Model Behavior

There was something about racks full of clothes that just left Delaney grinning from ear to ear. The pieces in front of her were some of the most beautiful she had ever seen - long dresses laced with perfect ruffles, short tops lined with hounds tooth print, and high-waisted shorts that matched everything perfectly. She couldn’t believe that she’d be lucky enough to model some of the clothes.

She’d have settled for modeling anything, but the fact that she’d been chosen to model those – the ones created by the Louis Tomlinson – made her want to squeal with delight. The only thing that kept her from jumping up and down was knowing that she’d be met with a few death stares and be forever cast out in the modeling world. She’d only just made it in, so she couldn’t risk that happening.

Delaney had waited all her life to become a model and she wasn’t going to do anything to risk having it taken away from her. Ever since she was a little girl, she dreamed of walking down the runway in the hottest pieces. Her mother knew all about her love of fashion, so when she hit sixteen, Delaney’s mother agreed to accompany her to all the modeling agency meetings they could get into.

Despite having more passion for modeling than most people, Delaney was constantly passed over because she was deemed as being “not ready” or because she didn’t have the “right look”. Delaney never gave up though, because her mother refused to let her, and when she finally got the job at Paris’s fashion week, she was ecstatic.

She couldn’t believe that her first gig would be such a prestigious one, and now she was overcome with pressure not to mess it up. If she could just get through the next few weeks – the first few of getting set up for the show and the last week of actually modeling in it – then she’d have a good experience under her belt and her chances of being hired again would sky rocket.

With any luck, she’d be able to make some good contacts as well. She’d always been a sweet girl, so making connections was never difficult for her. She even hoped to get a few tips from the veteran models, aside from the ones who encouraged her to purge after her meals, which she always refused to do.

“See something you like?”

Delaney spun around, her dark hair whipping behind her. She was met with the blank stare of a man, about her age, who was looking at the pieces just as she was.

“Just admiring the pieces,” she said, as she brought her long nails to her lips. “Can you believe how amazing they are? Especially for him being so young. I’ve always seen his work in magazines, but in person it’s like seeing the eighth wonder of the world. I imagine he has more talent in his pinky finger than I’ve got in my entire body.”

The man chuckled, flipping his feathered hair back. “You admire him quite a lot, yeah?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Delaney asked, looking back to him with a smile. “I mean, look at this dress.” She pointed to a short one with a flower print and a sweetheart top. “It’s so beautiful I’m almost afraid to touch it.”

“Well, thank you,” he said, as he tucked his hands in his pockets. “I think it’s one of my favorites I’ve created as well.”

Her jaw dropped open, as she caught wind of his words. Looking at the man in front of her, she realized that he was, in fact, Louis Tomlinson. She didn’t know why she hadn’t seen it before, but it was probably half because she just assumed the gorgeous man was another model, and half because she expected Louis Tomlinson to look different. Models were supposed to be the good-looking ones, not designers. He was so perfect he could have gone out on the runway and modeled his pieces himself.

“Louis Tomlinson?” she asked, her voice shakier than it had been before.

He chuckled. “The one and only.”

“It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” She stuck out her hand, and he quickly shook it. “Delaney Forbes.”

“Ah, yes,” Louis said, bringing his gaze back to the dress, as he became less interested in what she had to say. “The new girl.”

Delaney’s face turned bright red, the color of the print on one of Louis’s dresses. She didn’t think he’d know any of the models names, and the way he said new girl didn’t make it seem like it was a good thing that he knew hers. She’d always thought designers picked the models themselves, but if he’d chosen her, why did he seem so disinterested in her? Did an agent do his model picking for him? Did he prefer models with more experience? She couldn’t blame him if he did. She was a longshot, and designers only liked longshots when it came to innovative pieces.

“Louis,” a voice called from behind them. “Hair and make-up is here and they want to do a trial run with a few of the summer looks.”

Louis gave the woman a quick nod of his head, before turning back to Delaney for a brief moment. “Well, new girl, looks like I’ve got some business to attend to. Feel free to touch whatever you like. After all, you’ll be wearing it in a few weeks, yes?”

He was gone before Delaney had a chance to respond, and she was left standing in front of his pieces with confusion on her face and her teeth tugging at her bottom lip. He’d seemed so disinterred in her, and she wondered if that was how he was with all of his models. Of course, he had better things to do than stand around and talk to the “new girl”, but that didn’t stop her from wondering if that was how he always was.

But Delaney didn’t know much about Louis or what had happened in his past. She didn’t know why he tried to keep as far away from his models as possible, but he had good reason.

Louis had made a quick rise to the top, thanks to his outside of the box thinking and innovative designs, so he’d had little time to adjust to the fashion world before he was thrust into it. At the time, he didn’t know how models behaved and how they would stop at nothing to get the job they wanted.

When models flirted with him, he would flirt back, not knowing what they truly wanted from him. Being a romantic at heart, he would take them out, be a gentlemen, and charm them with his sweet smile and kind words, but none of that mattered, because they all had hearts made of ice. They only wanted Louis for his name – wanted to get close to him so they could model his pieces – and as time went on, he learned what models were truly like.

He’d had his heart broken by models enough times to know that he was better off staying as far away from them as possible, and he was going to try his best to do just that.