the traveller // louis tomlinson

chapter three // stranger danger.

Harry's POV

I hold my shoes in my hand as the lads and I walk back to our tour bus, staggering slightly from the side effects of alcohol. Niall talks loudly, doing some ridiculous dance he learned from the other drunk idiots in the club.

"I can't believe Louis bailed out so early," I shake my head once our large bus comes into sight. Luckily there aren't a group of dedicated fans waiting outside. Right at this very moment, all I want to do is flop down in my bed and sleep as if I'll never have the opportunity to again.

The other lads shake their heads and continue recalling hilarious incidents from tonight's endeavors. But my mind is still preoccupied on our poor friend. We've all tried our hardest to encourage him to seek female attention, but he's always pushing us away.

I know he was hurt pretty badly by Juliet, but I really hope - for his sake - that he puts all of that behind him and keeps an open mind. Honestly, as cheesy as it sounds, I can't imagine my life without Olivia. I desperately want Lou to find his own girl like her.

But I sure as hell don't want him to settle. I encourage the attention of female friends, but I'm incredibly picky about who he gets involved with. Just think of me as the protective older brother - though he's older than I am - that the girls will have to go through to get to him.

Liam knocks on the door to the tour bus as we wait for someone to let us in. The chilly summer night brings a frown upon my face as the realization that summer is finally dwindling to an end. My body shakes with shivers as I bounce in place, waiting rather impatiently.

The door swings open and we're greeted with a rather happy looking Louis. I definitely thought he'd be cross with us for trying to push the girls from the club on him.

"Louis!" Zayn cheers, slurring his words as we all hop into the bus.

Niall starts talking extremely loud, telling Louis all the stories he just finished telling us, as I shut the tour bus door and lock it behind us. But Niall's words are cut off mid-sentence, leaving the bus in an uncomfortable silence.

I look up to see the cause of Niall's silence - a thing I never thought I'd see tonight.

Sitting on our couch, staring at us with wide eyes is the last thing I expected; a girl. She's definitely very pretty; thick dark hair and dark chocolate eyes. She has her knees pulled up to her chest, acting rather defensively.

"Aw, mate, you should have told us before," I smirk, raising my eyebrows suggestively to Louis. I turn to the pretty girl, pretending to tip an imaginary hat on top of my head, "I'm extremely sorry miss, just pretend none of us are here," I can't keep the cheeky grin from appearing on my face.

I grab the three other lads and push them towards our bunks to give Louis and his lady-friend some space. Niall can't stop laughing as he gives Louis a wink and Zayn elbows him in the gut, laughing as well.

Good for him!

"No, no, no; you guys are idiots," Louis' face turns bright red as he blocks the way to the bunks, "This is Mia and she's going to be coming along with us," He tells us, causing all of our smiles to drop within seconds.

What in the hell is he talking about?

Everyone's eyes whip to this stranger - Mia - with confusion. She bites her bottom lip and squirms uncomfortably beneath all of our gazes. The more I look at her, the more wear and tear I see on her. Her skin is extremely tanned, with a bit of sunburn that suggest she's outside more often then not. And she looks like she hasn't showered in a few days, judging by the condition of her long hair.