Glitter & Crimson [COMPLETED]

3

Louis was jolted awake around 9 a.m. to the excited yelling and giggling of his younger sisters, Daisy and Félicité—better known as "Fizzy." He barely had a chance to open his eyes before they were bouncing up and down on his bed, each wielding a pillow like a weapon. Their shrill, drawn-out voices filled the room as they whined his name in exaggerated unison, "Looouuuisss!" Between laughs and squeals, they took turns smacking him with the pillows, filling the room with a storm of feathers and laughter.

Groaning, Louis squinted at the clock on his wall, trying to blink away the last bits of sleep. After a few sluggish seconds, he managed to prop himself up, rubbing a hand over his face as he gathered his thoughts. "Good morning," he mumbled, his voice still thick with sleep. It took him a moment to realize he was fully awake, and another to adjust to the whirlwind of energy his sisters brought into the room.

Just then, Jay's voice echoed from downstairs, firm but warm. "Girls! Leave Louis alone and let him wake up!" she called, her tone a blend of amusement and mild exasperation.

"It's okay, Mum! I'm up!" Louis shouted back, draping an arm around each of his sisters. He gave them a gentle squeeze, his sleepy smile widening at their excitement. "Go on, head downstairs and eat. I'll be down in a minute," he said, ruffling both of their hair in that classic older-brother way.

Daisy and Fizzy groaned in protest, clearly not ready to let him off the hook just yet. But as the aroma of sizzling bacon and the sweet smell of pancake batter wafted into the room, their resolve quickly crumbled. They exchanged a quick, knowing look before scampering off, their footsteps echoing down the hallway as they raced to the kitchen.

Louis chuckled to himself, running a hand through his hair as he watched them go. "How do they have so much energy in the morning?" he muttered to himself, not expecting an answer. The quiet that settled over his room felt almost surreal after the burst of chaos his sisters had brought with them.

He leaned back against the headboard, letting himself enjoy the calm before the day truly began. Outside his window, the sun was filtering through the curtains, casting soft rays across his room and making everything feel warm and peaceful. He took a deep breath, feeling grateful for mornings like this—the family chaos, the smell of breakfast drifting up from the kitchen, and the laughter that echoed through the house. It was a rare kind of magic, one that felt like home.

With a contented sigh, Louis finally threw back the covers and swung his feet to the floor, ready to join his sisters downstairs for breakfast. As he shuffled toward the door, he couldn't help but smile, thinking of the day ahead and knowing his sisters would keep things interesting, as they always did.

Louis grabbed his phone off the table, giving it a quick check before typing out a message to Zayn: "Morning, husband 😛 Ready to move in? 🤦🏼‍♀️"

The animated three dots popped up almost immediately, showing that Zayn was already typing a reply. "Keep calling me husband, and I'm going to start thinking you mean it 😛"

A grin spread across Louis's face as he read the message, a light laugh escaping him. He plugged his phone into the charger, leaving it to charge for the morning as he headed downstairs. Pausing by the doorway, he took a deep breath and called softly, "Mum? I need to talk to you... alone."

Jay looked up from the breakfast chaos, balancing a spoon and managing to feed the four girls seated around the kitchen table. She pointed toward a steaming mug on the counter. "Drink and eat first," she instructed gently. "We can chat while they get ready for school."

"Mum!" Phoebe piped up, her voice full of protest. "We don't want to go to school. We want to stay with Lou-Lou!" She folded her arms, a determined look crossing her face as her sisters murmured in agreement.

Louis chuckled softly, a warmth spreading through him as he took a much-needed sip of his coffee. "Phoebe, I've got a really busy day today, with the premiere and all," he said, trying to soften the blow. "You won't see much of me. But, it's Friday, so I'll be around all weekend."

Jay gave him an encouraging nod before turning to the twins. "And if all four of you behave," she promised, "I'll let you skip school on Monday so you can spend the whole day with Lou."

The twins shared a resigned look, sighing in perfect sync as they slumped back against their stools. "Fine," they mumbled, a pout spreading across their faces.

Louis took another sip of coffee, glancing at Jay with a mixture of gratitude and nervousness. He wasn't entirely sure how to bring up what was weighing on his mind, but he knew he needed her guidance. As the girls began to chatter among themselves, Jay pulled him aside to the quieter part of the kitchen.

"What is it, love?" she asked softly, her eyes warm with understanding as she took in Louis's tense expression. She knew him well enough to sense when he had something big weighing on his mind.

Louis shifted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down, avoiding her gaze. "Well," he began, his voice low and edged with embarrassment, "Zayn and I were drunken idiots... as always. We, uh... we got married in France. So, yeah, the rumors are true."

He let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair. "And now management's all over us about it. They're expecting us to move in together by tonight, no less," he muttered, clearly exasperated.

Her brows lifted in surprise, though a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Married in France? Well, that's one way to make headlines," she teased gently, though her tone softened as she saw the mix of worry and disbelief in Louis's eyes.

"It's just... it's all a bit of a mess," Louis admitted, sinking onto the couch beside her. "We didn't even realize what we'd done until we saw the damn rings the next morning. And now, management thinks it's a perfect PR stunt. They want us to play along, act like this was all part of some secret plan."

She placed a reassuring hand on his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "And how do you feel about all this?" she asked, her voice kind and steady.

Louis let out a soft laugh, though it held no humor. "I don't know, honestly. Zayn and I have always been close, but this... this feels like it's crossing a line. Moving in, pretending we're a couple, letting the whole world think we're actually in love—when I don't even know what it all means yet. And I'm not sure I'm ready to figure it out with a thousand cameras pointed at us."

The silence between them felt thick, almost as if it held the weight of Louis's tangled thoughts. He stared out the window, watching the world pass by in a blur of lights and colors, though he could barely process any of it. His mind kept circling back to the same question: How did I get here? The life he'd known seemed to shift beneath him like sand, leaving him struggling to find solid ground.

After a long pause, he glanced over at his mum, Jay. She had always been his anchor, the person he could turn to when things got too big, too overwhelming. And today was definitely one of those days. The mere thought of keeping up this charade—pretending to be something he wasn't, for the sake of the band and their relentless management—was gnawing at him, a constant reminder of how out of control everything had become.

"I just don't know if I can pull this off without losing him... or myself," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. The thought of it all felt like a weight pressing on his chest.

Jay reached out and gently squeezed his knee, grounding him in that way only she could. "One step at a time, baby," she murmured, her eyes soft with understanding. "Just go with it today during the premiere, take it as it comes. You can talk about it with him when you're ready, really talk it through. But for now, focus on what makes you happy, sweetheart."

Louis looked at her, feeling a flicker of relief in her reassurance. It wasn't a perfect solution—far from it—but it was a start. Jay's words reminded him that he didn't have to have all the answers right now. He just had to get through today.

Taking a deep breath, he nodded, letting her words settle over him like a balm. The premiere was only hours away, and soon, he'd have to face the lights, the cameras, the questions, and the fans. He'd have to step into a role he wasn't sure he could play, especially with the world watching. But maybe, just maybe, he could take this one moment at a time, lean on those who cared for him, and somehow find his way through the storm.