Young & Beautiful

is just too tired to care.
When he does see Niall, the conversation is never very uplifting.
“I’ve got to go to the studio again in an hour.”
Louis nearly slams his notebook down, his glasses smudged and his hair hidden beneath a beanie
—which is fortunate for Niall, because Louis’ pretty sure it smells. “Again?”
Niall nods. “Grimshaw’s so fucking furious about it, too. What with the release party at the end of
the week.” He shakes his head, clipping the end off of a cigar. “And Des has refused to come into
the studio anymore, so we’re just gonna have to take the vocal bits he did and splice them
together. It’s all such a fucking chore.”
Louis swallows, head bowing back down to his notes. “Oh yeah?”
Des. Des being difficult. Harr-nope.
No.
“This guy’s fucking insane. He tried to attack my father! My father,” Niall scoffs. He shakes his
head, eyes clear and cutting as he gazes out the window.
Attack.
Louis swallows again. His throat is so dry.
“And he trashed the equipment again. Thousands of fucking pounds, thrown down the drain.”
“All because he changed his mind about the song?” Louis asks, voice straining to be casual.
“He wrote another fucking song—we’re not even using the old one!” Niall exclaims, lighting the
cigar, his cheeks hallowed around it as the flame licks the end. “Dunno what the fuck that cunt’s
problem is.”
“Well. He’s mental.”
“Very much so.” A stream of smoke falls from Niall’s lips. He checks his watch. “Should be my
last trip, though. Everything’s going to be released as scheduled—we’ve already promoted
everything—so we’re speeding everything up a bit.”
Louis nods. He shuffles his papers a bit.
“I saw Harry yesterday, actually.”
Louis’ blood freezes.
“He was leaving the studio as I was coming.”
Harry? Studio? Why was he at the studio?
Louis almost snaps his pencil in half. His hand quivers.
“He’s sporting a nasty shiner, isn’t he? Do you know what it’s from?”
Niall doesn’t know that Louis doesn’t talk to Harry anymore. Quite frankly, Louis hadn’t had the
heart to tell him. And he certainly doesn’t have the heart to tell him now—not when he’s just