August 31st 2012

Rosie arrived at her one bedroom flat she shared with her mom and sister, hanging her coat on it's hanger. She had a few hours to kill until work so she decided that the comfort of her bed would relax her. Her cat Meredith greeted her by intertwining her body in between Rosie's legs and a nudge.

"Hi my baby," Rosie cooed, smiling softly at her grey and white cat.

She walked to the kitchen and put her bag on the table. Her muscles ached from sitting in plastic chairs and bus rides, but she still stood, reaching as far as she could to get a mug from the second shelf of the cabinet on her tiptoes. The heel of her food landed back on the ground the second she grabbed the handle of her favourite black mug. All she needed was some tea and a nap and she'd be set for the night. Turning on the kettle, she leaned on the counter and watched as her cat jumped on the old wooden chair by the kitchen table. She smiled slightly at her cat nudging an edge of her bag. Rosie spaced out for a moment staring at the floor, only to jump back into reality when her kettle squealed.

Pouring the hot water into her small mug, she put a new tea bag in and grabbed her backpack. She walked down a narrow short corridor, ignoring the photos lining the walls. The dark teal walls were illuminated by the yellow light radiating from her room.

The cat followed her as she entered her room, jumping on her sister's unmade bottom bunk. She placed her tea and bag on her unkempt desk and turned to her cat. Rosie scratched her head, "Bonnie isn't going to be to happy with her bed, will she Mipsy," Rosie enthused in a baby voice.

Picking up the Scottish fold, she placed her on her bed. Her mother probably took a nap on her sister's bed before her shift at the office and knowing her sister Bonnie, she would throw a fit if she saw the untidiness of her bed. Rosie did her best to make her bed the way she liked, folding the corners and tucking in the ends under the mattress, then decided to crash on her own unmade bed; waiting for her back easing into the hard mattress. She stared at the ceiling, covered in old worn out glow in the dark stars from the owner previous, processing her day at school, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Groaning, she paused for a moment, hoping the obnoxious banging would go way. But it persisted, making her reluctantly get up, the springs screeching in protest. The flat was silent, a dull ringing from the heater radiating in the distance. Rosie hated the silence normally but as her day was tiresome, the silence was comfort to her now - it was wrapping her like a hot blanket making her body ache in protest of sudden movements. The silence was occasionally interrupted by loud knocks on the front door and as she looked into the peephole, she sighed.

"My love!" Laura, Louis' mother, smiled throwing her hands in the air as Rosie slowly opened the door. "I haven't seen you in ages."

Rosie was wrapped in her cold jacketed arms, momentarily stunned before hugging back. "The kettle's still hot, want a cuppa?"

"Oh that would be lovely. It's quite nippy today," Laura amused, unbuttoning her fall jacket. "Thank you for taking the twins home today, I really appreciate it. How was school, love?"

Rosie smiled at the older woman, momentarily forgetting her tiredness as she bringing some sort of pleasure to her day. They enthused about their day as Rosie poured Louis' mother a mug of tea. She was in the middle of telling her she was about to go lay down in rest when she remembered her tea. "I'll be right back, my cup's in my room, it's probably cold by now." Rosie sighed as she jogged to her room. As much as she loved Laura like a second mother, she really just wanted to relax. She was surprised to return to a newly found tense kitchen as Laura sat up right with her phone in her hands. "Is there something wrong?"

Laura looked up at her and smiled sadly, "Of course not, dear, it's nothing." She paused, closing her phone and setting it on the table. "How's everything at work? Do you have a shift today?"

Rosie looked at her hesitantly, not sure if she was right to pry into whatever was making the older woman upset. "Work is fine, you know, pays the bills," she mused, sitting opposite to her. "I have a shift at seven at the bar until three."

"You shouldn't overwork yourself, love, it can get overwhelming."

"What's wrong?" she enthused more than she asked, not bothering to respond to the woman's motherly advice.

"Watch your attitude missy," Laura smiled, she glanced at her phone which has been buzzing frequently. She sighed. "I don't know if you know this but Louis' in town, he came home really late last night. He's not doing too well."

Rosie hid her scowl as she looked down at her cup. Normally, she was all for rants about Louis, but now that she's met him again, she didn't want to hear a word about him. "Oh, really?"

"I'm worried about him. I mean, I'm always worried about him, but this is different." Laura nervously tapped on the side of her mug, inconsistently making a rhythm that internally made Rosie cringe. "He was drunk. He-he's always drunk. I got a call from Simon; apparently Louis is moving in for the time being."

Rosie paused for a second. "What?" Simon was actually serious about Louis staying in Doncaster. It was a memory that she tried to suppress for the past few days but every detail of the moment had been tattooed in her mind since it happened. She wanted to forget but she remembered.

Rosie remembered when she threw her head back laughing, not believing that the tired older man could in fact be serious about this so called deal. She remembered laughing out a simple "What?" before finally collecting herself. She remembered Simon repeating that he wanted her to help Louis, unimpressed. Stating that Rosie would be the best candidate to straighten him out. Rosie remembered scanning his face in disbelief, hoping that the whole thing was a giant joke. She remembered Marty fighting her corner as she sat frozen. She remembered her sinking into the cold leather sofa as Marty argued that Rosie had better things to do than to deal with a troubled pop star.

She remembered sitting still, gazing at Simon, feeling some sort of pressure to comply as he directly stared at her. Rosie remembered Simon pulling out a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it, stating that Rosie had already effected Louis. She remembered Simon leaning over and handing the paper to Rosie with a trace smile but her body being too frozen to receive it. She remembered Marty reading it out for her, stating that the note was asking Rosie if Louis could make it up to her. She remembered her plump, heart shaped lips falling into an o shape as her nerves started tingling. She remembered looking at Simon and getting a rush of anger and frustration. He hadn't personally given it to her and there was nothing that could replace the years that she lost. She remembered Simon's face drop into confusion as she offered a 'no' with an offended scowl.

Something that stumped Rosie was that she couldn't remember Simon's face as he folded the paper back up after he received it back. She couldn't remember what she did after she dismissed herself. However, she remembered Simon calling out to her, slyly telling her that he'd take that as a maybe before changing his tone completely as he asked her not to give up this opportunity. Rosie had done her best to forget for days, trying to neglect the fact that she could help herself by helping someone else but she couldn't get over her resentment.

"Rosie?" Laura placed a hand on her forearm. "Rosie, love, are you okay?"

Rosie jolted back into reality, seemingly forgetting that Laura was beside her. "Sorry," she looked down at her mug, furrowing her eyebrows. "Erm, what are you going to do about him?"

"Are you okay? Are you sick?" Laura looked at her worriedly. She placed the back of her hand on the younger girls forehead.

"I need a nap, that's all. Ask mum, she'll know what to do, she always does." Rosie smiled, taking a small sip of her tea.

They were silent for a moment before Laura broke it, "I'll call your mother, I think you should get some rest."

oOo
Rosie wiped the slick, brown counters of the bar as yet another man of the night hopped on one of the stools. "Robbie! My man! Your usual?" She smiled, throwing the towel over her shoulder.
"You got it," he laughed, his eyes crinkling in drunken delight.

Placing a tall glass under the beer dispenser, she flipped the tap on and placed the towel behind her. By the time she turned back to the tap, the glass was full enough to be turned it off. With a cheeky smile, she slid the glass over to him.

"Can I have one as well?" A chipper voice chimed in behind her.

Rosie's smile faltered as another voice interrupted him. "No, that's not what we came here for."
She turned to them, a scowl replacing her lips. "What will you be ordering?" She forced out through gritted teeth.

"Mr. Tomlinson came here to apologize, didn't you, Louis?"

Louis stared at her for a moment, making her incredibly uncomfortable. His electric blue eyes didn't seem at bright as they once were. Laugh lines were apparent, slightly aging him more than his facial hair did. His stare was unapologetic and whimsical and quite frankly, unnerving. He tilted his head and smirked at the blonde, "Yeah, Rosie, I did."

It was apparent to Rosie that he didn't regret anything that happened, that he genuinely thought that she would just forgive him just because he knew her name. His smirk was slowly burning out her patience. "Is there a stick up your ass or is your face naturally like that now?" Rosie snarled, leaning on the wall behind the bar by the alcohol, trying her best to stay away from him. His smirk disappeared, a newfound grimace graced his face. She could tell that something was off by his attitude and stature, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it.

"You know me so well," Louis propositioned sarcastically. He sat down on a barstool, pulling out his phone from his back pocket and placing it on the counter with a silent sigh. Simon followed suit, leisurely sitting next to him, watching the exchange.

Rosie felt a sense of unfamiliarity of the banter that was being exchanged. It was awkward for a moment, but as she distanced herself from the situation at hand: the teasing was familiar, not the relationship. "I don't think you understand the severity of how much you annoy me."
Louis smiled, a flash of despair passed through his eyes as he lazily uttered, "Your flattery will get you nowhere, love."

Rosie noticed Simon's light smile as he observed the pair conversed. She glanced at Robbie who was ripping a napkin in pieces, something he did when he needs to vent about his wife. She just wanted the pair to order so she can move on from the conversation but both Louis and Simon's thoughts seemed to have stilled. "I have things to do, can you hurry this up then?"

Simon looked at Louis who stared at the wooden counter. He was balancing his iPhone on its side in between his pointer finger and thumb, completely ignoring her. It took a small elbow nudge from Simon for Louis to expel a hesitated, meek sorry.

She raised an eyebrow. Rosie thought for a moment; she knew he didn't want to be there nor wanted to apologize. It was probably bribed into coming back after what happened. His stature was stiff and rigid. It wasn't until his cerulean eyes met hers that she realized he wasn't sober. They were pink in contrast to the blue in his eyes. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Robbie, changing her entire persona. She leaned forward on her forearms next to Robbie, blocking him from then men she had left.

"I said it, can I go now?" Louis huffed, slamming his phone down. He sighed once more, leaning his head on his fist, looking down at the scratched counter, tracing the lines with his short nails.

"Rosie?" Simon called. Rosie turned to him, holding her breath. "I would love a scotch on the rocks please."

Rosie paused. "Yes sir," she muttered, dismissing herself from Robbie and grabbing a wide short glass from under the counter. She placed a few ice cubes into the glass with a small pair of tongs and poured scotch slowly. "Is that it, sir?"

He nodded then asked her to wait. He traced the glass's rim before he surveyed her. "Have you thought about that deal?"

Louis' head cocked up, looking back and forth from the thin girl and the greying man. His relaxed demeanour turned stiff. "You offered her a contract just because she simply knows me?" He scoffed, picking his phone back up and shaking his head, muttering incoherent things to himself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you over that ego, what did you say?" She acquired, her attitude changing as well. She crossed her arms and waited for a response only to hear nothing in return.

Louis glared at her for a moment over his eyelashes then looked at Simon. "What contract?"
Simon opened his mouth then closed it. There wasn't an official deal, as the idea was still on the table, but as Rosie hasn't agreed to anything, he honestly replied, "There isn't one." Simon glanced at Rosie for a moment before sighing. He repeated his question to Rosie, but her attention was quickly averted to the loud yelling in the front.

"Robbie, you good?" Rosie called over hesitantly, not trying to leave the bar without taking care of her customers first. After a joke and a nod from the man, Rosie excused herself and went to go see the commotion, completely ignoring Simon once again.

Louis' stomach started to turn slightly. His first instinct was that paparazzi had found him, but as Rosie ran passed him grabbing something in advance, he understood that it was something less severe. He sobered up and calmed down enough to look behind him, only recognizing the fight after she left. He saw a red headed girl he met years ago - a girl that was his once best friend's acquaintance. It was odd to see her now; her body was fuller and her braces were off, but the familiarity of her voice and her erratic hair was something to remember. The red headed girl, whom he knew to be Abigail, was yelling and screaming at someone to leave aggressively, something that startled him as he saw Rosie rushing over there to help.

"Uh. Should I go-" Louis uttered under his breath to Simon after Abigail's yells turned silent.
As Louis began to stand, Jason ran out with Marty trailing behind him. He looked at the empty bar then to Simon. "Where did she go?"

Louis cocked his head into the direction of the fight, "Over there."

Jason squinted his eyes and looked at him like he was the dumbest man on Earth. "Are you fucking stupid? Why the fuck would you let her over there?"

"She's not my responsibility," he said innocently, keeping his cool as he sat back down. "I don't know what's happening."

"Not your fucking responsibility," Jason cut himself off in disbelief. "You're something fucking else aren't you."

The scruffy man rushed off before Louis could respond. Perhaps what he said was a little out of line, as she was his responsibility that he took upon himself to take care of once upon a time, but it was clear that she had replaced him with someone new who seemed to be doing his exact old job. He didn't have to try anymore -- which translated for him not at all.
Rosie quickly strutted back, her little black dress slowly riding up from her pace. Louis noticed her white-knuckling fists clinching a ring of keys in between her fingers as her head was held down with her tight curls hiding her face. He then noticed a woman and a man trailing behind her, taking their time as they smirked to Rosie's walk.

Rosie rushed behind the bar, putting the keys on the counter by Simon and getting out two square glasses from under the bar. When she turned around to get their choice of alcohol, the couple sat down a few seats away from Louis, chatting to themselves in smug hushes.
It wasn't until he made eye contact with the woman when she recognized him. "Here we go," he muttered to Simon under his breath. He knew they'd say something about him, and as he met hundreds of people before, he could tell that it wasn't going to be positive.

Surprising to him, the broad woman swirled back and forth on the circular stool and spoke directly to Rosie, nonchalantly picking up a toothpick and playing with it. "Aw look, Jordan, the home wrecker is joined by the alcoholic. How sweet." She laughed looking back at Louis. "Who knew he'd actually come back," she said in an annoyingly sweet baby voice.

In the momentary silence after her words, Louis jolted at the sudden bang from cocktail shaker being slammed into the counter. "I swear to God, say one more fucking thing and I will have the authority to kick you out," Rosie stated, leaning on her counter with both hands, her fingers gripping the edges of the shaker.

"Is there a problem here?" Louis equipped, watching the exchanged. He knew he probably shouldn't have said something but the undistinguishable look on her face unnerved him - it was expressionless and neutral, something he doesn't remember ever seeing. He felt the need to step in because they insulted him. He knew she was uncomfortable, as the crinkles by her eyes were sinking into her freckled skin. She however wasn't his responsibility anymore but curiosity invaded his thoughts and he subconsciously couldn't help it.

The man finally spoke, his deep voice echoing off the glass shelves. "Why don't you tell Louis what you've been up to since he left?"

Rosie's face began to redden. Her knuckles were turning white again and as staff invaded the staff doorway watching the episode, the air tensed. "Why don't you tell him about your assault charges?"

Louis tensed up as the couple went silent. He didn't like the sound of that -- not knew what that meant. He looked to Simon who was just as confused as him then to Rosie, who chest was raising slightly faster than normal.

"Maybe if you weren't such a home wrecker, shit wouldn't happen to you."

"Oi," Louis spoke without thinking, an old habit coming back into play. He realized his mistake when they looked at him, Rosie's anxious look slightly subsiding. He looked at Simon before continuing, "lighten up."

Jason came up behind Rosie, muttering something in her ear then gently guided her away from the couple and to the side by the bar opening. He picked up the cocktail canister and continued making the drink, pouring it into the glasses skillfully.

"What did you say to me, pretty boy?" Jordan laughed, picking up his drink and putting it to his lips.

Louis stood, not wanting to look as weak as the insult he was called. He threw Simon's hand off of his arm and ignored his plea to let it go. "I said lighten the fuck up."

Jordan followed Louis' actions, standing abruptly, placing his glass down on the counter. The man was inches taller than him and the weight distribution was out of balance, but Louis felt like he had something to prove: it was too late to back down. His high was long forgotten and his masculinity was slipping through his fingers.

Louis shoved the taller man before he could speak, gaining the upper hand with surprise.

Jordan lost his footing, stumbling on his bar stool and grabbing onto the counter for stabilization. He began to charge at him when feeble hands held both Louis back, and a body guard held the other guy stationary,leading them to both stare at each other intensely.

"Louis!" Rosie's voice kept repeating. Her grip on his arm tightened as he finally turned around. He stared at her until his breathing settled, not realizing that his anger escalated to boiling point.

Rosie could tell that he wasn't looking at her but past her. When she saw Jordan being hauled away with Casey trailing awkwardly behind him, she slapped Louis in the chest, finally getting his attention. They stared at each other, a wave of familiarly washed over Louis. It was déjà vu and it terrified him. He knew he was going to get in trouble because of that. He didn't have to do that. He could've just laughed it off, perhaps got a security guard to do it for him. But he didn't. "I gotta go. I'm sorry, again," he uttered under his breath, walking towards the back exit.

Notes