ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴇɴ
Night Changes
When the boys' fifth album dropped out of nowhere, it took Elora a bit longer to discover its release than Louis thought. He had expected insistent spamming when the female woke up but instead found her normal responses to his texts – which, admittedly, hurt a little bit. He went the entire day waiting for her to suddenly tell him that she had known all along but he was sorely mistaken. They had been busy the entire day, considering their sudden release took the world by surprise, but he had been watching his phone the entire time. The lads had noticed his distracted state and tried to question him, but he brushed them off and merely blamed it on his exhaustion.
Elora was rather embarrassed when she heard the news from her brother. She had been working on her thesis, much like she normally did, when she got the message from her enthusiastic sibling on their group. Her phone was buzzing incessantly for a minute as she tried to ignore it but, eventually, she caved and switched on the screen.
Snakes
Tommo
NEW. ALBUM. OUT.
SCREAMING.
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT
THE AUDACITY
THEIR CONFIDENCE
I'M A WHORE FOR ONE DIRECTION
Keri
What is your problem?
Not all of us are in the US
Wait... shouldn't be sleeping
Tommo
SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK
MY HEART IS BEATING SO FAST
IT'S SO GOOD
Keri
I hope you know how you sound
Crazy and disgusting, that is.
Thomas, shouldn't you be sleeping?
And, Keira, how's work going?
Keri
Shut up, no one needs you being condescending
Thomas is freaking out illiterately
Tommo
ONE DIRECTION HAS A NEW ALBUM
THAT THEY RELEASED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
Keri
Which middle of the night?
Tommo
I don't know, time is a construct of our imagination.
Wait...
Really???
Keri
Ooohhhh
Someone's in trouble...
Tommo
Keira isn't making any sense so I'm going to sleep now
Elora quickly closed the app and moved on to her Apple Music, silently praying that her brother was joking and that she was still a good friend. Upon entering One Direction's page she noticed the dreaded proof that she was a horrible person. They had, indeed, released an album sometime earlier and she hadn't seen - worse than that, she hadn't even mentioned it to Louis. With a sinking feeling in her chest, she shut off her phone and stared at her written notes in front of her before realising that Louis hadn't mentioned anything either. Knowing what she should do, she hesitantly switched on her phone again and found his contact before pressing her phone to her ear as she held her breath.
The ringing continued for a few moments before the sound of him answering shocked her from her reverie. Before he could greet her, she blurted out, "I'm feeling a lot of mixed emotions currently."
From the other side, Louis quickly stepped out of the room even though all of the guys were staring at him. Thinking that something had gone wrong, he leaned on the balcony railing and asked, "What happened?"
"Well, one part of me is thoroughly embarrassed and then the other is annoyed," she stated through the phone and Louis chuckled slightly as he began to figure out what she may have been speaking about.
"So you finally found out, eh?" he grinned, looking down at the streets and trying to picture her expression.
She coughed and he could hear her shuffling slightly, "You could have told me, you know? Now I'm just ashamed that my brother, all the way in America, knew before me."
"I wanted it to be a surprise," he shrugged as he turned his back to lean on the railing, "Have you listened to it?"
"No," she laughed lightly, "I figured I should call you first and apologise for being such a horrible friend. Plus, I don't think you want me to call you as a blubbering mess as a result of the amazing music that will most definitely make me cry."
Louis grinned widely at her words, the twang in his heart that he had been carrying from her not mentioning the album had finally faded away. The rest of the band was in the room, behind the glass doors and completely enraptured by the sight. None of them knew who he was talking about, but Harry had an idea that it was the girl Louis had been spending a lot of time with recently. They watched, undeterred, as spoke to the person with a large smile and his eyes twinkling in a way they had only been seeing very rarely.
"For someone who is adamantly insisting that they're a failure of a friend, I have a question that might shock you," he spoke up after her extensive and profuse apology.
"Hopefully the shock won't be too horrible as to inhibit me from answering," she responded and he could hear the smile in her voice.
"The lads and I are throwing a small party to celebrate the release of the album," he stated, "It won't be anything big and we'll probably just be listening to the album and chilling, but I was wondering if you would come?"
The silence from the other side of the line made Louis pause in angst as he waited with bated breath. He really wanted her there, but he was worried that it might be too soon in their relationship.
"Are you sure you want me there, Louis?" she asked with a cautious tone, "I'm not famous and your friends might be a bit apprehensive – I am a fan, after all."
He ran a hand through his stiff hair, knowing that his stylist was about to be very annoyed with him. He focused on his shoes as he reassured her, "I don't care that you're not famous – it's a breath of fresh air – and I'm certain that you're not going to freak out in front of them. If you don't want to come, I understand, but I'll stand by you and prevent you from fangirling when Harry ties up his hair."
He smiled upon hearing her laugh and waited for her to respond. She sighed, "You know that I'm always here to support you but I want you to be certain that you truly want me there. I refuse to ruin such a big night for you."
"I promise you," he smiled gently with the phone still pressed to his ear, "the night would be worse without you there."
After her confirming her attendance and him promising to pick her up at seven that evening, Louis slid his phone in his jeans with a smile still on his face as he walked back into the room. The three other guys turned to look at him, not trying to hide their curiosity at all. He raised his eyebrows at the sight before him before he sat down once again and waited for them to finally crack.
"Who was that?" he wasn't surprised that Niall had blurted out the question but he was thankful for the few moments to come up with his answer.
"A friend."
"Do we know this friend?" Liam asked as Harry remained silently staring at his best friend with thoughts whirling through his head.
"Nope."
"Is it the person you've been spending every free moment with for the past week and a half?" he finally asked, looking intensely at Louis as he looked away and shrugged.
"They're coming tonight," Louis revealed, "You'll be able to meet them then."
The blur of questions that ensued made him laugh and grin slyly, especially when he was freed from answering by one of the security members beckoning them to go. They all got up begrudgingly while staring at Louis and the proud smile on his face.
Elora ignored the messages from her siblings as Thomas tried to figure out what Keira had meant and her older sister continued to tease her for not knowing about the new album. She attempted to continue planning her thesis but no amount of interchanging tea and coffee permitted her brain to focus. Staring at the table behind her tapping fingers, she began thinking about the event that was promised to start some four hours in the future. Her anxiety over meeting the comrades of Louis overtook her mind as she began stressing about how she was supposed to act. She was notoriously awkward and Louis had found that endearing, but nothing was preventing the others from finding it sufficiently annoying. It wasn't as though she was some desperate girlfriend pining for their approval, but she wasn't stupid – the opinions of your friends always matter to people and she didn't want to make Louis' life even more difficult.
When she finally decided that the small coffee house couldn't protect her from the worries of the world anymore, she packed up her things and bid the kind barista farewell. Her drive back to the flat was filled with the pounding music of Made in the A.M. and her awed silence as she absorbed the songs. Unable to finish the album in her short journey, she made sure to use full speed (which was much akin to a running toddler) as she made her way into the apartment. With full acknowledgement of the fact that her roommate was about to be thoroughly pissed, she connected her phone to their speakers and allowed the rest of the album to pound throughout their small living space.
In the middle of her spontaneously choreographed dance routine, Simon stomped out of his room with a disgruntled look covering his face. He remained glaring at the younger girl for an extended period before she honoured him with her attention.
"Greetings fellow Homosapien," she gave him a sickly sweet smile, prompting a dramatically raised eyebrow to be returned.
"What, on earth, are you doing?" he enquired even though the music was still blaring around them.
"Listening to One Direction's new album, now shush," she responded before forcing him into silence because he was disrupting the beautiful harmonies she was trying to listen to. Upon accepting that he wouldn't get a full explanation any time soon, the angsty male retreated into the confines of his room.
By the time the album had finished, Elora had made tea and was in the middle of throwing together a weak excuse for lunch. Immediately starting the album again, she finished her cooking and sat down to eat, read and listen with the full intention of ignoring the rest of the world until she had to get ready.
Much to her disappointment, the time of preparation arrived far sooner than she would have liked. She moved to her bedroom and disconnected her phone from the speakers – which was promptly followed by a loud sigh of relief from the direction of Simon's room. She moved to her closet and listened to a much softer version of the album as she scrutinized her clothes as well as the impression she wanted to make.
When she eventually settled on a smart-casual assemble, she made sure to match her lipstick with the burgundy velvet of her flowy cropped top. The neckline of her top allowed her to wear a silver feather necklace, so she decided to pair it with matching earrings and a similar two-knuckle ring. After finishing her make-up and curling her hair with one part of it pinned to the side with two silver clips, she moved to the mirror and sighed at the view. Running her hands down the high-raised white jeans, she hoped that the rips weren't too informal before shrugging it off and slipping on her black suede heels. Her phone pinged with the notification that Louis was outside, not coming to her door per her request, and she pulled on her white bomber jacket before grabbing her necessities. On her way out she grabbed the bottle of wine she figured would surpass as a gift as she shouted goodbye to Simon without him knowing what event she was attending.
She made her way into the cool night outside of her building and saw the sleek car Louis had driven in. By the time she had reached it, he had gotten out and was waiting to greet her. He had cleaned up and Elora was, once again, reminded of why he had millions of girls fawning over him. The black skinny jeans hugged his legs in a way that was unfair to anyone else who thought they had a good ass. It was made worse with the black turtle neck that clung to his defined chest and the tailored blazer that lined his figure.
"Hello there," she called with a teasing smirk, "Excuse my drool."
His face lit up at her comment, laughing at the way she had decided to compliment him. Giving her a tight hug, Louis noticed that her tall heels still left her shorter than him and he couldn't help but chuckle before pulling back and admiring her.
"You look stunning," he greeted as he took in the elegant yet oddly comfortable outfit she had selected. She grinned and thanked him before he opened the door for her and waited for her to get in the car. When he entered, she quickly passed him the bottle and explained that it was a small gift in congratulations. He thanked her, thinking that it was a slightly odd choice before she remarked that she would've brought beer but she refused to feed into his bad taste, and he understood perfectly.
The ride to Harry's place wasn't too long but allowed them time to catch up on how their days went. She explained the chaotic conversation on her sibling group chat, causing Louis to laugh loudly and scrunch up his face as he imagined what it must have been like. He informed her of all the promo that they had to do and organise now that the album was out whilst explaining why they didn't reveal that there would be a new album until it was dropped in the middle of the night. Their amiable conversation faded to a close as he pulled into the driveway of his bandmate's place. Elora didn't know whose house it was but she was shocked nonetheless, its large exterior was nothing like the impressive interior.
He opened the door for her and led her to the front door before opening it and ushering her in without knocking. His actions made her assume that it was his home before she realised that he wouldn't leave his place bustling with people – even though she believed that he shouldn't have done it regardless considering he was a host. The first floor was filled with enough people to prove that it was a popular gathering but a small enough group to pass as being personal. She reasoned to herself that four people would have enough friends worthy of attending for that size of a gathering – which reinforced the warmth in her heart from Louis wanting her there.
At his entrance, a fair amount of people turned their focus to him and he switched to the confident and suave man she knew from five years of being a fan. As he greeted people with smiles and hugs, Elora allowed herself the privilege of examining the house she stood in. Recognising the expensive furniture and designer taste to the décor, she was able to reinforce her conclusion that it was not Louis' house. Her best guess was that she stood in the home of the infamous Harry Styles but she didn't want to assume anything so she turned her focus back onto the man who had invited her. Louis had been staring at her for a few moments after greeting people, waiting to see the reaction of his new friend and hoping that she wasn't turned off by the splendour. She smiled brightly at him when she noticed that his gaze was fixed upon her, causing the tension to leave his shoulders and prompting a sweet smile to grow on his lips.
"Would you like something to drink?" he offered and she nodded in thanks before he placed his hand on her lower back and guided her in the right direction.
Liam Payne had been the first of the band to notice Louis' arrival and was stunned to see the woman who had accompanied him. When his mate had said that he had to leave to pick up his friend, Liam had expected to see one of Louis' old friends from before the band – not to say that the mysterious woman wasn't. Niall walked over to him, a joyous smile filling his face and a bottle of beer in his grasp before the Irish lad handed him a bottle of his own.
"Louis' arrived," Liam remarked and Niall raised his eyebrows in question, "He's brought a girl."
The look on Niall's face spoke volumes as he turned around to see if he could spot them. He managed to catch a peek as they moved to the kitchen, probably to get something to drink.
"She's hot," he coughed as Liam nodded, "Let's hope this doesn't end badly."
⟨⟨Elora's Outfit⟩⟩