When the news of the breakup was announced to the public, fans reacted in every way possible: there were the heartbroken, the ecstatic, and (thankfully) the sympathetic that sent him consoling tweets saying they’ll support him and her no matter what the reason was.

And then there were the die-hard 'Larry' fanatics, who, in reality irked him to no end and were the main reason behind the breakup in the first place. He had gotten into a heated 'PM argument' on twitter with a so-called 'fan' because he couldn't stand her obnoxiously rude tweet about his now ex-girlfriend Eleanor Calder and, because of that, he was now being called a jerk as well by 'Larry' supporters.

Louis had to admit it was his fault in the beginning. To behave in such a way with Harry would definitely give people the wrong idea and see him in a different perspective. Yes, it was fun leading his fans astray into thinking that both Harry and himself were in a romantic relationship with each other, however, he didn't know that things would get out of hand and cost him one of the most important things in the world: his girlfriend.

Currently, Louis was back in his hometown in Doncaster as his management told him to take a month's break from the recording, following the breakup. Uncle Simon, as the boys had affectionately called their mentor and manager, understood his current frame of mind and had told him to take time off. He told Louis he wanted the young lad to give his utmost attention when working and would not entertain any emotional crap in the studios. Louis had retorted, saying that he could carry on with the recording and would behave professionally, but Simon refused to believe all that — Louis, I know how you boys are. I've seen you grow. Go on a holiday or something. Your parts are nearly done anyway, so you are not needed around here much.

Reluctantly, Louis left the recording studio and his four band mates behind and headed to the first place in his mind. Home.

-----

In order not to attract attention, be it from the media or the townsfolk back at home, Louis opted for a train ride back instead of driving his Lamborghini. The Lambo would have also seemed out of place if he had parked it near his house, seeing that his neighbourhood consisted mainly of families of average income.

He had come home to his mum and sisters' warm cuddles and smothering kisses. Louis missed them deeply as he was always either abroad, touring with his band, or in London recording and being called to endless interviews and photoshoots. He did miss his old life before One Direction, but he knew he had to make sacrifices in order to succeed. His family was his biggest supporter (and inspiration) and he wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for their unconditional love and support. In a way, his given time off was a blessing in disguise as he was able to take advantage of this time to lead an ordinary life of a twenty-year-old.

The entire first week of his break was spent at home, helping his mother to fetch his sisters from school and doing a bit of cleaning in his old room (which was reluctantly done). He managed to hang around with some of his old mates back from school, but since most of them were staying in dorms at the universities which they studied in, he couldn't meet up with the majority. Thus, he would spend time roaming around town alone.

He was appreciative of the change of atmosphere, however. The townsfolk knew him as Louis, the cheeky, chatty lad from Doncaster, and not Louis Tomlinson from One Direction. He was pretty much treated the same as back then. Although there were a few star-struck fans occasionally, he did stop for a photo or two, and even signed autographs for the girls. He loved his fans more than anything, but if fans were being rude or obnoxious, he wasn't afraid to tell them off either.

Louis was at the local Starbucks, contented with himself at finding a cosy seat beside the glass panel. He had worn a beanie and put on his black-rimmed spectacles, a pair he hadn't worn for so long. He was dressed simply; a white tee underneath his navy blue hoodie with pyjama pants and his signature espadrilles. Nobody so much as gave him a second glance and he was thankful for that. He was going to make his one month "vacation" a tabloid-free one.

As he was scrolling through the endless photos of himself and Eleanor on his iPhone, a familiar ache started to resurface in his heart. The breakup was cause of his bromance between Harry and himself. Eleanor felt like she was the butt of each 'Larry Stylinson' joke, and she couldn't stand it anymore and wanted out. Louis had pleaded with her to ignore and turn a deaf ear to whatever crap the crazed fans were throwing about, but El's patience was at its limit. The breakup wasn't really a nasty one with arguments and yelling; it had been peaceful with the both of them hugging each other and sobbing their hearts out instead. Nonetheless, he still loved her and had been trying his best to cope by keeping himself occupied with friends and family.

Louis was startled from his thoughts by someone clearing her throat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, sir, here's your bagel," a girl in the Starbucks uniform handed him his food. "Thank you and enjoy." Louis looked up at her and took the plate from her hands. "Thanks," he mumbled softly.

The staff girl however, seemed rooted to the spot. Louis looked up at her again and arched an eyebrow, a universal look saying, Yes? Do you need anything else from me?

"Danny Zuko," she gasped. "Hall Cross, Upper Sixth."

Louis was taken aback by the girl's remark. Never did he come across anyone calling him that during his short career as a singer. It was always, "You're Louis Tomlinson of One Direction."

"Sorry, do I know you?"

He accessed the girl's features, searching his memory for a familiar face he might have forgotten over the years. She had piercing blue-gray eyes, perfectly-shaped eyebrows and snow-white skin. Her dark hair was tied up in a ponytail and her lips were painted a loud shade of crimson. Louis stereotyped her as one of those 'scene' girls with the way she looked, but he couldn't help staring at her as well, because she was undeniably a pretty little thing.

"I would have guessed so," she sighed disappointedly. "You don't remember me. Sorry if I'm bothering you." She made a notion to move.

Without thinking, Louis grabbed her arm, much to his and the girl's surprise. He let go of her immediately, mumbling an apology.

"Hey, it's alright," she shrugged. "But I have to get back to work. Enjoy your meal." She gave him a small smile and turned away.

He kept his eyes on her until she disappeared into the back kitchen. Louis was still thinking about her when he realised he didn't even get the chance to know her name. His gaze lingered at the condiment bar and something there caught his eye.

Customer Survey Form.

Louis smirked to himself.

-----

Louis went to the same Starbucks the following day, a huge smile on his face because he remembered the girl. Her name was Shea Winters and although she looked slightly different back then, once he had her name, her pale skin was a giveaway.

Shea had been in the same drama club as him when they attended Hall Cross School. Louis was actually overjoyed to be reunited with a drama club member as he had lost contact with most of them after graduation. Adding to the fact that he was busy with the X-Factor, he couldn't attend their reunion parties thus making him out-of-the-loop with his ex-drama mates. He wouldn't have expected that his trip back to his hometown would involve unlikely encounters with schoolmates whom he had forgotten about. Meeting Shea came as a pleasant surprise, not mentioning, a comforting bonus to Louis.

Louis breezed through the main entrance and headed straight towards the cashier counter. He didn't want to waste time searching for her, so he had decided to ask for her instead. He silently prayed that Shea would be on duty so as not to have made a wasted trip there. He was glad there wasn't a queue at the counter. The last thing he needed was to queue for the sake of inquiring one of their staff's whereabouts.

"Hi, may I know if Shea's working today?" Louis asked the service assistant behind the counter. He was wearing almost the same outfit as the day before, but had traded his pyjama pants for a pair of chinos instead. He decided to lose the beanie and specs today, and had simply put up his hoodie to cover his hair.

"Give us a moment, sir. I'll go and get her," she replied politely and asked her colleague to cover her at the register.

"Thank you." Louis made his way to wait at a corner of the café. He was about to take his iPhone out and twiddle with it when he received a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around immediately and was faced with Shea's broad grin.

"Hey, you're here to see me?" Louis didn't notice this the day before, but for a petite girl like Shea, she had a rather husky voice.

"Hi. Sorry for being a twit yesterday. You're Shea, right?"

Shea's eyebrows shot up. "Yes, I am. How did you know my name? I don't remember telling you. Wait, it's the tag, right?" She looked down at her apron to find that she did not put on her name tag. "Oops."

Louis let out a chortle. "I took the trouble to ask one of your colleagues for your name. Something to do with a survey form of sorts."

Shea could only nod in appreciation. "That's dedicated," she said.

"I remembered you, Shea. Like me, you were a member of our school's drama club. You have a minor role in 'Grease', but I can't exactly remember which character you played. And also, your nickname was 'Shea Butter' for your milky skin." Louis smirked at the last sentence.

Shea's eyes went wide and she gave out a slight gasp. "Nooo... you didn't just call me that!" She playfully punched his bicep. "And as for that minor role," she air-quoted the word 'minor', "I was in almost every scene where there would be mass singing and dancing, duh."

Louis laughed at the sight of Shea rolling her eyes and pulling a funny face. The girl wasn't afraid to make a fool out of herself by making weird faces with someone she barely knew. He kind of liked that. He didn't have any feeling of awkwardness with Shea either, even though they hadn't met each other for nearly three years.

"Alright, Zuko. I need to get back to work. My manager ain't gonna be happy if I slack too much," Shea said, turning serious. "But if you want to hang and catch up with old times, you can come back in an hour's time as I'll be knocking off at two. I'm in the morning shift today."

Louis pondered it over and decided it would be a great idea. "I'll come and pick you up then," he grinned.

-----

Louis had a bit of a shock when he met up with Shea after her work. She had on a casual change of clothes, a faded grey jumper with black skinnies, black high-top Converse and a lip ring. Her hair was untied and she hadn't really combed it down, so it looked like a lion's mane on her head. He couldn't help but to stare at her when she came over to him.

"Earth to Danny?" Shea snapped her fingers in front of Louis' face. "You alright there?"

Louis came back to his senses. "Sorry, I was a little distracted with your, uh..." he trailed off.

"What? My appearance?" Shea prompted. When she saw him grinning sheepishly, she burst out laughing. "Are you intimidated by a petite-sized girl with a lip ring and bad hair? My, you really have gone soft, Danny."

"Why do you keep calling me Danny? I mean, you do know my name, right?" Louis asked.

Now it was Shea's turn to blush. "Umm, honestly speaking, I can't exactly remember." She slapped a hand to her cheek and scratched it lightly. "I was racking my head to remember and I thought your name would pop up in my mind eventually, but it didn't." She let out a huge sigh. "I'm really bad at memorising names, so if you don't mind telling me your [i]real[/i] name, I'll simply stick with Danny."

Louis raised his eyebrows in amusement. She really doesn't know who I am.

"Are you serious?" When he saw that Shea kept a blank look on her face, he continued. "It's Louis Tomlinson, buttercup," he said cheekily.

"Ah, Louis! Yes, yes, I vaguely remembered that your name starts with the letter 'L'. Just couldn't put a finger to it. And what's with the nickname, eh? Are you trying to flirt with me?" Shea asked, wriggling her eyebrows.

I don't recall her being this blunt, he thought, people change, huh?

Louis smirked and dragged her out of the coffee house instead. "Let's go already."

-----

"So you've been staying in London for two years already? Jammy bugger!" Shea remarked. "I've always wanted to move there, but I'd guess I love Donny too much." Louis simply nodded his head, his mouth stuffed with turkey sandwich, but that did not stop him from noticing the drop in tone in Shea's voice.

They had headed straight to Brodsworth Hall and Gardens, a twenty minute drive from Shea's workplace at the Frenchgate Interchange. Louis had always loved the gardens there. Since it was autumn, the holly cultivars would start to berry up, showing splashes of red, yellow and orange. He couldn't resist the breathtaking scenery at Brodsworth Gardens and had decided to bring Shea there to catch up on old times.

Louis took another big bite of his sandwich and glanced at Shea, who was seated on the grass beside him, sipping her iced lemon tea. He didn't bring a picnic mat as he did not think of going to the gardens beforehand. Both of them had grabbed some food before heading there.

"Are you still studying or have you graduated?" she asked, putting aside her drink and turning to Louis. "I hope you didn't have to repeat any courses, since, well, you know..."

Louis grimaced. He didn’t have to be reminded of his repetition in secondary school. "Uh, I'm currently in the music industry," he replied simply. "Studying music."

"That's wicked! I thought you would be in theatre since you're into drama."

"Well, I decided on a different route along the way." Louis changed the subject, "'Nuff bout me. What are you doing now?"

Shea's happy demeanour faltered and she turned her head to face the scenery instead of focusing on Louis.

"I can't afford uni, hence why I'm working. After graduation, everyone applied for different colleges and went their separate ways — you being one of them. I didn't really keep in contact with the others. From what I know, many moved to London and those who stayed here had either gotten pregnant or, like in my case, were too poor to go to school."

Shea gave out a loud sigh. "I'm currently working my ass off to save enough dosh and move to London. Dreaming of my own pastry business." She turned back to face him.

Louis kept quiet and let Shea's words sink in. Money wasn't a problem to him nowadays and he wanted to help her out, but they’d just recently met, so it would have been awkward for the girl to accept his act of goodwill if he offered.

Louis was clearly surprised when Shea suddenly scooted near him, her face mere inches away from his. Her clear, blue-gray eyes were boring into his, paralysing him. His heartbeat picked up at a faster rate and Louis couldn't fathom what she did next; Shea brought her thumb to his cheek and gently brushed against it.

"Sorry, you had an eyelash on your cheek," Shea whispered. She immediately distanced herself from him.

"I think it's time for me to get back home. I'm tired and I still have work tomorrow, Louis."

Louis broke out from his trance, but his heart was still beating erratically. He took several big breaths before replying.

"C'mon then. I'll send you home."