hope your life leads you back to my door » l.s.

six: living out of cases

Six Years Later

Louis' phone alarm blared loudly, rudely jolting him awake. It was that stupid Marimba ringtone, too. The one that he always changed, but fucking Niall kept switching back just to annoy him. Louis blindly reached around his side table, trying to feel for his phone before hitting the snooze button. He wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep because once he was up, he was up, but he could lie in for a few more minutes. His bones ached with the amount of walking he'd done yesterday, not to mention the amount of crouching and bending he always tended to do while taking pictures. Louis was dedicated if not anything else.

A while later, he got up, grabbed his toothbrush with paste on it, and walked over to the kitchen of his hotel room. Usually when he and the crew travelled, they didn't splurge on big rooms with kitchens, but this trip had become longer than expected so it was needed. They were currently in Paris, shooting a few episodes for Niall's travelling show, Irish on the Go. It was probably the worst title for a travelling show, but it was Niall, the most charming, dorky fucker on this planet, and he was already in his second season.

Louis had met Niall Horan during their second year at UCLA. The two of them were taking an intensive writing course and bonded over their struggles of always procrastinating the night before essays were due. During long nights in the library, they both became fast friends when they realised they shared the same passion — travelling. After graduation, Louis had gone on to backpack through parts of America, losing touch with Niall for a while. It wasn't until a year and a half ago that Niall called him up asking if he'd want to join him for his new travelling show. Louis had said yes immediately.

The premise behind Irish on the Go was simple. Niall made his way through several cities and showed his viewers all the good drinking and eating places. However, because it also included footage for sightseeing, it started playing on not one, but two networks – the Food Channel and the Travel Channel.

A part of Louis had often wondered if he should be in front of the camera, like Niall, rather than behind it like he was now. It was never about the fame or even the money for Louis, though. It had always just been about the adventure and being out there, which he had accomplished. Louis had more plane, train, and bus tickets in his bag than he could count, and his travel journal was getting thicker and thicker every year. Louis was doing just fine.

Working the show with Niall was just an added bonus. Louis' travel expenses were paid for by the networks and he got to hang out with one of his best mates. He did most of the camera work and took pictures for social media and the website. Sometimes Niall liked to bring Louis on camera with him as they got up to stupid shenanigans.

As Louis brewed some tea, he finished brushing his teeth. Grabbing his cuppa, he walked out onto the balcony, taking in the peaceful dawn of Paris. In only a couple of hours, it was going to get crazy. Every day was jam-packed with things to do, which was exactly how Louis liked it, but he also appreciated these quiet moments in the wee hours of the morning when he could just drink his tea and think. It was easy to get lost in all the travelling they did...easy to forget where you were and what you were doing.

Once his tea was finished, Louis was off.

He quickly took a shower before packing his things in his backpack — the same one his mum had bought him years ago — and headed downstairs where their car was already being loaded with their cameras, equipment, and crew. Their crew consisted of ten people, each one essential to making the show as successful as it was today. As they drove toward their first destination of the day, Niall relayed the plan to the team. It was the last episode of the season and it had to be big. Louis listened earnestly, all the while keeping his eyes glued to the passing scenery. He'd been to Paris twice before and had seen quite a bit of it, but it was always a treat returning to familiar cities. Louis liked to test himself and see how much of it he remembered.