The "Biggest" Fan (EN)

39.

Victor was quiet the whole day.  

Sure, he had his usual whirlwind of calls, emails, and whatever important-looking stuff he did on his laptop, but he was too quiet. He didn't glare at me on the flight. Not even a side-eye when Harry spent half the time giggling in my ear, rattling off some gossip about the management team. Nothing. Victor was just... Nonchalant?

If his plan was to make me go insane, it was working. I expected him to yell, shout, argue, even throw me off the tour. Instead, he didn't do any of those things. No narrowed eyes, no exasperated sighs, nothing. Something was off.

"You think we can go grab a coffee or something?" Richard spoke up. We'd already been waiting twenty minutes near the hotel, waiting for something — hell, even I didn't know what. Some kind of delay, lost luggage or something.

"Victor asked us to stay still and wait for him," the same assistant from yesterday announced.

"Amazing," I muttered, throwing a sideways glance at Richard. I was already hungry and tired and wanted nothing more than to lay down comfortably.

Harry was standing a few meters away, immersed in his phone with that tiny frown he got when he was distracted by something. I studied him for a moment, the way his shoulders tensed slightly, like he was holding back words, but it didn't seem like a good moment to say anything to him.

I pulled out my phone too, trying to keep my mind occupied as well, but all I saw was a dozen missed calls from Matt. Amazing. Just what I wanted.

I dialed his number and reluctantly put it to my ear. Matt answered immediately.

"Louis," he already sounded annoyed, "Phones exist to be answered, you know."

"Lovely to hear your voice first thing in Paris. Really setting the mood," I deadpanned, "I was literally on the plane, Matt."

"Whatever," his tone shifted a bit, "I was only calling because you've managed to pull off something half-decent for once."

My eyebrows raised in surprise, "A compliment? From you? Are you sure you called the right number?"

He sighed so loud I could practically feel it through the phone, "Half-decent, Louis. Don't get cocky."

"Fine, fine. What is it?"

"Your followers almost doubled after that duet with Harry. Doubled. Do you even realize what that means?" I was sure I heard excitement in his voice.

"That people really like Harry?" I quipped, grinning.

"That people are paying attention to you for once," Matt snapped, "Try to keep up."

I snorted, "Wow, I feel so valued. Thanks, Matt. Really warms the heart."

"Can you not? For five minutes?" He groaned, "This is a good thing, Louis. Whatever you're doing is obviously working. Keep this up, and we might even start talking about your own tour someday."

That got my attention, "A tour? Seriously?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," he said, his tone sharp but not entirely dismissive, "It's just a possibility, but you've got momentum now. Stick to the script. Play nice with Harry. Keep the fans hooked."

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see it, "Anything else? Should I start doing TikTok dances too?"

"God, no," he muttered, "I've got enough headaches as it is. Speaking of which — Ashley."

"What about her?" 

"She's fine," he said, though his tone suggested otherwise, "Charismatic, likable to the audience — but she's rough around the edges. Needs more polish. I hope she's not picking up bad habits from you."