For your eyes only - l.s

Chapter Seventeen

Better late then never! Enjoy! xxx

"Louis, have you seen my purple blouse? The one with the little flowers?" Jane calls from the bedroom.

"I'd love to help you looking for it, but I'm already late," Louis replies, hopping into the room on one leg, trying to pull a shoe over his free foot.

"It's my birthday, Louis, you could at least spend as much time with me as possible," she pouts.

Louis sighs deeply. "We've already had breakfast together and we're going to the cinema on Saturday. And you know that I need this job."

"You could've asked if you could start working tomorrow."

"Jane, the fair lasts three days and if I want full payment, I have to do all of it."

"This isn't even a real job. You're an actor, not a funfair attraction," she scolds.

"A job is a job and it pays the bill. You should be happy that I found something at all."

"You're too good for that! If it was well paid, then I would understand. But it's not even that."

"You know that I have to take whatever I can get."

"I always said that I'd support you with your acting, but I didn't mean that you should humiliate yourself and do whatever crosses your way. What comes next? Porn actor?"

"Yeah, I already thought about that," Louis says sarcastically. "Don't be silly. I'm going to keep my last bit of dignity."

"But you could-"

"Jane. I'm a nobody in the business. I'm not in the position to demand. Film roles are luxury. You knew that. And I don't really see a problem with this job."

"You are going to play a-"

"I know what I'm going to play. And now I have to go if I want to be able to pay the rent for the next month."

Jane huffs, tossing the high heel in her hand onto the bed, storming past Louis out of the room.

The past few days they both had been trying to be ostensibly calm and amicable after the thing in the club. Louis got up early the next morning, made breakfast and apologised formally for his stupid behaviour. Jane had obviously decided to not cause any more drama and allowed him to sleep in their bed again the next evening.

She has known for months that Louis would be busy on her birthday and they had both agreed that she should spend the day with her friends and Louis and her would celebrate together the weekend after. Now that the day has approached, it becomes clear that she is pissed off nonetheless.

"I'll see you later," Louis calls from the hallway, grabbing his jacket.

"Don't expect me to be back early," she snaps back, rushing from the living room back into the bedroom to apply some makeup.

Louis shakes his head as he is closing the door behind him. Why does it always have to be so complicated?

The way to his destination doesn't take him long. He can already hear the music of the fair from two blocks away and the smell of candy soon lingers in the air as well. He takes his time to stroll between the stalls.

His childlike instincts take over as he's passing a booth where you can throw little darts at colourful balloons, trying to win a giant teddy bear or a goldfish in a plastic bag. However, he has a job to do, so he does his best to ignore the urge to chance his luck. Maybe there'll be some time after work, he adds in his thoughts, smirking slightly. Jane would kill him for spending money on something silly like this but she's not here, right?

Before making his way to the stall where he is supposed to change and wait for his performance, he stops by at one of the candy booths. He can't decide between a chocolate-coated apple, candied almonds and ice cream, so he ends up with a bag filled with a bit of everything and a cornet with strawberry-banana ice cream in his hands. At least he won't be hungry for the rest of the day.

He passes a Ferris wheel, several merry-go-rounds and a chamber of horrors before stopping in front of a small circus tent. Laughter comes from the inside and he can hear children screaming in excitement. A look at the info board next to the entrance tells him that the current show is still on for twenty minutes, which means that he has time to get ready until then.

He walks to the back of the tent and slips through the open door of the trailer, locking it behind him. He nearly trips over a hug bag resting on the floor, with a note saying Louis T. on it. He picks it up and shuffles his hand through the content. When his fingers tangle in a horrible rainbow-coloured, curly wig, he knows that it's his costume.

A few minutes later, he opens the door ajar and peers around the corner. When nobody is to be seen, he dares to step out of the trailer. He waddles around the tent with a rolling gait, trying not to trip over his oversized, bright red shoes. He is already sweating under his chequered coat and the edges of his bow tie stab painfully into his throat.

"Louis!" someone suddenly shouts, and he whips around so fast that the tip of his shoe tangles in his trousers and he would have fallen to the ground face first if the other person didn't crab him by the shoulders to steady him.

"Whoa, slowly," the man, his boss for the next three days, says, patting Louis' back. "Nearly didn't recognize you in the costume. Good thing you've already changed. The next show starts in an hour. It would be best if you stood next to the entrance. Just try to attract as many potential spectators as possible."

"I'll be doing my best."

"I'm sure you will. Just be funny, the kids will love you. Maybe do some magic tricks. And you can juggle. Just have some fun yourself, ay?!"

Sure, Louis thinks, since I definitely am a professionally trained clown. A ridiculously-looking, professionally trained clown. He gives the man a nod and makes his way to where he was told to position himself. An old box with hand-painted golden stars on it captures his eyes. Inside he finds various horns, whistles, plastic flowers, balls, shrivelled balloons and a little red clown nose, that his outfit is still missing.

For the next thirty minutes, Louis is doing his absolute best to get the attention of at least one little fair visitor, but he fails miserably. Most of the time, he is just standing there awkwardly, blowing into a whistle and trying to impress someone with his non-existent juggling skills and lame jokes. One could mean that at least his clumsiness is a bit funny, but he is only given strange looks by most passers-by.

Just as he is about to send a quick prayer to the sky that his next juggling attempt may be slightly more successful, someone tugs at the hem of his jacket. Being startled to death, Louis loses control of his actions for a moment, causing the small red ball he just threw to crash frontally against his forehead.

Withstanding the urge to curse loudly, considering that there are loads of children around, he presses the palm of his hand flat against his head, rubbing frantically. He lowers his gaze to see a little boy standing next to him, looking up at him in shock. Louis actually thinks that he might have seen him somewhere before.

"'M sorry...," the kid mumbles, "Didn't want you to get hurt. Mummy always puts a kiss on an ouchie... Do you want one, Mr Clown?"

"No, I'm fine," Louis mutters, "but thank you, little man."

"I'm not little!" the boy protest immediately. "You know what? That was not nice. And you know something else? You're boring, Mr Clown."

"Wow, thank you very much," Louis mutters sarcastically.

"What is your name, Mr Clown?" the kid asks further, tugging at his jacket again.

Louis tilts his head slightly, narrowing his eyes at the cheeky boy. In the corner of his eye, he can see someone approaching them, probably about to get back their lost child. He bends down to pick up his dropped juggling balls while beginning to answer with "My name's Clown Lou-", when a certain pair of Chelsea boots step next to the object he was about to grab – Chelsea boots he has definitely seen before, "... cifer. I'm Clown Lucifer."

Hope you're having a nice day and you liked the chapter. Tell me what you think? xxx