A Love, a Lie and a False Identity (Louis Tomlinson)

Louis

The day of the concert had finally arrived. Or, I guess for some people, the day of meeting One Direction had finally arrived. It still felt like we were being pimped out by Will a little bit, but I had somehow come to grips with this idea, and I think the rest of the boys had as well though Niall still looked a little nervous about the idea of trying to please this girl.

          ‘Ok, boys. All set?’ Will bustled into the dressing room where the five of us were gathered, and we gave him nervous grins in return. I could feel my stomach churning at the prospect of performing, as it did before every show we ever did. But it reminded me how lucky I was to be here, and how grateful I was for everything that happened in the past three and a half years.

          ‘Alright, you’ll be going up to the box in a couple of minutes. Harry, tidy your hair,’ Will continued, the on-going joke about Harry’s unruly curls still making him chuckle, but the rest of us just rolled our eyes. The day Harry cut his hair, the world would probably end. ‘Veronica has brought a couple of friends along for the performance, last minute change but apparently what Veronica wants, Veronica gets,’ Will said, heavy on the sarcasm. For someone who hadn’t even met the girl, he was being very judgemental. But I guess, in this business, everyone gets judged before they meet. People think they know famous people, because of what they read in magazines and see on the television, they think our whole lives are written in them, when in reality, they aren’t. We do know how to keep a few things private.

          ‘Alright, lads. She’s ready for you,’ Will said, reappearing in the door and gesturing us to follow him, out of the dressing room and down a long corridor bustling with backstage staff and other acts looking harassed as people busied themselves around them. Next to me Harry was staying uncharacteristically quiet, and I nudged him slightly.

          ‘Are you alright?’ I asked, and he nodded, turning his eyes to me.

          ‘Still feel a bit bruised and battered to be honest,’ he said, referring to his car accident a week ago. Luckily he hadn’t been too injured, just a few scrapes, but I had never been so scared in all my life, the thought of losing my best friend in those moments when he hadn’t been conscious, everything else seemed to pale in comparison. The only person who seemed more distraught than me had been Rosie: I hadn’t seen someone who I was used to seeing so composed lose it like that. She had been in pieces, running into his arms and clinging to him. It was love like that I thought I once had, with Eleanor. And whilst I was over the moon that Harry and Rosie were out in public, the cameras snapping up their tearful moment in the hospital reception, I couldn’t help but be reminded how alone I was again.

I wasn’t one who liked being single, I never had been. It just wasn’t me, I needed someone to confide in, to comfort me and love me, for me. This job, as much as I loved it, could become a bit much sometimes, and that person was like a barrier against all the craziness. To remind me that I was just a normal guy. Sometimes, on darker days, I wondered if Eleanor was a once in a lifetime thing, that I would never find someone with whom I connected with that much ever again. It was hard to find truthful and genuine people in our line of business.

The doors to the royal box were closed, Will standing outside it, looking tiny between two hulking men in black suits with little earpieces stuck in their ear, staring straight ahead like statues. I felt like I was about to meet the President or something. I knew this girl was a big deal, but it hadn’t really hit me just how much until right now. Taking a deep breath, I waited until one of the statues suddenly came to life and pulled the door open, ushering us in. One by one we filed in, filing up the space, which there wasn’t much of, standing around awkwardly wondering what was going to happen next.