Lottie isn't the biggest fan of Los Angeles. It's not that she hates the city, far from it, but she'd prefer the cooler, larger setting of her home country. However, when a girl friends out her brother is in distress, one makes do. 

"I've made some tea, Lou, just the way you like it," Lottie calls. Louis sits on the couch, a spot he hasn't left since this morning. Normally, Lottie knows how she can comfort her brother. This, however, she doesn't know how to tackle. 

"Thanks, Lotts, I appreciate it," Louis hums. Lottie sets the cup of tea in front of Louis on the coffee table and watches him awkwardly. She has no clue what to say. Nothing she can think of can begin to comfort Louis in a moment like this. He's signed away his life to save the life of the boy he loves. 

"Are you going to tell Harry," Lottie asks. Knowing her brother, Lottie can assume his answer. 

"Not if I can help it. No use making him feel bad about everything. Simon said that he only has to do this last trip with Taylor. Everything after this will be whatever Harry wants to do, not forcing anything," Louis explains. The answer is exactly what Lottie expected from him. 

They sit in silence. Louis quietly sips on his tea. Lottie can't handle it. She turns the telly on and her stomach drops when she sees the picture that takes up the screen. 

It's obvious the picture has been brightened. A couple sit in a hot tub together. The girl, a skinny blond with her neck thrown back, bright red nails digging into the back of the boy she's sitting on. The boy is so familiar Lottie would recognize him in her sleep. 

Brown hair curling below his ear, but barely above his shoulder. You can't see his face, since it's curved into the girl's neck, but you don't need to see his face to know how the boy is. Harry. The arm tattoos that are visible thanks to the brightening of the photo give him away. 

"In case you don't have eyes, this is up and coming singer Harry Styles with Taylor Swift! The happy couple has been spotted enjoying a relaxing French getaway. Spectators have also mentioned noticing the couple sneaking to the beach just hours after this photo was taken. 

"Obviously, Harry isn't letting the gay rumors get in between him and his girlfriend. Harry hasn't spoken about the video that was released only a couple of days ago. The video in which Louis Tomlinson's band-mate, Liam Payne, drunkenly congratulated Tomlinson and Styles for being in a relationship. It's obvious that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson's friendship has blossomed over the last year, even extending as far as becoming roommates, but Tomlinson was quick to dispel rumors on his Twitter," The host of the show explains. 

Flashes of 'Louis'' tweets fill the screen. The three tweets fill Lottie's stomach with dread as the host continues. "That's all I have for now, make sure to tweet us with your speculations. Are Tomlinson and Styles actually in a relationship or was the whole video just a funny joke? Thanks for joining us today!" 

The television cuts off and Lottie turns to Louis. His jaw is clenched angrily. "Are you ready to go? I want to get this over with," Louis hisses. He pushes the pillow aside and stands abruptly. 

Right. Louis had told Lottie earlier about Simon's plan. Louis has to do whatever Simon wants him to do and Harry gets to walk free. The first thing on Simon's mind was ring shopping. Of course, Lottie agreed to go with Louis to act as a supportive sister, these two roles being significantly different to the public and in private. The public will see the move as Lottie's stamp of approval when in all reality Lottie's only going to help Louis make it through this. 

~_~_~

Lottie's surprised that Louis' managed to find a way to stay cheerful enough through their trip. Only someone that knows where to look will notice that Louis' smile is forced. He even manages to get his smile to sum-what reach his eyes. Lottie's impressed to say the least. 

They've taken a few photos with fans outside of the Tacori shop, but the trip here has mostly been quiet. Now, however, Lottie can see flashes of a few cameras outside. They walk around the cases, hungry salesman trailing behind waiting for a sale. 

"How about this one," Lottie suggests. She points to one of the rings in the case, bringing Louis over to her. 

It's silver and probably the shiniest thing Lottie has ever seen. It's shaped in a square with diamonds at each corner. Large diamonds line the band of the ring with a thinner strip of diamonds running along either side of the band. An elegant diamond design curves along the outsides of the ring. Four small diamonds and six diamond beams hold the giant rock up. 

"This ring is in our RoyalT collection. Very high end. Would you like to see it," Some salesman asks. Lottie doesn't remember him showing up in front of them, but he must have noticed Louis and Lottie stopping. 

"Yeah, I'd like to see it," Louis sighs. The man pulls it out of the case and sets it on the glass counter between them. Louis picks it up gently and flips it around in his hand. "What's the pricing for a ring like this?"

"You'd be looking at about $30,000 as is. Adding any adjustments will raise the price as well," The salesman explains. Lottie's eyes nearly bug out of her head at the price. She can't believe that Louis' spend that much on a faking engagement.

"What do you think, Lottie? Do you think," Louis asks. Lottie doesn't even know where to start. 

"It's a beautiful ring," She says. Louis nods approvingly and sets the ring carefully back on the glass counter. 

"Well, it's got my sister's stamp of approval and my stamp of approval. Now, let's talk about pricing and pick-up."

~_~_~

Hey guys! I managed to get this update up! Congrats me. (I placed first in two competitions and third in another in case you wanted to know). I actually found the ring that I'm talking about in this and I'll put a picture below of what it looks like. (The ring actually is $28,900 in case you were wondering) 

Other than that, I'm taking out bonus updates. Y'all are getting close to them at all (although special shoutout to Just_Ship_Larry for having the highest comment number at four). Catch the first Rose Ceremony on The Bachelor Monday night (although I might make the update on Sunday because I'm actually really excited for this). 

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! ~B