"have fun, be safe," zayn gives louis a tight hug. "let me know if there are any hot guys."

"you're going out with nathan tonight," louis laughed softly, resting his head on zayn's shoulder. the younger boy hums and laughs as well.

"for you, silly, not me."

"oh, well now i feel dumb."

zayn snorts and leans back. "facetime me when you get there."

"i will," louis smiles softly and adjusts the backpack over his shoulders. he grabs his keys from his hoodie pocket and heads toward the front door. "i'll be back sunday."

"okay," zayn pouts and holds the door open, standing in the doorway and watches louis head out. "i love you!"

"i love you too!" louis shouts over his shoulder as he hops in his mercedes benz, double checking that he had everything else packed in the backseat for the oncoming weekend. he had clothes of his own that he wore to paralyzer but decided to take a shopping trip the day after he called harry back to find a new outfit in case he got on stage. he really should, to test out how the money is, but what if the dancers have uniforms? a certain dress code? is it a full nude club or barely covered? he should have asked the owner these questions beforehand.

he rolls his windows down and blares music all the way there, only making a stop to get a pack of cigarettes and food for the road. he should really cut down on smoking if he's gonna take the job. if this is as big as they say it is, he wants to make a good impression. dancer's health and overall wellbeing matters. louis can't be winded after each performance.

harry had called him to confirm his arrival for that night and gave him a spot to meet up at even though the two of them weren't meeting (harry said he had some other business matters he had to attend to but promised he would be there that weekend.) he said to look for a white maserati at the first rest stop in los angeles.

he arrived by 7, leaving vegas roughly around 3 and easily found the destination he was looking for. parked in the lot was indeed a very nice white maserati with a younger blond headed lad leaning against it, a phone pressed to his ear. louis parks his car beside it and steps out, tossing his cigarette and waits for the man to end his call. it's a lot hotter down here than he would like to admit.

"louis?" he asks.

louis nods and accepts the handshake he offered. "hi."

"i'm niall," the lad grins. louis can hear the irish drip in his voice. "harry sent me out to meet with you, he wants me to give you a tour of everything."

"okay," louis nods and stuffs his hands in his pockets. "are you..?"

"a dancer?" niall smirks. "yeah."

"wicked," louis beams and niall falters into a grin. niall tells louis to follow him out and they get in their cars, niall heading off first and louis in tow as ordered.

l.a. is quite...big, louis thinks as they drive downtown. they've been driving for about fifteen minutes now, just barely passing city-limits about five minutes ago. the sky has darkened to a nice sunset that covers the city lights that illumate the busy streets they ride on. neons left and right signifying bars and clubs, tall skyscraper like buildings and civilians walking down the streets in mass groups remind him of home. the palm trees added a nice touch.

niall's indicator blinks left, so louis turns his signal on as well and follows him through the busy streets. straight, right, left, another left, ta-da. he has arrived at his destination.

"everything is ready for you inside," niall says once they meet up. "i just have to check you in and you're good to go."

"thank you," louis said, clutching his backpack. the hotel is nice, he could have definitely paid for a room on his own but harry insisted. "you're our guest," harry had told him during the conformation call. alright then.

niall checks him in under the name "styles" and the receptionist is handing the room key over without hesitation, telling them the room is on the 4th floor. niall then explains to him that harry's best friend mitch owns the hotel, so they have ties within the system.

"i'll see you tomorrow night," niall said to him as he handed the key to louis. louis gives him a nod and they bid goodbyes as louis heads toward the elevator. he likes niall, he seems like a good lad.

once the elevator dings at the 4th floor, louis pulls his phone out to call zayn as promised. he doesn't pick up the first time, which is common, but zayn is quick to call him back as he swipes the keycard along the door and enters it.

"do you remember where i keep my good hairspray?" is the first thing louis hears.

"it's in my bathroom under the sink," louis admits and flips the light switch once he's found it. his eyebrows raise in a form of surprise at the sight of the room he's staying in. there's a perfect view of the city from where he's standing and the bed is...round? that's different.

there's shuffling and a "found it" muttered from zayn and louis puts his backpack on the bed. "how was the drive?"

"good, i almost hit an old lady but we made it."

"i don't know why they let you have your license," zayn scoffs. "have you eaten? did you bring your meds?"

"yes, mum," louis rolls his eyes. "look at my room!" he changes the camera to the opposite viewing and shows zayn around, exploring with him. zayn is humming in amusement at each sight. 'ooh's and 'nice' are repeated, but zayn is just as intrigued as he is.

"i hope you have fun, babe," zayn says. "you're gonna kill it."

"i miss you already," louis pouts as he changes the camera to his face again. he shows zayn his jutted lip and bats his lashes. "come over."

zayn snorts and they continue their conversation while zayn finishes getting ready for his date. he rambles on about how nathan's taking him to the new nightclub that just opened and that he's torn between wearing something nice or just casual.

"you could always just go naked," louis comments.

"i am a stripper after all," zayn cocks his head to the side, twisting his lips in thought. louis barks out a laugh and digs through his backpack for his laptop, finding an outlet to plug it into. the bed is actually really comfortable and he may end up falling asleep instead of doing his schoolwork.

zayn finally chooses his outfit and shows louis, who wolf whistles in reply before telling him he's got one smoking hot best friend and they have to cut the call because his date is pulling in the driveway. they bid their goodbyes, i love you's following after and louis sighs as he glances between his laptop and his phone. he hopes zayn has a good time. he deserves it.

zayn has put up with so much shit from him, he's honestly not sure how he's managed to stick around. maybe it was because louis was the only one there for him when zayn had literally nobody else to turn to. zayn's been through some pretty tough shit growing up and he's healed, moved on from his demons and has never been better. a sober zayn is a happy zayn. the zayn louis adored, the real him. now look at him. zayn has his own car, living the best life he could with a good head on his shoulders and he's going out on a date with a lad that fancies him just as much as he fancies said lad. it makes louis' heart swell with glee.

schoolwork sucks, but it keeps louis occupied throughout the night. that is, until his stomach growls and he notices the clock on the corner of his computer screen read that it was 1:30. he's been too zoned out by catching up on assignments to even notice it's been almost 5 hours. most places are closed except for gas stations, mcdonald's and taco bell. unless l.a. has a 24-hour ihop like they do back at home, because pancakes sound pretty tasty.

he's not used to venturing big cities on his lonesome, so he almost feels bad when he drives through the town to actually find that 24-hour ihop. that's his and zayn's spot in vegas after a long night at work or when they've gotten too stoned to think about cooking. but, he gets his double blueberry pancakes with a chocolate milk to go and sends a picture of the to-go bag to zayn, who sends him a frowny face in return followed by 'i can't believe you'.

by 2:30 he's back at the hotel with his eyes trained on friends re-runs broadcasted on the hotel television and wonders how his trip to inferno will go.

—-

"i need you to understand that louis comes from a...different background," mason says as he and harry sit in mason's office. it's located behind the bar so he can come out any time he was needed.

"okay," harry nods as he is handed a silver file.

mason clears his throat. he runs a hand through his short brown hair before grabbing a pack of cigarettes from his desk, offering one to the other club owner, who politely accepts it.

"louis is a very strong individual. mentally and physically. he just has some issues outside of work that have been hard on him lately and if he takes this job at your club, harry, please do me a solid. just...keep an eye on him?"

the younger man lights the end of his fag before sucking in the first hit and smoke seeps from the corners of his mouth as he places the red lighter on the table. he nods, leaning back and crosses one leg over the other.

"i can't go into full detail because that's not my business to disclose, but he needs to be protected at all costs. he's like a little brother to me," mason swivels his chair from side to side. "i worry about lou, and zayn, because they're a full package. louis is not louis without zayn, and vice versa. those two are not your average kids, let me tell you."

harry skims through the file briefly. it's just louis' club history, information he can use at louis' "interview" (which really isn't an interview, it's just a small discussion of how the club works and how louis could benefit his society), but it gives harry more insight of where he can place the boy.

"i know you're affiliated with mitch and his clique. do you have any idea of who montana is?"

harry looks up from the file. "midas montana?"

mason purses his lips and nods towards the file.

"no."

"ex lover."

harry pulls his cigarette from his lips and blinks slowly with the new information. "that was him?"

"yeah, he's not blonde anymore and he lost all that weight so nobody really recognizes him."

"wow," harry breathes and he flicked his ashes on the glass ashtray between the two of them before he puts the file on the desk. "i'll keep boss informed for now then. he's only staying the weekend as far as i know."

the owner of paralyzer nods and sighs. "louis isn't stupid, he just plays like he is. perks of screwing a leader, i guess."

harry chuckles and looks around the small office, shrugging. "what they don't know won't hurt them."

"exactly."

—-

niall works at infernoooooo that's 4/5 so far! liam will be introduced soon enough ;)

you got a little bit of zayn's background, which may or may not be crucial later on.

thoughts on mason & harry's conversation?

what's your favorite breakfast food? mine is either waffles with peanut butter (shit SLAPS) or french toast.

next update should be soon. x