A Different Way[Louis Tomlinson]

Chapter Two

The rest of the show goes by in a slow blur. I clap when I'm supposed to and stay silent when I should be. I feel Louis' eyes on me from three rows behind me. I keep the paper folded in my hand. I have the urge to read it right now, but I'm afraid of interrupting the show with a gasp or a cry or any other noise I may make reading it. So I keep it folding there in my hand. I get a couple stares from people, and I hear people whispering about me and Louis every once and a while. Finally the shows over and we can leave. My head isnt on right, and as I'm walking through the mass of bodies, I trip and stumble and push into people. I say my sorrys and excuse me's while regaining my balance. Luke pulls me into an empty row of seats after I trip once more.

"Amber are you okay?" He asks truly worried about me. I nod, not looking at him. He looks me over again, no cuts or scrapes. Sure there'll be bruises but theres no way to stop those. Then he notices my hand clamped around the white sheet. He reaches for it, but I jerk my hand back. He looks me in the eye, arm still outstretched. A sad look comes over his eyes, and he shakes his head. He grabs my arm and helps me walk through the bodies again. I look around for Louis, but I can't find him, there are too many people. More people are pointing and whispering about me now. Luke pulls me outside, and up to his car outside the centre.

"What, no after party?" I beg as he unlocks the door.

"Not for you tonight." He sighs. I glare at him as he pushes me into the car. His hand lingers on my shoulder before he closes the door. That's when I see Louis. He's talking to Zayn and Harry on the sidewalk, and they seem to be arguing. Zayn steps closer to Louis and presses his pointer finger into his chest. Luke is about to pull away onto the road but I put my hand on the steering wheel to stop him. Louis suddenly lashes out at Zayn, striking him in the shoulder. Zayn stumbles a few paces backwards, and Harry starts screaming something at Louis. Luke's seen enough and he pushes my hand away and gets onto the road. I watch in the back window as Louis storms away from Harry and Zayn, his jaw clenched tight. Just as we're turning the corner, he looks up at the car. There's no way he could see me in the car this far away, but he still smiles. And I feel my heart flutter inside me.

Luke drops me off at my house, telling me to use my head and be smart. I roll my eyes at him as he rolls down the driveway. I run up to my door, digging for my keys in my bag. I put them in the lock and throw the door open. My nice big house greets me. I climb up the carpeted stairs to my room where I pull off the dress. I put on shorts and a tank-top and head back downstairs, the note still in my hand. I plop down on the red leather couch in front of my flatscreen. Turning on the tv, I catch the news in time to see their update about the Grammys. They talk about Katy Perry's dress and Brad Pitt's hair. But then they bring something I feared up.

"And who remembers when Amber Loktae and Marlene Rosa handed out the Best Artist award?" A news lady with obviously dyed blonde hair asks. Then they cut to a clip of the show, when Marlene and I are on stage. We say'One Direction' and the camera pans over to the boys. They follow them up the stairs and through the hugs. And when Liam is speaking, you see Louis handing me the note. They pause the clip right there. Louis' hand is on my shoulder and our foreheads are almost touching. My breath catches in my throat, waiting to hear what the news reporters will say.

"It seems like Louis was very attracted to Amber Loktae..." A man sitting next to the fake blonde says. The fake blondie nods and smiles.

"Isn't Amber, like, thirteen?" The man asks. I choke on nothing. Thirteen?

"No, she's seventeen. Louis' the oldest out of One Direction, at twenty-one. This will be interesting." Fake blondie chuckles.

"We'll keep you posted about this perhaps new couple but for now your local weather." The man says. I turn off the tv and put my head in my hands. This is so bad. This, out of everything that happened at the show, was what stuck out the most as interesting. The paper falls into my lap as I pull my hands away from my face. I stare at it there. I finally pick it up and slowly open it. I'm sure I already know what it's going to say. It's written in black pen, and the handwriting is sloppy.

Amber Loktae,

You are overly beautiful, I can't even describe it. You are an amazing singer and have a wonderful personality it seems. You don't know how much it would mean to me if we could meet up sometime. Would you like that? I hope... And sorry for the sloppy mess, I wrote this during your performance hoping sometime during the night I could get it to you. I'll leave you with this. (XXX)XXX-XXXX

Call whenever or never, I'll understand.

Louis Tomlinson

I reread the note over and over again. This can't be happening. I have Louis Tomlinson's phone number. I pick up my phone next to me. I open it up and I'm about to type in his number when it rings. Caller ID: Luke. I answer it with a smug hello.

"Please don't call him Amber..." He says. His voice is hoarse like he's been crying.

"Luke... How'd you...." I start to ask. Then I hear a knock on the window. I look over, and in the darkness I can just make out Luke's figure. I sigh and hang up the call. I walk over to the door and he walks in.

"Sorry I thought we should make this a proper talk." I mumble, walking back to the couch.

"Amber that boy is trouble." He says, still standing in the doorway.

"Why do you say that."

"Amber he's four years older than you. He's trouble." He runs over to me, sitting down on the coffee table in front if me. He's still wearing his tux from the show.

"Four years isn't much, Luke." I reply.

"But he's... HIM and he'd be to busy with the band and the fans to really care about you." Luke's eyes plead with me not to type the number in. It's kind of pathetic. But I still feel bad. I shake my head. I've always known Luke liked me. We've been friends since we were seven. He took me out on dates when we were younger, and I always refused his kisses and anything else he wanted to share. I should have known he'd be jealous. His mouth quivers and his eyes gloss over even more, obviously realising theres no way to stop me. He stands up, and walks over to the door, not giving me a second glance.

I decide not to call Louis that night. It can wait till morning. I fall asleep on the couch, fading in and out if sleep. Finally at three a.m. I wake up and can't fall back asleep. I decide to try and call Louis. Who knows, maybe he's up waiting for a call? I slowly dial in the number. I have no idea what to say to him... This is going to be one of the scariest things I've ever done. I press the phone to my ear. He picks up on the seventh ring.

"Hello?" He slurs. I woke him up.

"Hey, Louis..." I say nervously.

"Amber?" He questions, perking up a bit.

"Yeah... It's Amber." I bite my lip, waiting for his answer.

"You picked quiet the time to call. Three a.m.?" He sleepily chuckles. I hold in a laugh. His sleepy voice is so cute.

"You said call whenever." I giggle.

"Oh, you're right I did." He laughs.

"So... about the hanging out thing..." I stutter.

"It's okay. I understand you don't want too. I'll leave you alone now..."

"Louis! I never said I didn't want to..." I interrupt him. There's a long pause and I almost wonder if he's fallen asleep.

"So you do?" He finally whispers.

"Yes. I do."