the year 2110...

4

enthralling: capturing and holding one's attention; fascinating.

april 5th, 2110

louis' lips were still parted, his gaze was as intense and he still felt stunned.

this was the biggest opportunity of a life time but what he had to consider was the fact that he'd lied his way here. if he dared to go somewhere with cameras (houses, headquarters, anywhere that would require identification so most if not all higher class places) he'd get spotted. he couldn't risk that. harry's father would also not hesitate to ruin louis' life if he found out about who he actually truly was.

"do you have the contracts with you?" louis attempted to keep his voice levelled as to not reveal how he wished he didn't have them on hand because of his secret. "uh yeah I do" harry replied, already beginning to dig them out of his bag - rather clumsily might he add. well...louis was fucked.

"here" harry spoke as he places them in front of him. "beer sir?" the bartender interrupted, effectively knocking louis out of his trance. "y-yes thank you." he grabbed the beer bringing it up to his lips to take a large, much needed gulp.

"thirsty?" harry chuckled. if only he knew why. "anyway have a look over these. no rush. here's my work number." he said whilst scribbling digits down on a ripped piece of paper. he pushed the note in louis' direction. he pocketed it muttering a small thanks.

"don't be hesitant to contact me. your band were great out there tonight. not often we see people with potential here." he smiled. louis liked how charming he seemed. probably a facade though...

"thank you. it means a great deal." they held eye contact for a few moments too long before he turned around with the contracts and beer in hand. what the fuck had he just gotten myself into? he's dreamt of this moment but the risk...the danger.

louis eventually located the rest of his band. he told them about the contract and all and their faces lit up with shock and happiness. this meant a lot to them, they'd always hoped and wished for this day. they've worked incredibly hard for this. they - like louis - understood the risks though so they all agreed to think about it for a bit and meet up once they had all came to a conclusion.

they then proceeded to get drunk and laugh at non sense whilst dancing stupidly and rather loosely to whatever blared through the expensive looking speakers. every now and then louis glanced over in harry's direction - he was still seated at the bar. he seemed lonely and so, as any normal person would, he opened his phone and picked the note out of his pocket to type the digits in and make a new contact.

>>harry styles<<

louis: hey it's the lead singer from before, are you alright? you look a bit lonely?

louis glanced over in his direction to see him grab his phone to see what the cause of the vibration was.

♫ **reflections by the neighbourhood**

three dots appears on louis' screen indicating that harry was messaging him back.

harry: yeah I am thank you. nobody to really talk to here to be honest. my friends aren't available tonight. sorry don't know why I disclosed that :)

he curiously looked about the room presumably looking for louis. his eyes caught his and he gave him a small sincere smile. louis nodded at his phone with a small, little grin.

louis: my friends have barely noticed my absence in the conversation. would it be unprofessional of me to join you?

louis looked back up at him to see him typing away.

harry: probably. you seem nice though and we aren't officially working together yet :)

with that, louis pocketed his phone and made his way over to him. "hey" he breathed once he sat down, now facing harry. this felt more intimate.

"hi" he grinned. he has dimples. hmm...never knew that, louis noted absent-mindedly...

"would you like to take a walk? it's getting a bit too crowded for my liking in here." louis chuckled. it was true. the pub had been filling up over the past hour. he assumed most had finished their errands for the day and popped down to the pub. he hated being stuck in crowds.

"yeah I agree. let's go."

was he letting him in too fast?

hell..he was still in the dark about his 'secret'.

harry was simon's son for gods sake. he couldn't bring myself to care all too much though. he seemed like the polar opposite of simon. he only hoped for the best.

--

they stepped out into the crisp air, after all...it was april. yeah there's climate change and all but somehow they still ended up with these temperatures.

it was just the two of them. the streets were obviously in better conditions and the area looked normal. no ruins anywhere to be seen. it was pristine almost. it was what you'd expect london to look like just with quite a bit of added wealth. everything was in good quality. no protests or fires. for once.

louis breathed in the fresh air. it was different to the polluted air in the north half of the city. it was now dark outside, the street lights - which floated in the sky - provided them with lighting so they could make out their surroundings. he's only ever been in this area of London once. it was when he was a child and he'd gotten curious - a usual occurrence for one as a child - he'd later been given the lecture and law talk.

"we've known each other a short while but you seem different. why's that?" he asked harry, his breath appearing in the night sky. harry faced him with a questioning look - no judgement clear in his blue - appearing eyes.

"I think it might be down to my age and how I was brought up. my father would be out giving some sort of lecture on how us 'superiors' as he calls us are better and how we should come down more harsh on these lowers. I was left in a mansion by myself most the time. being a child, it was fun at times but also, understandably, miserable. I raised myself. my mother left when I was born. she met a lower class man and ended up being against the whole patriarchal system and social class 'injustice' as she called it according to my father."

he spoke honestly. louis admired that. who knew the son of the supposed 'best man ever' got this treatment? 

"that makes sense. I didn't know that about you and I apologise for that inconvenience you experienced."

louis wanted to tell him about his perspective but he did feel slight empathy for the man beside him, after all, he is a human being.

"I haven't seen you around before? any reason?"

london was quite big. but with the wealthy capitalists there weren't many of them. 15% didn't amount to too many people - compared to our staggering 85%.

"I don't go out too much and my band don't always play gigs as most of the time one or two of us are busy." please believe me.

"ah that adds up," thank fuck. "it's pretty nippy out here isn't it?" he beamed, his eyes twinkling in the soft light.

"it is" he sighed. they both put their hands in their pockets almost simultaneously and they wandered around the capitalist side of london talking about all sorts. it was quite calming...

he wasn't how he'd have expected harry to be, he seems nice apart from the obvious negative parts of this whole situation. louis is quite uptight. he doesn't let people in easily due to not being a fan of vulnerability.

maybe he was the odd one out...