These Inconvenient Fireworks (original story on ao3 by complemtattoos)

twelve

LOUIS

Okay, maybe "total and utter jerk" was a bit harsh, and maybe "if I wanted this kind of incompetence I would have paid my fucking cat to do it" was a poor choice of words. Maybe Louis just got carried away a bit. Really, though, Louis maintains that if the jerk had done his job correctly the first time, all of this wouldn't be a problem, so he's still the victim in this case.

Anyway, the fact remains: Grease's opening night is two weeks away, Louis only has half the complete set, and his designer told him to fuck off.

This is not good. This is very, very bad.

He sends a note to the entire school in the mid-morning announcements that there is a mandatory cast and crew meeting in his classroom during the lunch period and spends the rest of the morning trying not to lose his fucking head. He concentrates on putting together the plans for the set instead, jotting down what has been done and what needs to be done, making list after list after list while praying to the gods of amateur theater that his budget can handle this.

Finally lunch arrives and everyone crowds his classroom — including Niall, Harry, and Zayn in the background — and he settles in front of everyone and clears his throat.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," says Louis. They all look fresh and lovely today.

Laughter breaks out in the group, and from across the room Harry flicks his hair and winks at him. Louis tries hard not to smile back. He's a pro, damn it.

"I'm sure you're all curious why I stole your precious lunch time, so I'll explain," Louis continues. I spoke with Mr. Collins, our designer, today. You may have noticed that you have not been fully up to date with the construction schedule. Unfortunately, because he's an incompetent jerk "Louis inhales before continuing," he's not going to work with us anymore.

From the fact that no one gets up from their desk in a panic, Louis knows that no one in the crowd has any idea of ​​the magnitude of this.

"Also unfortunately, I don't have anyone else to do it, so I'm also going to become the set designer," Louis tells them, pacing in front of his desk. That means that from now on, if I'm not here, I'll be in the theater working on the set. Luckily, most of the larger pieces have already been built, but there is still an enormous amount of work to do. So that's why I called them.

He reaches over to the desk and grabs the set plans, unrolling them on the blackboard and gluing the corners together. He has a three-dimensional model in the theater, but this will suffice for now.

"I've highlighted the completed parts in red," Louis explains, pointing to the different levels and platforms he has marked. These pieces have already been made but not painted or dressed for the stage. They are mostly big things. But then there is this. He grabs a sheet of paper from his desk and tapes it to the board along with the plans, dragging his finger across the paper to show how much he has written. "This is a list of everything else." We have a decent amount of props so far, but we still have windows to line up and doors to hang and a couple of dummy cars to build, and then everything needs to be painted and dressed, front and back. And to top it off, we need to replace two reflectors, which will require strength.

Louis takes a step back, letting everything settle for a moment before pacing back in front of his desk. "We have two weeks until opening night, one week until the set has to be structurally ready for rehearsals on stage. We have the plans, we have the materials, we have the power. I know that at least some of you have had enough carpentry that you can use a nail gun without killing anyone. I hate asking you to do this, but I need your help. I've seen them at rehearsals. I know they care about this piece, and I know they want it to be great as much as I do. So what do you think? Shall we raise our hands? How many of you think you have the time to come and help?