inferno // l.s.

four

"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.