Time of Our Lives

Chapter 9: Dark Blue Peonies

*Kariann’s POV*

“So, where we at now?” Dakota yawned, scratching her head as she curled herself up into a ball on the couch.

We’ve been travelling for a week now. The moment we came into the tour bus after their concerts, we’d be rolling down on the road. Dakota and I were still trying to get used to all the travelling. It amazed me how the boys could ever put up with it. I was pretty homesick, even Dakota. Every day held a new surprise for us, whether it was the next city we were in or just hanging out with the boys.

Especially now. It was six in the morning and I could hear someone snoring upstairs. I checked my phone’s GPS, “Um, we should be near Minneapolis here soon.”

“So…” She tried to think through her sleepy mind. “Um…”

“Minnesota.” I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, that state. Okay. Wake me up when we get there…” She shoved her head into her pillow.

It didn’t take long until she dozed off. It was hardly surprising. She never really was a morning person. I give her credit for trying though, since she does her best to help out with the boy’s scheduling. Only when they leave, she’d jump back into bed.

I stuck my headphones in, listening to some music to pass the time. We’d be in Minneapolis in about an hour, from there, the boys had to get up and go to a talk show interview, following by a signing. Later onto the night they had yet another concert. After that was done, we were to go to Montana.

I could hear the stair steps creak even with my headphones on. I looked over, seeing Liam scratching the back of his head as he yawned. He silently stepped into the bathroom for a few minutes. I was expecting him to go back to bed when he was done, but he didn’t. He came over and took a seat on the couch on the opposite end I was on.

“Morning.” I said, pulling out an earbud.

He yawned again, “Morn…”

He kind of slumped there. I turned my body to where I faced him. He was stretched out, as if he was going to sleep like that. “…Liam?”

I watched as his body moved. He let out a huge breath he took in. He opened his eyes, looking to where Dakota was sleeping. “What do I do?”

“Huh?” I asked, confused.

“I got a call from management yesterday, complaining how the pap won’t stop calling. They’re dying to know who you girls are. Because of your privacy, they can’t tell, yet they’re saying that if we don’t do something about it soon they’re just going to make the slip.”

He looked at me, face pulled up in stress. From the light slipping from the window, I could see how red his eyes were. “Did you worrying keep you up all night?” I asked, concerned, “Liam… you don’t have to worry about us like that.”

Liam reached up, rubbing his eyes. “I can’t help it. You girls are important to the five of us. We don’t want anything happening to you that we can prevent. We just don’t want to take away your privacy. We know how much you want to keep it.”

I scooted over to where I was sitting by him. “Do the other guys know about it?” I asked.

He stared at me, highly debating on telling me. He shook his head. “I thought I would try to figure something out on my own.”

“Daddy Direction taking control, huh?” I sighed. It brought a small smile onto his lips.

He looked truly exhausted though. I grabbed his shoulder, “Seriously, Liam. You look like a zombie. Don’t worry about Dakota and I. We’ll be fine. Go get some sleep. You have an interview in three hours.”