Lapse

one

chapter one of cigarettes

"i don't think you need one"

louis was late. he has been called around 4 times by his friend dave. the show could start in any second, yet louis was stuck at his apartment waiting for his chofer to arrive. hands over his head, careful of not ruining his hair, the twenty six year old was pacing around the living room, occasionally passing through the kitchen with a look of desperation.

he groaned, taking his newly changed iphone out of his trouser's pocket. he dialed his chofer and waited for an answer. one ring. two rings. three rings until the call was taken. "mr. tomlinson, the streets are packed, i've been stuck in the same avenue for an hour." he breath out, preoccupied of what louis could tell him. he knew mr. tomlinson was a nice guy. nicer than all the other twenty six year old man who possess the same amount of money as he did.

"richard, i don't want to fight, but i'm late and you know pretty well how new york's streets are. i mean i'm not even from here and i know the fucking chaos they are!" louis rolled his eyes and stood up from the kitchen stool, "just go home richard, i'll look for a cab to take me." before the old man could even reply, louis was already running towards the elevator, pressing the button that would take him to the lobby. as if it was bad luck, not only did he had to pass around forty floors to finally get down, but he had to do several stops for other residents to descend as well.

as soon as he dashed out of the elevator, the guy at the reception, started speaking to louis about some keys but he didn't pay any attention to whatever he was trying to tell him. he opened the door for himself, not waiting for anyone else. when he got out of the building, louis immediately felt the chill weather of a typical september night hit him right on the face. a couple of taxis passed just in front of louis, but they didn't even bothered to stop. after waving his hand off, finally a yellow old cab approach him, and to be honest it was the ugliest car louis had seen but at the moment it was the best he could ask for.

louis checked his phone for the time, "i need you to take me to xxx as fast as you can." the driver didn't even hesitate when pressing the acceleration, "expect to be there in seven minutes sir." louis smiled. maybe he'll make it on time. not far from said, it took the cab eight minutes exact to be in front of the main entrance. "man i owe you one." he patted the man's shoulder and gave him an unwrinkled twenty dollars buck. "if you ever need someone to take you somewhere, you've got my number." the cab's driver, who louis now knew as ranjit, passed him a small business card with his name and phone number.

after passing through security, louis was able to enter the event. he saw dave waving at him just before some techno music started to play. he walked as fast as he could, trying not to call too much attention. "got here a bit early, huh," dave whispered. being a habit of his, louis rolled his eyes and took dave's alcoholic beverage for himself, drinking a few sips.

the show was nothing of another world. sure it was nice seeing some nice ladies walk down the catwalk, though they wore a serious expression that made louis question if they even really liked their job. apart from that, louis just attended this kind of events because of courtesy. if those important fashion icons took the time to invite him, he might as well not be rude.

after a few more songs, even more models started to walk by. they looked younger and nicer, plus their clothes made louis really pay attention, it seemed more fun. a young brunette started walking down the catwalk. it was obvious she was new to the game. the smile that went from ear to ear was a clear signal.

she swayed her hips a little bit to much, for what you would call the new york style. and sometimes she seemed to have fun touching her hair. after turning around and almost leaving backstage, she tripped. small gasps could be heard, "shit," louis mumbled. he was enjoying her little walk until, well, she decided to fall.

the model didn't seemed bothered by how people reacted. the smile never leaved her lightly makeup face. she quickly stood up, and kept on walking. the crowd was focusing their attention on her, but as soon as another model came out, they seemed to forget it.

the show lasted three more excessively long hours. around two more designers presented their collections, and more boring looking models came out. the show was getting pretty boring, but luckily it had come to an end.

"i'm going to light up a cigarette outside. care to join?" louis asked dave. as hard it was to believe, louis was trying to quit smoking, but every now and then he felt the urge to smoke a few. "no thanks bro. by the way, didn't you say last week you'd stop?" he looked at louis with a serious face. he didn't want his friend to fuck up. he had lost his father to lung cancer, he didn't want to lose his best friend too.

"sorry mate, it has been a stressful week," and just like that louis went outside and lighted up his little death machine. the smoke he inhaled made his problems disappear for a while. "i bet you know smoking kills," a soft voice sounded from behind, sadness audible. louis didn't look back, instead he exhaled the warm white smoke. "i bet you haven't smoked once to know how fucking good it feels to simply forget about everything that's going on."

high heel noises made themselves louder as she approached louis. "you're right. i might as well need one of those," a small hand took hold of the paper stick in between louis lips. his eyes opened in surprise. as he turns around he now sees the girl who told him smoking kills with his own cigarette on her lips. her lips pursed and inhaled the smoke, coughing after a few seconds. louis chuckled and took the cigarette, throwing it to the ground and later smashing it with his expensive shoes.

"no, i don't think you need one." he said, a small laugh coming out of his lips. "of course i need one. didn't you see me do an idiot of myself back there?" she pressed her eyes shut, "i could hear everybody laughing at me." she said as she sat down on a cold bench. louis followed her lead and sat next to her, she seemed smaller up close that how she did on the runway. "i think that cigarette is affecting you in some way. i'm pretty sure nobody laughed at you. of course they were shocked. i was shocked," he shrugged, a sly smile on his lips. "though i felt you were the most interesting girl to watch."

"you're only saying this to make me feel less pity about myself." she said sniffing, although there was poor illumination, louis could see her rosy nose. it could be because of the cold or either she was crying. "probably," he smiled, "but i know you're going to be the most memorable chick from the whole night." the girl couldn't help but let a small laugh.

louis eyes flickered to her. her eyes were glossy but her nose didn't seemed as red as before. "there is a problem." he said, making eye contact with her. "if she wants to be remembered, she must have a name for people not to call her 'the girl who tripped on her own feet'." she thought of it at first, but what harm would it make to give him her name? "danielle, the girl who tripped on her own goddamn feet." this time she didn't seem to take it in all seriousness. "well danielle, i'm louis, the guy who saw the girl tripped on her own goddamn feet." he extended his arm and lightly shook her hand.

"well, i should get going." louis stood up and turned around, facing danielle. "it was nice meeting you," he winked and stuffed his hands on his trouser's pockets. "yeah, and by the way,thanks for making me company." she smiled. louis started walking towards the event exit, where he would meet with dave. but he suddenly turned around, fixing his eyes on the girl who was now focused on the cars passing by.

"hey thinking about it, would you like to go to this club i know with a friend of mine and me?" louis asked, hopping she would say yes. danielle lightly shook her head bringing her back to reality, her mouth opened doubtfully, "oh, i would love to but, i'm twenty." she said glancing at her iphone. "i'm sure i can make some arrangements and get you inside if that's the problem." louis tried convincing danielle but she simply didn't looked like it. "i wouldn't want to be a bother." she sent him a reassuring smile, making louis smile too. "maybe next time then," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"maybe i could get your number, and later called you in a year or so," he laughed taking out his phone. "that would be nice." danielle took louis' excessively large phone out of his hand, and wrote down her phone number, adding the footsteps emoji besides her name. "call me in a year?" she asked, arms crossed over her chest. "eh, i don't think so. probably sooner."