Count On Me | Niam

Chapter Sixty

Liam

December 18th, 2011

"You'll be fantastic, Love. Your dad and I are so proud."

"Mu-um..." Hiding his face in her shoulder as she hugged, him Liam tried to keep the smile on his face from being evident in his tone, knowing he was failing as his mother simply laughed before releasing him.

Giving him a fond smile, Karen watched after her son as he was led off by Paddy in the direction of wardrobe and the other boys, waiting until he'd glanced back over his shoulder to discreetly wave to her before she called. "I mean it, we're so, so proud. Keep calm, chin up, and we'll find you after, yeah?"

******

February 23rd, 2014

"All right, lads, let's smash it, yeah?" Pasting a confident smile on his face as he looked over at the three other boys, Liam reached in and fist bumped them, taking a second to notice the new sense of calm slowly enveloping them, a far cry from the chaos there had been earlier.

To distract themselves from the impending gig, the first performance of the tour, and the pressure, stress and nerves, Louis had suggested they steal as much as they could of anything and bring their horde back to the dressing room, simply for laugh, and they'd ended up surrounded by shit Liam hadn't known they took on tour with them.

It had all been returned eventually, having taken their families to intervene and Louis' mum to dissuade him from stealing anything else, and it had worked as a distraction, though now everything around them was out of place and in the process of being stuck, nailed or locked down. It made him grin, though, an actual, genuine grin as he caught Louis' eye, the two of them still smiling as they were corralled off in the direction of the stage.

******

April 25th, 2014

"It's mine."

"No, it's mine. Yours is the one hanging by the door to the dressing room."

"No, that one's mine. Yours is the one hanging by the door to the dressing room."

Giving Zayn a pointed look as he showed him the shirt's label, pointing out the size difference between the shirt in his hand and the one Zayn was wearing, Liam ran a hand through his hair, suppressing the urge to gloat or- Or whatever and pulled the shirt over his head as Zayn grabbed the shirt he'd been trying to pass off as Liam's. No sooner than he'd pulled the shirt over his head, Zayn was pushed out of the way by Harry and Louis, both of whom were bickering in a similar manner, the stress and anticipation they all felt leaking out in the form of an argument about the longevity of bees.

"Harold, they'll die out. No one actually gives a shit about them, they're bees."

"Bees will be all that's left, Lou, you know I'm right."

******

February 7th, 2015

"Liam, you coming?"

"Where to?" Glancing up from his phone in confusion, Liam raised an eyebrow as Louis pulled his jacket on, gesturing in the direction of the door they'd been asked not to go out of as he shot a bored look Liam's way.

"Anywhere. We've got four hours, Done soundcheck and makeup doesn't take long. We've got time; I'm off exploring. You coming?"

Muttering something that could have been 'fuck it', Liam jumped up and followed Louis, not caring when exploring turned into sneaking up a fire escape and sneaking a cigarette. All the time they were out, Louis fidgeted, his knee bouncing or his fingers itching, and Liam recognised the feeling. He'd spent half an hour fighting Zayn over the last can of red bull and whether his latest tattoo was better than Zayn's simply as a distraction.