Truly Madly Deeply- Sequel to Nobody Compares (Louis Tomlinson Fic) *COMPLETED*

Chapter 32: I Want It That Way

Louis’s POV:

~September 18th~

 
Half way done I thought, Just a few more songs, and we can go to the hotel and sleep.
 
We were at a concert and just starting Twitter questions. We had been asked to sing “I Want it That Way” by The Backstreet Boys. Liam and Niall both took the liberty of taking over the song, with the rest of us singing a couple words now and then.
 
Niall started off.
 
“Am I your fire
Your one desire,” Liam joined in.
 
“Yes I know it’s too late
But I want it that way.” Liam turned to Niall and kept singing. The Niam shippers were going to go crazy over this…
 
“Tell me why
Ain’t nothin’ but a heartache
Tell me why
Ain’t nothin’ but a mistake
Tell me why
I never wanna hear you say
I want it that way.”
 
The crowd cheered loudly and I was glad for the ear plugs we all had. Everything else went by quickly after that. Soon we were all done with the concert. We took our final bow and we went back stage.
 
“Anyone else ready to crash?” I yawned stretching. The others nodded, all their energy gone. I saw Jennifer walk over to us from over Harry’s shoulder.
 
“Hey boys,” she said, smiling, “Good show tonight.” We all mumbled our thanks, too tired to say much else. She frowned, “Tired?” she guessed. We nodded, “Well, Paul wants to talk to you guys, you may want to find him. Jennifer’s phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket and answered it. She smiled when she heard the caller talk.
 
“Hey Nick,” she said. I watched her walk off and I sighed, feeling jealous that she had more freedom. Jennifer was a great girl, don’t get me wrong. She was fun to hang out with and all, but we were just friends and having our managements force the both of us to be ‘Lennifer’ was something neither of us wanted. What made things harder for me was that her management gave her more freedom. She could talk to Nick whenever she wanted, she could visit him whenever she wanted. Heck, she could even be seen with him in public! Valerie and I had to hide. Management wouldn’t even let Valerie leave the flat and if she had to, she’d be surrounded by guards. We both had to be so careful about our every action. The pressure to be perfect was overwhelming and it frustrated me so much.
 
The popstar life really isn’t all it’s expected to be.
 
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade the life I had now for anything. I was thrilled to be living my dream, but sometimes I wished my life could go back to the way it was before I auditioned for the X Factor. No crazy fangirls or paps stalking your every move. No pressure to be perfect. But more importantly, no management to butt in and fuck up your personal life.
 
“Come on,” Liam said, tired like the rest of us, “Let’s go find Paul.” We didn’t have to look foor long, finding him near the dressing rooms, talking on his cell phone. When he saw us walking towards him, he quickly wrapped up his conversation and hung up.
 
“Hi boys,” Paul said, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.
 
“Hey,” Harry said, “Jenn said you wanted to talk to us?” Paul nodded.
 
“Yeah,” he said, “I called Simon and asked him if he could run something by management.”
 
“What?” Zayn asked. Paul smiled.
 
“You’ve got the next week off,” he said, “No concerts, interviews, photoshoots, signings, or meet and greets for a week.” We all perked up at hearing that.
 
“And management agreed to this?” I checked and Paul nodded.
 
“They had to reschedule a few events,” Paul said, “But they’re okay with it.” I cheered and hopped around, ecstatic. Paul chuckled, “Calm down Louis. Go and get ready boys. When we get back to the hotel you’ll need to pack, we’re leaving tonight.” We all turned to go into the dressing room, but Paul stopped me, “One moment Lou.” He waited for the others to close the dressing room door, “Management does have one condition though.” My smile fell. This can’t be good…
 
“What condition?” I asked. Paul took a deep breath.
 
“You and Jennifer have to keep up the ‘Lennifer’ façade,” he said, “You can’t just stay cooped up in the flat with Valerie for the whole week.” My shoulders slumped as Paul continued, “You need to walk around London with her, give her a tour or show her the sights, maybe take her on a ‘date’ or two. You can still spend time with Valerie, but-”
 
“Just not in public?” I guessed. Paul nodded.
 
“Trust me,” Paul said, “I’d much rather see you happy with Valerie, but management knows what they’re doing.” I raised an eyebrow.
 
“Are you sure about that?” Paul remained silent. I sighed before continuing, “How much longer do we have to keep this up?” I asked. Paul shrugged.
 
“At least until the end of tour,” Paul said, “After that, I don’t know.” I nodded. Paul sent me off to get changed and in a few minutes we were all headed off to the hotel to pack.
 

~September 19th~
~Late Morning~

 
Holly’s POV:
 
My dreams were conflicted, switching back and forth between so many entirely different scenarios, all focused on different emotions. Love, hate, passion, fury, lust… What made things more confusing for me was that they all centered on one subject: Harry. It’s like my mind was arguing with itself, trying to solve in dreams what it couldn’t solve consciously.
 
I was exhausted, my sleep restless, and it didn’t help that I was sleeping on the uncomfortable couch.
 
I was just on the border of consciousness and sleep. I heard the door open and close, heavy footsteps coming closer.
 
“Just go upstairs guys,” someone whispered, “I’ll stay down here.” Someone, maybe more than one person, quickly and quietly went up the stairs and someone walked closer to the couch. I felt the end of the couch sink and the person sat down. It was quiet for a moment. I was awake by now, but kept pretending to sleep.
 
The person leaned forward and I felt them brush a stray curl away from my face. They slipped off of the couch cushion and I waited for them to do something.
 
“I don’t know if you’ve thought about us,” the person said. Harry, “I don’t know if you’re still hurt or if you’ve truly forgiven me. I don’t know if what I’ve been doing is showing you anything.” He sighed and I felt him touch my hair again, “But I do know that I’m really trying. God, I’m trying so hard to show you how much I love you. It’s just so hard to put what I feel for you into words or actions.” He pressed his lips to my forehead and slowly pulled away, “If you don’t take me back I’ll understand, but I hope you know that you’ll always have my heart.”
 
I slowly opened my eyes and saw that Harry was sitting on the floor beside the couch, looking up at me.
 
“Harry,” I mumbled, still tired. He gave me a warm smile.
 
“Hi Holly,” he said, “Are you still tired love?” I nodded, blinking slowly. He stood up and gently scooped me up into his arms. I closed my eyes as he carried me upstairs, going over his words in my head. He walked into his room and set me down on the bed. I pulled the covers closer, curling into a ball as I pressed my face into the fabric. I was running through an idea in my head, trying to make a decision before Harry left the room. He was just about to leave when I reached for his wrist and grabbed it. He turned and looked at me.
 
“Please stay,” I begged quietly. He nodded and lay down next to me. I cuddled into his side and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
 
“Get some sleep Holls,” he said, rubbing his thumb into my upper arm. I nodded weakly.
 
I knew I still had a month to make my decision, but laying here with Harry like this, I couldn’t see myself in anyone else’s arms. I’d made up my mind. I want it this way, forever. Just Harry and I and I'd never ask for anything more.

A.N.:
Okay, I'll admit it... I was tearing up while writing Harry's little speech... I was just imagining him saying this in real life and... oh the feels!!!!
So my friend, Jerusha, and I made this video for Chapter 17 for a project... it's a stop motion video and I'll admit... it sucks. It's so bad, it's laughable... it's on the side...
Go ahead and watch it... feel free to laugh at our failure!! Until next time, later gaters!