The Wolf In sheeps clothing

Media Lies

Niall stared down at his phone, picking it up in a hand that was shaking uncontrollably with sudden nerves.His blue eyes were riveted to the name displayed on the screen. Niall swallowed then laid the phone back down on the table. His appetite vanished, he pushed his barely touched plate of food away from him and stood shakily. He couldn't bring himself to read the text. He didn't know how he felt about the sender right now. He walked unsteadily out of the room and into his den where he curled up on the couch. Grabbing the remote, he turned on the TV and stared unseeing at the screen, thoughts churning.

At some point during the evening, Niall had fallen asleep. When he finally woke up, his muscles were stiff and cramped and he felt chilled to the bone despite the house being warm. Struggling to his feet, Niall made his way out of the room and up the stairs to his bedroom, shedding his clothing as he walked towards the attached bathroom. He stared at his pale face in the mirror as he waited for the shower to heat up before stepping under the powerful spray of water, letting the warmth of the water sooth his body. He felt his muscles slowly start to relax. Finally Niall pulled himself from the soothing water and, wrapping a fluffy towel around his waist, headed through to the bedroom where he slowly got dressed in sweats. His stomach growled, reminding him that he'd not actually eaten the meal he had prepared many hours ago. Sighing gently, he headed to stairs to his kitchen where his abandoned meal still lay on the table, his cell phone beside it.Bracing himself, Niall picked up his phone and clicked on the text to open it.Zayn had sent him a text but Niall stared at the screen, bewildered. The text was blank. Niall closed the message and reopened it...still blank. What the h*ll was going on?

Niall shoved the cold plate of food into the microwave and pressed a few buttons , shuffling from foot to foot as the food reheated. Whilst he waited, his thoughts were busy. Why on earth had Zayn sent a blank text? Had he accidentally done it.Yeah, that was it. Some glitch. The microwave dinged and Niall pulled out the food and carried it into the den where he sat on his couch and switched the TV on, settling down and letting the show distract him from thinking about Zayn. "Spotlight on the Stars" was rubbish but right now he wanted the distraction.

Zayn's hand hovered over his phone as he stared at it, trying to make up his mind. Ever since that fleeting handshake at the AMA event, he had been trying to summon up the guts to text Niall. His first attempt yesterday had failed as he had chickened out at the last moment and accidentally sent Niall a blank text. He shook his head. He threw his phone down in disgust. He just wasn't brave enough. Picking up the TV remote he settled back to watch "Spotlight on the Stars". It was a crappy show, claiming to promote accurate news about celebrates but usually falling so wide of the mark that it was occasionally funny. He sat back and prepared to be amused.

"Well it's all been happening, folks" the blond presenter, Melanie Sheffield , chirped. " There was a OneD reunion at the AMAs and fans are divided as to whether the interaction between Zayn and Niall was cordial or fraught. To be fair, it happened in seconds but there has been plenty of speculation. We'll keep you updated.

More news about Niall Horan and his recent hospitalisation has emerged. Recently fans were asked to call in any sightings of the Irish hottie when it was announced he mysteriously vanished following hospital treatment for what we were told was a serious health condition, and there were major concerns for his safety. Niall was then re-admitted for further treatment but he and his representatives have been very closed mouthed about the cause of  Niall's health issues. An source close the the star has told us that recently  Niall has been seen taking medication and claims that Niall is suffering from Depression. We have contacted Niall's Management but so far they have not responded to our request for information. Recent  sightings of Niall have shown the star to be extremely thin and looking ill.We'll have more on this soon".

"F.cking media lies" Niall snarled and switched off his TV before storming into his kitchen to pull a forbidden beer from the fridge. In another part of LA,  Zayn was staring blankly at his TV, a frown pulling his dark brows together as his mind flashed back to his brief meeting with Niall at the AMAs. Even though their interaction had lasted only a matter of seconds, Zayn remembered Niall's pale face and his thinner frame. He hadn't thought anything about it at the time but was this the one of the rare times that the media got something right? Was his 'little bro' sick? Zayn slowly stood up and wandered out into his yard where he walked  slowly around, lost in thought. 

"Do you want to issue a press release, Niall?" James, his manager asked the blond lad. "It would end speculation. The media is running riot and the rumours are getting more and more  intense."

"It's my life. I just want privacy. I don't need the whole f.cking world to know my business" Niall snapped as he rubbed his throbbing temples.

"Ni, I understand. But things are just going to escalate. Look, a short statement then that will kill the speculation. Seriously, put the truth out there." James spoke calmly, ignoring Niall's burst of temper. Niall was normally so cheerful and laid back so James knew that he was really bothered by the media scrutiny.

"I'll think about it" Niall replied . " I'm back in the studio tomorrow, want to lay down a few more tracks" He changed the subject quickly.

Zayn sat scrolling through Twitter when suddenly his eyes opened wide . He read the tweet then reread it as a slow tear trickled down his cheek. He quickly sent a tweet of his own then, mind made up, dialled a number, holding his breath as he waited for the call to be answered.

"Hello" Niall's accent sounded stronger than Zayn had remembered.

"Ni...it's me...Zayn". Niall listened to Zayn's voice, quiet and laced with pain. He waited for Zayn to continue. "Look, I'd like to talk but first have you seen Twitter?"

"No" Niall's answer was brief.

"Bro, it's Louis Mum. She's passed away". There was silence ."Niall?"

A/N  I am so very sorry for Louis and his family but so proud of Louis for his courage and strength. I am also so happy that Zayn has reached out to Louis with love and support. the five of them, despite the rift, are really brothers of the heart. 

I won't be updating until after the holidays as we have had two of the farm workers leave so I'll  being doing more to help.