Louis
"Yes Uncle Chris, me and little Oli are doing just fine. We're actually going to a charity event today." I was on a FaceTime call with my Uncle Chris, who was more like a father to myself and Oliver than our actual dad.
I have a younger brother who is actually not so little anymore. He's 15 and getting a little hard to deal with if I'm being honest. I've been Oli's legal guardian since I was 18, it's hard to believe that was ten years ago.
Oliver was born premature and has always had trouble with his hearing. In the beginning, our parents tried to help Oli in anyway they could. Unfortunately, that accommodation didn't last very long. When he was three years old, I could tell that our parents were starting to drift away from their youngest son. I became the parental figure for Oliver then. I was the one who started teaching him sign language at a very young age and witnessed him flourish with personality and charm.
At 18, and when Oli was 5, I became his legal guardian and left my mother and father's house. It was a major struggle in the beginning but after a while I was able to provide for us both.
"Have you seen any changes with his hearing over the past few months?" I wavered with the answer to my uncle's question.
That's another thing, Oli's hearing has been slowly deteriorating as he grows older. I have had many doctors tell me that it's just because he never fully developed everything needed inside his inner ear, causing him to slowly become 100% deaf.
"Uhm, I can still talk to him while signing and he says he can hear me faintly. I've noticed that when he talks, he's getting louder in pitch. As if he can't really hear himself well enough." My uncle nodded and tossed me a wide smile.
"I'm so proud of you Louis. I know I tell you this all the time but, you are the strongest person I know." I chewed on my bottom lip to keep myself from tearing up and I just smiled appreciatively to my uncle. We were interrupted when a loud banging noise was heard from downstairs.
I ran toward the noise and found Oli holding a frying pan and looking down at about five pots and pans that had clambered onto the floor in the kitchen. I laughed at Oli's confused expression causing him to turn around abruptly.
"I honestly have no idea how that happened!" He practically yelled while I continued to laugh. I sat my phone down after telling uncle Chris that it was just Oli who made the noise.
"Go and talk to your uncle while I clean up your mess!" I signed and spoke at the same time, the humorous smile never leaving my lips. Oli rolled his eyes and picked up my phone with the hand he wasn't using to hold the frying pan.
I shook my head, getting down to pick up everything. Once the kitchen was tidy, I went to find where Oliver had walked off to. I could hear him talking loudly to our uncle and kept thinking that he was louder than he was two weeks ago.
"Tell Louis that I said good luck for the event tonight and you don't get yourself in too much trouble little man!" I heard Oli groan and complain about our uncle calling him little. I stuck my head beside Oli's so Chris could see me and we all said our farewell's before hanging up.
I took the frying pan from my little brother's grip and took it back to the kitchen where it belonged.
"What exactly were you trying to make?" I asked when I knew he was looking at me.
"I was going to cook some chicken. I got to make these gains in order for the ladies to come runnin'!" He flexed his small arms in order to make himself look larger but it didn't exactly work in his favor.
"Well, if you keep posing like that they will be running AWAY from you!" I laughed as he almost deflated at my words. I brought him into a headlock and waited until he tapped out before I released him from my grip.
The front door rang along with the lights flickering, indicating someone was here. I asked Oli to answer it so I could cook us something that was actually edible. I heard loud chatter before watching my brother and best friend walk into the kitchen
"Zayn 'cooler than my brother' Malik is here!" Oli announced while gesturing to Zayn as if he was a king. Zayn has always been like an older brother to Oli. Whenever my little brother is furious with me, or he wants to talk girls, he goes to Zayn.
"What's up man." Me and Zayn hugged and he sat his keys and phone on the counter before hopping up on it. Oli copied him and I looked at him pointedly but he acted like he wasn't aware of me trying to tell him to get off the counter.
"So, excited for the event today?" Zayn signed and spoke while looking at Oliver. I went back to cooking while those two had a long chat. Whenever the food was done I quickly served everyone and we ate with them sitting on the counter and I stood like a normal human being.
I looked at my watch telling Oli that he needed to get ready to leave. We had to be at the venue in two hours so I knew it would give us enough time to look presentable if we started getting dressed now. I waited for Oli to finish eating, putting his dirty plate in the sink, and heading to his room before I started speaking.
"Hey man, I really need your help today." Zayn nodded at me to continue, saying that he would help with anything.
"I need you to look after Oli while I'm performing. I know he's going to want to walk around a lot since this is a big celebration for his community and I know we won't have much space if I was walking around with him." Zayn held his hand up to me.
"Say no more bro. You know I love hanging out with little O. I also know that he wouldn't want you to miss out on anything either." I nodded and thought for a moment before speaking again.
"Maybe after I perform, I can kind of cover myself up and walk around with you guys for a while. I am actually really excited about seeing all the booths and such." We agreed with the plan and I set off for my bedroom to get dressed.
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Upon arrival, there were already a shit ton of people gathered around the main gates of the event. I smiled and showed Oli the crowd, making his jaw drop. He signed 'wow' and sat back in his seat baffled.
I know that I have gone around the world performing for thousands of people at a time but this is different. This means so much more to me because it's supporting my brother and the deaf community. Hopping out of the car, I rushed into hair and makeup. I was talking with the team while Oli and Zayn went ahead and started exploring. They said their first stop was the t-shirt booth.
"10 minutes to showtime Louis." The stage director called into the hair/makeup area. I started to get nervous, causing my hands to shake furiously. I usually don't have as many nerves but as I've said before, this show is way more important than any other.
I sauntered toward side stage and started to take deep breaths. Myself and Oli have a before the show ritual of a complicated handshake and screaming to the top of our lungs. Since my little brother wasn't here though, I had to settle for deep breathing and running through the set list in my head. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see the ASL interpreter for the show, we spoke for a few moments before she set herself up on the main stage.
"Hello everyone and welcome to the first ASL Weekend of the year for the American Society for Deaf Children!" Everyone either clapped, cheered, or waved their hands in the air. Myself included.
"We are proud to announce that this year's event has been funded by our performer today, Louis Tomlinson! He has graciously donated to the society for years now and has always had us at the top of his list for charities. We could not thank him enough for what he has helped us achieve so without further ado, here is LOUIS TOMLINSON!" The crowd cheered again causing me to smile as I jogged to center stage where a mic was waiting for me.
"How is everyone doing on this glorious afternoon?" I signed and spoke into the microphone, causing another wave of cheering.
"I want to thank everyone for coming out to enjoy this wonderful weekend. I'd like to see everyone on their feet and feeling proud to be apart of this amazing community!" The music started and I felt alive.
I've always loved performing and making people feel exhilarated and happy. I have been in this business for eight years now and the adrenaline never gets old. I finished a few songs before we took a short break. I've always loved to interact with the crowd during these breaks, sometimes calling people up on stage.
"Okay, while the band is resting for a second, I want to ask you guys some questions. Just because I'm a nosy person and because I have the microphone!" I heard people laugh which made me smile.
I walked close to the front of the stage and spoke with a few people that looked like they might pass out from speaking to me. After a while I saw a group of three guys that looked to be my age joking around and waving to get my attention.
"You three! What are you doin'?" I signed and spoke, not knowing if they are hearing or deaf. They all laughed loudly before the blonde one yelled.
"Harry says you're sexy!" I saw the tallest of the three push his blonde friend almost knocking him over. I laughed and shook my head.
"Well if Harry thinks I am so sexy, why doesn't he come up on stage and dance around with me?" The three guys were shocked with my suggestion before the blonde lad and the buff one started pushing, what I assumed to be Harry, up on stage.
This should be fun.
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