The circus

Chapter 4-Circus day

Louis woke up early to find himself hugging Harry from behind. He gasped in horror and removed his arm around the other man's chest, praying to God that Harry hadn't noticed. Harry stirred and laid on his back and opened his eyes.
"Good morning Louis. Slept well?"

He didn't comment on their previous sleeping arrangement so Louis relaxed.
"Good morning. Yes. You?"

Harry nodded his head and let out a yawn.
"Big day today. Are you excited?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what I'll be doing?" Louis answered shyly.

"Oh, no big assignments for you on your first show. We'll have to practice really hard in the future for what I have in mind." Harry said and smiled.

"Yeah, of course, Harry, but I hope I can help out with something today as well. I wanna feel useful." Louis replied.

"Of course. Everyone gets something to do. We can practice you handing me things when I juggle to see if it works and you're gonna help people find a seat and welcome them to the circus. Sounds okay?" Harry asked.

"It sounds great Harry. I'm beyond excited!" Louis beamed.

They got up and got dressed and ate a quick breakfast. Harry grabbed his juggling attributes and they walked to a clear field to practice. Harry started with three balls and Louis watched him juggle them with his mouth hung open.
"You're really talented Harry."

"Thank you, Louis. Now, throw the fourth ball to me." Harry answered.

Louis tried but threw it too hard. They repeated the same action until Louis got a hang of it. Harry was juggling seven balls at the same time and Louis just watched him in wonder. Harry proceeded to juggle clubs after a while and they practice until Louis could throw him new ones in a way that made Harry able to catch them. Harry was a really good tutor.

They practiced until it was time to make lunch. Harry got his big pot from his carriage and filled it with water. Louis helped him peel and chop vegetables again but this time Harry added some meat as well. When the soup was ready and everybody had been fed Liam got up on one of the logs.
"Hello, family. So, we have another show in a few hours. I know that you all are going to do your best to make it an enjoyable evening for the audience. Remember that all of you are equally important in this community and help each other create magic!" Liam said and everybody clapped their hands after his little speech.

Liam turned to look at Louis who gulped nervously.
"For our newest member, welcome to the family Louis." Liam said with a smile.

Louis tried to say thank you but it came out as a squeak and he cleared his voice and tried again with better success. Liam smirked and turned to the others again.
"Now, does anyone have any stage clothes that Louis can use?"

Everyone stayed silent until a raven-haired man spoke up.
"I have."

"Thank you, Zayn. I really appreciate it." Liam said with a smile before he stepped down.

The day went by fast. Zayn and his wife Perrie came over to introduce themselves and gave Louis a pile of clothes. Louis unfolded them as soon as he was back in the tent and revealed a short vest and a pair of puffy trousers in a silky material, covered with beads. Harry came out of his tent in his outfit for the evening at it was similar to Louis'.

Louis tore his eyes away from Harry's naked chest and held out his outfit.
"No shirt?"

"No. Don't worry, the ladies will love the sight of you." Harry smirked.

Louis snorted in response. He pulled Harry's shirt over his head and put the vest on. He hesitated to take his pants off and Harry turned around to give him some privacy. Louis hurried to get change.

An hour later Louis was showing people to their seats. He was so excited for tonight. He had never been able to go to a circus show before and now he was in one. That was crazy! He made sure to find a great spot where he could watch from the back. Harry came to stand behind him.
"Is it your first circus experience?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes!" Louis said with a grin.

When the audience had settled in Liam came running out to the center ring. Louis let out a small gasp. Liam was dressed in a black dress suit with a top hat on his head. He looked very handsome.

The audience cheered and Louis glanced at them. It was really a full house today. Liam started to talk and welcomed them all to Paynes Magnificent Circus. He was really theatrical and Louis watched him with a huge smile on his lips. Harry was watching Louis to see his first reaction.

Louis watched the first five acts in an absolute bliss. It started with the strongman performance. He had met Arnold. He was a tall, muscular man in his forties and Louis watched him lift a bent press, break a chain, and bending steel. Next up was the geesh act. He laughed out loud as he watched them walk in line and spin around, accompanied by the small orchestra.

Harry rested a hand on his shoulder but he hardly noticed. Liam was there all the time, making sure that the audience cheered at the performances. The next act was a woman whose stage name was the snake woman. Louis knew that her real name was Diana. She twisted and turned her body into impossible positions and when she started to walk on all fours with her body all twisted Louis had to hide his face against Harry's chest before he realized what he was doing.
"Sorry." He mumbled and blushed.

Harry just smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder. When she finally was done with her number and bowed to the applause it was time for Niall and two other clowns to get into the center ring. Louis laughed as he watched them fall and trip and making flips in the air.

His new favorite friends, the dogs made an entrance.
"Come on, we're up next." Harry said and Louis got really nervous.

A couple of minutes later he found himself out on the center ring. Harry juggled like a professional and Louis managed to throw him the balls and clubs in the right way. When Harry had finished his number he grabbed Louis's hand and they took a bow before they left the ring. Louis was so happy. It had been such a rush.

They went back to their old place so Louis could watch the rest of the show which included a line dancer (not someone that Louis intended to marry) and a horse show where the horses did tricks by themselves at first but then three people started to ride them and jump between them.

The final act was Zayn and Perries (and two other men that Louis didn't know the name of) trapeze performance and Louis forgot how to breathe. They were so high up in the air, throwing themselves between each other without a safety net to catch them if they would fall. Louis was relieved when the act was over but Zayn and the others were his newfound heroes. He was so impressed.

After the show, they all sat down by the firepit to eat dinner. Liam walked around and handed them the money that they got from the tickets. He took thirty percent himself to be able to feed the animals or fix what was broken and the rest of it he divided equally between all of them. Louis's mouth hung open when Liam came up to him to give him his share of the profit.
"Me? But..." Louis protested.

"You're one of us now. You earned it." Liam said softly before he handed it over and gave Harry the same amount.

Louis stared at the money in his hand. He had never had this much money at once. He wasn't rich by any means but maybe he could buy himself a new pair of shoes now and some food to tribute to the community.
"It's my turn to go into town tomorrow and buy what we all need. Do you wanna join me?" Harry asked.

"Can I, can I buy some shoes then?" Louis asked in a timid voice.

Harry's features soften immediately.
"Of course Louis."