the traveller // louis tomlinson

chapter six // 21 questions.

I barely know the girl, it's not like I have feelings for her. Sure, she's kinda pretty... Okay, so she's probably one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen, but that doesn't change anything. She's also one of the least-available girls I've ever met.

I'm here to help her out, not fall for her.

"If I had to chose, I guess I'd say 'Wonderwall' by Oasis," She bites her bottom lip, not quite as absolute with this answer this time around.

The corners of my lips turn up at the song; one of my favorites as well.

"How does that one go again?" I ask, pretending to be confused once she looks over to me, probably seeing my reaction.

I can see the other lads look at me in confusion; we all love the song. I give them an confused look, that they see right through and get the hint to play along.

"You don't know it?" She asks, raising her eyebrows.

"I think I do, but sing it just to be sure," I request, revealing the real reason I'm pretending not to know. From across the table, Niall has to cover his mouth to hid his grin.

Mia's eyes widen as she lets out a scoff. She looks at me as if I had just spoken a different language. It takes every inch of restraint to keep myself from laughing out loud.

"You want me to sing?" She double-checks, to which I respond with a nod of my head, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Oh no, don't even think about it. I'm doing you all a favor, trust me," She talks quickly, shaking her head stubbornly.

"C'mon, just give us the tune, it's really bothering me," I complain, pulling out my best acting skills.

From across the table, Harry lets out a laugh, that he disguises for a cough. I'm biting the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing as well.

"Oh god..." She mutters, letting out a deep sigh.

We all wait in anticipation, wondering if she'll actually sing it, or if she'll just tell us to shove it up our asses and ask for the next question.

"I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me," She sings quietly - and rather out of tune, I might add - barely being heard over the music playing in the restaurant.

Although she is far from being considered a good singer, her voice is rather pleasant to listen to. It has that same rasp her talking voice has, rugged and worn-in. I can practically envision her singing around the house as she cooks breakfast or something.

"Oh God, Mia, not even close!" Harry laughs loudly, throwing his head back.

The rest of us join in as well, unable to keep it in any longer. I try to contain it, but it's no use. The laughter just rolls right out of me, as if I had an unlimited amount of it saved up.

Mia's face turns a rare color of scarlet as she gives us the most deadly look I've ever seen in the entire world. She turns towards me and gives me a hard push, just hard enough to push me right out of my seat.

"Screw you all," She shakes her head, but I can see the faint shadow of a smile dancing on the edges of her plump lips.

As I sprawl to the restaurant floor, my laughter doubles. Mia folds her arms across her chest and sits in her chair with a stubborn expression on her face, refusing to even glance in my direction.

With the assistance of Zayn, I get back in my seat, scooting it a bit closer to Mia, without her noticing. Or if she did notice, she didn't object.

"Well, I was going to ask if you were a singer, but I think I already got my answer," I smirk, earning another smack from Mia. This time I brace myself, holding on to the table for support, "Okay, okay, no more 'Mia-tone-deaf' jokes, I get it," I give her a playful shove back.