Double Act (A One Direction Fanfiction)

Chapter Fourteen: Probably

Double Act - Chapter 14

~~ Louis' P.O.V ~~

"What do you mean, 'they've gone'?" I asked Joey as he stood in front of me. I didn't dare to raise my voice as Joey was stressed about Lara and Livvy's sudden departure, and I would hate to get on the wrong side of the stocky man in front of me. He gave me a sour look, but explained anyway.

"Personal matters," he shrugged, brushing past me. I could feel the disappointment welling up inside of me at the news.

Not only did I like Lara, quite a lot, but I really thought I had a chance at winning with them. They were good. Really good.

I spun around, following Joey through the clutter of camera's and microphones. It was the day that I would be revealing the lads as my special guests, and this very event would be taking place in just a couple of hours.

"Well, are they coming back?" I questioned, weaving my way after him. I heard him let out a breath through his clenched teeth, and knew instantly that I was getting on his nerves.

"They'll be back in time for the performances, yes," he said, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. A wave of relief washed over me, and I let out a sigh.

"Probably, anyway," he added. My hopes fell, and I froze. I watched Joey hurry away, deep in conversation with a member of the crew. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, just to check that this wasn't actually a dream.

I meandered through the crowd to find the other four boys, silently lost in my own thoughts. I was hanging every single hope I had on 'probably', and it wouldn't be the first time.

~~ Lara's P.O.V ~~

"This way please, ladies," the plump woman in front of us beamed, and ambled off down the bright corridor. Me and Liv followed closely behind. It didn't take long for us to arrive at where we assumed James was. She opened the door, and followed us inside.

And there he lay. A tired looking, unshaven 21 year old lad, his skin a light shade of yellow and about seven different wires plugged into him, with his legs covered by a thin plastic blanket and his hand firmly in the grasp of a pretty girl with tear stained cheeks and running mascara.

Molly looked up as we entered, and smiled weakly. Liv rushed over, hugging Molly and then, carefully, James. I stood there in the doorway, frozen in horror. James looked up at me, his face like a scorned child. He knew he shouldn't have kept it from us.

"You're a stupid, stupid boy," I told him, shaking my head. I walked over to his side, kneeling down and flashing Molly a reassuring smile. James smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Nice to see you too," he joked. I didn't joke back. This wasn't the place or the time to joke. "I didn't want to ruin your competition for you," he shrugged, looking over at Livvy, "But I guess I have now." Liv said nothing, but you could see she quite obviously didn't want to be anywhere else than by James' side. I knew the feeling well.

As soon as we had recieved the phonecall, we had dropped everything and rushed back here. It had taken 3 flipping hours and we were exhausted, but it was worth it.

It was silent for a moment before Liv spoke for the first time since we entered the room. 

"James, we aren't going back," she told him. He scowled. "Not while you're ill,"

"Yes you are! You have to!" he cried, jumping forward in the bed. We shook our heads, knowing that we could never go back there without knowing James was well. He groaned in frustration.