Work Text
What Will Be Written:
• Not all stories will include everyone. It depends on the prompt or idea. If you give me a prompt, you are more then welcomed to request who is in it
• Cute prompts centered around their friendships. Prompts can be happy or sad. I’ll take either
• Everyone will be in the band, always
• All stories will be written in 3rd person
• I will include the year of when each story is based so you have an idea where in the career they are
• I can do sequels and multiple parts. If there is a story you want to see more of, request it! If I am writing something I already plan to have multiple parts, I will let you know
What Won’t Be Written:
• Romance between the band members. Most of this won’t be centered around romances in general.
• Smut. That just makes me uncomfortable
• Au of any kind(no high school, age play, etc)
• Oc centered stories. If I do make up a character, they will probably be someone in the background I needed to continue the plot along(like a reporter or a fan or an old lady who gave Calum a cupcake ;) heh.)
• Imagines. I was never a fan of them to be honest
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 1 :: Niall Centric
Main Characters: Niall, Louis, Zayn, Harry, Liam
Niall overheads a hateful comment during a show and it hurts him.
Chapter 2 :: Niall Centric
Main Characters: Niall, Harry, Liam, Louis, Zayn
Minor Characters: Paul
The crowd of teen girls gets to be too much for Niall one day and he has an anxiety attack because of it.
Chapter 3 :: Liam & Niall Centric
Main Characters: Niall, Liam
Minor Characters: Harry, Jade, Louis
Liam and Niall were roommates in X Factor before they were actually put together in a band.
Chapter 4 :: Leigh-Anne & Zayn Centric
Main Characters: Leigh-Anne, Zayn, Jesy, Perrie
, Jade
Minor Characters: Niall, Harry, Liam, Louis
Leigh-Anne was pulled aside, again, for a “random” security check in the airport and Zayn comforts her about it. Will talk about racism.
Chapter 5 :: Calum Centric
Main Characters: Calum, Ashton, Harry, Liam
Minor Characters: Zayn, Louis, Niall, Michael, Luke
Calum, Ashton, Harry, and Liam decide to go walk around New York City while they have time before the show. They then went and lost Calum.
Chapter 6 :: Louis Centric
Main Characters: Louis, Harry, Niall
Louis keeps redoing his solos in the recording booth, not thinking it is ever good enough.
Chapter 7 :: Calum Centric
Main Characters: Calum, Harry, Niall
Minor Characters: Luke, Ashton, Michael, Liam, Louis
Calum feels really stressed out with everything during the Billboard Awards and he leaves to go smoke. His bandmates are worried, so Harry and Niall go talk to him about it.
Chapter 8 :: Leigh-Anne Centric
Main Characters: Leigh-Anne, Ariana Grande, Debbie Pinnock
Minor Characters: Jesy, Perrie, Jade, Debbie Edwards
Leigh-Anne burns her legs very badly and has to go to the hospital instead of preforming on stage and she isn’t isn’t happy about it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
2012
”Liam, where’s my mic?” Louis Tomlinson shouted from one dressing room.They had four and a half minutes before they had to be on stage and by now, it was no surprise Harry Styles didn’t have his makeup done, Zayn Malik didn’t have a shirt on, and Louis didn’t have a microphone.”You had it last, mate. I don’t understand why you’d think I would have it,” Liam Payne replied, standing in the doorway so Louis would end the screaming match anymore. He was considered the dad of the group. No surprise he was the person to complain to about something being missing. “Don’t tell me you lost it.””Okay, I won’t tell you,” Louis gave Liam a pat on the right shoulder with a cheeky grin before walking out. He hunted down Paul to relay his issue, who wasn’t much happier to hear about it then Liam.”Theres another mic. But ya have to wait about twenty minutes for them to get it set up with the speakers.” Paul rubbed his creased forehead. By now, he should be used to things like this. They were teenage boys. Still, if Louis had told him about half an hour ago, this would have been all sorted by now.“I’ll just share with the lads until then. It will be fine.” As if on que, Niall hobbles over, trying to get his shoe on. “Right, Niall?””Yeah, sure. What did I agree to?” Niall. Louis threw an arm around his Irish and gave a chuckle.”I was just telling Paul not to worry. We can share a mic,” Louis explained to his blonde friend.”Yeah, sure,” Niall repeated once he learned the plan. He was quite the easygoing boy. There was little doubt he wouldn’t go along with it.“I wanna stay up all night and find a girl and tell her she’s the one.” The moment they opened the show with that verse, everyone went mad and it gave the five band members such a rush. Songs went by, Niall jumped in the air like a kangaroo, and Harry flicked his hair back atleast twelve times. Concert went as normal.”Alright. This next song we will be singing is More Than This. Sing along if you know it,” Liam introduced before the track began to play. He sat on the arm of the very colorful couch while the others stood around it.“It just won’t feel right, cause I can love you more then this. Can love you more-” That last few words that Harry sang got drowned out for Niall when he heard a girl shout.”Niall, you don’t deserve to be in the band!” The teenage girl’s voice was one of a million. But for some reason, Niall could hear it well enough to descifer what she was saying. She had to be pretty near the front. She paid all that money to shout those poisonous words. And it seemed like she waited till Niall was near the end of the stage so he could hear her best.”If I’m louder, would you see me? Would- would-“ Niall had tried to continue. But he was so focused on the sentence the girl spat out playing on an endless loop in his head that he forgot the words he was supposed to sing. His cheeks heated up as he shoved the microphone at Louis, mumbling “I can’t sing this”.The music kept playing and it didn’t take long for Louis to realize he didn’t have time to question Niall’s choice. Instead, he carried on, finishing Niall’s last verse then leading into his solo.Niall felt a hand on his shoulder, the hand, he realized the moment he turned, belonged to his friend, Zayn. Zayn didn’t question him, he just pulled the small Irish boy into a hug. Niall buried his face in Zayn’s shoulder and found himself unable to stop tears from flowing down his cheeks. If his face wasn’t hidden away in Zayn’s shoulder, the audience would have been able to see his face turn into a tomato.Zayn just hugged him for the rest of the song, his arms wrapped protectively around the boy, only moving so the mic would be at his mouth when he had to sing and then going right back.“We are going to take a small intermission and uh, we will be back in ten minutes,” Liam said the moment the song ended, making it clear he and probably Harry had noticed Niall’s refusal to sing.”What happened, Niall? You forgot the words,” Harry asked the moment they got to the dressing room. Niall has calmed down a bit. But quiet hiccups could still be heard.”No. Well, yeah. I heard something a fan said and I wish I didn’t,” Niall spoke quietly, his voice a little weak from crying. He hiccuped again and refused to look at any of his band members. He was always so happy, always smiling even when everyone was stressed out of their minds.”Something not nice?” Zayn sat next to Niall on the black leather couch, a protective arm around his shoulder. Niall nodded and he could feel tears pressing again. Talking about it brought them back.”She said I didn’t deserve to be in the band. I just... I get all these messages on Twitter. We all do. I read them, I scroll past. But I heard her voice and then-“ Niall’s voice cracked and he covered his eyes with the palms of his hands.”You couldn’t get it out of your head,” Louis finished for him. They all got their fair share of hate. It hurt. But having to listen to someone say it was definitely much worse. Much easier to repeat over and over.Niall nodded his head, knowing he couldn’t speak a sentence without his voice breaking into parts. Zayn pulled him into another hug and he felt Harry’s arms wrap around him from the other side.“It’s not true, you know that, right? You can’t focus on these things, Niall. There are going to be those four people out of every fifty who want to be negative.” Liam joined in the hug after he spoke.”I know,” Niall said softly, taking a deep breath. He wiped away the last remaining tear. “I know.””And just a reminder, Niall. She’s not a fan if she said that.” Zayn gave Niall’s shoulder a squeeze and the Irish teen smiled at him. He looked around at his four brothers, sharing the smile amongst them.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
2013
“Oh my god!””Harry, Harry, just one photo!””Zayn, can you look over here?””Is that One Direction?””Niall! I love you!””How’s the new song coming along, Liam?””Smile, Louis!”People were screaming everywhich way. Paul, their bodyguard, was in front of them, doing his best to clear a path for the famous boy and fans, mainly teenage girls, were pushing and shoving, doing their best to get a piece of the group.Niall nervously looked around. The more they yelled, the increasingly harder it became for him to just focus on walking. He felt like he could hear each individual voice all at once. His hands were fidgeting with the phone case in his hand, popping the corner off and then back on. Whenever he got anxious, he tended to play with whatever was closest, whether it be an earbud, a piece of paper, sometimes his nails. He bites his nails a lot when he is nervous.They walked for another three minutes, Liam and Zayn in front of him and Louis and Harry behind. Harry was laughing hysterically at something Louis said when Niall felt it starting. His head started to spin and labored breathing would soon follow. He was quite claustrophobic, he didn’t deal well with tight spaces, and sometimes that combined with the loads of screaming fans would overwhelm him and he would have an anxiety attack. He hated them so much because he couldn’t really control them.”Harry- Harry, I feel dizzy,” he said pretty quietly to the curly haired boy. He didn’t want any of his fans to hear that he was about to have an anxiety attack or it would be all over Twitter. Harry’s giant smile left his face the moment Niall finished and it became much more serious. He whispered to Louis, informing him of what the blonde lad had told him. Louis nodded and squeezed through to get to Paul.”Paul, how much farther to the hotel, eh? Niall’s freakin out a bit,” Louis explained.”It should be this block up ahead. Tell Liam and Zayn that we are going to pick up the pace a bit,” Paul told Louis as he began to walk faster.”You’re okay, you’re okay. Focus on me, on my voice,” Harry did his best to sooth Niall, but after putting a hand on Niall’s shoulder, he could feel the shaking increasing. His breathing was getting tighter and faster.Niall was doing his best to watch his breathing. But in reality, all he was doing was watch it speed up. It was as if his heart and lungs took an energy drink.Paul ushered the boys into the American hotel they were staying at and Liam quickly nudged Niall towards the couch. The moment he sat down, he lost the little control he had trying to keep the anxiety attack under control.“Louis, can you get Niall some water?” Zayn asked, pointing over to a dispenser that had water with slices of citrus cut up on top. Louis quickly rushed off and in the meantime, Zayn gave Niall his hand. “Squeeze my hand. Okay, bro?”Niall took Zayn’s hand in his own trembling one. Liam was rubbing circles around Niall’s back, instructing him to breath. His breaths kept quickening and he felt tears roll down his cheeks. Louis handed the small plastic cup of fruit flavored water to Niall’s other hand.”Should I go get him an actual water bottle from the hotel shop?” Louis asked and Harry was the first to reply.”That’s a good idea. Do you have money?” He asked. He took his hand off Niall’s shoulder to fish through his pocket, pulling out a ten dollar bill to hand to Louis. “Just keep holding Zayn’s hand and focus on me and Liam’s voices. You’re okay, you’re okay.””Just keep breathing, Niall. You’ll be okay.” After Liam said this, the three guys stayed quiet until Louis brought back a water bottle, only the sounds of Niall’s tense breaths making noise.”Got you a bottle of water, lad. Take a sip.” Louis unscrewed the cap of the blue water and handed it over to Niall, who took a drink. He fished out the left over change and handed it to Harry.After about five minutes had past, Niall seemed to finally be slowly down. The tears stopped falling, the only ones remaining now were already there on his cheeks, and he began to finally catch his breath. “Sorry about this,” he muttered.Liam smirked, shaking his head. “What you got to be sorry for, mate? I don’t think there’s an on and off switch for these kinds of things.””You good?” Zayn asked, his face still showing a bit of concern. Niall gave him a smile and looked around at the four boys and Paul.”Yeah, I’m good. Thanks.” Niall smiled as he felt Zayn give him a side hug and Harry giving his shoulder a squeeze.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
2010
Who the hell is this kid? was Liam’s first thought when he entered the room. His roommate must have already gotten there and was now in the loo, either that or someone broke into their room just to use the toilet. Whoever the kid was, he had a thick Irish accent and yet he was speaking in perfect Spanish.He had blonde hair and his teeth were a bit of a mess. That is what Liam got from observing his roommate right off the bat as he left the bathroom. He had a big smile once he spotted Liam. The two made small chat and got to know eachother. It was actually really comforting for Liam to know he at least had one friend.”So, you play guitar?” Liam asked as Niall took a seat on the bed he had claimed. There was a guitar propped up next to the bed, so Liam could only assume.”Oh, hell yeah! Been playing ever since I was a wee lad.” Niall looked proud and it was kind of adorable. He was only a year younger than Liam. But something about how much the kid smiled and how excited he got when just talking made him seem so much younger. “I’m starvin. Would you wanna grab a bite?”Liam nodded at the offer. “Yeah, I could go for some food.” The two made their way down to the cafeteria. Many faces Liam had seen around. But he knew next to no one’s names. A lot of people knew Liam, though, as he learned from Niall. Apparently, people were aware he’s been here before.”People are all like ‘Oh, that’s that Payne kid. He’s been here once before. Gotta pay attention to him’ and I think that’s really cool how you came back again a few years later.” Something Liam learned quickly was that Niall talked. And talked. Niall was loud and outgoing. Everyone knew this. You could usually hear him before you actually saw him. But, he’s a genuinely pleasant guy to have a conversation with. Everyone was pretty shy and nervous. X Factor was such a big deal. However, Niall was the opposite of shy. “Hello, fellas. Mind if me and Liam sit?”Liam zoned out and didn’t even fully realize untill Niall pulled out a chair he intended for them to sit at the table. A few of them he sort of recognized. There was that Harry Styles kid with the fluffy curls sitting at the table of just him and four other girls.“Well, I’m Niall. Nice to meet you all.” The blonde flashed the five one of his award winning smiles. Liam felt a small bit of envy of how easy Niall could walk over to a group and strike up a conversation. He seemed to have no problem with it. “This here’s Liam.””Hi, I’m Harry,” the curly haired boy said, confirming Liam’s guess.”Jeed” is what it sounded like the girl with the long, light brown hair said. She looked familiar to Liam and he stared at her with puzzled eyes.”Jeed? Nice to meet-“ Niall was about to say, but Jeed cut him off with a sigh.”No, Jeed!” She insisted, but just got a confused look from the Irish lad. They went back and forth a few times before Harry finally stepped in.”She means Jade. Girl has a bit of a Geordie accent. I can barely understand word she ever says,” he said with a chuckle.Jade blushes slightly, pushing her hair behind her ear and nodded. “Leave me alone, Harry. You’re so mean!” She stick her tongue out at him and he laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulder and rubbed her cheek with his thumb.Instead of making it awkward, Niall’s face lit up and looked genuinely amazed by the fact. “Geordie? That’s so cool, man. I’ve never heard one. You’ve got such a nice accent. I’m from Ireland and never really been around the rest of Europe.”Conversation was made with everyone in the table, as anyone walking past could easily tell based off Niall’s voice. It was fun, actually. Liam was rather glad he got to know some other people.
. . .
”I still can’t believe you met Jade back in 2008 when you were on X Factor. That’s crazy. Small world we live in.” Liam chuckled at the Irish boy on the bed across from his back in their room. “Okay, I’m bored. I’m gonna head outside with my guitar.”Liam laughed at this. They had been back in their room for only maybe an hour and a half and Niall was already bored. He grabbed his guitar and led Liam out the door and out of the building. There was a rather large patio with bleachers that Niall took a seat on. He propped his guitar on his lap and a couple of boys followed him over. Liam guesses the Niall Show happened often.”Yo! Play Wonderwall!” Some guy shouted as he jogged over. Another boy followed behind, brown hair with a similar Justin Bieber type hair cut covered by a red beanie. “Walk faster, Louis!”“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Louis replies as he sped up his walking pace to make it. Niall grinned and once the boys finished coming over, he decided he could start his jam session. Liam did feel a bit awkward. Everyone was surrounding Niall and Liam felt a bit out of place next to his friend. Some kid began to video tape it, but Niall didn’t mind in the slightest.
. . .
”Hey. Did you ever get home sick? Like when you first came? Cause you were real young,” Niall whispered, turning over in his bed. It was around 11pm and the two had just been chilling in their room. Liam turned his head as well, removing his headphones and sat up to face Niall. Something was off about the Irish boy. He wasn’t quite glowing with happiness like he had been the entire day.”Of course. Yeah, no totally. I remember calling my mum and dad every night for the first week. It helped to just tell them about my day. I think it also comforted my mum,too, knowing what I was doing and that I was eating enough and remembering to change my underwear,” Liam joked, successfully making the younger boy laugh. But it was clear there was still something bothering him.Liam got up off his bed to move onto Niall’s bed. The Irish boy sat up to make room for the British boy. Liam put his arm around his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “You okay?”Niall nodded, silently, for a second, before shrugging. “I-... I dunno. I mean, I guess. I just miss home a little. I’ve never been away for so long. It hasn’t even been that long. But like, I miss my family.” Niall leaned his head on the older lad’s shoulder and his lip quivered. “I miss them a lot.””Hey, it’s alright. It’s normal. It will get easier,” Liam said and rubbed his shoulder, comfortingly. This was a very different Niall from the loud one he had seen all day. Liam felt bad. The kid was young and he wasn’t surprised he was having a tough time. “Give your mum a call. Whenever I felt like that, I’d go somewhere quiet and ring her. Always made me feel ten times better.”Niall nodded, wiping away a tear that had began to fall and gave Liam a small smile. He grabbed his small phone and held it to his ear. “Ma? Oh, hey... um, not much... nah, I just wanted to talk a bit... I’m fine... yeah, yeah...”Liam watched as Niall’s expression lightened. He gave Niall a pat on the back before getting up to give him some privacy. Before he left, though, Niall took the phone away from his ear. “Oh, Liam. Thanks, mate,” he said. Liam shot the boy a thumbs up, grinning. He was happy to see Niall back to his cheerful self
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
2014
One Direction had about three months until their next tour would start up. Little Mix had already begun touring America with Demi Lovato. Zayn planned on spending the week with Perrie, traveling with her to every location and everything. With how busy both of them are, it was so rare that they got to spend any time together.Of course, the moment he brought it up, Louis quickly chimed in, accepting the invitation for all five of them to go despite Zayn not offering one up. Harry then heard and got excited, then Liam, and then Niall, all smiley, and Zayn couldn’t say no after seeing Niall’s happy jump.All nine of them, the Little Mix girls and the One Direction Boys, were currently in the American airport going through all the usual procedures, well mostly. The boys had all made it through and were about to walk to a McDonalds, because Niall was hungry, when they noticed the girls weren’t joining them. Curious, Zayn backtracked to the security line, promising to meet them at the fast food place, and heard Jesy right away.”Oh, bloody hell. This is ridiculous!” Jesy shouted. Zayn heard her voice before he even saw her. He pressed his lips together, worried as she sounded angry.Jade, Jesy, and Perrie were in a line and once Zayn approached, he saw what the girls were looking at. Leigh-Anne had been pulled aside to get a more thorough check. ”It’s fine. Can you just calm down?” Leigh-Anne was clearly upset. But it wasn’t clear if it was because of Jesy getting so worked up or because she was the only one out of all the girls and guys who got pulled aside.”Babe, it isn’t worth it. I know you mean well. But you aren’t making it better.” Jade was doing her best to calm her angry bandmate, placing a hand on her shoulder.”This is so wrong, though! That bloody idiot probably can’t tell you what country Buckinghamshire is even in.” The girl was fuming and it was only making Leigh-Anne more embarrassed. Her cheeks were red as the security lady ran her hands along her arms to check for any weapons.”What’s going on?” Zayn asked in a hushed tone to his girlfriend and Perrie just sighed.”Leigh-Anne got pulled aside for what they claim is a random check. Jesy was already in a not so happy mood and this tipped her off.” The blonde girl knew why Jesy was upset. She has seen many times and heard about how her own boyfriend would always get pulled aside when they traveled to America. It never got less shocking, to be honest. Jesy was like the mother of the group, as well. To see one of the girls being treated unfairly angered the girl who was never one to hold her tongue.The security guard didn’t once bat an eye at Jesy. She was probably used to it. Who knows? She ushered Leigh-Anne along, but Jesy wasn’t done.”She didn’t pull Perrie aside. Bloody racist,” Jesy shouted and flipped the lady off before Jade pulled her away, quickly. They all felt bad for Leigh-Anne. If they picked up on it, it was certain she knew it. It angered Jade and Perrie just as much how Leigh-Anne would get targeted in subtle ways just for her skin color. The two of them just knew it wasn’t a good idea to make a scene.”Oh my god, Jesy! I told you to drop it!” Leigh-Anne yelled back. She felt her face burn with embarrassment. Tears began to form in her eyes as she ran a hand through her straightened dark hair. “I need a minute,” she muttered before rushing off down the airport.Perrie was about to go after her, but Zayn placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. “Let me. Why don’t you three go meet the lads down at McDonalds.” Perrie nodded, feeling so greatful to have him in her life. She placed a kiss on his lips before telling the other two girls the plan.Zayn walked quickly, following the path he had seen the girl take. He found her in a quiet hallway, only a water fountain and two bathroom doors to occupy it. “Hey, you good?””I’m fine,” she muttered, back facing him. But her voice was shaky. “It’s just I told Jesy like five times to drop it and she wouldn’t. She just made things worse for me. I love her, but I wish she could just shut up. It’s not a big deal and she made it such a big deal.””I know. I know.” Zayn walked around so that he could see her face. Her eyes were watering, making it apparently she was trying hard not to cry. “She means well. Louis did the same thing the third time we went to an American airport after I got pulled aside once more. He always has something to say.”“It’s-“ Leigh-Anne was about to say something, but it was as if a dam broke. She just covered her face with her hands and muffled sobs could be heard.Zayn instinctively pulled her in for a hug, cradling her head with his hand. “Shh... shh... I know... I got you,” he repeated, rubbing her back.They stayed like that for a few minutes, Zayn repeating comforting words to her while she cried into his shoulder, before Leigh-Anne was able to collect herself enough. She pushed away, wiping away stray tears from her puffy eyes with her thumb. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.””Don’t worry. Look, I get it, man. I’m the only Pakistani in a band of, how to put this nicely, white teen boys. Niall is as pale as a sheet. Poor lad gets sunburned extremely easily, though.” This made Leigh-Anne laugh a little.”I’ve never really traveled as much as we have these past two years on tour and this is our first time in America. It’s just... it’s hard not to pick up on it.” Her voice was nasally and she sniffled a few times in between words. “The amount I get pulled aside for the so called “random searches” in every airport here compared to the other girls. I don’t understand. Like I do, but-“”But you don’t see the point of it all. I get it. It sucks, man. Sometimes, there will be days when Liam will tell me not to go on Twitter.” Zayn sighed. He knew how she felt. She was still so new to all this. He had a few years of experience on the girl. “There will be god awful things being said about me, my family, my religion, my nationality. Even when flooded with love, it’s the really hateful ones like those that get to you.””I feel so stupid and powerless. I read a comment saying I’m only in the band because I’m black or- or there will be some calling me the “n” word and it just ruins the day. Some stupid comment like that. I hate it,” Leigh-Anne says, feeling tears threatening to fall again. She blinks them back furiously, looking at her feet. “I hate how they can make me feel so ugly just because of my skin color.””Come here,” Zayn hugs her once more, taking her in his arms. “It’s sad we live in a world like this. But I choose to believe our kids won’t have to go through this. And just remember, there will be one racist or one hater in a pile of millions of people whose lives you’ve improved by being you.””Thank you for everything,” she says quietly. He strokes her hair before the two pull away. “I’m glad you’re dating Perrie,” she joked, earning a chuckle from Zayn.”Come on. The lads are all down at McDonalds. Probably wondering where we are, too.” The two made their way over to McDonalds, finding the table with all their friends. Harry spotted the two first and pointed a fry in their direction.”Are you alright, Leigh-Anne?” Liam was the first to ask when they reached the table. Leigh-Anne gave a genuine smile and nodded. She was alright now.”Take a fry, both of you,” Jade offered, holding out a red cardboard holder with fries inside.”Roar!” Niall walked up behind Leigh-Anne and shook her shoulders. When she turned to look at him, he had a fries on either side of his mouth as if they were fangs. Everyone bursted into laughter and began side conversations.”Leigh-Anne. I’m really sorry that I went too far. I just-“ Jesy began to apologize, but got cut off by Leigh-Anne embracing her with a warm smile.”Thanks for looking out for me.” Jesy eased up and gave Leigh-Anne a squeeze back, now feeling less guilty over what had happened previously.”Thank you, babe,” Perrie said softly, her arm around her boyfriend’s waist. “I hate how there are some things I can’t shield her, or any of the girls for that matter, from.””It’s a scary world. But she’s lucky to have friends like you. It’s important she doesn’t ever go through this alone. And I’m lucky to have a girlfriend like you.” Zayn placed a kiss on the top of her head and smiled.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
2013
There was a three hour gap in between when One Direction and 5 Seconds Of Summer had to be at the arena for mic check.“I’m bored,” Harry groaned as he bellyflopped onto the couch Zayn happened to be trying to take a nap on. Zayn quickly shoved the curly haired boy off, mumbling something along the lines of “bug off, man”. Feeling the rejection from one band mate, he decided to try the next, jumping onto Liam, who laid sprawled out on the bed.Liam sighed, putting his phone to the side of him and looked at Harry. “I suppose that means you want me to do something about it”. Harry nodded his head like a hyper puppy waiting for the ball to get thrown. “How about this. Why don’t we walk around the city for a bit?”Zayn was already peacefully asleep and Harry already disturbed him once. It seemed mean to do it again. Harry left a text for Zayn, telling him where they went so he wouldn’t be confused when he woke up. That is, if he did before they were back. That could vary.Ashton answered the hotel door and the moment he opened it, a string of curse words were heard from inside, being shouted by Michael. An intense FIFA game was being played on Louis’ XBox by Louis, Michael, Niall, and Luke. Calum watched from the bed, laughing hysterically at Michael’s hard loss, and heckling him for it. “Dude, that was horrible! You suck.””Me and Harry, we’re gonna go out, around the city, for a bit. Any of you wanna join us?” Liam asked, not sure who would want to be disturbed. The answer ended up being what he should’ve guessed: no one.“Hell no, lad. Sorry, but I’m tied up and we need to decide this,” Louis replies, not even glancing up from his game. However, he did manage to recruit the two Australians not playing. Ashton didn’t really have much of an interest in the video game in general and Calum was up for a change of scenery.With no real destination, the four who left the hotel, being Liam, Harry, Calum, and Ashton, they ended up mainly just wandering in a big circle and stopping off for ice cream, twice. “You could never have to much ice cream” was Ashton’s defense.”I’ll get the triple brownie thing in a cone. And Calum, what do you wan-“ Ashton turned around to ask his band mate, but his head swirled around, scanning the crowd once without spotting the Kiwi. Liam was right next to him and Harry had wandered a bit to the left to greet some fans who saw them. “Liam, you see Calum?”This time it was Liam’s turn to do a double take, not seeing Calum after looking around twice. “Harry, mate, do you know where Calum went?” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to make sure the Cheshire boy would hear him over the girls he was chatting with and the bustling of New York City. Harry shook his head and shot the two a confused look. Liam rubbed his forehead with a groan. “How did we manage to lose a six foot Australian? Ashton, try giving him a ring.”Ashton pulled out his phone and probably a half a second after he put the device up to his ear, Harry reached around in his pocket to pull out a phone that wasn’t his. “Oh, hello, Ashton. You know, Calum asked me to hold his phone when he tied his shoe and I forgot to give it back.”—”Uh, excuse me, Miss. Could I borrow your phone? I sorta lost my friends and I don’t have my phone with me,” Calum asked an old lady who was sitting alone at a table. He must have taken a wrong turn at some point when he wasn’t paying attention. He remembers Ashton wanting more ice cream and was rather surprised at how quiet he was later on.”Of course! Go right ahead,” she said in a sweet voice. The lady kind of reminded Calum of those little old ladies who you’d see on tv shows knitting a hat. She began fishing around in her magenta purse, but continued the conversation. “You don’t sound like you live in New York City, with an accent like that. Where are you from?””I’m from Australia. I’m visiting America with my band,” Calum explained. While he chatted, he did keep glancing around in hopes he would spot one of his friends.”Oh, that sounds like so much fun! Back when I was young, which, if you would believe, was after the dinosaurs all went extinct,” she joked and gave a laugh which made Calum smile. “I went to Israel with two other friends. I had an aunt I recently got in touch with and the other two had various family living there. It was not quite the vacation I expected. Not even close. Much more religious then I expected. But, I wouldn’t do anything differently- here it is!” The old lady interrupted her own story once she was able to pull out a cellphone and hand it to the Australian. “I was worried I left it in the McDonald’s bathroom.””Thank you so much. I should only be a minute.” Calum began to put in Ashton’s number. However, it run twice before hanging up. He should’ve figured. Odds that Ashton would pick up an unknown number would be slim. He shot him a quick text, telling his bandmate it was him and where he was, in hopes Ashton would see it and answer. He didn’t know Harry or Liam’s numbers so there was not much of another option.”No reply?” the old lady assumed, giving Calum a frown. She pulled out the chair next to her and patted it. “You are welcome to take a seat and wait if you want. Sit, sit. Oh! Would you like a mini cupcake? They are delicious!”Calum took a seat in the chair the lady had recommended for him. He couldn’t leave on account that he told Ashton the area he’d be in and it seemed rude to say no. However, he did try to deny the cupcake. He felt bad about first borrowing her phone and then taking her food. “No, that’s alright.”The old lady was insistent, however. She pushed a small, white box with a rainbow logo on top, towards Calum. “Nonsense! Go on, take one. I bought 10 for my granddaughter, Zoe. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if one was missing. Now tell me. You said you are in a band? What are you here for? You sure did come a far distance.””I’m touring, actually. I’m opening for a boy band called One Direction.” Calum figures she probably had no clue who they were. He didn’t mean to be rude. But she was pretty old. However, much to his surprise, she nodded in understanding.”Oh! One Direction. Zoe loves them. Last year, for Hanukkah, I bought her like a sweatshirt and a poster of them. Sweatshirts are so expensive these days. Also one from this band, Five Days of Summer, or something along those lines.” Calum tried to suppress a laugh. Emphasis on the “tried”. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to bother correcting her, though. But she looked a bit confused at why he had laughed so he had no choice.”The band, actually my band, is called Five Seconds Of Summer. But it’s fine. That’s cool that she is a fan,” he replied, finally picking up a tan, baby cupcake. It had a small blob of white frosting and a cookie dough bite on top.”I could have sworn it was days. Oh well. What do I know? I’m old. Hah!” The old lady picked up a cupcake as well and they tapped their cupcakes together before eating. She was right, Calum thought it was delicious. “You know what she would love, if you don’t mind, is if you could make a quick video for her.” After the old lady had been so nice to Calum, he couldn’t say no. It was the least he could do. He took the phone from her, gladly, and held it out to film.
. . .
It was basically just throwing darts at a dart board. That’s what it felt like. How would they find one boy in one of the most popular cities in the United States?Harry suggested, probably for the sixth time, that they put it up on Twitter. “Why don’t we just say “Help, we lost an Australian in New York City. If seen, please let me know”?” And everytime it got vetoed by Liam. He didn’t want people to take it seriously and worry Calum was lying in a ditch somewhere.Ashton’s pocket buzzed. But he didn’t bother answering because it was an unknown number. The three of them decided to retrace their steps, thinking maybe the Kiwi realized none of them were with him and he stopped where he was.Of course, when they were around three or four blocks from the first ice cream place, Ashton decided to check the time and saw a text from an unknown number. He was going to delete it, assuming it was spam, but he say Calum’s name right away and opened it. “Guys, so I found him.”“Where and how?” Harry asked with a confused look on his face and the Australian just read the text out loud, leaving out the part of the text being sent almost twenty minutes ago. They walked mostly the same path they came from until there was a fork in the road and they saw where Calum went wrong.The area Calum said he was in was this cute little outdoor place with benches and tables all over, as well as some food carts. They were a bit confused when they found him at a table, chatting with an old lady.”Hey, lads. This is Cynthia,” he said once he saw his three friends finally approaching.”So these are the tour buddies? Oh, you are all so cute!” The three exchanged looks and odds are, they were all thinking the same thing. Man, this lady reminded them of the sweet grandma who would be on tv, in a rocking chair, knitting a little hat.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
2013
Louis had been in the recording booth now for forty five minutes past when he was supposed to end. The Doncaster boy kept asking to redo this one part of “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”. Harry was growing a bit tired and annoyed, waiting for Louis to finish. He needed to record his part and it was getting late.”Louis, hurry up!” Harry whined, spreading his limbs out on the couch like a starfish.Louis held up a finger and answered with a “Just one more time” even though that is the same answer he gave the last five or six times Harry told him to hurry up. Harry was contemplating throwing something at the window and seeing what would happen. Sometime in between the eighth and ninth times Harry asked, Niall wandered into the room with a bag of popcorn.”Louis still isn’t done? He’s been in there for a hell of a long time,” Niall commented. Harry reached a hand out, waving his fingers to signify to Niall he wants popcorn. The blonde understood the message and poured a few pieces into the palm of his hand.Harry shook his head and Niall raised an eyebrow. He knocked on the door of the recording booth and waited for Louis to answer. “How come you’ve been in there for so long?””Look, I’m just trying to make it good. That’s all. My god, why don’t you guys want this album to be good?” Niall took a bit of a step back, trying not to look hurt or startled by the fact his bandmate just snapped at him out of no where. But his face ended up with a mixture of both.This got Harry off the couch pretty quickly. He expected for Doncaster boy to get angry as much as Niall did. “Louis! I don’t know what you are so pissed off over. But you can’t take it out on who you please,” he scolded. When the curly haired boy was angry, his voice got pretty low and it would send chills down any spine.“It’s fine, Harry,” Niall said, putting a hand on the defensive boy’s shoulder. It was a well known fact Niall was the equivalence of the little brother of the group. All the members were a little protective over him.Louis was, too, and immediately regretted that he attacked the boy. “Look, lad. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to come out so rude. It’s just the stress.”Niall nodded slowly. Louis may not be one to hold his tongue, but he rarely got angry at his friends, unprovoked. “What’s gotten into you? Is everything okay?”Louis ran a hand down his face and let out a long breath. He owed at least Niall an explanation. After all, he did snap at the boy for no reason. “I just... I don’t know, to be honest. I want to stand out. I want to be an important member in the band. I don’t want to always be the one with the least solos. I’m always looked over and I feel like I’m not valued, sometimes. I know it sounds like such a stupid thing and I probably sound like such-“Niall didn’t let his rambling continue as he engulfed the Doncaster boy in a hug. Barely a hesitation from Harry before he joined the hug as well. “Why would you think- Do you really think you aren’t an important member?” Harry asked. He feels Louis raise his shoulders in a shrug for an answer.”That’s just bull. You are one of the most important members,” Niall said as he pulled away from the mini group hug.“Louis, why didn’t you ever say anything?” Harry frowned. He really wished he wasn’t just finding out about this now and from the look of Niall, the Irish boy felt the same. It was strange because Louis was always the most confident and outgoing out of all of them. “I mean, you were the one who talked to managent about getting a week off from recording because Zayn missed Perrie, badly. You got more security when Niall completely freaked out in the airport. You could have just asked for a solo in a song you didn’t have one in.”“I’m the oldest. It’s my job to look after you lads,” Louis simply replied, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked up and took a shaky breath. “The contract of older brother never said I had to look out for myself.” His attempt at a joke was rather weak.”Louis, you are one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. I mean you’ve got serious guts in general and you’re never afraid to speak your mind. Your voice is amazing and you never fail to lighten the mood. You are an incredible song writer. Do I need to go on?” Louis looked at Niall and felt his eyes watering, which he quickly attempted to blink away and cover it up with an eye roll. “We are a family. It’s not a one way deal. We all look out for eachother.””That was one of the most sappy things I’ve ever heard you say. Would you like a Grammy?” Louis successfully joked as he wiped away a tear with his thumb. He threw an arm around each boy and ruffled Harry’s hair in the process, which did annoy him a tad. “But thanks, lads. Really. You guys are my family. You always will be.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
2015
“No, that wouldn’t work because we’d be three and a half minutes over.” Michael argued back at his bandmates, all sitting around eachother and the four members of One Direction at the Billboard Music Awards. “We need to cut something.”Their manager had called two hours ago, reminding them they needed to finalize their set list for the performance at the AMAs, something they put off doing on account of being busy with everything else happening.”We have to keep “She Looks So Perfect,” Luke chimed in, putting a star next to the song title written on the back of a receipt Michael had pulled out of his pocket.”So we cross out either “Heartbreak Girl” or “What I Like About You”. We can’t do both,” Calum said, rubbing his forehead. The night was stressful enough. Just the idea of paparazzi watching their every move, waiting for an interesting story like the one about how Harry Styles found an orange on the floor and ate it once, or the fact people he’s idolized since he was ten are sitting a few rows down.“But, dude, I’ve been saying for months how I wanted to do “What I Like About You” at the Brits and that never happened. We need to keep it on.” Ashton grabbed the pen from Luke and put a star next to the song he badly wanted to do despite not getting agreement from the rest of the band.The four erupted into arguments on who wants what song and what song is doable. Calum felt like his head was going to explode, so he did what he does best when he’s stressed. He stood up, mumbling “I’ll be right back”, and made his way outside.The table had gone silent the moment Calum walked away, worried looks littered the faces of the Five Seconds Of Summer members and the four boys in One Direction could tell they knew where Calum went and it wasn’t good. “What’s up with Calum, lads?” Liam asked. He was a very motherly person and was the one to make sure everyone was okay at all moments.”Whenever he gets stressed, his first idea has become to light a cigarette and give it a smoke,” Ashton replied with a frown that was matched by the other boys at the table the moment he said it. “He just started. We don’t really know when. But it is recent enough for it not to surface in the news yet.””We are really worried about him,” Luke said quietly, his hands fiddled with the white napkin to his left. “He’s so young and he already gave into a filthy habit.”The members of One Direction sent glances between the four of them. Louis and Liam knew what it was like. They both smoked and Liam has been trying to quit. It’s hard once you are too deep into the habit and they both are. None of them wanted to see Calum fall hand to the same fate.”You guys stay here. Let me and Harry go talk with him,” Niall offered. He doesn’t remember what actually happened. But he was extremely drunk one night when he was around nineteen and a photo of him smoking ended up surfacing around. He not only worried the fans, he got a call from his parents who were heartbroken that they thought he would actually start smoking. He promised them it was a stupid and drunk mistake and that was the only time he ever has and ever will.There were a few times when Harry had requested a different jet when Zayn and Louis had planned on smoking and he didn’t want a part of it. He hated the smell of all the drugs they did.Calum leaned his head against the wall. It was dark. The paparazzi only swarmed the front. They didn’t expect stars to skip out the side doors and hang out in the alleyway next to the building. But here Calum was, a cigarette in his left hand.”Hey, Calum.” The voice of a familiar Irish fella became apparent. He had to admit, he was glad it weren’t one of his bandmates.”You walked out, mate. And I didn’t realize you smoke.” Harry’s voice rang closer as they approached, his voice slow as usual. Calum lifted the cigarette to his mouth and took a puff before sighing.”It’s recent,” he muttered with a groan. He refused to make eye contact with either One Direction member. He knew they were the two who didn’t smoke. “I just needed some air to think. The amount of people was making it hard to think.”“So you came outside to smoke?” Niall asked, only a hint of judgement in his voice. “You are only nineteen, Calum. Are you sure this is the way you want to deal with stress?”Calum groaned, again, rolling his eyes. He wasn’t in the mood to be lectured. “It’s not a big deal. Just go back inside.””It is, though. It kills your lungs,” Niall argued. But he could tell he was only irritating the Australian. He put a hand on Calum’s shoulder and received a slightly dirty look from him. “You can’t sing if you’re lungs are crap. It’s a filthy habit.”“I said go inside,” Calum said with a nasty tone and shrugged Niall’s hand off him. He brought the cigarette to his lips again, much to the dismay of the two One Direction boys.”Calum, how would your mum react if she knew that you-“ Niall began to say. But he got abruptly cut off by an increasingly annoyed Australian.“Just leave me alone!” Calum snapped at the two and banged a hand on the wall behind him. “God, I don’t need you to tell me what is bad to do and what isn’t.””Well, clearly you do!” It was surprising enough when the Kiwi boy snapped. But seeing Harry angry was not a fun sight. It was clear the slow talking lad was fed up with Calum’s decisions. “I’m not going to stand out here and debate with you since you clearly don’t care. But just know, you aren’t only screwing over yourself, mate. But you are also hurting your band, your family, and your fans. It’s a pretty rubbish thing to do, mate.”Hearing him say all this struck a cord with Calum. He thought once all was said, Harry and Niall would have finally left him alone. But they didn’t. They were waiting for his response and the Australian was kind of glad they did. He felt a tear roll down his cheeks, that were heated from embarrassment. “It’s just... I can’t-... I don’t know how to handle this all. There is so much, like, happening and I’m supposed to be the one in the band able to keep the mood up, even though I wish I could just scream.”Harry slowly walked over, followed by the Irish boy close behind. He lifted Calum’s tan hand and removed the cigarette from it, rubbing the tip on the wall to put it out. Niall proceeded to pull Calum into a hug. “How do you do it? How have you not been crushed by all of the stress?” he muttered into Niall’s shoulder.”With help from my friends and the lads, especially. Not a single person can carry the stresses of this business and not feel crushed sometimes. You have let this all build up and now, the only way you know how to deal with it is by smoking. That isn’t good,” Niall said softly, rubbing Calum’s back. While Niall comforted the young Australian, Harry texted the 5 Seconds Of Summer bandmates to come outside. He figured it was best Calum told them all this now.It didn’t take long for Ashton to see the text and tell the other two, excusing them from the table. When they got outside, they saw their bandmate in the arms of Niall with Harry rubbing his back. Harry waved them over and nudged Calum. The Australian rubbed his red nose before turning to face his friends, or the guys who were basically his brothers. “I’m having trouble handling everything that’s happened, an-and I’ve let it get too fa-.”Michael stopped him from continuing the sentence by walking over and wrapping his arms around his bandmate. Ashton and Luke didn’t hesitate to join in the group hug. “Calum, it’s okay. We are here for you,” Michael said, softly.”We can help you, mate. Please, just talk to us when you feel all of the pressure, or you just feel down, in general. And we will help you quit smoking. Okay? You aren’t fighting this alone and you never will,” Luke promised and got a nod from Calum, signaling he would accept the help offered to him. He didn’t want to lose his career that he loved so much to the habit he picked up.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
2017
It was common knowledge that Leigh-Anne was a bit of a klutz. She trips over her own feet even when not in heels. Usually, it provided the British girl and her friends high quality entertainment and a good laugh, especially when times are full of stressed.”Eyeliner- I cant find my eyeliner!” Perrie whined. They had about a half an hour before it was time, once again, to open for Ariana Grande on the tour. All the girls, aside from the eyeliner-less Perrie, had a full face of makeup and were either getting their hair styled or warming up. The blonde got lucky, as Jesy had watched her put her eyeliner down just minutes earlier and easily pointed out where it was.Leigh-Anne thanked the crew member for the kettle of boiling water, which she used to fill up her vocal steamer before handing it off to Jade, who was patiently waiting next to her while bobbing up and down with anticipation for the show in the near future.”Thank you, my lady,” Jade said with a voice of excitement as she proceeded to fill her own steamer up. Leigh-Anne took a seat with the vocal steamer in hand and took a breath in. However, what the curly haired girl neglected to realize was not only did she fill the glass too high up, she had it backwards.It all basically happened in slow motion for everyone watching. Leigh-Anne went to breath in and all anyone can do is watch as it tips over and the boiling water spills all over the poor girl’s legs. What followed was a pained cry for help.Leigh-Anne could barely breath. It felt like the skin on her legs were peeling right off, which it probably was. She felt, simultaneously, a mixture of dizziness, but also extremely aware of the fact it felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing her. People began yelling around her for water and to call the ambulance, helpful words like that. But all the girl could focus on was making the pain stop.Perrie’s blonde haired mom, Debbie, grabbed three water bottles from the fridge in the room next to the room the scene was happening in. One was placed on the nearest table she saw and the other two were handed to backup dancers offering to help.Instinctively, when Leigh-Anne spotted the open water bottle, she pulled the hand holding it so the cold water would fall on her burning skin. She felt a hand, belonging to her mother, rub her shoulder and Jade’s hand wrapped around Leigh-Anne’s own so that she could squeeze it. “It stings,” she hissed, tears forming in the corners of her two dark eyes.”I know, baby. I know,” Leigh-Anne’s mother, Debbie said. It took about ten minutes before they could calm Leigh-Anne down and get her burns under control. Perrie mentioned someone taking Leigh-Anne to the hospital and the dark skinned girl’s eyes went wide.”Now? No way. We can’t go now! There’s the performance,” Leigh-Anne protested. No one knew how she intended to do the performance considering the moment she stood, a wave of dizziness hit her and she stumbled. “I’ll be fine for the show.””I know you don’t want to, darling. But these are serious burns. The water was boiling. Your legs could have damage,” Jesy said sympathetically. She knew how the injured girl felt.”I’m disappointing the fans,” Leigh-Anne said, her head in her hands. The burn mark still burned, though not as much as it did when the event first occurred. Now, she was more annoyed and frustrated at herself for being so clumsy. She could argue all she wanted, but she knew there was no way she’d get past her three band mates and the mothers on the tour to preform.A pink robe was given to Leigh-Anne to wear before the singer took a seat in the wheelchair. “This is so embarrassing,” she mumbled, rubbing her forehead. Her mother offered to give Leigh-Anne the sunglasses she was wearing as a disguise. But that didn’t make Leigh-Anne feel much better and she rejected the idea.
. . .
”Hey,” Ariana Grande appeared in the doorway, giving the door a soft knock despite it being open. “I wanted to check up on you before I have to go in stage.” Leigh-Anne shrugged, her face showing nothing but upset. Her mother spent the past ten minutes since they had gotten back from the hospital trying to lift her daughter’s spirit, but has seen no success so far. She shot Ariana a greatful look, hoping maybe she could make her daughter feel better.”I hate it. I need to be out there,” Leigh-Anne commented as Ariana took a seat on the couch next to the injured girl. Two bandages were wrapped around the girl’s thighs, which she received from the hospital. Ariana could hear a faint sniffle, signifying the fact the girl had been previously crying, which was further supported by the tear stains left on her cheeks and her slightly red nose.”I know. It’s hard.” Ariana wrapped an arm around Leigh-Anne’s shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. She knew how upsetting it was to sit around, knowing you should be on stage preforming for so many fans. “This isn’t your fault, though, Leigh-Anne.””It sorta is. If I hadn’t been so stupid and filled the damn thing too high up or used it facing the wrong way, I would be fine and dancing on stage with the girls,” Leigh-Anne complained, running a frustrated hand down her curly, long hair. She was ready to pull out her hair, in all honestly. She ran a hand along her face to cover her eyes as she felt more angry tears forming.”Hey, hey. I have an idea,” Ariana said, pulling Leigh-Anne’s hand away from her face so she would look at Ariana. “What about going on for just the last number? Would that make you feel a little better?” Debbie looked very much like she wanted to argue. But the way her daughter’s eyes lit up made her think otherwise.”Don’t move around too much. Sing in place. It’s just about the fact you are making an appearance,” her mother instructed in the annoying, overbearing, mom-like fashion. This was probably the fourth time she said it. But, Leigh-Anne was just happy to go on stage, so she didn’t mind the procedures. “I love you. Don’t hurt yourself anymore. Break a leg.””I love you, too, mum.” Leigh-Anne gave her mother a kiss on the forehead before taking her handheld microphone from the sound technician and walked out on stage. Just from backstage, Debbie could hear the cheers the moment she walked out and she couldn’t help but feel pride in the amount of people her daughter has affected in such a positive manner.