Fireproof [l.t]

Chapter 14

That night we're all packed into the tour bus, sitting around laughing and telling stories. The One Direction boys were amused with our prank, and they'd started telling their own stories about the mischief they'd gotten up to on past tours. As Niall talks about the one time that they managed to get go-karts brought to a stadium, I get up to get myself a bottle of water and then walk over to where Louis is sitting alone on the couch, on his phone.

"You're quiet today." I say, sitting down on the couch near him. He glances up at me with a brief smile, turns back to his phone to finish typing and then puts it away.

"Just catching up with some people." He replies, and I nod, not wanting to pry.

I take a sip of my water as we sit in silence on the couch, watching the others. They're all laughing and smiling, except Zayn, who I notice sitting silently and sipping on a drink in the corner. He's been withdrawn the last few nights, more than he usually is, and whenever we've actually sat together – which has been left often these past few days – he's never talked about it. I didn't want to pry, and a part of me was certain that he didn't really want to say anything, so I just let him know that I was there and waited. I'd found that if Zayn didn't want to talk about something then asking him about it would be more harmful than helpful.

At the start of tour, we'd spent most of our time together, but thinking on it now, that didn't really mean anything. I mean, I don't actually know much about him, about his likes and dislikes, or his dreams and goals, even little things like what he does in his spare time; we never really talked much when we sat together. I suppose that's what we liked about it, that we never felt the need to fill the silence, and we could just sit together without talking. But now I'm slowly realising that that's not what I need anymore.

The past week or so we rarely spent time together. In those quiet moments in between rehearsal's and before bed, where we would usually manage to seek each other out, almost instinctively, I barely saw him now. I'm not sure if that's because of me, because I haven't been seeking him out, or because I've found myself spending more time with Louis, who's so different to him. Or if it's because Zayn doesn't want to be found. Something is bugging him, and I want to help him, but it seems like he would rather be alone. Or maybe I'm just reading into nothing.

"Did you end up getting a good sleep last night?" Louis asks, and turn to him, the anxious edge to my thoughts clearing, when I see his smile.

"Yeah, I did. Thanks, for sitting with me. And, uh, for the blanket." I say, ducking my head as I feel my face heating up, for absolutely no reason. I clear my throat quickly. "Uh, did you end up sleeping at all?"

"I got an hour or two in the end. So, you enjoying the tour so far?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. A lot more than I was expecting to." Louis raises an eyebrow at me and leans back on the couch, draping his arms over the back of it. His hand hangs centimetres away from me and although I glance at it for a moment, I don't make an effort to move away from it. "I was kinda, uh, scared coming into this. Really scared actually."

"You shouldn't have been. You're a natural at all of this. When you're on stage, nobody would be able to tell that this is your first tour. I can't tear my eyes away from you."

I blush again, adjusting my seating and bringing up my legs to sit cross-legged, facing Louis with my back against the arm of the couch, hoping that the movement will distract him from my red face.

"Um, thanks. That means a lot." I say, not saying anything about the fact that the performing aspect was probably the least scary part about all of this. I also don't say anything about how equally captivating I find him when he performs, Instead I clear my throat and change the subject. "How about you, you enjoying the tour?