Time B0mb

Chapter 9

"You wear your shades at night, you cannot see how hard I fall. I clench my fist so tight, try to burst through your brick walls."

-Everywhere

"Thanks Louis, we'll be in touch again before the end of the week." A voice crackled through the speaker of Louis' phone.

"No problem. Looking forward to it." Louis responded, picking his phone up from the table and ending the call. Liam took the incentive of handing a pen to Louis as he flipped open a thick folder, setting it to his left. He nudged it forward, standing behind Louis' chair in the sun-soaked dining room.

"Initial here, here, and here," Liam instructed as he flipped through several pages, "then sign and date here."

"Should I be signing this without reading it?" Louis questioned, clicking the pen and scribing LT down onto the first page.

"Don't you trust that I've read it several times?"

"I trust that you've read it about forty times." Louis admitted, continuing to initial. "So no weird clauses anywhere in here?"

"What constitutes a weird clause?"

"Like, if I can only eat almonds for two months, or I have to take over for Tim Allen as the new Santa Claus, or there are mandatory orgies every Wednesday but everyone tells me that it's a Furry when really it's not, so I get all dressed up and show up looking stupid in a raccoon costume, then everyone laughs and throws shit at me. Then we all have sex."

"No – Louis, no. There's nothing like that in there." Liam sighed. "How does your mind even go to places like that?"

"I'm a colorful boy. I can't help it."

"What're you doing?" Joshua asked as he stepped into the dining room. His brow furrowed as his dark eyes swept over the legal documents littering the table. Louis perked up at this appearance.

"Well, I just got off of a conference call with the director of Kids From Yesterday in which I officially accepted the role of Alex. Now I'm signing my life away to a small production company in Manchester from the dates of December tenth through February fifteenth. And what have you been up to this morning?" Louis said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"You signed that without even talking to me?" Joshua clarified.

"Correct." Louis nodded, turning his attention to the bottom of the final page and scribbling his signature with a grandiose flourish. "And now, if you don't mind, sweetheart, I'm treating my brilliant agent and his gorgeous boyfriend to a celebratory lunch." Louis clapped Liam on the shoulder as he got to his feet. Liam tried to hide his smug grin as he gathered all of the now legally binding paperwork.

"Louis." Joshua hissed.

"Have fun at school, honey." Louis said as he slid past him, Liam quick on his heels.

~

"I definitely want something spicy, but I also kind of want something buttery. To hell with it! Bring me the largest slice of cheesecake you can legally sell!" Louis proclaimed, handing his menu over to the waiter.

Liam rolled his eyes and Zayn ordered a very fancy sounding salad, which only served to remind Louis of all the heinous vegetables he was going to have to eat for the next couple of months. Signing on to play a character afflicted with AIDS meant that he was facing a very strict diet and exercise regimen, which was all starting at six am the next morning.

Once the waiter had bustled away, Zayn raised his glass, his eyes sparkling with doting pride at Louis.

"I'd like to make a toast to my very best friend in the world." He said. "This time next year, Louis, you'll be getting ready for awards season."