Philophobia

1.

Louis is walking down the sidewalk of Rodeo Drive, stopping every once in a while to window shop by Ralph Lauren, Valentino, and his personal favorite, Louis Vuitton. Only because it has his name though.

He is on a mission to pick up a new video system at Bang & Olufsen. His old one is a bust now. Four years of moving, packing, rattling, and accidental drops can do that to machinery. This time though he's decided to indulge in some more expensive equipment because he wants only the best quality for his viewers on YouTube. After five years of Louis Tomlinson, they need a little reward. He has saved up enough over the years to afford it so it's okay.

Louis always has to make sure he doesn't stick his nose into his Galaxy when going out in public. He has to rely on his sense of sight and smell when maneuvering through crowds of rich people who have no respect to anyone deaf. At least he thinks but what does he know? He's moved here to Los Angeles three years ago from the cozy side of Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Months and months of living in the United States of America still doesn't make him an expert in Californians and their way of living. He makes do though.

He finally arrives at the small but fancy shop, opening the door for a young woman walking out before stepping into the cool, air conditioned electronics store himself. Right as he walks in he makes sure to take a big whiff because who knows when he'll be able to smell expensive electronics again. At least not when those are still the prices.

A middle-aged man dressed in a black, sleek suit that looks like it just came off of a Vogue runway fashion magazine steps up to Louis and starts talking. Louis has to make sure to pay extra attention to the man's mouth so he'll be able to read exactly what the man is saying.

"Welcome to Bang & Olufsen. What are we looking for today?" The kind well-dressed man says.

Louis subconsciously clears his throat before speaking. "I just need a new video system, please." Knowing he said it perfectly.

Ever since he figured out he could talk, he convinced his mum to take him to speech therapy. His mum knew that Louis was a very expressive and outgoing child so she went ahead and got him lessons. Years of speech therapy and school was very hard work for Louis, always spending his time on that instead of extracurricular activities like football, which he absolutely loved. He knew if he worked hard enough though it would all pay off. And it did. So well that if you weren't informed that Louis is deaf at first meeting him, you would have never known that his hearing is gone. Surprisingly though everyone tells him he has a British accent. No one knows how the hell that happened.

Well-dressed man nods his head, hands clasped behind his back. "Very well, sir. Right this way."

He takes Louis towards the back of the store near a small corner. Settled there is a long grey concrete marble counter with black holders, showcasing different varieties of electronics. It ranges from video cameras, microphones, and stands to set the camera up on, those on a small shelf closer to the floor to accommodate its height. Come to think of it, Louis needs every single one of those items.

He leans forward and stares at the price tags on each item. And whoa. Okay, guess he'll be eating ramen noodles for a couple of weeks.

"I'll take one of each, please." Louis tells the employee politely, making sure to make eye contact in case he says anything.

"Good choice. If you'll go up to Sasha she'll ring you up as I get your electronics, sir." Vogue-suited man informs him, pointing to the very posh cashier behind a similar marble counter same as to the one holding the video system.

Louis thanks him softly before turning around and walking up to Sasha. She rings him up and tells him his total. Louis doesn't dare react surprised because really. He shakes his head and tries not to think about the amount of money he's about to spend. He takes out his phone where he goes into his bank account and shows the cashier his account number and bar code. Sasha takes out a small gun shaped thing before scanning his code on Louis' phone. Seconds later a receipt pops out of a small machine, she hands it to him after he has signed his signature on a copy. Thanking her, Louis turns back around and goes to sit down on the small white modern couch in the middle of the shop to wait for the man to arrive with his equipment.