Anonymous

“Louis, mate,” Harry knocked on the door of the bathroom before walking in. “We’re going to be late for the event.”

“I know…” I mused, examining my hair from a different angle, making sure it was perfect. “I’m trying to hurry it up.”

“Try to be a bit faster, yeah? Even Zayn’s ready before you.” He slapped me hard on the back before going back out to the living room.

I muttered under my breath, mocking him, as I smoothed the last stray hair into place. “There ya go,” I complimented myself before sticking my hair gel back into the medicine cabinet.

“There he is!” Liam joked as I walked out to the living room. “I was afraid you died in there.”

Giving him a snarky look, I shot him a fast ‘up yours’ sign with my hand. “It takes time to look this pretty,” I explained.

Harry snorted with laughter, and it took everything I had not to throw something at him. The only thing holding me back was that I didn’t really have anything to throw.

“Alright, let’s get going to the premiere,” Niall insisted, going forward and pushing Harry to the door.

“Whoa, Niall,” Harry laughed. “Calm down. Shoving me isn’t going to get us there any faster.”

“Someone’s a little too eager to see Demi Lovato…” Liam trailed off jokingly, nudging our blonde friend in the ribs.

Niall’s face filled with a violent blush. “Shut up,” he muttered. “I don’t even know if she’s going to this.”

“I heard she was,” I piped up, shrugging. “I dunno how much merit it has, but…”

Although Niall tried hard to keep his emotions in check, I could see the sparkling in his eye. “Well, if she is, then I’ll have to say hello,” he expressed as calmly as he could.

I rolled my eyes and started toward the door. “Alright, let’s get going, mates.”



“Ugh,” I groaned as I stumbled through the door. “Harry, stop bumping into me.”

He burst out laughing, clapping a hand solidly on my back. “Sorry!” he expressed a little too loudly. “I am just…” He let out a loud breath before chuckling again. “God, I’m so drunk!”

“I can tell,” I laughed back.

“Why are you not drunk, Lou? That’s the whole point of this stuff. We’re supposed to have fun and drink lots.”

“Because…” I trailed off unsurely. “Because…I don’t know.”

“That,” Harry said solemnly, “is the dumbest answer I’ve ever heard.”

“Thanks,” I responded coolly. “Alright, I’m heading to sleep. I’m knackered.”

“I think that I’m going to play some videogames,” Harry told me before tripping over his own feet on his way to sit on the couch.

I shook my head and went into my room, falling asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.



“SHIT!” Harry exclaimed from the other room, followed by the sound of a scary-sounding crash. “WHAT THE FUCK?!”

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair as I climbed out of bed, not bothering to put on a shirt as I wandered out into the living room.

The Xbox was out, the various wires strung out around the room. There was a smashed glass that looked like it had been filled with water on the floor, which is what I figured was the crashing noise I heard.

“Harry?” I interrupted his rage mode. “What is your problem? It’s nine in the morning, and we only got in at four. I hate to tell you, but I really like to get more than five hours of sleep.”

“It’s not my fault,” he snapped back. “Whoever this person is that I’m playing, they’re cheating.”

“Cheating,” I repeated simply. “What do you mean, they’re cheating?”

“They have to be cheating! They keep killing me before I’m even really back in the game. It’s pissing me off.”

“Maybe you just suck at the game,” I suggested.

Harry didn’t seem to like the truth too much, since he turned around and gave me a glare that would have made my stomach turn if I hadn’t known that Harry couldn’t have hurt a fly. “I don’t suck at this game,” he argued haughtily. “This bloke is cheating.”

“Have you even gone to sleep yet?” I accused, changing the subject.

“No! Because I’m trying to beat this guy! And I’ll do it, too.”

“Harry, we have to go to recording in a few hours. If you don’t get any sleep, your voice is going to sound like shit.”

“My voice already sounds like shit,” he muttered, turning back to the TV. “Maybe I should just stay here and play this game while you guys record.”

Oh, God. The happy part drunk had faded, and now I had to deal with the sulky aftermath.

“Harry,” I sighed as I closed the distance between us, careful to avoid the broken glass, before plopping my butt down next to him, “you have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re extremely talented, and the group wouldn’t be the same or sound the same without you.”

Harry looked over at me with wide green eyes. “You really mean it, Louis?”

“’Course I mean it,” I replied matter-of-factly. “There’s no way we could get on if you weren’t in the band.”

He sniffled and nodded, ducking his head so his hair covered his face. “Alright,” he agreed. “I’ll go to sleep. This guy can wait.”

“No, he won’t have to,” I sighed. “Let me try for you. I feel like there’s no way I can get back to sleep now anyway.”

“Thanks, Lou. You’re the best.” He got to his feet and ran a hand through his curls. “Oh, and, uh, sorry about the glass thing. I’ll vacuum it up.”

“Yeah, you will,” I responded, but I knew my tone was distant. Already, I was getting sucked into the videogame, trying my hardest to beat the anonymous player on the other side of the connection.

I almost won, fighting to get inside the defenses to shoot off the player’s head, but in my haste, I forgot to keep up my defenses, and I ended up getting my head blown off.

But what irritated me more than losing was the little message that popped up along the bottom.

sucks, man but at least ur getting better.

My eyes narrowed as I stared at the message. “I’ll show you ‘better’,” I grumbled under my breath, starting to fire the plasma gun in my hand the second my character became corporeal.