The Admiration Project

Chapter 6

Carpooling together for one hour and forty five minutes should not have been as large of a catastrophe for five boys as it had been for Louis, Liam, Zayn, Niall and Harry.

The venue that the Arctic Monkeys were playing at was in Indianapolis, and Liam had insisted that all of them went together.

"Alright, you're driving then," Louis had concluded. So Liam was driving and Louis was shotgun, leaving Zayn to squeeze into the backseat with Harry and Niall. He'd only mildly protested, much to Louis' dismay.

They had Arctic Monkeys on shuffle through Liam's aux cord, and all of them finally got comfortable about forty minutes into the ride. "Old Yellow Bricks" was humming through the speakers and Louis watched out the window, observing other drivers that they passed. A lot of people must have felt inclined to hang out with their pets that day, because he counted at least seven dogs by the time they pulled into the venue parking lot.

The boys hopped out of Liam's car and stretched.

"My foot is asleep," Harry complained. Louis was standing next to him, so he took it into his hands to stomp on it. Harry sobbed forcefully.

"Did that help?" Louis teased. Harry gave him a dirty look and marched along with the group.

Liam and Zayn had purchased aisle seats fairly far from the stage, but Louis didn't mind. He didn't necessarily need to be close up to get the full experience.

Louis ended up sitting between Zayn and Harry, which was done on purpose by Liam, who darted into the aisle and stuck his tongue out at him. When Harry noticed the arrangement, he hadn't looked too pleased either. He was still brooding about Louis stepping on his foot, deep crease between his brows and lips downturned.

When the band came out, the boys quit teasing each other and Harry stopped being a drama queen. They started with "Arabella," and Zayn was bouncing in his seat. Louis laughed and sat back in his own chair.

Halfway through the concert they played "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?," which was one of Louis' favorites. He sang almost the entire thing directly to Zayn, who sang back while chuckling.

The band finished off with "I Wanna Be Yours," and by then Louis was brimming with energy. He smiled and glanced over at Liam, who was swaying. Louis giggled and swayed along, as well. He looked over at Harry for the first time in a while and found him watching already, a small smile splayed across his lips. Louis smiled back, albeit a little confused, but Harry didn't notice that. Harry's cheeks colored and he glanced down at his feet before looking back up at the stage.

Louis' heart skipped a beat.

After the band had thanked the audience for coming and said their final goodbyes, the boys made their way back to the parking lot. There were people everywhere and Niall got lost twice, but they all eventually arrived in one piece.

Before Louis could, Zayn called shotgun and had his hand on the passenger door handle. Louis groaned, but he was in too good of a mood to be upset about it.

Harry opened the back door and stared at him, waiting for him to get in. Louis raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, Curly, I can't sit in the middle," Louis lied. "I'll get air sickness or whatever."

"We're not going on a plane ride," Harry deadpanned. Louis was confused for a moment, but then it clicked.

"Oh!" He let out a loud cackle. "I meant motion sickness."

Harry smiled and shook his head. He knew Louis was lying, Louis could tell, but he shuffled into the middle seat anyway. Louis followed and shut the door once he was settled. Liam drove off, and they had to sit in ten minutes worth of traffic before they could get out of the parking lot.