inferno // l.s.

thirty one

we're gonna estimate very, very early january.

—-

a promised luau happens on a warm january friday, thanks to liam's scheduling, and it's going to be fun. at least he hopes. he bought decorations for the club and asked louis to help him put it together.

every once in a while a staff member gets to host an event and they take turns. neon night will be michael's night, new year's was niall's, and mitch will host valentine's day. louis hopes he can throw a big bash soon, because he and zayn would go crazy. plus zayn's birthday is coming up. maybe they can throw him a big bash like louis' birthday turned out to be. louis didn't even know niall and liam's birthdays had passed until it was too late. after finding out that niall doesn't celebrate his big day for very personal reasons, louis didn't feel as bad.

so he made up for it by celebrating new years with him and doing body shots off of him on stage.

"i still have to find my shirt," liam grumbles as he tapes flowers along the bar. "'m pretty sure niall stole it."

louis chuckles as he sets up a bowl with tiny umbrellas and picks up a blue one, twirling it between his fingers. "how's that going, by the way? with niall and zayn and all?"

"good, actually," liam hums. he finishes his taping job and sets the roll of tape on the bar. "i know you're probably confused about it."

"nah," louis shrugs. "zayn does his own thing, i do mine. whatever makes him happy. but like...are you and niall actually together, too?"

"yeah," liam nods as he grabs his next row of flowers. "we've been together for about two years and we were exploring, i guess you could say. just looking to possibly have a third in our relationship? it was mutual. niall's had experience with polyamory and i was open to it. i love that kid and i'm glad i have him, honestly."

"oh, how cute," the stripper puts his umbrella between his teeth and organizes the glasses behind the bar for michael, checking to see if ice is stocked and if sodas need to be changed. he leaves the bar and spreads hawaiian tablecloths over the tables, then asks, "is zayn good to you guys?"

liam looks up at him and smiles so bashful that louis wants to pinch his cheeks. "yeah."

"that's all i need to know, then," louis nods and makes his way to the stage. he doesn't add any finishing touches to it except tear up a fake lei and sprinkle the flowers along the border. thers's no need for extravagant decor when dancers will be moving all over the place anyways.

they decorate the upper floor with tablecloths similar to the ones downstairs. liam wraps lights around the staircase while louis gathers skirts and plastic coconut bras for the dancers if they want to wear them and sets a handful of each in the locker rooms. knowing niall, he would definitely wear both of them. he cleans them up as he goes, checking to make sure paper towels are good and that everything is ready to go before the night begins.

once everything is set up, liam dims the lights to see the staircase lit up and smiles approvingly. he keeps them dimmed for the rest of the time and makes sure everything is in their exact spots while louis goes on a hunt for harry. the club opens in about fifteen minutes, so this is really the only time he would be able to see him before everyone settles in.

he sneaks into harry's office, obviously catching the man by surprise when harry is startled by his sudden appearance.

"you have got to stop doing that," harry says but waves him in. "everything good out there?"

"fine and dandy," louis hums and takes a seat on the edge of harry's desk. "just waiting. i'm bored now."

"wanna go take a smoke break, then?" harry offers.