Tulip

Harry arrived at the theater at 7pm on a Thursday. Luckily, the theater had cast and crew parking so he pulled his car into a parking spot near the backstage door since it was raining and he didn't want to lose complete control of his curls from the weather.

It took years to build his career, but Harry finally got an opportunity to capture the renowned playwright Louis Tomlinson for an exclusive photojournalism piece for GlobalPress.

GlobalPess was a popular news website with a wide, international audience and while Harry was grateful to have landed a job there at all, he'd mostly been given small assignments for filler pieces. This was his first real opportunity to finally earn some recognition in his field.

Louis's show (titled Never Wither) was highly anticipated in the theater scene due to the success of his last piece on Broadway. When Louis left New York for San Francisco, audiences were angry and his professional bridges were burned. He offered no explanation as to why he left, but his new show would be opening in a much smaller theater in San Francisco. And while he lost the support of many powerful and influential people, the true fans of his work were more excited than ever. They trusted him.

Harry tugged his black peacoat closed to protect his white button-up shirt (what was he thinking wearing white on a rainy day?!) and jogged from the car to the backstage door with his camera bag slung over his shoulder. After fiddling with his hair in the reflection of the building window, he checked that his Chelsea boots had kept his jeans splash free and headed inside.

"Let's go back to the first chorus, but try singing it like this," a voice said before belting the song out with the most addicting angelic voice Harry had ever heard. Did they let actors just..change the music like that on the spot? Harry navigated the backstage area by following the sound of the voice.

Once he got through the jungle of cords and scaffolding, he spotted Louis Tomlinson. Who was..singing. Had he not done his research before arriving, he wouldn't have known who he was looking at, but there was no mistaking him for anyone else.

The cast nodded in agreement to the note changes with enthusiasm. Louis was wearing a loose black t–shirt that hung off his collar bones in the most beautiful way... not that Harry was there for the eye candy. He was a professional! But..there was just no denying it. It wasn't really Harry's fault that his mind wondered that direction, considering his skinny jeans hugged his gorgeous thighs like...ahem. Anyway, Why wasn't he IN the show?!

The cast sang back the revised chorus without him and it sounded so much.. Less special.

Mid-tune, Louis scowled at his beeping watch and without stopping the song, looked to the back of the stage for his scheduled interviewer. Maybe it was wishful thinking but Harry could have sworn he saw a slight upward curve to Louis's lip when he spotted Harry but he turned his attention back to the music after a moment.

When the last note was followed by an irritated sigh, Harry's wish bubble burst.

"I think it's better that way, yeah? Take 15." Louis shooed his hand at the cast and walked toward Harry without looking up from the notebook he was scribbling in.

"Styles, right?" Louis said. Apparently his notes were more interesting to look at than Harry. Which didn't feel great. Still, he held out a hand to shake for the introduction.

Also, 15 minutes?! That wasn't nearly enough time for an interview and photoshoot! "Yes, nice to meet you Mr. Tomlinson." Harry dropped his unshaken hand and forced a smile.

Louis chuckled and finally looked up. His eyes weren't just blue. They were.. Blue. "Mister. Ha. Ok yeah, let's do this. What do you need?"

Harry fiddled with his camera bag and tried to remember he was qualified to handle this assignment. During his research beforehand, he'd read Louis had a reputation for being an "abrasive creative genius."