Take Me Home • h. styles ✔

1 | My Shadow and I

     "Harry, we have to go now!"

     "I can't, Lou. I have to find Gemma and my mum."

     "I'm sorry, Harry, but we have to leave. I'm sure they're with Paul. But we don't have much time. We need to get to safety."

     I nodded as Louis grabbed my arm, and we ran. I had no idea what was happening. One moment we were on stage, performing our last song for the night, when people suddenly began screaming. Everything just turned into instant chaos; they had horrified looks on their face as they started to run and climb up the stage. The girls were not screaming anymore because they finally saw us perform live, but they were scared. I could see them, especially the little ones, crying as their daddies carried them on their shoulders as they were trying to find a place to get their daughters to safety. I was dumbfounded for a while, looking at the sudden commotion in front of me. I snapped back into reality when I felt Louis grab my arm, and that's when we began to run.

     My thoughts were muddled. I couldn't think straight. The first thing that instantly came into my mind was my family. I knew a particular reserved part for our families in the audience area, but I forgot where it was. That meant that they were still out there. I closed my eyes and prayed for their safety. My thoughts were mainly for them. They might get hurt because of the stampede, for Christ's sake!

     "Go, go, go!" I heard Josh's voice behind me as he pushed me forward. I looked at him, and I could see beads of sweat and the look of panic on his face. He looked back and gave me a weak smile as he put his hands on my shoulder, urging me to move faster along the overcrowding backstage.

     Louis let go of his tight grip on my arm and then wiped the sweat off my face with his towel.

     "You okay, Haz?"

     "Yeah. Yeah, I think so," I replied impassively.

     "We'll find Gemma and Anne, alright? They're going to be okay."

     Louis never failed to make me feel secure. He's my best friend, and despite what was happening, he was still able to make me feel comfortable somehow.

     The backstage was a mess. We couldn't move forward. One of the managers of the O2 tried his best to get the people out, but the apparent panic caused a lot of struggle. I could still hear the screams back on the crowd outside. What was happening? I could not stop thinking about my family. I suddenly felt tired, and I placed my head on Louis' shoulder. Just as I was about to close my eyes, the manager began to speak in a booming voice, causing me to flinch.

     "Alright, listen! I want everyone to remain calm and slowly make their way to the exit. No pushing, and no one must panic. We can do this quickly if everyone cooperates. One Direction, you must make your way to your private van on the left-wing, 5SOS, go to ... "

     "Don't dare let go, Harry, okay?" Louis spoke with a tone of fear in his voice.

     All I did was nod. It took me a while to realize that I had not seen the others. Where were they? I felt more worried. I couldn't see Zayn, Niall, or Liam.

     Then, the crowd began to move at a steady pace. Louis' hand held firmly on my arm, and I followed him. We headed to the hallway that led to our dressing rooms. As much as I wanted to grab my stuff, I couldn't. I guessed that I had no choice but to let go of them at this time.

     Most of the people turned to the right. The security guards led Louis and me to the arena's 'left-wing.' We walked until we finally made it to the parking lot where our private van was.