The Great 'LiLou' Switcheroo

"Did you notice any difference with the both of them this morning?" Harry asked Niall and Zayn inbetween mouthfuls of food.

The three of them were having breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. Harry was surprised to know that both Liam and Louis had created a scene earlier, and Niall and Zayn had been reprimanded by the restaurant's manager because of that.

"What do you mean, Harry?" Zayn queried.

"They seemed a bit dodgy today," Harry answered, waving his spoon to point at the older boy.

"Come to think about it, I found Liam a bit off," Niall commented. "Same goes to Louis."

"This may sound strange, but I walked in on them quarelling about their clothes. And the most weirdest thing was that, they were addressing each other by their surnames," Harry added.

"I don't think that's weird, seeing that we do call each other by our last name sometimes," Zayn remarked.

"No, Zayn. What I meant was, Louis addressed himself as Tomlinson, and Liam called himself Payne. Like, they're referring themselves from a third person's point of view," Harry explained. "Not only that, but I saw Louis not wanting to put on his espadrilles because he said his feet would stink. Liam on the other hand, was complaining he had to put on socks while wearing plimsolls."

"That's weird," Niall commented. "Louis practically lives in his stinky shoes while Liam isn't much of a complainer."

"And about the incident just now, I realised that Louis was the one who started fussing about the spoon, not Liam," Zayn added.

"Now that's really odd," Harry mused. His phone vibrated in his pocket, indicating a text message was received.

"Lads, Louis messaged to tell us that the both of them ain't coming down and that we're to pack food for them," Harry informed the others.

Niall and Zayn nodded mutely and continued with their meal, while Harry pondered over that morning's mishaps.

Something's not right, and Louis and Liam aren't telling us what it is.



"What?! Eleanor's coming? No, no, no, NO!" Liam cried out. He grasped Louis by the arms and shook him hard. "Please tell her to cancel the trip. Say it isn't a good idea to come now. Make up a reason, something, anything!"

"Let go of me, Liam! You're mental!" Louis squirmed out of the younger boy's grip. "You think I want her to come? I mean, of course I wanted her to come, but not with us like this! I can't simply ask her to cancel the trip as we've been planning this since our last tour. Furthermore, you know how hard-headed she can be sometimes." Louis gave out a loud sigh and buried his face in his hands.

"I don't want to sleep with her, Lou," Liam said, frowning.

Louis gave him a light smack on the back of his head. "Who said anything about sleeping together?"

"Don't you normally share the same room with her whenever she follows us on tour?"

Louis' eyes widened and he smacked his forehead. "Crap, you're right about that."

They heard the room door being opened and saw Harry ambled in, two plastic bags in his hands; Niall close behind him with Zayn bringing up the rear.

"Here's your breakfast Louis," Harry handed a bag to Liam. "And this is for you." He handed another bag to Louis. "Eat quickly. We have vocal training at one. That means," he paused dramatically to take a look at his watch, "both of you have exactly an hour to finish your meal and get ready to be downstairs at the lobby."

Liam and Louis gave out a loud moan simultaneously and started on their meal. Vocal training had simply slipped out of their minds when there were bigger, serious matters on hand.

Surely this day can't get any worse? Louis thought while stuffing food into his mouth. But then he already knew the answer, even before he asked himself that question.

Yes.



Vocal trainings were tedious as it usually "drain" the boys of their energy. Singing continuously for four hours, (with the occasional ten minute breaks inbetween) usually leave the boys hoarse and lethargic at the end of trainings.

Louis was having trouble as he now had to sing Liam's parts, and that meant he had to sing lead for most of the songs. He tried singing like he usually did, but Liam's vocals did not work the same way as his.

"What is the matter with you today, Liam? You're usually not like this." Grace, their vocal coach for the day, chided him. Grace was a plump woman with greying hair and she was like a mother to the boys. Louis could only shrugged and kept quiet. Liam could see the disappointment in his own face and approached them.

"Sorry Grace, he might be feeling under the weather. Do you mind letting him go off earlier?" Liam asked.

"To be honest, we can't really continue without Liam since he's the lead, so I'd guess I'll release all of you now. No point in keeping the rest of you back. You however, have done extremely well, seeing I always have to get you to pay attention to me, Louis." Grace smiled. Liam blushed slightly at the compliment.

Louis scowled at Liam and cleared his throat. "I'll be ready for tomorrow's training Gracie," he remarked.

Grace burst out laughing. "Oh Liam, only Louis calls me 'Gracie' and hearing that coming from you is a nice change indeed." She gave both boys a wink. "Run along now, you're free for the day."

The boys packed up their personal belongings and headed outside to the mini van which would take them back to their hotel. They were about to move off when Harry stood in their way. "Alright lads, spill it out." He had his arms across his chest, but his expression was that of curiosity.

"What are you saying?" Liam asked cautiously.

"Stop acting dumb, Lou. You're not telling us things."

Zayn and Niall were already in the van but only Niall climbed back out of it, to see what was keeping the others.

"Why are you being such a nosey parker?" Louis snapped. He was already having a bad day and the last thing he wanted was for his best friend to interrogate him.

Harry was taken aback by Louis' harsh reply. "Doesn't mean that you had a rough day, you can take it out on others," Harry countered.

Louis gave out a loud sigh. "I'm just tired, Hazza. So please, leave me alone."

Harry's eyes went wide. "What did you just call me, Liam?" He uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his sides.

Louis realised it a bit too late and he was scrambling for an excuse. Liam noticed the awkward look on his own face and was about to come up with a reply, when Niall came along to call them back to the van.

"Why are you all still dilly-dallying?" Niall inquired. "Let's go."

Louis breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly made his way to the van. Liam gave Harry a curt nod and walked briskly to catch up with the older boy.

Harry stood dumbfounded, an expression of disbelief etched on his face. "Nice timing, Niall," he said sarcastically and walked off.



The ride back to their hotel was uneventful, seeing that Liam, Louis and Zayn fell asleep with their iPod earbuds in their ears.

Liam and Louis had avoided Harry and the both of them immediately settled themselves right at the back of the van. When Harry and Niall boarded, they were left with the front seats as Zayn had parked himself with Paul in the middle.

Harry couldn't get his eyes to shut. His mind was in disarray from the confrontation he had with Liam a while back.

"Niall, why did you have to interrupt? I could have found out what was making them to behave so weirdly," Harry said exasperatedly.

Niall pulled his earbuds out of his ear and looked at Harry. "Sorry, were you talking to me?" Harry rolled his eyes and repeated his question again.

"Let it slide, mate. As much as I want to know the reason for their dodgy behaviour, I think confronting them now isn't the best idea. It looks like both of them aren't having a good day, and you poking your nose into their business might result in an argument," Niall advised. "Which, I'd rather avoid at all costs since we're practically living together while on the road. If they feel like opening up, we'll be here for them to provide a listening ear."

Harry let Niall's words sink in. He shifted slightly in his seat to take a look behind at the sleeping boys, and decided that he'll leave them alone.

For now.