They'd just finished a concert and Niall had been as happy as ever, jumping around even when he wasn't supposed to and having a genuinely good time. But once he got off stage, and Paul had pulled him aside, he disappeared for a few minutes while the rest of the boys changed.
When he came back his happiness had evaporated and he didn't say a word as he pulled of his sweaty clothes and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt and practically sprinted out to the waiting tour bus.
It was easy to tell when something was wrong with Niall. It was easy because his usual laughter and smiles would be replaced by silence and blank looks. The fact that they noticed wasn't really an accomplishment because the real challenge came in trying to get him to tell them what was going on.
One thing that they knew Niall absolutely hated was people worrying about him. He figured that everyone had their own problems and it was unfair to expect them to take his on as well. So, he decided to keep his problems quiet.
Liam decided he needed to figure out whatever it was that was bothering him before they got to their next down. Luckily, America was huge and it took ages to get even to the next state so he had a while to try and yank him out of it.
While the rest of them finished up in the arena Niall had already taken it upon himself to slip up in his bunk and try to find sleep.
"Paul!" Zayn called when they were starting to head out. The older man turned back to look at them and Zayn asked, "What's up with Niall? What'd you say to him?"
"Nothing. I just told him that his mom had called. She told me to have him call her as soon as possible. It sounded serious." Paul told them.
The four nodded and were soon being hurried onto the bus while they took off. "Where is he?" Harry asked.
"In his bunk already." Louis told them, coming back from the bathroom, he eyebrows creased in concern, "He's usually the last to bed after a concert."
"There's something wrong with him." Liam stated, obviously. "We'll talk to him in the morning, let's just let him sleep now."
And so that night they went on as normal, watching some TV and flipping through pages on Twitter but their minds were distant as they thought about Niall's strange behavior. So, they turned in early as well, quietly climbing into their own bunks in respect to Niall who was in a fitful sleep.
Niall was last to wake up, which wasn't odd, but when he came into the kitchen area to get something to eat, he didn't look like he'd gotten a wink of sleep which was odd considering he'd spent the most time in his bunk.
"Are you alright Niall?" Harry asked, scooting over so the blond boy could sit by him.
Niall made an uncommitted grunt when sitting down with half a plate of food and Harry put a hand on his back, rubbing up and down a little bit, "You don't look okay."
"What'd your mom need?" Zayn asked.
"How'd you know she called?" Niall answered.
