The Wolf In sheeps clothing

Zayn

Niall grinned as he ended the call from Louis. It really made him feel good knowing his bandmates were so proud of his success with his first solo release. He picked up his guitar and leant back, strumming idly as he watched the tv. It had been a long month , full of interviews and solo performances as he promoted "This Town". But it had been worth it, he thought. Now he had to start work on his fist album. Time to hit the studio again.

The heat in the studio was making Niall feel ill and he felt the telltale prickling along his skin. He groaned internally. He'd spent a month with Louis following his release from the hospital and had really improved his health, mainly due to Louis care and support.Louis had been a tower of strength, making sure Niall took his medication regularly and ate well, not allowing him to get overtired. Niall had initially resented the interference from the other lads but had had to concede that he did feel much better. And Selena had been wonderful. She'd visited him several times and given him so many tips on living with Lupus. He was sad that she was going through a rough patch herself. He'd always been sympathetic but now he had the same health issues, his sympathy had been replaced by empathy. He pushed open the door of the recording booth and stepped out into noticeably cooler air, sighing with relief.

"You Ok, Mate?" Jez, one of the musicians asked him, noticing Niall's pale face.

"Yeah, just hot. Like an oven in there" Niall replied rolling a bottle of cold water against his sweating forehead before taking off the lid and drinking it down rapidly. He was dehydrated and knew that wasn't helping how he felt.

"So long as you're ok" Jez sounded doubtful but didn't press the issue.  He narrowed his eyes as he watched Niall walk over to his backpack and rummage through it, withdrawing a bottle from it and tipping something into his hand. Niall then took his hand to his mouth before taking another drink. "Headache?" Jez asked as he moved to stand next to Niall.

"Yeah a bit" Niall said, thrusting the bottle back into the bag where Jez could no longer see it.He  suddenly felt very self conscious. He'd kept his diagnosis hidden from the media, even his hospitalisation had been passed off as severe exhaustion combined with a virus. Niall just wanted to keep his health issues private and he hoped Jez wasn't going to get too pushy. He smiled reassuringly at the other man then walked back to the booth. "Shall we continue, guys" he said before closing the recording booth door behind himself.

Niall was glad when the session had finished. It had gone well but he was tired and a little stressed and he could feel his muscles tightening in response, his neck stiff and sore. All he wanted was to go home, eat, shower then collapse on the couch and watch some sport.He let himself into his house, threw his car keys into the bowl on the hall table then went through into the kitchen and pulled a cold beer from the fridge. Showering could wait, he decided, heading straight for his lounge. He turned the TV on and sprawled out on the couch  and relaxed.

"Is Niall Horan Depressed?" Melissa the chirpy presenter of 'Spotlight on the Stars' intoned in serious tones as they flashed up a picture of Niall looking hollow eyed and unsmiling. "It's known that the Irish lad has recently been hospitalised due to what his management have called extreme exhaustion. But fans are wondering if there is more to this as, until the recent release of his solo material, One Direction's  Niall has been missing from  the public eye and his presence on social media has been very sparse. Niall has had a whirlwind month of interviews and appearances but fans remain concerned for Niall who appears much thinner than normal. Niall did post a picture of himself at his doctor's office fuelling rumours that he is suffering from a serious illness and sources close to the star have claimed that Niall is suffering from severe depression.We've approached Niall's  reps for comment but so far they have remained tight lipped.

"F.ck that" Niall grumbled. "F.cking media" He switched off the TV in temper and pushed himself to his feet. "Sources close to the star" he snarled "Yeah, the neighbour's hamster gave them an interview." He pulled another beer from the fridge .

"You're joking, right?" Niall  had stared at his manager in astonishment. "The AMA's?"

"No joke, Niall. They want you to perform "This Town"

"Wow" Niall hadn't been able to keep the grin off his face. "I mean, wow!" he kept saying to himself.  He had so many good memories of both attending and winning AMA awards with his bandmates and here he was, going to perform as a soloist. He moved around his home in a daze then decided to ring Louis to share the good news.

"Congrats ,mate. I'm proud of you" Louis told his excited friend. "You deserve it." Louis paused for a moment then a thought struck him. Should he mention it to Niall, would it unset him, cause him the stress he was supposed to avoid. But better he do it now then Niall realise the truth later. "Ni, have you been on Twitter, bro?"

"Yeah, a few times,why?" Niall suddenly became aware of the anxious tone in Louis voice.

"Uhhh..Nialler...mmh..it's Zayn" Louis stopped, unable to continue.

"What do you mean 'it's Zayn'?" Louis tell me, you're worrying me.

"He's been nominated for best new artist, bro.He'll be there.Gigi is a presenter." Niall sat down suddenly. Zayn the 'brother he missed so badly..... He swallowed. "Lou, I gotta go" and he ended the call.

Niall  continued to sit there, staring into space as darkness fell. Zayn who had treated him like a little brother, Zayn who had protected him from fans. Zayn who had left him so abruptly. Zayn.

"