Times

Chapter 2

Grace's POV

Maria closed the screen of her computer and focused her attention on Rachel."Whats going on? Did something happen?"

"Well, i have good news and bad news. Good news first; One Direction is holding a concert right here in Seattle!"

Maria literally jumped from her seat. "Oh my gosh! Thats so awe-"

"Hold on a second!! None of us can afford One Direction tickets, theyre like $85!" I stopped Maria before she could get any happier.

"Actually, theyre on sale for $75. But thats where the good part comes in. Theyre also holding a contest to win 3 One Direction tickets! And, the winner also gets VIP passes to meet One Direction after the concert!" Rachel announced while her hands were placed firmly on my shoulders.

Maria suddenly jumped with joy. "Aaahhhhhh!!! Gracee! Can we preetttyy pleasssee enter the contest?? Ill give you $5! Ill clean the entire apartment! For goodness sake, I wont say a thing about One Direction until they announce the winner!!"

I thought for a second before answering. "Fineee! you dont have to give me any money, but i want this place to be spotless when i come back from work tomorrow!"

"YAAAAYYYY!! I love you sooo much Grace!" Maria's hands jumped unto my neck, and i hugged her back, smiling.

"Waaitt .... what was the bad news?" I asked Rachel as Maria and i broke away from our hug.

"Oh yeah ... Maria, open your computer and go to www.whatisgoingon.org , then click on One Direction."

Maria obeyed, typing up the web address and clicking on 'One Direction'. She then scrolled down as she read an article that was supposedly about One Direction. Her eyes slowly widened, and her mouth suddenly dropped.

"Grace, you have to come read this." I walked over to Maria, leaving Rachel standing near the door. Maria scrolled to the top of the page, and what i read next was completely astounding - not in the good way.

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Maria's POV

I listened to Rachel, typed in the website, and clicked on One Direction. I could not believe what i just read. My heart was beating faster and faster.

~

Whats Going On With One Direction?

You all know One Direction - Louis, Harry, Zayn, Liam, and Niall. Recent events have shown that something has been fishy between the five boys. We've all heard the rumors going on about some of these boys, but have we heard anything about Liam Payne lately?

Liam Payne, the "daddy" of One Direction, has been going through some of his own hardships. Payne's mother has been sent to the hospital last month due to a heart attack. Doctors are forbidding anyone from visiting her, because they believe that her situation may be greater than just a heart attack. This has been a great tragedy for Liam, but is this all that's on his table?

Just last week, Liam and his stunning girlfriend Danielle Peazer broke up.

"Danielle broke up with Liam, without telling him why. She just left." - An anonymous tipper tells us.

Ever since these two events, Liam has been acting unlike himself. He has been seen outside of bars and clubs late at night. He has also been in over a dozen arguments with the other band members just last week!

One Direction, along with Management, has decided that their last concert for their West Coast tour will be at Seattle, Washington.

"We're very sorry for the fans that wanted to see us at the rest of the tour locations. We promise to attend the 15 cancelled concerts once we get settled", One Direction tells us.

After their concert at Seattle, they will be taking a 'break' from their jobs. We all know that this break was meant for Liam Payne, but will the rest of the band be okay while one of their members are 'on hold'?

Stay tuned for more information.

~

How could this be happening? Just an hour ago, i was watching one of their amazing music videos, and they were all hyper and happy. How could Liam be feeling so depressed? He was probably the most normal guy in One Direction, and now hes been going to bars and clubs late at night?

"He shouldn't be solving his problems like that. That only makes them worse." Grace said after i told her to read the article.

"That's exactly what i was thinking. How could this be happening?" Rachel added. She was pacing around the room with a worried look on her face. "I hope they make up and Liam turns out okay."

"I don't really care how they turn out. This Liam dude should really get his act straight though. He's ruining 4 other people's careers, other than his." Grace added.

This is terrible. Very terrible.

"Well i definitely know one thing for sure. Now I HAVE to win those tickets to the concert next month."

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Liam's POV

"I wanna stay UP ALL NIGHT -"

I slammed my alarm clock to turn it off. I really have to change my alarm. I looked at the time. It's 6:30. Greeaat .. I think to myself. I woke up late again.

After i do my morning routine and change into my prepared outfit, i get into my car and drive to Louis's house. The entire band is meeting there today, and im already an hour late.

"Hey mate, had another bad day yesterday?" Harry greeted me at the door with a big smile. At least he was happy this morning.

"I don't know, Harry. I really don't anymore."

We both walk inside Louis's huge house. Zayn is sitting on the couch, and gets up to give me a hug once he sees me.

"It's ok, Liam. Management is a piece of crap, and i hope that one day, they can get their act straight." I nodded my head. Zayn's right. Ever since Management made up that bogus story about "my mom being sent to the hospital" and "me being seen at clubs and fighting with the band", I've lost 2000 followers on twitter and the followers that i have now ..... let's just say that most of them don't like what I've been doing. If only they knew the truth ...

My mom was sent to rehab, not the hospital. She was a major alcoholic, and management forced her to go there. Once she gets back, they're going to say that she's left the 'hospital', and shes better than ever. Danielle did break up with me, but only because she saw that i was becoming less popular. I thought we actually had something special! Figures. And Management decided to use our breakup as a sob story for me, so i could get more attention from our fans.

Oh, i definitely got more attention.....

Anyways, the club stories and the fights were both fake. Management wants us to take a break after the Seattle concert just to make this big lie sound even more real. And then, after exactly 2 months, i have to make a big apology speech in front of the world for something i didn't do.

"It's for your own good, Payne." Matt, the head of management, told me when i heard about this new plan. "If you didn't realize, you get the least attention of the 5 boys. With this, you'll have more attention than ever!"

I dont even care about the attention I got. I just wanted to sing with my four best friends. My fans are amazing, it doesn't matter if i get the least attention. And now, I'm positively getting the most hate of the five boys.

"Liam...... LIAM!" A voice calls. I'm called back into reality, and i go into the kitchen where Niall is eating breakfast.

"Come eat your pancakes before i eat them." Niall says with food in his mouth.

I cant help but smile at him. I sit down and eat. Niall swallows his food and looks at me. "Hey, everything's going to be ok. I'm sure of it. But until then, we only have 2 concerts left - San Francisco, and then Seattle. Then, we'll go through all of this Management nonsense together." He winks at me, then goes to get more pancakes.

"I hope it does turn out ok." I mumble to myself.