Harry:
You'd been trying to hold it together all day.
The cramps were next level—sharp, hot knives twisting in your lower belly, and the headache that had started that morning had now bloomed into something that felt like your skull was pulsing with every beat of your heart. Your back ached. You felt nauseous. And worst of all, you were on a cramped, chaotic One Direction tour.
The boys were electric today. The crowd had been massive, the energy even bigger, and you could tell Harry was riding the high. You didn't want to ruin it for him—not when he looked so happy, glowing with sweat and adrenaline, running off stage with that signature grin.
So you smiled back. Faked it. Said nothing.
You weren't part of the band. Just Harry's girlfriend tagging along on the European leg of the tour, a privilege that still sometimes didn't feel real. You were close with the boys, had become sort of like their honorary little sister—but tonight, even their laughter grated on your nerves.
The tour bus pulled away from the venue, and that's when the madness began.
The usual after-show chaos: someone blasting music, someone else drumming on the counter with empty bottles, Harry doing some ridiculous little dance in the narrow hallway. Niall and Louis shouting over one another, trying to guess a song intro. Zayn laughing so hard he almost spilled a drink.
It was all normal. Usually, it made you laugh too.
But not tonight.
Tonight, it made your skull feel like it might crack open. Every laugh was a punch, every song beat a stab behind your eyes. And then Louis threw a pillow at Liam and it accidentally smacked you in the shoulder.
That was it.
"Can you all just SHUT UP FOR FIVE MINUTES?"
Silence. Like someone had hit mute on the entire world.
All eyes turned to you.
Harry froze mid-step, one socked foot still slightly in the air. Niall blinked. Zayn's jaw dropped. Liam's eyebrows shot up. Louis... actually looked scared.
You never, ever raised your voice. Never snapped. Never even frowned for more than a few seconds.
And now you were standing in the middle of the bus, chest heaving, fists clenched at your sides, voice cracking as tears filled your eyes.
"Jesus—just stop yelling, stop the music, stop the screaming. My head is killing me and I feel like someone is stabbing my uterus with a flaming pitchfork and I just—" Your voice cracked completely. "I just need everyone to be quiet."
You didn't wait for a response.
You turned, stormed past the stunned boys, climbed into one of the empty bunks, and yanked the curtain shut. You curled up, back to the door, finally letting the tears fall freely now.
A minute later, you heard quiet footsteps. Then the curtain pulled gently back, and Harry's soft voice filled the silence.
"Hey," he said. No teasing. No push. Just a word full of worry.
You didn't turn.
"I didn't want to ruin it for you," you whispered.
He climbed in next to you, careful, curling his long limbs around your trembling body like a shield.
"What's going on, love?"
"I'm on my period," you whispered miserably. "And it's a bad one. Like really bad. And I didn't want to be that girl who complains while her rockstar boyfriend is having the time of his life."
