Falling Into Place (A Louis Tomlinson Fanfiction)

Chapter One: A Perfect Stranger

I grabbed my keys as I dashed out the door and down the steps of our apartment complex.  My long, curly hair blew into my eyes as I struggled to balance my coffee, put on my shoes, and unlock my old volvo all at the same time before I was late.  "Bye Lorrie!" I heard my roommate and best friend Elise call out to me as I sped out of the parking lot, waving her off out of the rearview mirror.  Damn, why couldn't I ever be ontime to work everyday? 

As I drove down the parkway, I panicked as my eyes flashed across the dashboard at the clock.  It was already 8:52 and I had to clock in at 9:00 sharp, with still traffic and six more miles to drive.  Fuck I was gonna get fired before my first year working at Black Lotus Tattoo and Piercing Shop downtown.  Man, I loved that job.  Easy cash, and doing something I had a deep passion for too, what could be better? 

I zoomed into my employee parking space as I bounded up the back steps and furiously knocked three times on the rusty employee entrance around the back alley to the shop.  My breath waivered as the door creaked open, revealing my boss, James.  However, he didn't look mad about the fact that I looked a flustered mess and was already late by three minutes today.  He chucked and without saying anything, stepped aside so I could rish back into the breakroom and clock in for the day.  Thank god he wasn't pissed.

After getting my shoelaces tied and my purple (yes, purple) hair pulled back into a managable fashion, I headed back to my workspace and began to clean up and get my tools ready for the day.  It was a Friday, so I was sure I would at least be busy with a few customers today.  Black Lotus was always more crowded than usual on Fridays. 

After cleaning all my needles, ink bottles, and sterilizers, I began to welcome my first customer of the day into the shop as I heard the clean snap of my rubber gloves as I pulled them on my hands.  I greeted the girl, Emmerson, who happened to be turning sixteen today, and was dying for her first tattoo.  She asked for a tribal design wrapping around her ankle, but after much disagreement with her father who was attending to her guardian approval papers at the time, decided to go with a yin-yang sign in the shape of a heart along with her mother's name underneath, to symblize the passing of her dear mother just weeks before.  As I began to clean up the back of her left shoulder and stencil the design onto the girl's back, her father began to get just a bit teary-eyed at the maturity of his eldest daughter becoming a woman by showing that she was mature enough to get her first tattoo. 

Nearly an hour later, the new tattoo was clean and finished.  Emmerson complained of a stinging sensation running down her arm, but after collecting the check from her father, I was happy to have them gone.  I was more into dealing with more mature customers on a day-to-day basis, and besides, intricate tattoos were more exciting anyways, the boring ones were always less fun to create. 

Later in the afternoon, I decided to go out for my lunch break with one of my co-workers, Beth, at a resteraunt called Shorebreak.  It was a deep dish place (which was also pretty run-down) and it was in the heart of the city, a town favorite really, even though the name made no sense because we weren't anywhere near a beach, it still made home in Chicago, home really. 

As we enered the resteraunt, Beth went to save us a booth as I walked up to the counter to place our orders.  As I approached the cashier to order our meals, I noticed someone making eyes at me from across the resteraunt at the bar.  I snuck a peek in his direction (lmao there is only one direction mwahaha pun intended thank you thank you very much), only to see that he was giving me a smirky, side-smile, and I couldn't help but blush.  The boy was cute, probably around my age, with a snapback covering his toussled brown hair atop his head.  He had tattoo sleeves, like me, running down his built arms, and I couldn't help but notice the gauges and sexy piercng he sported on the right side of his bottom lip.  He leaned over suddenly and began to whisper to another boy who was standing next to him.  They both laughed as mystery boy took a sip of the Budweiser he held in his hand.  Who was this boy?

Suddenly, after what felt like minutes of staring, I finally realized that the cashier, now looking rather annoyed, was still waiting for me to place my order.  I sheepishly approached the counter as he gave me an eye-roll.  I placed the order for both me and Beth, and quickly made my way over to our table she had been saving for us.  As I took a seat, she wiggled her eyebrows at me.  My eyes darted out the window as I watched the taxis drive past and down the street. 

"Well, don't act like nothing just happened," she said with a chuckle, "I surely saw you making eyes at that guy at the bar.  Who is he, and where can I get one? You and I both know we're destined to get with someone who also has a passion for tattoos, am I right?!"  I laughed at her cheeky comment.  "Well, how would I know who he is?  It's not like we've ever met or anything, and besides, you know I'm not really into relationships, and I would rather just focus on-"  I was suddenly interrupted by someone sliding into our booth next to me, touching our thighs together as I looked over, only to be greeted by a pair of bright blue eyes staring down at me.  I coughed as I waited for him to say something, but all I got in return was a smirk from Beth as he spoke in a thick british accent that almost, just almost, made me melt right there. 

"Well now, don't expect me to do all the talking now, love.  After all, you were making eyes at me too just now, so let's get to it then.  What's your name?"  My breath waivered.  He was seriously gorgeous, and I was seriously not.  "L-Loraine," I shakily replied.  He laughed and put a taught arm around my shaking shoulders.  I was slightly intimidated, I'm not gonna lie here.  "Well then L-Loraine," he said, copying the nervous tone I had used, "how about we continue this conversation later then?  I've got to get back to the lads." He replied, motioning over to some boys, including the one he was laughing with, standing around the bar still.  I couldn't speak, so I just nodded.  He placed a note on the table in front of me, winked, and stood up to leave.  As he was walking away, across the resteraunt, I called out, "Wait! I don't even know your name!"  He just turned to face me and held a silent finger to his lips.  I tilted my head in confusion as he continued to laugh to himself and make his way back over to "the lads" at the bar once again.  He was way hotter up close, I'll tell ya.  I looked down at the note he placed in front of me, which was written on a napkin from the bartender, and read it to Beth out loud, "Call me sometime, love. I'd really enjoy getting to know you better.  xx Me" prededed by his phone number.  I looked across the table at Beth, who just gaped at me, wide-eyed, and said, "Woah baby he's got you whipped."