Don't Let Me Go

The next morning Becca woke up feeling considerably fresh. She hadn’t drunk much the night before and had left early, despite the best attempts from Niall to make her stay longer. Eventually the Irish boy had called his driver to take her home and she thanked him and the guys for a great night. She hated leaving Niall hanging when the boy asked her if they could grab lunch sometime, but she promised to call him and sort something out in the near future. She only hoped he didn’t feel led on and could see Becca’s intentions were purely friend based.

She had called Lou up and the stylist told her to pop round lunch time, so the two could chat over some food and drink. She felt good to get out the house and to talk to someone who had a lot of experience in the business; she was excited to pick Lou’s brain.

The journey was short; her flat in Camden Town was close to Primrose, where Lou’s salon was. Upon arriving, she parked up the car and walked through the peaceful town and found the salon with ease. Inside, Lou was just sweeping up the morning rush hour mess, humming along to the radio which was blasting some Indie band. When Becca walked in, Lou looked up and sent her a dazzling smile.

“Hey girl,” Lou greeted, placing the broom against the side and dusting off her black skinny jeans.

“Hey,” Becca smiled, “Busy morning?”

“Just a little,” Lou laughed, wiping her brow and letting out a long sigh, “This time of the month, a lot of people are heading away on holiday so you can guarantee they will be ringing up for emergency last minute cuts.”

“I can imagine,” Becca replied, following Lou out the shop as she flipped the sign and locked up.

“There’s this little café down the road that I adore, I hope you don’t mind?”

“Of course not, lead the way.” Becca smiled, loving how easily the two fell into conversation.

Upon arriving, the two girls ordered themselves a sandwich each and a cold drink. They took a seat outside because the weather was too good to be missed. They ate and chatted, realising they had a lot in common. They talked fashion, music, films and of course, hair and beauty. Lou told her about how she got started and being hired to be One Direction’s stylist. She told Becca about her little girl, Lux, and boyfriend, Tom. The way her eyes lit up, she could tell they were her world.

“A lot of the time, Lux and Tom join me on the road because it can be tough being away from them. We have all become a big family and the guys adore Lux. She’s become a little mascot of theirs!” Lou chuckled, finishing her Pepsi and ordering another from the waiter.

“It sounds like a great set up you’ve got going,” Becca smiled, it being her dream to take her work travelling. She would kill to be hired by a band so she could tour and see the world with them.

“What are your plans this summer?” Lou asked, taking a tender bite into her chicken baguette. Becca shrugged, pushing her own sandwich around the plate.

“Find some work,” Becca replied, “My uncle has been pressuring me into playing some evenings at his bar, but performing to crowds isn’t my strong point.”

“You sing?” Lou brightened up, giving Becca a dazzling smile.

“A little,” Becca blushed, pushing some hair behind her ear. “I prefer just playing the guitar, but sometimes I sing.” She had discovered her voice when she was fourteen years old when she had been playing guitar in her room. Her dad had overheard and complimented her; Becca remembered she had loved how her dad had smiled so proudly. One day when her uncle had been round with the family when Becca was seventeen, Jensen had spoken highly of his daughters talents. Uncle Mike had kept bugging her about performing some evenings at his little friendly pub in the centre of town. She had accepted, but upon arriving the night of the show, she had dropped out. Jensen and Mike hadn’t been happy that she had bailed, but still from then on he had made it a weekly thing to contact Becca and push her towards performing. Like she had always said, singing was a hobby, she didn’t want to make anything out of it- she just wanted to be a stylist.

“Why did you pick the stylist career?” Lou asked, sitting back after finishing her lunch.

Becca hesitated before finally deciding she could speak to Lou. “When I was little, my mum use to let me brush and play with her hair. It became a thing we would do every evening- she had the most beautiful blonde hair. Then when she… When she passed away, I realised how those evenings playing with her hair had played such a huge part of my childhood and it was like, through my work I felt like I had some connection with her still.”

“That’s inspiring,” Lou looked at her in awe, “I just became a stylist because I thought it was a cool job. But that’s so cool that you have such a deep meaning behind it!”

“Yeah, well a lot of things I do in life are because of her. I wouldn’t play the guitar if it hadn’t been one of her wishes.” Somehow, Becca found herself opening up to Lou. She just had one of those vibes that made you feel relaxed and the way she smiled, just gave Becca the urge to open up; it had been the same vibe she got from Harry.

“I can understand why Harry spoke so highly of you- you’re pretty incredible.” Lou smiled, leaning over and grabbing Becca’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Harry spoke of me?” Becca blurted out before she could stop herself. She quickly regained her composure, “He barely knows me!”

“Well that didn’t stop him. Niall and Louis also wouldn’t shut up- you seem to have left a pretty impressive mark on them.” Lou pulled back and her smile grew wider.

“I didn’t do anything,” Becca said quietly, blushing under her tanned complexion.

“Sometimes the smallest things get us recognised.” Lou pointed out.

They finished up their lunch not long after that, settling the bill and heading back to the salon.

Becca left soon after because she knew how busy Lou was at the salon. She realised she had gained a new role model- Lou Teasdale was incredible and someone she could easily look up too.

Becca had just walked into her house when her phone vibrated against her left leg. She removed the device from her pocket and smiled when she saw a text from Niall. She would have felt bad that he was still pursuing her, but she loved having him around and would make it clear she loved his friendship- nothing else. Why couldn’t she love everything else? Her life would be so much easier. But that’s what she did best- complicated her life more than needed.

She quickly tapped back a reply, which was agreeing to go to his for a BBQ. She didn’t understand why he was holding a summer event in this cold weather, but knowing the money he had, he probably could make his garden feel like summer.

Eleanor text her not long after and told her Louis and her would swing by and pick her up so she didn’t have to go alone and since Niall was the host, he couldn’t exactly leave his own party to come get her.

Becca’s once boring life of nights spent in watching reruns of Friend’s had now taken a complete U-turn. How did she become a number one guest to parties everyone would die to attend? Everything was changing, that was for sure.