Louis, That Jazz Guy.

Chapter One

“Louis, get your ass back here!” Jaqueline cried, slamming her hands down on the dinner table. 

Louis knew Jaqueline would be mad if he ran off, especially if he ran off to a club. He wasn’t sure why she cared so much about his interests. Or maybe she just didn’t want him missing dinner again, that would make sense. But he was already leaving, trumpet in hand. He had to go fast to the Cotton Club, or he’d miss his chance at performing for an audience! Finally, a chance! God, maybe he’d finally actually make money, so he could move out of the shared house finally… so Jaqueline and her dinner would have to wait.

He quickly ran off to the building, which only took a few minutes. He held his breath and braced himself as he entered, trying to make his nervousness leave. Come on, Louis, you can do it. He looked up at the stage and saw… a woman he’d never seen before, and a band of other women behind her. 

Wait was that… Agatha? Agatha Campbell? Crap… 

“Is that you, Louis? Oh, look it here girls, Louis Baton is here!” Agatha cried, making Louis embarrassed, turning his face red in the process. Damn it, Agatha… why was she always here?

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here! Be quiet, girls…” he finally said, covering his face with his hand.

“You got that little trumpet with you? Oh, Louis, you didn’t think you’d get to perform today, did you?” Agatha said, smiling menacingly at Louis. Louis’ eyes widened, as he suddenly understood why she was standing on the stage. He walked off to the backroom, to ask why. He had to know now. He finally found the man who had given him the gig and slammed him into the wall.

“Sir-?!” He cried as Louis’s short stature was suddenly very pronounced. He sighed, feeling bad for the poor guy.

“I just wanted to know why my performance was canceled and replaced with…her.” He said, feeling pretty disappointed.

“Well sir, she offered us a load of money- and she’s also Agatha Campbell! No one can turn her down.” The man explained, and Louis backed off. He sighed.

“Well, you’re wrong about the last bit. I’m gonna go watch.” He said, slowly walking back out to the main room. He saw all the people, but he didn’t mind. He sat down at a chair, waiting to watch his ex-girlfriend perform. He was still very disappointed, wishing he could feel the same excitement he did earlier. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, she finally walked onto the stage. She noticed Louis, and stared at him for a moment, before clearing her throat. The room was fully packed, with loads of white folks coming to watch her perform.

“I just wanted to say thanks for coming. I dedicate this performance to… an old love of mine.” She said, looking right at Louis when she said that. That made him a little angry, as he watched. She began to sing, and her band began to play, and like always… Louis couldn’t deny she was talented. But that comment… ugh. Louis got up and walked out of the club, and back to his house. Or… where he was staying until further notice. 

It was a shared house. It was pretty large, but not super large. Big enough for the group of people that lived there. There was Rob, Lilith, Quinn, and Jaqueline of course. They functioned okay in the house, he just wished he could live on his own. He couldn’t afford that, though… so the shared house it was.

He walked back inside, and Jaqueline was standing at the table, looking absolutely pissed. 

“Louis.” She said plainly. He giggled a little in fear, as he closed the door behind himself.

“Missed you too, Jackie…?” He said with a small laugh.

“That’s not my damn name, Louis.” She said. “And stop laughing like an idiot. You made everyone else have to wait for dinner.”

“You could’ve just had it without me-“

“No, we couldn’t have. I’ll get the others.” She said as Louis sat down again. He heard her call for the others, and they all came running down the stairs like children. Jaqueline rolled Quinn into the kitchen, sitting him at the table with the rest of them. Rob looked exhausted, even more than usual. Lilith looked like she was hungover, which she probably was. She drank a lot. And Quinn, like usual, was just tired. They ate their soup and went their separate ways again. Louis noticed it was getting dark again.

He went up to the bathroom with his robe, to change into. He sighed, changing out of his nice clothes and taking off his corset. God, he hated looking at himself. So he didn’t, just leaving the bathroom and putting his laundry in the tin, for Rob to do later. He laid down in his bed afterward, tiredness taking over. Today has been awful.

Agatha, that damn bitch… she stole everything from him. She always had, ever since they’d broken up like she was trying to get back at him. All he wanted was to live his life and play his music, and she always rolled up to ruin it for him. 

“Hey, Louis?” Lilith poked her head in the room, and Louis suddenly rushed to get under the blankets. 

“Yeah, Lil?”

“Are you okay?” She asked, fully coming inside. Louis went further into the blanket.

“Um! Yeah, I’m okay.”

“...well okay. I heard about what happened with Agatha at the club from a friend.”

“Oh. Well, that’s fine. I wish she would leave me alone. But it’s okay…”

“...if you say so. Have a good night, Louis.”

“You too,” Louis said, finally taking a deep breath when she left. He pulled the blankets around him like a burrito, enjoying the warmth. He finally drifted off to sleep, after a bit too much thinking. He didn’t like to think, but it was hard to avoid when he was by himself…