Amsterdam

2. Louis

Louis was, hands down, the weird comedian of the group. Niall never really understood how his brain works, he just concluded that it was one of the mysteries of life that doesn't have a definite answer. Louis always came up with weird and stupid ways of making people laugh, saying that it was his talent.

And Niall was grateful for that. Other than jokes and pranks, Louis used this talent of his to comfort people. Like when Niall was feeling hurt by the fans' comments about him, Louis came in and distracted him with his stupidly funny stories. And, as always, it made him feel better. Until now, Niall still didn't know how Louis knew when to comfort him and make him laugh. He suspected that maybe he noticed him frowning with his phone and guessed what he was reading. Or he just had a sixth sense about stuff like that.

The Doncaster boy was almost always smirking and laughing whenever Niall saw him. So, it was like a big neon sign to the fake blond when he saw Louis frowning and not making any jokes. Niall always noticed when he did that, and he was always keeping an eye on him afterwards.

Louis sat on one of the front row seats of the stadium, overlooking the crew working before him. Everyone was still busy putting the stage together, so the boys had some free time before sound check starts. The Doncaster boy went straight to the stadium rows to do a quick refreshing walk alone.

To be honest, Louis missed his girlfriend Eleanor. She wasn't able to come with him on tour, having a lot of work to do back home. Fortunately, they were reunited at Paris and were able to spend some quality time together.

But, the day went by so fast and then Louis had to leave for their next concert. Both of them were devastated that they had to part again, but Louis promised Eleanor to visit her often. She still looked sad, but she smiled and promised him the same thing.

It had been three days since then, and Louis was missing her terribly. He knew it was selfish to miss someone just days after meeting them again, but he just couldn't help it. And to top it all, she hadn't called him yet. No texts, no calls, nothing. And, Louis was getting worried.

"Hey."

Louis all but jumped in surprise when he saw Niall standing beside him. "Gosh, Niall! Give me a warning next time, I almost had a heart attack."

Niall chuckled before opening the seat beside him and sat down. Louis shook his head at his friend, then he turned around to see the crew work again. Both of them said nothing more and just stared at the stage being built. Silence ensued between the two, but it was promptly broken by Niall.

"So, what are you thinking about?"

Louis blinked, turning to his Irish friend. "What?"

"What are you thinking about?" Niall repeated his question.

"Nothing, just the concert." Louis lied.

Niall shook his head, not accepting that answer. "Louis, I wasn't born yesterday. I know that face, you're thinking about something else."

Louis sighed at that and turned away from him. "It's nothing."

"If you say that, then it must be something."

"Nothing important." Louis said more specifically.

"For you to be sitting here alone and thinking about it, I think it's important mate."

Louis sighed, frustratedly this time, at how stubborn Niall was. "Nothing you need to know, Niall."

The latter furrowed his eyebrows at his answer, clearly not believing it. Louis could feel him staring intensely, so he turned around. He saw Niall looking at him in the eye, completely serious. "Don't lie to me, Louis."

Louis just stared at him and sighed before he bowed down and put his head on his hands in defeat. "Fine, you win. Something's been bothering me the whole day."

"What is it?" The Irish boy asked softly,

"It's...about Eleanor." Louis slowly admitted. He glanced at Niall to see his reaction. The blond boy didn't say anything, merely signalling for him to continue.

Louis took the bait and did. "It's just...I just miss her. I know it's only been three days since we last saw each other, but I can't help it. I'm used for her to be by my side, and for her not being here..."

"It's hard to get used to?"

"I think I can never get used to it, mate. It's impossible." Louis stated. Niall frowned sympathetically at the older boy. "Have you called her yet?"

Louis shook his head, "I don't want to disturb her."

"You won't, mate. I'm sure she would want to call you too." Niall reassured.

"Then, why hasn't she called me yet?" Louis asked to his friend.

"...Maybe she's thinking of the same reason as you are?" Niall suggested, raising an eyebrow. Louis blinked, he wasn't expecting that answer at all. In fact, he didn't think about that possibility until now.

Niall sent his friend a smile and a pat on the back. "Just call her, Lou. Take the first step."

Louis's eyes went wide in realisation. All this time, he was waiting for Eleanor to make the first step while Eleanor was probably waiting for him to make it. Of course, that made a lot of sense. That's why she hadn't contacted him at all. She was waiting for him to contact her.

"I will." Louis said, smiling at his bandmate. Niall's smile eventually turned into a grin when he said that. Louis smiled thankfully at him before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around the younger lad. "Thanks, Niall."

The latter was quite surprised at the sudden hug, but he leaned into it and hugged back. "No problem, Lou." It lasted for a few more seconds, then Niall pulled away and smiled.

"Better call her then. Don't want to keep her waiting." He insisted, smirking.

Louis rolled his eyes and nodded, "Yeah, yeah." He stood from his seat and ruffled Niall's hair, earning him a pout and a disapproving "Hey!" from the Irish lad.