Okay then... this may be incensitive of me to ask you but... what about now though? Does me pursuing him so relentlessly like this feel wrong?"

Louis stared at them for a moment before shaking his head. "Not at all... You look... you look good together."

Upon hearing that, Ezra gave Maximillian a smirk. "Don't forget what he just said, okay?" He then turned back to Louis and said something that left the other extremely surprised. "I owe you an apology, Louis."

"Pardon?" Louis responded, taken aback by Ezra's unexpected words.

"I'm sorry. For not believing you back then. You know... back when that incident happened..." Ezra's voice trailed off, and they both knew exactly what he meant by "that incident." It was the time Louis had kidnapped Ezra, a moment neither of them could forget.

Louis wanted to ask what Ezra meant, but Ezra beat him to it. "You had told me that you didn't know what was happening." Leaning away from Maximillian and taking a step toward Louis, Ezra spoke with a tone tinged with sadness, his expression etched into a deep frown filled with disappointment. It was a profound disappointment he felt in no one but himself for being a fool back then and not believing Louis. "You had fallen at my feet, crying and begging in confusion... I had never seen you like that before. But there you were, in a state completely unlike yourself, telling me over and over that you didn't know what was happening. That you were just not in control of your actions... That it was all going against your will..."

Back then, those words had seemed like nothing more than an excuse to Ezra. But looking back at the entire unbelievable nature of the situation, Louis's actions really didn't seem like something he would do, even in his wildest dreams.

What made it feel even odder was that when Louis kidnapped him, it didn't feel wrong at all. It felt like things were somehow returning to their original place. It felt as though he was finally where he belonged—away from Maximillian and beside Louis. For the longest time, he avoided thinking about that feeling, and when he did, Ezra would attribute it to some kind of weird Stockholm syndrome situation. But now that many things were being clarified to him, that memory resurfaced and became clearer in his mind too.

If Maximillian wasn't meant to be part of his life in the same way, it seemed that it was actually Louis who was supposed to fill that role. That's why it never felt right with Max, but somehow, even when Louis kidnapped him, Ezra felt like it was meant to be.

And if the many warnings served to keep him away from Maximillian, then what could this 'destiny,' 'fate,' 'eldritch deity' or whatever the hell that was meddling in Ezra's life possibly not do? What was stopping it from controlling a boy to kidnap someone who was arranged by this unknown force to belong to him anyway? It too served as another warning in itself to stay away from Maximillian.

In short, this unknown force controlling Louis's actions didn't seem so unbelievable now. Louis really may not have been in control of his actions back then.

When Maximillian had heard about Louis saying that he couldn't control his actions back then, he had wrapped Ezra in a hug and had acted very oddly, all nervous and distressed. Back then, Ezra had thought that it might have been because Maximillian was sad for Ezra and angry at Louis. Now, Ezra felt he should have thought more about it.

Maximillian may have already somewhat felt that Louis truly may have been controlled into acting that way, and that all of it was Maximillian's own fault. He may have already started to feel by then that being near Ezra caused Ezra nothing but problems. Ezra felt regretful. If only he had found out about it all back then... things may have been different now.

Louis looked on in surprise as Ezra hugged him tightly, saying in a very distressed and frustrated tone, "I am so very sorry, Louis. You were right. You were honest with me. I just did not believe you... How could I, as your friend for so long, have doubted your character? I am very sorry, Louis... So sorry..."