The Great 'LiLou' Switcheroo

The two lads kept their body-switching secret between themselves. They agreed to handle the matter in their own hands without alarming the others.

After the initial shock and panic (plus a good ten minutes of hysteria), the boys had calmed down and decided to wash up. All of them had seen each other naked before while they were back in the X-Factor house, so it wasn't too awkward.

Seeing was one thing. Taking a bath was another. "Please take care of my fragile skin, Liam. I only use-" Louis shut his mouth after Liam had given him a death glare and smacked him on the back of his head.

"I don't understand how you can take this lightly, Lou. We are going back on tour in two days time and if things aren't right by then, we are seriously in very, big trouble. Not saying we aren't in one right now," Liam frowned. "I'll go bathe first."

Louis couldn't help but to feel worried as well. What could have caused this? He racked his brains for an answer, but a knock on the door distracted him. Louis got up from the sofa and went over to the peep-hole to see who was outside. He saw Zayn and Niall standing there. Once he opened the door, the boys trudged inside. "Hey Liam," they greeted in unison.

"Everyone's ready?" Niall asked.

"Harry's still sleeping. I'm waiting for Liam to finish showering," Louis answered.

Zayn and Niall looked at him. "You mean Louis, isn't it?" Zayn raised an eyebrow. "You're waiting for Louis to finish bathing."

Louis groaned as he had made another blunder. "Y-yeah, that was what I meant," he grinned sheepishly.

"If that's the case, we'll meet you all downstairs at the restaurant. I'm kind of famished," Niall smiled.

Both Zayn and Niall left the room. Liam had just finished showering and he was rummaging through his suitcase to find his clothes.

"What are you doing?" Louis queried.

"Putting on some clothes, of course," Liam snapped. "Do you want to be papped in your full glory and having your 'bits' making the headline news the following day?"

"Liam, stop being a daft. You are now in my body, meaning you have to be dressed the way I usually am," Louis scolded. "I'll pick out the clothes for you to wear, and you'll pick out mine."

Liam let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll sort out yours since we're in my room. Go wash up first, before Harry wakes up and hogs the bathroom."

Twenty minutes later, Louis was already showered and fully dressed in Liam's clothes. Liam was still clad in his towel as he didn't get the chance to get to Louis' room.

"Hurry, let's get to my room," Louis dragged the half-naked boy through the adjoining bathroom.

Liam was horrified at the state of the room. He couldn't say he was the neatest among the five of them (that would be Zayn), but the state of Louis and Harry's room was beyond recognition.

Harry was a messy person, but Louis was the worst. So two messy people living under one roof would spell disaster to most.

Louis grimaced beside him. "Erm, we haven't gotten time to-"

"Just get this over with," Liam cut him short.

While Louis was running around picking up clothes for the younger boy to wear, Harry finally woke up.

"What time is it?" he asked, voice still slurred from sleep.

Louis glanced at his mobile. "It's a quarter to nine, Hazza. You'd better hurry if you don't want to miss breakfast."

Harry looked a little puzzled at that remark. "Uh, sure Liam. I'll hit the showers now."

No one else in the group calls Harry, 'Hazza' except for Louis.

"Urgh, I've got to shut my mouth from now onwards," Louis said exasperatedly. Liam rolled his eyes and put on the clothes the older boy had gotten ready for him.

"I don't understand why you have to wear these almost everyday, Lou," he gestured at the pair of braces on the bed. "I'm not comfy in them."

"Liam, I'm known for being the stylish one in our group. Besides, braces and stripes are my 'specialties'. It's really not that bad," he winked.

Liam groaned and reluctantly snapped on the braces to the waistband of his trousers. He had a little help from Louis.

"Roll up your trouser leg. You can't wear my espadrilles without rolling them up," Louis remarked. He went off to grab his shoes.

Liam started to panic. Louis had the smelliest feet in the band and the thought of slipping his feet into those disgusting shoes made him want to retch.

"I refuse to wear those," he stated. "I don't want my feet to stink!"

"Liam, could you please think rationally? You're in my body now, so your feet's going to stink in one way or another!" Louis hissed.

"This has nothing to do with our bodies. This is about hygiene!"

"Liam! You have to wear this, no matter what. The shoes go well with the outfit you're wearing now. They compliment each other nicely!"

The two boys did not notice that Harry had came out of the bathroom. The curly-haired lad had been staring at their squabbling for the past five minutes.

"I even put on this stupid braces for you, Tomlinson," Liam retorted.

"I had to wear socks just for your plimsolls, Payne," Louis shot back. "Can't you compromise?"

They heard a loud cough and a clearing of a person's throat. Harry. Both boys froze.

"Uh, what is happening here?" he asked, clearly confused.

Liam grabbed the espadrilles from Louis and hurriedly put them on.

"We're late for breakfast! See you downstairs, Harry!" He dragged a surprised Louis out of the door, leaving behind a very, befuddled Harry.



Both boys stood in awkward silence the whole time while they were in the lift. Liam kept snapping his braces and he wore an annoyed look on his face, while Louis kept fidgeting and twiddling his thumbs in irritation.

Louis decided to break the silence. "If you would have just agreed to put on those shoes without having to bicker, none of this would have happened."

"Shut up, Tommo. This is all your fault. I've no idea what you did, but you'd better set things right by tomorrow!" Liam scowled.

"What makes you so sure that I am in the wrong?" Louis was getting agitated. "What if it's your fault instead?"

"It can't be my fault because I don't do idiotic things like you, Louis."

Before Louis had a chance to retort, the lift doors opened. Liam brushed past him without so much as a glance. They reached the restaurant and were ushered to the VIP area.

"I'm sorry, but we don't want to take the risk of letting the other hotel guests know that One Direction is staying here. You boys know how it gets when the fans find out," the waitress smiled apologetically. "I hope you boys understand."

Both boys nodded and smiled at her. They took their places in a secluded booth at the back of the restaurant. Liam sat beside Niall while Louis took his seat beside Zayn.

"What took you all so long?" Niall asked. "Zayn and I had placed our orders already."

"And where is Harry?" Zayn queried.

"He woke up late and was the last to get ready. Wouldn't want to keep you both from waiting any longer, so we went off first," Liam answered.

Suddenly, his eyes bulged and he froze. His mouth was gaping like a fish out of water.

"Louis, you alright?" Niall asked.

Louis glanced up from the menu to see what had happened when he saw the stricken feature on his own face.

"Sp-sp-spoo-" Liam stammered.

Oh my God! Liam didn't bring down his personal spoon! Louis thought. He needed a distraction to get both Liam and himself out of there, so he reacted out of reflex. Louis stood up abruptly and swatted the cutlery off the table.

"Blast it! Get these away!" Louis yelled. This created a scene among the few diners who shared the space with the boys.

"Crikey! What is the matter with the both of ya?" Niall squealed.

Glad for the commotion that Louis had made, Liam grabbed the older boy by the arm and led him out of the restaurant. "He had forgotten about his spoon!" he answered loudly and dashed out.

They bumped into Harry at the entrance. "Where are you lads headed to?" Harry questioned, one of his eyebrows arched.

"He had forgotten about his spoon," Liam replied curtly and hurried off, dragging Louis by the arm. Harry shook his head in amusement and continued walking towards their table.



"This is a total nightmare! Disastrous!" Liam sat down on the sofa and put his face in his hands.

Louis was seated beside him, a faraway look in his eyes. The rest of the band were still downstairs having breakfast, but the two of them were cooped up in their room after that commotion. They were afraid to go down again in case they created another blunder and would be banned from the restaurant or worse, the hotel entirely.

"Thank you for what you did back there, Lou. I really appreciate it," Liam turned to look at him. Louis gave him a small grin.

"You're welcome. Anything for you, Payne."

He suddenly felt the vibration of his Blackberry in his pocket. Without looking at the screen to know who was the caller, he answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello? May I speak with Louis please?" Eleanor's voice was heard over the receiver.

"Hey babe, how are you?" Louis' mood was lifted after knowing his girlfriend had called.

"Liam? Is that you? Could you pass the phone to Lou, please?"

Louis facepalmed himself. This is getting ridiculous.

"Eleanor, your Boobear's in the bathroom. Do you want to call him later? Or is there a message that I can pass to him?" Louis deadpanned.

"Uhm, I think I'll pass the message to you. I'm not able to answer my phone later, as I'll be out with my girlfriends to do a last minute assignment. I'll probably text him after that, but I need you to remind him that my flight's scheduled to arrive in Washington tomorrow evening at seven. This is important seeing you're all busy with the tour and that it might slipped his mind," Louis could have sworn she was smiling at this sentence. "Thank you, Liam. Send my regards to the rest of the lads. I'll be seeing you all!" With that, she hung up the phone.

Louis threw the phone aside and stared at Liam, the colour drained out from his face.

"We're really, really in serious trouble," he said.