Chapter Text
One more show is done (and one more to go). As the stadium goes dark, I go back to my calm mind space. I go before and after shows; it helps me find myself after such a crazy time. The boys and I have fun, don't get me wrong, but it can be a lot at times. However, I can still hear the faint whisper of the screaming fans. As I start to pack my guitar, there is a sudden buzz from my phone. I took it out and saw my mother calling, so I quickly picked up and wondered why she should call since she knows that the boys and I were going to Mullingar next anyway.
"Hi"
"Hello love, I know that you might be busy. Still, I have to tell you something quite serious to tell you. Do you have a moment?"
As I was about to answer with a "yes," I saw the look on the boys' faces and thought twice before answering. We were all tired, and I knew that saying "yes" might elongate our chance to get to the bus faster, so I respond by saying,
"No, I have to go, but I will be home tomorrow, so you can tell me then?"
"Oh, okay. That is fine. Come home safely. I love you so much. Goodbye."
"Goodbye"
I could tell that she was not too happy that I did not have the time to hear what she had to say. You see, it's not like I did not want to. It was just that the faster we got to the airport, the quicker I could be there in person to hear what she had to say. As I was just about to get up off the floor, I looked up to see that the boys had already left and it was just me in the room. I was fine with that, so I got up and looked around the place just one last time before I turned to leave.
As I walked to the bus, where all the other boys were, I looked down for a quick second to make sure I had grabbed my phone. When I looked up again, Louis was standing in front of me with a worried face.
"Hey mate, what is up? You seem a little quiet after the show. Is everything okay? I heard your mum called. Is everything okay at home? You seem a little sad after the call. I know that you know this, and it might just be boring at this point, but you know that all of us are here for you. We are family, and we have always been from the beginning."
I look at him, and I know that he is right about all of this. They are my family, and yes, I might have grown up with an older brother, but that does not mean I don't love these boys with my life; I get to do what I love with them.
"It is nothing, Lou. I am just tired and want to go home, that is all."
Louis gives me one more look and grabs my bag for me. "Okay, let's do that then," he says with a smile.
I am Niall James Horan from one of the biggest boy bands in the world right now. We are on a tour of Europe. It is a reunion tour since the boys, and I wanted to do since we went on hiatus, and I cannot wait to go home. The reason? Once we get there, we have a few days off, and the boys and I have planned to sit around all day. And with the looks on our faces, you can tell we need rest.
I finally hop on the bus and sit down next to Harry, who immediately picks up that I am not okay.
"What is wrong, Ni? You look, well, sick, but you are not warm. Ni, talk to us, please. What is wrong?"
I remembered what Louis had told me when we were still outside, and I knew that the boys would be there no matter what, so I told them what my mother had said. She sounded worried and scared all at the same time, and I can't help but think that she might have wanted to tell me something then and there, but I hung up, thinking it would be better if we got home first so I could be there for her in person, but now I feel like that was a bad idea.
"This is bad, guys. What if something has happened, and I just ignored it because I was selfish about wanting to come home?"
And with that, we are only home for a few days.
"What if it is something that will take time? We don't have time, guys. We have days, and that is it."
"What am I going to do? I am worried, and I don't have any idea of what is happening; I should have taken the time to listen to what she had to say."
Harry held my hand tight and said, "It will be fine. We will all be there when she tells you whatever it is that she has to say, and we will worry about it then, okay?" Knowing that they had my back, I felt much better and comfortable.
As we drive to the airport, in pitch-black, Zayn, Liam, and Louis talk in the back of the bus, and Harry holds my hand, which has been a thing for years. But Harry cares for everyone, even though he is the youngest. I was so worried. I did not care what he was doing. I needed to get home and find out what had happened. This was killing me. The more I sat there, the more worried I got. We finally got to the plane; I was about to jump out of the bus and run to the plane. Harry right behind me, the boys knew we needed to get there as fast as we could. I know if I kept this up, I would make myself sick, so I rested my head against the window of the plane and closed my eyes, trying to think about anything but what might happen. After some time, we landed, and Harry woke me up with a slight wiggle. We hurried off the plane and all but ran to get our things and jumped in the van.
The boys tried to talk to me since they knew how scared I was the whole way there, but nothing worked. I had to get home. The drive was torture, I texted my brother, but he did not answer back fast enough. I tried my dad, but he did the same thing, and my mind started to think the worst,
"what if someone was hurt or something."
"Damn it Niall you had one job and fucked that up too."
I turned around and saw all the boys looking at me with worry in their eyes. Harry moved closer to me and held me close to him, and said some reassuring words, but that was not helping either, but I know he was trying his best. They all were, but none of it was helping. Once we entered the town, I did something that I never thought I would do, but these were my people, and this goddamn car was too slow for me. I told the driver. I did not care what management said, but he had to stop the vehicle. At first, he did not listen, but I just yelled "Stop," and he did. I opened the door and told him to drop the boys off as planned, and I would be there. I know a faster route through the woods; the boys tried to stop me, but it was no use. My brain knew I would be in a lot of trouble, but it was fine. I turned and ran into the wood behind us. I kept running, my chest burned, and my knee was killing me, but I had to keep going. Once I got to the clearing that I know all too well, I turned left. These were the woods where I had spent every day of my childhood. Hence, I know them well. I ran and ran till I saw the tops of houses. Everything hurt, and I knew I would pay for it once I got home; my body was begging me to stop. Still, I pushed on. I knew I had to; once I got to the paved road, I saw that the car that the boys were in had made it to my house.
I guess it was not that much of a shortcut, but it helped me. I needed this. I needed to know I had some control left in me; I needed to tell myself I fought. I ran till I made it to the boys, all but falling over once I stopped. I was sweating, and I banged on the back door, and my mother jumped from inside. I tiredly smiled at her, and she quickly opened the door just as I fell on the dining room carpet.
"What the hell Niall? What are you doing at the back door love, all the boys are at the front."
Right then, Greg, dad, and the boys made it in, and I managed to get up off the floor.
I heaved as I spoke, "you ... need... to ... tell... me ... what... you...were... talking... about ...last... night."
My mother looked at me and smiled, and I was getting mad now. "MUM NOW" I yelled, my voice bouncing off the walls of my childhood home, which made everyone in the house look at me in shock. The boys know I could be loud, but not like this. They looked scared of me, if I was honest. But my mother, nothing scared her. She just took my hand and sat me down with a glass of water.
"I will, Niall, once you are done losing your mind, you are home now, so that so breathe and just relax. I will tell you, I am excited to tell you, and so is your father, but not when you are in this way. Calm down first, and then we'll talk." I tried to protest, but all she said was, "are you calm?" and I had to shake my head, "no."
After some time, I knew that I was better, and so did mum. She came into the room with clean clothes and a towel. "Change first; then we'll talk promise." I looked around the room, and everyone nodded for me to do as I was told, so I got up and changed. Once I was back, my parents had taken a seat on the couch. I was told to sit in the middle of the two of them. Greg and Denise sat across from us, and the boys just sat around.
"Okay, how do I start this alright. I will just begin with we met someone your father and I and before you jump to anything, it is not romantic in any way. We are happy where we are in our lives, but this person is also very important to us. We will get a phone call that might change our life for the better in a little bit. For now, we have just to wait and be patient."