the year 2110...

3

inclination: a person's natural tendency or urge to act or feel in a particular way; a disposition.

april 4th, 2110

louis woke up to the text of his fellow band mates saying they'd had their tattoos done by ashton at some ungodly hour in the morning. with a quick response of 'ok good good' he got up and got ready for the day and used the bathroom - which had counters covered with items in disarray. louis yelled a quick goodbye in the direction of calum's bedroom and headed out for the day with my bag over his shoulder - which contained cigarettes, his phone, wallet, lighter, cough drops and a water bottle.

louis strolled down the cracked path with his hood over his head. he texted the group chat (the one with his band members) saying to meet up at the 'brew for you' cafe on greenhill road. they all replied within seconds and so he headed in that direction. on the main streets there were ongoing protests still but louis always tried to avoid them. there were some peaceful protests around the place but people were getting fed up by now, it's understandable. the 'lower' folks are like puppets on the higher class' strings...it's fucking degrading.

today, louis was clad in a navy jacket, pale blue denim jeans with ripped knees, a white top with some random design imprinted into it with his hair in its usual dishevelled state and slight stubble and his white poor trainers which was a pitiful decision he'd made (to wear them) considering the state of the streets and his clumsiness.

there were all sorts of litter and debris on the streets - old rubbish to remains of buildings or old fires. they didn't even have enough funds to be able to clean the streets. no amount of people could pick up all the rubbish and clean it, it was overflowing.

louis continued his walk and got there at a decent time. the building had flowers in baskets all lining the front and cream coloured walls. the door was a warm hazel colour with three panes in the top half of the door. brown and black letters spelt out 'brew for you!' on the main middle part of the wall. he was sure it was once a cute, chic little cafe. even in its ruined glory, it didn't look half as bad as the other cafes he had passed.

he pushed open the door to reveal the usual couple of round wooden tables and white chairs with the two of his bandmates already sat down at one in the left corner. louis went to sit down with them and made casual conversation with them whilst they waited for the last one of the band to arrive. the bandmates showed him their tattoos which were pretty similar to the one louis got.

the door creaked open indicating that the last one of them had arrived. they all looked in his direction and greeted him. louis discussed his plan to them about how they would get into higher class pubs and places to perform gigs using their new tattoos to get in. fortunately, they were up for the risk.

they skimmed through a holographic newspaper informing them of places they could do gigs at. luckily, this cafe had a load of newspapers which were meant to be all for the lower class folks but there was one which had accidentally made the stock which was for the higher class. they found out that there was a place called 'barons pub' which had an open slot for 8pm - 8:15pm for any higher class people to perform at and showcase their talent. barons pub was also owned by simon cowell - the creator of this mess and mayor of this once beautiful city. this would be extremely hazardous but it was worth the shot. they all needed the money. hell, the whole community needed it. they relied on someone - anyone - to get the funds required one day in the - hopefully - foreseeable future.

it was currently 11:30am so they hung out a bit and got some coffees and snacks and discussed everything currently going on. ryan - the guitarist in the rogue - had asked the woman he was smitten for on a date. they had nagged him about it for weeks on end so they all simultaneously let out a sigh of relief (and an annoying 'whoop') once he told the others the news. louis messaged calum saying he owes him twenty pence since he bet that ryan would wuss out of ever asking the woman on a date. he wasn't happy to hear of the debt he was now in. two pennies wasn't much though, it was only enough to buy yourself a loaf of bread.

soon enough after having fooled around and acted immaturely for the past seven and a half hours, they packed up all their stuff and headed off to the pub. louis made sure to dress appropriately today as to not give away his social class. the other lads were dressed accordingly too. they walked down the streets of the higher class section of london - the west - and it felt hazardous but they fit in to a degree so all was fine.

***

they arrived at 7:45pm which gave them enough time to prepare themselves. louis walked up to the main entrance which was two large black doors. the building itself was victorian...he could tell that much. it was red and had lovely windows. louis inhaled deeply trying to prepare himself the best he could. with a slight shake on the shoulders of encouragement from jack - another member of the band - he pushed open the doors, the others trailed behind him.

"wrist" the security guard commanded upon entering. louis rolled his jacket sleeve up slightly to reveal his right tattoo covered wrist - he was hoping it was good enough. he looked up to meet the security guard's eyes and he gave him a curt nod. louis was about to walk off before the security guard's hand pressed into the middle of his chest. his heart pounded erratically against his chest. shit.

"why are you here? never seen you round here before pal."

"we were hoping to do a gig here. we saw your 8pm to 8:15pm slot on offer in a newspaper." he spoke as confidently as he could while holding direct, unwavering eye contact with the man.

"makes sense. the preparation room for performers is in the back corridor, third door."

"thanks" with that they headed off down the corridor and stopped abruptly once they located the third door. in the newspaper it stated that they'd have equipment at the ready for you to use to decrease the amount of hassle and fuss. that was, of course, a massive advantage to them.

after ten minutes, they headed down the corridor to the open entrance of the main section of the pub where the crowd, stage and bar was. it was currently 7:55pm and they got up onto the stage and told the presenter who they were and set up for their gig. they were performing five songs; two of their own, valerie by amy winehouse, reflections by the neighbourhood and mr brightside by the killers. by 8pm everyone was in position and they had a rather large crowd, all but a few seated.

the presenter walked up on to the stage, "good evening all, tonight we have the rogue here to perform for you. give them lads a big cheer!" she spoke into the microphone in front of us, the spotlight on her and all other lights dimmed creating a dramatic atmosphere. her speech was accompanied by many cheers from the audience which made louis feel more ready than ever for this. he loved performing and he now had the opportunity to make enough money to make a living out of it. depending on how well they performed tonight they could get a bit of money. if they were really lucky they'd be able to get signed to a record label and actually have some form of promotion and more gigs.

once the cheers had died down louis stepped up to the microphone stand, the lights shone from their position on the edges of the stage. he began singing valerie - a well known song to get the crowd going and then he'd slowly start to introduce them to their own songs - he was fairly confident as he was used to performing in front of others. 

they steadily made their way through their set list gaining more and more people's attention. no one spoke over them and remained quiet - luckily for them. it was going increasingly well.

once finished, they were greeted with shouts of praise, whistles and applause. louis smiled and mouthed a thanks to everyone with his hands clasped together in thanks.

they then collectively walked down and off the stage into the crowd. louis went straight for the bar so he could order a beer and he was sure he'd see the other lads about the bar at some point.

"a beer please" he requested to the bartender.

"hey, I saw your performance. the rogue right?" a deep voice questioned beside him.

he turned, facing the man sat on a stool, "yeah I'm the lead singer, you are?"

"harry styles." he offered louis his hand. he shook it in greeting. "nice to meet you. I have a record label - eskimo records - and i was stunned by your talent out there."

"thank you" louis smiled. he instantly recognised his name...it was simon's son. he was adopted according to his mum as she constantly gossiped about all sorts. she knew all weird and wonderful things. 

"I was wondering if you'd like to be signed to my label?"