ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ
Change My Mind
Time passed in anguish and the last day of January 2016 left the world with the official end of One Direction. Well, end or momentary lapse, that was the debate. Louis Tomlinson didn't like to think about the semantics; he especially didn't feel emotionally equipped to. The worst part of it all was that he wasn't certain what was ripping his heart into shreds more: the completion of his journey with the band or the incoming departure of the girl he'd known for three months. Hypothetically, the answer was obvious. However when he thought about the hiatus he felt a sort of begrudging resignation with pangs of betrayal. Entertaining the idea of never seeing Elora Rayne again? Now that left him with a mournful grief that ached desperately in the very essence of his being.
Louis was being dramatic, he was well aware of that. It didn't change anything though. The thought of pretending to be alright was so draining that he could sob. He remembered how he felt that same pressure to maintain a façade of normalcy a few months prior and it stung to realise that the person who helped him through it was now the cause of it.
It was unfair to put that weight on her, he knew that, but as he watched her glow under the ambiantic lights, he sensed it pressing on his chest. The days had been slipping through his fingers in a very ABBA-like manner, except he was the sand falling through the hourglass - weighted down by gravity and the inability to change his inevitable collapse on the desolate floor. He wanted to cling to their last few days together but was reminded that it was his fault that his band mates had befriended her as he watched Harry parade her around the crowded room.
Harry had developed the tradition years ago to have his birthday party the day before his actual birthday so that when his special day rolled around, most people had exhausted their excitement over the affair and allowed him a serene day with family and close friends. Ever since Louis had met the younger lad, he had been invited to both occasions and always enjoyed the smaller gathering much more. Louis wouldn't hide the fact that he loved a good party: the music, the dancing, the drinks flowing as people lost themselves in one another. Yet for some reason, the time spent laughing over sentimental stories whilst sipping tea and teasing Harry with his mother and sister was always far more satisfying. This year was no different, except it was heightened by the desire to run away from the sight of Elora being spun under Harry's arm as he guided her through various introductions and confusing conversations.
Louis had found out about her invite when she mentioned not knowing the attire required. Attempting to conceal his surprise, he helped her choose an outfit whilst lazing on her bed. He had been staring at the blank interior of her room, pushing off the remorse that rose up when he recalled the miscellaneous trinkets that had once littered the surfaces.
When she emerged in her red summer dress, black blazer and black heels, Louis had to physcially restrain an audible gasp. Keeping his rampant feelings at bay at been wearing him thin the last month but seeing the beauty that she normally hid under large sweaters displayed so elegantly threw him off kilter. Obviously he found her attractive (stunning, gorgeous, magnificent, jaw-dropping) but he did his best to not focus on it too much for fear of letting something slip. Which is why after giving her a stiff nod and stuttering out an excuse, he nearly sprinted out of her apartment.
The hour he spent getting ready allowed his frazzled brain and hiccuping heart to relax slightly but the entire drive to pick her up was devoted towards mentally preparing himself for seeing her again. It didn't really work but his reflexes saved him from openly gaping when she opened the door and smiled widely with intensely red lips. As was habitual, she was still rushing to slip on bracelets and earrings, nearly forgoing the necklace before running off to stuff useless knickknacks into her bag.
Her chaos offered Louis the opportunity to regain his wits so that by the time they were driving to the destination, he wasn't acting like a fumbling fool. She had been nervous, it was one of the first things he noticed. Her nimble fingers fluttered over the fabric of her dress and fiddled with her phone, constantly switching it on to stare at the lockscreen as though it offered some sort of solution. Louis would have complained about how distracting the flickering light was in the dark car but every time he turned to her, he caught sight of her background and a warmth settled in his soul. The photograph had changed regularly throughout their friendship; he noticed she liked regularly designing different themes. At that moment, it was a photo that had been taken on one of their outings in which they were cuddled together, hugging for warmth as they watched the scenery around them. He couldn't recall how the photo was captured but wasn't particularly bothered.
Remembering the sight of her lockscreen was about the only thing keeping Louis from acting out in his frustration. They had arrived a few minutes late, something to be expected considering both of them were notoriously tardy, but were greeted with bright enthusiasm regardless. Harry was being Harry Styles and smiling widely at his guests, thanking them earnestly for their attendance and gifts before guiding them to the food and beverages. Catching sight of the pair earned them an exuberant grin as he beckoned them over.
One thing that Louis found solice in was the fact that despite his bandmate's infatuation with Elora, they remained best friends and his greeting reassured him of that. The tight hug and sincere whisper of thanks and welcome was sign enough that Harry remained in genuine desire of his company. Of course, he hugged Elora just as tightly and expressed his desire to introduce her to some people but told them to get comfortable before he could join them.
They weaved their way through the crowd that thickened by the moment, easily avoiding the stares of strangers despite Louis' status. His usual policy of being the loudest and most entertaining to compensate for his smaller frame was subdued by the desire to limit sharing Elora with others. He didn't think she realised his slightly possessive attitude but she remained grateful for his artful evasion. Regardless of how outgoing she could appear, he knew that it was normally a technique to mask her awkwardness and much preferred quieter interactions. He was increasingly aware of how she had influenced him.
They were able to retrieve flutes of champagne and appetizers before scanning the room for people they may want to engage with. Eventually they found Liam by the bar, talking to someone with their back turned to them, and decided he was a safe bet.
Upon reaching the brunet singer, his eyes glanced up and he smiled warmly at the sight of the two. His companion turned around once noticing Liam's distraction and Louis was met with a familiar face.
"Alright, lad?" he hugged Liam lightly before turning to the older gentleman, "Good to see you Winston."
"Been a while, mate," he smiled genially, "How you holdin' up?"
"Ah, same old, same old," he brushed off and shifted to involve Elora before their conversation could evolve.
The man flickered his eyes to the unknown woman and smiled politely, unsure of her relation to any of the guests.
"Ben, this is a friend of mine, Elora Rayne," Louis rested his hand on the small of her back in introduction, "Elora, this is a long time friend of ours and producer of most of our music videos, Ben Winston."
Elora had a vague recollection of the name and knew it was solely in relation to the boys but smiled politely anyway and moved to shake his hand, "Hi, it's great to meet you."
"You too," he rested back against the bar after their greeting whilst Louis turned to say something to Liam, "How do you know Louis?"
"Oh," she smiled sheepishly, "We met a couple of months ago at a coffee shop and kind of became friends from there."
He nodded at the vague answer but accepted it, "Are you his plus one then?"
"Oh, no," she blushed slightly, "Harry invited me, we just arrived together."
"So you know the boys then?" he asked conversationally and Elora floundered a bit.
"Yeah, spent quite some time with them on the odd occasion but their schedule prohibits much social gatherings."
He smiled wryly at the comment, "Oh definitely. You'd think with how so much of their PR is socialising, they'd do more of it."
She chuckled lightly before another presence joined them and drew their attention. Niall grinned dopily at the four, a glass of beer in his grasp and flushed cheeks warmed with body heat and the pints he'd already consumed.
"Alright, you lot? When did you arrive?" he spoke up as he hugged them all. Their varied responses were given before he turned to Ben specifically.
"I see you've met our groupie, yeah?" he questioned smugly as he threw an arm around her smaller shoulders.
She groaned and blushed, "Oh gosh, he's going to think you're serious, Niall."
"Well, aren't you?" he provoked and cackled when she slapped his chest with a muffled 'twat'.
Louis watched their interaction carefully, reminding himself that they weren't actually interested in each other regardless of what the tabloids said. His battle with his jealousy led to a delayed response at the arrival of their host. Harry sauntered over with an excited grin and hugged the group once more, his entire being exuding giddy joy as his eyes glinted a glorious emerald in the warm lights.
"Harold!" Niall practically yelled when his focus was brought to the taller lad.
"Heya, Nialler," he chuckled before flickering his gaze to the arm wrapped around the pretty girl, "You better be careful, mate, don't need another story confirming your new and exciting romance."
The cheeky grin on his face was met with a playful swot and the laughter of their group at the mention of the rumour. They all knew that it was probably a slightly sensitive subject for Louis but decided the best route was to joke about it to encourage him that there really was nothing to worry about.
Ben's eyes widened as he finally realised what they were referring to, "Oh! Are you Nialler's new girlfriend then? I remember seeing something about you two on the media. Niall's been slacking with his discretion, eh?"
They all laughed again, covering Louis' tense shifting, before the blond rolled his eyes and squeezed Elora tighter, "Nah, this beaut is still very single and sees me very platonically. We just went for lunch and it was blown up, as usual."
Ben nodded as he laughed, understanding fully and remaining unaware of Louis' quieter response. Liam spoke up to inform their friend of the running joke, "It's actually real funny 'cause no where do the articles mention Tommo even though he's the one who actually introduced her to us."
The producer's eyes widened and he glanced at the oldest singer when they all chuckled, Harry joined, "Even when they mentioned my New Year's Party, they seemed to forget that she left and arrived with Lou."
They all laughed and Louis could only roll his eyes, even if the reminder stung a little he was grateful that his friends were trying to make light of it. He was irrationally jealous but knew that there was nothing to be done or said so he joined in on the jesting.
Elora was slowly easing herself into the conversation and allowed herself to comment, "Although, I must admit, I was hoping the rumours would get Niall to realise my deep devotion to him and serenade me. Alas, I was disappointed."
The group cackled and Niall spun around to face her with his hands grasping hers. His eyes widened comically and he dropped to a knee before belting out some random Spanish song that no one knew and he only remember two lines to. They all cramped with laughter, the sound overpowering the music and catching a few surrounding stares but they all remained oblivious as the rest of the lads joined in as backing vocals to his ballad. Elora swooned with a hand dramatically resting on her forehead before she urged the singer back onto his feet before they made more of a scene.
Ben couldn't help but watch the five with fond eyes amidst his laughter. The past while had been tough for the lad and whilst they were diligent in their attempts to remain light-hearted, it was refreshing to see them so vividly jovial. The addition of the Elora girl into their dynamic seemed to be the shift they all needed and he could see how all of them had grown attached to her in some way despite, what he gathered, was a recent inclusion.
Eventually Harry moved to fulfill his hospitality duties and welcome his assemblage of guests. After a brief speech and encouragement to indulge in the food that had been replenished, he moved back to their small group. Hordes of people moved between the buffet tables and the various splatterings of furniture placed around the large room, the chatter's volume increasing tenfold. The five of them shuffled towards a collection of couches and armchairs in the corner, deciding it was best to wait until the initial chaos surpassed. Ben decided to leave them when he found some industry friends of his, leaving an opening on the couch for Harry to settle into once he had engaged in enough small talk with people he barely recognised.
Louis had been in the process of pinpointing each member of their technical crew from their latest world tour when Harry began poking Elora's shoulder incessantly. She ignored him diligently, following Louis' finger as he gestured through the mob but there was only so much ardent bothering she could brush off.
"Can you not?" she asked when she spun around and caught the singers hand, "I'm trying to understand how this dumb idiot can remember a thousand people's names but not the words to songs he wrote but you insist on bruising me."
He grinned impishly, moving to clasp her tiny hand in his before tugging at her, "Come on, there are some people I'd like you to meet. Louis will still be a paradox when you return."
The boy in question rolled his eyes as Elora snorted before she turned and shot him a reassuring smile. Allowing herself to be dragged off the leather cushioning, the poor victim followed the eager movements of her infantile friend.
"I hope you know I'm only allowing this because it's your birthday tomorrow," she warned, to which his grin widened and he wrapped her up in a tight hold.
Their older friend watched from afar as Harry danced through the bodies, unbelievably clumsy but still able to pull her away from him. The next hour or so was wasted pretending to maintain light conversation while watching his charming bandmate allow random people to be endeared by Elora's sweet personality. The steady flow of drinks was not good for his state of mind as he grew increasingly inebriated to quell the angst clawing at his heart. The sight of her enchanting smile and view of her laughter yet being too far away to hear the melodious sound clutched at his chest.
"Maybe you should slow down, mate," Niall cautiously suggested as he examined him with wary eyes.
Louis scoffed and down the dregs of his vodka redbull, "That's rich coming from you."
"Yeah, but I'm Irish, you're not."
"I'm British, that's really close enough," he argued, his eyes unwaveringly focused despite the swirling of his brain.
His friend hummed before gently prying the glass from his hand and guided him to sit down again. Niall was undoubtably drunk but remained sensible enough to recognise that Louis wasn't drinking out of celebration, and that was a dangerous game. They had lost Liam some time ago to the bar and they really should have been worried but there wasn't much they could do at that time. Louis, however, could be saved if he'd just stop torturing himself.
"Maybe you should stop examining them like they're a newly discovering species," the blond offered gently as he sat alongside his best mate.
"More like a virus," he muttered but finally dragged his gaze towards the concerned friend beside him.
Niall sighed and rubbed his back in consolation, "Mate, you know they're just friends."
"I know, I know," he groaned depressingly, "It's really more what the entire thing symbolises."
The raised eyebrow he received informed him that he wasn't being all that coherent, "It's just... for a while it was just the two of us. We could spend every avaliable moment with one another and no one knew, no one bothered us. Now, now the world will know how amazing she is and what if she realises that someone as fantastic as her doesn't have to spend every avaliable moment with me?"
Niall couldn't resist cooing at his words, even if it was slightly patronising, "Lou, you are just as amazing as she is. The two of you are perfect together and no one can replicate or replace that. You don't have to worry about her ever leaving you behind."
A faint burning emerged behind his eyes and Louis groaned again, he seriously could not be crying over a girl at a party. He refused to be that cliché; it must have been the alcohol.
Rubbing his face to hide the red tainting his eyes, "But she is, Nialler, she is leaving me behind and there's nothing I can do about it."
A sad smile fell on the younger lad's face at the reminder that not only would Louis be losing the girl of his dreams but he, himself, would be losing a good friend. Before Niall could comfort him further, Louis spoke up in his drunken haze, "Maybe I should tell her I love her. She'll stay then, right? She can't leave if she knows I love her, right, Nialler?"
Niall, already a sympathetic crier, could barely contain his tears at the desperation in his friend's face. Pulling the smaller man into his arms, he just held him close as he spoke, "No, Lou, you can't do that."
"But-"
"-No, no, I know you know she has to go. She doesn't want to, really she doesn't, but she doesn't have a choice. If you tell her she's just going to have to leave anyway but now with a broken heart. You don't want to hurt her, do you?"
The brunet sniffed and shook his head in the neck he had nestled into, "Never, wouldn't dream of hurting her."
"Then all that you can do is be there for her like she has been for you. You'll see her again, it's not the end even if it feels like it," his murmurs settled the sniffles of his friend. Louis rubbed his nose and eyes as he nodded and withdrew from the hug.
"Yeah..." he whispered, curling in on himself as he sat with the knowledge that there truly was nothing he could do.
⟨⟨ Elora's Outfit ⟩⟩