A Rock Star Christmas Carol

Louis jerked up from the couch, a deafening scream leaving his mouth.

“DON’T EAT ME!” Louis screamed with plea, jerking his head around the dark room erratically, his heart beating eccentrically in his chest.

A lizard with glowing red eyes and the howl of a banshee. That’s what he had encountered and he wasn’t really sure, but Louis almost positive he peed himself slightly before running towards the door, only to be cornered into a wall and pass out from the pure sigh of it.

Though, did he? He was on his expensive leather couch instead of in the corner and his body was lavished by the expensive pillows that the leather provided.

“I think I’m losing my mind.” Louis muttered with a frown, throwing the blanket that had been draped over him.

He got up from the couch and decided to go into the white walled kitchen, it truly was a work of beauty with the two light fixtures and the island with all the latest appliances that were scattered about.

Being rich had its perks.

“Dinner.” Louis decided, the clock reading 10:15PM and he knew that he wanted something light – so he opened the fridge and took out a self-microwaving pizza.

He took it out of the box and put it onto a plate, setting it into the microwave for the correct time.

“Harry? You around?” Louis called hesitantly, seeing his vodka bottle sitting whole on the island instead of smashed in pieces on the floor against the wall. “Score. Something that’s going right for a change.”

He went up to the bottle and griped it, taking a swig of the bitter liquid.

“Man, that was some trip.” Louis sighed in relief, rubbing his forehead when Harry didn’t appear – well, with all the evidence, it was obvious that his mind conjured them up somewhere and he dreamt the whole thing.

At least, that’s what it appeared to be. He wasn’t sure of anything at the moment because that lizard demon appeared extremely real.

His head snapped around when he heard his oven door creak open.

“Okay, weird.” Louis muttered, taking another swig of alcohol and going to close the oven door.

Just as he did that, there was a knock at the door.

“You know what? I’m going to put a sign on that says ‘kick Louis in the nut sack day’ because I can’t seem to get a leg to stand on.” Louis growled, going to answer the door.

He jerked it open, ready to give whoever a piece of his mind – but there was no one there. The streets were bare and his neighbors were off vacationing for the Holidays.

“Quote the raven nevermore.” Louis shrugged, shutting the door and heading back into the kitchen to enjoy his microwaved pizza.

He noticed the microwave had stopped, the light and timer already off.

Taking a few strides he opened his microwave, reaching in, pausing when he saw his vodka bottle in there instead.

“What the bloody elf arses is going on here? Didn’t I put pizza –“ He trailed off, looking around suspiciously.

“Zayn?! HARRY?! This isn’t funny!” Louis yelled, taking the bottle out of the microwave and slamming it on the counter.

Zayn and Harry sat at the island, watching as a different ghost, who had just done all this in a span of twenty seconds turned to grin at them.

“He’s funny.” The ghost proclaimed.

Zayn popped an eyebrow.

“Exactly where did you come from, lad?” He asked the older teenager, who was now leaning into the freezer and shaking the structure.

The boy shrugged.

“Followed ya’ll back from hospital, it gets boring there. I been there for bloody ever and unhooking the heart monitors no longer excites me.” The teenager told them, jumping up and down, making the appliance jump with him.

“You left a trail, I followed it here.” He continued with a cocky hum.

“Stop scaring the mortal and you better be gone by the time Niall gets back, mate. You won’t like what he’ll do to you. You won’t like what will happen.” Harry warned, frowning when Louis screamed out for him again, but because it was almost eleven and the night was going to be longer for him, he needed to reserve his energy for his appointment.

The teenaged boy let out a dark chuckle, zipping to the front door and knocking again.

Louis jumped.

Zayn just watched on, not entirely bemused, but it was slightly annoying that Louis was accusing them of spooking him – though, he can’t say he is entirely surprised.

The ghost rang the doorbell continuously, zipping back in and taking the pizza out of the fridge, throwing it up at the ceiling and into the chandelier when Louis rushed to the front door again.

“Lad? I’m all for scaring him, mate. Trust me, nothing would give me the greatest of pleasures, but Harry is right – you need to leave. Why the hell did you follow us anyhow?” Zayn asked, looking up to see the semi frozen pizza just hanging there. The kid had taken the one that was cooking and put it back in the freezer before replacing it with the vodka bottle – that he had somehow pieced together and filled back up.

“You were pissed and I just followed the scent of misery. It stinks of it in here, but the aroma to me is quite…delectable.” The dead teenager smirked, his eyes passing over in shadow to pure black.

Harry paused.

“Oh shit. Zayn?” Harry began, his voice dropping.

“Uh-huh – that is most definitely not a ghost – or a deadling – or a teenager. Maybe Louis should have picked up some holy water and a cross after all. NIALL?! PROBLEM!” He called, seeing Niall pop back in time to see the new comer.

His eye brow quirked in confusion, pointing at him and then sending a questioning look to Zayn.

“Yeah, that’s the el-problemata, mate. You need to send it back, like, pronto.” Zayn told him, seeing Niall’s scythe materialize.

“Oh please; he’s a death spirit, what the hell can that possibly do to me? Besides, I’m only having a bit ‘o’ fun,” The boy smirked, hearing Louis scream for Harry.

“Fun is over, because If I can’t eat him as a hallucination, you can’t screw with him as a demon.” Zayn folded his arms across his chest.

Harry rolled his eyes the same time as the demon did.

“I thought you told Louis that you had a better chance of finding a leprechaun under a rainbow with a pot of gold?” Zayn questioned dryly, his eyes following the pizza as it flew out of the chandelier and right towards Louis.

Louis hit the ground quickly, shock on his face.

“HEY!” Louis exclaimed.

The demon boy flung the vodka bottle, shattering it against the wall exactly how it had been before, nearly missing Louis’s body as the shards exploded.

“Well I guess we found the bloody leprechaun and his forking pot of gold because – “Harry gestured sarcastically. “We hit the jackpot and not only found one, it decided to follow us back here like a lost little puppy.”

The demon let out a cackle, his eyes narrowing at the human on the floor that was crawling back towards the living room.

Niall lifted his blade back and let it swing forward to try and strike down the entity.

“Puppy? That thing looks like it fell out of the f*ck me tree, hit every branch on the way down and then just for shits and giggles got slapped by an ugly stick about twenty million times and then crapped out of a rhino’s arse.” Zayn antagonized.

The demon was no longer laughing and had disappeared the moment Niall’s blade slung forward.

“Zayn, you just had to – “Harry stopped, noticing the demon was gone and Niall was looking around, having missed his mark when he swung. If Zayn and Harry weren’t busy bickering, they would have been aware of this.

“You need to save your energy. We’ll deal with the little fire hellion later. He’s a bottom of the barrel demon anyhow, barely a worry. “Harry insisted, seeing that the clock read 10:25PM.

“We all need to try and reserve what we have. I vote going for a recharge.” Harry suggested, eyeing Niall who gave him a questioning look, pointing out towards the living room where Louis was still persistently screaming and threatening death at them – which was sort of ironic, considering.

“He needs to calm down.” Zayn rolled his eyes, projecting what Niall was getting at, before cutting Louis’s yelling off with the wave of his hand.

Harry sighed and followed Zayn’s lead, the screaming instantly stopping and Louis’s body dropping to the floor once more.

“I shutoff the channel, he can scream as much as he needs to without us having to hear it,” Harry said, zapping into the living room and helping the now ghosted bloke back on the couch. “Sorry, Louis.” Harry apologized to him, even if Louis couldn’t hear or see him.

“So, we’re not worried about the damned paramour from Satan’s ass crack coming back?” Zayn asked, popping beside Harry.

“No, it’s gone for now; probably went to cause trouble elsewhere.” Harry looked at Niall when he popped beside him on the other side, making the couch quite full with all four of them.

Zayn snorted.

“Yeah, be a little hard to show him his path to righteousness if he’s possessed.” He retorted, sitting down and tuning in to hear Louis screaming.

Harry shrugged.

“It can’t unless Louis lets it. This isn’t what we really needed tonight though, that’s for sure. Those things are a nuisance and he followed us back for some other reason. I don’t know what, but something reeks and it’s not the sulfur. I’m the ghost of bloody past, not a demon analogist, but – you would have some sort of clue as to why he would specifically follow us here, wouldn’t you?” Harry asked Zayn.

Niall raised his hand knowingly.

“That’s not helpful mutesy and no, I don’t know. Demons don’t really have pasts or presence or futures. They just find a person and latch on like a tick until they drain the living will out of them and then move on. Between us, might even be the reason it will stick around. It knows misery loves company and if that’s the case, then Louis is the all you can eat buffet,” Zayn explained, taking another drag of his cig. “That thing might eat itself to death with all the torment this bloke generates.”

Harry sighed, rubbing the side of his temple.

“Whatever. We got bigger issues than some demon, yeah? Since I’m up first, I’m going to go and recharge. He should unghost when I disappear. So, if you stick around – “Harry gestured to the man on the couch. “Well, I don’t need to forewarn you.”

Zayn smirked, noticing Niall sat there patiently with his hand still raised.

“One word, four letters?” Zayn quipped sarcastically, earning a slap in the head from Harry.

“Leave him alone. Zayn. God, I think my punishment is being stuck working with you, because you are almost intolerable,” He growled at Zayn, looking to Niall. “What’s up, Niall?” Harry asked, seeing an image thrown into his mind of the demon, his presence lingering around Allure.

The entity was whispering gently in her ear, looking directly ahead and winking at them.

The image disappeared straight after.

“That’s not our focus of concern. Louis created this situation, he needs to fix it.” Harry said, disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke to recharge.

Louis sprung up from the couch, screaming silently to the heavens.

Zayn and Niall quickly jumped off the couch. Since Harry wasn’t there and Zayn followed with his own wave to free his voice.

“STOP BLOODY POSSESSING ME YOU FUC –“

Zayn nodded towards Niall, both disappearing and leaving Louis to continue his ranting; though Zayn would have been happy to stick around to speak idiot to him to explain the pizza incident if it weren’t for the fact that Harry had a point about needing to recharge.

“I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL!” He finished his long rant with a huge exhale of bottled up huff.

Louis waited for them to reappear, especially to explain why they were tormenting him when all he wanted to do was eat dinner and go to bed to put the whole damning situation behind him. As far as he was concerned, up was down and down was up. His world could not get anymore jumbled than that.

His landline rang, making him groan and get up from the couch to walk back into the kitchen.

He grabbed the cordless phone with a strong grip, answering it.

“Santa forking Christmas speaking, what the hell do you want?! Harry, if this is you – I’m going to re-kill you and make you scream like a dickless wanker –“

“Louis! It’s me. Christ on a Christmas cracker, mate. Calm down on the steroids.” Liam told him in a calm and gentle voice, making sure not to wake his kids up.

“Screw you in the pie hole with a pine cone! I will NOT calm down, BECAUSE I AM CALM!” He screamed the last part out, noticing the clock read 10:55PM.

“Did you go to see or check up on Allure? She’s not answering my calls and it’s going straight to voicemail now. I want to make sure she’s alright.” Liam asked, dismissing his boss’s attitude.

Louis glared ahead, going to sit on the island.

“Why the hell would I check up on her, Liam? Checking up on someone would imply that I cared and that is simply not the case with Allure. I couldn’t be concerned any less if I tried. My responsibility ends when she finishes the job she’s legally obligated to complete. The only thing I care about is the money she makes me. That is all she is to me, so stop bothering me on her welfare because I simply could give a dog’s bollocks.” Louis ranted, standing up and continuing without a breath. “Another thing, mate. I’ve changed my mind. The office is open tomorrow and I want you in thirty minutes earlier than normal. If you don’t, then don’t bother to think you have a job and I will damn well make sure you can’t get employment anywhere else. So, sleep on that and I’ll see you and everyone else bright and early.”

Louis hung up and threw the phone at the wall, smashing it into pieces so it could no longer bother him with its vexing ring.

“Bloody bottom feeders. You can’t expect to get something for nothing. Liam should know that by now. I don’t do charities. If you want something in this life, you pay for it.” Louis growled, walking to the fridge and taking out a carton of milk, opening the top and drinking directly from the carton.

11:00PM

The digital clock taunted on his stove.

He threw the empty carton of wholesome goodness into the rubbish bin and turned to look for something to eat.

Unfortunately, he never got that far as his whole house started to shake.

“Mother of Jack Nicolson! There’s no earthquakes in England! WHAT THE HELL?!” Louis screamed over the vibration, the lights flickering and the glass crystal chandeliers shaking from their structure, landing on top of the island as the other fell off to the side on the floor.

Fifteen seconds went by and then a loud crash sounded in the living room.

One thing was for sure, Louis was not having a good day.

A few things still swayed unevenly, but the shaking stopped and in the stillness of the atmosphere, something uneasy began to fill Louis’s stomach.

“Harry? Zayn?” He called, his footsteps cautious and slow as he neared the threshold into his extravagant living room.

As he saw the state of it he let out a high-pitched scream.

The damage was tremendous. Everything but his couch and coffee table stood under a half-ton, already open vault.

Right in the middle of his luxurious room.

Someone was going to die…again.

“BLOODY MONKEY NUTS! Why do you spirits hate me so? What the bloody smurf dicks did I ever bloody f’in ever do to YOU?!” He demanded the still air, the sick pit of worry dissipating into rage at the poor state of his once beautiful home.

“You buried me in a rent a suit and left me to rot under holy ground, but to be fair – I’d have expected nothing less from my protégé.” Simon spoke from the couch he had apparently been resting on.

Louis’s head snapped so quickly to the voice that he could have sworn the force from the turn alone caused him to snap his neck.

“S-Simon? What the actual fuc –“

Simon cut him off.

“Louis? Come and sit down, lad. We’ve got a bit to discuss.” Simon called, his voice as calm as he had remembered it. Although, just because his voice was calm, did not mean that Simon himself was.

“No thanks, I’d rather stand here if you don’t mind.” Louis folded his arms across his chest and stayed as far away from Simon – or whatever he conjured up the hallucination to be.

“I’m not a hallucination, Louis. I’m asking you one last time and nicely at that, to come here and sit down. I need to show you something.” Simon beckoned, his body still draped in dark shadow so Louis could only see the outline since the kitchen light didn’t offer any more stretch to see fully into the darkened area.

“And If I don’t?” Louis challenged, hearing Simon sigh quietly and stand, the tinker of chains moving with him.

“Still the same lad I knew ten years ago, and normally I would congratulate you, but I’m afraid you’re in trouble and I am going to really need you to stop fooling around.” Simon insisted, lifting up his hand and waving it once to make a ghostly green light illuminate from it.

Louis got a look at Simon’s presence and opened his mouth again to scream at the sight.

Simon managed to get Louis to the couch before he completely passed out.

“Mate? You need to focus. I have an hour and there’s lots to discuss. Stay with me.” Simon insisted, but Louis saw the heavy black links of chain soldered into the dead flesh of his once respected boss.

“Y-w…” Louis stumbled, unable to form words.

Simon sighed and sat beside him.

“The chain in my back, the links expanded and it’s only a one-time deal, so listen good and listen close. You already met the three spirits that are going to help you. Take my advice and learn from them. Because if you don’t, my fate – it’s nothing compared to what awaits you.” Simon explained, lifting up a book from Louis’s table and flipping through it.

“Y-you’re…” Louis forced out in shock, his hand going to reach for the chain.

Simon grabbed his wrist before he could.

“Oh, lad; my punishment is just. Let me fill you in and I need to speak quick, because you have your twelve o’clock and Harry has a lot to show you.” Simon said, pocketing the book he had picked up to flip through.

Louis was so distraught, he didn’t even realize Simon had pocketed at least three other items – including an ipod.

“I don’t get how this affects me? I don’t see how there is any hope. I’m content to being who I have always been and screw anyone who thinks otherwise.” Louis argued, wanting to stand up when Simon did to make himself seem more intimidating, but given Simon still held himself as he always had and another fact that he was dead – yeah, Louis wasn’t going to challenge anything.

Simon whirled around, his voice booming off the walls.

“BECAUSE THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE, THAT’S WHY!”

The vibration of his paranormal voice shook the room and made Louis freeze and backtrack.

“Okay and why the hell would you care?” Louis demanded, watching Simon go to another part of the room, shifting items around – well, more like pocketing them.

Simon was quiet for a moment, his chains tinkering as he moved to the front once more so he was in front of the younger male.

“Because I still see salvation. I still see hope and beauty in what you could become. It’s not too late…until it is and your time grows shorter, so my advice – “He paused, picking up Louis’s laptop and opening it, the bright screen illuminating his decaying ghostly flesh.

The years have not been kind to him, even if he had been dead.

“What’s your password?” Simon asked, rolling his eyes and typing in tits345, realizing Louis still really was the same boy he had left ten years prior.

“Never mind. Still haven’t changed, hm?” He asked sardonically, pulling up google and typing something in the search engine.

“What’s your advice, old man? You said you had to talk fast, so talk.” Louis huffed, becoming impatient with his mentor.

Simon finished his search, sliding it over to Louis as he did.

The page loading to show one simple news article and no link provided to it – at least not yet.

Louis’s eyes scowled at the title, but he remained silent at the sheer preposterous of it.

LOUIS TOMLINSON, MURDERED.

“Poppycock,” Louis insisted, slamming the laptop back down. “I don’t have any enemies and no one would be stupid enough to attempt it.”

Simon chuckled.

“None yet, lad, but my advice to you? Start keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer. Some may go further than others.” Simon advised cryptically with a smile.

Louis simply snorted.

“I have no friends and my enemies worked under your wing and they’ve long since moved on. I’m not worried.” Louis responded with a cocky smirk of his own.

Simon simply held the boy’s stare, before patting him on the shoulder.

“You will find that not all enemies will be in plain sight and the best of intentions in the rat race sometimes gets the owner bit. So, watch your rats, because they’re the ones you should watch out for.” Simon warned.

“Allure?” Louis asked, his perfect eyebrow cocked up.

“She isn’t a concern you will need to worry about for much longer. No, you will find out in time, but for now – you have a lot to come to terms with and I wish you all the best.” Simon said, reaching his hand out to shake Louis’s.

Louis placed his hand into Simon’s and shook it as he had done years ago, when Simon was alive. It held an agreement. An understanding.

“Then we have an accord? That you will try?” He asked Louis strictly.

Louis nodded, though cried out as a sharp piercing pain entered into the middle of his back, his flesh severing and twisting at a heavy invisible force that weighed him down heavily to his spot.

Simon didn’t seem phased and smiled at the boy.

“Good, because what you just felt was only one percent of the agony you will face if you do not start on the straight and narrow. Trust me lad, I want better for you and if you cannot get that through your thick head, I can only hope tonight’s events do.” He reached in and gave Louis a small half hug.

Louis was too stunned to really respond back, but managed a slight return of the older dead man’s embrace.

“I’ll keep an open mind. Just don’t expect a miracle.” Louis told him, blinking at the man.

Simon chuckled, his hand held upright.

“Goodbye, Louis. If that’s the case, I’ll be seeing you real soon.” He said darkly with promise, waving his hand and when Louis blinked, Simon and the safe were gone and his room was back in its original beautiful condition.

Louis’s nerves were spiked high as he reached over to the laptop to do more research – noticing it, along with two books and ipod had been nicked.

At least the heaviness and pain had gone the moment his boss had.

He sat there for a moment to try and get his head wrapped around Simon and then his missing items, leaving the only logical question to escape his heightened anxiety.

“Why would a ghost need to steal a laptop?” He asked aloud, the silence again meeting him with more questions than when he started – especially trying to work out how he was going to begin to explain the theft to police if he chose to make a report on it. He doubts accusing his dead boss of stealing his stuff would go over well, in fact, it’s safe to bet he’d end up in back of a paddy wagon for the efforts.

“Well, I been wanting a new laptop anyhow. Enjoy last year’s model you asshat son of a bitch.” Louis grumbled, hoping Simon heard him.

It wasn’t long until the hour struck midnight and with it, Harry reappeared wearing a white terry piece of clothing wrapped neatly around him and a glow that illuminated the room in a gentle light.

Louis rolled his eyes.

“Let’s just skip the theatrics, yeah, Harry? Just show me what you’re going to show me and be done with it. I won’t be manipulated, least of all by you three anymore.” Louis told him flatly, making Harry smile softly and hold out his hand.

“Alright, then let’s go. Just grip my sleeve and I will take you to where it all began.” Harry agreed, his tone light and untroubled as it had been earlier.

Louis hesitantly reached out and did what Harry asked, screaming when his whole body felt like it was going at sonic speed, the white tunnels of light shooting forward.

He screamed again, his body landing in a patch of deep snow while Harry remained unaffected and upright.

“That wasn’t funny you stupid spook!” Louis grunted, getting up from the snow.

In front of Louis was a school – his school in fact; the very one where he had spent his early teenaged years.

“Good bloody shit biscuits, I’m back in hell.” Louis said, remembering his fondles memories of the ten circle of hell as far as he was concerned.

Harry smiled quietly and began to walk towards the building.

Louis reluctantly followed, muttering four letter words under his breath as he did.

Notes