One Direction: A Hot Mess

Chapter 14

Zayn's POV

"Okay boys, we are going to start the interview," a woman said to us. She had a headset and a business suit on. Five assistants came over to us and clipped microphones to our clothes and then went away. The woman pointed to the ceiling. "We're going to raise the couch now. " She motioned to a man by a some contraption in the corner. I gulped.

"Hang on," I muttered. Slowly the couch began to lift off of the ground. Our feet left the floor and we rose higher and higher. I glanced down the line. Louis, the closest one to me, was staring straight ahead, expressionless, which was strange for him. Next in line, Liam and Niall were just talking to each other. I heard some mention of Nando's. Oh boy. Finally, Harry, who was on the other end if the couch, was gripping the armrest painfully hard and had his eyes closed. Hmmm, seems I'm not the only one who's a little worried by this, I thought.

We were on some strange American talk show. Apparently every interview began with the interviewees begging lowered down from the ceiling. Strange... And a little terrifying considering how high up we were.

But it was kind of quiet up there. Peaceful.

Until the wall separating us from the audience rose. Screams erupted. Someone yelled "SEND YOUR WORD OUR DIRECTiON!" I couldn't help but laugh at the reference to our previous interview. Our fans remember everything.

Just then the screaming multiplied. Louis and Niall were both openly looking over the edge.

"The interviewer just arrived," Louis said quietly. "Remember what we talked about."

Niall, Harry, and I nodded. Liam just stared straight ahead.

Because the night before, we'd gathered in the apartment that Niall and I shared. It was an unofficial One Direction meeting.

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Louis sat on a high kitchen chair dragged into the middle of the living room. Liam and Harry were sitting on a couch. Niall and I were on the floor, leaning against the wall on the other side of the room from the couch.

It was silent until Lou spoke. "I've called you here because things have, well, been shit lately." Silence. "Things have been falling apart and no one seems to really care. Zayn. Harry." He gestured to both of us without looking. "You two have been at each other's throats since we got here. And over what?!" His voice was rising now. "What happened to bros before hoes?!"

"She's not a hoe," Harry growled quietly. But Louis ignored him. He was on a roll.

"What happened to band mates? What happened to brothers?!" We all flinched as his voice echoed through the otherwise silent apartment. "And you've both been so preoccupied in your own mess that no one has given a second thought to Liam."

I looked at my friend. Liam was always so...there. So put together. He really was the glue that held One Direction together. He would probably be leading this meeting instead of Louis if...

He didn't look so empty. There was an emptiness, a darkness in his eyes that had never been there before. He didn't even look up at the sound of his name, just continued to stare down at the carpet.

It scared the hell out of me.

"Liam," Niall began, and suddenly the attention was shifted to him. "Buddy, we know you're not okay. But we can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong."

"I'm fine," Liam said, but his voice was flat and unconvincing.

There was another awkward silence. This was probably the most silent it had ever been when the five of us got together. And honestly, it made me sad.