Yellow Dress

It all started with a picture. One single photograph.

It was of Louis Tomlinson and a lady in a yellow dress.

Taken by a fan phone somewhere along the countryside, Louis was spotted with his arms wrapped intimately around the lady, strolling by a public park. That was the only picture known of the two of them, but the second it went up, all social media crashed.

Louis Tomlinson was finally alone with another woman. After all these years, he was finally in the company of someone other than Eleanor.

Some said that he was cheating on her, spending his time with an older woman in such a rural place, away from his inner circle. Tumblr was full of conspiracy theories, saying how happy Louis looked around her, perhaps even happier than he was ever pictured with Eleanor. Louis’ Twitter account was flooded with mentions by enraged fans, all complete with prejudices and blind judgments. A small percentage of the loyal ones defended him, ensuring that he was probably just being his charming self and was chatting with a stranger.

Paparazzis without a doubt started to trail him, and he was caught entering and leaving the same area many times after that, yet the lady was nowhere in sight. More pictures of Louis coming in and out of a tinted car were taken, sometimes with a fruit basket, other times with shopping bags, but most of the time with flowers.

People refused to believe that Louis Tomlinson, the devoted boyfriend and committed family man, was having an affair. Being the only legal guardian to his four sisters, he was never anything but responsible and loving, up until that blurry, low-resolution photo came up. Some people concluded that his immorality was inevitable, knowing that he grew up without any parent.

More theories were triggered and even more articles were written, yet not even one statement was given on Louis’ behalf. The fans’ loyalty was shaken every time a new photo of him went up, and the comments had gotten more aggressive. The Twitter mentions kept on coming, yet his account had been idle the whole time it was happening. People had been eager to see what sass did Louis have to throw in comeback, but he said nothing.

He didn’t care.

He could give two shits about what people said. Management advised him to keep her inside, avoid being seen in public again, maybe even stop seeing her until the rumours died down, but Louis firmly declined.

He would do anything but stop seeing her.

To him, she was his guardian angel, yet to her, he was just a nice young lad. But he didn’t mind.

With every word she said, he was inspired. With every smile she threw, he understood what pure bliss was. Simply with each visit in general, he was a better man.

Although, the first time Louis met her, she didn’t recognize who he was.

Just moments after his first arrival, teacups were thrown, picture frames were broken, and high dose sedatives were involved. It took her a number of visits to welcome his presence as someone who was non-threatening, someone who meant well, but still she never fully grasped who he really was. Louis had to remind her every time, and he would gladly do so. Anything to remind her that he loved her and she loved him.

So no, he didn’t care. He would never let stupid rumours get in the way of what they had, especially with the many progresses that had been made. She had started to learn how to accept his mini muffins and let him read her a bedtime story night after night. Louis wasn't bothered by the fact that she wasn't there for a good part of his life. All he knew was that he was willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that she was there from then on. He was giving her the life she needed, and she was keeping him grounded as a person.

Louis had always loved the comfort he felt every time he got to spent time with her. All meetings were always pleasant; never had they argued, not even once. She might get a bit defensive at times, but Louis never fought back. Each visit was always filled with a little dash of anxiety, but they were mostly full of excitement.

It was the very same feeling that he was having as he stepped onto the familiar gate of the alzheimer care facility on that fine afternoon. The paparazzis were no longer following him; they usually lost track after the narrow turn a few miles away from the actual building. As he walked into the hallway, saying hi’s and hello’s to the friendly staff he came to know, Louis pulled on his jacket to fix it better and knocked on the third door on the right. A command to come in was shouted from the inside, and as he opened the door, Louis was greeted by an alerted pair of eyes that soon softened once they saw his figure.

"Louis!" a smile curved on her face, wide enough to warm his nervous heart.

He beamed at her welcome and reached over to return the greeting with a big hug, "Hi, mom."