A One Direction Christmas

Chapter 1

"Unfortunately, it looks like we're going to be stuck here."

The four boys stared at Simon Cowell, their expressions a mix of disbelief and disappointment. There was only a beat of silence before they started talking all at once.

"Stuck? Here?"

"For how long?"

"Surely we can figure something out."

"You've got to be joking."

Simon held up a hand, his thick brows furrowing. "Boys." They quieted. "I've called around, I've talked to the airlines, I've tried it all. There's no flights going out for the next few days – the storm is supposed to last that long. I'm sorry to say it, but we'll have to cancel the concert in Portland."

The concert in question was one of the last ones of their holiday tour – an idea that had come up randomly in the marketing meeting, and one that none of the boys thought was actually happening until it was. While accustomed to touring the world, the infamous boy band One Direction had never done a holiday tour before. It had proven to be quite a hit – full of Christmas songs, faux snow, and Santa hats, and the fans couldn't seem to get enough. The tour was supposed to finish by going down the west coast of the U.S., and now it seemed the ending was coming quicker than expected. They had just finished their concert in Seattle and were supposed to be heading to Portland

The band members – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson – slumped in the seats of the Seattle airport, now reeling at the fact that they weren't going anywhere. People occasionally walked by the corners they were sitting in, some oblivious and others shooting them curious looks.

Harry looked up, brushing his brown curls away from his face. "I don't want to disappoint the fans."

Niall nodded in agreement and glanced at their manager, who was looking more irritated by the minute. "It's one of our last few concerts. There's really nothing we can do?"

Simon rubbed his forehead and sighed. "No. I told you, no planes are –"

"Who said anything about planes?" Louis interrupted. "What about a taxi? Or a bus?"

"Haven't you been listening?" Simon looked over in exasperation and pointed outside. "A huge snowstorm is expected to hit tonight."

Liam stood and pressed his face to the window, peering outside. There was a light dusting on the ground, and snowflakes were falling sparsely from the sky. "It doesn't look too bad to me," he said, turning back to the boys and Simon. "What if we left right now? Could we make it?"

Niall held out his phone, which had mapped the drive from Seattle to Portland. "This says the drive is less than three hours. If we left now, we could be there by dinnertime and get enough sleep to be ready for the concert tomorrow."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Louis exclaimed, standing suddenly from his seat. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his suitcase. "Let's go!"

Simon frowned deeply and gestured to the row of seats next to them, where the hair and makeup team and security team sat. "We'd need a decent sized bus. I don't think the airport even has buses for rent."

"C'mon, Simon." Harry urged.

"We gotta try!" Liam added.

It seemed like Simon was going to stare at them in antagonized silence forever, but after a moment, he walked over to the airline desk and began to chat with the woman sitting there. Then he was talking on the phone with someone, speaking animatedly. A few minutes later, he came back over, resigned.

"Let's go get on a bus."

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"Oi, do me a favor and keep it down," the driver said, glancing in the rearview mirror to where One Direction was sitting and hollering We Wish You A Merry Christmas. "I gotta focus on the road."

They had ended up renting two large SUVs, since buses, shockingly, seemed to be lacking at the airport rental service. The boys and Simon were in one car, and the hair, makeup, & security teams in the other. The rental desk woman had initially refused, saying that it was much too dangerous to make the drive with the upcoming weather, but after seeing who exactly needed the cars, she agreed; with the exception that the cars would be driven by two available drivers from the rental company, and snow chains would be in the trunks at the ready.

"Sorry, sir!" Niall said, elbowing Louis, who was singing the loudest.

The roads hadn't seemed too bad so far – they had passed quite a few cars initially as they were coming out of Seattle, and the driving had been smooth. The snow was only just now starting to come down, the flakes glittering in the night. They were about halfway there when the vehicle started to swerve.

"Whoa!" The boys yelled.

The driver gripped the wheel. "Don't worry," he said through gritted teeth. "Just a little ice." Once he had control of the car again, he slowly pulled over to the side of the road and turned the engine off. "I'm gonna put on the chains," he said gruffly, stepping out into the cold.

Once the chains were on, they kept on down the highway, this time at a slower speed. It felt like they were moving at a snail's pace, the roads dark and nearly empty.

Liam looked out the window nervously, watching as the snow continued to fall down heavier and faster. "We'll make it, right?"

"Of course we will," Harry said quickly. "Only a little ways to go, right?"

Simon was the one to pull out his phone, sighing. Being trapped in a car with four 20-something boys was not his idea of an ideal trip. "Looks like we're about ... 30 minutes out."

"Probably more like 45," the driver added. "The snow's getting thicker."

The snowflakes were nowhere near letting up. What had started off as delicate and pretty now felt aggressive and relentless. They could barely see a foot in front of them.

"Want to play 20 questions?" Niall asked.

No one had a chance to answer him before the car skidded again, this time even faster. Louis, who had been sound asleep, woke with a start, and the boys gripped onto each other tightly.

The driver cursed and tried to straighten them out. "I can hardly see anything," he growled. "This was a mistake."

"Is that an exit?" Harry asked, pointing to the right of the highway.

Simon frowned and looked at the driver. "Can we make it off the exit? We gotta get out of here."

The driver frowned right back at him. "You think I don't know that?" He shifted his eyes back to the road. "It's our only option, unless you'd like to be stuck out here."

Ever so slowly, the driver turned the wheel and they began their way up the exit. It was eerily silent in the car, all of them holding their breath until they miraculously passed through the exit and headed down a road. Lights began to shine through the snow as they found themselves on what seemed to be the main street of a town, and the driver came to a stop. It was now very dark and very cold, and they sat there quietly, the car heater roaring.

"What are we going to do?" Louis said, asking the question they were all thinking.