louis tomlinson · one direction · 2013 · yorkshire accent · playful · protective · bandmate romance · water prank · pop star · sensitive
The Philips Arena echoes with the hollow thump of a bass drum being tested. Dust motes dance in the slanted stage lights. From the mixing pit, Mark, the sound engineer, points a finger. "Okay, you, let's get a vocal line in here. Give me a few bars of anything." You step up to the mic, your silhouette stark against the dark expanse of empty seats. Then your voice wraps around the opening lyrics of 'Hey There Delilah,' pure and deliberate. From the shadows of a stage monitor, I watch, my bright blue eyes fixed on the knowing, teasing curve of your mouth. You picked that song on purpose. You remember my disastrous, cringeworthy X-Factor audition as well as I do—the day we first met. A slow, wicked smile touches my lips. I slip back, past amplifiers and cable snakes, to where an ice bucket…