the traveller // louis tomlinson

chapter ten // temperature rising.

Louis' POV

"Has anyone seen Mia, good god! If Lou doesn't return her skinny ass within the next 30 seconds, this entire venue will be up in flames!" Tyler shouts as he runs around backstage like his head has been cut off.

The lads all laugh as we sit on our butts, conserving our energy before one of our biggest shows on tour. Houston has been known to be a rowdy crowd, that's why we're doing two shows here.

Their conversation drifts away as I glance at the exit, waiting for Lou and Mia to walk in at any minute as well. It's not that I don't trust Lou to treat Mia nicely, it's that I know Mia well enough to know she gets overwhelmed easily.

My legs start to bounce impatiently as I try to occupy myself with my phone. My eyes glaze over the tweets directed towards me, but I don't process a single one of them.

What if the paparazzi recognized them and Mia freaked out? Would Lou be able to handle it all by herself? What if Lou says something that upsets Mia and she takes off running - as she's known to do - and gets herself lost?

My thoughts are interrupted as my phone buzzes in my hand with a new message. My heart all flustered up in a panic, I open in quickly.

Harry: Why don't you get a tracker for her, that way you'd know where she is all the time...

My eyes snap up at his stupid little smirk. I send him the finger and stuff my phone in my pocket. I don't even care all that much... Mia's a big girl, who can definitely handle herself. Why should I be worried in the slightest? If anything, I should be worried about Lou.

"Sorry everyone, you can all stop wetting your pants now, we're back!" Lou's loud voice echoes through backstage.

Unable to help myself, even though I can feel Harry's eyes on me, I jump out of my seat and direct myself towards the two girls.

Slightly hidden by Lou, I can barely see Mia. When Lou walks past me to greet her husband and baby, I see Mia completely. My jaw drops slightly as I stare at this new person standing in front of me.

Instead of the ratty, worn-in clothes Mia's been wearing the past week, she's dressed much more fashionable. She's wearing black high-waisted shorts and a jean cut-off top with grungey black boots. It looks like Lou has let her raid her own closet as Mia has her messy brown curls contained with a black beanie.

"What is it?" She asks me, suspiciously.

I can't do anything but shake my head and smile at her with a big dopey grin. If my back weren't to Harry, he'd torment me for this for the rest of my life.

"You just look... nice, that's all," I manage to choke out a few words without sounding like a complete idiot.

Or so I thought...

"Don't I always look nice?" She steps back, raising her eyebrows at me.

Instantly my face turns bright red and I stammer over my own tongue to try and think of something smooth to say to cover up for my rambling. But she bursts into laughter, throwing her head back and shaking her brown curls out. A slight crinkle appears on her nose, right between her eyes. A small crinkle that doesn't appear very often.

"Chill out, good lord," She pats me on the back and slumps down on the couch.

Her butt's not on the couch for longer than 30 seconds before Tyler's racing in and barking orders at her. She rolls her eyes and takes her time getting up, but she does as she's told. A smirk appears on her face as she walks past me,

"Tyler would have a breakdown without me," She laughs and drags her feet as she joins him in the sound pit, helping him lift something meant for an entire team.